Amelia Bedelia Camps Out

by Herman Parish

  Amelia Bedelia woke with a start. The bus had stopped. She looked out the window. They were surrounded by huge pine trees, and the sky above was a deep blue.

  “That was no cat nap!” said Alice, putting on her backpack. “You slept for like four hours!”

  “Sorry,” said Amelia Bedelia. She looked around the bus. All the girls were gathering up their things.

  “I’m sorry I’m so boring,” said Alice.

  “You are not at all”—Amelia Bedelia yawned—“boring.”

  Alice rolled her eyes and handed Amelia Bedelia her backpack. “Do you know that you talk in your sleep?” she asked. “Who’s Finally?”

  “My dog,” said Amelia Bedelia. “She’s the sweetest, and I miss her so much!”

  “I love dogs,” Alice agreed.

  Amelia Bedelia followed Alice off the bus. The first thing she noticed was a giant trash can. It was a metal drumlike can without a top. Someone had painted great big daisies all over it. Next to the trash can was a huge painted map of the camp, showing all the buildings and geographical features, such as a hill, a lake, and the woods. The cabins were arranged in clusters. An X marked the spot where they stood.

  “Amelia Bedelia, you are here,” said Alice, tapping the X.

  “Don’t remind me,” said Amelia Bedelia. She looked at her feet expecting to see a giant X under her red and green sneakers.

  “That big place on the hill must be the dining hall,” said Alice, pointing to a large building on the map.

  “We eat in a hallway?” asked Amelia Bedelia. “Standing up?”

  “I think it’s just a giant room with tables and a kitchen,” said Alice. “My mom said the food here isn’t half bad.”

  “So it’s half good?” asked Amelia Bedelia.

  Alice shrugged. “That’s optimistic.”

  Next to the map was a signpost, and all the signs for various places (ARCHERY and POTTERY and WATERFRONT and LAUNDRY and SHOWERS) were on arrows pointing in different directions. Front and center stood a tall, thin pole, painted white, with a flag snapping in the breeze at the top. The place was beginning to make sense to Amelia Bedelia. She twirled around and around like a ballerina, taking it all in.

  But now Amelia Bedelia was getting dizzy. She staggered back and tripped. Just before she hit the ground, a pair of strong hands caught her.

  “Whoa there,” said the young woman holding her up.

  “Nice catch,” said Alice.

  “Thanks!” said Amelia Bedelia. She was looking at the young woman upside down, but she could tell she was nice.

  “Upsy-daisy,” said the woman, lifting Amelia Bedelia back to her feet.

  “Hey there!” the young woman said. “My name is Peggy.”

  Amelia Bedelia read the name embroidered on the young woman’s shirt. “Thanks, Peggy. Did you borrow that shirt from Margaret?” she asked.

  “Peggy is short for Margaret,” said Peggy, smiling. “Who are you?”

  “Amelia Bedelia. My name isn’t short for anything.”

  Peggy took a clipboard from under her arm and scanned a list of names. “Aha, here you are,” she said. “Bedelia, Amelia.”

  “Nope. That’s backward,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Amelia comes first. Then Bedelia.”

  “My list is alphabetical,” said Peggy.

  “In the alphabet, A comes before B,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Right,” said Peggy. “But on my list, last names come first.”

  So far, Camp Echo Woods was a roller coaster! She had only been here for five minutes, and she was already feeling completely confused. How was she going to last for twenty-eight days?

  Alice looked over Peggy’s shoulder and pointed at her own name. “Here I am,” she said.

  “Hi, Alice!” said Peggy. “There are five of you who have never been to Camp Echo Woods before. We thought it would be a good idea to put all of you newbies in the same cabin with your own counselor. That’s me!” Peggy smiled. “Let’s grab your bags and get you settled in. The others are already here. Follow me!”

  Peggy nodded toward the large house facing the lake. “That’s where Mrs. Evans lives,” she said. “This is her camp.”

