Text Leveling System

Just Plain Fancy

RDQ:	924	Max Word/Sent	35	Total Words	1164		Diff Words	464
Lex	720	Ave Word/.Sent	9	Hi Freq occurs	719	61.8%	Hi freq	181	39%
AR	3.5	Long Sentences	6.7	Low Freq occurs	98	8.4%	Low freq	68	14.7%

Kaleb and his two daughters hurried along
Lancaster County Road in their buggy. Cars
whizzed by them, but they paid no mind. Clop,
clop, clop went the horse's hooves on the
pavement.
"Papa," Naomi asked, "why don't we have a car
like the English7"
"It is not our way, child. We are in no hurry,"
he said as he drew up the reins and slowly directed
the horse into their farmyard.]]
While their father unharnessed and watered the horse, Naomi and
Ruth skipped toward the henhouse. The chickens were Naomi's
responsibility. She saw to their feeding and watering as well as the
collecting of their eggs.
"Everything around here is so plain," Naomi complained. "Our
clothes are plain, our houses are plain, even our chickens are plain.
It would pleasure me-just once-to have something fancy."
"Shaw, Nomi, you aughtn't to be saying such things," little Ruth
scolded.]]
As Naomi and Ruth searched the field for eggs laid outside the
henhouse, they spotted a very unusual one nestled in the tall grass
down the drive and behind the henhouse, next to the road.
"This egg looks different from any I have ever seen," Naomi said
quietly. "It's still warm-let's put it in Henny's nest. This one needs to
be hatched." She gently picked up the egg and eased it into her basket.]]
Although it was a little bigger than Henny's other eggs and a little
darker in color, Naomi gently tucked the egg into the nest while Henny
and Ruth looked on.
"You're so good with chickens," Ruth chirped. "I just know you're
going to get your white cap this year. Momma says you're ready."
Naomi was proud of her chickens and the way she raised them. The
elders were coming for a working bee, or frolic, in the coming summer.
And Naomi wondered whether her parents might present her with the
white cap on that day. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ruth's voice.
"Ain't we pleasured," she said. "You wanted something fancy, and
now you've got it."]]
As the days passed, Naomi and Ruth checked
Henny's nest constantly. Every day they peered
over the edge of the crib, watching for signs of
cracks in the shells. Then, one day, the eggs
hatched.
"Look at the little chick from the fancy egg,
Nomi," Ruth squealed.
"That egg was fancy inside and out, wasn't it?"
said Naomi. "Fancy. That's just what we'll name
this chick."
"Fancy, Fancy, Fancy, Fancy," Ruth sang out as
she jumped about. Naomi smiled and clapped her
hands.
All that afternoon, the girls stayed with Henny,
watching and studying their special little chick.]]
Weeks passed. Henny's chicks grew quickly and were soon
scratching around in the dirt. They had all lost their yellow down
feathers and had grown bright white ones. All of them, except Fancy.
Fancy looked very different from the others. There was no doubt about
it-this chick wasn't plain!]]
One afternoon in the washhouse, Naomi and Ruth overheard Aunt
Sarai talking to cousin Hannah about a person in the neighboring
Amish community.
"She dressed too fancy," Sarai said. "She had to be shunned!"
"Is it wrong to be fancy?" Naomi asked.
"Indeed, yes!" snapped Hannah. "We are plain folk. It is in our
laws, the Ordnung, that we must be plain!"
"What does ... 'shun' mean?" Ruth asked haltingly.
"Someone who is shunned is shamed in front of the elders. After
that, friends and neighbors are instructed not to speak to that person.
They are no longer one of us," Sarai answered with authority.
Naomi and Ruth looked at each other and hurried outside to hang up
the washing. Naomi felt botherment inside.]]
As soon as they were finished, the girls ran to
the henhouse.
"What are we going to do?" Ruth asked.
"Fancy is too fancy to be Amish!" Then Fancy
ruffled up his feathers and did something that took
their breath clean away.]]
"We'll have to hide him until we know what to
do," Naomi said finally. "The elders will be here
for the frolic tomorrow."
"He'll be shunned," Ruth whimpered. "Maybe
we will be, too!"
They put Fancy into another part of the henhouse
and locked the door.]]
The next morning, the neighboring Amish folk arrived for the frolic.
The men and boys helped add a stable onto the Vleckes' barn. They
worked hard in the sun while the womenfolk cooked and gossiped.
Naomi and Ruth helped serve the food, pour lemonade, and thread
needles for the Women who were quilting. This should have been a
happy day for them. But the girls were not pleasured because they
were sad with worry about Fancy.]]
When she had served the last ladle of lemonade,
Naomi started toward the henhouse. Just then she
noticed the open door. But before she could get
there to shut it, Fancy darted out and ran toward
the gathering, flapping his wings.
"Oh, no!" Naomi called out. "This is all my
fault. I wanted something fancy. I should have
known better than to make that kind of wish!"
Tears ran down Ruth's cheeks when she saw
what had happened. "Poor Fancy," she cried.
"Now he'll be shunned."]]
Over. Under. Around. Through. Naomi ran after Fancy, trying to catch him before anyone noticed. And that's about the time that Fancy decided to head straight for the elders. He flew at Martha, the oldest member of the gathering. Adjusting her glasses, she gasped as he flew over her head just before landing on the clothesline where the quilts were airing.
Please don't shun him, Naomi cried. I did this! I made him fancy, she sobbed. At that moment, pleased with all the attention, Fancy ruffled his feathers and did for the guests what he had done for the girls in the henhouse the day before. Those who weren't speechless were stunned.]]
"Dry your tears, child." It was Martha who finally spoke. "This isn't
your doing. This be God's handiwork. Only He could think up colors
like that."
"You mean you aren't going to shun him?" Ruth asked.
"One can only be shunned for going against the ways of our people,"
Martha continued. "This is no plain old chicken. This be one of God's
most beautiful creations. He is fancy, child, and that's the way of it."]]
All who were gathered there rejoiced in Fancy's
beauty. "I believe you have this coming, child," old
Martha said as she held out the new white organdy
cap. Your family believes you have earned this
well. And I agree. Not only have you given good
and faithful care to your flock of chickens, but you
have also raised one of the finest peacocks I ever
did see!"
Standing proudly amidst the gathering, Naomi
held Fancy in her arms. She had learned many
things that day.]]
And although no one ever quite knew how Fancy came to be
hatched by Henny, it was never questioned. Plainly it was a
miracle ... and sometimes miracles are JUST PLAIN FANCY!]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: Little support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Vocabulary: More decoding/definition issues

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Blend of written/oral

Inferences: Some implications

Concepts: Concrete/Simple Social

Prior Knowledge: Familiarity

Features

Character traits

Integral Setting - Cultural/Regional

Clear cause/effect

Topic

Cultures

Differences

*Life Styles

*Feelings, Behaviors

Low Frequency Words

adjusting	airing	amidst	amish	aughtn't
authority	botherment	community	constantly	doubt
eased	elders	fault	folk	frolic
gathering	gossiped	haltingly	handiwork	hatched
hooves	instructed	interrupted	kaleb	ladle
lancaster	lemonade	miracle	miracles	naomi
naomi's	neighboring	neighbors	nestled	nomi
ordnung	organdy	overheard	pavement	peacocks
peered	plainly	pleasure	pleasured	pour
questioned	reins	rejoiced	responsibility	ruffled
ruth's	sarai	shamed	shaw	shun
shunned	speechless	squealed	stable	stunned
thread	unharnessed	vleckes	washhouse	watered
whimpered	whizzed	womenfolk