HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HarcOUrT

1507931

9 7 8 0 5 4 7 8 8 9 4 5 0

9 0 0 0 0

1.6.29

HougHton Mifflin

Online Leveled Books

Level: K

DRA: 20

Genre:Realistic Fiction

Strategy:Visualize

Skill:Understanding Characters

Word Count: 372

A Cat Trickby Bo Grayson

illustrated by Nomar Perez

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 Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 South Park Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819.

Printed in the U.S.A.

ISBN: 978-0-547-88945-0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 XXXX 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

4500000000 A B C D E F G

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 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.

by Bo Graysonillustrated by Nomar Perez

A Cat Trick

22

One day, Meg watched a

pet show on TV. People were

teaching their dogs how to do

tricks.

Meg thought that would

be fun. It also would build a

friendship between owners and

their pets.

33

Meg didn’t have a dog,

though. She had a beautiful

cat named Prince. Could Prince

learn a trick?

Meg thought about the tricks

on TV. She didn’t think Prince

would fetch a toy or swim in

a pool.

44

Then Meg remembered one

trick she had seen. Maybe she

could teach Prince how to shake

paws.

Meg ran to find Prince. She

caught her big yellow cat and

picked him up. She took Prince

to see her sister, Lily.

55

“I’m going to teach Prince how

to shake paws. Will you help me,

Lily?” Meg asked.

Lily gave a little smile. “I don’t

think that idea will work, Meg.

Dogs can learn tricks, but I don’t

think you can teach a cat.”

66

“OK, then maybe Lee will help

me,” replied Meg. She went with

Prince to find her brother.

Meg told Lee about her plan.

Lee wasn’t sure that Prince could

be trained, but he agreed to try.

77

Lee sat in front of Prince. Lee

said, “Shake,” and held out his

hand. Prince sat very still. Lee

tried again, but Prince didn’t

move at all.

“I guess you can’t teach a cat

tricks,” said Lee. He went to his

room to listen to music.

88

Lee had only tried for a minute

or two before giving up. Lily had

said it couldn’t be done. But Meg

was sure that Prince could learn

the trick. It would just take lots

of time and practice.

99

Lots of time and practice, and

treats! Meg grabbed a handful of

cat treats. Then she sat on the

floor. She held out one treat in

her hand and let Prince sniff it.

Meg said, “Shake.” Prince

put his paw in Meg’s hand! He

wanted the treat.

1010

Over the next few days, Meg

and Prince practiced until the cat

shook paws every time. When Meg

and Prince showed the trick to the

family, everyone was amazed.

“Lily and I thought it couldn’t

be done,” said Lee. “But you and

Prince proved us wrong. A cat

can learn a trick if he has a

good teacher!”

11

Text to Text Think of another story about a pet. What kind

of pet is it? Does the owner

take good care of the pet?

How can you tell?

Write About It

RespondingTARGET SKILL Understanding

Characters What does Meg say

in the story? Then what does she

do? Make a chart.

HMRGOTmap.eps

1212

TARGET SKILL Understanding

Characters Tell more about

characters.

TARGET STRATEGY Visualize Picture

what is happening as you read.

GENRE Realistic fiction is a story

that could happen in real life.

WORDS TO KNOW

owners practice trainedLEARN MORE WORDS

beautiful

caught

friendship

idea

listen

minute

thought

took

WORDS TO KNOW

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HarcOUrT

1507931

9 7 8 0 5 4 7 8 8 9 4 5 0

9 0 0 0 0

1.6.29

HougHton Mifflin

Online Leveled Books

Level: K

DRA: 20

Genre:Realistic Fiction

Strategy:Visualize

Skill:Understanding Characters

Word Count: 372

A Cat Trickby Bo Grayson

illustrated by Nomar Perez