Question

1. the next morning, philip saw that it had fallen again. he was late for school, but he couldnt just leave it there. he pulled out the hook and screwed it deeper into the wood. then he carefully hung the birdhouse again.
2. when philip got home that afternoon, he saw that the birdhouse was still hanging. a blue jay was even perched at the entrance. philip beamed.
3. suddenly, a breeze shook the birdhouse, and it fell onto the grass yet again. the blue jay shot away like an arrow.
4. this time philip brought the birdhouse inside. he threw away the hook without a second thought. digging through the junk drawer, he found an extra - long shoelace. he tied it around the birdhouse. then he brought the birdhouse outside and tied it to a branch. he tugged on it to make sure it would stay. it seemed pretty secure.
5. the birdhouse was still hanging the next morning. and the next week. a week after that, philip saw signs of a birds nest inside. the birdhouse was finally a home.
6. which of the following best describes the main theme or lesson of the story?
7. just like people, animals deserve kindness and respect.
8. some events are simply out of your control.
9. if one way of doing something keeps failing, try another way.

Explanation:

The story follows Philip trying to secure a birdhouse: first he uses a hook that keeps failing, then he switches to a shoelace, which finally works and lets the birdhouse become a home. This directly aligns with the idea of changing methods when one approach repeatedly fails. The other options do not match the core plot: the story does not focus on animal kindness as the main lesson, and Philip does gain control by changing his method, so the "out of control" option is incorrect.

Answer:

If one way of doing something keeps failing, try another way.