ShortGarden Detectives · Case 35
The Lunch Box Under the Stump
Short U · Level 7
Cumulative short-vowel reading with route reconstruction and final-series review
Before reading
Open the case file
Hear the focus words
Read and investigate
The Lunch Box Under the Stump
Read one sentence at a time, then reread for smooth phrasing.
The team packed lunch in a box with a purple strap. They set it on a bench before checking the garden map. When they returned, the bench was empty. A short purple thread clung to a rough plank.
Below the plank, one corner of the mud had a square dent. From the dent, a smooth track curved down the path. The track passed a pump, crossed a patch of dust, and ended at an old stump. The lunch box rested in a hollow under the stump.
Its strap was still caught around a small wheel from the tool cart. The cart had rolled past the bench on the sloped path. Its wheel snagged the loose strap and pulled the box down. At the muddy patch, the box dropped and left the square dent.
The slope let it slide the rest of the way to the stump. Nothing inside had spilled because the lid was clipped shut. The team shortened the strap and moved the cart brake into place. Then all five detectives shared lunch beside the final solved case.
Check the evidence
Can you solve the case?
Choose the answer that is supported by the story.
What really happened?
A rolling tool cart snagged the loose strap and pulled the lunch box down. It dropped in mud, then slid along the sloped path to the stump.
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.