Chapter 5: Talking to Animals

(Fry Words 301-325:   being   it's   your   stand – stood   sun   questions   fish   area   mark   dog   horse   birds   problem   complete   room   know – knew   since   ever   piece   tell - told   usually   didn't   friends   easy - easily   heard) 

As the sun set on the burning wreck Bill sat down. There was nothing he could do. He was lucky to be alive, but how many people on that ship had died? Had it been an accident? Or was someone trying to kill him?

Too many questions. But he knew sitting out here looking at a burning ship wouldn't solve his problem. Which was communication, as usual.

Ever since he was a young man he'd never had many friends. He didn't make friends easily. His mother usually told him to go out and talk to people, but he liked to just stay in his room and think. He liked being in his room. His parents had been farmers and he'd preferred to talk to his animals – he liked animals much better than humans.

He remembered their red horse, called Flame, whose job was to plough the fields but could run like the wind through the woods. They also had a black dog called Coal, that Bill had loved to play with for hours in the fields and out on long walks, whatever the weather. They'd had other animals as well – fish, birds – that for fun Bill had sometimes asked questions to, and usually he never heard them answer, but sometimes - just sometimes - he thought he did.

“It's your problem,” he remembers a bird singing to him once. 

“What's my problem?” he asked.

But they just kept repeating, “It's your problem.”

He didn't find it easy to understand the fish, however, as they were usually under water. He wondered what happened to Flame and Coal.

And now this was his problem. How to communicate with the black sponge balls. Where had they come from? Nobody knew. One morning five years ago the people of the town had woken up and they had been there ever since. A complete mystery. A piece of a puzzle.

It was almost dark. It was time to stand up and go back to the town square. Bill was hungry, but he had to mark out an area around the sponge balls to stop other people touching them. He decided to try one more time tonight and then go to bed.

Read Chapter 1 : The English Scientists
Read Chapter 2 : Song Of War
Read Chapter 3 : The Plan
Read Chapter 4 : Bill's Ship Sails

Read Chapter 6 : The Indian Girl

© Chris Young 2018

Image credit : https://pixabay.com/en/arabian-arabian-horses-horses-2853176/

Chapter 4 : Bill's Ship Sails

Fry Words 326 to 350 : order   red   door   sure   become   top   tip   across   today   during   short better   best   however   low   hours   black   products   happen - happened   whole   measure   remember   early   waves   reach - reached

Bill had become better at remembering what happened. He sat on the beach where the waves almost reached his toes. He had been there for many short hours today, since early morning, remembering the whole conversation between himself, the farmer and the English Scientist. They had told him he was sure to be the best person to learn how to speak to the black sponge balls, to ask for their help, if possible, and then catch a ship across the sea to the island.

However, that had not happened. During his time trying to communicate with the six black sponge balls in the town square, he had learnt nothing. He had measured them and found them to be one hundred centimetres across, from top to bottom. And when he reached up and touched them they became red and warm. But that was all.

So now he was sitting here on the beach, watching the waves and feeling not a whole lot better.

He looked across the sea to the island and saw the ship he should have gotten on.

Bill knew he had to do more tests on the sponge balls, but he had to order some products to help him. He would order them tomorrow.

The ship had stopped, and black smoke was now coming from its engines.

Bill stood up in surprise and shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand to try to get a better look.

Suddenly the ship exploded.


Read Chapter 1 : The English Scientists
Read Chapter 2 : Song Of War
Read Chapter 3 : The Plan

Read Chapter 5 : Talk To Animals.

