Page 27 - Story Book_Neat

Chapter 7 The picnic

It was a beautiful August day and the gang decided to have a picnic in Denge
Wood which is a large forested area near where they live. They packed up all
their favourite foods such as ham, hard boiled eggs, cold chicken, salad,
Grandpa’s homemade bread rolls, crisps, fruit and lemonade. Granny agreed to
drive them to the forest and said that she would come back to collect them at
3:30.

Each had a rucksack to carry some of the food, plates, glasses, cutlery and also
blankets to sit on. They set off down the track into the forest in search of a
suitable picnic site. The air was warm and had a faint smell of pine. The sun
shone down through the trees wherever there was a gap in the leaves. In the
sunny glades, wild flowers were in full bloom and being visited by bees and
butterflies.

“This is the life”, said Harry as he strode down the track ahead of everyone else.

“The flowers are amazing and I love the butterflies”, said Bells looking to the
left and then the right to ensure that she missed nothing.

“That one is campion and that one foxglove”, said Ellie.

“And that is mugwort, otherwise known as Artemis vulgaris”, said James

knowledgeably.

After walking for about twenty minutes, they came to the perfect spot. An open
space where flowers grew and there was a large grassy area to lay out their
blankets. Immediately they set about opening their picnic. Everything was
placed in the middle so that they could sit round and tuck in. Bells distributed
plates and glasses while James sorted out the cutlery. Then they started eating.

Conversation was limited apart from the odd “this is so good” or “Wow,
Grandpa’s bread never fails to be delicious”.

While they were eating, they failed to notice that they were being watched.
Hidden in the bushes two eyes were staring in their direction. The creature
moved a little closer to them still unnoticed. Then Harry, who was facing in the
direction of the creature, caught sight of it.

“Keep still everyone and keep quiet. We are not alone”, he said in a low voice.

The other three froze, not knowing what was behind them. A shiver of fear ran
down their spines.