  Just then, as though she had been summoned by the mention of her name, a lady with a walking stick appeared on the porch and called out, “Peggy, who do we have here?”

  Peggy steered Amelia Bedelia and Alice over to the porch and introduced them. Amelia Bedelia thought that Mrs. Evans looked older than a fossil, but her voice was clear and strong.

  “Amelia Bedelia?” said Mrs. Evans. “Sounds familiar.”

  “My mother went here when she was a girl,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Ah, yes, I remember,” said Mrs. Evans. “And she called me to see if you could join us this summer. Did she drive you here?”

  “She sure did,” said Amelia Bedelia. “I didn’t want to come. This was all her idea.”

  Mrs. Evans frowned and thumped her stick on the porch. Thump. Thump.

  “Actually, Amelia Bedelia and Alice came by bus,” said Peggy quickly.

  “Well, that’s neither here nor there,” said Mrs. Evans.

  “Then where is it?” asked

  Amelia Bedelia.

  “Where’s what?” asked Mrs. Evans.

  “Where’s that?” said Amelia Bedelia. “If that’s not there, then where is it? Is it here, like on the big map?”

  Mrs. Evans looked at Peggy, who smiled and shrugged.

  “I’m just happy they both got here,” Peggy said. “And that’s that.”

  “I’ll be happier to see you in uniform, Amelia Bedelia,” said Mrs. Evans.

  “I’m taking them to their cabin,” said Peggy. “Amelia Bedelia will change, and we’ll be back for your greeting to the campers. Let’s go, girls. Follow me!”

  Based on the map, Amelia Bedelia had guessed that the sleeping cabins were pretty close to Mrs. Evans’s house. But the hike was long, and when they finally arrived, Amelia Bedelia was worn out.

  This made her think that the map was not all that accurate.

  Peggy headed to the far cabin and said, “Here you are. Home sweet home for the next two months!”

  Here, thought Amelia Bedelia, for two months. She didn’t want to be here. Here was camp. She wanted to be there, back home. Panic surged through her. She was still wearing street clothes. If she started running right now . . .

  “Polaris? Who’s Polaris?” asked Alice, tracing the letters carved into a wooden plaque next to the door.

  “Every cabin is named for a star,” said Peggy.

  “I’ve never heard of Polaris,” said Amelia Bedelia. “Is Polaris a movie star? A rock star?”

  “A TV star?” asked Alice.

  “Polaris is a real star,” said Peggy. “I’ll introduce you one night.”

  “I’ve never met a real star,” said Amelia Bedelia. Despite herself, she was intrigued. Maybe there was hope for Camp Echo Woods.

  Just then, laughter burst out inside the cabin. It got louder when Peggy swung the door open and led them in. “Amelia Bedelia and Alice,” she said, “meet your fellow campers.”

  There was a big tangle of arms and legs and white and blue uniforms on the floor at their feet. The tangle stopped rolling around but kept on giggling.

  “One, two . . . three heads,” said Alice.

  The pile turned into three separate girls, who got to their feet slowly, each carefully keeping at least one hand on the most beat-up teddy bear Amelia Bedelia had ever seen.

  “You ladies look like puppies wrestling over a chew toy,” said Peggy. “I’d like you to meet Alice.”

  Alice took a small step forward and waved.

  “And this is Bedelia Amelia,” said Peggy, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  Amelia Bedelia’s eyes grew wide. Snapping her head around, she stared at Peggy, who smiled and winked. “Sorry, I just had to see the look on your face.”

  “She means Amelia Bedelia,” said Amelia Bedelia to the oth
ers.

  Peggy pointed at the other campers. “Meet Amy, Nannette, and Lisha,” she said.

  “A-nnette,” said Annette.

  “A-lisha,” said Alisha. “You forgot the As.”

  “Sorry,” said Peggy. “I’m still learning your names.”

  “All our first names start with A,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Hey, that’s right,” said Peggy. “You’re Straight As.”

  The girls looked at one another and nodded. They felt just like they’d been admitted to a secret club.

  “It’s cool, but it’s pretty weird,” said Amy.

