The Book's Sly Beach Plan Jolly Phonics · Step 3, Unit 6: /ie/ mixed

Ned stands by his shed and sighs. It has a bed and a window, but it looks so dull. 'Can I make it less dull?' Ned asks The Book. 'It needs flowers.' 'I have a plan,' says The Book. 'First, we go to the beach.' 'The beach?' says Ned. 'How can a beach fix a shed?'

The Book just grins. The Book likes to be sly. Ned grabs his tool and sets off, tramping past red and white flowers under a bright blue sky. 'So we dig!' says Ned, swinging his tool. 'I like to dig!' 'Yes,' calls The Book. 'But we need to spot sand that looks blue.'

Blue sand? On a beach? Ned thinks The Book might be silly. But there it is, a big bright blue patch. Ned swings his tool down, and it just slides in. 'That is not sand,' says Ned. 'It is soft!' 'Clay!' says The Book. 'Dig, Ned, dig!'

Soon small blue clay orbs pop up. Round and smooth, like blue buds. Ned drops down and scoops them up. He stuffs each pocket tight. His socks puff up too! 'Pick up loads,' says The Book. 'Trust me.' 'No orb gets left!' says Ned with a grin.

Back at the shed, Ned prods a clay orb. 'Yuck,' says Ned. 'It is soft. It sticks to my hand.' 'Put one by the heater,' says The Book. Ned holds the orb by the flame. The blue melts away. In his hand sits a red brick! 'A brick!' Ned cries. 'The clay is a brick now!' He holds it up high.

The Book lies open on the path. It shows a pot with flowers in it. 'Make one like this,' says The Book. 'A flower pot. Use the bricks.' Ned looks at the page. Then his face lights up. 'I see it now! Beach to clay, to bricks, to pots, to flowers! The shed can look grand!' 'It is a fine plan,' says The Book, looking smug.

Ned beams at his little brown pot like a proud dad. But the shed has one small room, with just a bed. 'No room for pots in there,' says Ned. 'Set them outside,' says The Book, peeking out. Ned sets two pots on the grass in the sunlight. So small. So empty. 'Now I need flowers. Loads!'

Lucky Ned! His shed sits in a grass land. Red, yellow, and white blooms gleam in the daylight. 'This is grand!' says Ned. 'I will just pick a few...' A low buzz starts up. 'What is that buzz?' asks Ned. 'What buzz?' says The Book. Ned shrugs. He grabs a big bunch and pulls.

The buzz grows and grows. A mad bee mob rises up from the flowers. The bees want them back! 'Big mistake!' yells Ned, and he runs. His arms swing. His legs fly. The bees zoom after him. What a chase! 'Well,' calls The Book, 'what a good way to keep fit!'

Ned flies in the shed and slams it shut. Bang! The buzzing stops. By the window, one bee sits on the grass. It just looks at him. And looks. 'Next time,' Ned pants, 'I will pick flowers far from the bees. That was not my best plan.' 'Ned,' says The Book, 'I keep a list. A list for silly plans. That one sits at the very top.' Ned waits. Then he creeps back out.

This time Ned is sly. He sneaks to the far side, where no bees buzz. He picks red flowers, yellow flowers, white flowers, and blue flowers. He fills the pots so full that blooms spill out. 'They light the place up,' says Ned. 'Which is the best?' 'The blue flowers,' says The Book. 'Yes, the blue flowers.'

Ned lines all the pots up by the shed. Red, yellow, and blue blooms spill out. The shed is not dull now. It shines! 'So sweet,' says Ned. 'But there is no room inside for a thing.' 'Well then,' says The Book, 'it is time to put up a bigger place.' Ned's eyes light up. A home! A real home, with room for flowers and more! He grabs his tool. 'Does it start with a trip to the beach?' 'It starts,' says The Book, 'with a trip to the beach.'