The Cabin in the Snow
Jo noticed the clouds first. They were spilling over the mountain ridge, thick and gray, swallowing the blue sky in minutes. At the trailhead that morning, the forecast had promised a cold but clear afternoon.
“Maybe they’ll pass,” Max said, though he had stopped taking pictures. Jo’s younger brother tucked his camera into his coat as the wind shook snow from the pines.
They were supposed to meet their dad at the parking lot before sunset. He had driven down the mountain to get a part for the cabin’s broken water pump, leaving them to follow the marked loop trail back. Jo checked the time. They had been walking longer than she expected.
The first snowflakes came sideways. Soon the red trail markers blurred behind a curtain of white. Jo pulled out her phone, but there was no signal. She knew the trail continued downhill to the parking lot, yet she could barely see the next tree.
“The cabin’s closer,” Max said. “We passed its turnoff a few minutes ago.”
Jo hesitated. She was the older one; she was supposed to know what to do. But Max was right. They turned back, keeping each red marker in sight until they reached the narrow path to the cabin.
- ridge:
- A long, narrow raised section of a mountain.
- trailhead:
- The place where a trail begins.
- forecast:
- A prediction of what the weather will be like.
- turnoff:
- A place where a smaller path or road branches away from another.
- hesitated:
- Paused before acting or deciding.
- latched:
- Fastened shut with a small catch.
- trembled:
- Shook slightly, often because of fear or movement.
- faint:
- Hard to hear, see, or notice.
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Main Idea
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Summarize
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Purpose
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Structure
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 11. Why do Jo and Max return to the cabin rather than continue to the parking lot?
- 22. How does Jo's hesitation reveal a conflict between her sense of responsibility and her trust in Max?
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About this fiction passage for Middle School
“The Cabin in the Snow” is a fiction reading passage about Sibling Teamwork, written for Middle School. It takes about 4 minutes to read (646 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.