A miss and a moose on the loose
I had only two more weeks of summer vacation left. I was excited because my Mom and I were going to drive to Canada. We didn't have any special plans.
We left early on a Saturday and drove to Ogdensburg, N.Y., and boarded a ferry. The boat would take us (car and all) to Wolf Island. (My mom reassured me that the island was named for its shape. There weren't any wolves on the island. I was relieved.)
After driving across the island and catching another ferry, we were in Canada. We ate at our favorite restaurant. I ordered my favorite meal -fish and chips. The chips came rolled up in newspaper. They were so much fun to eat!
We drove north. We got lost and drove for hours. The full moon was so bright that night that the highway seemed bright as day.
I noticed the scenery was changing. I started to see owls - and wolves! Once I thought I saw a bear. I was beginning to get tired and a little scared.
Finally, my mom spotted a motel with a vacancy. It was very late, but the owners let us raid their kitchen, as I was hungry.
The motel was built in a hollow, which meant that you had to climb a set of steps to get into your room. They also told us that a railroad ran right in back of the motel. I loved trains, so I was really excited.
The trains created problems for the moose, though. The train whistle sounded like a lady moose, so male moose thought the train was a potential girlfriend and would stand on the tracks. I couldn't wait to hear this train whistle.
We were tired, so we crawled into our beds. I woke up suddenly a short time later when I heard the rumble of a train.
I threw off my covers and quietly sneaked to the door.
Just as I was opening the door, I heard something that sounded like a moose call. "Oh good," I thought, "there's the train whistle!"
I opened the door and bumped heads with something. It wasn't a whistle I'd heard, but a real moose!
My mom woke up and screamed. The moose ran back into the woods, and I dove under the covers. I covered my head and didn't move for the rest of the night.
I learned a valuable lesson. For months after that, when my parents told me to stay in bed, I stayed in bed.
(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society
