Lesson 1: Charlotte’s Web
The day was foggy. Everything on the farm was dripping wet. The grass looked like a magic carpet. The asparagus patch looked like a silver forest.
On foggy mornings, Charlotte’s web was truly a thing of beauty. This morning each thin strand was decorated with dozens of tiny beads of water. The web glistened in the light and made a pattern of loveliness and mystery, like a delicate veil. Even Lurvy, who wasn’t particularly interested in beauty, noticed the web when he came with the pig’s breakfast. He noted how clearly it showed up and he noted how big and carefully built it was. And then he took another look and he saw something that made him set his pail down. There, in the center of the web, neatly woven in block letters, was a message. It said:
SOME PIG!
Lurvy felt weak. He brushed his hand across his eyes and stared harder at Charlotte’s web. “I’m seeing things,” he whispered. He dropped to his knees and uttered a short prayer. Then, forgetting all about Wilbur’s breakfast, he walked back to the house and called Mr. Zuckerman.
“I think you’d better come down to the pigpen,” he said.
“What’s the trouble?” asked Mr. Zuckerman. “Anything wrong with the pig?”
“N-not exactly,” said Lurvy. “Come and see for yourself.”
The two men walked silently down to Wilbur’s yard. Lurvy pointed to the spider’s web.
“Do you see what I see?” he asked.
Zuckerman stared at the writing on the web. Then he murmured the words “Some Pig.” Then he looked at Lurvy. Then they both began to tremble. Charlotte, sleepy after her night’s exertions, smiled as she watched. Wilbur came and stood directly under the web.
“Some pig! ” muttered Lurvy in a low voice.
“Some pig! ” whispered Mr. Zuckerman. They stared and stared for a long time at Wilbur. Then they stared at Charlotte.
Vocabulary:
Carpet: A thick material used for covering floors.
Example sentence: We got a new living room carpet this weekend.
Patch: A small area that is different from the area around it.
Example sentence: There are patches of ice on the road.
Decorate: To make something look better by putting things on it or around it.
Example sentence: They decorated the room with balloons for her party.
Glisten: To shine, often because it is wet.
Example sentence: Their faces were glistening with sweat.
Particularly: Especially; more than usual
Example sentence: “Was the food good?” “Not particularly.”
Utter: To say something, usually quietly.
Example Sentence: She left without uttering a word.
Tremble: To shake slightly, especially because you are nervous, frightened, or cold.
Example sentence: My hands were trembling so much I could not hold the pen.
Exertion: To use of a lot of physical or mental energy to do something.
Example sentence: I get out of breath with any kind of physical exertion.