5 FOOTPRINT

CHAPTER 5 FOOTPRINT "Well, it sort of looked like, uh… I mean, it had five toes. Or maybe six? Ummm…" Uh-oh. Remembering the footprint was hard now that it wasn't in front of me. Mom nodded and squinted and then nodded some more. Then her eyes got big and she held up a finger. "I've got an idea!" she said and went to the craft supply closet. She set a big bucket labeled Plaster of Paris on the kitchen table with a thud. "Plaster?" I asked. "I don't want to do crafts right now. I want to figure out what that creature was." "Oh, but that's exactly what we're going to do!" Mom said. "I'd come with you to see the footprint, but your dad might be a little suspicious if we both

took off into the forest without inviting him along." She winked. "So I'll show you how to make a mold of the footprint you can bring back to show me." "Whoaaa, cool!" I said. Sassafras, in his excitement, jumped onto the container. I grabbed him and sat with him in my lap on a kitchen chair. "Okeydokey, let's see here," Mom mumbled as she grabbed a measuring cup and used it to fill a water bottle with two cups of tap water. Next she pulled out a big plastic ziplock bag and another measuring cup. She measured four cups of plaster of paris powder into the bag, then sealed it shut. "When you get there, you'll need to find a bunch of small sticks and one big one." "Sticks! Got it," I said. "Use the small sticks to make a circle around the footprint. They'll help keep your plaster from flowing everywhere."

"Meow!" said Sassafras, and I nodded. "Then take this water," she held up the water bottle, "and add it to this bag of plaster." She held up the ziplock bag as Sassafras touched his nose to it and stared inside. "Use the big stick to mix it until it's smooth. Then carefully pour it into the center of the footprint until you fill up the whole footprint right up to that stick border."

"OK, got it," I said. "Then what?" "Then play for about thirty minutes. After that, check the plaster with your finger," Mom continued. "When it's hard to the touch, gently wiggle the plaster out of the ground and bring it home to dry overnight. After it's completely dry you can use a damp paper towel to clean off any remaining dirt." A big grin spread across my face. "This is so cool!" I hopped up out of the chair and gave my mom a big hug. "Thank you!!!"