Read "Olive and Gertie" by Lois Bates.

Olive and Gertie were walking along a country road, and high up in the sky a lark poured forth his sweet song.

"How beautifully that skylark sings," said Olive; "it is worth while to come out into the country just to hear it."

"I did not hear it," said Gertie, swinging her parasol.

"It is there, right overhead," exclaimed Olive; "do look, Gertie; it will drop like a stone when it gets nearer the ground."

"Oh! I cannot trouble to look up," replied Gertie, "it makes my neck ache."

By-and-by they passed a field of oats, nearly ripe, and as the wind swayed them to and fro, they made a pleasant rustling sound.

"How nice it is to hear the corn as it rustles in the wind," said Olive, "and listen, Gertie, is not this a pretty tinkling sound?"

Olive had plucked one of the ears of oats, and was shaking its little bells close to her friend's ear.

"It is nothing," said Gertie.

"To me it is lovely," replied Olive, "and the tinkle of the harebells is just as sweet."

Then a bee went buzzing by, and Olive liked to hear its drowsy hum, but Gertie did not notice it.

Presently they were on the edge of the cliffs, and could hear the splash of the waves as they rolled in and broke on the beach.

"Surely you like to hear 'the song of the sea,'" said Olive, but Gertie made no reply—she was thinking of something else.

Match each theme from the story with the evidence from the text that supports it.

Match Term Definition
Nature has much beauty to offer. A) "Surely you like to hear 'the song of the sea,'" said Olive, but Gertie made no reply—she was thinking of something else.
A lack of attention to your surroundings results in missing out on life. B) By-and-by they passed a field of oats, nearly ripe, and as the wind swayed them to and fro, they made a pleasant rustling sound.