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The War of 1812

Pirate Girl (part 1 of 3)

Pirate Girl (part 1 of 3)
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 5
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   2.84

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    alongside, convent, fury, longed, nuns, parcel, prayers, privateer, thrust, palms, rage, nets, actually, fortune, outdoors, tears
     content words:    New Orleans, Pirate Island, Pirate Girl, Grande Terre, Privateer Jean Lafitte, When Elise

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Pirate Girl (part 1 of 3)
By Toni Lee Robinson 		  
1     The convent yard was still. The garden was lush but tiny. There was no need for space to sit, to idly smell the flowers. Girls should be busy with their studies or their prayers, urged the nuns. Hands that were busy stayed out of trouble.
 
2     Elise looked down at the garden. The branches of a willow tree drooped to the grass. There was just room for a girl to squeeze beneath them. The leafy fringe had hid Elise from the outside world. She'd found the spot during her first week here. It had been her refuge.
 
3     She had needed a safe haven. She hadn't needed to hide from the nuns. The sisters were strict, but kind. The problem was the other girls. Many of them came from the wealthiest families of New Orleans. These girls looked down on the daughter of a fisherman. Then they found that Elise was from "Pirate Island." They began to tease her. She became known as "Pirate Girl."
 
4     One day a group of girls approached her. An elegantly wrapped parcel was thrust into Elise's hands. "Here," one girl said. "We want to be friends. We've got something for you." Elise looked doubtfully at the parcel. "Go ahead, open it," the girl urged.
 
5     Slowly, Elise pulled the ribbon loose. She lifted one corner of the paper. A sickening smell rose from inside. Elise saw a patch of dirty black fur. Inside the paper was a dead cat. Elise threw the package away from her. In fury, she turned on the girls. Laughing, they ran away. "Just for you, Pirate Girl," one called back. "A treasure!"

Paragraphs 6 to 15:
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