By Destiny Lord
Katahdin Elementary
Grade 4
Once upon a time, there were two girls. They wanted to go camping by themselves. The two girls were Tabria and Destiny. I asked Tabria to ask her mom about going camping. Tabria asked me to ask my mom. The two girls did so. Both of the girls’ parents said no. The two girls were both disappointed.
Then it happened. I got an idea.
I said, “When our parents go to bed, we will sneak out by getting blankets and tying them together. But if we don’t have enough blankets, we will have to use a rope.” Tabria and I brought 100 big ropes.
We tied 2 of them together for the big night. Tabria and I hid them under the bed.
It was 11:00. Our parents were tired so they went to bed.
Tabria and I packed trash bags, a big tent, blankets, pillows, water bottles, out sleeping bags, some cookware, my Girl Scout set, Tabria’s Girl Scout set, water, soda, poles, fishing poles and 3 wagons. Then we left.
I said, “Wait. Don’t you want to bring Striker?”
Tabria said, “Yea.” We turned around and got him.
I said, “If we are going to bring Striker, we will need to bring Striker’s dog bowls, buy dog food and a dog house with us.” We brought some of our money and the money that our parents gave us. Our parents gave us each $100. Altogether we had $400.
When we got to the store, we got some food and dog food, too.
After we checked out, we started looking for a spot to go camping. We looked for 2 hours. Tabria and I got tired so we set up the tent and then we put our sleeping bags in there. Striker came in and lay down and went to bed with us.
The next morning we made a fire and we used our Girl Scout sets. For breakfast, we had eggs and bacon. Tabria and I both liked it. We got Striker’s bowls out and gave him some dog food and water. After Striker was done eating, we packed up and started to look for a camping place again.
Eight hours later … we finally found a perfect camping place. Tabria and I sighed with relief. It was beautiful. There was a river, rocks to walk across the river and to sit on. Tabria and I loved it. Striker did too.
Chapter 2 It’s On
Tabria and I found bricks. We used the bricks to build a fireplace. We also found a grate. After we got done setting up camp, we went fishing for our dinner. We caught trout and salmon. Then later, we caught enough for supper.
We gathered sticks to start a fire. Once the fire got started, we cooked the fish. It was really good. We gave Striker some dog food and some water. It was a good thing Tabria and I brought our watch and our compass. Tabria looked to see what time it was. It was 9:20 p.m. We were tired so we went to bed.
The next morning, we made a fire and cooked breakfast. After breakfast, we went hiking. Then I heard a sound. It was a bear.
“Yikes,” we said. “We better get out of here.”
Striker started barking at the bear. He was trying to let us escape. Luckily, we brought a wagon so we picked up Striker and put him in the wagon. We tried running to the camp place, but the bear followed us. We gave it a fish and it left. We were happy that the bear left.
“That’s it,” said Tabria. “Let’s set up our tent.”
I said, “OK.”
Once we got the tent set up, we set up Striker’s doghouse. Striker’s doghouse was big and warm. We gave him some toys and a blanket.
That night a little while after we went to bed, Striker started barking.
Tabria and I said, “Oh no. It probably is that bear again.” It wasn’t just that bear. She had brought her whole family. We gave them all some fish. After we ran out of fish, they left. We were so very happy.
“Ok,” we said. “It’s time to set up traps.” Tabria and I set up traps around where we were camping. After we were done, we used some of the trash bags for a roof over our camping place. We would not get wet when we were sleeping. After we were done, we went to bed.
Chapter 3 Parents
Tabria and I got up, fed Striker and gave him water. After we had our breakfast, we cleaned up our mess.
Tabria said, “I heard something.”
I said, “I heard something, too.”
I told Tabria we didn’t bring Daisy the other dog. That way our parents can find us easier.
Tabria said, “How?”
I said, “Daisy can smell us out.”
Tabria said, “Oh, yeah.”
Then we both yelled, “Oh no!”
Tabria and I started packing to go somewhere else. After we were done packing, we started to look for a better place. We figured our parents had brought a lot of stuff to keep them warm and stuff to drink and eat. But we were not sure. Tabria and I kept looking, but we didn’t find a better place.
Tabria and I were tired. So was Striker. We went to bed. Then I heard Daisy barking, so I got Tabria and Striker up. We packed up our sleeping bags. Then we left.
Tabria said, “Good thing we brought our flashlights.”
Chapter 4 Hearing Sounds
Tabria and I were both scared because we kept hearing weird noises. Tabria and I didn’t know what to do. We kept looking until we were tired. When we stopped looking, we heard a loud noise. It sounded like a bear. Tabria and I said, “Oh no, not again!” We both did not like bears.
Tabria said, “What are we going to do?”
I said, “We will have to do what we did last time.”
When the bear came, we gave it some of our fish, but this time it didn’t go away. We gave it more fish, but it still didn’t go away. We thought it might want something else. Then we gave the bear some salmon, and it left.
I said, “I guess it doesn’t like trout.”
