儿童英语读物 The Camp-Out Mystery CHAPTER 1 Going Camping

“Do we have everything?” Grandfather Alden asked.



The four Alden children looked inside the station wagon 1. They had gotten up before dawn to pack for their camping trip. Five backpacks, one for Grandfather and one for each of the children, lay side by side. Each contained a sleeping bag, extra clothes, and a flashlight. Next to the bags were two folded tents and a cooler.



Their dog, Watch, stood on his hind 2 legs and put his front paws on the tailgate so he could see, too. Everyone laughed.



“Don’t worry, Watch,” Benny, the youngest Alden, said. “I packed your food dish.”



The dog’s food and dishes were packed in his own special backpack. Jessie had made it for him out of an old piece of canvas 3.



Jessie lifted the top of the cooler. An old frying pan, stew 4 pot, tablecloths 6, and dishes were packed inside.



“Is my cup in there?” Benny asked. It was right on top. No matter where he went, he always took his cracked pink cup. It was special to him. He had found it in the dump back when the children lived in the boxcar.



Violet checked her list. “What about the lantern?” she asked.



“I packed it,” fourteen-year-old Henry said. “Extra batteries, too.”



“Do we need a camping stove, Grandfather?” Jessie asked.



“No,” Grandfather answered. “The camp provides places to make fires for cooking.”



“If they didn’t, we could build one,”Benny said. He was six years old and a good helper.



“I guess that’s everything,” Violet said.



“Okay, Watch,” Jessie directed her dog. “Hop in.”



Watch jumped into the wagon, turned around three times, and curled up on top of a tent.



Grandfather closed the station wagon’s back door. “Well, then, we’re on our way.”



Henry and Violet climbed into the backseat. Jessie sat in the front and opened the map. Grandfather had marked the route for her.



Benny hung back. “Wait!” he said. “Where’s our lunch?” Food was Benny’s favorite thing.



Jessie glanced behind her. The picnic basket was not there. “And the trail mix,” she said. “We forgot the trail mix.” Benny and Violet had made the blend of nuts and dried fruit the day before.



Benny started running toward the house “I’ll get it,” he said.



Just then, Mrs. McGregor came toward them. She carried the basket and two paper bags.



“We almost forgot the most important thing,” Benny said.



Mrs. McGregor laughed. “I couldn’t let you do that.” She handed Benny the bags.



“This bag feels warm,” Benny said.



“Your favorite cookies—just out of the oven,” Mrs. McGregor explained. She handed the picnic basket through the window to Henry.



Benny climbed in beside Violet.



Grandfather started the car. “I don’t know what we’d do without you, Mrs. McGregor,” he said.



Mrs. McGregor stepped back. “Have a good time,” she said and waved.



The children waved to her. “See you next week,” they all called.



Outside Silver City, they picked up speed. Watch nudged Benny over a bit and put his nose out the window.



Benny laughed. “Watch wants to see where we’re going, too,” he said.



“There’s another reason a dog hangs its head out a car window,” Violet said. She liked animals and was always reading about them. “A dog gets nervous in a moving car. When he’s nervous, he sweats. But he doesn’t sweat like we do; he salivates.”



Benny was just about to ask what salivate meant when Violet explained.



“He gets lots of saliva 7 in his mouth and then—”



“He drools,” Benny said.



Violet nodded. “But with his head out the window, he gets better air circulation,” she said. “He cools off, stops sweating, and feels better.”



Benny liked his explanation better. Why wouldn’t Watch want to see where he was going? It was fun to see the landscape change. In just a few miles, everything looked different. The houses got further and further apart. Instead of busy towns, small quiet farms dotted the hillsides.



Violet started to hum. Before long, everyone was singing: “A-camping we will go. A-camping we will go … ”



After a while, Benny stopped singing. “I’m hungry,” he said. “Can we stop somewhere and have our picnic?”



The others agreed that might be a good idea. They were all getting hungry.



“There used to be a nice roadside picnic area along here somewhere,” Mr. Alden said.



Jessie pointed 8 to a sign. It said: Picnic Area 1/4 Mile. “Is that the one?” she asked.



“It must be,” Mr. Alden said as they approached the small picnic grove 9. He pulled off the road and parked the car. Everyone piled out. Watch ran around sniffing 10 the ground.



The place was a mess. Empty cans and paper lay all around.



Mr. Alden shook his head. “It doesn’t look like the same place,” he said. “It was always so clean.”



“Let’s clean it up,” Henry said. He began picking up cans and throwing them into the garbage can. Violet and Mr. Alden helped. Watch thought it was a game. He began bringing cans to them.



Benny found a small branch which he used like a broom to sweep off a picnic table. “That’s the best I can do,” he said.



“It’s clean enough,” Jessie said. “We have a tablecloth 5.” She opened the picnic basket. Inside was the blue cloth Henry had bought when they lived in the boxcar.



Jessie spread the cloth over the table and laid out paper plates and cups. She placed a wrapped sandwich on each plate: peanut butter for Benny and Grandfather Alden; tuna for Henry and Violet; cheese for herself. Violet gave each some potato chips and an apple. Henry poured milk from the thermos 11 into paper cups.



They all sat down on the picnic benches and began eating their lunches.



“I think you’ll like the campgrounds,” Mr. Alden said. “I certainly enjoyed camping there when I was your age.”



“Did you camp there often?” Henry asked.



“Quite often,” Grandfather answered. “Camping was my parents’ favorite vacation. Of course, very few people camped then. Now, it’s a big thing—everyone goes camping.”



“Do you suppose it’ll be crowded?” Violet asked.



Mr. Alden shrugged 12. “Might be. This is spring vacation.”



“Maybe we won’t get in,” Benny said.



“We’ll get in,” Mr. Alden assured him. “I made a reservation. In the old days, we didn’t have to do that. We’d just pack up and off we’d go.”



Back in the car, Jessie studied the map. “I think we turn up ahead,” she directed.



“Sure enough,” Grandfather said. “There’re the old cottonwood trees.”



At the corner, four large trees grew side by side. A road sign stood across from them. It read: County B. Mr. Alden made a smooth turn onto the unpaved road.



“Hang onto your hats,” he said. “This is a bumpy 13 one.”



The children bounced as the car hit a hole in the road. They drove along the curving road for several miles. Finally, they saw a big wooden sign.



“Blue Mound 14 State Park,” Benny read. “We’re here!”



Grandfather Alden laughed. “And now, the adventure begins!”