Ch4-Happy Campers

CHAPTER FOUR Happy Campers. Touching down onto a flat, snowy field was an orange and white helicopter. The helicopter had skis on the bottom so it could land on the ice and snow. The bus came to a stop at the edge of the field. "We must be going to the volcano in a helicopter!" said Annie.

"By air! Just like the rhyme says!" said Jack. "Great!" Jack had always wanted to fly in a helicopter! Nancy stood up. "For those of you getting off the bus now, please remember," she said, "the helicopter blades are extremely dangerous. Always wait for a signal from the pilot before approaching the chopper." Everyone watched as the spinning blades slowly came to a stop. The pilot waved from the

helicopter window. "Okay, Pete says we can go!" said Nancy. Jack put their rhyme back into his pocket. He pulled on his backpack. Then, carrying his notebook and pencil, he filed down the aisle after Annie and the others who would join them in the helicopter. They all scrambled off the bus into the dazzling sunlight. "Jump aboard!" said Nancy. Jack and Annie followed the four other adults up the steps of the helicopter and squeezed into a small cabin. Sitting in two rows of seats behind the pilot, everyone buckled their seat belts. Nancy pulled the door shut and turned the latch. Then she sat next to Pete and put on a set of

headphones. "Headphones on, everyone! They're under your seats," she said. "They'll protect your ears from the chopper noise, and also serve as a radio so I can talk to you." Everyone reached under their seats and took out headphones. Jack and Annie pulled off their hoods. Without taking off their goggles or face masks, they placed the headphones over their ears. The thick pads muffled the sounds around them. Jack heard Nancy's voice over his headphones: "Testing, one, two, three. Can everyone hear me?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, Pete, take us to Mount Erebus!" Pete the pilot started the helicopter. Even with his headphones on, Jack heard the roaring of the

engine and the spinning of the blades. He held his breath as the chopper trembled and lifted off the ice and snow. The helicopter shook and tilted. Then it buzzed forward through the blue sky. Annie aimed her camera out the window and took pictures. The Korean photographer did the same, and the Australian journalist scribbled in his notebook. Jack was too excited to take notes now. This is great, he thought. All the words in the rhyme are coming true. As they flew toward the burning mountain of ice and snow, he tried to remember what words came next. He slipped the rhyme out of his pocket and read:

…you must go To a burning mountain of ice and snow On wheels, by air, then all fall down… "All fall down"? Wait a minute. What does that mean? thought Jack. Does that mean the chopper falls down? Do we fall out of the chopper?