Waiting for Old Faithful

Lucy sits with her family on a bench. They are at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

In front of them is Old Faithful. It is a geyser, a place where hot water shoots up from the ground.

“When will it go?” Lucy asks.

“Soon, I hope,” Dad says. He checks the time on his phone.

Lucy looks at the ground near the geyser. A bit of steam drifts up. She waits for water to burst out, but nothing happens.

Her little brother, Ben, swings his feet. “I am hungry,” he says.

Mom hands him an apple. Lucy takes one, too. She munches and watches.

A puff of steam rises. “Here it comes!” Lucy says.

But the steam drifts away. There is no big spray of water.

Lucy sighs. “What if we miss it?”

“We can stay right here and watch,” Mom says. She points to the boardwalk. “It keeps us back from the hot ground and water.”

Ben holds up his apple core. “I am done waiting.”

Lucy grins. “Can you wait while I count to ten?”

Ben nods. They count once, then twice. On the third try, Lucy sees a splash.

“Look!” she cries.

Water shoots high into the air. Steam curls around it. Lucy and Ben jump up from the bench.