Question 1 of 16 · Reading
Vocabulary in context · Curriculum connections: 3.3B
The Small Envelope — original fiction
Original classroom material; people, sources and data are fictional.
Lena had filled three bright bags with sunflower seeds for the class seed swap. Her cousin Bo brought a tiny brown envelope. Lena moved it behind her bags. She thought no one would choose such a plain package. Bo said nothing, but he kept looking at the envelope.
When the swap began, a girl named Ana asked for seeds that would fit her small porch pot. Lena offered sunflowers. “These grow taller than I am,” Bo said. He opened his envelope and showed Ana little lettuce seeds. On the back, he had drawn a pot and written how much water to give it. Ana carefully read the note. “I’ll take the lettuce,” she said.
Lena was puzzled. The plain envelope seemed useful, even though it was not pretty. She asked Bo to help her label the sunflower bags with the plants’ height. At the end of the swap, she put his envelope beside her bags. “A package should help a gardener choose,” she said.