10 SUCCESS

CHAPTER 10 SUCCESS? It was hard to wait, but mold needs time to grow. So Sassafras and I did our best to stay busy over the next two days. We went for walks in the forest with my mom. We hunted for bugs. I built cat-sized forest houses for Sassafras using sticks and

giant leaves. Finally we couldn't distract ourselves anymore. I grabbed my science notebook and ran out to the barn to see how the experiment was going. The first bag I checked was the bag with nothing added. There was definitely mold everywhere. Next, I looked at the oil bag. There was some mold, but not as much as in the nothing bag. So oil had worked a little bit. Then I looked at the salt, vinegar, and sugar bags. I squealed so loudly that Sassafras jumped into the air with all his fur puffed out. I dropped my science notebook and grabbed Sassafras and twirled him around.

"It worked, Sassafras! It worked! Salt and vinegar and sugar all worked!" Right then the barn doorbell rang. Perfect timing! I ran to the door and flung it open. I was so excited, I hugged Gorp before I even said hello. "It worked! I know what to do!" I cheered. Gorp's eyes got huge. "It worked?" He was so happy, he didn't even notice Sassafras purring and weaving around his legs.

I grabbed Gorp's arm and pulled him into the barn. "Look! We have three choices: salt, sugar, and vinegar." I held up the bags.

A smile lit up Gorp's face. "Which should we choose?" "Good question! Hmmm. You have an awful lot of fur. Let me run in the house and see what we have the most of." I was halfway out the door when I heard a scuffling noise behind me. I turned around to see Gorp backing into a corner of the barn with a terrified look on his face. I guess he'd finally noticed the purring Sassafras at his feet. I scooped up my cat and ran into the house.