I have tried many ways to be ill. I don't wear a sweater when I should, and two days ago I walked in the rain without my shoes. But so far nothing has happened. Debbie once told me about a boy in her class who liked being away from school. He would rub   the end of the thermometer   until it went up to 39degC. Then he'd put it in his mouth and his mother would think he was really ill. This morning I tried doing that but it never went above 35degC and I rubbed it for ten minutes. So I held the thermometer next to the light on my desk and it went up to 40degC. I thought I'd put it in my mouth and walk downstairs like that. Then my mother would take it out and she would be worried when she saw that I was rather ill. The only trouble was I didn't know the thermometer would be so hot. As soon as I put it into my mouth, it burnt my tongue! I spit the thermometer out. It fell on the floor but it didn't break. I will have to think of a better way to get my mother and father back together. Why did the writer walk in the rain without her shoes two days ago?
Because she had no money to buy a pair of shoes. Because she thought it interesting to walk without shoes. Because she was ill and forgot to put on her shoes when she left home. Because she hoped she could be ill in this way.