1. It was a great game. The score was so close. Rex's team was losing by one.

The team needed to score in order to at least tie. Rex was next at bat. There were two outs already. Rex was the best on the team. The pitcher threw the ball. "Strike!" the umpire yelled. The pitcher threw the ball again. "Strike!" the umpire yelled again. The pitcher threw a third time. Rex swung. Rex walked away. He knew what it meant. Why did Rex walk away? He got a hit. It started to rain. He struck out. He was injured. How does Rex's team probably feel? excited disappointed happy thrilled What did Rex's action mean? His team lost. His team tied. His team won.

Maria received a letter from Juan Carlos. She read it with great excitement. He wrote that he would arrive in the village early Saturday morning. He asked her to keep it a secret. Would she meet him under the birch tree by the old mill stream? He would be waiting with an important message for the sheriff. Maria folded the letter and put it back into the envelope. Then she slipped it under some clothes in her dresser. She told no one, not her mother, not her father, not even her best friend, Anita. If anyone found out that Juan was coming back to town, his life would be in danger! Maria did not go to sleep Friday night. She waited in her room with only the moonlight streaming in the window. Then she took a black shawl and put it over her head and around her shoulders. She slipped out of her room, treading softly down the stairs until she reached the hallway to the front door. As she reached out to turn the doorknob, her father's voice rumbled from the open parlor door. "Are you leaving so soon to meet Juan Carlos?" QUESTIONS: Why was Maria's father in the parlor at that time of night? He wanted to catch Maria sneaking out. He slept there. He was hiding from the sheriff. He was entertaining guests.

Why would Maria wear a black shawl over her head and shoulders? to keep warm to keep the dogs from following her to pretend she was her mother to keep from being seen Who else might have known that Maria received a letter? Anita her father the mail carrier her mother