Caterflies and Ice Read online

  The second caterfly lovingly bopped its head against Sassafras’ other front paw. “He is so warm. Oh, thank you!”

  Sassafras’ ears went sideways, and he looked up at me questioningly.

  “Pleeeeease, Sass? We’ve got to hurry!”

  He let out another big sigh and bent down. The caterflies hopped on and nestled into his fur. They immediately started purring.

  I clapped my hands in victory. This was so cute! It would make a great photo, but we were in too big of a hurry. I’d have to wait until later.

  Gently, I placed the fluffy heap of cat plus two caterflies into my backpack.

  How much time did I have left? I glanced at my watch. Only fifteen minutes before Sassafras and I needed to be back home. I walked as fast as I could straight toward the caterflies’ cave.

  ICE!

  CHAPTER 6

  I knew I’d found the right cave as soon as we got there. Just inside the entrance I could see a pile of caterflies huddled together like a tiny mountain of white snow with little pink dots. I set my backpack on a nearby rock, and the caterflies flew from Sassafras’ fur into the cave.

  Sassafras looked around at the snow and decided to stay in the backpack.

  I didn’t have much time, so I dug around in the backpack for the thermos while Sassafras grumbled. I took it to the mouth of the tiny cave and peeked in. It was a little hard to see, but I could make out a shiny layer of ice where the waterfall had frozen.

  The two caterflies woke up the rest of the caterflies in the cave and told them about their adventure to and from the barn that morning. It ended with them pointing to me, saying, “That’s Zoey. She’s going to rescue our eggs!”

  The cave of caterflies cheered.

  Then the two caterflies continued, “Zoey has a cat. A real live cat. He’s ever so warm. Come see!”

  All the caterflies rushed to the front of the cave and peered out.

  “Ooooooooh!” they said at once. And then one, and another, and then all the caterflies launched into the air and landed on my cat. They snuggled down into his fur and began to purr.

  I wished I had my camera because all I could see was Sassafras’ face peeking out from a mound of white wings. I thought he would be nervous, but he looked like he was smiling. Maybe dozens of tiny purring cats snuggling happily against you is a good recipe for happiness.

  I glanced at my watch. Oh no! I only had a few minutes left.

  After unscrewing the lid of the thermos, I was relieved to see steam coming from the water inside. Still hot. Phew.

  I reached into the cave and splashed the water on the wall of ice that trapped the caterfly eggs. The ice made crackling noises, and I could see some lines forming, but it wasn’t enough.

  Good thing I’d also brought the salt. I wouldn’t be able to come back until tomorrow, so I figured it was best to just use all of it now. It should definitely be enough to melt that ice!

  I pulled my glove off with my teeth and poured a ton of salt into my open hand. Then I rubbed the salt as best I could all over the ice. When I was done, the ice had a nice layer of salt on it. With my ear to the cave, I could hear more ice crackling (though it was a little hard to hear over all the purring going on behind me).

  I looked at my watch again and my heart jumped into my throat. We had to leave for home right now!

  “Caterflies! I’m sorry, but we’ve really got to go. My dad will be worried if I’m home late. I think the ice should melt now with the salt on it. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to check on you, and I’ll bring my mom in case the ice doesn’t melt.”

  The caterflies flew up and circled around my head, thanking me. I giggled.

  They sure were cute little creatures. “See you tomorrow, Zoey!” they cheered as they flew into their cave for the night.

  I snapped up Sassafras in the backpack. “Hold on tight, Sass!”

  Sassafras hunkered down, and I ran for home.

  JUST IN TIME

  CHARTER 7

  I burst through the door, set my Sassafras backpack down gently, and put my hands on my knees, panting. My dad rounded the corner three seconds later.

  “Ah, good! You’re home. Thank you for being responsible. I was starting to worry I shouldn’t have sent you out so late in the afternoon.”

  “Thanks . . . Dad . . .” I huffed out. “I’m . . . glad . . . I . . . got to go.”

  Sassafras’ ears perked up, and his head spun toward the front door a moment before I heard it open. Mom!

