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Dragon Trouble (part 2)

Dragon Trouble (part 2)
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 5
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   3.49

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    forester, gauge, highly, authority, watchdog, saying, loss, chief, dragon, murmur, crowd, invaluable, reasonable, regain, agreement, former
     content words:    When Montrose, Master Sawyer, Tom Baker, Arran Sawyer

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Dragon Trouble (part 2)
By Mary Lynn Bushong 		  
1     One of the men in the crowd told of a dragon that had carried off a child. When Montrose questioned him, he said it had occurred before he was born, but that he had heard about it on good authority.
 
2     "Whose authority?" asked Montrose.
 
3     "Whose authority?" the man blinked with astonishment over the question. "Why, Master Sawyer's, of course."
 
4     "When was it that he spoke to you about this?" asked Mara.
 
5     "Why, it was just a few days ago when he came to me and mentioned that a dragon had been seen up here. I told him what my grandfather had said. He assured me that it is common whenever dragons are in the neighborhood."
 
6     "I see," said Montrose as he thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "I have never heard that before. I am curious. Can any of you remember having heard such a claim before Master Sawyer mentioned it?"
 
7     Tom Baker, the bread maker, frowned over at Arran Sawyer. "Your telling me about it was the first I'd ever heard, and I've lived in these parts all my life, just as you have."
 
8     Other voices rose in agreement with his, and the crowd began to grumble at their former leader.
 
9     "You got us all upset to come up here when there was nothing to fear from dragons in the first place?" One of the men shouted accusingly at Sawyer.
 
10     "I wouldn't go that far," said Montrose as he raised his voice over the growing murmur of the crowd. "Dragons can be very dangerous, just as you and I can be. They can also be marvelous friends and helpers."
 
11     "Helper?" asked Tom Baker. "How can dragons help us? I don't know that I'd want one in my bakery."
 
12     "Be great for getting the oven going on a wet morning!" shouted a voice from the back of the crowd.
 
13     Everyone began to laugh.

Paragraphs 14 to 27:
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