Vision Quest, Part 2

Vision Quest, Part 2

Vision Quest, Part 2
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 3 to 5
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	3.28

Vocabulary

challenging words:

breathtaking, claws-all, grandeur, naturally, operate, prosthetics, rawhide, See-it, spiritual, towering, devour, warrior, especially, cruel, setting, based

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Vision Quest, Part 2
By Toni Lee Robinson

¹     Cory sat still as stone. The eagle glided past. Its prey was clenched tight in its talons. The massive bird landed on a flat rock near him. Cory held his breath. What a moment! He'd never seen an eagle so close. The bird ripped at the fish with his powerful beak. He tore off chunks and gulped them down. One strong talon gripped the fish. The other kept the bird balanced on the rock. Cory was interested. The talons worked a little like the thumb and finger of his artificial hand.

²     Cory watched the eagle devour the fish. Suddenly the wind shifted. The bird looked up. Its majestic head swiveled in Cory's direction. For a long moment, the eagle's golden brown eyes held Cory's. Then the bird turned. Its wings unfolded. It rose and flew off into the canyon. Cory let out his breath. What a sight he'd just seen! He had to tell Gram and Pop. He jumped up and hurried home.

³     The old cabin sat in a beautiful mountain meadow. Towering above it were the magnificent crags of the Rockies. As he got close, Cory marveled at the sight. The setting made a breathtaking picture. He walked past the grandeur every day of his life. It had been a long time, though, since he'd really seen it. Like about a year.

⁴     Pop looked up from his bench. He gazed at Cory. "What is it, Boy?" he asked. Cory marveled again. Somehow his grandfather knew something had happened.

⁵     "I saw an eagle," he said. "It came within twenty feet of me." He told Pop all about his encounter with the great bird. "Do you think it was a sign?" he asked. "A vision?"

⁶     Pop concentrated on the rawhide piece he was scraping with a sharp knife. "One thing's for sure," he said, finally. "Seeing the eagle was a special thing. Times like that don't come along every day." Pop held up his rawhide strip and looked at it closely.

⁷     "We have to be careful, though, not to take anything and everything for a sign," he continued. He looked up at Cory. "We can get off on the wrong path that way, you know." Pop's eyes searched Cory's face. "Especially if we are desperate for answers." Cory shifted in his chair. It was as if Pop's eyes could see right down inside him.

⁸     "Still, there is much to learn from your time with the eagle," the old man went on. "The eagle is king of the birds. He is proud and strong. He is the bravest and fiercest of the great warrior birds." Pop's eyes held Cory's. "That strength and courage comes from deep inside him. It's what his spirit is made of. It's the way he lives. Sometimes life is good to the eagle. Sometimes it is cruel. Either way, he greets life with the same strong spirit."

Paragraphs 9 to 20:
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