Isadora Moon Goes on a Field Trip

by Harriet Muncaster

  “I’ll be a king,” said Oliver, taking out a long red cape with black-and-white-spotted fur trim.

  “I want to be something,” said Bruno. “But there are only two costumes in the box.”

  “There should be costumes to try on in every room,” explained Miss Cherry. “You will all get a chance to dress up. By the time we’ve been through every room, you should each be wearing medieval outfits. The challenge is to find every costume in the castle!”

  “Ooh,” said Dad. “How exciting!”

  “Not for you, I’m afraid,” said Miss Cherry. “The costumes are all in children’s sizes.”

  “Oh,” said Dad, sounding disappointed. “Oh well. I’ve got my safety vest at least!”

  We all started to move toward the next room. My friends seemed to have forgotten about the ghost for the time being. They were busy chatting about the different costumes we might find in the castle’s rooms.

  Zoe walked proudly next to me in her jeweled royal dress and glittering crown. “I wish I could wear this every day!” she said.

  Miss Cherry led us out of the throne room and into a long, gloomy hallway where there were flickering candles stuck all along the walls.

  “This is my kind of place,” said Dad as thunder cracked overhead again.

  “Eek! What’s that?” squealed Samantha after lightning lit up the whole hallway for a second, revealing a tall metal figure standing against the wall.

  “That’s a suit of armor,” said Miss Cherry. “Knights used to wear armor to go into battle.”

  “Cool!” said Bruno. “Maybe there’s a knight outfit somewhere.” He raced toward the dress-up box at the end of the hallway and flung the lid open.

  “TWO suits of armor!” he shouted, holding up two clinking silver costumes. “Who wants to be a knight with me?”

  “Me!” shouted Jasper.

  “Me!” shouted Sashi.

  “You can’t be a knight—you’re a girl, Sashi,” said Bruno.

  “I CAN!” said Sashi, snatching the suit before Jasper could get to it. She hurriedly put it on. “Girls can be knights too!”

  “Of course they can,” said Dad. “Bruno and Sashi do look cool, don’t they? All that shiny, gleaming metal. Maybe I should get a metal vampire cape!”

  At the end of the hallway there was a flight of steps.

  “This leads down into the dungeon,” explained Miss Cherry, looking at her map. “It’s where they used to keep the prisoners.”

  “Oh no!” wailed Samantha, biting her fingers nervously. “That’s exactly the kind of place a ghost would be hiding.”

  “Wonderful,” exclaimed Dad. “I’ll go first!” He started to make his way down the steps, and Pink Rabbit, Miss Cherry, and I followed him. The rest of the class trailed behind reluctantly.

  “Don’t forget,” I heard Bruno say, “you’ll be safe if you’ve got your ghost-protector spray on.”

  The dungeon was dark and cold, with no windows. Candles flickered on the walls all around us, making shapes loom up in the dim light. Even I gave a little shiver and held on tightly to Pink Rabbit’s paw.

  “Very atmospheric,” said Dad, looking around. “This is the kind of effect I am always trying to create in my bathroom. I love candlelit baths.”

  “Hmm,” said Miss Cherry. “It’s maybe a little too atmospheric. Should we go back upstairs now? There are lots of other things to see. There’s a tall tower somewhere, with one hundred twirly steps leading up to it.”

  “Ooh!” said Jasper. “I’d like to go up there!”

  “Me too!” said Bruno.

  The class began to make its way back upstairs, but Dad lingered behind.

  “What’s in there?” he asked, pointing at a small door in the wall. “Should we open it?”

  “Um…,” I began. The last of my classmates disappeared up the dungeon steps.

  “Come on,” said Dad. “We can always catch up to the others. Let’s take a quick look!”

  Dad hurried across the room and pulled open the door. A cloud of dust billowed into the air, and spiders scuttled across the floor. Pink Rabbit jumped in alarm. He hates spiders.

  “I don’t think there’s anything in there, Dad,” I said as we peered into the dark space behind the door. “I think it’s just a cupboard.”

  “Hmmm,” said Dad, peering closer and brushing away the spiderwebs. “But what’s that?” He pointed up into one corner where there was something shadowy and silvery all curled up.

  “OH…,” I said, staring at it in wonder. “Is it? Is it…?”

  “A ghost!” said Dad. “Yes! I think it is!”

  Little shivers went all the way up and down my spine. I had never seen a real ghost before, even though Dad talks about them all the time.

  Suddenly, I felt a little afraid.

  “Shut the door again, Dad,” I said. “I don’t think we should disturb it.”

  “Nonsense!” said Dad as the ghost began to uncurl itself in the corner of the cupboard. “Look—it’s friendly!”

  But I didn’t think the ghost looked very friendly. It raised its shimmery, glimmery arms up into the air and opened its mouth into a wide O shape.

