Tiger - Unit 6 part 4 - Lost in the Desert

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Lost in the Desert

by Margo Fallis

The rock dropped to the bottom of the well and landed with a splash when it hit the water. Rabin was a beautiful little girl with dark brown eyes and hair as dark as the midnight sky. She laughed when she saw the water splash up. Then she skipped off towards the tent where she lived.

 Summer in the Egyptian desert could be very, very hot. Rabin's tent was in a small village in the arid desert, southwest of Cairo. Not many people ever came to the village to visit, but now and then a camel train would pass through. A tree sprouted up now and then from the parched earth.

a Where did Rabin live?

b What kind of home did she live in?

Sometimes she'd ask her friends, Karim and Yasmine, to play with her. One day, they were walking along a sandy trail when they came to an area of trees. Rabin saw something moving off the side of the path. It was a furry rabbit. She wanted to follow it, but her mother had warned her never to leave the path; it was  dangerous. She'd told Rabin that she might get hurt or lost. Sometimes there were wild animals waiting in the bushes.

She ran off the trail, following the rabbit through rocks and sandy soil. Karim and Yasmine tried to call her back, but she wouldn't listen. The rabbit hopped over a dead tree, so Rabin followed it. It ran up a small hill. It leapt over a wide riverbed. While Rabin was running after it, the rabbit jumped into some thorny bushes and she lost sight of it.

What did Rabin want to do?

d Did Karim and Yasmine go with her?

e Did Rabin catch the rabbit?

She sat down in the shade of a tree and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. In the tree above hung a rather large beehive. As Rabin sat there, unaware of the hive, she noticed a lot of bees gathering around her. They were buzzing back and forth.  Rabin didn't like bees. She jumped up and ran as fast as she could.

She ran into the bushes and realised that she was lost. Nothing looked familiar to her. Where were Karim and Yasmine? Why hadn't she listened to what her mother  had said? She sat down on a rock and started to cry.

f What happened when Rabin sat down to rest?

g What did she do?

As she sobbed, she heard a hissing sound. She looked at the ground and saw a cobra. It was coiled up and its tongue was flickering in and out of its mouth. Its head was flat and wobbled back and forth. Rabin jumped up on top of the rock and watched the snake. It slithered across the sand, but then it slunk away. Now she really began to cry. She was very frightened.

She hopped off the rock and started running back to the riverbed. She was walking along when she saw something move. Her heart jumped as she thought it was the rabbit. Maybe, if she followed it again, it would lead her back to Yasmine and Karim. She ran over to it, but saw it was a small fox, reddish brown with a bushy tail. It scurried off into the bushes.

h) What did Rabin see next?

i) How did she feel?

j) What did she do?

She hung her head down and plodded along. She noticed tracks by the riverbed, like a crocodile's. She couldn't see a crocodile, but she thought that one might be waiting nearby. So she ran quickly down the riverbed.

Now Rabin felt tired, hungry and afraid. The sun was setting below the horizon. The sky glowed a beautiful orange and red colour, but she didn't want to be alone in the dark.  She sat down in the sand, too tired to move. She lay her head on her hands and fell asleep.

k How did she feel now?

I What time of day was it?

m What did she do?

When she woke up, the rabbit was standing by her head. Its little black nose was wet and rubbing against her check. Rabin stood up slowly. The rabbit didn't run away. It wanted Rabin to follow it.

She walked slowly and followed the rabbit back down the riverbed, past the crocodile tracks, past the rock where the cobra had slithered and past the tree filled with angry bees. The rabbit suddenly stopped. Rabin listened.

'Rabin. Where are you?' It was her father.

She called out, I'm here. I'm here.' Soon her father found her, picked her up in his arms and hugged her tightly.

 'Where were you, Rabin? We've been worried about you. Yasmine and Karim told us you'd wandered off the path. You know you aren't supposed to do that, her father scolded.

I know, Father. I am very sorry. I'll never leave the path again. She turned and looked for the rabbit. Where did it go? She saw it running off into the trees. She smiled, took her father's hand then walked back home.

n) How did Rabin find her way home?

o) How did her father feel?

p) What did Rabin do?

I can answer the questions based on the article “Lost in the Desert” by Margo Fallis. Here are the answers:

a) Rabin lived in a small village in the Egyptian desert, southwest of Cairo. 

b) She lived in a tent. 

c) She wanted to follow a furry rabbit that she saw moving off the side of the path.

 d) No, Karim and Yasmine did not go with her. They tried to call her back, but she wouldn’t listen. 

e) No, Rabin did not catch the rabbit. It jumped into some thorny bushes and she lost sight of it.

 f) When Rabin sat down to rest, she heard a hissing sound and saw a cobra. She jumped up on top of the rock and watched the snake. 

g) She ran away from the bees and the snake, but she realized that she was lost. She sat down on a rock and started to cry. 

h) Rabin saw a small fox, reddish brown with a bushy tail. It scurried off into the bushes. 

i) She felt very frightened and sorry for not listening to her mother. 

j) She hopped off the rock and started running back to the riverbed. 

k) She felt tired, hungry and afraid.

 l) It was evening. The sun was setting below the horizon. 

m) She sat down in the sand, too tired to move. She lay her head on her hands and fell asleep. 

n) Rabin found her way home by following the rabbit that woke her up. The rabbit led her to where her father was looking for her. 

o) Her father felt worried and relieved. He hugged her tightly and scolded her for wandering off the path.

 p) Rabin apologized to her father and promised to never leave the path again. She smiled, took her father’s hand then walked back home.