Adventures at Camp Lots-o-Fun by Marilyn Helmer Page A

with the letter B .”
    Everyone took turns guessing. “Nope,” Andrew said each time. “It’s your turn, DJ. I bet you won’t guess it either.”
    DJ wasn’t listening. He stared into the woods. Something was moving among the trees. Something very big. Something very hairy. Something very, very scary.
    â€œBear!” shouted DJ.
    Andrew snickered. “Dumb guess. I don’t see any bears around here.”

    DJ pointed to the trees. “Then what’s that?”
    Four pairs of eyes followed DJ’s finger. Something was moving among the trees. Something very big. Something very hairy. Something very, very scary.
    DJ shot to his feet. “It’s a bear. Run for your life!”
    The boys took off in a screaming, screeching scramble. “Wait! Stop! Come back!” Chris shouted after them. “There are no bears around here.”
    Nobody waited. Nobody stopped. Nobody came back. The boys from Cabin Six raced toward Camp Lots-o-Fun as fast as their legs could carry them.

CHAPTER THREE
B ARELY E SCAPED
    The boys burst through the trees at the end of the path.
    Another group of campers was heading out for a hike.
    â€œRun! Run! There’s a humongous bear chasing us,” DJ said as they raced past the startled group.
    When they reached the cabin, DJ slammed the door behind them. “We’re safe,” he gasped. “That old bear can’t get us in here.”
    â€œHold on.” Ernie’s voice squeaked. His short spiky blond hair stood up like a bristle brush. “Where is Chris?”
    Suddenly the door flew open. Chris staggered in. His jacket was torn. His jeans were muddy. His face was streaked with dirt.

    Raj’s eyes widened. “Did you get in a fight with the bear?”
    â€œNo, I did not.” Chris stopped to catch his breath. “There was no bear. It was only a big dog.”
    â€œBut I saw it,” said DJ. “It was humongous. Like fifty feet tall. It had claws like daggers and huge hungry teeth.”
    Chris sank into a chair. “What you saw, DJ, was a big dog. A. Big. Dog.” He said each word slowly. It reminded DJ of the way his mom spoke to him when she was cross.
    â€œHow did you get so dirty?” asked Andrew.
    â€œI fell,” said Chris. “Twice.” He stood up. “It’s lunchtime. I want you all to go straight to the dining hall. I’m going to get cleaned up.”
    The dining hall was in chaos. Everyone was talking at once.
    â€œDid you hear? A kid got eaten by a bear.”
    â€œSome kids were chased by a whole pack of bears.”
    â€œThe bear was huge.”
    â€œI want to go home!”
    Mike, the head counselor, stood at the front of the room. He blew his whistle— Blast! Blast! Blast!
    â€œListen up, everyone.” Mike’s voice boomed. “There is no bear. There are no bears anywhere near here.” He glared around the room. “If I hear one more bear story, there’s going to be trouble with a capital T .”
    â€œBut…” DJ stood up.
    Andrew grabbed his arm. “Be quiet,” he hissed. “You’ll get us all in trouble.”
    DJ sat down again. They would be in a lot more trouble if that bear had followed them back to Camp Lots-o-Fun.

CHAPTER FOUR
S OCKSTER
    Dear Lots-o-Fun Journal,
    No rain today. We haven’t seen the bear again. Maybe he got lost in the woods.
    We went swimming this morning. Chris said we should swim out to the raft. I told him that wasn’t a good idea. There are horrible things on the bottom of the lake. They look like weeds, but they aren’t. They are monsters with wavy tentacles.
    I saw one of the monsters gobble up a giant fish. It swam into a big clump of tentacles. But it didn’t swim out the other side! When I told Chris about the monsters, he rolled his eyes. He does that a lot.
    He’s going to be sorry if campers start disappearing. This afternoon we made pinecone