  “Brrrr, it’s getting cold out there,” Mom said as she carried two grocery bags and a small plastic bag into the kitchen. She paused when she saw me. “What have you been up to?”

  “Uhhhh, I needed to do something,” I winked a few times for good measure, “out in the forest.”

  “Something in the forest? OHH!” my mom said as she finally realized what I was hinting at.

  “I can help Mom put these away, Dad,” I chirped.

  “OK, I’ll leave you to it then,” Dad said as he left the kitchen.

  “Oh, Mom!” I whispered. “Have you ever seen caterflies? They are SO cute! Their eggs were trapped behind ice but I rescued them . . . at least, I’m pretty sure I did. I had to rush home. But can we go check and make sure they’re OK tomorrow? First thing? Right after I wake up?”

  Mom laughed. “They sound adorable. I can’t wait to meet them! Great work helping them and yes, let’s go first thing in the morning. I also got you this,” and she slid a bag over to me.

  I opened it and squealed. “Fabric for Sassafras’ snowshoes! Yessss! Thank you!”

  “Go grab your sketches, and we can get these ready for Sassafras before tomorrow morning’s adventure,” Mom said as she put away the last of the groceries. I hurried off to grab my plans for the coolest cat shoes ever. If we worked quickly, Sassafras could wear them to visit the caterflies tomorrow!

  NOT MORE!

  CHAPTER 8

  I woke up early and shivered. I pulled a warm Sassafras onto my chest and he purred. Then I remembered the caterflies and leaped out of bed. Sassafras jumped sideways and landed with his tail poofed up.

  “Sorry, Sass!” I ruffled his fur. “The caterflies! We need to check on them!”

  “Meow!” exclaimed Sassafras, and he ran for the kitchen.

  Mom was sitting at the table with a sad look on her face. She shook her head.

  I gulped. “What’s wrong, Mom?”

  Mom slowly turned to the window. Wild gusts of wind were flinging giant flakes of snow this way and that. I could barely make out the forest through the blinding whiteness of the falling snow. My heart sank. We couldn’t go out in the woods in this weather. It would be too dangerous because snow and wind can work together to make tree branches snap.

  “I’m sure they’ll be fine, Zoey,” Mom said. “There’s just a bit more of this spring snowstorm that needs to work its way through. The forecast says it should be over by tomorrow. But today we need to sit tight and wait it out.”

  I walked to the kitchen counter and peered out the window. The snow was really coming down. I could barely see the forest through all the snowflakes.

  “I know what will cheer you up!” Mom plopped four little shoes onto the counter in front of me. “I put the finishing touches on these after you fell asleep. Are you ready to test them out on our brave kitty?”

  I still felt sad about the caterflies, but I couldn’t help smiling at the tiny Sassafras snowshoes! I sat down on the ground and Sassafras came over and sniffed at them suspiciously.

  “These will be great, Sass. Just you wait and see.” I plunked him in my lap, slipped a shoe on each paw, and attached each one with Velcro so they wouldn’t fall off. Time to see if they worked!

  Sassafras took a step and stopped. He wrinkled his nose. Then he took another step. He lifted a paw and sniffed at the shoe. Then he started prancing. He held his head high and fluffed up his tail and took fancy steps around the kitchen. Mom and I bent over laughing.

  Da
d peeked his head in and took one look at Sassafras and laughed so hard, a tear rolled down his cheek!

  After our laughter died down, Dad looked out the window and let out a big breath.

  His shoulders slumped. “I guess it’s time to start shoveling the walkway and driveway.”

  A huge grin spread across my face. I knew how to make this easier for my dad! “But Dad, just use some salt! Salt will melt the snow and ice. Then you don’t have to work so hard shoveling!”

  Mom patted my head. “That’s a great idea, Zoey, and while salt would change the freezing point of the water and melt the ice, it’s best if Dad does it the good old-fashioned way. Salt can damage plants, and it’s not great for the environment. Maybe we can make some hot cocoa for him once he’s done.” Then she looked at my face. “Oh, honey, what’s wrong?”

