Noah slowly made his way to the stage.
“Well,” he said, “sometimes I get up early and go down to the lake. I guess that’s against the rules, but it’s beautiful at that time of day. The birds sing more then and I even saw some deer one morning.”
Hap nodded. “We’ll discuss that later. So what happened?”
“I was sitting on the shore and watching these frogs swimming and hopping in the shallow water. They looked so happy, I thought Og might like to meet some other frogs and play in a real lake,” he explained. “So I came back to our cabin and I borrowed him. Everybody was sleeping.”
“And you let him go at the lake?” Hap asked.
Noah looked a little frightened. “No, I didn’t mean to! I just thought I’d let him play there awhile. But as soon as I put him down, he hopped off into some tall grass and disappeared. I looked and looked, but I couldn’t find him.”
There was a lot of commotion among the unhappy campers. No one was as unhappy as me.
“So I just took his tank over to the Nature Center,” Noah continued. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“You should have told us,” Hap said. “It’s not easy for pets that are used to being fed to find their own food.” He sounded firm but kind.
Noah hung his head. “I’m really sorry. I looked for him, honest.”
The noise in the dining hall had grown to an uproar.
Then it came, that ear-piercing blast of a whistle. Mrs. Wright joined Hap on the stage.
“Do you know where you left him, young man?” she asked Noah in a voice that wasn’t as kind as Hap’s.
Noah nodded.
“We should organize a search party,” she announced. “You can take us down to the spot you last saw him. All right with you, Holloway?”
“It’s all right with me!” I squeaked. “Great idea!”
And I thought Mrs. Wright didn’t like Og! I guess I judged another book by its cover.
There wasn’t much Hap could do except agree with her. He nodded and soon the counselors were organizing the campers into groups. They gathered up nets and buckets, sunscreen and caps, and Noah and Mrs. Wright led them out of the hall.
“Sam will find him,” I heard Garth tell Simon. “He can do anything.”
I hoped he was right.
Just as I feared, they left me behind. Ms. Mac took me to the rec room and told me not to worry. But she didn’t tell me how.
I nervously peered out the window for hours and hours and hours. Maria came in from the kitchen once and gave me some lovely veggies, but I couldn’t think of eating until my old friend was safely back in his tank.
When they returned from lunch, I could tell by the faces of the searchers that they hadn’t found Og. The dining hall was a lot quieter than usual.
After lunch, Hap Holloway had the kids vote to decide if they wanted to go back and look some more. Apparently, they all did.
Before they left, they sang the Camp Happy Hollow song.
I tried to sing along, but a big lump in my throat made it unsqueakably difficult.
The afternoon seemed to go on forever, and when the campers returned, they still weren’t smiling.
Ms. Mac came in the rec room and pulled up a chair next to my cage.
“Humphrey, we didn’t find him. I’m sure he’ll be fine there in the lake with the other frogs,” she said. Her eyes looked all wet. “But I know he misses you as much as you miss him.”
Sayeh and Miranda came in, arm in arm.
“May we see Humphrey, please?” Miranda asked.
“Sure,” Ms. Mac said.
“I’m sorry, Humphrey,” Miranda finally said. “We really tried. I looked so hard, my eyeballs hurt.”
“We’re going back tomorrow,” Sayeh said. “I’m never giving up. Never.”
“Thank you,” I squeaked weakly.
For the first time in my short life, my cage felt like a prison.
“I’m never giving up,” Sayeh had said.
I heard those words in my head all evening. And after I was safely in the Robins’ Nest that night, I kept hearing them. My friends had given their all looking for Og and I hadn’t done one single thing!
I was mad at myself and sorry for myself all at once. I was mad at Noah and sorry for him, too. And then I heard it:
SKITTER-SKITTER-SKITTER.
SCRITCH-SCRITCH-SCRITCH.
Goldenrod was under the cabin again. I didn’t think twice about what I had to do. I slid down the table leg and found an opening between the floorboards.
“Goldenrod? It’s Humphrey,” I squeaked.