Chapter 5 New Place
Tabria and I went looking for a new place. Then I heard a sound. It sounded like a waterfall. It was! It was even more beautiful than the other place. There were even more rocks to walk on and to climb on. It was so amazing.
After we got done setting up our camping place, then we went fishing. We caught trout, salmon and crawfish.
“I do know one other thing about this camp,” I said. “That there’s more fish too. There’s even crawfish.”
After we were done fishing, we went rock climbing on the rocks. Tabria and I had fun doing it.
It was supper time. “The crawfish was really good,” we both said. After we fed Striker and gave him water, we went to bed.
Chapter 6 Daisy
When Tabria and I got up, we heard Daisy. But this time, we didn’t pack up to go somewhere else. We just stayed because there was tall grass in front of this beautiful place. We went fishing just in case we ran out of food or we just ran into a bear.
Tabria and I played with Striker for awhile. After we were done playing, we got Striker some food and water because he looked thirsty and hungry. After he was done eating, he went to bed because he was tired from playing. We got our supper and went to bed.
Chapter 7 Ow!
Tabria and I went swimming when she said, “Ow.”
I said, “What’s wring?”
She said, “I stepped on something.”
I helped her get to shore. Tabria’s foot was cut open, but she was okay. I was glad to see that. I told her that’s why I wore sandals in so it doesn’t happen again.
Even though Tabria stepped on something, she still had fun swimming. The next morning we went fishing. Then we went rock climbing. Tabria and I love to go rock climbing. When we were done rock climbing, we gave Striker some food and water. After Striker was done, he started barking. We didn’t know why. After awhile, he stopped barking. We went to bed.
Chapter 8 Oh No, Striker’s Missing
When Tabria and I woke up, we found out that Striker was missing. Tabria and I didn’t know where he could have gone.
Tabria said, “Maybe he wanted us to follow him.”
I said, “Maybe.” That night we thought about it.
The next morning, Tabria and I packed up and went looking for Striker. We didn’t find him so we went back where we were. Tabria and I went fishing and then we had our supper and went to bed.
Chapter 9 Finding Striker
When we woke up the next morning, we saw Striker. We were so glad to see him. We gave him some of his dog food and some water. We played with Striker. We played fetch. I threw the stick, and Striker brought it to me. I gave it to Tabria and she threw the stick and Striker brought it to here. She gave it back to me. We played fetch for awhile. Striker, Tabria and I had so much fun.
The next morning Striker started to bark again. This time we followed him. Before we followed him, we packed up. It took us a little while, but we got to where he was bringing us. He stopped, but maybe he was hungry, thirsty, tired or taking a break. Tabria got his food while I got his water.
We set up where we were. Striker stopped us. We made a fire to keep us warm. I put out Striker’s dog house in between us. Striker wanted to sleep in the tent with us so I put his blanket in it. When Striker laid down at our feet, I put a blanket over him.
Chapter 10 Finding out it’s not Over
When we got up, we found out that where we were was not the place Striker wanted us to be. We made another fire and we got breakfast. We got Striker his food and water, too. After Striker was done eating, he laid down on his dog bed and Tabria covered him up.
Tabria said, “Do you want to wait a little while?”
I said, “Yes, at least until we get a little warmer.”
Once we got warmer, we packed up and left.
Tabria said, “Striker, are you sure you know where we are going?” Striker barked as if to say yes. We traveled for a long time. Finally, we got there. It was a better place.
Chapter 11 Parents in Trouble
When it was time for bed, I heard our parents yelling for help. Tabria and Striker got up. I yelled, “Our parents are in trouble, I think with some bears.”
We packed up and left. Striker led the way. When we got there, we helped our parents escape from the hungry grizzly. We gave it some fish and it left. We were so happy to see our parents again.
“How did you know we were in trouble?”
“Well, I got up and heard you guys yell,” I said. “But you should thank all of us, especially Striker. If Striker didn’t bring us here, I would not have heard you yell for help.”
“Hey, how did you guys know what to do?” our parents asked.
“Oh, well, just say it’s happened to us before.”
“Well, we’re just so happy to see you guys,” our parents said. “Now it’s pretty dark. Did you guys bring flashlights?”
We said, “Yea.”
“Well, we brought all the supplies we need,” our parents said. “Let’s go somewhere nice for the night.”
Striker and Daisy led the way to where the waterfall was. When we got there, it was morning. We set everything up and we all took a nap in the tent, even Striker and Daisy. The next morning our parents said, “Let’s go home.” Tabria and I agreed.
Chapter 12 Going Home
Tabria and I plus our parents said, “Finally we’re all going home.” Striker and Daisy led the way. Before we left, we all had a good breakfast, even Striker and Daisy.
After our breakfast, we packed up and left. We walked for awhile until it was time for bed. We all got in the tent and went to bed. The next morning we ate breakfast and packed up and then we left to go home. Finally, we made it home.
When we got inside, we all said, “home sweet home.”
Then our parents said, “Did you learn your lesson?”
We said, “Yes. Trust us. We will never go anywhere without you guys.”
“I love you,” we all said to each other.
