Will Elephant Ever Get Out? Jolly Phonics · Step 3, Unit 11: /er/ mixed
Practice Words
The Elephant sits in the little red cart and will not get out. 'Push harder!' Elephant says, and blows soft shapes up high. Easy for an Elephant to say. Sam leans in with both hands and pushes hard. One big Elephant, and it will not shift one bit. This will be a very long day.
Sam needs a rest. In the yard, a red hen pecks in the dirt. 'Look here!' calls a farmer. 'Two eggs, right by the hen!' Two eggs in the dirt. Sam holds up two fingers and grins. 'One Elephant, two eggs. Hey! I can count!'
Inside, a tall fan spins its three blades like it wants to fly. Sam grabs the wand. One big puff and whoosh! Soap orbs spin and swirl and sail across the room. 'Three blades and lots of soap orbs!' Sam yells. What would four look like?
Sam hops into the little car. Four wheels, a face on the front, and pinwheels that twirl on top. 'This is no horse!' Sam yells as the car zooms in the snow. 'A car has no legs, just fast wheels!' Four fast wheels and no wish to slow down. Five must be close now.
A red star balloon. Five fine points. The basket lifts off the ground, and up Sam goes. Past the roofs. Past the birds. All the way up to the moon, big and bright. 'Five,' Sam whispers, and reaches out one hand. All the land looks so small up here.
First, one Elephant, still stuck in its cart. Two eggs. Three fan blades. Four fast wheels. Five points on a star. Five is good. But five and five more make ten. And the next five? Oh, the next five will be a blast!
A huge ant! Six legs, thick as branches, stomp on the rocky ground. Sam hops up and grips it tight. The ant marches on like it owns all the land, and Sam's mouth gapes wide. 'Six legs! This is the best ride ever!' The ant says not a word. Ants do not speak much.
'It is my birthday!' Sam calls. 'The seventh! The best day of all!' Sam's pal is there, a red balloon in one hand, a green balloon in the other. Both peer up at the big date chart on the wall. Today is ringed in red. 'My birthday is eight days after this,' the pal groans. 'Eight days. That is forever!'
The web is made of string as thick as rope. Right at the top sits the biggest spider Sam has ever seen. Eight big legs! Sam's arms fly wide. 'Wow! What a grand spider!' The spider stirs one leg. Then more. Then all eight at once. Is it... doing a jig?
A big bird stands on the old brick wall like a king on a throne. 'Look at that bird!' Sam gasps. Red, gold, green, blue, copper, and more. Nine tints, and a shine with no name yet. Nine tints. You would need nine pencils to start, and still miss the shine.
Sam holds up one hand. Five fingers, wide. Then the other hand, and five more. 'Six, seven, eight, nine, ten!' Sam counts each finger in turn. Both hands high, all ten fingers wide. The biggest number of all, right at the end of Sam's own two arms all this time.
Six ant legs. Seven on the date chart. Eight spider legs. Nine bright tints. Ten fingers. Every number, one to ten. What a ride. What a count. What a day! But hold on. Back at the very start, one big Elephant still sits in one little red cart. Sam grins. 'Right then. Back to one. And this time, push harder!'
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