It was a bright, sunny day in the Evergreen Forest. The chief forest ranger, Dan, was out making his rounds, and his two kids, Julie and Tommy, were going for a hike in the forest with Schafer and Broo.

"I'll take Schafer, and you can have Broo," Tommy said.

"How come?" Julie asked. "I'm older."

"Yeah, but I'm a boy. Boys can handle big dogs, and girls can't."

"That's not fair. Schafer belongs to both of us."

"Yeah, but he likes me better!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Tommy, you're such a child."

Julie wasn't about to get into an argument over the dogs. So she just picked up Broo's leash, and started out into the forest. Tommy walked along with Schafer trailing behind them. He didn't usually need to be walked on a leash. Besides, if either Julie or Tommy did take him on a leash, he would be walking them, instead of the other way around.

"Do you think we'll see any bears or mountain lions?" Tommy asked.

"I doubt it," Julie said. "Daddy says they don't come around on the trails anymore, because there are too many people around. We'll probably just be seeing deer and things like that."

"Oh."

Julie and Tommy continued their walk through the woods. Schafer and Broo followed right behind them. While the two kids stopped to check the map, Broo looked up at Schafer and barked.

"Settle down, Broo," Schafer mumbled. He didn't want Julie and Tommy to hear him. Broo continued to jump around and bark.

"No, I don't think they'll find it," Schafer said, calmly. "It's hidden very well here in the woods, and you know the rules their dad has. They're not allowed off the trail when they go hiking by themselves."

Broo whimpered a little. He wasn't so sure if this was such a good idea or not. In any case, Broo went chasing after a butterfly, and Schafer went after him to keep him out of trouble.

"Schafer, Broo, come back here!" Tommy called, and he started to run after them.

"Tommy, wait!" Julie shouted. "You know Daddy's rules. We're not allowed off the trail when we're on hikes by ourselves. Besides, Schafer and Broo will be back soon."

"You're no fun, Julie!" Tommy shouted at his sister. "You think you're so smart just 'cause you're older! I'm going after them. You can just wait here all by yourself if you want!"

And with that, Tommy ran off the trail and into the forest after the two dogs. Julie stood right where she was, for a maximum of five minutes. Then she groaned, and started following her brother.

"He'd better not be lost," she said.

Julie wandered through the bushes, trying to figure out exactly where Tommy would go. She couldn't even find his tracks in the dirt, nor the dogs' tracks.

"Tommy!" Julie called. "Tommy, this isn't funny! You know Daddy said he have to stick together! Tommy, come on out now!"

Julie continued walking along, searching for her brother and the two dogs. The sun started to go down. Julie sighed, and started to turn around and go home. That was another one of Dan's rules. The kids had to be back home before sunset. Julie didn't want to make her father angry with her, although he was probably going to be angry with her, anyway, returning without Tommy and the dogs. But she wasn't going to stand around the forest all night looking for them.

Julie began to walk around, but nothing she passed looked familiar. She turned in another direction, and began walking down that path, but that didn't lead to the trail, either.

"I thought I came down this way," Julie said. "Or maybe it was that way . . . ."

Julie began looking around, and began to realize something. She was lost. She knew some basic wilderness tricks from her father, such as moss always grows on the north side of trees, but that was about all she knew. So, she just continued to walk along until she found the trail again. Then she'd go follow the trail home, but that was only going to be easier said than done.

By the time the sun had gone down completely, Julie was even more lost than before. She didn't know where to go, and she certainly didn't know how to find her way back to the trail. She had only one more wilderness trick up her sleeve. She sat down right where she was, and decided to stay there, just in case Dan, Tommy, and the dogs were looking for her. Julie yawned, and curled up against one of the trees. She was glad that she had brought a sweater in her backpack, because it was starting to get a little chilly. She put on her sweater, and closed her eyes to get some sleep.

Julie woke up a few hours later, at sunrise. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, yawned, and got up. She looked around, and realized she was still lost. She sighed, and started to lean against the tree, and nearly feel backwards, as a secret door opened.

"What's that?" she asked, as she stood up. She looked inside the door, and saw an exact replica of the Evergreen Forest.

Julie went inside the door, and looked around. It looked exactly like the Evergreen Forest, but somehow, it seemed . . . . . different.