It Springs Back! UFLI Foundations Lesson 92
Practice Words
I am the best explorer in the world. I have walked into dark caves. I have crossed rivers at night. Nothing makes me afraid. So when I spot a village under a full moon, I march right up to it. Glowing pumpkins sit beside every door. But every hut is dark inside. 'Hello?' I call. No one calls back.
Every village has a golem. A big blocky golem that keeps the village safe. I find this one standing still in the middle of the road. It is cracked from its top to its feet. Vines creep up its legs like the forest is swallowing it. Its eyes are dark. 'Not afraid,' I whisper. But it is not a true whisper. I say it like I need to hear it.
Something moves between the huts. A cat! Just a normal cat walking right at me. But I can see the walls of the huts behind it. I see them right past its body! It is not solid at all. A cool feeling creeps along my back. 'Right,' I say. 'A ghost cat. That is fine. I am still the best explorer in the world.'
I look in every hut in the village. I check under tables and behind doors. I peek into chests and snoop in every nook. Not one villager is left. Torches still burn on the walls. Plants still bloom in the window boxes. It is like they all just got up and left. Where did they all go?
A storm rolls in fast, and rain beats hard on every hut and tree. The sky fills with gloom. Then I see it. A huge serpent rises up beside a hut. Its green eyes glow, and it is as tall as the trees. I have never seen a beast so big, and I never want to. 'Still brave,' I tell myself. But my legs are backing up on their own.
I slip past the serpent and run right into something grim. A Zombie Villager stands in the middle of the path. Its red eyes glow in the rain as it staggers at me. But I am still the best explorer in the world. I pull an arrow from my pack, set it in my bow, and take aim. 'Sorry, pal. But this is the end.'
One clean shot. Zombie Villager falls. I pump my fist. 'Yay! The best explorer in the world strikes again!' Then Ghost Villager floats up from the body and into the doorway. It looks at me with eyes full of rage, glowing green in the rain. 'Not again!' I yell. 'It will not stay put!'
I spin and face them. Ghost Villagers. A troop of them, in the white daisy bed, all looking at me. The rain stops. I can see where the villagers went. They never left. They just stopped being alive. Ghost Cat sits at my feet and looks up at me like I am a big fool. 'I am the best explorer in the world,' I say. 'And the best explorer in the world... runs!'
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