© Chris Young 2018
Image Credit : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burning_Ship_144x.jpg

Chapter 3 : The Plan

Words used : (Fry 351-375) : listen  wind    rock   space   covered fast   several   hold – held   himself   towards   five   step – stepped morning   pass – passed   vowel   true   hundred   against   pattern numeral   table   north   slow – slowly   money   map   door   waves low   units   six   sponge    balls   English   scientist   course   listen – listened – listening 

Check these words in a dictionary and write down the meanings:

strike (v)

genetic (adj)

grotesque (adj)

be up to someone

The Plan

The farmer slowly pulled out something from his cloak and placed it on the table. It was money – a lot of money – and a map. Along the top were the numerals from one to five, and up the side were the vowels A,E,I,O,U, to form a grid pattern. Bill and the English Scientist looked at the map. In square A-three was the town to the north, where they had come from in the morning. In square O-five was the location of the farm they were at now, three hundred units away.

Outside the singing voice had stopped. Bill stood up and put his ear against the door to listen but heard nothing but the wind.

“So what is your course of action, old man?” asked the English Scientist. Bill turned round and took a step towards the table. “We are listening.”

The old man with the scar leaned heavily against the table and waited until several seconds had passed. Finally he said, “We, the famers, will strike.” Bill and the English scientist looked at each other. “The king and his armies will have no food. Then you and the English scientists will take this money and map and prepare an attack on the night of the next full moon.”

“You are crazy,” said the English scientist. “We are scientists, not soldiers. We cannot fight against an army, even a hungry one.”

Then the old man smiled, his scar twisting grotesquely. “It's true, you cannot. You must use the science of the six sponge balls to fight,” he said. “And you must win.”

There was silence in the room, and the wind howled outside.

Suddenly the door opened and a young woman came in. She was beautiful and shy, and had the same scar on her face as the old man.

Bill and the English scientist looked at her in surprise.

“It's genetic,” said the old man, as the young woman stepped towards him to be held.

That evening we took off fast and flew low over the waves back to the town in the north.

Alone in a space in the town square Bill sat and watched the red light of the sunset play against the black sponge balls, and held himself. The map and the money were in his pocket. 

It was up to him.

Reading/Writing tasks :

1. What is the old man's plan?

2. Why does the English scientist think this will not work?

3. How do you think Bill feels at the end?

Choose five difficult new words and write an example sentence for each one below:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Read Chapter 1 : The English Scientists
Read Chapter 2 : Song Of War

Read Chapter 4 : Bill's Ship Sails
Read Chapter 5 : Talking To Animals

© Chris Young 2018

Chapter 2 : Song of War

Words used (P4d): farm   pulled   draw   voice   seen   cold   cried  plan    notice    south   sing   war   ground   fall   king   town   I'll  unit   figure   certain    field   travel   wood   fire    upon    slowly north   himself    covered    wind   rock   listen   Oh   fact   scientists  course   decided   though   language   heat

The boat-plane flew south and landed upon the ground in a field near a farm. They went inside, and a dark figure whose face could not be seen said, “Are you cold?” and he pulled up a chair near the wood fire. “Please,” said the figure, whose face could not be seen. “Sit.”

Bill was certainly cold and fell into the chair upon a blanket.

“We have travelled from the town,” said the English scientist. “The king will certainly fall.”

That's when Bill noticed the sound of someone singing. It was a beautiful voice, singing a song of war – so beautiful he almost cried.

“The king will never fall,” said the figure as he came closer to the fire and slowly pulled back his hood. “I am certain of it, and I'll show you why.”

“Is that a fact?” said the English scientist.

“We, the farmers, have a plan,” the figure said, drawing near the fire, “We have decided a course of action.”

Bill saw a red scar stretch from the man's left eye to his mouth.

The heat of the wood fire was warming Bill's hands. Outside, the beautiful voice continued singing, though Bill could not understand the language well. Something about a certain town in the north.

He covered himself with a blanket and listened to the patterns of the wind whistling against the rocks.

Suddenly the voice that had been singing so beautifully, cried out, “Oh! War! War! There will be war!”

Read Chapter 1 : The English Scientists


Read Chapter 3 : The Plan.
Read Chapter 4 : Bill's Ship Sails

Read Chapter 5 : Talking To Animals

Image Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US-civil-war-destruction.jpg