It was early Saturday morning and the sun was just coming up, beams of sunlight came thru Billy and Bobby’s bedroom window. Billy wasn’t ready to get up yet and pulled the blanket up over his head. Bobby was still sound a sleep when there was a knocking on the front door.

Bobby popped up in bed and turned to Billy, “why are you knocking on something?” he asked Billy.

Billy rolled over and rubbing the sleep from his eyes and told Bobby, “I’m not knocking there is someone at the front door.”

Bobby got up and put on his bathrobe and walked into the living room. He knew not to just open the door without first knowing who was there, so he peaked out the window. It was Amanda and she was holding a wicker picnic basket. Bobby shouted to Billy to get up and get dressed because they had company. Bobby opened the door and invited Amanda in.

“What’s in the basket?” he asked.

Amanda smiled, “Oh! It’s just some blueberry muffins I baked and I thought you boys would like some for breakfast.”

“We sure would” Bobby replied, “I’ll get some plates and orange juice.”

Bobby set three places at the table and called to Billy that Amanda had brought them fresh blueberry muffins for breakfast. Hearing that, Billy wasted no time getting into the kitchen. They all sat down and Billy and Bobby both thanked Amanda for the muffins.

As they ate breakfast Amanda started to tell them about what happened the day before. She told them that on the way home from doing some errands for her mother, she passed a large bush next to the path, and as she did she felt a cool breeze coming from the bush.

Billy scratched his head and asked Amanda, “You found a bush that blows cold air?”

“No! Silly,” Amanda replied, “I found a cave. I looked behind the bush and there was a hole in the hillside.”

“Did you go in it?” Bobby asked.

“No” she replied, “It was much too dark and scary, but if you boys have nothing to do maybe we can explore it together.

“I don’t know” said Bobby “caves can be very dangerous. Maybe we should talk to The Professor first.”

They all agreed that they should talk to The Professor, because he was much older and wiser. Amanda and the boys cleaned up the dishes, made their beds and made sure everything was in order. Then Amanda and the boys left, locking the door behind them.

As the three of them walked down the path towards The Professors’ house, Amanda stopped and pointed. “Over there,” she said. She was pointing towards the big bush that covered the entrance to the cave.

The boys walked over and looked behind the bush and sure enough there was a large opening in the rocks. Bobby looked down into the cave, and then turned to Amanda and Billy telling them that it was really dark in there and that he couldn’t see anything.

Amanda told Billy and Bobby they should go and tell the Professor about the cave.

When they got to The Professors’ house he was outside weeding the vegetable garden. “What brings you three here on such a nice day, why aren’t you off playing somewhere?” The Professor said when he saw the three of them.

“We found something Professor. Well really Amanda found it and we wanted to tell you about it.” Bobby said.

“Sounds interesting,” the Professor replied.

“Oh! It is very interesting Professor” Amanda told him. “We found a big cave by the path in the woods.”

“A big cave in the woods?” he asked. “You don’t mean the one behind the big bush.”

“Yes that’s the one,” Billy replied.

The Professor smiled and told them that the cave has always been there, but the people in the Woodland didn’t talk much about it because they didn’t want people exploring it and getting lost. Bobby asked the Professor if he was ever in the cave. The Professor told him that he had been in the cave many times, but that it’s very big, dark and dangerous and not to go into it without an adult.

Amanda asked the Professor if he would take them exploring in the cave. He smiled and said that exploring the cave would be a nice adventure for the four of them. Amanda, Billy and Bobby were very excited about exploring the cave and were ready to enter it right away, but the Professor told them that the cave was very big, dark and cold and that they would need warm clothes, a flashlight and a big roll of very strong string.

Bobby looked puzzled and asked,” Why do we need string?”

The Professor explained that it was very easy to get lost in a cave, so they would tie one end of the string to a branch on the bush by the cave entrance and let it unravel as they entered the cave and when they wanted to leave the cave all they had to do was follow the string back to the entrance.

Everyone went home to get what they needed and then went back to the cave. When they got back to the cave the Professor could not help but notice that Amanda had lots of flying insects around her. Amanda could see that the Professor had noticed all the insects.

Holding out her hand she smiled and told the Professor, “it’s alright, they are my friends,” as one landed on her hand. Smiling Amanda introduced her friend to The Professor and the boys “this is my friend Taillight” she said, “He’s a firefly.”

“Taillight,” Billy laughed, “Why do you call him that.”

Bobby looked at Billy “what’s wrong with you?” he said, “He’s a firefly. His tail lights up.”

“And that’s why they call him Taillight,” Amanda responded.

The Professor asked Amanda why she brought along her friend Taillight and his family. She told the Professor that at night or in dark places fireflies give off a lot of light, and she thought that they could help light up the cave.

“That’s a very good idea,” the Professor replied, “now we don’t have to worry about our batteries going dead in our flashlights.”

They started down into the cave. “Wow it’s really dark and spooky,” Billy said. But as their eyes got use to the dark they could see how really big the cave was.

“It’s a good thing we have Taillight and his family here because they’re really lighting up the cave real good” Bobby said.

