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The Pick Five No-Winner

by Frances Jones

(Correlated to Laubach Way to Reading, Skill Book 3, Lesson 1)
New words: room, lottery, ticket, winner, party

The TV was on in the living room. But Ted was not watching. He was having a ham sandwich in the kitchen. His lottery ticket was under the telephone.

In the living room the TV said, "The first number of the Pick Five Lottery is two. Then we get a ten."

Ted said, "I think I have a two and ten."

From the living room, the TV said, "Twelve. Twenty-one."

Ted got up to get his ticket. His ticket was in one hand and his sandwich in the other.

"What? What was that? I have a two and ten. Twelve! Twenty-one! I have them! I have them! A sixty, and I am the winner!"

"Sixteen," from the TV in the other room.

Ted yelled, "Sixty! I have sixty!"

He jumped and laughed and kicked. "I am the winner!" he yelled.

He telephoned his friends. He telephoned his family. He said, "I am the Pick Five Lottery winner! I am the winner! I am going to get dollars on top of dollars on top of dollars! I am a winner!"

One friend said, "Ted, my car has stopped working. Can I have $10,000 to get a car?"

Ted's brother asked, "Can you give me $500 for the doctor?"

Another friend said, "Do not give your dollars to anyone. Let me have them. I'll get you some big bucks!"

Ted's telephone did not stop ringing. Person after person said they were happy for Ted. Then they asked for $600 or $20,000 or $100.

And Ted said, "Yes. Yes. Yes."

At five-thirty Ted's friends and family went with him to the Lottery Office. They were laughing and yelling. They yelled that Ted was the winner.

A man said, "Come into my office, Ted. I'll look at your ticket."

Then Ted and the man were back. Ted was not laughing.

The man said, "The winning lottery numbers were two, ten, twelve, twenty-one, and sixteen. Not sixty. Ted is not a winner."

The friend with the car asked, "You cannot give me $10,000 for a car? Well then, give me $250 to get my car fixed."

Ted said, "I do not have $250."

That friend said, "Some friend you are!"

But the others said, "Ted, you are OK, dollars or no dollars. Come on, let's live it up! Let's party with the Pick Five no-winner."

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