by Ann Cameron
“Well, it’s a good idea, but it’s a no-good idea because of the curve in the river. The bottle couldn’t get around it,” I explained.
“I guess it couldn’t,” Gloria said.
“Julian,” my father said, “I have to make a long trip in the truck Saturday. I have to pick up some car parts. I’m going to go past the big bridge down the river. Would you like to ride along?”
I said I would.
“You know,” my father said, “there’s something we could do. We could walk out on the bridge. And if you wanted, you could send a new message. Your bottle would have a good chance from there. It’s past the curve in the river.”
I thought about it. I decided to do it. And I told my father.
“You know,” he said, “if you don’t mind my advice—put something special about yourself in the bottle, for the person who finds it.”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’ll give the wind and the water something special to carry. If you send something you care about, it might bring you luck.”
I was working on my new message. And then I thought about Huey and Gloria. I thought how they might want to send bottles too. It didn’t seem so important anymore that I be the only one to do it.
And that’s what we did. We all got new bottles, and we put something special in each one. We each made a picture of ourselves for our bottle.
And in his, Huey put his favorite joke:
Where does a hamburger go on New Year’s Eve?
To a meat ball.
In hers, Gloria put instructions on doing a cartwheel.
In mine, I wrote instructions for taking care of rabbits.
We added our addresses and phone numbers and pushed in the corks tightly. We were ready for Saturday.
The bridge was long and silver and sparkled in the sun. It was so big that it looked like giants must have made it, that human beings never could have. But human beings did.
My father parked below the bridge. “From here we have to walk,” he said.
We got out of the truck, which always smells a little bit of dust, but mostly of the raisins Dad keeps on the dashboard.
We walked in the outside walkers’ lane to the middle of the river. Cars whizzed past. We each had our bottle in a backpack.
The bridge swayed a little. We could feel it vibrate. My father held Gloria’s and Huey’s hands. I held Gloria’s other hand.
“It’s scary, but it’s safe,” my father said.
We held on to the bridge railing and looked over the side. The green water slid under us very fast. For a minute it seemed like the bridge was moving and the water was standing still.
We unpacked our bottles.
“Don’t just throw them over the side,” my father said. “Make some wishes. Sending messages around the world is a big thing to do. Anytime you do a big thing, it’s good to make wishes.”
We did.
I don’t know what Huey or Gloria wished. I wished our bottles would sail along together. I wished they wouldn’t get trapped in seaweed or ice, or hit rocks. I wished we’d make new friends on the other side of the world. I wished we’d go to meet them someday.
“Ready?” my father said.
Together we threw our bottles over the side. They made a tiny splash. They looked very small, but we could see them starting toward the ocean.
They were like Columbus’s ships. I hoped they’d stay together a long, long time.
Ann Cameron is the bestselling author of many popular books for children, including The Stories Julian Tells, The Stories Huey Tells, and More Stories Huey Tells. Her other books include Julian, Dream Doctor; Julian, Secret Agent; Julian’s Glorious Summer; and The Most Beautiful Place in the World. Ms. Cameron lives in Guatemala.
You can visit Ann Cameron’s Web site at www.childrensbestbooks.com.
Ann Strugnell is a British artist who has illustrated many books for children, including Once Upon a Time in a Pigpen by Margaret Wise Brown and The Stories Julian Tells. Ms. Strugnell lives in London.
Also by Ann Cameron
Julian, that quick fibber and wishful thinker, is great at telling stories. He can make people—especially his younger brother, Huey—believe just about anything. Like the one about the catalog cats that come in the mail. And the one about the fig leaves that make you grow tall if you eat them off the tree.
But some stories can lead to a heap of trouble, and that’s exactly where Julian and Huey end up all too often!
ISBN: 0-394-82892-5
Available now from Yearling Books
Also by Ann Cameron
It isn’t easy being Julian’s younger brother. When Huey has bad dreams, Julian says his are even scarier. When Huey’s trout dinner is served whole, with a big, sad eye staring straight at him, Julian reminds him that he has to eat it all And when Huey wants to study animal tracks, Julian says he’s too young.
But Huey isn’t a little kid. He’s an adventurer, a chef, a tracker, and a scout. And he’s about to show Julian—and the world—all that he can do.
ISBN: 0-679-88559-5
Available now from Yearling Books
Also by Ann Cameron
Huey is now a match for his big brother, Julian, and he’s not going to be pushed around. Not if he can help it, anyway. He’s got sunflowers to save, basketball shots to make, and fifteen billion stars to count—with or without his brother by his side.
But some problems can’t be solved alone, no matter how brave you are. And when a treasure hunt leaves Huey trapped at the bottom of a crumbling mine, it’ll take more than Julian to help him escape.
The narrator of The Stories Huey Tells returns with five new adventures and plenty of trouble. Look out, world, here comes Huey!
ISBN: 0-679-88363-0
Available now from Yearling Books
