The Pumpkin Patch (Compound Words)
Practice Words
Two-syllable compound words formed by joining two smaller words together.
Zom is out in his backyard pumpkin patch. He has spent a lot of time on the pumpkins so that he can cook with them.
Zom's plan is to bake the pumpkins into pumpkin cakes from his cookbook. That sounds like a good plan. Maybe things will work out for Zom this time?
Hey! There is a hole in the dirt. Where did that pumpkin go? Did pests take it before sunrise?
Skel comes outside to help, and Bones trots nearby with his nose on the ground. 'Bones will sniff out the thief,' says Skel. Bones sneezes, then sits down and scratches his ear. Not one footprint, not one clue.
The next day, two more pumpkins were gone. They were nearly ripe, and Zom had hoped for pumpkin cakes for breakfast. What a setback!
Zom told Skel that he had a plan. He would stay up all night and catch this pumpkin thief. Skel said that he would keep watch from the doorway. They both wanted to find out who took the pumpkins.
Zom wanted to stay up all night. He wanted to watch his pumpkins until sunrise, but he grew tired and could not last.
When Zom woke at sunrise in the pumpkin patch, he found there was just one pumpkin left. He did not see how that could be. Had they grown legs and run off?
At nightfall, Zom and Skel took shifts to watch the last pumpkin. They did not want to lose this one like they had with the rest of the patch.
One night, the pumpkin spun and shook in the dirt! Was a beast taking the pumpkins under the ground? A mole? A big earthworm?
No! In the moonlight, the pumpkin stood up! It had spooky eyes and a big mouth. It had arms and legs as well. He said that his name was Jack.
Jack came inside to warm up by the fire. Zom and Skel were glad to have him in their household. There would be no pumpkin cakes, but there was a new pal.