“Famous Five 07 - Five Go Off To Camp” By Enid Blyton 11
Julian inspected the inside of the tent again. 'Okay!' he called, much to everyone's
relief. 'His clothes are gone, and so has his bug-tin. He must have slipped out early,
before we were awake. I bet he's forgotten all about us and breakfast and everything!'
'That would be just like him,' said Dick. 'Well, we're not his keepers. He can do as he
likes! If he doesn't want breakfast, he needn't have any. He'll come back when he's
finished his hunting, I suppose.'
'Anne! Can you get on with the doings if Dick and I go to the farmhouse and see what
food they've got?' asked Julian. 'The time's getting on, and if we're going for a walk or
anything today, we don't want to start too late.'
'Right,' said Anne. 'You go too, George. I can manage everything nicely, now that the
boys have brought me a bucketful of water. Take Timmy. He wants a walk.'
George was only too pleased to get out of the washing-up. She and the boys, with
Timmy trotting in front, set off to the farmhouse. Anne got on with her jobs, humming
softly to herself in the sunshine. She soon finished them, and then looked to see if the
others were coming back. There was no sign of them, or of Mr Luffy either.
Til go for a walk on my own,' thought Anne. Til follow that little stream uphill and see
where it begins. That would be fun. I can't possibly lose my way if I keep by the water.'
She set off in the sunshine and came to the little brown stream that gurgled down the
hill. She scrambled through the heather beside it, following its course uphill. She liked all
the little green ferns and the cushions of velvety moss that edged it. She tasted the
water - it was cold and sweet and clean.
Feeling very happy all by herself, Anne walked on and on. She came at last to a big
mound of a hill-top. The little stream began there, half-way up the mound. It came
gurgling out of the heathery hillside, edged with moss, and made its chattering way far
down the hill.
'So that's where you begin, is it?' said Anne. She flung herself down on the heather,
hot with her climb. It was nice there, with the sun on her face, and the sound of the
trickling water nearby.
She lay listening to the humming bees and the water. And then she heard another
sound. She took no notice of it at all at first.
Then she sat up, frightened. 'The noise is underground! Deep, deep underground! It
rumbles and roars. Oh, what is going to happen? Is there going to be an earthquake!'
The rumbling seemed to come nearer and nearer.
Anne didn't even dare to get up and run. She sat there and trembled.
Then there came an unearthly shriek, and not far off a most astonishing thing
happened. A great cloud of white smoke came right out of the ground and hung in the
air before the wind blew it away. Anne was simply horrified. It was so sudden, so very
unexpected on this quiet hillside. The rumbling noise went on for a while and then
gradually faded away.
Anne leapt to her feet in a panic. She fled down the hill, screaming loudly: 'It's a
volcano! Help! Help! I've been sitting on a volcano. It's going to burst, it's sending out
smoke. Help, help, it's a VOLCANO!'
She tore down the hillside, caught her foot on a tuft of heather and went rolling over
and over, sobbing. She came to rest at last, and then heard an anxious voice calling:
'Who's that? What's the matter?'
It was Mr Luffy's voice. Anne screamed to him in relief. 'Mr Luffy! Come and save me!
There's a volcano here!'