  I cleared my throat. I didn’t want to ask, but I needed to know. “The salt. You said it can damage plants?”

  A DEMONSTRATION

  CHAPTER 9

  Mom cleared off the kitchen counter. “Can you grab two bowls that are the same size and a measuring cup, Zoey?”

  Mom said the best way to explain what salt does to plants was to do a science demo (that’s short for demonstration). I set the bowls and measuring cup next to our saltshaker, and Mom brought several thin circles she’d sliced from a potato. They looked like weirdly flat and juicy potato chips.

  Mom cleared her throat. “OK, so let’s see what happens when we add salt to one potato slice and not another. Remember, when we do an experiment, we always—”

  “Change one thing! And keep everything else the same!” I interrupted, and Mom laughed.

  “Exactly, so we’re changing . . .”

  “Salt! So we should do the same-sized potato slices in each bowl, and add the same amount of water to both.”

  “Excellent!” My mom smiled and handed me the measuring cup. The bowls were pretty big, so I decided to add two cups of water to each. Then I chose two thin potato slices that looked identical and put one in each bowl.

  Mom unscrewed the lid to the saltshaker and handed it to me.

  “All of it?” I asked.

  She nodded. I poured all of the salt into just one of the bowls and stirred the water, salt, and potato slice together.

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked, looking into the bowl. “It’s just a slice of potato, not a plant.” A catnip plant and a potato slice seemed pretty different to me. So maybe the catnip plants would be just fine.

  “In this demo, the slice represents the whole plant. So even though the potato slice is just a part of a potato plant, it’ll show you what all the parts of any plant would do in this much salty water.”

  Oh. Well . . . maybe the potato slice wouldn’t change much? I hoped. I really wanted the catnip plants to be fine. Once the caterfly eggs hatched, they’d be hungry for those leaves!

  Mom set a timer for thirty minutes. “Now we wait.”

  RUBBERY POTATOES

  CHAPTER 10

  Sassafras and I smooshed our noses against the window, staring at the never-ending snowstorm, when the kitchen timer went off. We dashed into the kitchen, eager to see what had happened to our potato slices. Sassafras was so curious, he even jumped on the counter to see.

  “Sassafras!” my mom scolded as she joined us.

  Sassafras lowered his head and jumped back down.

  I picked up the potato slice that was in plain water first and bent down to show him. He took a sniff but leaped backward as a water drop fell from the potato.

  “It feels the same, I think,” I gave it a poke. “Maybe a little stronger? It seems harder to bend now.”

  Mom nodded.

  Next I plunged my hand into the salty water. My fingers touched the potato slice, and I made a face. I pulled it out and knelt down. “This one is gross, Sassafras.”

  I wiggled it between my hands to show him. “It feels rubbery.” I looked up at Mom. “What does that mean?”

  “Things like to be equal when they can,” she said as she sat down at our kitchen table. She picked up the saltwater potato slice. “More salt was outside the potato than inside the potato itself. To even out the saltiness, water moved out of the potato. But only a little water has moved out so far. We’ll leave it overnight, and you’ll see a big difference tomorrow morning. Water will keep moving out of the potato to make the saltiness more equal.”

  I picked up the plain water potato slice. “So this one was pretty even already? That’s why the water didn’t have to move a bunch here?”

  Mom nodded. “So, can you figure out what saltwater might do to a whole plant?”

  I poked the rubbery potato slice as I thought out loud.

  “If there’s salt around a plant, and plants try to make things even by moving water . . . that means . . .” I gasped. Oh no.

  “What’s wrong, honey?”

  I looked down at my feet. “I, um, made a mistake, Mom. With the caterflies. I dumped a ton of salt on the ice to make it melt faster. I was worried about the eggs freezing!” I slowly picked up the rubbery potato slice. “Will the catnip host plants look like this tomorrow? Because if they do . . . what are the baby caterflies going to eat once they hatch?”

