Episode 1: The Cupcake Factory
"That's gross, Diego," said Maggie.
My best friend, Maggie, says that to me a lot. This time, it was because I was lying on the stinky couch that my dog, Ripley, loves. And I was using Ripley as a pillow. Ripley is a big dog, so he can handle it.
"It is NOT gross," I replied quickly. OK, I admit it: Ripley does have an odor about him, especially when he's just come in from the rain. And it doesn't smell like roses, that's for sure. But since Ripley is my other best friend, I'll always defend him.
Besides, Maggie was getting on my nerves more than usual. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and we'd been inside all day with nothing to do except talk about how there was nothing to do.
Just when I thought I would die of boredom, I had an idea.
"I know what we can do," I said. "We can make cupcakes!"
Maggie's eyes lit up. "Yeah, the weather is supposed to clear up later, so we can set up a cupcake stand outside and give the money to charity!"
That wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I was actually just hungry and wanted cupcakes. But selling cupcakes sounded like a good way to spend the afternoon. When my dad said it was okay, we got to work.
"So, we're making chocolate and vanilla cupcakes," Maggie said. "And we'll put chocolate frosting on some and vanilla frosting on others."
I'm not really sure why anyone likes vanilla, when they can have chocolate. But I'm not going to judge. Pretty soon, we started making the batter and frosting.
We'd made pretty good progress when Ripley wandered in from the other room and started sniffing the air.
"Uh-oh," I muttered. I pushed the bowl of chocolate frosting to the center of the table, away from Ripley's reach. "No chocolate for you, Ripley," I told him. "Chocolate isn't safe for dogs to eat."
"As if he'll listen to you," Maggie snickered.
"He always listens," I replied. "He's such a good—"
But before either of us knew it, Ripley's two front paws were on the table and his giant snout was nudging the ingredients closer, closer, closer to the edge.
CRASH! Two metal mixing bowls of vanilla batter and vanilla frosting tumbled to the floor, along with an open bag of flour. And that was when Ripley discovered that he loves vanilla flavor. Well, no one's perfect, I guess.
"Ripley, no!" my dad called out as he ran into the kitchen. He pulled Ripley out of the giant puddle of batter. Batter and flour covered Ripley's face. Dad opened the back door and let Ripley out. "To the yard, you!"
"What a mess," said Maggie.
"It sure is," Dad said. "I'm stopping the cupcake factory until we get this cleaned up. There's a dog outside that's covered in batter and flour and needs a bath. It's finally stopped raining, so I want you two to take the dog shampoo and use the hose. Meanwhile, I'll clean up the floor."
"What about our cupcakes?" I protested, but Maggie had already started for the door.
"Let's get this over with, Diego," she said.
It's not easy to bathe Ripley. He doesn't really understand baths. Every time I tried to get Ripley wet with the hose, he thought it was a game. He started jumping around and licking the stream of water!
"You hold him still, and I'll soak him with the hose," Maggie suggested. That's not easy either, since Ripley is super strong. But pretty soon I realized that he'd hold still if he thought I was hugging him. When it was all over, I stood in the center of a big, soapy puddle, almost as wet as Ripley. Maggie started laughing.
"Hey, you both got a bath!" she said. But then Ripley shook his entire body to get the water off—and got her wet too. "Eeew!"
Now I started laughing.
"Oh, VERY funny, Diego," Maggie shouted.
"Don't worry, Maggie. Ripley's clean!" I said, between bursts of laughter.
QUESTION 1
QUESTION 1 OF 4
1 / 4
What is the main problem in this episode?
A.Maggie thinks that using Ripley as a pillow is gross.
B.Ripley jumps around and tries to lick a stream of water.
C.Ripley makes a mess with the cupcake ingredients.
D.Diego is hungry and wants to eat some cupcakes.
C. Ripley makes a mess with the cupcake ingredients.
QUESTION 2
QUESTION 2 OF 4
2 / 4
Think about when Maggie and Diego are talking about making cupcakes. How does their talk show a difference in point of view?
A.Maggie wants to make only chocolate cupcakes, but Diego wants vanilla.
B.Maggie wants to eat cupcakes, but Diego wants to give money to charity.
C.Maggie wants to make only vanilla cupcakes, but Diego wants chocolate.
D.Maggie wants to give money to charity, but Diego just wants to eat cupcakes.
C. Maggie wants to make only vanilla cupcakes, but Diego wants chocolate.
QUESTION 4
QUESTION 4 OF 4
4 / 4
What causes Maggie to get wet?
A.Maggie has to hold Ripley still to soak him with the hose.
B.Ripley jumps around and licks the stream of water.
C.Ripley shakes his entire body to get the water off.
D.Maggie stands in the center of a big, soapy puddle.