The sun had set, and tiny bugs darted around the back-porch light.
Mom put a baseball cap on Katie's head and said,
"The air is getting cool."
Luke tied a big rag onto Katie's belt loop.
"What's that for?" Katie asked.
"You'll see," said Luke. "Do you have your bucket?"
"Yep," said Katie.
"Flashlight?"
"Yep," replied Katie. "I'm ready to hunt worms."
"Don't go too far from the house," said Mom.
"And don't be gone long!"
Katie and Luke stepped off the porch and headed into the darkness.
"The grass is all wet," said Katie.
"That's good," explained Luke. "Earthworms like it cool and wet."
"My toes don't," replied Katie.
Her sneakers felt soggy.
"Walk softly," warned Luke.
"If they feel our footsteps, they will slip right back into the ground."
"I thought we had to dig for worms," said Katie.
"That's the hard way," replied Luke.
"This is the easy way."
They stepped carefully through the grass.
There was no sound except the croaking of the toads down by the creek.
"Okay, stop here," instructed Luke. "Turn on your flashlight."
Katie flashed the red beam back and forth over the grass.
"See," he whispered. "The worms are out!"
Luke was right!
Everywhere the light shone, Katie could see worms gleaming in the grass.
"Ooh, creepy," she whispered.
Luke gave her a look.
"Sorry," said Katie. "I mean, ooh, cool!"
"Now watch me," ordered Luke.
He bent over one of the shining worms and grabbed it.
Then he slowly pulled the worm out of its hole.
"Got it," said Luke. "It's a big one."
He plopped it into his bucket. "Now you try."
Katie stooped down beside Luke and quickly spotted an earthworm.
She reached out and grabbed.
"Got it!" she said.
She held her hand up to show Luke.
But her hand was empty.
"It got away!" she cried.
"And my hand is all slimy!"
"That's what your rag is for," explained Luke.
"Dry your hand and try again.
This time, grab it closer to the middle."
As Katie wiped her hand on her rag, she spotted another worm.
She slowly stretched out her hand and grabbed it around its middle. She pulled.
"It won't come out. It's holding on," she said.
"Keep pulling," instructed Luke.
"The worm will get tired and let go."
Katie pulled some more until the earthworm came sliding out.
"Hooray!" she exclaimed. "I got one!"
"Okay," said Luke. "Toss it in the bucket."
A little later, Katie and Luke ran through the back door, into the kitchen.
Everyone was sitting around the table, and Grandpa was serving slices of apple pie.
"I've got worms!" shouted Katie.
"Not in the house," said Mom.
"Oh, right," said Katie.
She opened the back door and set her bucket on the porch.
"Now, before you have your pie," said Mom, "why don't you show Luke our new chicks?"
Katie sighed. She wanted to talk about her worms.
"Come on, Luke," she said softly.
Katie led her cousin out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
She opened the door to the spare room and pulled him over to the chick box.
"There they are," she said.
"They're cute, but a lot of trouble.
You have to feed them and clean up their stinky poop."
"Worms are more fun," stated Luke.
"That's for sure," agreed Katie.
"Now, let's go eat some pie."
The two worm hunters didn't notice another hunter in the hallway.
Jellybean had been waiting silently in the dark.
She crept toward the spare room.
The door had been left open just a crack.
Jellybean put one paw on the door and pushed.
The chicks chirped inside their box as the door swung open.