Abigail and the Slow Drip
Abigail pulled on her boots. Today she was going to Bragg Farm Sugarhouse in East Montpelier, Vermont.
It was sugaring season. The snow was soft, and drops fell from the roof.
At the farm, Abigail and her dad went to see a maple tree. A small spout had been set in its trunk. Clear sap dripped from it into a pail.
“Is that syrup?” Abigail asked.
“Not yet,” Dad said. “The sap has a long way to go.”
Abigail held out a finger. Dad put one drop of sap on it. It tasted a little sweet, like water with a bit of sugar.
Abigail watched the pail. Drip. Drip.
“At this rate, we’ll never fill it!” she said.
Dad smiled. “Let’s take a walk while we wait.”
They looked at tracks in the snow. A bird sang from a branch. Abigail found a pine cone as big as her hand.
When they came back, more sap was in the pail. Abigail grinned. The slow drips had added up.
Next, they went into the sugarhouse. Steam rose from a wide pan. A worker was boiling sap to make syrup.
“Where does all the steam go?” Abigail asked.
“Up and out,” Dad said. “As the water boils away, the sap gets thicker and sweeter.”
- sap:
- Liquid that flows inside a tree or plant.
- spout:
- A small tube that lets liquid flow out.
- trunk:
- The main stem of a tree.
- pail:
- A bucket used to hold or carry things.
- steam:
- Hot mist that rises from boiling water.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Where did Abigail and Dad go?
- 2What dripped from the maple tree into the pail?
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About this short story passage for Lower Elementary
“Abigail and the Slow Drip” is a short story reading passage about Maple sugaring, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (275 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.