  “That’s life,” said Alisha.

  “C’est la vie,” said Annette.

  “That’s French,” whispered Alice to Amelia Bedelia. “C’est la vie.” Looking over at Annette, she said, “You’re not from around here.”

  “I’m from Paris,” said Annette. “My mother grew up in America. She spent every summer here at—”

  Peggy blew her whistle. “Ladies. Ladies. Ladies,” she said, clapping her hands after each word. “You’ll have hours and hours to get to know one another. Now it’s time for the opening ceremony. Follow me!”

  Peggy took the lead, setting a brisk pace for about five seconds. Suddenly she stopped, so abruptly that the girls ran into one another like dominoes.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” said Peggy. She held up both hands and began walking down the line of campers, halting when she came to Amelia Bedelia. “What’s wrong with this picture?” she asked.

  “What picture?” said Amelia Bedelia.

  Peggy smiled and said, “You need to put the ‘you’ into uniform.”

  Oh no! Her camp uniform! “I’ll go change,” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “No time,” said Peggy. “Grab it and bring it with you. You can change when we get there.”

  Amelia Bedelia had turned to walk back to the cabin when Peggy blew her whistle.

  “Run! Run! Run!” called Peggy, clapping after each word.

  Amelia Bedelia raced to the cabin and grabbed a uniform. Clutching it under her arm, Amelia Bedelia sprinted back to the group. The Straight As cheered.

  “Atta girl!” yelled Peggy. “We’ll get there on time if we jog.”

  Everyone had already gathered around the flagpole. Peggy picked out a spot in the ring of campers for the Polaris cabin to stand. “We’ll gather right here before breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” she said. “So if there are any announcements or schedule changes or if someone sees Bigfoot, we’ll know right away.”

  “Who has big feet?” asked Alisha.

  “Mrs. Evans,” said Annette. “Enorme! My mom says she laughs about it herself.”

  Amy said, “I bet they stink, too.”

  “Uh-uh-uh,” said Peggy. “No camper is allowed to say anything bad or mean about another camper. That goes for Mrs. Evans, too, and all the counselors.” Then she clapped three times and said, “Mrs. Evans will be here any second, Amelia Bedelia. Put on your uniform.”

  “Where?” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “Right here,” said Peggy, pointing at the ground.

  “In the middle of camp?” said Amelia Bedelia. “Right now?”

  “It’s just us,” said Alice. “Hurry!”

  “Out in the open?” said Amelia Bedelia.

  “We’ll shield you,” said Alisha. She and the three other girls gathered around Amelia Bedelia, their backs to her, their arms interlocked.

  “Excellent teamwork!” said Peggy.

  Amelia Bedelia was taking off her jeans when she heard some shocking news.

  “Here come the guys from the cabin next door,” said Alisha.

  “Guys? Are you kidding?” said Amelia Bedelia, hopping around in her bare feet and quickly pulling on her shorts. “I thought this camp was for girls only!”

  “I’ve only met Sam and Alex,” said Amy.

  Amelia Bedelia couldn’t see any guys, and she hoped that they couldn’t see her, either. She took off her T-shirt.

  “Chris is nice,” said Annette.

  Amelia Bedelia struggled into her camp shirt. She got her arms through the sleeves, but her head was stuck. She turned around and around in a circle. She felt like Finally.

  “Hi, Danni. Hi, Toni,” said Alisha.

  “Danny and Tony!” yelled Amelia Bedelia. “Are you serious?”

  “No, we’re Polaris,” said Annette. “They’re Sirius.”

  Amelia Bedelia stumbled over someone’s foot and down she went, taking the girls of Polaris with her.

  The good thing was that her head popped through the neck of her shirt. The bad thing was that now she could see Mrs. Evans striding straight toward her.

  Mrs. Evans stood in front of the fallen cluster of Polaris girls. Peggy untangled them one by one, giving each girl a hand up, until Amelia Bedelia was revealed at the center of the pile. Mrs. Evans shook her head and said, “How can anyone get so filthy so fast? At least you’ve got your uniform on, Amelia Bedelia. You’re a mess, but I can tell that you’re our mess.”

