The next morning, Vinnie overslept.
He ran to the attic.
He wanted to make sure their trip to Egypt wasn’t a dream.
He hoped Mandy was already there.
But she wasn’t.
Disappointed, Vinnie came downstairs and went outside.
His dad was about to mow the lawn.
“Dad,” said Vinnie, “where’s Mandy?”
“She went shopping with Mom,” Dad replied.
He couldn’t believe it.
“Doesn’t she want to go on another photo trip?” he thought.
Suddenly Vinnie had an idea.
“What if I go by myself?
Mandy won’t even know I’m gone!”
Vinnie raced back to the attic.
He took the photo of Egypt out of his pocket.
He stared. The picture had changed.
The old man and the eagle in the boat were gone.
In their places sat Vinnie and Mandy.
“Every time we come back from a photo trip,” Vinnie thought, “will we be in the picture?
There’s only one way to find out.”
Vinnie carefully put the picture of Egypt into the photo album.
His heart began to race as he turned the page.
In the next photo, the old man was sitting near a brightly glowing object.
He was at the bottom of some steps.
Vinnie took the photo out.
“The next adventure begins,” Vinnie said excitedly.
Suddenly, the attic door swung open and Mandy ran in.
“I knew you’d be here!” she shouted angrily.
“No time to argue!”
Vinnie said, grabbing her arm.
“Look!” He showed her the new photo.
Mandy stared. “Where is this?” she asked.
Before Vinnie could answer, the picture glowed very brightly.
The children had to close their eyes.
Soon they were falling down a deep dark tunnel.
“Whoa!”
“Ouch!”
Vinnie and Mandy landed heavily on wet ground.
“We landed in mud!” Mandy said.
Their clothes were changed.
She wore a sleeveless cotton dress.
Vinnie wore something like a short skirt.
“Where are we?”
Mandy looked around.
“We’re on a tiny island!” Vinnie cried.
“I think we’re in a lake!”
Vinnie noticed that Mandy wore a sparkly bead bracelet.
“What’s that?” Vinnie asked.
“Mom bought it for me,” said Mandy.
“It’s an early birthday present.”
“Why did you come home from shopping so quickly?” her brother asked.
“Mom forgot her grocery list, so we had to come back.”
Mandy remembered that Vinnie almost went on this trip alone.
“Hey! You went to the attic without me,” she scolded.
“So?” said Vinnie.
“You didn’t have to go shopping!”
The children argued, forgetting where they were.
Suddenly someone jumped out of the water.
Mandy screamed and startled Vinnie.
He jumped backward, slipped, and fell into the lake.