The Mantis on the Mailbox: Fixing Tense Shifts in a Letter

A Letter to Grandpa Hiro

1Dear Grandpa Hiro,
Thank you for the bird book you sent for my birthday. I look at it every night before bed, and I already know the names of six birds in our neighborhood. I take it with me when I go on walks, too. But this week, the most exciting animal on our street was not a bird. It was an insect!

2Last Saturday, I walked out to get the mail with Dad. A bright green praying mantis was standing on top of our mailbox. It was longer than my finger. It held its spiky front legs folded in front of its face. When I leaned closer, the mantis turns its head and looked right at me! Dad was surprised, because he had never seen an insect do that before.

3For almost an hour, I sat on the curb and watched it. I did not want to scare it away, so I tried hard not to move. The mantis stayed so still that it looked like a leaf. Every time the wind blew, it rocked gently back and forth. Then a fly landed on the mailbox. Quick as a blink, the mantis grabs the fly with its front legs. Afterward, it cleaned its legs and face, like a cat washing its paws.

4On Tuesday, the mantis was gone, but I found something new on the fence beside the mailbox. It was a lumpy, tan bump about as long as my thumb. I ran next door to get our neighbor, Mrs. Okoro, who knew a lot about insects. She looked at the bump closely and tells me that it was a mantis egg case. She said that it held many tiny eggs and that the babies would hatch in the spring.

5Now I check the egg case every morning before school. It looks the same each day, but Mrs. Okoro says I need to be patient. Spring feels very far away! When the babies hatch, I will take pictures and mail them to you. Do mantises live near your house? Please write back and tell me!
Love,
Aiko