  “OOOooohhh!” it moaned.

  I put my hands over my eyes.

  “It’s just pretending,” laughed Dad. “I can do that too! OOOoooohh!”

  I peeked out from behind my fingers and saw that the ghost was looking very surprised.

  “OOOOOooooooOOOOOOHHHHH!” he wailed again, but this time much more loudly.

  “OOOOOooooooOOOOOOHHHHH!” copied Dad.

  The ghost looked upset. He crossed his silvery arms in front of his chest and frowned.

  “You are supposed to run away when I do that,” the ghost said. “That’s what usually happens.”

  “Oh, really?” asked Dad. “But I thought we could have a nice chat!”

  “A chat?” said the ghost. “I haven’t had one of those in years! Two hundred, to be exact.”

  Dad looked horrified. “Two hundred years!” he exclaimed. “You mean to say you haven’t spoken to anyone in TWO HUNDRED YEARS?!”

  The ghost hung his head sadly.

  “You must have been very lonely,” continued Dad.

  “I have been lonely,” said the ghost, giving a little sniff. “I used to try to talk to people, but they always ran away screaming, so in the end I gave up. Now I just try to scare them on purpose instead. It’s much easier because that’s what people expect from a ghost.”

  “Mmm.” Dad nodded.

  “Mostly, though,” continued the ghost, “I hide in the cupboard. I don’t really like scaring people, and sometimes they throw things at me.”

  “Oh dear…,” soothed Dad. “That can’t be fun.”

  “It’s not,” said the ghost. “I just wish people could see me for who I am and not what I am.”

  “Understandable,” said Dad, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I’m sure it can’t be too hard to get people to see that you’re friendly. Why don’t you come with us? We’re on a field trip, and we could introduce you to the rest of the class. I’m sure none of them would be scared of you once we explain who you are. What’s your name?”

  “Oscar,” said the ghost, holding out his cold, silvery hand for Dad and me to shake. I took his hand, but it didn’t feel solid at all. It was like shaking hands with a cloud!

  “Okay, Oscar,” said Dad. “You just come with us. We’ll introduce you to everyone!”

  Oscar seemed unsure, but he floated out of the cupboard and followed Dad and me across the dungeon floor. As we neared the stone steps, I noticed a dress-up box standing against the wall in the corner.

  “Wait!” I said, running over to it. “Let’s see what costumes are in this room!”

  I opened the box and pulled out a black-and-
white-striped jumpsuit.

  “A prisoner costume!” I said.

  “Oh, that is nice,” said Dad. “I am a fan of black-and-white stripes. You should put it on, Isadora. It would match Pink Rabbit’s raincoat!”

  I rushed to pull the jumpsuit on over my clothes. Attached to one of the ankles was a papier-mâché ball and chain, which dragged along the ground when I walked.

  Oscar shivered. “I remember the days when there were real prisoners down here,” he said.

  The three of us made our way back up the dungeon steps and into the hallway above. As we walked, I started to feel uneasy.

  “Dad,” I said, tugging on his sleeve, “I think the class might be scared of Oscar if we just turn up with him like this. Maybe we should introduce him to the others in a different way?”

  Oscar looked sad when I said this, but I didn’t want him to feel offended when all my friends started screaming.

  “Don’t be silly,” said Dad. “Who could be scared of Oscar? He’s such a friendly ghost. No, we’ll just introduce him to the class and explain that he’s our friend.”

  “But—” I said.

  “It will be fine, Isadora,” Dad insisted. “Don’t worry.”

  Oscar seemed reassured. He even started to smile! But his smile didn’t last for long. We rounded the corner and I saw Miss Cherry and my classmates all standing in a group. Miss Cherry was ticking off names on a clipboard and looking confused.

  “I am sure we are missing two people and a pink rabbit…,” she was saying.

  Then she looked up and saw us. All my friends looked up and saw us.

  And then they SCREAMED.

  Every single one of them.

  Even Miss Cherry.

  “AAAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!” she shouted, dropping her clipboard on the floor and turning as white as a ghost herself.

  “EEEEEEEEK!!!!” shrieked Samantha, hiding her face in her hands.

  “HELP!” screamed Oliver, keeling over onto the floor in fright.

  “IT’S THE GHOST!!!” yelled Jasper.

  Oscar, who had been floating down the hall in front of us, pulled back into the shadows. His smile disappeared immediately.

  “Wait!” said Dad, holding up his hands. “Everyone, listen. This ghost is friendly.”

  But no one listened. They all turned around and RAN.

  “Oh dear,” said Dad.

  “I told you,” I said.

  Oscar gave a sad little sniff and began to glide away, back toward the dungeon below.

  “Hey!” I called. “Oscar, come back!”

