Free April Adventure by Ron Roy Page B

listen.
    A grove of trees grew near the rose garden. Wooden benches had been placed around so people could sit and enjoy the roses.
    On one side of the park were the high school playing fields. Next to the high school was a meadow. And next to the meadow was the lawn surrounding Green Lawn Elementary School.
    “How do we find Easter eggs in all this?” Brian asked.
    “These plastic eggs are brightcolors,” Lucy said. “We should be able to see them from far away.” She had begun eating her jelly doughnut.
    Nate climbed onto one of the benches. He looked around. “I don’t see any,” he said.
    “Let’s just start,” Bradley said. “We should each look in a different place. I’ll go check out the pond.”
    “I’ll search around those trees,” Lucy said.
    “I’ll stay here and look around all the roses,” Brian said.
    “Okay, I’ll snoop around the band shell,” Nate said. He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Sometimes people drop money there!”
    “If you find any, you have to share,” Brian said.
    “Ha!” Nate said as he raced away.
    Carrying her basket, Lucy took off for the grove of trees.
    Bradley headed toward the pond. He walked through the tall grass and reeds. He read a sign that said: PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE SWANS .
    Bradley stepped carefully up to the water’s edge. Last summer, he had seen a long black snake there, lying in the sun. Josh had told him that snapping turtles lived in the pond, too. They came out of the water to lay their eggs.
    Bradley placed his feet carefully. He didn’t want to step on a snake or a turtle!
    At the edge of the pond, Bradley parted a clump of grass. He peered down at the ground. He saw only rocks and mud and weeds, no bright plastic Easter eggs.
    Suddenly Bradley froze. He held his breath.
    Something was hissing at him!

Bradley felt goose bumps tickle the hairs on his arms. He stood still, like the fish statue in the fountain. He didn’t dare to look down.
Do snapping turtles hiss?
he wondered. Could there be a snake near his feet?
    When he didn’t hear any more hissing, Bradley looked down. No snapping turtle. No snake that he could see.
    Then he noticed something out on the pond. Two swans were floating on the water. They were big and white,with orange bills. The swans watched Bradley. One of them flapped its wide wings and hissed again.
    Bradley grinned. He waved at the swans. “Happy Easter, swans!”
    The swan kept hissing. The other one let out a loud snort.
    “Okay, I’ll leave,” Bradley said. He stepped away from the pond, watching the ground. Keeping an eye on the swans, he walked all the way around the pond. He saw three caterpillars and a frog, but no eggs. No turtles or snakes, either.
    Bradley noticed something dark sticking up from the reeds near the pond. He stepped closer. It was a tree stump that was black and dead.
    But on top of the stump was a red plastic Easter egg.
    Bradley grabbed the egg. “I found one!” he yelled.
    He ran back toward the rose garden with the egg. The other three kids were standing near the fountain.
    “We did, too!” Nate said. He and Brian each held a plastic egg.
    “Now we have four,” Bradley said. He held his egg near his ear and shook it. Something inside it rattled. When Bradley pulled the two halves apart, he found jelly beans. “Just like in my dream!” he said.
    “What dream?” Lucy asked.
    Bradley told his brother and friends about the candy meadow with chocolate milk in the stream.
    “Cool!” Nate said. He found a candy kiss inside the egg he was holding. Brian’s egg held a small cookie.
    They ate their prizes and put the eggs into Lucy’s basket.
    “No one has found the real eggs, though,” Lucy said.
    “Let’s keep looking,” Bradley said.
    They were standing under a tall oak tree. “Maybe if I climb up high, I’ll be able to see eggs down on the ground,” Lucy said. “Here, hold this.”
    Lucy handed the basket to Bradley, then started climbing the oak tree. The boys