Mara's family lived next door to a very grumpy old lady named Mrs. Olson. Mrs. Olson was always yelling at Mara's family for making too much noise, or leaving toys in the driveway, or letting their grass grow too long.

One day, Mara was playing in the front yard when Mrs. Olson dropped a whole bag of groceries on her porch. Mara rushed to help. Despite Mrs. Olson's objections, Mara helped her to bring the groceries inside and to clean up the broken jar of applesauce.

The next day, Mrs. Olson called Mara over to her house. At first, Mara was a little scared. But Mrs. Olson just wanted her to help get some boxes down from the attic. After that, Mara started helping Mrs. Olson around the house a few times a week. Sometimes, Mrs. Olson would offer her tea and the two of them would sit at Mrs. Olson's big kitchen table and drink their tea and chat.

The years passed and Mara grew up and went to college, but whenever she came home, she always made sure to visit Mrs. Olson. One day, Mara got a letter from a lawyer.

Mrs. Olson had died in her sleep. Mara was sad, but also surprised. The letter said that Mrs. Olson had thousands of dollars in the bank and she left it all to Mara.

Cassie was having a great time at summer camp. Her counselor was really nice and she had made friends with all of the girls in her cabin.

One day, a package arrived for Cassie. All the girls in her cabin watched as she opened it. It was a box of homemade chocolate chip cookies. Cassie's mother made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world! Cassie took one out of the box and was just about to take a bite when one of the other girls asked if she could have a cookie. Then all the girls were asking. Cassie counted the cookies in the box. There were exactly twelve of them. There were ten girls in the cabin. If she gave a cookie to each girl, there would only be two left for herself. Cassie knew that if she shared with one girl, she would have to share with everyone, so she decided not to share at all.

Cassie got to eat all of the cookies herself, but from

then on the other girls hardly talked to her at all and no one wanted to be her friend anymore.

Kevin wasn't worried about his book report. He had

three whole weeks to get it done. There was no reason to get started right away, especially when he had just gotten a new video game!

The next day, Kevin thought about going to the library to pick out a book for his report, but decided to play with his friends instead. He could go to the library on the weekend. The weekend came and instead of going to the library, Kevin spent the whole weekend at his cousin's farm. He didn't go to the library the next week either; there was always something fun to do instead.

Two weeks passed and Kevin still hadn't picked out a book. By the time he finally got to the library, there was not enough time to read the book and write the report. Kevin tried to write the report without reading the whole book, but

it did not go very well. Kevin failed the assignment.

Sarah didn't play with the new girl in her class, Laila,

at recess. No one did. Laila had come to their school after

winter break. She wore strange clothes and she spoke with an accent.

Then one day, the teacher put Sarah and the Laila together as partners on a class project. At first Sarah was nervous about working with someone so different, but then they began to talk. She found out that Laila had a little brother just like she did. Not only that, they both loved to draw and they both collected sea shells.

Sarah invited Laila over after school to work on the project and see her shell collection. The girls worked well together and before she left, Sarah gave Laila one of her best shells to take home for her collection.

The next day, Laila invited Sarah over dinner. The food was really different than what Sarah was used to, but it was also really good. Laila's parents were nice too.

The girls got an A on their project, but even better,

they became good friends.

Mr. Jones decided to take his family camping. It was a beautiful weekend and the family was excited about the trip. So he packed up the car and away they went.

At first they had trouble finding an empty campsite. Most of the other campers had made reservations ahead of time. When they finally found one, Dad asked the kids, Tim and Katie, to pitch the tent. It wasn't long before Tim reported that he could not find the tent stakes. Sure enough, they were nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, mom was trying to light the portable stove, but Dad had forgotten the matches. Not only that, they did not have a can opener to open the can of spaghetti sauce they had brought for dinner or a pot big enough to cook the noodles. Then Katie discovered that they had forgotten to bring the sleeping bags!

It soon became clear that camping was not going to happen.

Grumpily, Dad packed everything back into the car and they drove back to the city. They picked up a pizza on the way home and everyone slept in their own beds that night.

