Once upon a time, in a far-off land, there lived a group of construction workers who were building a big and beautiful house. They had been working very hard for many days and were finally ready to put on the roof.

The leader of the workers was named Spike and he was in charge of putting the shingles on the roof. Spike was very proud of his job, but he was having a bit of a setback. The roof was very uneven and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the shingles to lay flat.

One day, while Spike was lying on a sill, trying to figure out what to do, he had an idea. He called all the workers together and told them his plan. "I have an idea! We'll use shims to level the roof. That way, the shingles will lay flat and we'll have a perfect roof!"

The workers all cheered and started to gather shims. They climbed up onto the roof and started to place the shims under the uneven spots. Spike was very pleased with himself, but then, just as they were finishing, they heard a strange noise.

They all looked down and saw that one of the workers, a man named Sleeper, had fallen asleep on a big slab of slate. They all laughed and Spike went down to wake him up. When Sleeper woke up and saw what had happened, he was so embarrassed that he ran away, never to be seen again.

The workers finished putting the shingles on the roof and the house was finally complete. They all stood back to admire their handiwork, but to their surprise, the roof was still uneven! They looked at each other in shock and then started to laugh. It turned out that the problem wasn't with the roof, but with the siding! The house was built on a slope and that's why the roof was uneven.

The workers had a good laugh and then went back to work, fixing the siding so that the house was level. From that day on, they were known as the best construction workers in the land, and they lived happily ever after. The end.

Reflections

1. What was the problem that Spike and the construction workers were facing with the roof of the house they were building?
2. How did Spike come up with a solution to the problem?
3. What happened when Sleeper fell asleep on the slab of slate?
4. Why was the roof still uneven even after the shingles were put on?
5. How did the workers eventually fix the problem with the house?