The Professor agreed it was good that Amanda invited them along. The Professor led the way and Amanda and the boys followed. It was Billy’s job to unwind the string making sure it didn’t catch on any rocks and break. As the four of them made their way deeper into the cave they saw beautiful rock formations in all different colors.

Bobby asked Professor Fir, “What makes the different colors Professor?”

The Professor explained that when different minerals mix with water and limestone different colors are created.

”They sure are beautiful,” Amanda said.

“Yes they are,” replied Billy.

They traveled down the path a little more when the Professor stopped, “quiet, do you hear that?” he said.

“Yes,” Billy replied, “it sounds like water.”

As the Professor pointed his flashlight at the end of the path they could see a water fall, and a small pool of water. The water looked crystal clear and Billy asked if he could drink it. The Professor told him at one time, years ago you could drink the water, but after years of people dumping chemicals on the ground, the water coming down through the earth became contaminated and not drinkable.

Billy asked The Professor if the water they drink was safe. The Professor told him that it was, that the water they drink comes from high up in the mountains where no-one was dumping chemicals in the ground to contaminate the water.

“I’m glad nobody has polluted our water” Billy said, “At least they haven’t polluted it yet.” The Professor replied.

“Come on Professor” Bobby said, pulling on his sleeve, “There is still a lot more to see.”

They headed down the path again and hadn’t gone very far when they heard what sounded like heavy breathing.

“What’s that?” asked Amanda.

“I don’t know” replied Bobby, “but it’s coming from that big crack in the wall.”

They walked over to the crack in the wall and looked in, and even with the flashlight they really couldn’t see anything. Billy looked around and found a long stick that must have washed into the cave during a storm. He picked up the stick and stuck it into the crack.

“What are you doing?” Bobby asked.

“I want to see if there’s anything in there,” replied Billy.

“Be careful,” The Professor told Billy, as he pushed the stick around in the crack in the wall.

“I feel something” Billy said. “Its soft and it feels like its moving,” and with that he jabbed the stick deeper into the crack and as he did they heard a loud roar, so loud that it shook the cave.

Amanda, Billy and Bobby’s eyes opened as big as silver dollars. “What was that?” Billy said, shaking as he asked the question.

“I don’t know,” replied the Professor “but I think its time we end the exploring.” They all agreed with the Professor and they quickly followed the string back out of the cave.

Once out of the cave Billy turned to the other three and said, “Wow! That was real scary, what do you think it was?”

The Professor shook his head, “I don’t know” he said, “I’ve never heard that before. Professor Fir asked Amanda, Billy and Bobby if they wanted to stop at his house to rest and have some cookies and milk.

They all said yes and started down the path to the Professors’ house. As they came around the bend by Brownie and Marvin’s cave they found Marvin putting a bandage on Brownie’s back side.

“What happened?” asked the Professor.

“I don’t know” Brownie answered. “I was asleep dreaming about catching some salmon in the creek when one of them bit me in the behind.”

“But you were only dreaming,” Marvin said.

“I know”, Brownie said, “But it still bit me.”

Bobby looked at Billy, then Amanda and the Professor and all at once they started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Brownie asked.

“You didn’t get bit by a fish in your dream Brownie,” the Professor explained. The Professor told Brownie about them exploring the cave, and how Billy stuck a stick through a crack in the cave wall, and what he thought was a fish biting him was really Billy poking him with the stick.

The professor explained that the two caves must be back to back with each other and the crack must be an opening between the two of them.

Marvin laughed, “Well I got some work to do closing up that crack.”

“Yes” Brownie said, “Now the cave won’t be so drafty.” Brownie looked at the bandage on his backside and laughed. “And I thought a fish in my dream bit me.”

Billy apologized for sticking Brownie with the stick and waking him up.

“It’s O.K.” Brownie said. “But I think its time Marvin and I close up that crack.” 

Professor Fir and the boys and Amanda said goodbye and headed off to The Professors house for those cookies and milk. After the cookies and milk they sat and talked about all the strange things they saw in the cave and Bobby asks the Professor if they could go exploring in the cave again someday.

“Why not,” said the Professor, “but you all must promise not to go into the cave without an adult.”

“We promise,” all three said at the same time.

The Professor looked out the window and saw that the sun was starting to set. “Boys,” He said, “Why don’t you walk Amanda home it’s starting to get dark.”

“Okay.” Bobby said as they were getting ready to leave.

They thanked the Professor for taking them exploring in the cave and left. The three walked down the path to Amanda’s house and walked her to the door.

“Goodbye boys” Amanda said, waving goodbye as the boys left.

The boys walked back to their house. It was almost dark when they got there. They walked into the house. Turning on the light Billy told Bobby he was going to make a fire in the fire place.

“Don’t you want to make any dinner?” Bobby asked.

“No,” Billy replied, “The cookies and milk filled me up; I’m just going to rest here in my chair by the fire.

“Good idea,” Bobby said as he pulled up his chair.

It wasn’t long before they both were sound asleep. The boys were so tired that they never got up to go to bed and slept all-night in their chairs in front of the fireplace.