ShortGarden Detectives · Case 11
The Fox and the Lost Box
Short O · Level 2
Short O with blends, digraphs, and final x
Before reading
Open the case file
Hear the focus words
Read and investigate
The Fox and the Lost Box
Natural read-along narration · AmeliaPress Read with Amelia, or choose a sentence to begin.
A small fox came to the garden with an empty spot on his cart. “My box is lost,” he said. Dot found a patch of moss on the cart. A second patch of moss sat on a rock by the pond.
The team followed the moss past a log and a clump of tall grass. They found a box-shaped spot pressed into the grass, but no box. Dot looked down the slope. At the bottom was the box, caught against a soft mound of moss.
The cart had hit a rock, and the box had hopped off. It slid down the slope without breaking. The fox put the box back and tied it with a cord. Dot marked the moss trail on the case log.
Check the evidence
Can you solve the case?
Choose the answer that is supported by the story.
What really happened?
A bump knocked the box off the cart. Fallen moss made a trail to where it landed safely.
For adults
Use evidence, not guesses
Ask the learner to point to the sentence that proves each answer. If decoding is effortful, reread one paragraph at a time. A fluent second reading is more valuable than rushing to the next story.