Sarah is very excited. She has always wanted a pet and over supper that day, her mother had said that she could have one! Sarah loves animals and wonders what pet to ask for. This is what her father asked her to consider before choosing a pet:
- Grandma's room is next to Sarah's and she does not like loud noises.
- Sarah's older brother John is allergic to cat hair.
- They live in a small house.
- Sarah would be fully responsible for taking care of her pet.
"I wonder what I should get," Sarah says to herself. "I would like to have an animal from the wild! Maybe I could get an elephant! I could ride on it all day!"
Then Sarah thinks about what her father said:
- Grandma's room is next to Sarah's and she does not like loud noises.
- Sarah's older brother John is allergic to cat hair.
- They live in a small house.
- Sarah would be fully responsible for taking care of her pet.
- The elephant would trumpet loudly and Grandma wouldn't like that.
- Their house is too small for a big elephant.
- Taking care of an elephant might be very difficult. An elephant would need a lot of food and how tough it would be to give it a bath!
"Oh dear," says Sarah. "Maybe an elephant is not such a good idea. Maybe I should get an animal that is smaller than an elephant."
Sarah thinks for a while. "I know!" she says. "A lion is smaller than an elephant! I'll ask for a lion! A lion is an animal from the wild too!"
Again, Sarah thinks about what her father said:
- Grandma's room is next to Sarah's and she does not like loud noises.
- Sarah's older brother John is allergic to cat hair.
- They live in a small house.
- Sarah would be fully responsible for taking care of her pet.
- The lion would roar and Grandma wouldn't like that.
- Their house is too small for a lion as well.
- Taking care of a lion might be very difficult. If she took it out for a walk, people might get quite scared!
- Sarah's brother John is allergic to cat hair and a lion belongs to the cat family!
"Making decisions is not very easy," says Sarah. "I want an animal that does not make loud noises. I should also not get an animal from the cat family. The pet should be easy to take care of. And I also must have an animal that is small enough for our home."
"Let me think of some more animals," says Sarah. "Well, a dog barks quite loudly so I don't want that. A kitten is small but John wouldn't like to sneeze all day. What other animals can I think of?"
"I've got it!" says Sarah excitedly. "I will bring home a snake. Grandpa told me that a lot of snakes are small and not all have venom. They hiss, but that is not a very loud sound. And it shouldn't be too difficult to take care of a small snake. The best part is that a snake is a reptile and so it doesn't have any hair at all!
"A snake it is," Sarah says to herself. "I am glad I could make a good choice and also make sure that my family is happy".
With that, Sarah falls asleep only to dream of a colorful snake that would soon be her very own pet.