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Peter," called Tim, "come out here."

Tim was in Peter's front yard. He was kicking something about.

"What are you doing?" asked Peter.

"I am playing football. Don't you know that all the big boys play football in the autumn? My mother made me this football. It is a good one. See!"

Tim picked up his ball. He handed it to Peter. It was just a bag made of cloth. It was stuffed with rags.

"Yes, it is a good one," said Peter. "One day I made a football out of burdock burrs. But it came to pieces, when I kicked it. Yours will not do that."

"No," said Tim, "it will not. My mother said that I may kick it to pieces, if I can. Then my father will bring me a real one from Large Village."

"Let me take it a minute, Tim. Let me show it to my mother. She will make one for me."

Mrs. Howe made Peter a football. It was just like Tim's. It did not take her very long to do it. She made a strong bag on the sewing machine. She stuffed it with rags. Then she sewed up the end.

"There," she said, "now you both have footballs. I think that they are very good ones. You may go to Tim's and play with them. Tim has some leaves up at his house for you to jump in."

Tim and Peter kicked their footballs all the way up the hill. Sometimes the balls did not go straight. Sometimes, when they tried, the boys did not kick them at all.

Once Peter kicked very hard. He did not touch his ball. He kicked so hard that he fell down.

"See all your leaves, Tim," said Peter. "Your yard is fall of them. Let's rake them up. Maybe we can have a bonfire."

"We can rake them," said Tim. "But we cannot burn them. I heard my father say that he should keep our leaves."

"What for?" asked Peter.

"He is going to put them in a big pile," said Tim. "He is going to cover them over.

"After he has left them in a pile for a long, long time, they will rot. Then they will be good for the garden."

"I should rather have a bonfire," said Peter.

"So should I," said Tim. "But my father would not. He gets things to sell from his garden. So he has to make them grow fast."

"My father does not," said Peter. "He keeps a store. He has the post office, too. That is in his store. I have seen him put the letters into boxes."

"So have I," said Tim. "And I have had a letter, too. Let's rake up a pile of leaves now. We can jump in them."

"Where is my football?" asked Peter.

"I do not know, Peter. It must be somewhere in the leaves. We can find it when we rake them up. Oh, see mine!"

"There is a hole in it," said Peter. "The insides are sticking out. Now you can have a real one, Tim. Your mother said so. Let us take it in to show her."

When the boys came out of the house, Tim said, "Polly and I buried you in the sand the other day. Now you bury me in the leaves."

He lay down and Peter piled leaves all over him. He even covered up his face. The leaves were very light. Tim liked the smell of them.

Soon he jumped up. He did not need anyone to dig him out. Then he covered Peter all over.

"Do not go to sleep," he said. "If you do, we shall never get the leaves raked up. Now you have been buried long enough. Come out!"

Next, they tried to bury Collie and Wag-wag. But the dogs would not lie still. They thought that it was some kind of game. They wished to play, too.

At last the boys found Peter's football.

"I must take this home, before I lose it again," said Peter. "Goodbye, Tim. I have had a good time. Come and play with me this afternoon."

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the story multiple times.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Study the vocabulary words.
  • Learn the concepts.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Tim and Peter's mothers make them footballs by stuffing rags into cloth bags and sewing the bags shut. The boys kick the balls around and play in the fallen leaves. Peter wants to make a bonfire with the leaves, but Tim's father prefers that the leaves be gathered into piles so they can rot. Tim's father then uses the decayed leaves to help the plants in his garden grow. Peter and Tim have fun gathering the leaves into piles so they can bury each other in the leaves.

Vocabulary

Football: A ball used in football, filled with air, either oval (American football) or round (soccer), and typically made of leather or plastic.
Stuffed: Filled with something.
Sewed: Joined by making stitches with a needle and thread.
Bonfire: A large open-air fire.
Rot: Decay through the action of bacteria or fungi.
Rake: A pole with a comb-like structure that is used to draw together cut grass or leaves.

