Amelia Bedelia Camps Out

by Herman Parish

  Dedication

  For Ilona & Neil,

  a couple of happy campers!—H. P.

  For Jeffrey, my inspirator, partner in adventure,

  and source of laughter, popcorn, and chocolate—L. A.

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: Reflections in a Bus Window

  Chapter 2: Sleep Far Away Camp

  Chapter 3: Homesick Meets Home Sick

  Chapter 4: You Are Here No Kidding

  Chapter 5: Star Struck

  Chapter 6: “Are We Still on Earth?”

  Chapter 7: Fire, When Ready

  Chapter 8: ECHO ECHO ECHO

  Chapter 9: Vegging Out

  Chapter 10: Pollution: Heavy or Light?

  Chapter 11: “A Little Cricket Told Me”

  Chapter 12: Sticks and Stones Won’t Break This Bone

  Two Ways to Say It

  Back Ads

  Bonus Material

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Amelia Bedelia had never been so angry. She was mad at her mother and furious with her father. She was even fuming at Finally, her dog. She was most upset with herself, for going along with everything that had led to this moment—her sitting on this bus bound for camp. Well, she thought, now she would have four hours to mull over the whole disaster.

  Her mother and father and even Finally had come to the parking lot behind the high school to see her off. Other parents were saying good-bye to their daughters, who were climbing aboard, too. But when Amelia Bedelia looked out her window, all she saw was the reflection of her tear-streaked face.

  Amelia Bedelia knew exactly when this nightmare had begun. It had been just a few weeks ago. It was a glorious day. Spring had, at long last, turned into summer. As she walked home from her after-school dance class, she had been planning what to do with her friends over summer vacation. She vowed to make a list once she got home, so she wouldn’t forget anything. She had a lot of fun ideas, and it was going to be a super-great summer! That’s when she’d spied smoke billowing behind her house.

  “Fire!” hollered Amelia Bedelia, racing up her driveway. She grabbed her mother’s garden hose and turned on the water. As she rounded the corner of the house, she closed her eyes and squeezed the trigger of the hose sprayer, soaking the plants near the patio.

  “Welcome home, sweetheart,” said her father. He was standing behind the grill, hidden by thick clouds of smoke, trying to light the charcoal. Amelia Bedelia dropped the hose. A dribble of water splashed onto the patio.

  “Good thinking,” he said. “Those flowers need a drink.”

  “Um, okay, Dad,” said Amelia Bedelia, relieved she hadn’t soaked her father.

  When Amelia Bedelia walked into her house, she took a big whiff. Something smelled great! She followed the aroma into the kitchen.

  “Yum!” she said to her mother. “What’s that?”

  “Twice-baked potatoes,” said her mother.

  “Did you goof them up the first time?” asked Amelia Bedelia.

  “Thanks for that vote of confidence,” said her mother. She explained the recipe while Amelia Bedelia got a glass of juice and sat down at the table to make her list of awesome summer plans before she forgot them.

  Amelia Bedelia looked up a while later when her father brought a juicy steak, sizzling from the grill, into the kitchen.

  “Looks perfect, honey,” said Amelia Bedelia’s mother.

  Amelia Bedelia and her parents sat down, said grace, and dug in.

  “Yum!” said Amelia Bedelia. She noticed that her mom and dad were arching their eyebrows at each other, in the secret language of parents, signaling that an important topic was about to be introduced. Amelia Bedelia wished her chair had a seat belt.

  “I got some sad news today,” said Amelia Bedelia’s mother. “The camp I went to every summer when I was growing up is getting ready to close.”

  “Ho, ho, ho!” said Amelia Bedelia’s father with a chuckle. “Did summer get canceled?”

  Amelia Bedelia hoped he was kidding. She had summer plans. Lots of them.

  “Very funny, honey,” said her mother. “The camp director, the heart and soul of the place, is closing the camp and retiring.”

  “That’s sad,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Isn’t that the place where all those funny stories you told us about happened?”

  “Yup. Camp Echo Woods,” said Amelia Bedelia’s mother.

  “Where my fondest memories were made. I still dream about it sometimes. We were planning to send you one summer.” She looked straight at Amelia Bedelia’s father and arched one eyebrow.

  Uh-oh, thought Amelia Bedelia.

  “Amel—” said Amelia Bedelia’s father.

  “Gee!” interrupted Amelia Bedelia. “It’s too bad it’s closing before I can go.”

  “Well, you’re in luck,” said her father.

  “I called today,” said her mother. “They had a cancellation, so I snagged that spot for you.”

  A numb feeling came creeping up Amelia Bedelia’s spine when she realized that her father’s joke had come true. Summer, her summer, with all her friends and plans and adventures, had just been canceled.

  Amelia Bedelia sprang up from the dining-room table and returned waving her list. “Look! I was planning my summer right here, see?” she said, handing her father the paper. “I don’t need help! I have a lot of ideas!”

  “I only have one idea,” said her father. “Put ‘Go to Camp’ at the top of your list.”

