6 Campfire Fun

CHAPTER 6 CAMPFIRE FUN We all swim to the edge of the lake and make it back onto land—even the old boot. 'Lucky I packed my waterproof camera,' says Jimmy, pointing it at the boot. CLICK! 'And I'm glad I brought my waterproof notebook,' says Wanda.

She crouches beside the boot and starts asking it questions. 'How long have you been a boot? Who was your owner? Do you like being a boot? Do you like swimming? How long have you been in the lake?' 'Hey, Andy,' says Terry. 'Look, Wanda is trying to interview the boot!' 'Wanda is such a great interviewer that she can get information out of anything,' says Jimmy. 'Animal, mineral, vegetable or, in this case, footwear!'

'Please be quiet,' says Wanda. 'I'm trying to conduct an interview.' 'Sorry,' I whisper. 'Come on, everybody, let's leave Wanda and the boot in peace and go make a fire to dry ourselves and warm up.' I use the pax to chop some wood and build a fire (without splitting myself—or anybody else—in half).

Soon we are all sitting around a blazing campfire. We're warmer than we were, but still hungry. 'Can you eat soggy old boots?' says the kind scarecrow. 'Well, I guess you could,' I say. 'But I don't see why you'd want to.' 'Can you eat fire?' says Terry. 'Fire-eaters can,' I say. 'But it's dangerous. Remember the time we tried it?' 'Oh yeah,' says Terry. 'My tongue was on fire for weeks!'

'The main thing campfires are good for,' I say, 'apart from warmth, is toasting marshmallows.' 'Did you bring the marshmallow machine?' says Pinchy. 'That's another thing Terry forgot to pack,' I say. 'You didn't ask me to pack it,' says Terry. 'Yes I did,' I say. 'No you didn't!'

'Yes—' I can't finish my sentence because a marshmallow has landed in my mouth. The marshmallow machine is hovering right in front of me! 'Looks like the marshmallow machine came anyway,' says Terry. 'Guess it needed a holiday, too.'