Text Leveling System

Night of the Ninjas

RDQ:	884	Max Word/Sent	22	Total Words	3167		Diff Words	703
Lex	720	Ave Word/.Sent	5	Hi Freq occurs	2321	73.3%	Hi freq	324	46.1%
AR	3.4	Long Sentences	0.2	Low Freq occurs	73	2.3%	Low freq	48	6.8%

Prologue
One summer day in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania,
a mysterious tree house appeared in the
woods.
Eight-year-old Jack and his seven-year-old
sister, Annie, climbed into the tree house.
They found that it was filled with books.
Jack and Annie soon discovered that the
tree house was magic. It could take them to
the places in the books. All they had to do was
to point to a picture and wish to be there.
Jack and Annie visited the time of
dinosaurs, old England, ancient Egypt, and a
pirate ship.]]
Along the way, they discovered that the
tree house belonged to Morgan le Fay. Morgan
was a magical librarian from the time of
King Arthur. She traveled through time and
space, gathering books.
Jack and Annie are about to start a whole
new adventure ... in Night of the Ninjas.]]
Back into the woods
"Let's look again, Jack," said Annie.
Jack and Annie were walking home from
the library. The path went right by the Frog
Creek woods.
Jack sighed. "We looked this morning," he
said. We looked the day before. And the day
before that."
Then you don't have to come," said Annie.
"I'll go look by myself."
She took off into the woods.
"Annie, wait!" Jack called. "It's almost]]
dark! We have to get home!"
But Annie had disappeared among the
trees.
Jack stared at the woods. He was starting
to lose hope. Maybe he would never see Morgan
again.
Weeks had passed. And there had not
been one sign of Morgan le Fay. Nor had
there been one sign of her magic tree
house.
"Jack!" Annie called from the woods. "It's
back!'
Oh, she's just pretending as usual, Jack
thought. But his heart started to race.
"Hurry!" called Annie.
"She better not be kidding," said Jack.
He took off into the woods to find Annie.
Night was falling fast. Crickets chirped]]
loudly. It was hard to see through the
shadows.
"Annie!" Jack shouted.
"Here!" she called.
Jack kept walking. "Here where?" he
called back.
"Here here!"
Annie's voice came from above.
Jack looked up.
"Oh man, he breathed.
Annie waved from the window of a tree
house. It was in the tallest oak in the woods.
A long rope ladder hung down from it.
The magic tree house was back.
"Come on up!" Annie shouted.
Jack ran to the rope ladder. He started
climbing.
He climbed and climbed and climbed.]]
As he climbed, he looked out over the
woods. High above the treetops it was still
light.
At last, Jack pulled himself into the tree
house.
Annie sat in the shadows. Books were
scattered everywhere.
On the floor the letter M glowed in the
dim light. The M stood for Morgan le Fay.
But there was no sign of Morgan herself.
"I wonder where Morgan is," said Jack.]]
"Maybe she went to the library to get
some more books," said Annie.
"We were just at the library. We would
have seen her," said Jack. "Besides, the
library's closed now."
Squeak!
A little mouse ran out from behind a stack
of books. It ran to the M shining in the floor.
"Yikes," said Annie.
The mouse sat on the middle of the M. It
looked up at Jack and Annie.
"Oh, it's so cute," Annie said.
Jack had to admit the mouse was cute. It
had brown-and-white fur and big dark eyes.
Annie slowly reached out her hand. The
mouse didn't move. Annie patted its tiny
head.
"Hi, Peanut," she said. "Can I call you
Peanut?"]]
"Oh brother," said Jack.
"Do you know where Morgan is?" Annie
asked the mouse.
Squeak.
"You're nuts, Annie," said Jack. "Just
because the mouse is in the tree house doesn't
mean it's magic. It's a plain old mouse that
crawled in, that's all."
Jack looked around again. He saw a piece
of paper on the floor.
What's that?" he said.
What's what?" asked Annie.
Jack went over and picked up the paper.
There was writing on it.
"Oh man," whispered Jack, after he read
the words.
What is it?" said Annie.
"A note," said Jack. "It must be from
Morgan. I think she's in big trouble!"]]
The Open Book
Jack showed Annie the piece of paper. It
said:
Help me Under a spell Find 4 things.
"Oh no," said Annie. "We have to help her.
But what's a thin?"
"Maybe she was trying to write things,"
said Jack. "See how the n sort of runs off the
page?"
"Maybe the spell was starting to make her
disappear or something," said Annie.]]
"Right," said Jack. "I wonder if she left
any other clues." He glanced around the tree
house.
"Look!" Annie pointed at a book in the
corner. "That's the only open book," she said.
Jack looked around again. Annie was