  Amelia Bedelia was quick at sizing up a situation. Since it was two against one, she decided to bargain. “How about I go during the day and do what I want when I get home?” she said.

  “It’s a sleepaway camp, cupcake,” said her mother. “Remember?”

  Amelia Bedelia studied her list. “I could maybe spare a week,” she offered.

  “How about eight weeks?” said her father.

  “What?” wailed Amelia Bedelia. She did some quick multiplication. “One week equals seven days, times eight weeks . . . fifty-six days! I’ll go next summer, I promise!”

  “There is no next summer,” said her father.

  “Camp Echo Woods is closing,” said her mother.

  “Does that mean it’s not fun anymore?” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “It’s a bit primitive for today’s kids,” said her mother, smiling. “But fun!”

  “Like caveman days?” asked Amelia Bedelia.

  “Of course not, silly,” said her mother. “But the camp was pretty rustic in my day.”

  “How can a rusty camp be pretty?” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Rustic, not rusty,” said Amelia Bedelia’s father. “They’ve got indoor bathrooms now, right, honey?”

  “What did they do before that?” Amelia Bedelia asked, her eyes wide.

  “Simple!” said her father. “An outhouse. Why, when I was a boy . . .”

  Amelia Bedelia’s head was spinning.

  “Never mind,” said her mother. “Camp Echo Woods is wonderful. I can tell you that if I hadn’t gone there, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

  Amelia Bedelia was speechless. And whenever she found herself in that situation, she always asked a question.

  “You wouldn’t be who you are?” she asked.

  “That’s right,” said her mother, nodding.

  “Then who would you be?” asked Amelia Bedelia.

  “Good question,” said Amelia Bedelia’s father, his eyes twinkling. “So, honey, who would you be?”

  Amelia Bedelia’s mother glared at him.

  Amelia Bedelia’s father froze like a deer in headlights and began blinking.

  “Can we have dessert now?” asked Amelia Bedelia.


  “Great idea!” he said, jumping up and heading to the kitchen. “I just bought some rocky road ice cream!” He dashed to the kitchen with Finally barking excitedly at his heels.

  Amelia Bedelia and her mother sat together at the table. They were both staring down at their plates. At last Amelia Bedelia’s mother looked up and said, “I can tell you exactly who I am, right now. I am the mother of a wonderful daughter. And I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. Of course, we won’t always see eye to eye.”

  “No, you’re taller than I am,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  Her mother smiled, took a sip of water, and said, “Your father and I are trying our best to give you the love and the support you need to become the best person you can be. Sometimes the best thing can be getting away from home for a while. Going off to a new place, doing different things with people you’ve never met before and may not meet again. You can stand back and see yourself. Start figuring out who you are and who you’d like to be.”

  “Does it have to take eight weeks?” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Actually, it takes the rest of your life,” said her mother. “But I understand that eight weeks seems like a long time.”

  “It’s my whole summer,” said Amelia Bedelia. “I’ve been waiting for it all year. I have plans with my friends. Now they’ll have fun without me.” She started to sob. “Just because camp was great for you doesn’t mean it’ll be great for me. I don’t want to go!”

  “Tell you what, sweetie,” said Amelia Bedelia’s mother. “Your father and I will come visit after four weeks and see how you’re doing. If you don’t like it, you can come home. Four weeks is the halfway point. Can you meet me halfway?”

  Amelia Bedelia got up and walked halfway around the table. Her mother met her there. Opening her arms wide, her mother said, “I love you this much.” They hugged for a long, long time.

  They were still hugging when Amelia Bedelia’s father returned with three bowls of ice cream. “Hey, can I get in on this family hug?” he asked. Amelia Bedelia and her mother laughed and opened their arms to include him, too.

  “We’re missing Finally,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Where is she?”

  “Outside,” said her father.

  Amelia Bedelia went into the backyard. She found Finally by the garden, with a chew toy shaped like a duck. Amelia Bedelia bent down to scratch her behind her ears, but when she did, Finally grabbed her duck and pranced proudly across the yard.

  “It’s okay, girl. I won’t take Mr. Quack,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Or do you want me to go away, too?”

  Finally wagged her tail.

  “Was that a yes or a no?” said Amelia Bedelia.

  Finally was so much a member of their family that Amelia Bedelia often forgot that she was a dog. She knew that Finally had run from her out of instinct, to guard her toy. It was like her habit of spinning around and around before she got settled, as if flattening grass into a cozy nest. All dogs have done the same things for thousands of years.

  Amelia Bedelia wondered if she had instincts, too. Maybe she should have growled at her parents when they told her about Camp Echo Woods.

  “Grrrrrrrrr!” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Woof!” answered Finally.

  When school let out for the summer, Amelia Bedelia only had one week before camp started. The time went by in a blur of shopping for the items she needed on the Camp Echo Woods checklist. Soon, it was her last night at home. Amelia Bedelia’s parents helped her pack. They had a system. Her father read the checklist, calling out items one by one and putting a check mark next to it when Amelia Bedelia located the item and handed it to her mother to pack.

  “Bathing suits?” said her father.