  Mom rubbed my back. “Oh, honey. We all make mistakes. You never know, the salt might not have made it very far. We’ll have to wait and see. Try to take your mind off it. Whatever’s happened, we’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

  I felt like tomorrow would take forever to get here! Maybe Mom was right and I should keep myself busy so I wouldn’t worry as much. While Mom made hot cocoa, I grabbed my science journal and decided I’d write down everything I’d learned about the caterflies so far:

  Then I added all the caterfly things I still wondered about:

  As I wrote and sipped hot cocoa with Sassafras purring in my lap, I felt a little better. Maybe the plants wouldn’t be as bad as the potato after all.

  FINALLY!

  CHAPTER 11

  “Psssssst!”

  My eyes sprang open. What was that weird noise? I turned my head and almost crashed into my mom’s face. I jumped.

  My mom laughed. “Sorry to startle you, sweetie!” She lifted a hand to show me a fully packed backpack. “I told your dad we had cabin fever and needed to go for an early morning hike.”

  I had to squint because it was so bright in my room. Wait a second! Bright! Sun!

  “It’s sunny!” I exclaimed.

  “Yep.” Mom nodded. “The news said that all the snow should melt this afternoon. That wild storm has finally passed, and it’s going to warm up today.”

  I listened as I shoved on my snow gear.

  “But this morning it’s 31 degrees out,” Mom continued. “Do you remember what that means?”

  I nodded. “Water has a freezing point of 32 degrees. Since 31 degrees is below that, everything will be frozen. But once it’s above 32 degrees, the water won’t stay frozen . . . so the ice and snow will melt?”

  Mom smiled. “You got it! It’s supposed to be 55 by this afternoon, so it will seem downright hot!”

  We paused briefly in the kitchen where I grabbed a piece of buttered toast my mom had made for breakfast on the go. Sassafras filled his cheeks with cat food and then waited patiently to be outfitted with his cat snowshoes.

  This time a prancing Sassafras led the way. I tried to calm my hammering heart. I really hoped the plants would be OK. And the caterflies and their eggs were safe!

  I slowed down as the catnip plants came into view. Oh no. All the catnip plants around the cave entrance had wilted. Several of the leaves were brown. What had I done?

  A tear rolled down my cheek. What would the caterflies do? Their babies needed to eat the host plant—and lots of it—as soon as they hatched. Only a few plants were left. Would their baby caterpillars starve because of my mistake?

  Mom came over and put a hand under my chin. She tilted my face up to hers. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I have a few tricks up my sleeve
. But first, let’s find the caterflies!”

  I wiped the snow off a nearby rock with my glove, and Sassafras sat down and waited. He kept glancing at the catnip, but he knew we needed to save it for the caterflies. I was proud of him—it must have been like sitting in a candy shop and not eating any of the candy!

  The three of us looked around, but there was no sign of the caterflies. I was terrified to walk closer to the cave—what if I accidentally stepped on one?

  Sassafras sniffed the air and let out a loud “Meeeeooooowwww.”

  I spotted some movement near the cave entrance. I tapped Mom’s shoulder and pointed. What looked like a small mound of snow began to quake . . . and shake . . . and then it exploded into a dozen caterflies. A small flock flew straight toward Sassafras.

  He looked at me with big eyes. Floomp! Ten caterflies instantly coated him. His whole body seemed to vibrate with caterfly purrs.

  Over the loud rumbling purrs, I managed to hear them say, “You brought us a Sassafras! It is so warm! Thank you!”

  I knelt down. “I was so worried about you. There was too much wind and snow to come yesterday. Is everyone OK?”

  One of the caterflies that came to our barn left Sassafras and landed on my wrist. “Your tricks worked, and the ice cracked.

  We rescued our eggs! But then the snow and wind started again. We didn’t want them to get trapped a second time, so we set them on a rock by the front of the cave and all piled on to protect them. We were so happy to see the sun this morning! But what is wrong with our plants?”

  I sighed. “I made a mistake using the salt. It melted the ice, but it hurt your plants. Salt makes water leave the plants, which is why they wilted and turned brown. I am so sorry. I didn’t know it would do that!” Another tear slid down my cheek.