11. The Big Surprise Ending

11 The Big Surprise Ending The next thing I knew, I was onstage in the all-porpoise room at school.* My head felt a little weird. I reached up to touch my forehead, and there was a bandage on it. I looked around. The room was filled with our parents and teachers. All the

Beaver Scouts were onstage with me. So was Miss Blake. "What's going on?" I whispered to Ryan, who was standing next to me. "They're about to give out the award," he whispered back. Our principal, Mr. Klutz, bounded up onto the stage. He held up his hand and made a peace sign, which means "Shut up." "Welcome!" Mr. Klutz announced. "I hear you Beaver Scouts had quite an adventure this week. I'd like to introduce Miss Blake to tell us about it." Miss Blake took the microphone. Everybody gave her a round of applause. "These kids are tough, I'll tell you that," she said. "Toughest Beaver Scouts I've seen." "What happened on your overnight?"

asked Mr. Klutz. "We took a nature hike," explained Miss Blake, "and we set up camp for the night. The kids made the fire, and we ate hot dogs and marshmallows. And the next thing we knew, we were attacked by a bear!" "Gasp!" everybody gasped. "What did you do?" asked Mr. Klutz. "Well," said Miss Blake, "I was just about to punch that bear in the face when... the bear punched me in the face!" "Gasp!" everybody gasped again. What?! The bear never punched Miss Blake in the face! We knew the truth. She fainted when she saw the bear! "The bear punched you in the face?" asked Mr. Klutz. "Yes!" said Miss Blake. "Isn't that

right, kids?" I looked at Ryan. Ryan looked at Michael. Michael looked at Neil. Neil looked at Emily. Emily looked at Andrea. We were all looking at each other. "Yes, Miss Blake," Andrea said. "The

bear punched you in the face." "I was knocked unconscious," Miss Blake continued. "What happened next —well, I'd better let these brave Beaver Scouts tell you." "We were all scared," Andrea said. "Emily climbed up on my back and we made loud noises to scare the bear away." "And then Andrea gave Miss Blake mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until she woke up," added Emily.

Andrea smiled the smile that she smiles to let everybody know how wonderful she is. "Wow, that's some story!" said Mr. Klutz. "That's not the end of it," said Miss Blake. "What happened after that, kids?"