Aesop and His Fables

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written by Lin Donn illustrated by Phillip Martin
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"I think we're in trouble, Mom." I tapped the
paper I was holding. "I'm supposed to write down
how many smoke alarms we have. We don't have any
smoke alarms. Did you know that?" My mother
looked guilty. "Actually, we have a boxful out in
the garage that I bought at a yard sale last
summer. I haven't gotten around to batteries yet.
It's on my list."
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"They can't be on my list unless they're
working." I looked down at my homework. "We did
horribly, Mom. We could die. We don't even have a
fire extinguisher." My mother said quickly,
"Yes we do!" She reached behind the corner hutch
and pulled out a very dusty red metal cylinder.
She blew on it. Dust flew everywhere. "Does it
work?" I asked dubiously.
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"I admit," my mother admitted. "It is rather
old." My mother sort of laughed. "It's a great
assignment, Nancy - but it really doesn't apply
to us. We're absolutely safe. What could go
wrong?" "Lots," I told her seriously. "Want to
see my list?"
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My mother took the list I handed her and looked
it over. She looked it over again more carefully.
"The window has a funny lock. I'll show you,"
she mumbled. "As for the rest ... some of these
things can be fixed right now," she said in a
surprised sort of way.
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Nancy's Fire Safety List No smoke alarms
(correction - no working smoke alarms) No fire
extinguisher. (correction - 1 extinguisher,
possibly working)No escape plan Bunch of
cords jammed behind headboard in bed room to get
them out sight - cords bent and tangled 2 small
cans flammable paint stored in laundry room
behind box of laundry soap 1 small can of
flammable wood stain stored with paint Rags with
wood stain on them in paper bag, stored behind
the stain. Stacks of newspaper in garage for
recycling day, stored next to water heater
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Nancy's Fire Safety List Continued 1 extension
cord with 8 things plugged into it 1 frayed cord
plugged into wall socket (Grandma's old lamp
desperately needs rewiring) No emergency lights
that come on when power goes out (the kind you
plug into an outlet so you can see to get out)
Colorful fabric potholders hanging on the wall
above the stove Small can of charcoal lighter
fluid left on deck, stored with bag of charcoal
and the little grill Grill resting on legs
directly on wood deck - not on a safety fire
pad. Window in back bedroom impossible for me to
open - may be painted shut.
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Why are the items on this list potential fire
hazards, and how do you fix them?   If you don't
know the answers,you will need to look them
up.See this site for help, and play some fire
safety games! http//facs.pppst.com/firesafety.ht
ml
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