1. In the beginning of the story: Filly was born, and Mama and Titi Lee push her to the surface of the water to take her first breath.
2. In our story, surface means the top or upper part of the water.
3. Filly and her family join Tipper in jumping in the waves of the tugboat.
4. 1st: Filly and Tipper are racing around the island when Filly stops to see Miss Tina. A dog jumps on her back, and Tipper tells her to dive. The dog swims home, and Filly swims back to the surface.
2nd: Girls on the island think Filly's a shark, even though Miss Tina was calling out that she was a dolphin. Filly realizes it's her they are talking about and thinks to herself-I want to be horse. Who would want to be a shark? She is concerned that Mama and Titi Lee may not want her to go off on her own again, but she is proud of herself for being brave.
3rd: Filly and Tipper go share their adventure. Filly has decided she wants to be a dolphin. She couldn't have had this adventure in the water as a horse.
(The answers to question 4 may vary depending on how much or how little the child is able to retell.)
5. Answers vary on JP. We will find out what JP means in the next book.
1. This is what happened to J.P. at the beginning of the story.
1st: His first owners forgot about him, and he didn't have food or water.
2nd: Some people noticed he was sick, and they called a horse rescue to come get him. They saved him!
3rd: He was adopted by a loving family who named him, and he came to live on the Alafia River.
2. The decoration that looks like a snowman is a sandman. People in the south might like this because we have sand, rather than snow.
3. A list a mile long means a very long list.
4. Took his leave of his river family means that J.P. left or went away from Filly, Tipper, Mama, and Titi Lee. (In our case it was only for a little while, but it could mean left for a longer time.)
5. The big event Filly and Tipper are getting ready for was the Alafia River Boat Parade.
6. The dorsal fin is on the top of the dolphin. So, Tipper's white tip is on the top of his dorsal fin.
7. Answers will vary about where Tipper's family might be. We find out more about this in Filly and the Storms.