Fly Away Home

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New Crown English Series 3 (Heisei 14) pg. 52-55

Fly Away Home
グース
Details
Word count317
BookNew Crown
Grade3
Year2002

One day Amy was walking along the lake. "Oh, look. It's a goose egg. Here's another. And another." Soon Amy had 16 eggs. "I must save them." She put them in the garage.
Her father came into the garage.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Nothing."
"What are these eggs?"
"Oh, Dad. I've found them by the lake. Can I take care of them?"
At first he said nothing. Then he smiled. "Why not?"

The eggs hatched. Amy became the mother of these baby geese. They were always together.
"Amy, we have a problem we must think about," her father said.
"Yes?"
"Soon the season will change. Winter will come. These geese can't stay here."
"No, Dad. No. No." She cried. "These are my geese."
"But Amy, they'll die in the snow."
"Really?"
"Yes, dear, really. They must learn to fly."
She thought for a minute. "OK. We'll teach them."

Amy took the geese to the field. Amy's father flew over them several times. "Look up in the air. Fly," she said. "It's important for you to fly." The geese looked at her. They looked up. They did not fly.
"I know. You need your mother. You need me." Amy got in the plane. She flew over the field. Once. Twice. Three times. The geese started to fly.
A few weeks later, Amy, her father and the geese flew south. They left in the morning. They flew and flew.

On the fifth day her father's plane was in trouble.
"Father! Are you all right?"
"I feel fine, but this plane can't fly. You must lead the geese."
"But Dad."
"Amy, you can do it."
On her own. Amy led the geese to their winter home. At last they reached the lake.
Later Amy and her father went to see the geese. They were swimming happily in the sun.
"Dad, we made it."
"Yes, dear. We made it."

Total English 3 (Heisei 24) pg. 107-111

Fly Away Home
グース
Details
Word count554
BookTotal English
Grade3
Year2012

One day in late spring, Amy was walking near a marsh and found 16 eggs which were left in nests. She took the eggs home and put them in a warm place. The next day, when Amy came home from school, she was greeted by 16 baby geese! The geese were looking for their mother. When they saw Amy, they thought she was their mother.
Soon, the geese began to walk. Every day, they followed Amy around. When she walked, they walked. When she ran, they ran. Some time later, Amy began to worry. "How will they learn to fly? They need someone who can teach them to fly." So, she asked her father to help her.

Amy's father made a small plane. With it, Amy and her father tried to teach the geese how to fly. Her father waited in the plane. Amy ran towards him and the geese followed. Very slowly the plane took off, but the geese did not follow it; they just followed Amy, their "mother."
The next day, Amy's father said, "I've just got an idea, Amy! I'll make a plane for you. Then I'll teach you how to fly it. The geese will follow you and fly."
Amy learned quickly, and soon she was able to fly her plane by herself. When Amy went up in her plane, the geese started running after her, and then they flew up into the sky! It worked!

"Now we can lead them to their winter home," Amy's father said. "I will fly ahead of you, Amy. You will follow me, and the geese will follow you."
Amy's uncle talked to a friend about the geese. The man said, "There's a sanctuary for birds in North Carolina. No birds are in the sanctuary in winter. They stopped flying there years ago. If no birds arrive by November 1, condominiums will be built on the sanctuary by a big company. Your birds must arrive by November 1!"

Every day Amy and her father practiced flying with the geese. The sanctuary was more than 1,000 kilometres away, so the geese had to be strong. After much practice, the geese were ready to fly.
In the last week of October, Amy, her father and the geese started their long trip south. On the first day, they flew all day and into the night. They were tired. They decided to land and rest at an airport. The next day they were ready to fly again. TV reporters and newspaper journalists heard about them and their trip. Then, they were on TV and in newspapers!
They continued flying south.

It was the last day. Amy's father had trouble with his plane. Time was running out. Amy now had to lead the birds by herself!
At the sanctuary, many people were waiting for Amy and her geese. Some people from the big company were also there. "Will the geese arrive in time? Will the land go to the company?" People worried.
Everyone became very quiet. They could hear Amy's plane. When Amy and her geese flew over the hill, the people there began to cheer. The geese arrived in time. The land was theirs!
The next spring, the geese left the sanctuary and headed north on their own. All 16 geese returned to the marsh near Amy's house.

See also