  “Check,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Bug spray?” said her father.

  “Check,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Flashlight?” said her father.

  “Check,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Double-check it,” said her father.

  “You’ve got the list, make two check marks,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Check that it works,” he said. “Are the batteries good? You don’t want to wind up in the dark. Here, give it to me.” He turned it on and turned off the overhead light. He held the flashlight under his chin, pointing it up toward his face. Amelia Bedelia jumped, even though she knew it was her father.

  “Mmmmm-bwah-hah-hah!” he said, trying to sound scary. “Let me tell you the story about the lost camper who—”

  “Honey, it’s late,” said her mother, turning the light back on. “Amelia Bedelia needs her sleep. Tomorrow is a big day.”

  The day was hot and humid. Amelia Bedelia was sad and mad. She was also tired, because she hadn’t been able to sleep all night. When the driver of the Camp Echo Woods bus started the engine, the air conditioning fogged up the windows immediately.

  Amelia Bedelia moved her hand back and forth across the glass like a windshield wiper, clearing away the condensation to get a last glimpse of her family. Her parents were standing right below her window, with Finally in her father’s arms. To them, it looked like she was waving good-bye. They began waving back wildly. Her father waved Finally’s paw.

  Amelia Bedelia saw her mother wipe away tears. Then the bus lurched forward, with a loud honk-HONNNNK good-bye. Finally let out a heartbreaking howl that rang in Amelia Bedelia’s ears for miles.

  Amelia Bedelia watched the houses, people, and trees rush by. She would not see any of this again—her family or friends or town—for fifty-six days. Well, twenty-eight. She focused on her face reflected in the window. She looked as miserable and lonely as she felt.

  Amelia Bedelia was sitting by herself. The other girls all seemed to know one another. They’d probably gone to Camp Echo Woods together forever! They looked friendly, but no one talked to her. They were too busy telling stories, laughing, and looking at photos.

  They were all wearing the camp uniform—a white shirt, dark blue shorts, and sneakers so new, so blindingly white, that Amelia Bedelia thought they must glow in the dark. She herself was wearing high-top canvas tennis shoes, a green one on her right foot and a red one on her left. As she had climbed aboard the bus, a girl had called out, “Love your shoes! Red and green? Are you one of Santa’s elves?” The girls around her had all laughed.

  Amelia Bedelia was wearing jeans and her favorite T-shirt. That morning, she had said to her mother, “I’m looking normal for as long as I can.” Her mother had sighed and put a camp uniform on the very top of her stuff so that she could find it easily when she arrived at Camp Echo Woods. Amelia Bedelia figured that her jeans and T-shirt would come in handy if she decided to run away and go back home. After all, if two dogs and a cat could do it, so could she. She’d always been good at incredible journeys.

  At the very edge of town, a car raced up alongside the bus, honking its horn and flashing its lights until the bus driver pulled over and stopped. Amelia Bedelia’s heart soared even though she didn’t recognize the car. Her parents had come to their senses and had sent someone to rescue her!

  But when the bus door opened, she could hear arguing and crying. This was clearly not a rescue operation! Finally the bus driver closed the door again, and a very tall girl with long blond hair walked down the aisle. She sat in the first open seat, right next to Amelia Bedelia.

  “Is this seat taken?” asked the girl. Her eyes were red.

  “Yes, now it is,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Can I sit here?” asked the girl.

  “You already are,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “I’m Alice,” said the girl, shrugging and holding out her hand.

  “I’m Amelia Bedelia,” said Amelia Bedelia, shaking Alice’s hand.

  Alice was staring at Amelia Bedelia’s shoes. Amelia Bedelia braced herself for another elf joke.

  “Do you sail?” asked Alice.

  “I can sail,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “I figured,” said Alice. “Your sneakers match the runnin
g lights on a boat. Your right foot, the starboard foot, is green, and your left foot is red for port.”

  Amelia Bedelia laughed. What a relief! Now she felt lucky that no one else had taken the seat next to her. What were the chances of meeting a friend right from the start? And Alice had almost missed the bus!

  “Are you homesick?” asked Alice, looking intently at Amelia Bedelia’s eyes. Anyone could see that Amelia Bedelia had been crying.

  Amelia Bedelia was afraid that her voice would break if she tried talking, so she nodded.

  “Me too,” said Alice. “I’m totally sick of home.”

  Amelia Bedelia wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Have you been to Camp Echo Woods before?” she asked.

  “Nope. Have you?” asked Alice.

  Amelia Bedelia shook her head and reclined her seat. She soon discovered that she didn’t have to talk much. Alice kept talking and talking. Talking about her parents. Talking about her pets. Talking about her family, including the weird uncle from Pittsburgh who made a million dollars, lost it, then made it back again.

  As fascinating as these stories were, Amelia Bedelia was struggling to keep her eyes open. Alice’s voice, and the chatter of the other girls, and the droning of the bus engine blended together into a sound very much like the sound she heard when she held her favorite seashell to her ear. It was very relaxing, and Amelia Bedelia fell asleep.