Compound Words Worksheets: Story 6, Chuck Digs to Hal's

Chuck lived in a snug den under a big oak tree. His best friend, Hal the hedgehog, lived in a little house on a hilltop across the field. In summer, Chuck could walk uphill to Hal's door in no time. But in winter, the snow got so deep and cold that the trip was very hard. Chuck had to stop and rest a lot, and he got wet and cold.

"I will dig a path under the ground," Chuck said one cold morning. "Then I can visit Hal on snowy days." He put a cupcake in his backpack for a snack and began to dig. He dug and dug until his paws were brown with dirt.

At last, he pushed his nose up through the ground. He had popped up inside a muddy pigpen! The warm barn nearby made the mud soft. A big pig sniffed at him, and mud dripped off Chuck's ears. "This is not Hal's house," Chuck said, and he dug back down.

The next time, he popped up in a sandbox. Sand got in his eyes and in his fur. The time after that, he bumped his head on something hard. He poked his nose up and saw that he was right under a mailbox! Chuck sat down in the dark and ate his cupcake. "I keep getting lost down here," he said. "I cannot see where I am going."

Then Chuck thought of a plan. He went back to his den and pulled a sack of walnuts out of a dark corner. He had saved them for winter. He went outside and set the walnuts in a long line across the snow, from his den all the way to Hal's door. It was a long, cold trip, but he only had to do it one time. Each walnut was a few steps from the next one.

Back under the ground, Chuck dug slowly. After a little while, he poked his nose up to peek. There was a walnut right next to him! He was still on track. He dug on to the next walnut, and the next, and the next. Each time, he checked that the line of walnuts was still close by.

At sunset, Chuck pushed up through the snow one last time. He was right at Hal's door! He knocked, and Hal opened it with a big grin.

"Chuck, you made it!" Hal said. "Come inside and get warm."

They sat by the fire and shared a big bowl of hot popcorn. Later, Chuck picked up his walnuts so he could snack on them all winter. Now, on every snowy day, Chuck could visit his best friend.