Shannon and Ally at the Cabin
by Kate Everson
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 Kate Everson
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Shannon and Ally were excited about going to the cabin in Renfrew. They wanted to go out on the lake in a boat and see the loons. They wanted to walk in the woods. And they wanted to have a big bonfire.
“I love it at the cabin,” smiled Shannon.
“I love it SO much!” said Ally.
So Shannon got in the car with Mommy. Ally got in another car with Daddy and Grandma Kate. They drove all the way from Ottawa until they got to the cabin.
“Wahoo!” yelled Shannon.
“Yippee!” shouted Ally.
They raced down to the lake and put on their life jackets. Daddy put the small motor on the boat and took Shannon and Ally and Grandma Kate for a ride around the lake.
“Oh look!” shouted Grandma Kate. “There are the loons!”
And there they were. Two beautiful loons swimming in the lake. When they tried to get close to the loons, the loons swam away or they would dive under the water and come up far away.
“Don’t get too close,” said Grandma Kate. “You’ll scare them away!”
The loons were swimming all around the lake. Sometimes they caught fish.
Daddy said, “I wish I could catch fish like that!”
And Shannon laughed. “Me too!” she said.
Then the loons made their wonderful loon call. It sounded like magic!
The lake was very pretty in the sunshine. The blue sky and the white clouds danced on top of the water. It was like a day for fairies!
After their boat ride, Shannon and Ally went for a walk in the woods. Daddy said they should be quiet so they would not scare away the animals.
“Shhhhhh….!” he said.
“OKAY!” yelled Ally.
And everybody laughed.
As she walked down the road through the woods, suddenly they heard a loud noise. It was the sound of a big bird. “Screeech!”
“What is THAT?” asked Shannon.
Grandma Kate said, “Let’s go find out!”
So Shannon and Ally and Grandma Kate walked further into the woods towards the sound. It was getting louder and louder. Suddenly, they saw the bird.
“It’s a grouse!” said Grandma Kate. “It’s trying to lead us away from its nest.”
The grouse kept calling out, and walking further into the woods.
The grouse was trying to protect its babies.
“Let’s leave it alone,” said Grandma Kate. So they walked up the road a little further.
They saw a lot of trees. All kinds of trees. Pine trees. Cedar trees. And maple trees.
Some of the trees had been chewed down near the lake. Daddy said a beaver had chewed the trees for something to eat. It also made a beaver house out in the water.
“I wonder what a tree tastes like,” said Shannon.
“Like a tree!” laughed Ally.
Shannon pretended she was a beaver and tried to chew a tree. It did not taste good!
“Ha ha!” laughed Ally. “You are not a very good beaver!”
Shannon looked at the tree where the beaver had chewed. She said, “The beaver must have very strong teeth!”
Then Shannon and Ally walked and walked and walked down the road until they got very tired. Daddy said, “I will be right back,” and he walked away.
Where did Daddy go? Mommy said, “Don’t worry. He will come back.”
But they were all getting tired. So they turned around. Then Daddy came back and said, “Follow me!” And so they went down to the lake and there was the boat to take them back to the cabin! What a nice surprise!
Ally jumped in the boat and grabbed her small paddle. She was going to paddle all by herself!
“I can take you all home in the boat!” she shouted.
She paddled and paddled and paddled. She paddled past the beaver house. She paddled past the pine trees. She paddled past the grouse. She paddled past the loons. She paddled so far, she paddled them all around the lake!
“What a good paddler you are!” smiled Daddy.
And she paddled them all the way back to the cabin.
“That was so much fun!” said Ally.
When they got back to the cabin, it was getting late. So Daddy made a bonfire by the lake and they all danced around the fire. The bonfire was very bright.
“I love a bonfire!” said Shannon. “I can dance like an Indian, just like we did at Sparks camp.”
So she and Ally danced around the campfire singing, “We are the Indians!”
Shannon said she wanted to go to the island to see if the tipi was still there. So she put on her big boots and walked with Grandma Kate through the long grass and over the logs to the little island. There it was! The tipi was still standing. It was made of long tree poles leaning together.
Shannon stood inside the tipi and crossed her arms in front of her. Grandma Kate said, “Well, Shannon, you do look like an Indian right now!”
Shannon began to sing her song again and danced all around the tipi.
Shannon said, “Take a picture of me inside the tipi, standing like an Indian.” So Grandma Kate took her picture and here it is!
After that, Shannon and Ally went inside the cabin for lunch. It was Daddy’s birthday so they had sandwiches and a big birthday cake.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” they sang. “Happy birthday, dear Daddy, happy birthday to you!”
They all laughed and sang and had a lot of fun.
That night they got in their sleeping bags and tried to sleep. But something kept waking them up. It was a little noise. It went , “mmmmmMMMMMmmmm.”
It was not one, not two, but many mosquitoes in the cabin! Oh no! How could they sleep with mosquitoes in the cabin? They tried to smash them but the mosquitoes were too fast. They flew all over the cabin. They landed on the bed! They landed on their clothes. They even landed on their nose!
Shannon and Ally crawled under their blankets and finally got to sleep. They were very, very tired. It was a long day at the cabin, but it was so much fun.
And tomorrow they could do it all again!
And the very next day, they had even more fun.
A dragonfly landed right on Daddy’s hand. Shannon and Ally got to look at it up close. It had pretty wings! They were very careful not to hurt the dragonfly. It was another beautiful creature in nature.
“I like dragonflies!” said Shannon.
“I love dragonflies!” said Ally.
Shannon and Ally went for a boat ride on the lake and saw a beaver house and two loons swimming. They were not afraid to go in the boat because they wore life jackets. If they fell in, the life jackets would hold them up.
“The water won’t go up my nose!” said Ally.
“Mine either!” said Shannon.
“And anyway, I can swim like a loon,” said Shannon.
And she tipped back her head and laughed and laughed and laughed. She sounded just like a loon!
Then they went for a walk in the woods and along the lake. They saw some pretty flowers growing along the water. There were buttercups along the road. Shannon put the buttercup under her chin to see if it would make her chin yellow. It did!
Ally said she wanted to have a buttercup too. So they put buttercups under their chins and laughed. This was a buttercup day!
Then Shannon said, “Look Ally, there is another flower!”
They walked over to the lake and saw a beautiful purple Iris growing beside the water. Shannon went up to the Iris and smelled it. It smelled wonderful!
“I like flowers!” said Shannon.
“I love flowers!” said Ally.
Everything was so pretty at the lake. The water, the flowers, the dragonflies, the beavers, the grouse and the trees.
But one thing was not beautiful. What was it?
“The mosquitoes!” shouted Shannon.
And Shannon and Ally laughed and laughed. They sounded like loons on the lake. Somewhere out in the water two loons answered them. Laalalalalalalaaaaaaaaa.
And everyone laughed at the same time! What silly loons!
* * The End * *