HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

1388054

3.5.24

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: N

DRA: 34

Genre:Fiction

Strategy:Question

Skill:Author’s Purpose

Word Count: 1,038

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by Katrina Van Hornillustrated by Stacey Schuett

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

Printed in China

ISBN-10: 0-547-25382-6ISBN-13: 978-0-547-25382-4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.

Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

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Once upon a time, a wolf lived alone on the top of a mountain. The other wolves in its pack had been hunted or driven away by the people of the village below. But this last wolf stayed. Whenever it heard people’s voices on the mountainside, the wolf hid deep in a cave.

But the villagers knew a wolf still lived on the mountain. Once a month, when the moon was full, the wolf came out of its cave and howled. It couldn’t help howling. It was a wolf, after all.

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And when it howled, the wolf howled long and loud. The howls rippled through the tree branches and twisted through the rocky pathways. The howls carried down, down into the town and into the ears of the townspeople lying in their beds. As the children slept peacefully, their parents lay awake, afraid. They were sure the wolf was an angry and vengeful creature, ready to do all of them harm.

And why wouldn’t it be, after the people had hunted all its companions and left it alone on the mountaintop?

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But the people felt no pity for the wolf. They feared it too much to understand it.

One night there was a meeting in the village square. “We must get that wild beast off our mountain!” one man cried.

“Yes, it is sure to attack our children!” said a woman.

“Its howl is the most evil sound I’ve ever heard,” said another.

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Then a young girl stood up. “It howls like a wolf because it is just a wolf,” she said simply. “We should leave it in peace.”

The villagers stared at the girl. “That’s ridiculous!” they whispered loudly.

The mayor stood. “It is agreed, then,” he said. “We must remove that wolf from the mountain.”

“You mean kill it?” asked the girl. Her voice trembled. “No! It’s not right! I—”

But the mayor said, “Tomorrow we will send hunters up the mountain to find the wolf. Then we can sleep in peace.”

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That night, the girl could not rest. She thought of the wolf on the mountain. She thought of the wolf’s howl. To her ears, it was not scary at all, but sad and powerful. She felt in her heart that the wolf was a creature to be protected, not feared. Not silenced.

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The girl got up and dressed. She left the warmth of her home and began to climb the rocky path to the mountaintop. It was a steep and dangerous route, but the girl never thought of turning back. She climbed like a mountain goat, guided on her way only by the pale light of the full moon that was just slightly peering out from behind the clouds in the evening sky.

Finally she reached the mountaintop. She let out a low call to let the wolf know of her arrival.

“A-roooo!” she cried quietly. “I am here as your friend.”

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Suddenly the girl spotted the wolf.Its eyes glowed red like lava in the darkness.

Yet the girl was not afraid.“Come, wolf, I will take you away from here to

a safer place,” she said.

9

Something in the girl’s voice calmed the wolf. It trusted her. It knew of no reason to trust her, and yet it did. The girl knew of no reason to trust the wolf, and yet she did. She turned and started back down the mountain, beckoning it to follow.

The wolf hesitated for a moment, then began to follow her.

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The moonlight grew stronger and brighter now as the sky cleared of clouds. It lit the path clearly before them. The girl led the wolf down, down, following the moon’s glow. She was shocked that the wolf remained so silent in the moonlight. At the bottom of the mountain, the moonlight shone on a narrow dirt road. She followed the road, and the wolf followed behind her.

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The road led to the bay where the girl’s father kept his small wooden boat. The boat was sitting on the shore. Its oars were gleaming in the moonlight, as if it had just raised its anchor and rowed itself to the water’s edge.

The girl pushed the boat into the water and stepped aboard. The wolf stood on the shore, watching.

“Come, wolf, it’s all right. This boat will take you to a safe place,” said the girl. She felt sure this was true. And when she said so, the wolf felt sure, too. It stepped into the boat and sat quietly as the girl began to row.

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The moon was getting higher in the sky now. It beamed a path across the bay, and the girl followed it. She dipped the oars in the calm water, and the boat glided along silently.

The moon seem to shine larger and brighter. The wolf sat silent and still, watching and waiting. Suddenly the wolf’s ears pricked up. A soft sound carried across the bay. The girl could hear it, too. She rowed toward it. When they reached the source of this sound, they would reach the end of their voyage. The girl knew this in her heart. The wolf knew it, too.

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The girl and the wolf saw land ahead. The moon now shone down as bright as the sun. The boat slid onto the shore. The sound was strong and powerful. The girl and the wolf knew where it came from. They leaped out of the boat and followed a path into the woods.

With each step, the girl and the wolf came closer to the source of the sound.

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The path stopped at the edge of a valley. The girl and the wolf looked down. Below them were wolves, too many wolves to count. They sat in a circle, noses pointing toward the sky, howling up at the moon. The sound was powerful and beautiful, like a song. It was not a lonely sound, but a wonderful, joyful one.

The girl and the wolf looked at each other. Then the wolf darted down the hillside and into the valley. It joined the circle of wolves and began to howl.

The girl smiled. Then she turned back down the path. It was time to go home.

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Responding TARGET SKILL Author’s Purpose The

author of The Girl and the Wolf wrote the story to entertain readers. That was her purpose. Copy the chart below. Then write three details about the story that tell you it is fiction and is meant to entertain.

Text to Self Imagine that you could talk to the girl in the story after she leaves the wolf. Write a story that tells what you would talk about. Use vivid details to describe how you meet and how you and the girl feel about the wolf.

Write About It

Detail?

Detail?

Detail?

Purpose The story is meant to entertain.

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aboardanchorarrivalbayguided

lavarippledspottedtwistedvoyage

TARGET VOCABULARY

TARGET SKILL Author’s Purpose Use text details to tell why an author writes a book.

TARGET STRATEGY Question Ask questions before you read, while you read, and after you read.

GENRE Realistic fiction is a story with events that could happen in real life.

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HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

1388054

3.5.24

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: N

DRA: 34

Genre:Fiction

Strategy:Question

Skill:Author’s Purpose

Word Count: 1,038

3_253824_OL_LRSE_CVR_L24_Wolf.indd 1 2/15/10 7:44:49 PM