7. The Long Neck

Chapter 7 The Long Neck "What do you mean?" Nate asked. "The trap is just the way we left it. Nothing fell in, Bradley." "It's not the way we left it," Bradley said. He opened the gate and ran into the garden. "I left a big strawberry right in the middle of it. Now look!" He held up what was left of the strawberry. A bite had been taken out of it. "I don't believe it!" Brian said. He moved the branches aside and peered down into the hole.

"Nothing's down there." "Something bit the berry without falling in!" Lucy said. "It has to be some kind of bird," Nate announced. "It just flew in here, took a bite, then flew away again." "I don't think so," Lucy said. "When birds peck at something, their beaks leave tiny holes." She pointed at the strawberry Bradley was holding. "See, half the berry is gone, but there are no beak holes. Some creature took a real bite!" "Maybe it was something with a long neck," Brian said. "It could reach its neck out and take a bite without stepping on the trap!" "Like what?" Bradley scoffed. "A giraffe?" Nate laughed. "No, a python!" "In Connecticut?" Brian asked. Lucy giggled. "Maybe it was an octopus." "They don't have necks," Bradley said. "But they do have all those long arms!" Lucy answered. She waved her arms in the air. Bradley threw the damaged strawberry into the field behind the barn. He kicked a rock into the fence.

"Now what do we do?" Nate asked again. "Now we get mad!" Bradley said. Just then Josh yelled from the house, "Lunch in five minutes, you guys! You too, Nate and Lucy!" "Great, I'm starving!" Nate said. "First we have to do something," Bradley said. "Come with me." He ran into the barn and over to the workbench. "Help me get this down," he said. "What?" Brian asked. "Dad's seine," Bradley said. "What's a seine?" Nate asked. "A big fishing net," Bradley said. "It's that rolled-up thing." The kids tugged the net off the bench. It plopped down on the barn floor. "Our dad showed us how to catch minnows with this thing in the river," Brian said. "It's huge when it's opened." The kids unrolled the net onto the floor. It was a big square, ten feet by ten feet. "What're we going to do with it?" Nate asked. "Cover the strawberries," Bradley said. "Come on, let's drag it outside."

The kids lugged the net through the door, through the gate, and into the garden. "First, let's make sure there are no more bitten berries," Bradley said. They found a few that had been bitten and threw them into the field. Then they each took a corner of the net and dropped it over the strawberry patch. Through the holes in the net, they could see several ripe strawberries. "Something could still crawl under the net," Lucy said. "Not when we're done," Bradley said. "Get those bricks." There was a pile of bricks in the corner of the garden. The kids each grabbed some, and they laid them on the edges of the net, all around. "Nothing is getting under there!" Brian said, wiping his hands on his shorts. "I hope you're right," Bradley said. "Let's go eat!" Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy ran across the yard and into the kitchen. Josh, Dink, and Ruth

Rose were eating tuna sandwiches at the table. Pal was in his favorite spot, next to Josh's feet. Four plates holding sandwiches sat on the counter. Near each plate were a napkin, a glass of milk, and two cookies.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Bradley asked Josh. "Dad went to get a haircut for Father's Day," Josh said. "And Mom is on a secret mission." "Secret?" Brian said. "Cool, tell us!" "She didn't even tell me," Josh said. "Wash your hands, please." "They're clean," Brian said. "We just washed Polly and our hands at the same time." Josh inspected his little brothers' hands. "Wash again now, please. Use a brush on those fingernails." The four younger kids lined up at the sink and washed. "What're you kids doing in the garden?" Dink asked. The four kids took turns explaining how some creature was biting and ruining the strawberries and some of the other stuff. "We built a scarecrow, but that didn't work," Lucy said. "Then we dug a hole in the ground and made a trap, but nothing fell in," Nate said.