← The Kite Tail Is Too Short

The Mending Basket · The five-night book · ages 3-5

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Read by an AI-generated voice. The words on this page are the transcript.

The Kite Tail Is Too Short

The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.

Tí's kite had two tails. The blue one tore.
"Let's open the basket," said Bà Tư.

The kite had an old patch. A tiny hammer was drawn on it.

Lid up, lid up.
Who can help us mend?

Tí pulled the blue tail. Hard!
"Ends together first," said Noodle, the long dog.
Noodle laid the tails side by side.
The red went far. The blue stopped early.

Ends together. Then look.

Lid up, lid up.
Who can help us mend?

"How much longer?" said Bean, the pug.
Bean pointed. "This bit sticks out!"
The red stuck out past the blue.

Ends together. Then look.
How much longer? This much!

Which ribbon will fit the gap? Can you guess?

Lid up, lid up.
Who can help us mend?

"Lay us side by side," said Miro & Moro.
The twin otters held out a ribbon each.
Tí laid one by the bit that stuck out. Too short.
He laid the other one there. "Same, same, a match!" said Tí.

Ends together. Then look.
How much longer? This much!
Same size. A match.

"I'll sew, you check," said Bà Tư.
Tí put the ends together. The same!

Lid down, lid down.
Mended. The end.

The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.

Back on the Green

Tí and Lan stood back to back. Lan stuck out at the top.

Now you. Find two spoons. Put the ends together. Which one sticks out?

For the grown-up: ask "how do you know?" and let your child line the ends up.

Who you met

  • Bà Tư The grandmother who keeps the basket and does the sewing from VầnTots
  • Tí a child of the Green Notices small things; says "again"
  • Noodle Line the ends up before you say which is longer from StretchTots
  • Bean The bit that sticks out is how much longer from StretchTots
  • Miro & Moro Two pieces exactly the same size match from PatchPals

Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.

The Honest Page

Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?

True

  • To see which of two things is longer, line up one end of each first. Source
  • A tail of six hand-spans is two hand-spans longer than a tail of four.
  • Kites often have tails that help them fly steadily. Source

Stretched

  • A hand-span is not the same size for everyone. What we simplified: The story measures with one person's hand all the way through, so the sizes agree.

Made up

  • Noodle, Bean and the otter twins are made up. Ribbons do not talk.