The Best Toy of All Jolly Phonics · Step 3, Unit 10: /oi/ mixed

Jim runs down the path as fast as he can. Roy runs in front, ears up like little flags. 'Come, Jim! Come and see what I got!' calls Len. He jumps up and down with joy. Jim's pal waves them in. Jim speeds up. When Len says 'come and see', it is always good.

Len hoists up a red toy boat. His grin is huge. 'My dad got me this,' he says. 'It floats on a real pond!' Jim's mouth drops open. Jim's pal points at the boat. Roy looks up at it and wags his tail. Jim wants that toy boat. No, Jim wants the best toy of all.

'That is not much!' says Jim. 'I have the best toys in all the land back in my room. Much more grand than a little boat.' The fib just slips out of him. The brag annoys Len. He crosses his arms. Jim's pal does not trust him. Not one bit. But Jim keeps on. 'I will bring it all in the morning. Just wait and see.'

Back home, Jim looks in his toy box. A green frog. A red ball with a dent. A game with lost bits. Roy peeks over the top of the box. 'This is bad,' says Jim. Len will just grin at these old toys. Jim needs a grand thing, fast.

Then Jim has a plan. Boing! He jumps up. 'My kin have such good things! The old man's plants! Gran's crafts! Dad's game! We just need to take some.' Roy wags his tail so fast his back end shakes. 'Come, Roy. We have a house to raid!'

First stop: the old man's plants. He grows the best plants in town. Jim grabs a huge one in a big pot. Its soil is dark and moist. 'Len has no plant like this,' says Jim, hugging the pot to his chest. He dashes off with Roy right at his heels. One thing down. Four to go.

Next stop: Gran's craft basket. Jim scoops up a bowl of wool and twine, coils and coils of it, in pink and blue and green. Gran can mend it all. A dress, a kite string, a doll's arm. 'If Gran can fix things with this,' says Jim, 'then it must be grand.' Roy grabs at a bit of wool. Jim lifts the bowl up high, just in time.

Next, Jim spots Dad's game up on the shelf. Each weekend, Dad plays it with his pals till late at night. They get very noisy. 'If dads enjoy it this much,' says Jim with a grin, 'it must be grand.' He tucks the box under his arm. His pile grows and grows.

Jim's sis has a shelf full of books. He grabs a big stack. The top book has a fox on it. His sis reads it to him a lot. 'Best tale in all the land!' Jim yells to no one. Roy has got a box stuck on top of him. He stands very still, like an odd little droid. Jim looks right past him.

Last stop: Mom's room. Jim tries a bit of it all. He paints his lips red. He puts on a big soft hat. Red heels sit by his feet, much too big. He peeks at the dresser and grins with joy. Roy sits in the corner with a scarf coiled round his neck. They look very odd. They look grand!

In the morning, Len and Jim's pal come to see it all. But Len does not clap. He puts the soft hat back in the trunk. 'This is Mom's hat, Jim.' Jim's pal packs up the plant. They pack up the wool, the game, and the books. None of it is Jim's own stuff. Jim just grins. But his cheeks burn. Len has a point.

Then comes a yell. A big, noisy yell. 'Where is my perfume?' Mom stands at her dresser. One spot is empty. She puts her hands on her hips. Jim, Len and Jim's pal stand very still. They put it all back. Or so they think. One thing is lost.

They hunt all over Jim's room. Jim's pal checks under the bed. Just dust and one old sock. Len checks each box. Not a thing. Jim yells, 'It is not here!' But in the corner, by the seat, Roy joins the hunt. His nose points at the floor. Sniff, sniff! His tail starts to wag.

Roy sniffs under the seat, and there it is. Mom's perfume! 'Yes!' Jim hoists Roy up and gives him the best scratch of all time. Len and Jim's pal clap and cheer. 'See?' Jim grins, his face in Roy's fluff. 'I do have the best thing in all the land.' And this time, no one calls it a brag.