Title Page
Patrick David Barber helps Elmo count
Page 1
Poor Elmo! Everyone was ready for the big hike but him. Patrick David Barber, age six, from Macon, Georgia, found Elmo sitting sadly on the steps of 123 Sesame Street.
"What's the matter, Elmo?" asked Pat, swinging a backpack.
Elmo sighed. "Elmo is supposed to bring 10 sandwiches on the hike, but Elmo isn't good at counting to 10."
"Come on, I'll help you," said Pat. "Francis, Jamie and Freddie always help me when I need it. That's what friends are for!"
Page 2
With help from Pat, the sandwiches were soon ready and everyone set off on the hike. As they walked, they heard a loud growl.
"Yikes! yelped Bert. "Bears!"
Ernie laughed. "Nope. That's just my tummy telling me it's time for a snack." His tummy growled again.
"Who has the backpack?" asked Pat. "There are snacks inside."
"Elmo has one backpack," said Elmo, as Big Bird pulled some apples from the pack. "Yum, yum, two apples. One for Elmo and one for Ernie's hungry tummy."
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The path lead to a wide stream.
"Watch me!" shouted Prairie Dawn. "I won't get wet." She jumped across the brook on some stones.
"Elmo, can you count the stones?" asked Pat.
"Yes, yes! Three stones." Elmo hopped across. Hop, hop, hop.
Pop, pop, pop! Three heads popped out of the water.
"Look, Elmo," laughed Pat. "Those stones were really turtles!"
"Elmo can count turtles, too!" said Elmo. "One, two, three!"
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In a sunny spot beside the brook, Pat spotted something else for Elmo to count. "Take a look at those bumps on the log," Pat said.
"Ooooh. One, two, three, four lumpy bump on a log," counted Elmo. "Four bumps that look like..."
Ribbit, ribbit, croak, croak! The four bumps jumped away.
Pat grinned. "Four lumpy frogs like bumps on a log." Francis, Jamie and Freddie would sure like to see those funny frogs."
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When they reached a bright green meadow, everyone ran and played in the long grass.
"I spy five things, Elmo," said Pat. "Can you guess what they are?"
"Where? What?" said Elmo. "Elmo sees lots of things."
"I'll give you a hint," said Pat. "The five things I see are little and green and squiggle a lot."
"Okay, Elmo will look for five little green things that squiggle."
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"Hey Pat! Elmo saw five little green, squiggly caterpillars," shouted Elmo.
"You're getting very good at counting, Elmo," said Pat. "Listen, can you hear the knocks?"
Tap! Tap! Tap! Elmo listened carefully. Tap! Tap! Tap! "Elmo hears six knocks."
"Yes!" said Pat. "See, high in the tree, six birds pecking away."
Page 7
Next, Pat and his friends hiked to a small waterfall. Pat picked up a shiny pebble and tossed it into the pool beneath the falls. It landed with a mighty splash. KERPLUNK!
Elmo gathered seven stones. But before he could pitch the first pebble, some fish popped up and yelled, "Hey, cut that out!"
"Whoops! Sorry, you guys." Pat gulped. "Uh, how many fish do you see, Elmo?"
"Eight fish," said Elmo. "Eight ANGRY fish. Let's get out of here!"
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"Do you want to play a game?" said Pat as they hiked through some tall pine trees. "Let's see who can find the most pine cones."
Elmo looked the hardest. He found more than the others.
"Elmo has nine! Nine pine cones." Elmo groaned. "Help! Elmo can't carry nine pine cones, Pat."
"Don't worry, we'll help you plant them so they'll grow into trees," said Pat." "Nine pine cones are almost a forest."
Page 9
By now everyone was hungry. Pat picked a picnic spot and said, "Let's eat!"
Big Bird poured the lemonade. Ernie and Bert passed out the cookies. Prairie Dawn unpacked grapes.
"My tummy's hungry again," said Ernie. "Where are the sandwiches, Elmo? I hope you brought a lot!"
"Elmo and Pat made ten sandwiches," said Elmo. He counted them out slowly. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"
"Ten sandwiches sure is a lot," said Ernie, munching happily.
Page 10
"Congratulations, Elmo," said Pat. "Today you counted one backpack, two apples, three turtles, four frogs, five caterpillars, six birds, seven pebbles, eight fish, nine pine cones, and ten sandwiches, all by your self."
"Pat is right," Elmo said. Elmo DID count all that."
Pat smiled. "It'll be fun telling Francis, Jamie, and Freddie about the fun stuff you counted when I get home to Macon, Georgia."
"You can tell them one more thing Elmo counted," giggled Elmo. "Look, Pat! One sandwich being carried away by ten ants!"