Once upon a time, on a chilly winter morning, a little boy was ready for some snowy fun. He wore a warm knit cap, cozy boots, and two soft mittens tied to his sleeves so he wouldn’t lose them. He pulled his sled along, heading to his favorite sledding hill.
As he ran through the trees, excited for his first slide, one of his mittens got caught on a branch. The boy was going so fast that he didn’t notice when the mitten fell off. It lay quietly in the snow.
First, a tiny mouse came out from the stone wall and saw the mitten. It looked so cozy that the mouse snuggled right in. Next, a curious bunny hopped by and decided to join the mouse inside the mitten.
Then, a fox wandered by. “What a snug place!” she thought and crawled inside too. The mouse and bunny made room for her. Soon, a lynx saw the mitten and thought it looked charming. She squeezed in, and all the animals cuddled together.
The wind blew, and a wolf came up the hill. A bear followed. “You first,” said the bear. “No, you,” said the wolf. They both squeezed into the mitten, making it very crowded!
The mitten stretched as much as it could. The mouse, at the bottom, wiggled to find more room, tickling the bunny. The bunny giggled, making the fox snicker. The fox’s tail brushed the lynx, who chuckled and made the wolf laugh. All this wiggling made the bear laugh too!
Suddenly, the mitten couldn’t hold all the animals anymore. With a big pop, out tumbled the bear, wolf, lynx, fox, and bunny. They all ran back to their homes, laughing all the way.
Later, the boy returned up the hill and saw his mitten in the snow. It looked bigger than before! Curious, he picked it up and saw something moving inside. A little mouse peeked out!
“Hello, little friend!” said the boy. “You can stay in my mitten and be my friend.” The boy gently put on his mitten, with the mouse inside, and headed home with his sled.
Hi, I’m Mila, and I’m Kai! Let’s make mittens inspired by the story “The Mitten.” You can use things from around your house to create your own mitten and fill it with cute animals!
How many animals jumped into the mitten in the story? You’ll have to read the book to find out! If you love stories, ask your grown-up to help you find more books to enjoy.
Animal Observation Walk: Take a walk in your backyard or a nearby park with a grown-up. Look for animals that might like to snuggle in a mitten if they found one. Can you spot a mouse, a bunny, or maybe a bird? Talk about where these animals might find warmth in the winter. Draw a picture of the animals you see and imagine them inside a mitten.
Mitten Measurement Game: Use a piece of string or yarn to measure how big your mitten is. Then, find different objects around your house and see how many you can fit inside the mitten. Try using small toys, blocks, or even fruits like grapes. Count how many items fit and compare with your friends or family. Which mitten holds the most?
Storytelling with Mittens: Gather some of your stuffed animals or toys and use your homemade mitten from the craft activity. Pretend your toys are the animals from the story and act out the scene where they all try to fit inside the mitten. Can you come up with a new ending for the story? Share your version with your family or friends.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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It was a cold and windy winter morning, and the little boy hustled up the path, dragging his sled behind him. He was dressed for snowy adventures, from his knit cap to his warm boots to his two soft mittens, which hung from his sleeves on a piece of string so he wouldn’t lose them.
The boy headed to his favorite spot, a stupendous hill perfect for sledding. He dashed through the trees, eager for his first long slide across the snow. But as he jumped over the stone wall at the top of the hill, one of his mittens caught on a low branch. The boy was going so fast he barely felt the small tug of the mitten before the string gave way. He was out of sight and down the hill before his mitten even hit the snow.
All was quiet. Then, tiny shivering mouse darted out from the stone wall, saw the cozy mitten, and crept right in. Soon, a bunny hopped along. The mitten caught his eye, and being a curious fellow, he jumped in right next to mouse. Next, a fox wandered by. “What a snug place this is,” she thought when she discovered the mitten and crawled inside. Mouse and bunny moved over to make room.
The wind blew through the treetops and swirled down the lane. A lynx padded out of the forest and saw the mitten. “What’s this?” she thought. “How charming!” and she nuzzled the mitten open and squeezed herself in. All the animals cuddled together in a warm ball of fur.
The wind was still for a moment, then a wolf came loping up the hill. Up the other side trudged a bear. “You first,” said bear. “No, you,” said wolf. They ended up jostling and cramming their way into the mitten together.
Now, the mitten’s knitting was strong and true, but even so, it was stretched to its limit. Poor mouse was at the bottom of the pile. “I need more room,” he thought, and found a nice soft spot right on bunny’s belly. He wiggled his whiskers happily, which tickled bunny’s tummy. Bunny started to giggle and twitch, and his ears tickled fox’s chin.
Fox snickered and shifted her tail, which brushed against lynx’s paws. Lynx chuckled and rolled onto her back, her fluffy tufted ears making wolf’s muzzle twitch. Wolf howled with laughter, and all that wiggling and shifting and giggling made bear laugh too.
Well, it was too much for the mitten to take. With a giant pop, out tumbled bear, wolf, lynx, fox, and bunny, and off they ran back to their homes, laughing themselves silly the whole way.
It was the time of year when the sun set early, so it wasn’t long before the boy made his way back up the hill. He was just about to step over the stone wall when a flash of red in the snow caught his eye. “My mitten!” he said and picked it up. It was bigger than he remembered. Puzzled, he turned it over in his hands. Deep inside the mitten, something was moving. Suddenly, a wee head with velvety ears and quivering whiskers peeked out over the cuff.
It was mouse! “Oh!” cried the boy. “Hello, little fellow! Have you found yourself a new home in my mitten?” Mouse groomed his whiskers contentedly and crawled back down into his cozy new nest.
“I will take you home then,” the boy said, “and you may live in my mitten as long as you’d like and be my friend.” The boy put on his mitten, cupped his hand gently around mouse, and, dragging his sled behind him, headed to his own warm home across the snow.
[Music][Music]
Hi, I’m Mila. Hi, I’m Kai. Today we’re going to be making mittens inspired by the book “The Mitten.” These little mittens can hold cute little creatures and can be made with items you have around your house.
To create this craft, you’ll need fabric glue, your book’s printout, an old sweater, scissors, markers, rhinestones, and pom-poms for decorating.
Step one: Turn the sweater inside out and lay it flat.
Step two: Use a marker to trace a mitten shape around your hand. It’s a great way to use a sweater if it has stains or holes in it.
Step three: Cut out your mitten, both layers.
Step four: Glue around the edges of your mitten. Make sure you don’t glue the bottom because this is where the animals go.
Step five: Set aside and let dry.
We are waiting for a mitten to dry.
Step six: Color the animals on the book’s printout.
Step seven: Cut out the animals.
Step eight: Add flair! You can be creative and add anything you want. Before we started this, we turned our mitten inside out. I’m going to glue on some pom-poms. My design idea is to make everything all blue and sparkly.
Step nine: Add animals! We are going to do a contest of how many animals we can get in our mitten. One… uh-oh, bear! Two… three… head in! Is it who does it first? I’m about to fit all of them! I think I’m gonna win! Looks like it’s a tie!
How many animals jumped into the mitten in the book “The Mitten”? You’ll have to watch to find out! If you haven’t signed up for books, what are you waiting for? Books is a kid-safe, ad-free library full of storybooks brought to life. Ask your grown-up and start exploring more fun stories like these.
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This version removes any unnecessary repetition and maintains the essence of the original transcript while ensuring clarity and coherence.
