A Big Bite at Night Jolly Phonics · Step 3, Unit 1: ph as in phone

Kate grabs the boy's hand and pulls him off the porch. 'Come on! It is guava day!' she yells, as if she has a megaphone. 'Slow down, Kate!' the boy calls. 'My legs are too short!' But Kate just grins big and pulls with all her oomph.

They are not yet at the best tree when the boy stops. 'Kate! Look!' He points up at a fat guava on a branch. It has a big bite in it, teeth marks and all! 'This is catastrophic!' Kate gasps. She squints like a spy. 'Who bit that guava?'

'That bug did it!' the boy yells. He points at a fat green bug as it munches a leaf. 'Look how keen it is to eat!' Kate folds her arms. 'That bug has a mouth as wee as an aphid. It can chomp all day and all night and not make a bite that big.' 'But it may chomp fast!' says the boy. 'No,' says Kate. 'Next!'

'Or an elf did it!' the boy grins. 'A keen little elf with big teeth!' 'There is no such thing as an elf,' says Kate. The boy frowns. Then he spots a long green bug on a branch and points at it. 'That bug did it! I rest my case!' 'That bug eats grass,' says Kate. 'Grass. Can a wee bug that munches grass chomp a hole that big in a guava? That takes real oomph. No. Next!'

Then the boy spots a big bird as it pecks the dirt. 'That bird did it! One peck with that beak, bang, a big hole!' But Kate is up in the tree, on the hunt for clues. 'The guava is way up here,' she calls down with a grin. 'Can that bird fly?' The bird just pecks the dirt. Kate smirks. 'What next? An elephant?'

The sun sets, and the sky turns pink. 'Can we go home?' the boy asks. 'We can get guava at the shop.' Then Kate has an epiphany. She spins round with her fists up. 'Wait! No beast we have seen can make a bite that big. What if the biter just comes out at night?' The boy turns pale. 'Night?'

Kate stands with a sheet under her arm and a look that says: we will do this. 'Phase one, we camp by the tree,' she tells him. 'Phase two, we spy. Phase three, we grab it!' The boy sits outside with his arms crossed. 'I hope it comes fast. I will nod off very soon.' 'Then nap, but peek out now and then,' says Kate, and she marches into the dark.

The yard looks so odd at night. Kate sweeps her torch up and down the bark, and the boy grips her arm and steps on her heels. 'What if the biter is a phantom?' he says low. 'It is not a phantom!' Kate hisses. A branch creaks in the wind, and they gasp. They check the tree, twig by twig. No biter.

They creep into the tent. 'Phase two,' Kate says low. She peeks out into the dark. 'It will come. I can tell.' 'All I can tell is that I wish I was in my bed,' the boy says low. He grips his flashlight hard. Then, flap. Flap. Flap. A thing is out there. A thing with wings! Kate grabs his arm. 'It is here!'

They poke out from the tent and look up. There, on a branch, hangs a dark beast with wide wings. It hangs by its feet, and it bites into a guava. Drip, drip! 'It did not stop at one!' the boy gasps. 'It just eats and eats!' 'This is phenomenal,' Kate says low. 'We found it. But what is that thing?'

'It is little,' the boy says low. 'It has fur and wings.' Kate points with a grand grin. 'Just one beast looks like that. It is a bat!' 'A bat! Phew!' the boy gasps. 'That is why it just comes out at night!' 'Not a bug,' says Kate. 'Not a bird. Not an elf, and not a phantom. A bat!' 'Stop,' says the boy. 'Do not list them all!'

Up in the tree, Bat hangs with a belly as round and full as the moon. It blinks up at that moon, glad as can be. Not a bug. Not a bird. Not an elf. Just one bat that thinks guava is a phenomenal feast. And in fact, Bat has good taste! Down the path, the little home glows in the moonlight. Inside, the spies sleep, and dream up the next big quest.