"Ahh!" Katie and Joy screamed when the light went out.
"Where's the flashlight?" asked Mom.
But nobody heard her.
The wind sounded like a train roaring over the house.
They could hear it ripping through the trees.
"Heads down," shouted Grandpa as the cellar door rattled.
"Poor Jellybean!" cried Joy.
"It must be so scary out there."
"Magoo is scared too," said Katie.
She could feel the dog shaking in her arms.
And then—whoosh!—the terrible sounds were gone.
Outside, there was silence.
Inside, everybody started to talk at once.
"Anybody hurt?" asked Grandpa.
"That was some wind," said Dad.
"What a tornado!" exclaimed Katie.
"Is it over?" asked Joy.
"We have to find Jellybean!"
"Where's the flashlight?" Mom asked again.
Katie found the flashlight in her box and switched it on.
The beam lit up her face.
She swung the light and saw Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Joy.
"We're all okay, Captain," said Joy.
The radio crackled, and Mom picked it up to fix the sound.
"Listen," she said.
"The severe weather in Boone County has passed," the announcer said.
"We repeat. The National Weather Service has put out an ALL CLEAR.
The tornado warning for Boone County has ended."
"Look," said Joy. "Sunshine."
Light glowed around the edges of the cellar door.
Magoo slipped out of Katie's arms and ran up the steps.
"Well, let's go see what happened," said Dad.
He climbed the steps and pushed the door open.
"Come on, girls," said Mom.
Outside, Katie and Joy saw a broken flowerpot and a twisted lawn chair.
A section of the garden fence was missing.
Everywhere they looked, tree branches were on the ground.
"The house didn't blow away!" said Katie.
"That's good news," said Dad.
"But there's a broken window in the spare room."
Grandpa picked something up from the ground.
"Here's one of my garden gloves," he said.
"Let's go check the garden," said Mom.
"And the chickens," said Joy.
Katie and Joy ran ahead.
"The lettuce is smashed!" called Katie.
"The peas are in the mud!" called Joy as she ran along the fence.
"Forget about the green beans!"
Grandpa, Mom, and Dad caught up with the twins and looked at the garden.
"I'm pretty sure my watermelon seeds got washed away," said Joy with a sigh.
"We can get more seeds," said Grandpa.
"There's nothing here we can't fix."
"I hear the chickens!" said Joy.
"I'm coming!" she called as she ran to the coop.
When she opened the door, the chickens hurried out, fussing and clucking.
Joy looked around.
"Everything looks okay here," she called.
"Let's check the tree house!"
She turned toward the pond and ran a few steps.
"Oh no!" she cried, looking up the hill.
She ran a few steps more.
"Part of the tree house got crushed!"
She suddenly remembered that Jellybean was still missing and gasped.
"Poor cat," she murmured.
"Let's go see," said Dad.
He and Joy hurried to the tree house and climbed the steps.
Dad cleared branches from the window and looked around.
"I see some broken boards," he said.
"But we can repair everything.
All we need is a good set of tools and teamwork. Right, partner?"
"Right!" Joy said.
Then her eyes opened wide.
"Did you hear that?"
"What?" said Dad.
"Listen," said Joy.
MEEEOOOW!
"Jellybean's alive!" cried Joy.
Dad got down on his knees and looked under a pile of branches and wood.
He reached in and pulled out a wet gray cat.
Joy scooped up the shivering Jellybean in her arms and leaned out the window.
"All the Donovans are okay!" she said.
"Five people, six chickens, one dog—and one great cat!"