ShortGarden Detectives · Case 29
The String by the Fig
Short I · Level 7
Cumulative Short I reading with tension, direction, and tested evidence
Before reading
Open the case file
Hear the focus words
Read and investigate
The String by the Fig
Read one sentence at a time, then reread for smooth phrasing.
A thin string appeared each morning beside the fig pot. Pip picked it up, but another length appeared the next day. The string was clean at one end and dusty at the other. A tiny twist in it matched the clips used on the shade cloth.
Pip inspected the cloth above the vegetable patch. One edge sagged, though every clip was still there. A long loose end had slipped through a clip. In the evening wind, the end whipped against a rough stick.
Each pass rubbed off a short bit of string. The bits fell beside the fig pot below. Pip tied a bright ribbon to the loose end for a test. When the wind rose, the ribbon traced the same path to the stick.
He retied the shade cloth and covered the rough tip. No new string appeared by the fig.
Check the evidence
Can you solve the case?
Choose the answer that is supported by the story.
What really happened?
Wind whipped a loose shade-cloth string against a rough stick, rubbing off short pieces that fell beside the fig pot.
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.