Pizza Lee and Kim agreed with their mom that they would heat a small pizza in the oven when they got home from school. After they had eaten the pizza, they would clean up. Then they would go to the park with friends. Later that afternoon, their mom came home from work. As she walked into the kitchen, she saw no sign of any mess. “Hmmm,” she said, “the children have eaten and they’ve gone out to play.” How did their mom know the children had come home, eaten pizza, and gone out to play?

Brush Your Teeth! Dad finished brushing his teeth. He placed his toothbrush back in the holder next to Gretchen’s toothbrush. “Gretchen,” Dad asked, “did you forget to brush your teeth?” My sister nodded her head. “Yes,” she answered, “I’ll brush them right away.” How did Dad know that Gretchen didn’t brush her teeth?

A Day Out Carl and Martin followed the path down to the lake. The sun was just beginning to peek over the distant hills to the east. “Did you remember the bait?” Carl asked. Martin nodded, holding up an old coffee can. “I dug them up yesterday. These should last the whole day,” he grinned. When the boys reached the cove, they put on their life jackets and walked out onto the pier. Martin climbed into the boat first, then took all the equipment from Carl and carefully placed it inside. After untying the ropes, Carl climbed in also and used on of the oars to push off. When they reached the corner of the lake, Carl threw the anchor overboard. “Today we’ll land a big one,” he promised. “Wouldn’t that make Dad proud?” Are Carl and Martin friends or brothers? What are the boys planning to do? What time of day did they go out? Which boy is older?

A Strange Noise Nan heard a strange noise at her window. She pushed back the covers and ran to look outside. Nan peered through the snow-covered pane of glass. Zip was outside scratching at the window. Zip was shivering and wet when Nan brought her inside. She dried her using a big, warm towel and gave her some warm milk. Nan took Zip upstairs and placed her on a pillow. Nan pulled the bedding up around Zip. Zip purred happily and went to sleep. What is Zip? Where was Nan when she heard scratching? Is Zip male or female? Was it cold outside? Why was Zip outside?