Brian rolled his eyes. How could Mom do this to me? he thought. Baby-sitting is bad enough at home, but on the first day of our mountain vacation, it’s the worst. Mom had to pick up Dad at the airport and wouldn’t be back until later, which left Brian stuck with his little sister Crissy. Brian slumped on the sofa. “I’ll bet the Perseids would have been spectacular this year, too,” he mumbled.

“Who are the PER-thee-ids?” Crissy asked, climbing onto the sofa beside Brian.

“Not who, what,” Brian replied, annoyed. “It’s lots of falling stars called a meteor shower that comes on this night every August.”

“I know!” Crissy exclaimed. “Let’s sleep on the deck tonight. We can both watch!”

That’s not a bad idea, Brian thought. “OK. I’ll leave a note inside so Mom and Dad know we’re on the deck. Go get your sleeping bag. I’ll get the sandwiches Mom left for us.”

Brian was untying his gear on the deck when Crissy returned. “When will the stars come out?” she asked.

“Soon. The Perseids come early in the morning, though. I’ll set my phone alarm.”

Crissy ate an apple first, then half of her peanut butter and jelly. Brian finished his sandwich as the stars came out.

“What is that one?” Crissy asked, pointing at a star.

“It’s part of the Big Dipper.” Brian took her hand and outlined the constellation against the night sky. “It’s also called Ursa Major ... the big bear. And there’s Ursa Minor.”

“Little bear!” Crissy said proudly.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Brian replied.

Crissy soon fell asleep. Brian zipped up her sleeping bag and turned off the lantern.

The moon slid behind a passing cloud when Brian heard the first grunt. Something moved on the other side of the deck. He tried to be very quiet so he would not scare whatever it was. Slowly, he leaned up on one elbow and squinted into the darkness.

There, stretched up toward their bird feeder, was a large black bear standing on his back legs. The bear swatted the bird feeder, which dropped down with a loud thump.

Crissy jolted awake. Brian leaned over to her ear. “Shh! Don’t move.” He tried to sound confident so Crissy wouldn’t be frightened, but inside, his stomach turned and flip-flopped. “We have a visitor. It’s a bear.”

“A b—” Crissy started to say, but Brian clamped his hand over her mouth. “I’m scared,” Crissy whimpered.

“Just stay still,” Brian warned.

The bear was now scooping up birdseed with its massive paw and stuffing it in its mouth. Suddenly, it sniffed the air, made low, throaty sounds, and swayed back and forth.

Crissy sniffed. “Don’t cry!” Brian said, his heart pounding. He covered both of them with his sleeping bag.

The bear walked over to the mound of quilted fabric and poked it with its nose. Crissy closed her eyes and held her breath. Brian tried not to move a muscle.

Their leftover dinner lay on the deck beside them. The bear licked all the peanut butter off the bread, then stuffed an apple into its mouth. Not satisfied, it lumbered back to the birdseed when Brian’s cell phone alarm pierced the quiet night. Frantically, Brian searched his pockets to shut it off. The startled bear sprang over the railing, making a hasty exit into the forest.

Relief flooded Brian as he pulled his sleeping bag off of him and Crissy and switched on the lantern to check on his sister.

“Is he gone?” Crissy asked.

“Yep. He was just hungry,” Brian replied.

“Well, I’m just glad he liked our dinner and didn’t eat ME!” Crissy exclaimed.

Brian laughed reassuringly. “Nah! That bear just wanted some junk food!”

Crissy hugged her brother, and Brian hugged her back. Things didn’t turn out so badly after all, he thought.

“Look!” Brian said, pointing upward.

Above their heads, the Perseids meteor shower had begun to streak across the night sky like heavenly fireworks.