A Surprise at Dancing Fields

AuthorHouse

Contents

Chapter 1: A Sleepover in a Different Kind of Neighborhood.....................1Chapter 2: Is it a Snake?......................................................9Chapter 3: Watching the Magic..................................................17Chapter 4: Danger Lurks........................................................23Chapter 5: Have They Hatched Yet?..............................................28Chapter 6: Flying Potatoes.....................................................33Chapter 7: The Birthday Party..................................................41Chapter 8: Katarina is a Hero..................................................47Chapter 9: What a Relief.......................................................54Chapter 10: The Babies Hatch (And Guess Who Finds Them?).......................61

Chapter One

"Hold it tight, it keeps falling over," Tali said. She sounded exasperated. The pole that was supposed to hold up the tent tipped over for the fourth time.

"I am holding it," Jennifer grumped. "I can't help it that it keeps falling."

"Here, let me help you," Sand's mom Ruth said. "These big tents are not easy to put up, even for adults." She passed Tali the rope. "You hold this side, and, Jennifer, why don't you hold this one?" Jennifer took hold of the other rope.

"Now, Sand, hold the pole straight up, and don't let it move when we pull the ropes, okay?"

Sand nodded. She held the pole firmly with both hands, feet wide apart on the grass.

"We need one more pair of hands," Ruth said, looking to Andrea. "Turn off your iPod for a minute and come and help."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Andrea clicked off the music.

With everyone's help the big tent was up and stable in a few minutes. The four girls planned to spend the night in it, out in the open, not far from home, on the field under the big maple tree. They had all brought their sleeping bags, pillows, and special treats for their midnight feast.

Ruth asked, "You have the flashlights?" She knew it got very dark on the field, and they would need them.

Tali pointed at a pile of belongings on the ground. "They're over there."

"Looks like you're all set then," Ruth said. "You girls have fun and don't stay up too late."

"We won't," Sand said. "Night, Mom. I love you."

Ruth blew a kiss. "Love you too," she said, before she left the girls to walk back home.

Sand and her mom live on the edge of the field, close to the playground. Jennifer lives around the corner from them, and Tali and Andrea live nearby in houses that face each other. Now, Dancing Fields, the neighborhood they live in, is not like most city neighborhoods. Called a co-housing community, it's a really fun place for kids to grow up in. Everyone knows everyone, so it's a bit like being surrounded by uncles and aunts and grandparents and cousins, even if they're not your real family. Nobody locks their doors so the girls can just knock, then peek inside to see if a friend can come out to play.

Most neighborhoods have cars on the roads, so children have to be very careful crossing the street. It's different in Dancing Fields, because cars park far away from where everyone lives. So all the roads to friends' houses, to the playground, or to anywhere else in the neighborhood are super-safe for kids. All the children except the littlest, the one- and two-year olds, can play outside by themselves and go anywhere they want to. Only one place in the neighborhood is off-limits to children-the pond. All the kids know not to go near it unless they're with an adult, but they have so many other fun places to explore that they never run out of places to have fun.

The four girls love having each other to hang out with. Almost every afternoon when they come home from school, they get together and ride their bikes around the farm. That's another great thing about Dancing Fields. Even though it's in the city, part of their neighborhood is a farm for growing organic vegetables, and sometimes the girls get to help the farmer plant seeds or pick the ripe vegetables. Tali and Jennifer love the baby carrots best, while Sand prefers the broccoli. Andrea, unfortunately, hates vegetables.

The girls don't like everything about their neighborhood, though. One of the most annoying things is that the boys leave their stuff-scooters, bicycles, bats and balls-lying around everywhere. But if you pick up a bike and ride it, the boys get mad and yell, "Hey, that's my bike! Get off!" And of course if the boys ride some girl's scooter, then the girl has to chase them around to get it back. Sometimes boys can be a real pain. Well, maybe not Michael and Bill, because at the moment Andrea kind of likes them both.

After it got dark that night, the girls stayed up late talking and listening to Jonas Brothers and High School Musical. They meant to stay up the whole night without ever falling asleep, but that plan didn't work. After they had shared their treats, unfortunately Tali often ate more candy than her tummy could handle, and when she did that, bad things happened.

At first she got super-hyper, so that she jumped up and down and did headstands and cartwheels and walked on top of the playground's monkey bars in the dark without even holding on. After an hour or so all that energy was getting on the other girls' nerves, until Tali suddenly got very quiet. The other three knew from past experience what that meant-it meant look out!

Just as they expected, soon Tali said, "I don't feel so good."

Jennifer gave her a suspicious look. "Are you sick?"

"I don't know. My tummy doesn't feel right. Ooh, I think I'm going to throw up."

"Then go outside, quick!" Andrea gave her a shove.

That wasn't as mean as it seemed, because in a minute Tali did just that, she threw up. Luckily she was outside and a few steps away from the tent. Afterward, though, she got tired and crawled back into the tent to rest on her sleeping bag.

Sand was worried whenever someone was sick. "Feel better?" she asked.

