The Hidden Pond
- Kendra and Seth are stuck inside because it's raining. Lena's been creating paint-by-number pictures for them to paint though, which is fun for a while.
- Bored, Kendra goes looking for Lena, and she finds her outside, weeding in the rain. This is kinda strange, but oh well.
- When the rain stops, Seth goes outside, and returns to show Kendra something really cool—it's inside the forest though, which makes Kendra nervous about breaking the rules.
- They reach a beautiful pond, with a small island at the center. Elegant gazebos surround the pond, with butterflies and peacocks and hedges all around.
- What's the deal? Why would Grandpa Sorenson hide such a beautiful place and make it off-limits? The kids walk around the pond and eventually return home.
- Over dinner, Grandpa asks the kids why they broke the rules, and Kendra says she was curious when Seth found the private retreat.
- Grandpa confesses that he hasn't told the whole truth: he uses his land to provide refuge for endangered animals, many of them deadly. If Seth had tried to touch any of the frogs or snakes he saw, he could've died.
- Now Grandpa wants to confine the kids to their room for the rest of their stay. They protest, of course, because they didn't know the full truth about why they should've stayed out of the forest.
- Kendra manages to bargain their punishment down to one day of confinement to the attic, but the full punishment if they break the rules again. Seems fair, right?