GRANDMA'S ATTIC SERIES Read Online Free Page A

tents, will you?"
    "Oh, no," we promised. "We'll stay right close by."
    And we fully intended to do that. There were a number tents with different displays in them, and we were going look at those and come right back. A large woods lay at
    the end of the exhibit grounds, and as we approached the edge of it, Sarah Jane stopped and grabbed my hand.
    "Look, Mabel. Do you see that?" She pointed toward the high trees.
    "What is it? Did one of the calves get away from the animal tent already?"
    Sarah Jane shook her head. "I don't think so. It looks like a fawn to me. Let's go see."
    Quietly we tiptoed to the end of the clearing and Approached the tree. It was a fawn, and it was watching us.
    "He doesn't seem to be afraid," I said. "He's not running away.
    Slowly we walked toward the little animal, hoping that we could pet it. As we came closer, he turned and started into the woods. If he had run, we would have given up and gone back. But he walked slowly and let us keep him in sight.
    "Isn't he pretty?" Sarah Jane exclaimed. "I wish he'd stop . And let us get closer. If we hurry any faster, I'm afraid we'll scare him."
    So without thinking that we were in a strange woods, we followed the fawn for a long time. Finally he disappeared from view, and we turned to go back to the exhibit grounds.
    "We've come a long way, Sarah Jane. I can't see the edge of the woods from here. What if we go in the wrong direction?"
    "You can't go in the wrong direction if you just turn around from the way you've been going," she said. And to prove it, she turned around and started back. I followed, assured that she knew how to get to the exhibit ground.
    Even though the sun was overhead by now, it was cool and shady in the woods. We walked on for what seemed like a long time; then Sarah Jane stopped.
    "We don't seem to be going anyplace," she said. "I don't think we walked this far."
    "You mean you don't know the way back? You acted like you did. How come we've gone the wrong way if all we had to do was turn around?"
    "I guess we didn't turn around far enough," Sarah Jane admitted. "We'd better stop and think about it a minute."
    We stopped and sat down on a log. The woods didn't seem as friendly anymore, and I began to feel anxious. Sarah Jane looked around thoughtfully. "My brother says that moss always grows on the north side of trees."
    "What has that got to do with anything?" I asked crossly.
    "We don't even know what direction we came from. We could stand in the woods with our noses pointed north all lay and never get out."
    "You don't have to be cross," Sarah Jane said. "I was trying to think of something to help us. What do you think we should do?"
    "I'm sorry," I said, "but I'm getting sort of worried. Besides, I'm awfully hungry. It must be way past dinnertime hy now. Do you suppose they'll go ahead and eat without us?"
    "Probably," Sarah Jane replied glumly. "They won't know we went away from the grounds. We were sure dumb to follow that fawn."
    We sat for a few more minutes, staring into the woods, then got up and started to walk again. Everything looked alike, and it seemed as though we had seen every tree in the woods.
    "Look," said Sarah Jane in disgust. "This is the same log we were just sitting on. We've just gone around in circles. I think we'd better stop and pray about it. The Lord can help us find the way back."
    Suddenly I remembered that I had stubbornly refused to pray that morning. Now that I needed help, I was ashamed to ask God for it. I was sorry that I had been so rebellious and foolish.
    "You pray," I said to Sarah Jane as we sat back down on the log.
    "Dear Lord, please send someone to find us," she prayed. "Or show us the way back to our folks. Thank You." "Now what shall we do?" she asked.
    "Pa told us that if we ever got lost in our woods we should sit still until someone finds us. Maybe we better do that in this woods too."
    "I guess so. We didn't do much good moving around, so we'd better stay right here and let God