Excerpt from Crabbing for Supper

by Laurel Sheridan

1 Dad handed me the bucket and the net with a long, wooden handle. He gave Paulie two dead fish wrapped in newspaper. They were tied up with string like a present. I held my nose, but Paulie held those fish like they were his best baseball cards.

2 The briny air from Chesapeake Bay filled our noses. This was the best place in the world to catch blue crabs. They like grassy, shadowy water, so Paulie and I headed for our old wooden dock. It was hot for June, and I sat down and swung my legs over the edge, into the cool water. Paulie struggled to tie the string to one of the slippery fish. Then he slid the extra fish into the bucket and set it in the dark water under the dock for later.

3 “Here.” Paulie handed me the baited string. “Dangle this down in the water to call the crabs.”

4 Crabs love stinky old fish, so our first crab didn’t take long to come. Its big claw clamped the bait, and I raised the string real slow so Paulie could net it. But my legs swishing in the water startled that crab, and it let go and floated back to the bottom like a leaf off a tree. Paulie brought up the net and stood there with the handle on the dock. . . .

5 I went back to dangling the fish.

6 “Well, get ready,” he urged. “Here comes another one.”

7 The sun was hot on our backs. My clothes were already sticking to me, and sweat trickled down our faces. A fly buzzed around my head. I remembered what Paulie had said and sat perfectly still as the new crab clamped onto the fish. But as Paulie scootched forward on his belly to lower the net, he knocked a pebble off the dock and scared that crab away, too. . . .

8 “Crabs are scaredy-cats,” I said, pulling up the line to check the bait. “This smells disgusting. How can they eat this?”

9 “I don’t know. How can Mom and Dad eat broccoli casserole? I really hate that stuff,” Paulie moaned.

10 “Me, too,” I said. “Blech!”

11 We thought about the big pot waiting and Dad dropping the crabs into the spicy, boiling water. They would turn a beautiful bright red after a few moments, and we’d have a crab feast, cracking the shells and pulling out the sweet white meat. We had to keep trying. I smacked a mosquito off Paulie’s arm and dangled the bait some more. We squinted past the sun’s reflection on the water.

12 “Sit still now. Here comes another one,” said Paulie.

13 He inched the net into the water.

14 “Got him!”

15 Paulie hauled up the net with the crab inside, but that crab was all claws and those mad pincers were waving all over the place!

16 “Look out!” I screamed, but the crab’s big claw already had hold of Paulie’s finger.

17 “Ow! OW! Get him off! Get him off!”

18 Paulie hopped around, shaking his hand up and down, swinging that crab all over the place.

19 I yelled, “Let go!” but the crab didn’t seem to understand English. Finally, Paulie swung his arm in a giant arc, and the crab landed back in the water. Paulie’s finger was all red and puffy. I could tell he was trying not to cry.

20 “What should we do now?” I asked.

21 We both thought about broccoli casserole.

22 “Keep trying,” said Paulie, dunking his sore finger into the cold water.

23 But the harder we tried, the darker it got. When the sun began to set, we couldn’t see into the water anymore. We heard Mom yell from the house, “Bring all you’ve got and come on in now.”

24 Paulie let go of the string and wiped his hands clean on his shorts as the stinky bait sank to the bottom.

25 “Guess what’s for supper,” I sighed.

26 “Broccoli, here we come,” Paulie groaned.

27 “Remember to get the bucket with the spare bait,” I reminded him, slumping along with the net dragging behind me.

28 Suddenly, Paulie grabbed my arm. “Listen,” he whispered.

29 Noises came from the bucket Paulie was carrying. We leaned in close, but it was too dark to see.

30 “What’s all that scratching?” I asked. We ran through the sand to the light of the screened-in porch.

31 “Well, would you look at that?” exclaimed Paulie with a high-five. There, in the bucket, was a mountain of beautiful blue crabs fighting over our extra fish.

32 “Let’s go!” I yelled.

33 We raced to give Dad the crabs.

34 “Whoa!” he said. “You caught a lot!”

35 “Great!” Mom said. “Well, I don’t think that the leftover casserole will keep for another day . . .” She started scraping the broccoli into the garbage disposal.

36 I looked at Paulie. “Yes!” we mouthed silently to each other with huge grins.

A Gift from Nature

1 Layla knew the grin on her face stretched from ear to ear. She just couldn’t help it. Was there anything better than spending a school day exploring a national park? Layla didn’t think so. She loved being outside because there was always something new to discover. This was only the second field trip she had ever been on, but Layla was certain this would be the best one of her school career.

2 The group’s hike had just begun, yet Layla had already seen and learned about many interesting things. She listened carefully as the tour guide pointed to a plant covered with tiny yellow flowers. The guide explained that butterflies loved this native Texas plant called lantana. Then she gathered the group to move ahead.

3 As Layla got close to the lantana, she couldn’t believe her luck. A beautiful orange butterfly with black and white spots had landed on one of the tiny yellow flowers. Layla quickly grabbed her camera and snapped a picture. As she tucked her camera back in her backpack, something on the trail caught her eye. Layla picked up the object. It looked like a rock that had been broken in half. When she turned it over in her hand, Layla gasped in surprise. She could see that the rock was not solid all the way through. Along the inside wall of the hollow rock were tiny, beautiful crystals.

