Camping is a tradition in my family, and I have been camping since I was 8 years old. Campfires, hiking, lying on my back looking at the sky through the tops of big trees, these are treasures I store away, should I someday become too feeble to go out into the woods. A part of this tradition is a kind of spin-the-bottle talent show. The person at whom the bottle points must entertain the others with some talent. Jokes, stories, songs, dances, whatever comes to mind. We have had some surprising talents and some good laughs.
Some years ago my sister, her pre-teen daughter and I camped at a favorite campground. It only has about 8 camp sites in the midst of old growth, evergreen forest, and it is so quiet. We pitched our tents and settled in. The first night was lovely and uneventful. Occasionally we would hear a curious animal call we didn't recognize and never did identify. It sounded almost like a tiny dolphin cry.
After dinner the second night, we played the talent game. Now, my sister is an avid reader and no fool. She also has always loved horror movies, but this has left her a little nervous in the dark. Well, I decided to tell a story. I spun a tale about an imaginary animal, the blood-sucking vole, that lives out in the deep woods and is rarely seen. A creature which hides by day and hunts by night, sneaking up on unwary creatures and sucking their blood. I blathered on, trying to make it scary, fully expecting that my sis knew that a vole is a tiny, mouse-like creature. Suddenly, we heard the little creature sound we had been hearing the night before, and I cried "there's one now!" Sister jumps up with a cry, cursing me, niece starts crying, and I can't laugh because both of them are truly frightened. Well, a good part of the rest of the evening was spent reassuring them that I was joking and that voles are tiny and not a threat. We didn't laugh about it that night, but we do now!