Concepts

In the story, Tim's father uses rotted leaves to help his plants grow. What is rotting?

  1. If you leave a piece of fruit or a vegetable on a counter long enough, it will change color and start to smell bad.
  2. A fuzzy substance called mold may grow on the fruit or vegetable.
  3. This process is called rotting.

Why do things rot?

  1. When a farmer removes fruits or vegetables from their plants, they start to die immediately.
  2. All living things are made of small units called cells. As the fruits and vegetables die, their cells start to break down.
  3. Tiny microorganisms called bacteria, molds, and yeasts floating in the air land on the fruit and begin to further break down the fruit or vegetable.
  4. Moisture (water), light, temperature, and microorganisms work together to speed spoiling process.

How can we prevent things from rotting?

  1. Keeping foods in the refrigerator slows the spoiling process (less moisture, fewer microorganisms, less light, colder temperature), but food will eventually spoil.
  2. Keeping foods in the freezer at even colder temperatures slows the spoiling process even more.
  3. Never eat rotten food. It might make you sick. Rotten food may small bad, be a strange color, or have fuzzy mold spots on it.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Story

  • After reading or listening to the story, narrate the story events aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Pee Yew! That's Rotten!

Objective:

Observe the rotting process.

Materials:

Fruit, small dish

Procedure:

  • Leave a small chunk of fruit or vegetable out on the countertop in a small dish.
  • Observe the dish after a few hours and draw a picture of what you see.
  • Observe the dish after a day and draw a picture of what you see.
  • Observe the dish each subsequent day over the next week and draw a picture of what you see.

Results:

  • What changes did you observe over the week?
  • How long does it take for the fruit or vegetable to rot?

Review

Question 1

What do Peter and Tim's mothers sew for Peter and Tim?
1 / 7

Answer 1

They sew footballs.
1 / 7

Question 2

What does Peter want to do with the leaves?
2 / 7

Answer 2

Peter wants to make a bonfire with the leaves.
2 / 7

Question 3

What does Tim's father do with fallen leaves?
3 / 7

Answer 3

Tim's father piles the leaves together and lets them rot.
3 / 7

Question 4

How does Tim's father use the decayed leaves?
4 / 7

Answer 4

Tim's father uses the decayed leaves to help his plants grow in the spring.
4 / 7

Question 5

What do Peter and Tim use to cover each other?
5 / 7

Answer 5

Peter and Tim cover each other with leaves.
5 / 7

Question 6

You see a piece of fruit that has something green and fuzzy growing on it. It smells funny and has turned brown. Should you eat it?
6 / 7

Answer 6

You should not eat the fruit. It is rotten. Rotten fruit can make you sick.
6 / 7

Question 7

You would like to keep some blueberries, but will not eat them for a few weeks. Where should you store the blueberries to prevent rot?
7 / 7

Answer 7

Store the blueberries in the freezer. The blueberries would rot on the counter or in the fridge.
7 / 7

  1. What do Peter and Tim's mothers sew for Peter and Tim? They sew footballs.
  2. What does Peter want to do with the leaves? Peter wants to make a bonfire with the leaves.
  3. What does Tim's father do with fallen leaves? Tim's father piles the leaves together and lets them rot.
  4. How does Tim's father use the decayed leaves? Tim's father uses the decayed leaves to help his plants grow in the spring.
  5. What do Peter and Tim use to cover each other? Peter and Tim cover each other with leaves.
  6. You see a piece of fruit that has something green and fuzzy growing on it. It smells funny and has turned brown. Should you eat it? You should not eat the fruit. It is rotten. Rotten fruit can make you sick.
  7. You would like to keep some blueberries, but will not eat them for a few weeks. Where should you store the blueberries to prevent rot? Store the blueberries in the freezer. The blueberries would rot on the counter or in the fridge.

References

  1. 'Fire.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

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