  Mrs. Evans continued on to the flagpole. She was carrying a staff with a notch at the top in the shape of the letter V. She raised the staff high in the air. The counselors stopped talking to their campers and each raised one hand, making a letter V with their first two fingers. The campers quickly grew quiet, too, and made the same sign with their raised hands. Amelia Bedelia and the other Polaris girls, who were trying not to giggle, shrugged and copied them. When it was totally, eerily quiet, Mrs. Evans began to speak.

  “Heavens to Murgatroyd, here we are for another summer at Echo Woods. Welcome back, ladies, and welcome to our five new campers. Now that your kit and caboodle is stowed, Counselor Peggy will show you the whole shebang. Just don’t expect to be mollycoddled or live the life of Riley. Nothing namby-pamby lasts very long out here in the boondocks.

  “Our cook is making grub that will stick to your ribs. We have a wonderful nurse, should anyone come down with the whim-whams, a case of the collywobbles, or just the heebie-jeebies. There won’t be any flies in the ointment.

  “About the only thing that bugs me is a litterbug. That’s when I see red. Now you know how I feel, so we won’t shilly-shally another second. Let’s seize this summer. Onward!”

  Mrs. Evans waved her staff above her head in triumph. The counselors cheered. The campers whooped. As Mrs. Evans led everyone toward the dining hall, the Polaris girls stood frozen, looking at one another with utter bewilderment.

  “What did she just say?” asked Alisha.

  “Am I still in the United States?” asked Annette.

  “Am I still on Earth?” added Amy.

  Even Alice was shaking her head.

  Truthfully Amelia Bedelia felt relieved. For once she wasn’t the only one who didn’t have a clue what someone was talking about.

  “Mrs. Evans is from another era,” said Peggy.

  “Yeah, the Jurassic period,” said Amy.

  Alisha laughed. “When she was our age, I bet she had a pet dinosaur.”

  “Remember the rule I told you about.” Peggy smiled. “Trust me. You’ll grow to love her. We all do. Now, let’s go eat.”

  “Must I eat a grub?” asked Annette.

  “Don’t French people eat snails?” said Alice.

  “Not me,” said Annette.

  “Lunchtime!” Peggy called out, clapping three times. “I’ll translate what Mrs. Evans said while we eat. Once you get past the language barrier, she has tons of experience in the outdoors.”

  The dining hall was a big room filled with tables and chairs. It was crowded and noisy. The Polaris table was next to the Sirius table. “Girls of Polaris,” said Peggy, “meet your neighbors, Sirius. You are the North Star, they are the Dog Star. Their cabin is next to yours.”

  As they introduced themselves, Amelia Bedelia realized that these girls were actually the “boys” who had surprised her when she was changing.

  “Hi, I’m Christine. But you can call me Chris,” said Chris.


  “I’m Danni, short for Daniela, and this is my friend Antonia,” said Danni.

  “Toni,” said Antonia.

  Sam and Alex turned out to be Samantha and Alexandra. They smiled at Amelia Bedelia, and she smiled back—until she realized where she had seen them before. These were the girls who had laughed at her red and green sneakers on the bus!

  After lunch, the Polaris girls went back to the cabin and put on their bathing suits. Peggy gave them a quick tour of the camp, so they’d know where the showers, toilets, and laundry were located and where the counselors slept.

  “That’s my cabin,” said Peggy, “in case you need me in an emergency.” She pointed at a two-foot-tall statue of a garden gnome wearing a backpack. “And that’s my boyfriend standing guard.”

  As she led them past the campfire crescent, Peggy said, “We have a campfire twice a week, with lots of singing, some goofy skits, snacks, and stories.”

  “Ghost stories?” asked Amy. “Like the one about the lost camper who—”

  “No! The last thing we need is a camp full of kids so afraid of the dark they can’t go to sleep.”