Shari’s
Great Adventure
Shari the cat likes to
sit silently at Natalia’s desk every night to watch the young
girl do her homework under a shimmering, shining, white light.
Sometimes, Natalia reads stories for her English or Spanish
class. Sometimes, she reads things just for fun, or she
practices her science or math.
One evening, Natalia
read a magical book with tales about all the world’s creatures.
Shari came closer for a better look. She saw many colorful
pictures. Natalia read aloud about animals that swim in the
water, that fly in the sky, that walk on the earth, or that
crawl in the dirt, that come out by day or by night if they’re
shy.
Shari jumped up on the
bed with a dream in her head. She wanted to see all the animals
Natalia had read about in her magical book: cheetahs,
chimpanzees, pythons, and camels. When her eyes closed, she
dreamt she was out in the yard with Chechi, Natalia’s dog.
Together they began their thrilling adventure through the sun,
rain, wind, and fog.
On their way, they met
a guaraguao. Oh, what a wonderful bird! With a shout the bird
agreed to fly the cat and dog throughout the world. Off they
went the three of them, over the island, toward the sea. Shari
and Chechi saw parrots and spiders, iguanas, frogs, and a little
coqui.
In North America, They
saw eagle, buffalo, horses, welves, and bears. In South America
they saw condors, jaguars, manatees, llamas, and boas. In
Africa, they saw elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions, and gnus;
in Oceania, ostriches, emus, koalas, and kangaroos; in Asia,
pandas, orangutans, and Bengal tigers, too; in Europe, sheep,
wild boars, elk, and even a little shew.
In Antarctica, they
flew over the ocean. They saw dolphins, sharks, and whales.
Chechi played with the penguins and seals, while the cold ocean
spray wet his tail.They had to get back to Natalia. They were so
far away from home! With a whistle, the guaraguao carried them
back to where their bright light shone.
Shari woke up with the
shining sun. She purred and remembered her dream. Natalia was
asleep next to Chechi. What an adventure that had been!
Lorna
Milagros Pagán Matos Puerto Rico)
Questions
1. What was
the young girls’ name?
___________________________________________
2. Who was
Shari?
___________________________________________
3. Who had
a dream?
___________________________________________
4. What
happened at the end of the story?
___________________________________________
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