One morning, Mrs. Goat says to her billy kids, “I want you to go to the shops for me.” 

Mrs. Goat writes down the things she wants them to buy. She puts some money in a purse and gives them each a basket.

“Hurry there and back,” says Mrs. Goat.

“We will,” say the billy kids, and they skip off down the hill.

First they buy a bag of sugar. Then they go to the greengrocer.

“Six melons, please,” says the first billy kid.

“And one lemon,” says the other. The shopkeeper is a little surprised, but she gives them what they ask for. The billy kids carry the heavy baskets up the hill.

When they get home, Mrs. Goat says, “Now I can make some lemonade with the sugar and lemons. Then we’ll each have a slice of melon. “

But, oh dear! When Mrs. Goat looks in the baskets she says, “You silly billies. I wanted six LEMONS and one MELON.”

The billy kids look at the shopping list again. “We got the words mixed up,” say billy kids. “That’s why our baskets were so heavy.” And they all laugh.

“Well, we can’t have any lemonade,” says Mrs. Goat, “but we’ll be eating melons all week.”

Study the words:

• billy - billy goat (a he-goat)
• purse - a small bag for money
• basket - a container for shopping
• to skip - taking short, quick jumps
• greengrocer - a person who sells vegetables & fruit
• melon - a large, round fruit with hard skin
• slice - a thin piece cut from fruit/cake
• mixed up - confused, difficult to understand