The Drumming Before the Door
Chapter 1The visitor
"He's here!" says Mendy.
He runs to the window, then to the door, then back to the window.
His cousin Sruly is coming for the afternoon. Sruly lives far away. Mendy hasn't seen him since the winter, when they made a snow rabbit with one ear much bigger than the other.
Today they can build a rabbit out of blocks. Or a whole rabbit house. Mendy has put the best blocks in a basket.
Outside, a car parks.
Mendy's heart goes boom-boom-boom.
His feet bounce against the floor. His fingers feel fizzy. He takes a big breath, but it catches halfway.
Then he steps away from the door.
"Mommy," he whispers, "I think I don't want him to come."
Chapter 2The wrong name
Mommy turns from the table. Her blue tichel covers all her hair.
"What makes you think that?"
Mendy puts a hand on his chest.
"The fast thumping. Like when I hear a strange noise at night."
Mommy looks through the window. Tatty is greeting Sruly and Uncle Berel beside the car. Nobody is waiting alone outside.
"Is something about the visit worrying you?" she asks.
Mendy tries to find something. Sruly isn't mean. He doesn't break Mendy's things. Last time, he shared the long red sled without anybody asking.
"Maybe the blocks," Mendy says.
"What about them?"
"Maybe... I don't know."
Now he is worried. He has a worried body, so there must be a worried thing somewhere. He looks for it as hard as he looks for a missing mitten.
At the door, Sruly laughs at something Tatty says.
Mendy wants to see what is funny.
He also wants to stay where he is until the thumping stops.
Chapter 3Two kinds of running
Mommy pulls a chair closer. "Sit with me for a moment. We can look at what's happening."
Mendy sits on the edge.
"When you run in the yard, does your heart thump?"
"Yes."
"Do you always want to stop playing then?"
"No."
Mendy taps his toes. Outside, Sruly is taking his bag from the car.
"This morning, what did you want to happen?" Mommy asks.
"I wanted him to come. I wanted him to see the blocks. I still want to show him the little wheel that fits underneath."
The words tumble out fast.
Mommy smiles. "I hear a lot of wanting."
"But my heart!"
"A fast heart can come with being excited too. We don't have to call every thump the same thing."
Mendy listens to his chest. He can't tell it to change its noise just because Mommy gives him another name for it.
"What if I'm a little worried and excited?"
"You can tell me both. We can go slowly."
Chapter 4Not a test
Mendy wants to ask whether he is definitely excited. Definitely feels like a nice word to have.
Then he hears Sruly knock.
Mommy gets up. "Would you like to open the door with me, or have me open it?"
"With you."
He holds her hand with his fizzy fingers.
Sruly stands beside Tatty, carrying a flat paper bag.
"I brought something," Sruly says.
He pulls out two paper rabbit ears. One is long. One is very short.
Mendy laughs so suddenly that he forgets to listen for the thumping.
"The snow rabbit!"
"I thought he needed a summer house."
They carry the ears to the block basket. Mendy sits down, then stands up again to fetch the wheel.
"You're bouncing," Sruly says.
"I know."
Mendy doesn't tell Sruly that bouncing means the visit is wrong.
He shows him the wheel instead.
Chapter 5The quieter afternoon
For a while they build without talking. Sruly makes a wide doorway. Mendy makes a ramp for the rabbit's little wagon.
Later, they sit at the kitchen table for the snack their parents prepare.
Mendy notices that his feet are still.
He is glad Sruly came. He is also hungry. The block rabbit is waiting in a house without a roof because neither boy wants to build one yet.
"The thumping got smaller," he tells Mommy while she puts out the plates.
"How is the visit?"
"Good. It isn't running-fast good now. It's sitting-here good."
After snack, Sruly wants to look at Mendy's picture books. Mendy almost brings the whole shelf.
Then he chooses the rabbit book and one other.
They have an afternoon, not a race to use every minute.
When Uncle Berel says it is time to go, Mendy wishes the afternoon could be longer. That feeling has a different name again.
He doesn't try to turn it into the wrong visit.
He walks to the door with Sruly and asks whether the paper ears can stay.
What happens first?
Number these story moments in order. Look back at the story if you need to.
More than one clue
Mendy's feet are bouncing. His heart is fast. Which words fit what he can do next? Circle all that fit. A body clue is something to notice. It doesn't tell the whole story by itself.
A path to the greeting
Choose useful steps and draw arrows between their boxes. More than one route may fit; do not choose every box automatically.
Mendy hears his cousin at the door.
You choose a way to join a visit you want, with support if you need it.
Feet, fingers, feelings
Add bouncing feet, fizzy fingers and fast heartbeat to the outline. Finish the bubbles for Mendy. You may draw. Do not make the clues happen in your body. Tell a caring grown-up about pain, unusual sensations or worries.
Same clue, different moment
Match moments with possible wants. More than one answer can fit. Draw links or write letters.
1. Waiting for a wanted cousin visit. 2. Finishing a running game in the yard. 3. Hearing an unfamiliar sound at night.
A. Have a grown-up help check the sound. B. Say hello and start playing. C. Rest after running. D. Ask for company while deciding what to do next.
Words to keep
Pick one message for Mendy at the door. Pick another for Mendy looking at books. Tell someone why you choose them.
The rabbit's summer house
Draw and color a block house for the paper rabbit. Give it one long ear and one short ear, like the story's rabbit. Leave space beside the house for two cousins looking at books. Add one speech bubble telling what they like about the afternoon.
Find the story words
Find the six words. All go left to right. Mark each one, then choose a word and tell where it belongs in the story.
| D | O | O | R | A | M | S | T |
| R | H | E | L | P | C | A | N |
| B | L | O | C | K | R | I | V |
| S | V | I | S | I | T | P | E |
| F | E | E | L | N | A | B | R |
| T | B | O | O | K | D | E | S |
| C | A | R | D | W | I | N | D |
| P | L | A | Y | S | O | F | T |
Parent notes and answers
Keep this pack curious rather than turning the child's body into a guessing test. Three questions: What does Mendy want before Sruly arrives? What else can a fast heartbeat go with in an ordinary moment? Which choice lets Mendy join with support?
One tool: Ask "What do you notice, and what do you want?" Offer company or a small choice about the next step. Do not force excitement as the answer or dismiss an unexplained physical symptom. This story is not a medical guide.
1. Listed order: 4, 2, 1, 5, 3.
2. B, D, E. A makes a conclusion from one clue; C requires certainty before acting.
3. The first three boxes offer supported ways to begin, and the last box is a possible next action. No requirement to use every box. The two certainty/wrongness boxes do not add useful information. Asking for more support remains allowed.
4. Heart/chest, fingers/hands, feet. Speech bubbles vary; don't mark a child's own feeling guess wrong.
5. Suggested matches: 1-B or D; 2-C; 3-A or D. Ask about context, wants or something that actually worries the child. No forced one-to-one scoring.
6. Open responses.
7. Open responses.
8. DOOR row 1 columns 1-4; HELP row 2 columns 2-5; BLOCK row 3 columns 1-5; VISIT row 4 columns 2-6; FEEL row 5 columns 1-4; BOOK row 6 columns 2-5.