Teach-Reading-and-Writing-Issue-21

U ncle Fred woke with a start. He rubbed his eyes, sat up and listened. The rain still poured down, less so than earlier perhaps. It was dark outside, but he knew that something had woken him. He could hear Aunt Millie pulling on her night robe, shuffling downstairs and muttering to herself.What was she up to, he wondered with a sigh.What had woken them?Most likely that darned fox, he thought, as he tugged on his coat and followed her downstairs. He could see someone on the porch. A bedraggled figure. Soaked to the skin, he was. Uncle Fred tugged his trousers over his pyjamas, stared at the figure, “Who is it?” Inside, he already knew. It was Tom, talking about letting the baby fox go. T E ACH I NG T E CHN I QUE S © Pie Corbett 2024 Uncle Fred looked into Tom’s eyes and he could see a strange mixture of unease and guilt. In that moment, everything fitted into place and Fred, he knew. Of course, he thought –why hadn’t he seen the clues? So, the boy had found his way out late at night and let the baby fox go. Tomhad released the cub because he couldn’t bear the thought of a wild creature trapped in a cage, let alone being killed. Once, many years before, Fred had hand-reared a cub that his father had snared in a trap, so he knew. “I never like to see wild things in a pen,” he told Tom. Maybe it was right, that the cub should go free. And hopefully, that would be the end of it. The fox would not return. Foxes learned fast. “Once, many years before, Fred had hand-reared a cub that his father had snared in a trap, so he knew” MODEL TEXT 2 www.teachwire.net | 43