“Hi, Humphrey! What are you doing out of your cage?” she squeaked back.
“I need your help,” I said. “I’ll meet you outside.”
I scampered to the door. There was a nice wide opening between the bottom of the door and the floor and I easily slid through it. When I got out to the porch, I saw Goldenrod waiting in a clump of bushes.
I was so excited, I probably didn’t make sense, but I told her about Og and what had happened.
“Maybe he wants to be wild,” Goldenrod said.
“Maybe,” I agreed. “But I have to know for myself.”
Goldenrod thought for a moment. “I’ll help you, but it’s a long way to the lake. Oh, wait—I know a shortcut.”
Soon, I found myself following Goldenrod down the path in the moonlight. Then she veered off the path, into thick underbrush—almost like the jungle I’d seen in that movie back in the library. Longfellow School seemed a million, jillion miles away.
I was out in the wild, like the lions and gorillas and hootie owls.
It was SCARY-SCARY-SCARY. It was also thrilling.
NOTE TO SELF: Always help a friend in trouble . . . or at least try.
18
Moonlight Rescue
Goldenrod moved quickly through the brush. I was right behind her, but oh, the grass and branches and tiny rocks tickled my whiskers, scraped my paws and made me itchy all over.
SKITTER-SKATTER-SKIT.
There was someone else in the brush. Could it be the Howler?
SKITTER-SKATTER-SQUEAK.
I was pretty sure the Howler didn’t squeak.
“Come on, Lucky,” Goldenrod said. “We have to help our friend Humphrey.”
Then I heard SQUEAK-SKITTER-SKAT.
“You can help too, Go-Go,” she said.
Soon, there were about a dozen mice accompanying us, Goldenrod’s brothers, sisters and cousins. They scampered along through the underbrush as I desperately tried to keep up.
Then I heard HOOT-HOOT. HOOT-HOOT.
“Excuse me,” I said, gasping a bit for air. “But did I just hear an owl?”
“Sure,” said Goldenrod. “That’s why we try not to go out in the open.”
“Good call,” I agreed.
And then I saw the most wonderful sight I’d ever seen. The moonlight shimmered and glimmered across the surface of the lake. The water was silvery-purple. I guess that’s why it was called Lake Lavender. It was beautiful.
Oh, but I also felt a bad feeling deep in my tummy. Maybe Og would prefer this beautiful lake to his tabletop tank. Maybe Og was happier with the frogs in Lake Lavender than he was living next door to a hamster.
Goldenrod led us to the very edge of the water, where there were tall plants and soft grasses.
“Here we are,” she squeaked. At least I think that’s what she squeaked. I could barely hear her over the deafening chorus of frogs!
I never knew there were so many kinds of frogs and so many different sounds.
QUANK-QUANK-QUANK!
RUMM-RUMM-RUMM!
TUCK-A-TUCK-A-TUCK!
CHIRP-CHIRP-CHIRP!
But I didn’t hear a single BOING.
“How can I find him?” I asked Goldenrod.
“Call him,” she said. “Maybe he’ll hear you.”
There was a nice flat rock nearby. I climbed up to the top, cleared my throat and squeaked with all my might.
“Og? This is your friend Humphrey! Og? Og!”
The quanking and chirping continued. If only those big bullfrogs would stop RUMM-RUMM-RUMM-ing for a second.
“OG!” I shrieked. “OG, IT’S HUMPHREY!”
Oddly enough, the chorus suddenly became quiet, quiet enough for me to hear a clear and distinct “BOING!” I’d know that BOING anywhere.
“Og, if you’d rather stay here at the lake where it’s beautiful in the moonlight, I’ll understand,” I told him. “But if you’d like to come back and be my neighbor again, we can lead you back.”
“BOING-BOING!” was the response.
“My friends know the way,” I continued. “And the kids miss you a lot.”
“BOING-BOING-BOING!”
Did that sound a little bit closer?
“I’m here, on a rock on the shore,” I told him. I was afraid my small hamster voice might not hold up much longer.
“BOING-BOING,” Og answered.
