Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Chapter 1 - The End (of School) Chapter 2 - The Beginning (of Summer) Chapter 3 - The Mysterious Journey Chapter 4 - Camp Happy Hollow Chapter 5 - Happy Campers Chapter 6 - Cabin Fever Chapter 7 - Ghosts, Humans and Other Scary Creatures Chapter 8 - Night Owls Chapter 9 - Knots to You Chapter 10 - Lovey Dovey Chapter 11 - The Thing Beneath the Floor Chapter 12 - A Sticker-y Situation Chapter 13 - Goldenrod Chapter 14 - Problems, Problems and More Problems Chapter 15 - A Taste of Freedom Chapter 16 - Onstage at the Comedy Club Chapter 17 - The Case of the Missing Frog Chapter 18 - Moonlight Rescue Chapter 19 - The Winners After Dinner Chapter 20 - Happy Day, Haunted Night Chapter 21 - The End and the Beginning Humphrey’s Top 10 Things to Pack for Camp For more Humphrey adventures, look for 1 The World According to Humphrey 2 Friendship According to Humphrey 3 Trouble According to Humphrey 4 Surprises According to Humphrey 5 Adventure According to Humphrey G. 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Copyright © 2010 by Betty G. Birney. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Birney, Betty G. Summer according to Humphrey / Betty G. Birney. p. cm. Summary: When summer arrives, Humphrey, the pet hamster of Longfellow School’s Room 26, is surprised and pleased to learn that he will be going to Camp Happy Hollow. [1. Camps—Fiction. 2. Hamsters—Fiction.] I. Title. PZ7.B52285Su 2010 [Fic]—dc22 2009008532 eISBN : 978-1-10115987-3 http://us.penguingroup.com To Desi, with thanks— “You can learn a lot about yourself by taking care of another species.” 1 The End (of School) It was a warm afternoon and there was a lovely ray of sunlight beaming into my cage, as golden as my fur. It made me feel so cozy and dozy, I guess I nodded off during science class. The last thing I remembered Mrs. Brisbane saying was “cumulus clouds.” Then I was floating away on my own fluffy little cloud, as peaceful as a hamster can be. Until I was awakened by a LOUD-LOUD-LOUD voice that could only belong to my classmate Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. “How many more days are there?” he boomed. “Four,” Mrs. Brisbane answered. I opened one eye and listened carefully. “Just four days until the end of school,” she continued. I opened both eyes, jumped up and let out a loud “eeek!” “Sounds like Humphrey Dumpty is anxious for school to be out,” A.J. said. “Like me!” The end of school? Did she mean that there wouldn’t be school EVER-EVER- EVER again? Or was it just another holiday? “I will miss you,” the teacher said. “But it’s time to move on.” Move on? Can a school move? “Og?” I squeaked to my neighbor. “Did you hear that?” Og splashed in his tank a little, then let out a loud “BOING!” That’s the twangy way green frogs like him talk. Stop-Giggling-Gail giggled. “I guess Og is ready for summer, too!” “Hands, please, class,” Mrs. Brisbane reminded her students. She wouldn’t be able to remind them much longer. “Yes, Kirk?” “May I please tell a summer joke?” he asked. At least I-Heard-That-Kirk Chen had learned not to blurt out his jokes without asking. “Yes, if it’s short,” Mrs. Brisbane told him. “What did the pig say on the beach on a hot summer day?” he asked. “I don’t know,” the teacher admitted. “I’m bakin’! Get it? Like, I’m bacon!” Kirk proudly explained. “I get it,” Mrs. Brisbane said. Gail giggled again, of course, along with her best friend, Heidi. There was a shuffle of feet as the clock moved toward the end of the school day. “Wait-for-the-Bell-Garth,” Mrs. Brisbane told Garth Tugwell. He was always the first one out of his chair. As soon as he sat down, the bell rang and with plenty of clattering and chattering, my friends in Room 26 hurried out of the room. While they hurried, I worried. Was it the end of Longfellow School forever? What would everyone do?? And most importantly, where would Og and I go? What does a classroom pet do when his job is over? Mrs. Brisbane straightened up her desk, the way she usually did when school was over for the day. She didn’t seem bothered about the end of school. In fact, she was humming a happy tune. I didn’t feel like humming. Maybe Og and I would go live with Mrs. Brisbane and her husband, Bert. I enjoyed staying at their house, but I didn’t want to be there all the time without my friends around. How I’d miss Sayeh and Art and Seth and Tabitha and Miranda. Miranda! I could hardly imagine not seeing Golden-Miranda again. “Eeek!” I squeaked. Again. It just slipped out. Mrs. Brisbane heard me and walked over to the table by the window where Og and I lived. “I guess you fellows are wondering what you’ll be doing when school is over,” she said. “RIGHT-RIGHT-RIGHT!” I replied, although all that came out was “SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK” as usual. “Well, I can’t tell you because it’s a surprise,” she said. And then, humming her little tune, Mrs. Brisbane left Room 26 for the day, and left me with a lot to think about. While my mind raced, I suddenly noticed that it was warm in Room 26. Even a little bit hot. I almost wished I could take off my fur coat. Or that I could swim around in nice cool water like Og. (Not that I ever would, since hamsters should