"Some better," Tali said. "But I'm not going to eat any more candy."

Relieved, the others crawled into their sleeping bags too.

"Now, nobody goes to sleep," Jennifer said. "We'll just lie here and talk."

Of course that wasn't what really happened. After they started talking about Hannah Montana's latest music video, within a few short minutes the two younger girls weren't talking any more, just breathing deeply. The older girls changed the subject to Michael and Bill, the neighborhood boys, trying to decide which one was cuter, when Andrea realized she was talking to herself. She tried to stay awake, but her eyelids kept closing by themselves until finally she, too, gave in to sleep.

Chapter Two

When the sun was barely up, Tali jumped out of her sleeping bag and shook the others awake. The girls loved having the playground all to themselves. No boys, no adults, no one but them, and the only time to do that was early in the morning, before anybody else was up. Jennifer and Sand crawled out of the tent and quickly put on their shoes, but Andrea groaned and complained. First she said she had to brush her hair, and then she had to look around the big jumble of sleeping bags and flashlights and food for a yogurt stick. Then she made a huge noisy stretch. When she was finally ready, they all went to the playground.

No one else was there, it was all theirs. Jennifer and Sand picked up a giant red-and-yellow Frisbee lying on the ground and began tossing it to each other. Tali hung upside down from the monkey bars, her long hair sweeping the ground, and Andrea dawdled on a tire swing sucking on her soggy yogurt stick.

"Yuck, Tali." Jennifer crinkled her nose and curled her lip. "Your hair's getting all skuzzy."

Tali laughed and just hung there as before, enjoying her upside-down view of the world.

Andrea lazily swung sideways to stare at Tali, then swung back, still sucking.

Jennnifer sniffed. "It's not my hair, I don't care." She flung her arm back as high as she could to throw the Frisbee to Sand, but when she did, the Frisbee got away from her. So instead of going frontward, it flew way out behind her. She had turned around and was on her way to pick it up when she stopped short and squealed, "Oooh!"

"What? A snake?" Tali pulled herself upright and jumped down. She loved snakes. "I'll tell you if it's poisonous or not."

Sand did not love snakes. She ran behind a tree, peeped out with just one eye, then quickly hid again.

Andrea didn't budge from her swing. "Don't bring it here."

"You're all so silly," Jennifer scoffed. "It's not a snake, it's a turtle." She pointed to the little creature on the ground in front of her. "Can't you see its shell?"

Sand eased out from behind her tree. "Turtles don't live here. They live in the water."

"Duh," Jennifer said. "Who doesn't know that?"

"It's lost," Tali declared. "I'm taking it back to the pond." When she bent down to pick it up, instead of shrinking into its shell as most turtles would do, this one just kept moving its legs. So Tali set him down and squatted beside him to see where he was going.

Jennifer came bustling over, forgetting all about the Frisbee. "Let me do it," she said, grabbing the turtle, then yelled, "Ow!" She had almost dropped it. Quickly she set it down and shook her hand as if she'd been stung.

Tali, still squatting beside the turtle, looked up at Jennifer's hand. "He bite you?"

"Nah, he just scared me." Jennifer rubbed her hand where the turtle had touched her. "His legs are, like, scaly. Feels weird."

Andrea had ambled over to join the others. "Where's he going, anyhow?"

Jennifer shrugged. "I dunno. The pond's the other way."

Tali stood up and looked around. "Well, he's lost. I told you."

Sand said, "Let's go ask my mom. She knows all about stuff like this."

When the girls reached Sand's house and burst through the back door they found Ruth drinking coffee at the kitchen table.

Sand blurted excitedly, "Mom, there's a turtle on-"

"He's on the field," Jennifer broke in, "and I'm the one that found him."

The girls were all talking at once.

Tali said, "At first we thought he was a snake! He's got a long-"

"Yeah!" That was Jennifer again. "His neck is super-long!"

Ruth set down her coffee cup. "Slow down, girls! Slow down! I can't understand when you all talk at the same time. Now, start over. Take turns, and speak slowly."

"We saw a turtle," Jennifer said.

Ruth frowned, a concerned frown. "You went to the pond? You girls know you're not allowed near the pond without an adult."

"No, no, not at the pond," Tali said. "It's on the playing field. We think it's lost or something. It's headed in the wrong direction."

Sand clasped her hands in front of her. "Mom, come with us. We'll show you."

Jennifer tugged at Ruth's elbow. "Yes, come on! Come!"

"Wait, I have to comb ..." Ruth ran her fingers through her messy hair, still sticking up like a porcupine. "Oh, never mind, I'll do that later." When they started out she had to walk fast to keep up with the girls.

"Wow, you're right!" Ruth bent down to look at the turtle. "Little guy, now how come you're so far away from the water?"

Jennifer dragged one toe through the grass. "I'm gonna ask my mom if I can take him home."

Sand looked up at Ruth, her dark brown eyes wide. "Can he live with us, Mom? Can he?"

"No fair," Jennifer said. "I'm the one that found him."