I waited and waited until I heard a familiar splashing. And then I saw him: his bright green skin shining in the moonlight, his big googly eyes gleaming and that big old goofy grin. He was on shore, hopping toward me.
“Og! I missed you!” I shouted.
“BOING-BOING!” he replied, so I knew he’d missed me, too.
HOOT-HOOT. HOOT-HOOT.
“Hurry, let’s get back in the brush,” Goldenrod said.
Quietly, without another squeak, Goldenrod, Lucky, Go-Go and others led Og and me skittering and hopping through the undergrowth on the long trek back to the Robins’ Nest cabin.
“I can’t thank you all enough,” I told my wild friends.
They squeaked, “Good luck,” and scampered off, disappearing into the bushes.
Only Goldenrod lingered for a few seconds.
“You are a wonderful friend to Og,” she told me.
“You are a wonderful friend to me,” I replied. “And Goldenrod? You’ll be careful with that owl, won’t you?”
“Of course,” she said. “But Lucky can tell you more about that owl than I can. He was just a baby when an owl swooped down and picked him up.”
I gasped, “Oh, no!”
Goldenrod nodded. “But for some reason, he dropped him right away. That’s how he got his name—Lucky.”
I shuddered a little and she turned to leave.
“If I EVER-EVER-EVER can help you, please let me know,” I called after her.
“Thanks,” she said shyly. Then, in a flash, she was gone.
I looked over at my old pal, who looked tired and pale. Of course—he needed water! Luckily, there was a lovely puddle at the bottom of the steps. After sitting in the water awhile, he looked like his old self again.
I sat there with Og for the rest of the night. Neither of us said a thing. We didn’t need to.
When it started to get light, I told Og to stay right where he was. Then I slid back under the door.
I knew from experience that there was no way to get back on the table, so I waited. When the loudspeaker played that awful wake-up song, the girls began to stir.
As soon as I saw Miranda sit up, I began to SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK at the top of my lungs. She heard me and jumped out of bed.
“Humphrey! You’re out of your cage!” she said, dashing toward me.
I was way ahead of her. I raced to the door and slid under.
“Come back!” Miranda ran after me and opened the door.
I hurried down to Og’s puddle. He was still there, thank goodness.
Miranda stopped short and stared. “Og! That’s Og!” she screamed.
The other Robins were outside now, screaming with happiness. Gail picked up my cage first and then Og.
“I’ll go tell Ms. Mac.” Miranda took off running, still in her pj’s!
“Tell me again,” Ms. Mac said after Og was back in his tank and I was back in my cage.
Miranda told the story again.
“I’m afraid with all the fuss about Og, one of you forgot to lock Humphrey’s cage,” she said.
“Sorry,” the Robins said in unison.
I felt a little guilty because they didn’t have anything to be sorry about.
Ms. Mac pointed a finger in my direction. “And you, Humphrey, were naughty to get out of your cage.”
Naughty, yes. But it was well worth it to have my friend back.
“I guess somehow Og found his way back, though I can’t imagine how,” Ms. Mac continued. “But here he is and that’s all that counts.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
Og and I put in a special appearance in the dining hall at breakfast that morning to loud cheers and applause.
Noah got up and apologized to Og and to the other campers. I could tell he was REALLY-REALLY-REALLY sorry.
“I thought I knew a lot about animals,” he said. “I thought that frogs belonged with frogs. But now I know some frogs belong with people.”
Then Hap prepared everyone for the final day of competitions.
“Play hard, play fair, have fun,” he said. “And now, let the games begin!”
I glanced over at Sayeh. This was the moment she’d been dreading.
Surprise—she had a big smile on her face! Humans are hard to figure out. But that’s what makes them so interesting.
NOTE TO SELF: You can know-a-lot. But nobody knows everything.
19
The Winners After Dinner
Wait up, Garth!” Sam was standing right in front of my cage.
Garth hurried over. “What’s the matter? Your pitching arm’s okay, isn’t it?”
At that moment, Sam was using his pitching arm to scratch his other arm. And then his neck. And then his leg.
