Level: O
DRA: 38
Genre:
Realistic Fiction
Strategy:
Infer/Predict
Skill:
Conclusions
Word Count: 1,095
The Great
Storyteller
by Rubí Borgia
illutrated by Roberta Collier-Morales
3.2.8
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Online Leveled Books
1388033
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN H ARCO URT
The Great
Storyteller
by Rubí Borgia
Illustrated by Roberta Collier-Morales
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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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: 0-547-25359-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-25359-6
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Chapter 1
Anita and Chispita
“This afternoon, a special woman is going to
come tell you a story, Anita. Her name is Doña
María,” said the nurse with a smile.
Anita looked at the nurse, but she did not
speak. She didn’t want to meet anyone. She
didn’t want to listen to stories. Her leg was better.
Soon she would be going home to be with her
parents. But she would not be with her little dog
Chispita. Anita was ashamed, but she couldn’t
stop crying about her dog.
2
The car accident had been a serious one. But
they had been lucky. Her mother was fine and
Anita’s leg was not hurt badly. But her little dog,
Chispita, had been killed. Anita was so sad. She
loved Chispita very much. She loved to spend her
days playing with her sweet dog.
The nurse had told Anita’s mother about Doña
María. She was a schoolteacher. She had spent
her life helping children. Anita’s mother hoped
she could help her child, too.
3
Doña María read books to children. She told
stories, too. Because she was ill, the old woman
now stayed in the hospital. She loved to visit
children there and cheer them up with her stories.
That afternoon, Doña María arrived in her
wheelchair at Anita’s room.
“Hello, Anita. I am Doña María. They call
me the Storyteller,” said the old woman. She
placed her hand on top of the child’s small hand.
“Although I would like to be called the Great
Storyteller,” she said with a smile.
Anita looked at the old woman’s face and
squeezed her hand. She said softly, “Hello, Great
Storyteller.”
4
The old woman and the young girl spent the
rest of the day together. They talked and told
stories. Then Anita told her new friend about the
death of Chispita.
“I will never see her again,” said the young
girl sadly.
“Here’s some advice from an old woman. The
love you had for each other will stay with you
always. That love is a part of you now.”
5
At that moment, a nurse came into the room.
She said, “I need to borrow your friend now.”
“I will visit you soon,” called Anita to Doña
María, as the nurse pushed her away in her
wheelchair. “They can’t separate us for long!”
6
Chapter 2 A New Day
The next day, Anita was in a good mood.
Outside, the leaves were beginning to fall from the
trees. There were fewer birds flying around. Soon
it would be winter.
In the afternoon, Anita headed down to Doña
María’s room. Inside, she saw the old woman in
her bed. She was looking very pale.
Anita said, “Doña María, it’s me, Anita.”
The old woman lifted her head and said,
“Come here and sit by my side. I want to show
you something.” Then she pointed to a large tree
outside her window. The tree was on a small
patch of land. Bushes had been planted around
its borders.
7
“ Do you see that tree?” the old woman said.
“It was full of leaves and birds. But now, fall is
almost gone. On farms, the fall harvest is over.
And here, one by one, the leaves and the birds
have disappeared from the tree. When the last
bird flies away, I too will disappear.”
Then the old woman said, “Well, my child,
what should we do today? Shall we tell more
stories?”
“Yes. Tell me lots of stories,” Anita said.
So the old woman and the young girl spent
the day together. They were becoming such good
friends!
8
Soon, Anita went home and back to school.
But every Saturday, her mother took her to visit
Doña María. Anita could see that the old woman
was getting weaker each week.
During each visit, the young girl looked at the
birds on the tree outside the window. Little by
little, the birds were disappearing.
9
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One afternoon, Anita arrived for her visit. But
the old woman was too tired to speak to her. The
nurse asked Anita to come back the next day.
Anita could see the tree outside the window
of the old woman’s room. There was only one
bird left on the branch. It was getting ready to fly
away. Anita must do something right away!
10
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Chapter 3 The Love Birds
Anita ran down to the hospital’s play room.
She looked for crayons, paints, scissors, and glue.
Many hours later, her mother found her there.
Anita was hard at work.
That night, outside Doña María’s window, the
tree branch was full of many beautiful birds.
11
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The next morning, Anita was at her side when
Doña María opened her eyes.
“Look outside, Doña María!” Anita said.
She pointed to the tree and the beautiful little
birds on it.
“How beautiful you are!” the old woman said
to the young girl. “And how I love you! It is too
bad that I will not see you grow up. You will be a
special woman.”
“ But look at all the birds!” Anita said. “You
can live for many more years now!”
12
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Doña María looked at Anita and smiled. She
said, “My child, I will live in your heart. I will be
like those little birds that go away in the winter.
They come back again in the spring. Do you
know what I mean, Anita?”
At first, Anita did not speak. Then she leaned
over the old woman and gave her a big kiss.
Anita said, “Yes, Storyteller, you will always
be with me. Just like Chispita is always with me.”
13
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“Now I will tell you a story. This story is
about a woman. She liked to tell stories to good
little children. They called her...”
“The Great Storyteller!” yelled Anita.
The young girl and old woman smiled at each
other. Then they looked at the tree outside the
window. The beautiful paper birds were never
going to fly away.
14
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Responding
Conclusions What does
Anita learn from her friendship with Doña
María? Copy the chart below. In each box,
list details that help you figure out what
Anita learned. Then write your conclusion
at the bottom.
TARGET SKILL
Detail
friendship
makes you
feel better
Detail
?
Detail
?
Conclusion
?
Write About It
Text to Text Have you read another book
about a friendship between two people of
different ages? Write a paragraph. Use
details and exact words to describe the
friendship in that story.
15
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TARGET VOCABULARY
advice
ashamed
borders
borrow
harvest
patch
separate
serious
Conclusions Use details to
figure out ideas that the author doesn’t state.
TARGET SKILL
Infer/Predict Use clues to
figure out more about the selection.
TARGET STRATEGY
GENRE Realistic fiction is a story with events
that could happen in real life.
16
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Level: O
DRA: 38
Genre:
Realistic Fiction
Strategy:
Infer/Predict
Skill:
Conclusions
Word Count: 1,095
The Great
Storyteller
by Rubí Borgia
illutrated by Roberta Collier-Morales
3.2.8
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Online Leveled Books
1388033
H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN H ARCO URT