READING STORIES

The Parrot with Attitude On her 10th birthday, Mia got a parrot as a gift. After a few months the parrot became very rude and mean. Every word out of the parrot's mouth was nasty. Mia tried and tried to change the bird's attitude. She only spoke polite words. She played soft music and did anything she could think of to improve the bird's behavior.

The parrot calmly stepped out, flew to its perch, and in a quiet polite voice said, "I believe I may have bothered you with my rude language and actions. I'm very sorry and I promise to behave properly from now on." Mia was stunned. "What brought on this change?" she asked the parrot. "When I saw that turkey in the freezer, I got scared. It must have had a really bad attitude!"

Nothing worked. When Mia yelled at the parrot, the parrot yelled back. Mia was really fed up. She shook the parrot's perch and the parrot only became worse. Finally, Mia totally lost it. Screaming, "Chill!" she grabbed the bird, and threw it in the freezer! The parrot squawked and screamed, then suddenly stopped. Fearing that she hurt the parrot, Mia opened the freezer.

Grandpa, Can You Come Out and Play? Archie and Ramona are very lucky. Their grandfather David lives with them. He's always ready to play games and read them stories. For the last few days Grandpa David has been staying away from Archie and Ramona. He leaves the room when they're around. He says, "I'm busy," when they ask him to play.

Finally, Archie and Ramona's father, Leo, asks Grandpa, "Hey Dad, what's the problem? You usually love to play with the kids." Grandpa David pulls out a small piece of paper from his pocket. It's a prescription for some pills that his doctor gave him. He gives it to his son and says, "Read this. That's why I can't play with the kids." Leo looks at the prescription and reads it. "Take 2 pills a day. KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN."

Charlie and the Frog Charlie was walking home from school one day and saw a frog on the road. The frog hopped over to Charlie and started to speak. "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess," said the frog.

Charlie picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. "Please kiss me," said the frog. "I'll love you forever!" Charlie just looked at the frog and smiled. The frog yelled, "If you kiss me and turn me into a princess, I'll clean your room, cook for you, do your homework, and love you forever!"

Charlie smiled at the frog, and put it back into his pocket. "What is wrong with you?" shouted the frog. "I've told you that I'm a beautiful princess and will love you forever. Why won't you kiss me?" "I'm just a 10 year old school boy," said Charlie. "I don't need a princess, but a talking frog is really cool!"

MOUSE CAT AND DOG A mother mouse and a baby mouse are walking along a garden path. Suddenly, a cat jumps out from behind a bush and starts to attack them. Very loudly, the mother mouse screams, "WOOF!" The cat runs away. "See?" says the mother mouse to the baby. "Now you understand why it's so important for you to learn a foreign language!"