by Mike Thaler
But it’s time to go canoeing.
I’ve never been in a boat before.
I hope I don’t get seasick.
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CHAPTER 13
WHAT’S CANOE
WITH YOU?
We all line up and Buzz gives
us each a life preserver and a
paddle.
Then he assigns us a canoe,
two by two.
Jerry and I are shipmates, and
we climb in.
“Whoa!”
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It’s like getting into a hammock.
We both finally flop down in seats.
I’m in the back, so I have to steer.
But there’s no steering wheel.
Buzz shows us how to steer with
our paddles.
Cool.
Jerry and I decide to paddle
along the shore. That way, if we
sink, we can walk home. Hey,
some kids are going out to the
center of the lake. I wonder what’s
out there.
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It’s boring along the shore, so
we paddle out after them. Soon
we’re in the middle of the lake.
It’s like being in the center of the
world, or outer space. The sun
sparkles on the water like stars.
We can’t even see the shore.
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I bet it’s deep out here. At least
a hundred miles down.
Other kids paddle by and splash
us with their paddles.
“Let’s get them back.”
We paddle fast and catch them.
Soon we’re in the middle of a
great sea paddle battle!
I’m Sir Frances Drake, and
they’re the Spanish Armada.
We would have won, but Buzz
blows his whistle and we have to
come in.
Tomorrow we’ll have another
great battle, but for now, let’s just
dry off.
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CHAPTER 14
YAY, CAMP SHERWOOD
That afternoon, we make
lanyards, see a woodpecker, and
play volleyball.
For dinner, we build a campfire.
Buzz shows us how to start a fire
without matches. He says you can
use a magnifying glass to focus
the sun’s rays. This doesn’t work
too well at night. Jerry wants to
try it with his glasses and the
moon. Bummer.
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Instead, you can strike a piece
of flint on a stone.
Also, you can spin a stick so fast
on leaves that the friction starts a
fire.
“But that takes an hour and I’m
hungry,” says Buzz, reaching into
his back pocket and pulling out a
match.
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Soon we have a roaring fire
and are roasting hot dogs and
marshmallows on sticks. Jerry
and I put a marshmallow at each
end of a hot dog and call it a
marshdog. Soon all the kids are
making marshdogs and we’re
heroes.
After dinner, we all sit around
the campfire singing, and then
when it gets really dark, Buzz
tells us a ghost story.
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CHAPTER 15
PLAYING CHICKEN
The ghost story is about a
mad scientist who takes a living
chicken heart and gives it
vitamins.
Thump, thump . . .
It grows bigger . . .
Thump, thump . . .
And bigger . . .
Until it fills up the whole
laboratory.
Thump, thump.
Then it eats the scientist, which
really makes him mad, and the
chicken heart thumps out into the
night looking for another snack.
Thump, thump!
Then Buzz puts his flashlight
under his chin and clicks it on.
“And now . . . it’s here!” he
shouts.
When all of our hearts stop
thumping, we walk back to our
cabins under the stars.
I climb into my bunk. I don’t
want to go to sleep. I don’t want
this day to end. I don’t want this
week to end. I wish I could stay
at camp longer.
As I close my eyes, I hear the
night. I hear all the creatures that
are lucky enough to be at camp
all summer.
And I think I can even hear the
stars.
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