Mary and Tom waved as their uncle pulled into the
driveway of their new house.
Mary and Tom waved as their uncle pulled into the
driveway of their new house.
"How do you like living down here in Georgia?" asked Uncle Jed, climbing out of his pickup truck.
"It’s nice," said Mary. "But it’s different."
"It’s not like being back in Vermont," agreed Tom.
"Why don’t you plant a garden?" suggested Uncle Jed.
"Nothing like a garden to help you get the feel of a new place."
"What should we plant?" asked Mary.
"How about peanuts?" suggested Uncle Jed. "They’re different from anything you can grow in Vermont."
"That’s a great idea," said Tom.
So Tom and Mary staked out a sunny patch in the garden and began to dig. When they had the earth nice and crumbly, they planted five rows of peanuts. They raked the earth smooth and put up a sign that said THE PEANUT PATCH.
They took good care of their garden. They watered it when it was dry and kept it free of weeds and bugs. Then one day bright green shoots poked their way out of the ground. Soon the shoots grew into vines with lots of yellow flowers.
"How are the peanuts coming?" asked Uncle Jed.
"Fine," said Tom. "We’ve seen lots of flowers, and that must mean lots of peanuts."
"But the plants do keep drooping onto the ground," said Mary.
"That’s all right," said her uncle. "They all do that. When you harvest your peanuts I’ll show you how to make a rack to dry them on."
But days went by and there were no peanuts to be seen. All the flowers were gone by now and the leaves were beginning to wilt, but they did not find one peanut. One day Uncle Jed asked if they were ready to build the drying rack."
"There’s no need," said Tom. "We haven’t got any peanuts to dry."
"Are you sure?" said Uncle Jed.
"Come and see for yourself," said Tom. The three of them trooped over to the peanut patch. Mary and Tom showed Uncle Jed the bare vines.
"Well, that’s too bad," said Uncle Jed. But there was a twinkle in his eye, and he seemed more amused than sorry. "I guess the only thing for you to do is dig them up."
When he’d left, Tom picked up the garden fork. "I don’t
see what’s so funny," Tom said crossly. "But we might as well
get rid of these useless things." He uprooted a large peanut
plant and tossed it into the wheelbarrow.
"Hey," said Mary. "Shake the earth off first, or this wheelbarrow will be too heavy to push." She picked up the plant, and then she gasped.
"Tom, look!" exclaimed Mary. "Peanuts! Lots and lots of peanuts."
Tom looked at the plant Mary was holding. Clusters of fat peanuts clung to stems that had grown down from the vines and burrowed beneath the soil.
"You mean peanuts grow under the ground?" cried Tom.
"It sure looks like it," said Mary. They both began to laugh.
"Uncle Jed, Uncle Jed," they cried as they ran into the house. "We found the peanuts."
Uncle Jed grinned. "I told you they were different from anything that grew in Vermont!"
Copyright © 1992 by Highlights for Children, Inc., Columbus, Ohio.
A. learn to grow vegetables.
B. learn something new.
C. make new friends.
D. want to move.
A. a new home in Vermont
B. Uncle Jed’s home in Vermont
C. Uncle Jed’s home in Georgia
D. a new home in Georgia
A. get his garden planted on time.
B. help them get used to their new home.
C. give them time to relax.
D. remind them of Vermont.
A. He thinks no peanuts grew in their garden.
B. He thinks he is being funny.
C. He knows they will find the peanuts.
D. He wants them to start another garden.
| But there was a twinkle in his eye, and he seemed more amused than sorry. |
This sentence tells you that Uncle Jed
A. cannot believe his eyes.
B. thinks peanuts grow above ground.
C. knows what will happen next.
D. is feeling unhappy.
A. Peanuts grow underground.
B. Peanuts begin as yellow flowers.
C. Their plants didn’t grow any peanuts.
D. Their plants looked like peanut plants in Vermont.
| Mary and Tom showed Uncle Jed the bare vines. |
In this sentence, Mary and Tom is
A. the subject of the sentence.
B. the verb in the sentence.
C. an adjective.
D. an adverb.
| He uprooted a large peanut plant and tossed it into the wheelbarrow. |
The word uprooted in this sentence means
A. pushed.
B. pulled out.
C. mowed under.
D. fertilized.
1.
2.
3.
4.