¹     "Once upon a time, there were three little fishes," Maria's mother read.
 
²     "When is once upon a time?" Maria asked.
 
³     "It can be any time," her mother said. "Long, long ago or not so long ago."
 
⁴     "Okay, you can read now," Maria said.
 
⁵     "Once upon a time, there were three little fishes. They lived in a creek."
 
⁶     "What's a creek?" Maria asked.
 
⁷     "A creek is a very small river," her mother said. "There is a creek behind our garden."
 
⁸     "Are there little fishes in it?"
 
⁹     "Maybe," said her mother. "There used to be some in it."
 
¹⁰     "May I go look?" asked Maria.
 
¹¹     Her mother sighed. "I guess so. You will not be still until you see the creek."
 
¹²     Maria climbed down from her mother's lap. She ran outside to the creek.
 
¹³     She looked for fish. She could not see any.
 
¹⁴     Maria saw two drink cans.

Paragraphs 15 to 34:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable