Amy had a cold. Her eyes were red. Her nose was runny. And she sneezed a lot. But mostly, she felt sad.

"Why can't I go to Grandpa's house?" she asked her mother.

"Because you have a cold," her mother said. "You don't want it to get worse. And you don't want Grandpa to catch your cold."

"No," Amy said. "But I wish I could go."

Amy liked to visit Grandpa. She liked to play his piano. She liked to pet his cat, Mulberry. But most of all, she liked to have Grandpa read to her.

Grandpa had a big book that was ½lled with stories. One story was about a pirate. Another was about a princess. There was even a story about a little girl named Amy.

As Amy was walking to her room, the telephone rang. It was Grandpa.

"What time are you coming to my house today?" Grandpa asked.

"I can't come," Amy told Grandpa. "I have a cold. My eyes are red, and my nose is runny. And I feel sad."

"Why do you feel sad?" Grandpa asked.

Amy sighed. "Because now I can't play your piano. And I can't pet your cat. And I can't listen to you read from the big book with the stories in it," she said.

"You're right," said Grandpa. "You won't be able to play the piano or pet Mulberry. But I can still read to you."

"What do you mean, Grandpa?" Amy asked.

"Sit down in the chair by the telephone," Grandpa said.

Amy sat down in the chair.

"Close your eyes," Grandpa said.

Amy closed her eyes.

"Now, I'll read to you," Grandpa said.

And that's what Grandpa did! He read the story about the pirate. He read the story about the princess. And he even read the story about the little girl named Amy.

"Thank you, Grandpa," Amy said when he was done. "I feel a lot better."

"That's good," said Grandpa. "We still had our visit. And I was still able to read to you."

"And you didn't catch my cold," added Amy with a sneeze, and they both laughed.