The Camping Trip and the Strange Sound

It was the first real summer evening at grandma and grandpa's, and Vilma and Otto were going to sleep in the tent in the garden. Vilma was eight and thought she was rather brave. Otto was five and thought everything was exciting. The tent stood under the big apple tree branch, between the currant bushes and the old garden bench. The sun had just gone down and the sky was pink and blue at the same time. Grandma had given them each a thermos of warm milk and two sandwiches in a plastic box. 'Shout if there's anything,' said grandpa. 'We're right inside the kitchen door.'

Inside the tent it smelled of new fabric and grass. Vilma had brought her flashlight, and Otto had brought his stuffed rabbit, who was called Bonk. They rolled out the sleeping bags side by side and zipped up the door until only a small gap remained. 'We need a little air,' said Vilma in a grown-up voice. Otto nodded and tucked Bonk under his chin. Through the gap they could see the lawn, and further away the warm yellow light shining from the kitchen window. It felt as if they were far from home, even though they weren't at all.

Otto talked for a long time about what they would do tomorrow. Build a den. Fish in the ditch. Eat pancakes for breakfast. Vilma listened with one ear and looked up at the tent roof, where a mosquito wandered back and forth in the flashlight beam. After a while Otto grew quieter. He said something about Bonk and pancakes, and then the sentence stopped in the middle. Vilma turned off the flashlight. The darkness came in like water filling a cup. It wasn't a nasty darkness. It just smelled of grass and warm strawberries.

Just as Vilma was about to close her eyes too, she heard it. A sound. Not a clear sound, more like a rustle-rustle, a crackling, like someone treading carefully on dry leaves. She lay perfectly still. The sound stopped. Then it began again, a little further off. Rustle. Rustle. It sounded as if something was right at the edge of the tent, by the currant bush. Vilma held her breath. Otto was breathing deeply and calmly beside her. She reached out and nudged him gently on the shoulder. 'Otto,' she whispered. 'Otto, wake up.'