right. He felt a shiver go down his spine.
Jack went over to the book and picked it
up. He held it near the window. Light from
the setting sun was golden on the page.
Jack stared at the picture on it. In the picture
were trees with white flowers. The trees
were on the side of a mountain. Near a wide,
rushing stream.
Two people were also in the picture. They
wore dark clothes. They had black scarves
over their faces. And long swords strapped to
their backs.
"Oh man," whispered Jack.]]
Who are they?" Annie asked.
"Ninjas, I think," said Jack.
"Ninjas? Really?" said Annie.
"Morgan must have left the book open to
this page for a reason," said Jack.
"Maybe that's where she was when the
spell got her," Annie said.
"Or maybe that's where the four things
are," said Jack.
"Let's go!" said Annie.
"Now?" said Jack.
"Yes, Morgan's in trouble! She needs us
now!" said Annie.
"But we should read this book first," said
Jack. "So we'll be prepared."
"Forget it!" said Annie. "Every minute
counts!" She grabbed the book from Jack.
"Give it back," he said. We have to find
out about this place."]]
Annie held the book out of reach. "We'll
find out when we get there," she said.
"We don't even know where there is!" Jack
said.
But Annie pointed at the picture. "I wish
we could go here," she said.
The leaves of the oak tree began to shake.
Squeak!
"Don't be scared, Peanut," said Annie. She
scooped up the mouse. Then she put it in the
pouch of her sweatshirt.
The wind began to blow.
It blew harder and harder.
The tree house started to spin.
Faster and faster!
Jack squeezed his eyes shut.
Then everything was still. Absolutely still.
Except for the sound of rushing water.]]
Jack opened his eyes.
Annie was already looking out the window.
The mouse peeked out of her pouch.
Jack looked out the window, too. The air
was fresh and cool.
The tree house was in a tree with white
flowers. The tree was in a grove of trees on
the side of a mountain. Nearby a wild stream
rushed downhill.
Two ninjas were standing on rocks near
the water. They were staring at the valley
below.]]
One ninja was tall. The other was short.
They wore black pants and shirts. They had
black scarves around their heads. And
swords strapped to their backs.
It was exactly like the picture in the book.
Jack crouched below the window.
"Be careful," he whispered. "Don't let
them see you."
Why not?" Annie whispered back.
"They might think we're some kind of
enemy,'' said Jack quietly.
Annie crouched beside him.
Jack pushed his glasses into place. Now he
was going to look at the ninja book.
He picked up the book. He turned to the
beginning. He read:
Very little is known about the
shadowy warriors called ninjas.
Historians believe that ninjas]]
lived in Japan between the 14th
and 17th centuries. Both men
and women were ninjas. Sometimes
they fought to protect their
families. Sometimes warlords
hired them to be spies.
"Wow," whispered Jack. "We're in Japan,
hundreds of years ago."
Jack opened his backpack. He pulled out
his notebook and pencil. He liked to take
notes. He wrote:
Ninjas were warriors in old Japan.
"Jack," whispered Annie. They're looking
up. I think they know we're here."
Jack peeked over the windowsill. His eyes
met the dark eyes of the tall ninja.]]
"E-hy!" the ninja cried. He dashed toward
the tree. The other ninja followed.
"Oh no!" said Annie.
We've got to go!" Jack said. Where's the
Pennsylvania book?"
He and Annie looked around wildly.
But where was the book about Pennsylvania?
It had the picture of the Frog Creek
woods in it. Jack and Annie couldn't get home
without it.
"It's not anywhere!" cried Annie.
We've got to do something. Fast!" said
Jack. "Pull up the ladder!"
He and Annie grabbed the top of the rope
ladder. They pulled the ladder into the tree
house.
But the tall ninja leaped at the tree trunk.
Then he started climbing up the tree! The]]
short ninja followed. They climbed just like
cats!
Jack and Annie huddled in a corner.
The ninjas climbed into the tree house.
Neither one made a sound.]]
Captured
The ninjas pulled iron bands off their hands.
The bands had spikes like claws on them.
"That's how they climbed the tree," Annie
whispered to Jack.
The ninjas stared at Jack and Annie with
dark, piercing eyes. The rest of their faces
were covered by their scarves.
Jack felt frozen under their stares.
Annie wasn't frozen, though. She stepped
right up to them.
"Hi," she said.]]
The ninjas didn't say "hi" back. They
didn't move at all. They were as still as Jack.
"We're trying to help our friend, Morgan,"
said Annie.
She held up Morgan's note.
The tall ninja took the note from her. He
