Tunnel in the Roots

Chris wakes up on a crisp, sunny Spring morning like his hair. In a white blonde sheeth hanging straight from his head, it shines in the sun, reflecting gold, finer tints of yellow and streaks of white gleam. After sipping and gulping his breakfast bowl of flakes and raisins down, (You eat like a wolf!" his mother says), he jumps into his farm pants and flies out the door with a stiff arm banging the aluminum frame open and yelling "G'bye!" to his mom. Farm pants are really just overalls, but since he wears them to Grampa's farm all the time, he calls them Farm pants. Farms pants are grey and blue striped and clip on the chest with straps that go over the shoulders. All you need is the basics: underdrawers, socks and a t-shirt and wammo! You're ready to go once you've got your farm pants on. I'm sure you have a pair.

Chris hops on his orange, banana seat bike and rides four houses down. He passes the Draeger's on the corner. They have a pond. It has orange fish in it! And frogs and pollywogs and all sorts of fun little creatures worthy of a catch in a bucket. No snakes, though. That's further back in the hills beyond the woods. But only if you're lucky.

Now, the Draeger's pond is guarded. They have a fence that's as high as a little boy. But, it bends. And you can sneak along the far side of their property by the low lying trees next to the neighbor's house. Now the neighbors are hardly ever home because they both work during the day, unlike most the families in the neighborhood. From that point, other kids will bend the fence low, because it is very weak and made of thin wire. Plus with the cover of the trees, you can slip oh so carefully over the fence and sneak up to the pond.

Deep breath. Don't let the Draeger's see you! After the trees, there's a wide clearing, and they could see you from their big, wide, dark windows. Plus, they're rather old, so they are always at home. And no one has ever seen them except on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings when they go to church. No one knows if they are mean or not, so don't take any chances and get caught. Once Chris snuck up through the trees with his tinker toy fishing pole to try to catch some of the orange fish. But that's another story. That's the Draeger's. And Chris is going to Kim's house. Down the road he goes on his orange banana seat bike. They are going to see the tree with the tunnel....