April Adventure (4 page)

“What will we do if the raccoons have the eggs?” Brian asked.

They were waiting for a light to change so they could cross Main Street.

Bradley grinned. “Ask them to give them back,” he said.

“What if the eggs are already in their stomachs?” Nate asked.

“Then we’ll let them keep them,” Bradley said. The kids crossed the street and headed for Center Park.

“I saw the raccoons walk into those
trees,” Lucy said. She pointed to the trees near the high school playing fields.

“Maybe they have a home there,” Bradley said.

Pal tugged on his leash and led the kids to the trees. He sniffed the ground and whimpered.

“Pal, if I let you off your leash, will you lead us to the raccoons?” Bradley asked the dog.

Pal said, “Woof!”

Bradley unsnapped the leash, and Pal took off, barking. He raced to a tall tree and put his front paws on the trunk.

The kids ran over to the tree. They looked up into the branches. “What does a raccoon nest look like?” Nate asked.

“I think they sleep inside the trunk,” Bradley said.

Pal let out another loud bark. He tried to climb the tree.

“Oh my gosh, look!” Lucy said.
About six feet above their heads, a raccoon face peered out of a hole in the tree trunk. The raccoon made a little coughing noise at Pal.

“Now what?” Nate asked, looking up. “We found the nest, but we still don’t know if they have our eggs.”

“And I’m not climbing up there to look in the nest,” Brian added. “Momma Raccoon doesn’t look happy to see us.”

“I don’t think the raccoons took them,” Lucy said.

“Why not?” Bradley asked.

“Guys, remember when we saw the raccoons in the park?” Lucy asked. “They walked right past us.”

“Yeah, the mom was leading the three babies,” Brian said.

“Well, none of them had an egg in its mouth,” Lucy said. “And they weren’t carrying an egg in their paws, either.”

“You’re right,” Bradley said. “They
were probably just going home to sleep. Raccoons hunt for food at night.”

“Maybe they ate the eggs before we saw them,” Nate suggested.

“They could have,” Bradley said. “But they’d leave the eggshells on the ground. Let’s go look!”

The kids ran toward the pond. “Let’s split up,” Bradley said. “Look everywhere on the ground.”

“What if the raccoons ate the eggshells, too?” Brian asked.

Bradley shook his head. “Yuck, I don’t think painted eggshells would taste very good!”

The kids walked around the pond. Right away Pal started barking at the swans. They were on the water, flapping their wings.

“Chill out, Mr. and Mrs. Swan,” Nate said. “No one is going to hurt you. We’re just looking for eggshells.”

“Maybe they have a nest somewhere,” Lucy said. “They think we’re going to bother it.”

The kids walked quietly and carefully through the tall grass. Bradley led the way, with Pal in front on his leash. Out on the pond, the two swans kept watch.

“Careful,” Bradley whispered over his shoulder. “There may be snakes.”

“Who’s afraid of snakes?” Brian said.

“I am!” Nate answered.

Suddenly Pal barked and tugged on his leash. Bradley saw the hair on Pal’s neck stand up.

“What is it, Pal?” Bradley asked. He looked at the ground in front of Pal.

Then he saw what had made Pal bark. A black snake was curled up in a patch of sunlight.

The snake raised its head and poked its tongue into the air.

Nate came up behind Bradley. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Bradley pointed at the snake. “Don’t move!” he whispered.

Nate took one look and gasped.

“I couldn’t move if I t-tried!” he stammered.

“What’re you guys looking at?” Brian asked. He and Lucy were standing behind Nate.

“S-snake!” Nate said, pointing. “It’s a giant, man-eating python!”

“No it isn’t,” Bradley said. “It’s just a big water snake.”

“Very big!” Brian said.

“Snakes are shy,” Lucy said. “I bet it’s more afraid of us than we are of it.”

“It couldn’t be more afraid than I am!” Nate insisted.