Benny and Danny were twins. Each week, they each

got five dollars in allowance. Benny always spent all of his allowance on candy and small toys. Every so often, Danny bought some candy, but he saved most of his money in a piggy bank that he kept on his nightstand by his bed. Sometimes, Danny did extra chores around the house to earn more money. He always put his earnings into his bank.

The months passed and soon school was out for summer. One day, Danny asked his parents to take him to the bike store. He had saved enough money for a new bike! Danny picked out a red bike with blue handlebars. His parents were so impressed with how much he had saved that they bought him a helmet and a bike lock.

Danny spent the summer riding his new bike around

the neighborhood with his friends. Since he did not

have a bike, Benny spent most of his summer alone

at home.

Lucy never put anything away. When she made her

breakfast in the morning, she left the cereal and the milk out on the counter, and she left her dirty bowl on the table.

When she got home from school, she tossed her coat and her backpack on the floor where her mother often tripped on them when she came in from work.

One day, Lucy and her friend Amelia decided to color pictures outside under the big oak tree. Lucy had just gotten a brand new box of 108 crayons and she wanted to try them out. They sat under the tree, happily coloring until it was time for Amelia to go home. "Want me to help clean up?" Amelia asked before she left.

"Nah, I'll do it later," Lucy replied as she headed inside to watch TV. Lucy watched three shows and forgot about the crayons. The next day, when Lucy went outside to play, she found that the sun had melted her new crayons

into a big, goopy mess.

One day Michael's new friend, Brice, invited him over for dinner. Brice's family had a lot of money and Michael was amazed at how big their house was. His family's whole apartment would probably fit in Brice's living room!

Michael's amazement turned to envy when he saw Brice's bedroom. Brice had his own computer, a big screen TV, and about every video game that was ever made! Michael had to share his tiny room with his brother and all they had was a shelf full of books.

When it was time for dinner, the boys went down to the dining room and sat at a long, fancy table. No one else came to sit with them. A woman served them their dinner and cleaned up after they were done.

"Is that your mom?" Michael asked.

"No, that's Ana, our maid." Brice replied. "My parents always work late. I almost never see them before I go to bed."

Brice thought about how his own family always ate dinner together. He thought about how his dad helped him with his homework and how his mom always came in to say goodnight to him at bedtime. Suddenly, he didn't feel so envious of Brice anymore.

Ethan had never learned to swim. He hadn't really

needed to in the city where he had lived. But then his family moved to a new town. The town was on a lake and it soon became clear that everyone hung out down by the lake all summer long.

Ethan's family had moved in the spring and Ethan had made some great new friends at the end of the school year. But now he had a big problem. Everyone just assumed he could swim and he was too embarrassed to set them straight. So far, no one had really noticed that he never went into the water.

Then one day his friends decided they wanted to sit on the dock instead of on the beach. Ethan knew it would look strange if he did not come along, so he followed them out onto the dock. When they got past the shallow part of the lake, the boys started to horse around, and pretty soon they were pushing each other into the water. Suddenly, Ethan felt hands on his back. He lost his balance and plunged into the cold water. Down, down he sunk. Fortunately, the lifeguard was paying attention and was able to save Ethan from drowning.

Sam had wanted to be a writer for as long as he could remember. He was always writing stories. In fifth grade his school had a short story contest. Sam worked on his entry for weeks. When he won first prize, which came with a check for $100, his classmates kept saying how lucky he was.

Sam continued to write through middle school. In high school he took every English and writing class that he could. He even took a special writing class over the summer. Sam applied for three writing scholarships for college and got two of them! His brother, who had not applied for any scholarships, said that he was really lucky.

Sam worked hard in college. He became the editor of the college newspaper and started posting his stories on the internet. Toward the end of his senior year, one of his writing instructors told his class about well-known magazine that was looking to hire a junior writer.

Hundreds of students applied for the job, including Sam. Sam worked for hours on his application letter. When he was selected for an interview, he spent days getting ready.

Sam impressed the editors and got the job. "Man, how did you get so lucky?" asked one of his classmates.

