1 Noise in the Night

Manuel and Jason put up a tent in Manuel's yard.They put itnext to the woods.They put it under a large oak tree.

All day long Manuel and Jason played in the tent. All week long they played in the tent. They loved playing in the tent more than anyplace else they could think of.

They took sandwiches to the tent and ate their lunch there.

They took games to the tent and played games there.

They took their radio to the tent and listened to music.

Manuel and Jason read books in the tent. They brought their favorite toys to the tent. They brought their friends to the tent. And their friends brought their pets to the tent.

They liked being in the tent more than anything else. They only left the tent to go to their houses to eat dinner and to sleep. After an early breakfast,they were back in the tent.

One day they asked their parents if they could sleep in the tent. Manuel's parents said it was okay. Jason's parents also said it was okay, but only if Jason's dad slept in a tent next to them. So that night, after dinner, Manuel and Jason went to their tent. Later, Jason's dad and the family dog, Baxter, went into a tent next to Jason and Manuel.

Soon Manuel and Jason fell fast asleep. And soon Jason's dad and Baxter were fast asleep, too.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and it woke Jason up. He reached over and shook Manuel.

“Did you hear that?” he whispered loudly.

“No, I didn't hear a thing,” said Manuel. “Now, go back to sleep and stop bothering me.”

Manuel and Jason went back to sleep. Once again, there was a loud noise. And once again, it woke Jason up. Jason jumped up and frantically shook Manuel.

“Wake up,” he said. “I heard it again. Something is out there.”

“I didn't hear anything,” said Manuel. “You must be dreaming. I have an important baseball game tomorrow morning, and I need my rest. Go back to sleep and don't wake me up again.”

Once again, they fell asleep, but the next time the noise was so loud it woke up both boys. “What was that?” asked Manuel.

“It's the noise I heard before,” said Jason.

“Something is outside our tent,” said Jason.“Get the flashlight.”

They slowly unzipped the tent and looked outside.

They shined a light all around. They shined the light into the woods, and they shined the light up into the trees.

But after looking all around, they saw nothing that could make such a loud noise. So they zipped up the tent and crawled back into their sleeping bags.

Then, out of the still of the dark night, they heard the noise again.“Oh, no,” said Jason. “Whatever it is, the noise is coming from my dad's tent.Come on.Let's check it out.We have to save him.”

Both boys grabbed baseball bats and quietly stepped toward the tent. They carefully opened the tent where Jason's dad was sound asleep.

And there,inside the tent,they found the awfully loud noise.“Dad and Baxter sure do snore loudly,” said Jason.