Chapter 2: The Forest’s Edge
The following Saturday, armed with a backpack containing a compass, a water bottle, a small trowel, and a notebook, Elara stood at the edge of the sprawling Blackwood Forest. Sunlight dappled through the canopy, painting shifting patterns on the leaf-littered ground. The air was cool and smelled of damp earth and pine needles.
According to her grandfather’s map, Whisperwind Gully lay deep within these woods. The path wasn’t clear; there were only faint animal tracks and the occasional snapped twig to suggest a way through. She pulled out her compass, orienting herself with the faint markings her grandfather had sketched on the map.
As she delved deeper, the sounds of the nearby town faded, replaced by the rustling of leaves, the chirping of unseen birds, and the distant, rhythmic drumming of a woodpecker. The trees grew taller and closer, their branches intertwining overhead, creating a natural cathedral. A sense of peaceful solitude settled over her, punctuated only by the crunch of her boots on the forest floor. She felt a connection to the wildness around her, a feeling her grandfather had always taught her to cherish.
Chapter 2 Exercise: Inferential Comprehension
Instructions: Answer the following questions using information from the text, but also drawing on your own understanding.
- Why do you think Elara brought a trowel and a notebook on her journey?
- How does the description of the forest change as Elara goes deeper into it?
- What does the last sentence tell you about Elara’s relationship with her grandfather?