looked at it. Then he gave it to the short
ninja.
The two ninjas stared at each other. Then
they looked back at Jack and Annie.
Finally the short ninja nodded once. He
put the note into the pocket of his shirt.
"You can help us?" Annie asked.
Neither ninja spoke. Jack wished he could
see their faces. He couldn't tell what they
were thinking.
The short ninja tossed the rope ladder
back out of the tree house. The tall one]]
pointed down the ladder. Then he pointed at
Jack and Annie.
Uh-oh, thought Jack. Were they being
captured?
"Us? Go with you?" said Annie.
The ninja nodded.
"Oh boy!" said Annie.
Oh boy? Is she nuts? wondered Jack.
The short ninja darted down the ladder.
He went hand over hand. His feet didn't
touch the rungs of the ladder.
The tall one did the same.
Jack gasped. The ninjas moved very
fast. They were like spiders dropping from
webs.
Wow!" said Annie.
"Now's our chance to leave," said Jack.
"Quick!" He looked around the tree house]]
again. Where was that Pennsylvania book?
"Let's go with them, Jack," said Annie.
"No! This isn't a game!" Jack said.
"But I think they know something about
Morgan!" said Annie.
She started down the ladder.
"Come back!" said Jack.
But it was too late.
Jack sighed. Why does this always happen?"
he asked himself.
"Come on, Jack!" came Annie's voice from
below.
Jack put his notebook and the ninja book
into his pack. He pushed his glasses into
place. And he started down the ladder.
Jack joined Annie and the ninjas on the
ground.
The sun had fallen behind the hills. The]]
sky was streaked with red and gold.
The mouse peeked out from Annie's
sweatshirt pouch.
"Don't be scared, Peanut," Annie whispered.
We'll take care of you."
Great, thought Jack. But who is going to 
take care of us?
The short ninja held Jack's arm in one
hand and Annie's arm in the other. He led
them through the twilight. The tall ninja
walked behind them.
Where are we going?" Jack asked.
The ninjas stopped near the rushing water
of the wide stream. The water roared as it
raced downhill.
The short ninja looked at Jack and Annie.
He let go of their arms. Then he pushed them
toward the stream.
"You want us to cross it?" shouted Annie.]]
The ninja nodded. Then he and the short
ninja stepped into the wild stream. They
started wading across.
"Let's run back to the tree house!" said
Jack.
"No, we have to follow them!" said Annie.
"For Morgan's sake!"
Jack took a deep breath. She was right.
Annie grabbed Jack's hand. Together they
stepped into the water .
"YIKES!" They both screamed and
jumped out.
It was the coldest water Jack had ever
felt! It was colder than ice. It was so cold it
felt like fire.
"I can't go back in,'' said Annie, shivering.
"Me neither," said Jack. "I'll have a heart
attack."
The ninjas looked at Jack and Annie. Then]]
they turned around and came back.
The tall ninja grabbed Jack.
"Help!" Jack cried.
But the ninja lifted Jack high into the air.
And put him on his shoulder.
The short ninja put Annie on his shoulder.]]
Then the two ninjas stepped into the
stream again. The icy wild waters swirled
around them. It went up to the short ninja's
waist.
But the ninjas moved through the stream
as calmly as two sailing ships.]]
Flames in the Mist
The water grew shallow again. Then they
were on dry land. The ninjas lowered Jack
and Annie to the ground.
"Thanks," said Annie.
Thanks," said Jack.
Squeak, said the mouse.
The ninjas said nothing, but they looked
around.
Jack looked around, too. A full moon was
rising in the sky. Dark rocks dotted the side
of the mountain.
Then the ninjas started moving. They]]
went silently up the slope, between the
rocks.
Jack and Annie followed them. Jack wasn't
afraid of the ninjas now. In fact, he was starting
to like them. Maybe they really could help
find Morgan.
The ninjas moved silently. But Jack and
Annie made plenty of noise.
They panted as they climbed the rocky
hillside. Their wet sneakers made squishy
sounds.
Suddenly the ninjas froze. Jack could see
their eyes darting around. Voices were coming
from the valley below. Jack saw torches
flaming in the mist.
The ninjas started moving faster. Jack and
Annie hurried after them.
"Who's carrying the torches?" Annie
asked.]]
Jack was too out of breath to speak. He
also didn't have an answer.
They came to a pine forest. Night birds
called out. Wind rattled the branches.
The ninjas moved like ghosts through the
forest. They appeared and disappeared,
through moonlight and shadows.
Jack and Annie struggled to keep up.
Finally the ninjas came to a stop.
One ninja held out his hand, as if to say,
Wait. Then both ninjas stepped away into the
shadows of the trees. And were gone.