“It’s so beautiful,” Lucy said. “Look how shiny its scales are.”

Pal lowered his nose to sniff the snake. The snake uncurled its long body and started to crawl away.

“What’s the matter with its belly?” Brian asked. “It’s got a big bump!”

“I think it just ate something,” Bradley said.

The kids watched as the snake disappeared in the tall weeds.

“What if it ate one of our eggs?” Nate said. “That bump in its belly looks like an egg!”

“I saw a snake on TV that swallowed an egg whole,” Lucy told the boys.

“How do they crack them open?” Brian asked.

“I think their stomach muscles crack the egg once it’s inside,” Lucy said.

“Oooh, gross!” Nate said.

“Guys, we don’t know if that snake
ate our egg,” Bradley said. “That lump in its belly could be a frog or something.”

“And we don’t know if the raccoons did, either,” Brian said. “So what do we do?”

“Keep looking for the eggshells,” Lucy suggested. “If we find them, at least we’ll know something ate our eggs!”

“If we bring the eggshells home, maybe we can still get the prize,” Nate said.

When the snake was gone, the kids kept walking.

Pal was still tugging on the leash. His nose was on the ground, sniffing everything.

Suddenly the two swans swam closer to the kids. They began hissing and flapping the water with their wings.

“Guys, I don’t think they want us here,” Nate said.

“I wonder why,” Brian said.

“I know why they’re mad at us,” Bradley said. “Look.” He bent down and parted the grass next to the water’s edge. “It’s their nest.”

The nest was as big around as a tire. It was made of three layers. The bottom layer was twigs and small branches. On top of the branches was a thick layer of grass. The grass was lined with soft swan feathers.

“Oh my goodness!” Lucy said, pointing at the nest.

In the middle of the feathers lay four golden eggs.

“We found them!” Nate said. “We get the treasure!”

“Well, the swans really found them first,” Bradley said.

“Guys, let’s move away from the pond,” Lucy said. “The swans think we’re going to steal the eggs.”

The kids and Pal walked over to the band shell and sat. Pal flopped on the ground with his head on his front paws.

“So what should we do?” asked Brian. “I want the prize!”

“I feel sorry for the swans,” Lucy said.

“Why?” asked Nate.

“Because I think something stole their eggs,” Lucy said. “Maybe it was the raccoons or that snake. But now they don’t have any eggs to hatch. That must be why they took ours.”

“Yeah, the swans think the eggs will hatch,” Bradley said. “But they won’t because they’re hard-boiled.”

“That’s a bummer,” Nate said. “The swans will keep waiting and waiting, but nothing will happen.”

“I have an idea!” Bradley said. “Let’s get them another swan egg. One that will hatch!”

“Where do we get one?” Brian asked.

Bradley stood up and Pal jumped to his feet. “There are swans at the petting zoo,” Bradley said. “Maybe they have eggs!”

“Cool!” Nate said. “And we know someone who works there!”

Five minutes later, the kids and Pal walked through the petting zoo gate. They stopped to pet a baby goat. Then they found the office and went inside.

“Well, hi, gang,” said a smiling man with gray hair. He was sitting at a desk, typing on a computer. It was Mr. Neater, who used to be the janitor at their school. The kids had helped him find a home for his pet rabbit at the petting zoo.

“Hi, Mr. Neater!” Bradley said. “How’s Douglas?”

“Ask him yourself,” Mr. Neater said. “He’s here, on my lap.”

The kids walked closer. A large rabbit was sound asleep on Mr. Neater’s knees.

Pal whimpered and tried to lick Douglas. Bradley held the leash tightly.

“Can I pet him?” Lucy asked.

Mr. Neater smiled. “Douglas will be sad if you don’t!” he said.

Lucy patted the rabbit’s soft head. Douglas twitched his ears and wiggled his tail.

“What brings you kids here?” Mr. Neater asked.

Bradley told Mr. Neater about the
golden eggs in the swans’ nest.