"Now wait a minute, girls," Ruth said. "He can't live with anybody. I don't know what he's doing here, but he belongs in the pond, and that's where he's going to stay." She looked around at all four girls. "Everyone understand?"

Disappointed, they all nodded.

"Yeah," Jennifer said, but she turned her head away. She planned to ask her mother anyway.

The girls and Sand's mom just watched and waited to see what the little creature would do. When the turtle reached the nearest tree, it stopped, and soon little clumps of earth and grass began flying up behind it.

"Hey, look at that." Tali said. "It's digging."

Jennifer giggled. "Nah, he's pooping. Peeyew!"

Sand held her nose and nudged Jennifer with her elbow. "Smelly."

Ruth said, "I don't think he's pooping. I think he's digging a hole."

"Oh, I got it." Tali said. "It's not a he, it's a she, and she's laying eggs!" She flopped down to stretch out on the grass. "Let's watch!"

Chapter Three

"Me and my dad saw this movie," Tali said, "where the turtles laid their eggs on the beach in the sand. Then when they hatched, all the baby turtles walked to the water and started swimming. It was cool!"

Sand had the tip of one finger in her mouth. "They know how to swim? Who taught them?"

"They're born like that," Ruth said. "It's an instinct. You know how a human baby just drinks its momma's milk as soon as it's born?"

At that Jennifer jumped into the discussion. "When my mother nursed my baby brother," she said proudly, "she said he was a strong sucker."

Ruth chuckled. "He sure was, and just look at him now, what a big boy he is. Well, you call that an instinct, and it's the same with turtle babies. They're born with the instinct to swim.

"See?" Ruth pointed, "From this tree it's a straight line down to the pond. This momma turtle came here because she knew that when her babies hatched they'd go straight to the pond. She has an instinct, too."

She ruffled Sand's hair, "Oh, this is so exciting. I can't believe it's happening right here in front of us."

Sand leaned away, "M-o-m, you're messing my hair."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Moms!"

"I can see her tail." Tali had laid her head on the grass so she could see underneath the turtle.

Sand took her finger out of her mouth to point. "Is that where the eggs come from?"

"No," Ruth explained, "they come out of a small opening under her tail. We can't see it because she's pushed her rear end into the loose dirt."

Jennifer and Sand giggled, while Sand pulled the hem of her pajama top into her mouth to suck on it. She did that at times, when something made her uncomfortable.

Tali looked up at Andrea, who sat cross-legged beside her with her chin tucked close to her chest. Andrea gazed back knowingly at Tali. They were eleven, they knew about such things. Sand and Jennifer didn't. To them, the younger girls were still babies, only eight years old.

Sand whispered to Tali, "Can you see the eggs?"

Jennifer said, "I can!"

"No, Jennifer, you can't," Ruth said. "None of us can. She's laid them deep in the hole she's dug."

After what seemed like a long time, so long that Jennifer was getting pins-and-needles feelings in her legs, the turtle began to move her back legs again.

"She's digging some more," Sand said, too loud.

"Shh!" Tali put a finger in front of her lips. "She's covering her eggs now, see? First she dug the hole, then she laid the eggs, and now she's covering them up."

"Cool!" Andrea said, a girl who didn't waste words.

Her job done, the little turtle finally stopped digging.

"Look," Ruth said, "she's turning around to head back towards the pond."

Sand looked worried. "She's leaving her eggs?"

"Huh!" Jennifer sneered. "That's not a nice mommy thing to do."

"All mother turtles do that," Ruth said. "Don't worry. The eggs will be fine."

Tali was still worried. "But the boys play soccer here," she said. "They put up their goal posts right beside this tree."

"Yeah, that's right," Jennifer added. "They're rough too."

Sand looked like she might be about to cry.

"Don't worry," Ruth said. "I'll send out an email to everyone in the neighborhood, so all the adults and all the kids will watch out for them. Okay?"

"I'm glad," Sand said. She let go of the hem of her pajama top.

Jennifer stuck her chin out just a little. "And be sure you tell them we found the turtle."

Ruth nodded as she brushed grass off her sweatpants. "You sure did, and I'll tell them so. You know, it's very rare to see a mother turtle laying eggs. We are so lucky!"

Sand smiled, lifted her hands above her head, and twirled around like at ballet.

"Oh, my goodness," Ruth exclaimed, noticing the girls' clothes for the first time. "Look at you, Jennifer and Sand, still in your pajamas. Let's go get dressed." She reached up trying again to smooth her own messy hair. "And I'd better get inside, before someone sees me looking like a space cadet."

Chapter Four

Ruth and the girls had barely walked away from the turtle eggs when Andrea yelled, "Cat! Cat!"

Ruth swiveled around to spy a cat stalking the turtle. It must have been hiding in the cornfield, because none of them had seen it.

Sand shrieked, "It's going to- to- to- kill the ...!" She was almost in tears.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from A Surprise at Dancing Fieldsby Ronit Elk Copyright © 2009 by Ronit Elk. Excerpted by permission.
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