Third Grade
Worksheets
Gilbert's Big Adventure
"Oh, Gertrude, I'm glad I found you," said Gilbert as he waddled up to Gertrude's side. "I'm almost ready to go. I've been practicing all week. I've studied all my maps, and I am sure I'm ready."
"Ready for what?" said Gertrude as she preened her feathers with her strong beak.
Gertrude was a grown-up black and white muscovy duck.
Gilbert, on the other hand, was a young white duck. He was very self-assured. Even though some of the other ducks made fun of him from time to time, it never bothered him.
"Gertrude, surely you remember me telling you about my great adventure. Today is the day. I am going to fly over the fence and explore the world," said Gilbert as he stretched his wings to their full width and gave them a strong flap.
Gertrude coughed. "Stop that, Gilbert. You are raising quite a dust."
"Yes, isn't that impressive? I'm really quite strong, don't you think?
"Why do you want to leave the pen, Gilbert? You have everything you need right here. The farmer feeds us plenty of grain. The pools are full of water. We have grass to eat. What else could you want?"
"I hear that there are places where the ponds are so big that you can't see all the way across, and you never have to wait your turn to splash in the water," said Gilbert. "I hear that there are all kinds of new things to eat, too. You can have fish or frogs or a bunch of other things that I don't even know about."
