But this time we were going there to hunt for treasure. We set to work as soon as we got off the raft.

"Should we split up or what?" asked Adam with a sly grin.

"Oh, no! No you don't! You can't fool me," said Stacey. "You guys stick together and I stick with you. Got it?"

"Got it," we said glumly.

We began our search. It wasn't as much fun as being on Treasure Cay, where we could dig up sand and turn over rocks and stuff. And where we didn't need a baby-sitter. At least - it wasn't as much fun at first.

But then ... I found it! Treasure! A real treasure*. I was crossing the floating barrel bridge and thought I saw something shiny. I leaned over and took a closer look. Something gold was snagged on one of the barrels. Very carefully, I picked it up. It was a bracelet and it was real old. The clasp was broken, but otherwise it looked okay. I wondered just how old it was. As old as pieces of eight? As old as a jewel from a pirate-raided town in the Caribbean?

I held it up and examined it in the sunlight.

The golden links looked worn and kind of dirty.

And valuable.

"You guys! You guys!" I yelled.

The others were ahead of me. They'd reached the end of the bridge. I ran to catch up.

"I found treasure!" I shrieked.

Everyone crowded around me - even a few people I didn't know.

"Look at this bracelet," I said. "It must be as old as pirates. They could have stolen it off some poor lady when they raided a town."

It was right then that I noticed Stacey looking at me kind of strangely. "What?" I said. "What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing," she said sadly. She held out her hand. "May I see the bracelet, please, Byron?"

I handed it to her.

"I'm really sorry to say this," she went on (and she sure did sound sorry), "but this bracelet is Dawn's. She lost it yesterday. Did it have a gla.s.s charm on it shaped like a unicorn?"

"No," I replied. "Are you sure this is Dawn's bracelet? That's a pretty big whaddyacallit - a pretty big coincidence."

"Amazing but true/' said Adam in this eerie voice.

"The charm must have slipped off," Stacey went on. The bracelet is old, though, Byron. You were right about that. It's an antique. It belonged to Dawn's great-aunt. Dawn liked this bracelet a whole lot. She was upset when she lost it. I think it's a family heirloom or something. She'll be really grateful that you found it."

I nodded. I felt good about that. Honest I did. But not as good as if I'd found a treasure. And Nicky was disappointed that we hadn't seen the stowaway, either, although how he thought we were going to find him in the middle of Disney World was beyond me.

That night, my brothers and David Michael and I presented the bracelet to Dawn. She was so happy she cried. For a moment, I thought she was going to kiss me. (Disgust.) I'm glad she didn't.

Us guys decided to quit looking for treasure at the Magic Kingdom, but somehow I just couldn't make myself throw the treasure map away. I stuck it in the back pocket of my jeans.

Karen.

I am so sad. I'm happy . . . but I'm sad. Do you know what I mean? It's that feeling you get when your birthday finally comes and you're really happy that the waiting is over. And you're going to get presents and a cake and a party. But you're also really sad that the waiting is over. Because when the day ends, your birthday will end, too. And you won't have it to look forward to anymore.

That is how I felt on our last day at Disney World. I had a million things to look forward to - but when the day was over, our trip would be almost over, too. We were all flying home the next day.

Here are the things I was most especially looking forward to: 1. One more ride on Cinderella's Golden Carousel.

2. One more ride on Dumbo, the Flying Elephant.

3. The parade. (We kept missing it. We still hadn't seen it.) AND!!.

4. Breakfast with the Disney characters!

I am not joking! Mommy and Daddy and Andrew and David Michael and I were going to go on a steamboat called the Empress Lilly and eat breakfast. And guess who was going to walk around in the dining room: Pluto and Tigger and maybe some other characters!

The breakfast began at 9:00 a.m. and Andrew and David Michael and I were just a smidge excited. Oh, all right. We were really really really really really really really excited.

When we got to the Empress Lilly we waited in a long line outside. A lady took our names, and another lady gave name tags to Andrew and David Michael and me. We stuck them on our shirts. I wanted a name tag for my hitchhiking ghost who was still with me, but I didn't know what his name was. So I didn't say anything. I wondered if I should, though. That ghost still made my skin creep, so I thought I should be nice to him. He hadn't done any- thing mean to me yet, though. He was just hanging around.

After lots and lots and lots of waiting, the line began to move and we walked toward the Empress Lilly. It was a beautiful white boat with a big paddle wheel.

"Daddy, where are we going to go?" I asked. I was looking beyond the boat to the water.

Daddy cleared his throat. There are only three times he does that: 1) When his throat is tickly. 2) When he's embarra.s.sed about something. 3) When he has to tell us something he knows we won't like to hear.

"Well," he began, "we're not going to go anywhere. The Empress Lilly is just for show. It's not a working boat."

"Really?" I said. I felt disappointed. And I hoped my ghost wouldn't be mad. Maybe he'd been looking forward to a boat ride.

"Yes," Daddy told me. "But still, you get to go on board a paddle wheeler. And you get to see Pluto."

"Right! Oh, Daddy, if Pluto comes to our table, you'll take his picture, won't you?"

"Of course," said Daddy.