"Luck has nothing to do with it." replied Sam.

Cody had not studied for the big math test. When he got his test, he quickly realized that he had no idea how to solve the problems. Luckily, Cody sat right behind Emily.

Emily was the best math student in the class and he could see her paper. Cody copied all of Emily's answers.

The next day when Mrs. Jenkins passed back the graded tests, she told that class that only two students had gotten A's. Since these two students had done so well, she would have them explain some of the more challenging problems to the class.

Emily was first. Mrs. Jenkins wrote a problem on the board. Emily solved it easily and explained each step to the class. Then it was Cody's turn. Again, Mrs. Jenkins wrote a problem on the board. Of course, Cody did not know how to solve the problem. A long moment passed as Cody stood in front of the board trying to figure out what to do. Some of his classmates started to whisper and snicker.

"Can you solve this problem?" Mrs. Jenkins finally asked. Humiliated, Cody just shook his head. Now everyone knew he had cheated and he was in big trouble.

Maria had never been so bored in all her life. Staying at her cousin Carina’s house in the country was not her idea of a good time. She missed the big city with its shopping malls, movie theaters, and restaurants.

“Nothing ever happens here,” Maria complained. “You can’t even get cell phone service!”

Carina smiled. “Life in the country can be exciting, I promise,” she said.

The two girls took a walk through the forest next to Carina’s house. They stopped beside a rushing stream where a beaver was building a dam.

Maria was impressed. “The only dams I’ve seen are the man-made ones,” she said.

A second later, Maria turned at the sound of branches cracking. No more than ten feet away was a bear cub.

Maria screamed. The bear cub turned and fled.

Maria was trembling with fear, but when she turned to look at her cousin, Carina started laughing hysterically. “You should have seen your face!” Carina said.

“Very funny,” Maria said smiling. “I guess maybe it’s a little too exciting out here for me!”

Marcy wanted to ride the Jet Ski, but her father insisted on taking the canoe instead. "It's a more peaceful way to travel," he said.

There was no breeze, and the surface of the lake was so calm it looked like a mirror of the sky. Marcy noticed how their canoe skimmed the surface, almost like they were floating above the water.

After fifteen minutes of paddling, the rough wood of the paddle handle started to give her a blister on her thumb. Fortunately, her father was prepared. He had a bandage in his pocket. Marcy accepted it from him gratefully and unwrapped it. Without thinking, she dropped the paper packaging into the lake.

"Marcy!" her father scolded. "What have I always told you? You should leave nature cleaner than it was when you arrived."

He fished the package from the lake with the end of his paddle. As he did this, Marcy noticed a water bug using its thin legs to move itself across the water. The bug was so lightweight that it left no mark on the water. Watching the bug, she realized why her father preferred the canoe to the Jet Ski.

Rabbit’s Big Dinner

Characters

BEAVER

RABBIT

OTHER ANIMALS

[Inside an underground rabbit hole, the places at the dining table are set for a large party. Rabbit sits alone, crying. There is a knock on the door and Beaver enters. He is holding something behind his back, just out of view.]

BEAVER: Rabbit? Are you all right?

RABBIT: (drying his eyes) No! The big dinner is off. My entire family cannot come due to the bad weather.

BEAVER: Well, I warned you not to plan a dinner in the dead of winter, didn’t I? Perhaps I can stay and keep you company?

RABBIT: I’m afraid I would rather be alone. Oh, I miss my family terribly! My mother was going to bring her famous apple pie!

BEAVER: (revealing the bottle that was concealed behind his back) Perhaps this apple cider will cheer you up?

RABBIT: Gee, Beaver. That is awfully kind . . .

BEAVER: What are friends for?

RABBIT: I suppose I will have to reschedule my dinner for spring.

BEAVER: (uncorking the apple cider) Not so fast! Wait until you see what’s outside!

[Suddenly, Rabbit’s door bursts open and all the animals of the forest enter with steaming plates of food and beverages.]

RABBIT: My goodness!

BEAVER: Don’t look so surprised! Didn’t you know you could count on your friends?

[Curtain.]