Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct speech.

The guard told the children to stay away from the flower beds.

The guard said, "Children, stay away from the flower beds."

The correct option is: The guard said, "Children, stay away from the flower beds."

This is because direct speech is the exact words that someone spoke. In the direct form, the subject and tense of the verb do not change.

The other options are incorrect because they change the direct form of the sentence in some way:

• The guard says to the children, " Stay away from the flower beds." - This sentence changes the past tense to the present tense.
• The guard told to the children, " Stay away from the flower beds." - This sentence removes the word "said" from the beginning of the sentence.
• The guard said, "Children, should you stay away from the flower beds." - This sentence changes the declarative statement to a question.