Never Lift the Emerald UFLI Foundations Lesson 80
Practice Words
Steve stands still in the hot sun. The emerald is in his pocket. It glitters and glitters. Steve blinks. 'The sun is over me!' he says. 'That is odd. And my belly rumbles. I must get supper.'
A villager is on the path. His arms are crossed. A cow plods behind him, and a farmer is there too. Steve looks at them and grins. 'I can trade my emerald,' he says. 'One emerald for a hot supper. What luck!'
Steve walks up and taps Villager on the arm. Villager hums at him. Hum, hum! He offers a hot chicken dinner for one emerald. 'A hot dinner for one emerald?' Steve says. 'That is a fine trade!'
Steve holds the emerald up. Villager jerks back! He hums faster and faster. The other villagers panic and scatter behind him. Steve tucks the emerald back in his pocket. Then all the villagers stop. 'What is up with this emerald?' Steve whispers.
Steve looks into a hut. Two villagers stand at a craft table. An amber ember glitters on it. The villagers do not even look up. 'No one wants to trade with me,' Steve mutters. 'I must find supper on my own.'
Steve enters another hut. He flips the lid of a chest. A snack! He munches and munches it fast. He drops string and sticks in the chest for the villagers. 'My belly is full after that,' he says. 'Much better.'
Steve spots a cat in the corner. He pats it. It is hard and cold. It is a stone cat! Then a real cat darts in. But Cat does not blink. Not a whisker twitches. Cat is as still as stone.
Steve steps back. One step, two steps, more. Then Cat blinks! Cat bolts off, fast as ever. 'It is the emerald,' Steve whispers. 'It stopped Cat. It stopped me too! The villagers remembered it. That is why they ran.'
After a long time, Steve stands at the fence. The sky is gold and amber. The emerald hums in his pocket. 'No,' Steve whispers. 'I have a cursed emerald. I must never, ever pick it up.'
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