4 Layla gazed at the little twinkling gift tucked inside the rock. She was so absorbed in her discovery that she did not hear her classmate Cooper walking behind her. Cooper leaned over Layla’s shoulder and said, “You found a geode? Cool!”

5 Layla jumped. “A what?” she asked.

6 “A geode. It’s a kind of rock with crystals inside. That’s a nice one. Quick! Hide it before the tour guide sees it.”

7 Layla quickly shoved it into the pocket of her jacket. Then she turned, looking over her shoulder to see where the tour guide was. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the guide far down the trail with the rest of the group.

8 “I’m not sure I should keep it,” Layla said. “The tour guide might like to see it and tell us what she knows about it. Besides, don’t you remember what she told us?”

9 Cooper rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. ‘Take only pictures. Leave only footprints.’ But there are probably a million of those rocks lying around in this area. Do you really think they are going to miss this one rock? You know what I think? It will make an awesome souvenir.” With that, Cooper jogged down the trail to catch up with the rest of the class.

10 Layla bit her lip uncertainly as her fingers touched the rock inside her pocket. “It would give me something to help me remember the trip,” she thought. But Layla could not ignore the heavy feeling that had settled in her heart.

11 Take only pictures. Leave only footprints. The tour guide’s words played over and over in Layla’s mind.

12 As she stood on the edge of the trail, Layla suddenly noticed the cool breeze, and it comforted her. The sweet scent of the honeysuckle blossoms brought a smile to her face. The songs of nearby birds seemed to speak to her and tell her what she should do.

13 Carefully, Layla removed the geode from her pocket. As she held it, she felt the heaviness lift from inside her. She smiled when the sunlight bounced off the crystals, sending the rays in a thousand directions at once. “You sure are pretty,” she murmured.

14 She was still smiling as she looked ahead at her classmates, who were down the trail with the tour guide. As she started to jog toward them, Layla cradled the geode gently in her hands.

15 “I know just who to show you to,” Layla said with confidence as she ran to join the group and talk to the guide.

Prickly Porcupines

by Kathy Kranking

1 What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “porcupine”? Maybe it’s those famous pointy quills. A porcupine has 30,000 or more of them!

2 You might have seen cartoons showing porcupines that could “shoot” their quills. Real porcupines can’t do that. But if a predator attacks a porcupine, the animal whirls around with its sharp quills raised. It swishes its tail from side to side. And if the attacker gets whacked, the quills will easily get stuck in its skin.

On the Menu

3 The name porcupine means “quill pig.” The quill part is right, but porcupines aren’t pigs at all. Like mice, squirrels, and beavers, they’re rodents. North American porcupines live in much of the United States and Canada.

4 Porcupines are out and about both day and night, though more at night. They don’t hibernate, so during different times of the year different things are on a porcupine’s menu. In the spring, for example, they nibble on buds, flowers, leaves, and more. During winter, there’s less to eat, so porcupines live mostly on bark and evergreen needles then.

5 Porcupines have long, orange front teeth that never stop growing. But that’s OK, because porcupines hardly ever stop gnawing! That keeps their teeth worn down. Besides chewing their normal food, they’ll also gnaw at things such as picnic tables, rake handles, cabins, and even shoes!

Little Pricklies

6 In the spring, a mother porcupine gives birth to one baby. Some newborn animals are helpless, but not baby porcupines. They’re born with their eyes open and are able to walk right away.

7 At first, their quills are soft and wet. But in just a few hours, the quills dry out and become stiff little stabbers. They aren’t long enough to hurt a predator, though. So if a baby feels threatened, it quickly finds a place to hide.

8 A baby porcupine nurses from its mom for about four months. But it also begins eating soft plant parts when it’s just a few days old. After it stops nursing, a young porcupine will separate from its mom for longer and longer periods, until it’s ready to live on its own.

At Home up a Tree

9 Porcupines are great climbers and spend a lot of their time in trees. Long claws and rough paw pads help them get a grip. When they’re just a few weeks old, even babies can climb young, skinny trees. Climbing can be a good way to help porcupines avoid enemies.

10 Speaking of enemies, porcupines don’t have very many. Only a few kinds of animals know how to get around a porcupine’s prickly defenses. Some predators of porcupines include cougars, wolves, and bears.

Super Quills

11 Most animals, though, won’t mess with a porcupine. Its quills are amazing weapons. They’re on every part of the animal’s body except for its belly, face, and ears. But most are on the porcupine’s back and tail. Quills are actually sharp, stiff hairs. And some of them can be up to four inches long!

12 The tips of the quills are covered with tiny hook-like barbs. The barbs make the quills very hard to pull out. And the ends of the quills are covered with greasy stuff that makes it easier for them to keep moving in deeper. As they do, they can cause more problems inside a victim’s body.

13 An animal brave (or foolish) enough to attack a porcupine does get some warning. When a porcupine feels threatened, it clacks its teeth together. Then it lets off a strong warning smell as it raises its quills. If that doesn’t work, the porcupine whirls around, swishing its prickly tail back and forth. Some animals might give up at this point and go find an easier meal. But if an animal does attack, it will end up with a face or foot full of sharp quills. Yow!

14 Porcupines have one of the best self-defense systems in nature. These walking pincushions sure can take care of themselves!