1 Bobby walked on the sidewalk. He walked past the park. He heard the kids playing. He sighed. "Why don't they want to play with me?" he thought.
2 It was a mystery to him. Oh, sure. He was new in town. They had moved to Simpleville just two months ago. He knew it was hard to make new friends. But he still didn't understand.
3 He stepped up onto the porch. His head was hanging so low. He was lucky he didn't trip over his own feet. He kept staring at the floor as he walked into the house.
4 Meanwhile, Cassie watched from the park. Every day she saw this boy walk slowly by. He never stopped. "Why doesn't he want to play with us?" she thought. Oh, sure, he was new in town. But she'd tried to say "hi" to him. It was a mystery to her.
5 The days went on. Bobby shuffled to and from school alone. He always felt bad about not having friends. Cassie kept saying, "Hi," but they never talked more. What was the problem?
6 Bobby kept thinking about it. Cassie kept thinking about it.
7 Finally, three weeks before the end of school, Cassie had an idea. "I'm not sure why he doesn't seem to want friends. But, I am going to try harder. I'm going to invite him to my birthday party."
8 Cassie wrote out an invitation on bright yellow paper. It said:
Cassie's Birthday Party
Come for pizza and games!
Saturday at the park at 12:00.
Paragraphs 9 to 16:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
