"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Hot! Hot! Hot!" I cried as I hopped on one foot and then the other. Then I quickly jumped to a patch of weeds in a ditch for relief. I sat down and inspected my bare feet. With a deep breath, I judged the distance to the town's city limit sign. "At least in town I'll be able to walk on manicured lawns with soft cool grass," I thought.
"Not far," I thought. "Not far at all."
I stared at the shimmering asphalt that stretched a half mile ahead. Ripples of heat waves danced magically before my eyes. Then I thought of nomads crawling on their bellies toward a mirage. I was so hot and exhausted and my feet throbbed from the scorching road.
"Get away!" I shouted as a sweat bee buzzed in my ears, circled, and landed on the back of my tawny leg. I slapped at it, but missed. "Darn!" I thought. "He'll be back. They always come back." Mom said it was because I was so sweet, and I guessed that was right.
I shielded my eyes from the sun. Its white light caused me to squint my nose up in tiny wrinkles. I had already walked two miles and had just one more to go. "I'm gonna die just like the nomads," I thought. I should never have gone to the ravines alone. I should never have taken my sandals off to swing on the grapevines like Tarzan, and now my sandals are twenty-feet lost in the pit. I knew the boys would throw them in one day. They always pretended to. It was just a matter of time.
I worried about another thing, the worst thing. Black racers. I hated snakes more than anything, and I was afraid one would slither in front of me and chase me. And then I'd have to put both feet on the hot road and run. At least by hopping on one foot, and then the other, both feet didn't burn at the same time
Suddenly, I had a bright idea. "I know. I'll think of cool things." So first I thought of ice cold watermelon. I saw red juice streaming down my forearms and dripping from my elbows.
Next, I thought of the sprinkler in my yard at home. I watched it rotate in sixteenth seconds around and around. I imagined soft rainbows hanging in the air. Rat-a-tat-tat. I heard the whirring of the sprinkler. In my mind I saw squishy cool puddles hidden in green blades of grass. I saw my toes step in the puddles. "Awww, that feels good," I thought as I massaged my feet.
"Ice cream!" I shouted. "Homemade strawberry ice cream churning in a metal cylinder!" And then I remembered how cold burns just like the hot road if you touch your tongue to the side of the cylinder and leave it there too long. I only had to do that once.
Finally, I envisioned a cool summer night with fireflies flickering around me. I saw me tearing the bodies off of the fireflies to make glowing rings for my fingers. I saw my hand twirling in the dark forming alphabet letters that spelled my name, and a smile crossed my face.
Slowly, I stood up and judged the distance to the city limit sign again and I decided to run for it. "One . . . two . . .three. . . GO!" I yelled and I took off and ran as fast as I could, snake or not.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Hot! Hot! Hot!"
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