We filed onto the boat and a waiter showed us into a dining room. He pointed to a table with five seats, and Daddy and Elizabeth and my brothers and I sat down. A basket of donut holes was in the middle of the table. Andrew and David Michael and I all pounced on the chocolate donuts. We left the cinnamon ones for Daddy and Elizabeth.

The room was very nice, but it looked like any old dining room. You'd never have known we were on a steamboat, except that you could see water out the window. I didn't have much time to think about that, though. As soon as the tables were filled up, a man strode into the middle of the room. He welcomed us to the breakfast. Then he asked if anybody was having a birthday.

"I am!" called a boy.

"Well, that's wonderful," said the man. He walked over to the boy and looked at his name tag. "Tomas," he said. "And how old are you today?"

"Eight."

"Let's all sing 'Happy Birthday' to Tomas."

The man raised his arms and began to sing. Everyone joined in. The grown-ups smiled at him. The kids looked at him like he was really special. Boy, what a lucky duck, I thought.

When the song was over, the man said, "Any other birthdays?"

I couldn't help it. I stood up. "Me!" I called. "It's my birthday!"

I have always wanted a whole dining room full of people to sing to me and smile at me and look at me like I'm special.

"Karen!" my father whispered loudly. "If s not - "

Too late. The man had come over to our table.

"Another birthday!" he exclaimed. 'Two in one day. That doesn't happen very often."

Daddy and Elizabeth smiled nervously.

"How old are you?" the man asked me.

"Seven," I told him.

David Michael snorted. It was really rude of him.

But the man didn't seem to notice. He just looked at my tag and announced that my name was Karen. Then everyone began to sing again.

I beamed. I loved it. I loved being right in the middle of things, with everyone thinking about me. I didn't care that it wasn't my birthday. It was probably my only chance ever to have about a hundred people sing to me.

The song ended. While the singing had been going on, the waiters had been busy serving up plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, and potatoes. I looked down at my food. Then I lifted my fork.

"Karen," my father said in a low voice. "Don't you ever do that again, young lady. You told a lie."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I have half a mind to make you wait outside with me until breakfast is over."

"Oh, no! Please, Daddy."

"But I'm not going to. Not here. Not on the last day of our vacation. Besides, everyone thinks it's your birthday."

"I know," I said. I squirmed uncomfortably. I hate making Daddy mad. "I just wanted everyone to sing to me. Besides, my ghost made me do it. My hitchhiking ghost. He's with me all the time." Right away I wished I hadn't said that. I knew it wasn't true. He hadn't made me do it. Would I make the ghost mad? I waited for something to happen. Nothing did.

Nothing ghostly, anyway.

But David Michael scowled at me from across the table. "You are such a baby," he said.

"I am not."

"Are too." He began to sing, "Kindergarten baby, stick your head in gravy. Wash it off with - "

But Daddy stopped him.

"David Michael. Karen. That is enough. Both of you."

David Michael didn't finish the song. But when Daddy and Elizabeth weren't looking, he stuck his tongue out at me. I stuck mine back out at him.

Then, from across the room, I heard a cheer. Andrew and David Michael and I craned our necks to see what was going on. Tigger the tiger from Winnie-the-Pooh had bounced into the room!

"Oh, it's Tigger!" I exclaimed.

Tigger began walking from table to table. Nearly everyone wanted to take his picture. While that was happening, someone began handing out comic books to all the kids. The comics were about Epcot Center, and they were called "Mickey and Goofy Explore the Universe of Energy." Stuck in each book was a yellow Empress Lilly pennant.

I saw a kid ask Tigger to sign his pennant. So when Tigger finally got to our table, I handed him my pennant and a pen. Tigger signed his name!

"Thank you!" I cried.

After awhile Tigger left the room. I looked down at my food. I was much too excited to eat. Andrew and David Michael were too excited, too.

"Eat up, kids," said Elizabeth. But just then, Pluto came in.

"Yea!" I cheered. Pluto walked from table to table with his long red tongue hanging out. Daddy snapped a picture of Pluto with his arms around my brothers and me.

Soon it was time to leave.

"Can't any of you kids eat even one more bite?" asked Elizabeth.

David Michael and Andrew and I shook our heads.

So we got on a bus and headed back to the Magic Kingdom one last time.

"What shall we do first?" asked Elizabeth as we walked down Main Street.

"The carousel?" I said. "Could we ride on the carousel?"

Elizabeth looked at my brothers. "Is that okay with you guys?"

"Sure," said Andrew.

David Michael shrugged. He was still mad because all those people had sung "Happy Birthday" to me and thought I was seven.

We walked toward Fantasyland. Andrew said he had to go to the bathroom.

'Til take him/' said Daddy. "We'll meet you at the carousel."

"Okay," replied Elizabeth. "Hey, David Michael! Don't wander off. Come back!" Elizabeth ran after David Michael.

My socks were falling down. I stopped and pulled them up. When I looked around, I couldn't see Elizabeth or David Michael or Daddy or Andrew.

"Elizabeth?" I called.

I was in a big crowd of people.

"Elizabeth? . . . ELIZABETH!"

"Are you lost, little girl?" asked a popcorn vendor.