Where did they go?" said Annie.
"I don't know," said Jack. "Maybe the
book can tell us."
He pulled the ninja book out of his pack.
He turned the pages until he came to a
picture of a cave.]]
By the light of the full moon, he read:
Sometimes ninjas held meetings in
hidden mountain caves to plan
secret missions.
"Oh man," said Jack, "I bet they went
inside a hidden cave."
He pulled out his notebook and pencil. He
wrote: meetings in hidden caves.
Jack turned the page. He stared at a picture
of a ninja sitting on a mat. He read:
Ninjas took orders from a ninja
master. The master was a mysterious
wise person who knew many
secrets of nature.]]
Wow," whispered Jack.
Just then the two ninjas returned. Jack
quickly put his books away.
The short ninja motioned for Jack and
Annie to follow. In the shadows was the
entrance of a dark cave.
"What's in there?" Annie whispered.
"The ninja master," Jack whispered back.]]
Shadow Warrior
Jack and Annie went into the cave. They
followed the ninja through the darkness.
The back of the cave was lit with dozens of
candles. Shadows danced on the walls.
In the flickering light, Jack saw a dark
figure sitting on a woven mat.
The ninja master.
The ninja bowed to the master. Then he
stepped to one side.
The master stared at Jack and Annie.
"Sit," he said.]]
Jack and Annie sat on the cold, hard floor.
Squeak.
The mouse poked its head out of Annie's
pouch.
"It's okay, Peanut," said Annie.]]
The master stared at the mouse for a
moment. Then he looked at Jack. "Who are
you?" he asked.
"I'm Jack and that's my sister, Annie,"
Jack answered.]]
Where do you come from?" the master
asked.
"Frog Creek, Pennsylvania," Annie
answered.
Why are you here?" he asked.
"We're trying to help our friend Morgan le
Fay," said Jack. "She left us a message."
Annie pointed to the short ninja. "We gave
the message to him."
"You mean, you gave the message to her,"
said the ninja master. "And she has given it to
me."
"She?" said Jack and Annie together.
The woman ninja's eyes sparkled. Jack
thought she might be smiling.
The master held up Morgan's note.
"Perhaps I can help you,'' he said. "But
first you must prove yourselves worthy of my
help."]]
Just then the tall ninja appeared. He made
a sign to the master.
The master stood up. He handed Morgan's
note to Annie.
"We must go now," he said. "The samurai
are close."
"Samurai?" said Jack. He knew that the
samurai were fierce Japanese fighters.
"Were they the ones in the valley?" Jack
asked. The ones with the torches?"
"Yes, our family is at war with them," said
the master. "We must leave before they find
us."
"But what about helping Morgan?" said
Annie.
The master strapped on his sword.
"I have no time now," he said. "I must go."
"Can't we go with you?" said Annie.
"No, there is no place for you where we]]
are going. You must find your way back to
your house in the trees."
"Alone?" said Jack.
"Yes. You must go alone. And beware of
the samurai."
"Why?" said Jack.
"They will think you are one of us," said
the master. "They will ask you no questions.
They will show you no mercy."
Yikes," whispered Annie.
"But you have seen the way of the ninja.
You can practice it yourselves now," said the
master.
"H-how?" said Jack.
"Remember three things," said the master.
What?" said Jack.
"Use nature. Be nature. Follow nature."
"I can do that!" Annie said.]]
Jack looked at her. "You can?" he said.
The master turned to Jack. "Your tree
house lies to the east. That is the way you
must go," he said.
How? wondered Jack. How do we find the
east?
Before he could ask, the master bowed.
Then he disappeared into the shadows.
The two ninjas led Jack and Annie out of
the cave, into the moonlight.
The tall one pointed at the pine forest.
Then they too disappeared into the darkness.
Jack and Annie were all alone.]]

Subjective Criteria

Illustrations: No support

Dialog: Multiple speakers

Dialog: Broken dialogue

Dialog: Unlabeled Speaker

Vocabulary: Some difficult words

Language: Many descriptive words

Sentences: Multiple phrases

Text structure: Story/Poem

Table of Contents

Chapters

Headings

Features

Integral Setting - Historical

Simple Plot

Topic

Time

Travel/Traveling

Cultures

*History

Low Frequency Words

absolutely	breathed	calmly	crouched	flaming
flickering	gathering	grove	hy	japanese
librarian	library's	lowered	magical	mercy
missions	moonlight	motioned	mysterious	nature
ninja's	pennsylvania	piercing	pouch	prologue
prove	rungs	sake	samurai	scarves
shallow	spies	spine	squishy	streaked
sweatshirt	swirled	sword	swords	torches
twilight	warlords	warrior	warriors	windowsill
worthy	woven	yourselves