Pests! UFLI Foundations Lesson 85
Practice Words
Skel likes his brick home. He likes to keep it neat and clean. Each day he sweeps the planks and lines his books up neat. "A neat home," Skel says, "is a happy home." Zom crosses his arms. "Dirt is fine."
Jack is no help at all. Skel hands him a mop. Jack lets it fall. Skel hands him a cloth. Jack lets that fall as well. Jack holds up his big hands and grins, like he is being very clever. "Cleaning," Jack says, "is not for me."
Skel looks at the sticky planks. He looks at the muddy mess on the mat. He looks at the heap of scraps Jack left by the rug. Once more. Skel grips his brush. "Fine," he says. "You two do not want to help me keep this place clean? Then I will stop. I am off."
Zom and Jack see Skel march off. They look at one another, then at the yard. "No more sweeping!" says Jack. "No more cleaning!" says Zom. Jack stands with a big grin. Zom sits on the green grass, leaning back. No more work. No Skel. They feel free.
Day one, a sock sticks to the mat. No big deal. Day two, the home starts to smell bad. Zom sniffs and steps back. By day three, the muck is deep. It creeps up over Zom's feet. Zom just grins. "Still fine!"
It is not fine. The planks get more and more sticky. Then they get thick with grit. Tiny legs skitter over the muck in the dark. Bugs. A heap of them. Creeping like a stream.
Zom needs a meal. He reaches for the last treat on the bench. Buzz. Flies! A thick, buzzing heap of them, between Zom and his feast. He keeps reaching. The flies creep in. He leaps. The flies get there first. Zom yells, "Get back! That is my feast!"
Jack lifts the pile of cloths he left on the rug. Beneath it, legs move. Dark legs. Many, many legs. Spiders! They stream from a crack in the wall. Jack jumps back. "No. No. No. No."
Zom and Jack each have a pet. The pets leap. They run. They chase. Yet for each bug they catch, three more creep in. Beetles on the bench. Bugs on the meat. Spiders in the socks. One big creepy pink bug sits in the middle of it all, like it is the boss. Zom and Jack look at each other. "We need Skel."
Skel is back, a big grin on his skull. "So," he says. "Dirt is fine, is it?" Zom looks at his feet. Jack looks at the wall. "I will help," says Skel. "From this day on, we all sweep and scrub. No being lazy. Deal? " Zom gets a mop. Jack gets a cloth. This time, nothing falls.
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