around to the other side of the tree that faced away from where Kate was standing.
Perfect! The oak’s trunk was split and mostly hollow. A knothole looked like it had rotted out, leaving a gap just big enough for Spencer to slip through. Pushing aside the thought of spiders and other creepy-crawly creatures, he stood up and slid sideways through the crack in the trunk. This is definitely not one of the Bearhaven elevators.
There was barely enough room for Spencer’s entire body inside of the tree, and every breath he took came with the strong smell of wet wood. Something crept along the back of his neck. Spencer shuddered.
“Here I come!” Kate called. A minute passed, and then another. Spencer stood completely still. Soon, there was a rustling sound nearby.
“I can smell you but I can’t see you!” the cub sang. Her footsteps circled the tree, then the trunk started to shake, and a little shower of sawdust and wood fell on Spencer’s head. She’s climbing the tree . . . Spencer realized. Thump. The tree stopped shaking, and Kate’s footsteps circled the tree again.
“Spencer?” Spencer could hear the cub sniffing loudly. “Spencer, where are you?” Suddenly, Kate’s snout poked through the crack in the trunk. “ There you are!” she shouted, extracting her snout. “I didn’t even look for you in there!” She stepped back, leaving Spencer enough space to wiggle out of the gap in the oak’s trunk. He brushed himself off. The bugsand rotten tree insides were worth it. He was a Bear Stealth master!
“You did great!” Kate exclaimed. “A bear would never be able to get in there!”
Spencer smiled. “Thanks. What’s next?”
“Dinner! We have to go, or we’re going to be late! But follow me; we can keep training on the way back!” Kate dashed along the row of bushes and turned to head down the side of the school yard toward home. She skidded to a halt and waited for Spencer. “Okay, what do you see?” she asked, motioning to the ground in front of them. Between the row of bushes and the row of trees, the ground was covered with twigs and leaves. It looked completely different from the bare ground Spencer had slid onto a few minutes earlier.
“A bunch of twigs?”
“A loud zone,” Kate corrected matter-of-factly. “You have to practice your silent walking.” Gingerly, Kate stepped onto the bed of twigs and leaves, then carefully started to walk. Chh, chh, chh. The sound of the brush under her feet was much quieter than Spencer expected, but he could still hear it. Determined to be completely silent, he set out after her.
CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH!
“I said silent walking, not noisy marching!” Kate giggled. “Use all of your muscles. Silent walking isn’t just about feet; it’s about the whole body.” The cub continued, her quiet chh, chh picking back up.
Crunch. “Dangit!” Spencer exclaimed. This was harder than it looked.
“Pretend you’re as light as a fish bone! Pretend there’s a vine pulling you up into the air and carrying you across the ground so that your feet hardly touch.”
Spencer tensed his abs and lifted his leg off the ground, trying to think about all of the muscles in his body working at once and lifting upward. He set his foot down. Chh. He did it again. Chh. “I’m doing it!” Chh, chh, chh. Crunch. Slowly, they continued forward until the quiet chh sound of their feet was all they could hear, and even that got quieter as they went. When they reached the end of the loud zone, Kate took off, loping toward home.
“Come on!” she cried. “Last one there’s a rotten tree trunk!”
When Kate and Spencer burst into the Weavers’ home, out of breath and covered in dirt, they found Bunny bustling around the kitchen.
“There you are!” She turned to greet them, and her warm smile immediately faded. Bunny had the same look of surprised dismay that Evarita had every time Spencer handed over his grass-stained baseball uniform to her. “Heavens! What
Perfect! The oak’s trunk was split and mostly hollow. A knothole looked like it had rotted out, leaving a gap just big enough for Spencer to slip through. Pushing aside the thought of spiders and other creepy-crawly creatures, he stood up and slid sideways through the crack in the trunk. This is definitely not one of the Bearhaven elevators.
There was barely enough room for Spencer’s entire body inside of the tree, and every breath he took came with the strong smell of wet wood. Something crept along the back of his neck. Spencer shuddered.
“Here I come!” Kate called. A minute passed, and then another. Spencer stood completely still. Soon, there was a rustling sound nearby.
“I can smell you but I can’t see you!” the cub sang. Her footsteps circled the tree, then the trunk started to shake, and a little shower of sawdust and wood fell on Spencer’s head. She’s climbing the tree . . . Spencer realized. Thump. The tree stopped shaking, and Kate’s footsteps circled the tree again.
“Spencer?” Spencer could hear the cub sniffing loudly. “Spencer, where are you?” Suddenly, Kate’s snout poked through the crack in the trunk. “ There you are!” she shouted, extracting her snout. “I didn’t even look for you in there!” She stepped back, leaving Spencer enough space to wiggle out of the gap in the oak’s trunk. He brushed himself off. The bugsand rotten tree insides were worth it. He was a Bear Stealth master!
“You did great!” Kate exclaimed. “A bear would never be able to get in there!”
Spencer smiled. “Thanks. What’s next?”
“Dinner! We have to go, or we’re going to be late! But follow me; we can keep training on the way back!” Kate dashed along the row of bushes and turned to head down the side of the school yard toward home. She skidded to a halt and waited for Spencer. “Okay, what do you see?” she asked, motioning to the ground in front of them. Between the row of bushes and the row of trees, the ground was covered with twigs and leaves. It looked completely different from the bare ground Spencer had slid onto a few minutes earlier.
“A bunch of twigs?”
“A loud zone,” Kate corrected matter-of-factly. “You have to practice your silent walking.” Gingerly, Kate stepped onto the bed of twigs and leaves, then carefully started to walk. Chh, chh, chh. The sound of the brush under her feet was much quieter than Spencer expected, but he could still hear it. Determined to be completely silent, he set out after her.
CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH!
“I said silent walking, not noisy marching!” Kate giggled. “Use all of your muscles. Silent walking isn’t just about feet; it’s about the whole body.” The cub continued, her quiet chh, chh picking back up.
Crunch. “Dangit!” Spencer exclaimed. This was harder than it looked.
“Pretend you’re as light as a fish bone! Pretend there’s a vine pulling you up into the air and carrying you across the ground so that your feet hardly touch.”
Spencer tensed his abs and lifted his leg off the ground, trying to think about all of the muscles in his body working at once and lifting upward. He set his foot down. Chh. He did it again. Chh. “I’m doing it!” Chh, chh, chh. Crunch. Slowly, they continued forward until the quiet chh sound of their feet was all they could hear, and even that got quieter as they went. When they reached the end of the loud zone, Kate took off, loping toward home.
“Come on!” she cried. “Last one there’s a rotten tree trunk!”
When Kate and Spencer burst into the Weavers’ home, out of breath and covered in dirt, they found Bunny bustling around the kitchen.
“There you are!” She turned to greet them, and her warm smile immediately faded. Bunny had the same look of surprised dismay that Evarita had every time Spencer handed over his grass-stained baseball uniform to her. “Heavens! What
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