Read this excerpt from Holes. Sarah changed the words of the pig lullaby so that they rhymed, and every night she sang it to little Stanley. "If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs, "The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies." While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, Crying to the moo-oo-oon, "if only, if only." How do the words "if only, if only" parallel Stanley's predicament? They parallel the fact that Stanley can go home only after he has completed his time at the camp. They parallel Stanley's homesickness and longing to be with his parents. They parallel how lonely Stanley feels most of the time at school and at the camp. They parallel Stanley's wish that things had turned out differently for him.

The correct answer is D. They parallel Stanley's wish that things had turned out differently for him.

Explanation:

Once the story introduced us to Stanley, we know his character is unlucky; always in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was the major issue that sent him to the camp in the first place, a punishment for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This particular lullaby tells the story of a woodpecker wishing the situation was different for it, as danger (the wolf) awaits below. The woodpecker is stuck in a situation it can't control, wishing for a way out with the phrase "if only, if only".

Thus, it can be compared to Stanley's predicament; he wishes his situation was different and that things turned different. Instead, he has to complete a sentence for being unlucky.