1 ____________THE OAK TREE________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________
Mark turned the corner and stared
at the empty bus stop. He swallowed
hard and his hands started to shake.
Being the first one there wouldn't be a
problem if the old oak tree that marked
the bus stop wasn't haunted.
"Where is everyone?" Mark whispered.
The sun wasn't quite up yet, and the darkness was making the oak
tree look scarier than usual. The tree was the gathering place for the bus
stop. All the kids stood by it and talked while they waited for Mr. Meyers
to drive up and take them to school. When other kids were around, the
bus stop wasn't so scary. But Mark was alone, and it was dark.
The oak tree's branches swayed in the breeze, and Mark heard the
strange "Ooooh" that sometimes came from the center of the tree.
Mark hurried to the other side of the street, trying to stay as far away
from the tree as possible. He didn't take his eyes off the tree. The bare
branches looked like they were reaching out to grab him. He heard the
"Ooooh, ooooh" again.
"I'm not afraid of you," Mark called in a shaky voice.
"Who are you talking to?" Will asked, walking up behind Mark.
Mark jumped. He turned to face Will and relaxed a little now that he
wasn't alone with the tree. Will stared at him, waiting for an answer.
"I thought I heard something." Mark shrugged and crossed the
street, heading for the bus stop. Will followed.
"Maybe you heard the ghost in the tree," Will said.
"Oooh, oooh."
Mark and Will jumped.
Something moved across the hollowed out spot in the tree.
"There's something in the tree," Mark said. He stood on tiptoes and
peeked inside. "It's an owl!"
"An owl? That's what's making that strange noise?" Will asked.
"Maybe it's hurt," Mark said. "Let's tell Mrs. Abrams about it when we
get to school. She knows a lot about nocturnal animals."
"I guess there's nothing to be scared of now," Will said.
"I'm still pretty scared
of the math test we have
today," Mark said.
