Is This the Hard Part? UFLI Foundations Lesson 99
Practice Words
Gran had a plan. 'Today,' she said, 'we will make the best coconut bars in the world.' Sam jumped up and waved her arms. 'Yes! Let's go get some!' Gran aimed the hose at her bushes and gave a slow, sly smile. 'Get some? No, no, no. We start from scratch.'
'First, we grow them right!' Gran said. Sam jumped among the plants and called out to the trees. 'Grow up tall! Grow up huge! Grow coconuts the size of my head!' Gran held her water bottle and watched Sam bounce from plant to plant. 'That's the spirit,' she said with a smile. 'Keep at it!' Sam had no clue what was next.
Gran had made a lift. A real lift! Ropes and wheels and a wood plank, hung on the big tree in the yard. She sat on it like a queen on a throne. 'Turn the wheel,' she called down. Sam took the wheel and cranked hard. It groaned. Sam groaned. Gran went up, up, up into the branches. 'Is this the hard part?' Sam puffed. Gran just smiled.
From high in the tree, Gran sent coconuts flying down a wood slide. They tumbled and bounced and thunked into the basket below. One. Two. Three. Four. Five! 'That's the lot!' Gran called down with a big grin. Sam looked at the pile of fat coconuts. 'Now can we make the bars?' 'Sweet child,' said Gran. 'We have not even started.'
The coconut husk was thick and hard and would not come off. Gran took her blade and got to work. Sam reached with both hands and pulled. And pulled. And pulled. Nothing. 'This coconut,' Sam said with teeth shut tight, 'will not turn into bars.' 'Too bad for the coconut,' said Gran.
Sam's arms hurt. Sam tried to sneak off. Just for a tiny rest. Just to sit in the shade for one little minute. 'And where do you think you are going?' Sam froze. Gran stood with one hand on her hip. 'We. Are. Not. Done.' Sam sighed a big sigh. But Gran was right. Gran was always right. That vexed Sam.
Gran lifted the blade high. 'Ready?' she said. Sam held out the bowl. Gran swung it down. Crack! The coconut split clean in two and water burst out. Sam dove, Sam stretched, Sam caught the drops in the bowl. 'Got it!' Sam yelled. 'Not a drop, not a drip, not a leak!' Gran just smiled. Of course Sam got it.
Now Sam had to scrape the meat out of the shell. Gran handed her a red crank tool. Sam cranked it hard. Nothing. She cranked harder. Her arms shook. Her teeth hurt from holding them tight. 'Is this the hard part?' Sam asked. 'You keep asking that,' Gran said with a smile. She gave Sam a pat. 'The worst part is behind you now.' Sam did not think so. Not one bit.
Gran shook the coconut into a big bowl on the stove. She mixed and mixed and would not stop. Then something grand happened. The sweetest smell in the world filled the kitchen. It curled around Sam's nose and settled in her brain. Sam closed her eyes, held up her hands, and breathed in deep. 'Gran. Gran. Is that what I think it is?' 'That,' said Gran, 'is what hard work smells like.'
Gran filled the baking tin with the coconut and smoothed it flat with a spoon. 'Let the bake begin,' she said. Sam sat with her chin on her hands and watched every single piece go in. She was not going to miss this. Not after all that cranking and cracking and pulling and puffing. 'Gran,' Sam whispered. 'Are we almost done?' Gran winked. 'Almost.'
The bake was done! Gran took out golden chunks of coconut bar, all crunchy and sweet. 'Now,' said Gran, sliding the jars over. 'Fill them to the top.' Sam packed them in tight and pressed the lids on firm. One. Two. Three. 'Gran,' Sam said. 'Are we done now?' Gran leaned close. She had a big grin. 'We are done.'
Sam took a piece off the plate and held it up high. 'Got it!' Sam shouted, and bit down hard. It was crunchy. It was sweet. It was the best thing Sam had ever tasted. Gran took a piece too. They stood there, munching, with big grins. All those tries. All that cranking and cracking. Every last bit of it was in that taste. Worth it.
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