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Text and illustrations copyright 2017 by Institute of Reading Development, Inc. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means known now or later developed without the express written permission from Institute of Reading Development, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. For further information contact: Institute of Reading Development 5 Commercial Blvd. Novato, CA 94949 www.readingprograms.org First Edition Printed by Friesens Corporation in Altona, MB, Canada. February 2017, Job #230344
It was a hot day. Cat sat in the sun. A cool treat would be nice, she said. 3
Goose, Pig, and Toad were hot too. How about some strawberry ice cream? asked Cat. 4
Hooray! said her friends. I ll take two scoops! said Toad. Not so fast, said Cat. First we have to make it.
Who will get the milk? asked Cat. I am too hot, said Goose. Me too, said Pig. My mud is nice and cool. 6
I will help later, said Toad. First I need to dance. 7
Toad twirled. Toad spun. Toad leaped in the air. 8
Cat got tired of waiting. She got some milk from the cow. The bucket of milk was very heavy.
Yum! said Pig when Cat came back. Give us a sip! said Goose. Dancing makes me thirsty! said Toad. 10
No, said Cat. It is for the ice cream. Now, who will pick the berries? 11
Not me, said Pig. The berry patch is too far away, said Goose. Ow, ow, ow! said Toad.
My foot hurts! My head hurts too! said Toad. I need to rest! 13
Fine, said Cat. I will pick the berries. She went to the berry patch.
It was a long walk. At last she came back. Toad saw the basket. 15
Yum! said Toad. I love strawberries! 16
Good, said Cat. You can help me mash them. 17
Toad dropped a berry. I forgot, he said. I have to get my hair cut. 18
You don t have hair, said Cat. I don t? asked Toad. 19
Then I must get a wig! said Toad. 20
Then Goose and Pig will help me, said Cat. Not us, said Pig and Goose. Mashing berries is too messy.
So Cat mashed all the berries. Her fur was very sticky. It is time to get the ice, said Cat. Will you help, Goose?
But Goose was napping. Take my wagon, said Pig. Then you will not need my help. Fine, said Cat. Come on, Toad. 23
Oh no, I can t. Ice makes me sneeze, said Toad. 24
Achoo! Achoo! Achoo, achoo, achoo! 25
Okay, okay! said Cat. I will get the ice too. The freezer was cold. Brrr! said Cat. 26
Her nose turned pink. Her paws felt icy. Here is the ice, she said. Achoo! said Toad. 27
Cat put in the ice. She put in the milk and berries. She added some sugar. 28
It s time to churn the ice cream, she said. I ll show you how. Cat turned the big handle.
Who wants a turn? asked Cat. You should do it, said Goose. Yes, said Pig. You are so good at it.
I can t help now, said Toad. It s time for my push-ups! I want my arms to get big and strong.
Churning is like push-ups, said Cat. It will make your arms strong. 32
So Toad churned. But he did not try very hard. 33
Never mind! said Cat. I ll do it myself. Cat churned the ice cream. 34
She churned and churned and churned and churned. It was hard work. Her arms got very tired. 35
There, said Cat. Now I m ready for some ice cream. Me too! said Goose.
Me too! said Pig. At last! said Toad. I want five scoops! I mean ten scoops!
No! I got the milk. I picked the berries and mashed them. I got the ice, Cat said.
And I churned and churned the ice cream. You three did nothing! So nothing is what you will get!
Cat scooped all the ice cream into a bowl. She ate every last bite. It was the perfect cool treat for a hot day. 40
Then, Cat curled up under a bush and went to sleep. 41
Her friends felt bad. Cat worked hard, said Goose. We were very lazy, said Pig. Tomorrow, we will do all the work, said Goose. 42
Yes, said Pig. All of us will help. All of us? asked Toad. Yes, ALL of us! said Goose and Pig. Okay, fine, said Toad. 43
The next morning, Cat woke up. She could not believe her eyes. Her friends were hard at work. Pig was mixing ice and milk. 44
Goose was mashing berries. Toad was doing a hand stand. Toad! yelled Goose and Pig. Sorry! said Toad. 45
Toad started churning. He churned and churned and churned and churned. 46
Then, Toad served four bowls of ice cream. He gave the biggest bowl to Cat. 47
Working together is fun, said Pig. We will help each other from now on, said Goose. And that is what they did. Even Toad. 48