Lesson 26:Larry the Singing Chicken

y Claire Daniel
illustrated by Paulette Bogan
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

y Claire Daniel
illustrated by Paulette Bogan
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Rose was the boss of the henhouse.
She counted the eggs every day,
and she told everyone what to do.
One day she found a strange egg.
Henhouse
2

“Who dropped an egg”
she asked.
No one said anything.
Then the egg began to move.
It cracked open,
and a green arm reached out.
Out came Larry.
Rose
3

Larry was happy to be out of his
shell, but he was confused.
The hens looked strange to him.
He looked at their feathers.
He looked at his own green hands
and feet.
“You’re a chicken!” Rose said.
“Am I” Larry asked.
Larry
4

Rose told Larry to sit in a nest.
She said, “You must take your seat.
We lay eggs here.”
Larry didn’t know anything about
laying eggs, so he started singing.
All the hens clapped.
They had never heard a chicken
sing before.
Nest
5

“No singing!” Rose said.
“Chickens, you are out of control!”
All the hens booed at Rose.
They said, “We like this chicken!
Let it sing!”
“Thank you!” Larry said.
“Now I have a joke to tell you.”
Chickens
6

“There’s no time for jokes!”
Rose said.
Larry said, “Why did the chicken
cross the road”
The hens were quiet.
They tried to think of an answer.
“To get to the other side!”
said Larry.
All of the hens laughed.
7

Now Rose was really upset.
She said, “That’s not even a
good joke!”
Larry said, “Why did the chicken
throw the clock out of the window”
None of the hens could think of
a reason.
Larry said, “To see time fly!”
The hens laughed even more.
Window
Clock
8

Rose didn’t like Larry’s jokes.
She said, “Out you go,
or I’ll put you in a cage!”
“No, wait!” a small hen said.
“Let Larry stay. Look!
Laughing helps us lay
more eggs.”
9

Rose counted the eggs.
There were more eggs than ever!
Rose said, “I’ve never met a chicken
like you before.
You can stay, but can you please tell
some funnier jokes”
Eggs
10

Responding
TARGET SKILL Story Structure Who are
the main characters in the story Where
does this story happen What happens in
the story Write your answers in the chart
below.
Characters Setting
Larry, Rose, the
other hens
What Happens
Larry hatches in the henhouse.
Write About It
Text to Text Think of another story about
an animal that hatches from an egg. Use
two or three sentences to write a response
paragraph about the animal. Include
details about the animal. What did it look
like Was it a surprising animal, like Larry
11

TARGET VOCABULARY
cage
confused
control
ordinary
sensible
suspiciously
training
upset
TARGET SKILL Story Structure Tell the
setting, character, and plot in a story.
TARGET STRATEGY Infer/Predict Use
clues to figure out more about story parts.
GENRE A fantasy is a story that could not
happen in real life.
12

Level: J
DRA: 18
Genre:
Fantasy
Strategy:
Infer/Predict
Skill:
Story Structure
Word Count: 333
2.6.26
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
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