The Mystery of the Phantom Grashopper

out,” Mart urged. “I like to see what I’m eating.”
    While everyone helped set the table for dinner, the rain came in heavy waves, drumming against the side of the snug old house. Tree branches scraped and bumped against the roof. With a loud crack! a branch broke off one of the trees and crashed to the ground.
    As they were eating dessert, the lights flickered and went out.
    “Hey!” Bobby yelled angrily. “Who turned off the lights?”
    “It’s all right, Bobby,” Mr. Belden said calmly. “The power lines are down.” In a minute he had the old gas lamp lit. “We probably won t have any electricity until tomorrow,” he said.
    “We’ll have to watch television with the lights off,” Bobby complained.
    “No television, either,” Mr. Belden said, mussing Bobby’s hair.
    “No television?” Bobby wailed in dismay. “What will we do ?”
    “Let’s do what they did in the old days,” Trixie said cheerfully. “We’ll play games and sing songs by candlelight. It’ll be fun!”
    “Those old days’ weren’t all that long ago,” Mrs. Belden pointed out wryly. “Maybe a night without electricity will do us all good.”
    “Yeah,” Mart agreed. “Look what it did for Ben Franklin!”
    Sitting around a roaring fire in the living room, the whole family played guessing games, told jokes, and sang songs. Mrs. Belden reeled off a string of tongue twisters that amazed everyone. She challenged the young people to match her skill, and the results had everyone doubled over with laughter.
    When it was time for Bobby to go to bed, he said, “I like the old days! We get to tell jokes and sing songs just like they do on television.”
    “Maybe we should start a family television show,” Brian said.
    “I think a family circus would be more our style,” Mr. Belden said with a smile.
    Later, Trixie snuggled in bed and listened to the sounds of the storm outside. Poor old Hoppy, she thought with a shudder. I hope the storm doesn’t damage him.

Where Is Hoppy? • 7

    THE MORNING SUN shining on her face woke Trixie. Swinging out of bed, she stretched and then bent and touched her toes. “No more storm,” she said, seeing blue sky from her window.
    The yard was littered with broken tree branches and piles of soggy leaves. The heavy limb from the shade tree lay crumpled beside the trunk. There were pools of dirty water everywhere.
    “Gleeps, what a mess,” Trixie moaned. “I wonder if the electricity is back on.” A snap of the light switch told her that the power had been restored. “No holiday from school,” Trixie said with a shake of her head.
    After making her bed and dressing, Trixie went down to breakfast. The rest of the family was already at the kitchen table, listening to the radio.
    Trixie slipped into her place beside Bobby. “Smells good, Moms,” she said, taking her plate from her mother.
    “My favorite fruit,” Mart sighed between bites. “Hot pancakes with melted butter and maple syrup.” Trixie widened her eyes. “That’s a surprise,” she said. “I thought your favorite fruit grew on a hamburger tree.”
    Mart helped himself to more syrup and nodded. “That’s my favorite dinner fruit,” he explained. “This is my favorite breakfast fruit.”
    “Trixie,” Bobby said, tugging at her arm, “listen to me. I have something ’portant to tell you. The radio man said the storm broke some of the windows at my school. Does the TV work today, or is it still like the old days?”
    “Well,” Trixie said, “if the radio works, then the TV set will work, too.”
    “That’s good,” Bobby said, “ ’cause the radio man said the school windows are broken, and I don’t have to go to school today.”
    “Gee, that’s too bad,” Trixie said in mock pity. “How about our school, Dad?” she asked.
    Mr. Belden smiled and shook his head. “No such luck, Trixie,” he said. “Your school building wasn’t damaged at all. Classes as usual today. From what they said on the news, the storm damage isn’t really too bad. A lot of tree branches are down, and there’s a little flooding in spots. The power was off all night, but they had that fixed early this morning”
    Mrs. Belden poured herself more coffee. “Honey called before you came down,” she told Trixie. “Some of the roads are blocked with tree limbs, and the school bus will be late getting around, so Jim is driving this morning. He’ll come by for all of you in the station wagon.”
    Trixie looked at the clock