Strange Happenings with Ava

When Ava awoke, she was panic- stricken. Everything around her was strange. Ava couldn’t remember how she ended up falling asleep under the Willow tree at Cove River. The Willow tree at Cove River was her secret spot where she escaped for privacy, to read, or to write in her journal. She had twin brothers who could really keep her busy and sometimes she just wanted to be alone. The only person who knew about her secret spot was her mom. She had told Ava that all people need some quiet time to themselves at some point. So Ava often visited her secret spot to read, write or just to be alone and enjoy nature. But today she just could not remember how she managed to fall asleep under the Willow tree. She noticed that the houses that once lined the street were now fields of sunflowers and what was once the parking lot down the road was now, strangely, a deserted dirt road. Ava wanted to scream but she stayed calm. She managed to lift herself up off the ground even though she was still feeling a little drowsy. She put her book bag on her back and headed down the dirt road to find her way back home. She blinked as the sun flickered in her eyes and tried to shield its rays away. Her mouth was very dry and she was feeling very thirsty. She tried to walk faster but the harder she tried, the harder it seemed for her to even stand up. She could hear voices, but the road was empty. For a moment Ava thought that she saw what looked like a white shadow moving towards her. "What is that?" she thought to herself. “A ghost? A guardian angel?" She wanted to run and hide among the flowers in the field across the street, but Ava was adventurous and curious - so she moved towards the shadow. And as she did the voices became faint and the shadow disappeared. “Where am I? Where is everyone? Is anyone there?” she called out trying to get the attention of whoever was talking. Even though she didn’t recognize the field of flowers or the dirt road, she headed in the direction that she knew was towards home. In the back of her mind she remembered her mom saying, “Ava when things look dark, always remember home and the love that we have for you. Follow your heart and you will never go wrong.” She smiled and stepped up her pace. One thing was for certain, her surroundings may have changed, but her mother would never leave her in a strange place alone. Ava was determined to get home regardless of the sun that was pounding on her head and the tiredness she felt. “I’m so hot and thirsty,” she mumbled wiping the sweat from her forehead. As she spoke, to her surprise, her body started to cool off. “I’m sooo thirsty,” she repeated to see if the same thing would happen. And once again her body experienced a coolness as though it were following her commands. Ava was amazed! It was like magic. “Hey, this is great,” she thought to herself, feeling better about her condition. She heard a sound and focused on the voices. “I think she hears us,” someone said. The voice was so familiar but Ava couldn’t remember who it was. “Who are you?” Ava heard herself say. “Where are you?” Ava turned towards the field where it sounded like the voice was coming from. She was sure that the voice belonged to someone that she knew and was hoping that whoever it was would come and help her find her way home. Ava ran towards the field as the white shadow flashed before her again. Then, slightly startled, she stopped in her tracks and focused harder. The shadow began to form into the shape of a woman. Ava didn’t believe in ghosts, but she was getting a little nervous. The woman was smiling warmly though and seemed to be reaching out to her. “Oh my goodness,” Ava said. “Are you an angel?” The woman laughed and disappeared. “Why are you laughing? Who are you? Come back, please!” Ava felt like she was shouting but her voice didn’t sound very loud at all. The woman appeared again and moved closer to Ava. “Ava? Ava. Open your eyes honey, its me.” A soothing familiar voice was talking but it wasn’t coming from the woman in white. “Open my eyes? My eyes are open,” she said, confused and looking around to put a face with the voice. “No honey, open your eyes,” the woman in white said in a soft calm voice. “Its okay honey, everything is fine. Everything went wonderfully,” the other voice said. Ava squeezed her eyes shut really tight. Then she opened them, blinked really hard and then opened them even wider. And to her delight she saw the source of the voices. Where was Ava, what was she doing there, and what were all of the things that she saw? What do you think?

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Coloring Book Print and color pictures from the story 'Bully Badger.' * Ava1 * Ava2 * Ava3

Puzzles Print and solve three levels of word search puzzles. * Not-Too-Big Word Search * Pretty Big Word Search * Humongous Word Search

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