You Are Not a Mouse!
Practice Words
Words with the silent 'k' in the 'kn' combination, where only the /n/ sound is heard.
Tik the mouse knew he had found the perfect house. The window was open wide. The room was dark and still, and best of all, not one soul was home. 'No cats,' Tik whispered, sniffing the air. 'No dogs. No people at all.' He crept along the sill and peered inside. 'Just me.'
Tik hopped onto the desk to explore. Pencils. Papers. A big glowing screen. Then he spotted it. A rope, thick and rubbery, running across the desk. 'Ooooh,' said Tik, grabbing it with both paws. 'I could tie this in a knot on my door. I could hang up my curtains. This is the best rope ever!' He pulled. He tugged. He yanked with all his might.
The rope would not budge one bit. So Tik did what any smart mouse would do. He bit down on it. Crunch. 'Ow!' yelled a tiny voice from the other end of the rope. 'Ow, ow, ow! That is my tail you are biting, you absolute knucklehead!'
Tik spun around and saw a small, round, angry thing on the desk with a cord for a tail. 'My name is Klik,' it said, 'and I am a mouse, you knucklehead.' Tik stared. Klik had no whiskers, no paws, and no snout at all. Tik knew a mouse when he saw one. 'You,' said Tik slowly, 'are not a mouse.'
'I am too a mouse!' said Klik. 'I click! I scroll! I know how to find anything on the internet! Can you do that?' 'I can chew through a wall,' said Tik. 'Well, I can open forty-seven tabs at once,' said Klik.
'Fine,' said Tik. 'Can you find me food? I have not eaten since Tuesday.' 'Easy!' said Klik. 'I have a knack for snacks.' 'And the cat,' Tik added softly. 'There's a cat in this house. A big one. Can you help me hide?'
Then Tik heard it. A low, rumbling purr. And the soft pad, pad, pad of huge paws. The cat was here. It was not a small cat. It was the kind of cat that looked at mice the way Tik looked at cheese. Its yellow eyes glowed. Its claws clicked on the desk. Tik's knees went weak. 'Klik!' Tik squeaked, backing away fast. 'Klik, do something!'
The cat lunged. Tik dodged left. The cat swiped. Tik dodged right, his knees shaking. 'Klik! You said you knew how to help! You said the cat would run!' 'I am working on it!' shouted Klik. 'Give me two seconds!'
Then the screen lit up. And the biggest, loudest, meanest dog Tik had ever seen came roaring out of the speakers. 'Woof! Woof! Woof!' The cat froze. Its eyes went wide. Its fur puffed up like a feather duster. It shot off that desk, through the door, and out of the room so fast it left skid marks on the floor. Klik sat by the keyboard, looking mighty pleased. 'Forty-seven tabs,' Klik said. 'I knew it would work.'
Tik picked Klik up and hugged that silly little mouse so hard its cord swung back and forth. 'You,' said Tik, 'are the weirdest mouse I have ever known. And I have known a lot of mice.' 'The BEST mouse,' said Klik.