Two weeks later, the twins were sitting in the tree house.
"How many eyes does a bee have?" asked Katie.
Katie was reading a book about bees.
Joy was brushing Jellybean.
"Two," replied Joy.
"Five," said Katie.
She turned the page. "Okay," she said.
"How many times does a bee flap its wings in a minute?"
"A thousand?" guessed Joy.
"Twelve thousand," Katie told her.
Katie lay down and thought about bees.
She imagined that she was a bee.
"I'm a sleepy bee," she thought.
Soon she was dreaming.
She was Katie the Bee, flapping her wings.
Other bees flew beside her, and she could hear their wings.
"Katie!" cried Joy.
Katie's eyes flew open.
The pages of her book were flapping in the wind.
Joy stood by the window.
Jellybean was gone.
"The sky is turning green," Joy said.
Dark clouds hung in the sky.
Katie got up and looked at the wind sock.
It was flying straight out in the wind.
"A storm is coming," she said.
She heard a rumble. "Thunder! Let's go."
The girls hurried down the steps.
"Look!" shouted Joy.
"Grandpa is trying to get the chickens in their coop."
The girls ran to help.
They chased the squawking birds.
"Shoo!" they cried. Dust spun through the air.
"Shoo!" One by one the chickens ducked through the coop door.
"Run to the house," called Grandpa.
"I'll be right behind you!"
Mom was waiting on the back porch.
"The weather service put out a tornado watch," she said.
She held the door open and the girls rushed inside.
The radio in the kitchen played soft music.
"A tornado watch!" Katie cried.
"We have to be on the lookout!"
She grabbed her captain cap from a hook by the door and put it on.
"This family is ready!" she declared as she went to the closet.
She took a box from a shelf and carried it to the kitchen table.
"Flashlight. First aid kit. Water. Snacks.
Mom, are the pillows and blankets ready?"
"Right here," said Mom, pointing to a basket under the table.
"I wish Dad would come home," Joy said worriedly.
Just as Grandpa opened the screen door, the music on the radio stopped.
An announcer came on.
"The National Weather Service has put out a tornado warning for Boone County.
Current severe thunderstorms could produce a tornado.
Towns in the warning include Willow Creek . . ."
"A tornado warning!" shouted Katie. "That means TAKE COVER!"
"I'll open the storm cellar," Grandpa said.
Mom picked up her basket, and Katie picked up her box.
"I've got the radio," said Joy.
Outside a blast of rain and cool air hit them in the face.
"It's so dark!" Katie said.
"Dad!" shouted Joy as Dad's truck sped up the driveway.
Grandpa held open the door to the storm cellar.
"Hurry!" he called.
"Magoo!" yelled Katie. "Come on, boy!"
She and the dog dashed down the cellar steps.
"Where's Jellybean?" cried Joy.
Mom put an arm around Joy's shoulder.
"Sorry, sweetie. There's no time to look for the cat right now," she said.
"Oh, Jellybean . . . ," Joy whispered.
Then she and Mom followed Katie down the steps.
Grandpa was right behind them.
Dad pulled the cellar door shut and fastened it tight.
Magoo shook water from his fur.
Mom grabbed blankets and pillows from her basket.
"Take these," she said to the twins.
They could hear the rain pounding on the cellar door.
Katie hugged Magoo tight.
Joy put a pillow over her head.
Thunder exploded, louder and louder.
Above them, the light bulb flashed.
Everyone looked up.
Then it went out.