“I’m itching like crazy,” he said. “I can hardly stand it.”
Garth’s jaw dropped open as he stared at Super-Sam, who now could be called Scratching Sam. His skin was red and bumpy and blistery, and just watching Sam scratch made me itch.
A small crowd gathered around Sam.
“I’ll get the nurse,” Richie said, and he took off running.
Nurse Rose took one look at Sam. “Poison ivy,” she said. “Come with me.”
Still scratching and looking completely miserable, Sam followed her to the infirmary, where the sick kids stayed.
“We’re toast!” Garth told Ty. “The Bobwhites are toast!”
I spent my day with Og (and Lovey and Jake) in the Nature Center, where kids came and went all day to take the nature test. Katie stayed in the center, while Ms. Mac was out on the trail, timing the groups for the trail-reading event.
It wasn’t an easy day.
Part of me wished I could be out there, free of my cage, watching the events and seeing how my friends were doing.
The other part of me remembered that it was dangerous for a small creature to be out in the big woods. In fact, I worried about Goldenrod and her friends every night.
Still, I was anxious to know what was going on. I kept my eyes and ears open for any little tidbits to tell me how the competitions were going.
The first thing I heard was from Garth, when he came in to take the quiz. He looked miserable.
“Nurse Rose gave Sam some lotion, but she says he can’t swim,” Garth told me. “He can try canoeing or softball, but I don’t see how he can hit a home run when he’s scratching all the time. The other teams say he shouldn’t play volleyball because they don’t want to touch the ball after he does.” Garth sighed. “I don’t think he can do anything but scratch.”
“I’m SORRY-SORRY-SORRY,” I told him, knowing he and the Bobwhites had all counted on Sam to win for them. Maybe Sam’s cabin-mates should have put forth a little more effort, but I was too polite to say so, especially when Garth was upset.
Sayeh was a lot more chipper than Garth when she stopped by after taking the nature quiz.
“Oh, Humphrey,” she said. “No one can tie knots like Abby, though Simon did a good job. Marissa’s ahead in archery. We’re going tra
il reading now. But even if the Chickadees don’t win, we’ll still have a great time tomorrow night.”
I was GLAD-GLAD-GLAD she felt that way!
The next night was when the winning group would sleep over in Haunted Hollow. But how would the Chickadees have a great time if they didn’t get to go?
Sayeh walked away but quickly returned.
“Oh, I forgot,” she said. “Miranda was awesome in volleyball, so the Robins are still in the game. I’m so happy for her.”
I was happy for Miranda and Sayeh.
Brad took the nature quiz and I could tell he worked really hard at it. He practically chewed right through his pencil, which would be easy for a hamster but not so easy for a human. When the quiz was over, he called for Gail to wait up.
“A.J. hit a home run,” he said. “Even if we don’t win, it was close.”
“I’m sure you did well on the nature quiz,” Gail said. “And my goofy brother was pretty good at tying knots. Who knew?”
“Did you hear that hammering noise?” he asked.
Then they wandered off, talking about woodpeck ers, which are interesting birds, but they make way too much noise for the sensitive ears of a small furry creature like me!
“Og, have you been keeping track?” I asked. “Because I’ve been listening all day and I can’t tell who’s going to win. Can you?”
Og just sat there. I guess he was still trying to figure it out, too.
When they are nervous, humans bite their fingernails or pace the floor.
When I am nervous, I hop on my wheel. (By the way, I don’t think biting your fingers or paws is a good idea.)
So I gave my old wheel a good spin later in the day, when we were back in the rec room. The counselors had gathered there with clipboards and all kinds of papers. They were going to decide who would spend the night in Haunted Hollow—and they were deciding it right in front of me.
“No doubt about it. The Bobwhites would have won if Sam didn’t have poison ivy,” Aldo said, staring at his clipboard.
“I feel for them,” Hap Holloway agreed. “It was a bad piece of luck.”
“Still, the others had been slacking off,” Mrs. Wright observed. “I think they relied too much on Sam. And their scores just don’t add up.”
Summer According to Humphrey Page 10