  But Oscar didn’t turn around. He floated all the way back down the hall and toward the dungeon.

  “What a shame!” said Dad as we stood together in the now-empty hallway. “Poor Oscar.”

  “I told you!” I said again.

  “You did,” sighed Dad. “You were right, Isadora. We need to find a different way to introduce the ghost to the class.”

  We made our way back along the hall to the dungeon.

  “Oscar!” I called as we hurried down the stone steps. “Where are you?”

  “Are you in here again?” asked Dad, opening the cupboard door. We both peered into the darkness. There was the little silvery shape, trembling in the corner where it had been before.

  “Oscar!” I said. “Come out! Don’t be afraid!”

  “But I am afraid,” sobbed Oscar. “I’m afraid I’m never going to have any friends.”

  “You will!” I insisted. “We just have to find the right way to introduce you.”

  “And you already have two friends!” added Dad. “Me and Isadora.”

  Oscar sniffed. “That’s true,” he said, cheering up a little. He uncurled himself and floated out of the cupboard.

  “Right,” said Dad. “We need to think of something quickly. Before the end of the field trip!”

  “Yes!” I agreed. “We need to think of some way that Oscar can join in without anyone noticing that he is a ghost.”

  “Hmm…,” said Dad.

  Pink Rabbit started to twitch his ears and tug at my prisoner costume. I looked down at my stripy legs and at the ball and chain attached to my ankle.

  “I wonder…,” I began. “I wonder if there are any costumes in the castle that Oscar would be able to wear. If we could find one with a hood, then it would hide his face, and no one would be able to tell he was a ghost.”

  “What a good idea!” said Dad.

  Oscar started to jiggle up and down in the air excitedly. “I know where all the costumes are in the castle!” he said. “I have been living here for two hundred years, after all! I know there’s a monk costume with a hood in the chapel, but—even better—there’s another knight costume in the room where all the swords and shields are. It’s got a metal helmet!”

  “Perfect!” said Dad. “We need to get to that room fast, in case the others decide to go there before us. Come on!”

  Oscar, Pink Rabbit, and I followed Dad as he flew out of the dungeon and back up the steps.

  “I’ll show you the way!” said Oscar, whizzing ahead. We zoomed along the hallway, back through the throne room, and up a grand staircase to the first floor. We hurtled along a twisty corridor, past lots of paintings, and into a big room that had hundreds of shiny swords and shields hanging on the walls.

  Then I spotted the dress-up box in the corner of the room and ran to open it.

  “Here it is!” I gasped, holding up a knight costume that was different from the ones Bruno had found earlier. This one had a helmet with a big plume of feathers sticking out of it.

  “Wow!” said Dad. “That is fancy!”

  Oscar floated into the costume, and I put the helmet onto his head.

  “You need to remember to stay on the ground,” I told him. “No rising up into the air!”

  “Yes,” agreed Dad. “That would give the secret away!”

  Oscar sank to the ground.

  “We need to find the others now,” I said. “I wonder where they are.”

  After searching the castle for fifteen minutes, we found Miss Cherry and the rest of the class in the entrance hall.

  “I’m telling you, it was a real ghost!” Miss Cherry was saying to the man in the ticket booth. “It chased us down the hallway!”

  “It was coming to attack us!” said Jasper.

  “Right,” said the man in an amused sort of way.

  Then Miss Cherry turned around and saw Dad and me. Her face took on a frightened look again.

  “It’s okay,” said Dad. “There’s no ghost. Look. It’s gone.”

  Miss Cherry put her hand on her heart.

  “Thank goodness for that!” she said. “But who’s that child in the knight costume?”

  “Oh, that’s Oscar,” said Dad. “He was lost and trying to find the . . . um . . . lunchroom. So I said he could come with us.”

  Miss Cherry looked at her watch.

  “Ah, yes, lunch,” she said. “I think lunch might be a good idea right now. Follow me, everyone!”

  We all followed Miss Cherry to the lunchroom and sat at long wooden tables.

  “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen!” said Zoe as she sat down next to me and opened her lunch box.

  “Same,” agreed Oliver. “I can’t believe we saw a real ghost!”

  Oscar sat next to me and didn’t say anything. I hoped no one would notice that he didn’t have a lunch box of his own. I handed him a sandwich under the table.

  “I can’t eat that!” he whispered. “Ghosts don’t eat food!”

  “Oh!” I said. “Of course! Well, maybe you should pretend to eat it anyway.”

  Oscar took the sandwich and put it in front of him on the table.

  “So where are you from, Oscar?” Zoe asked.

  “Um…,” bega
n Oscar.

  “Yeah, and which room did you get that knight costume from?” asked Bruno. “It’s much better than mine!”

  “So much better,” agreed Sashi. “It has a real helmet!”

  “I still haven’t found a costume!” Samantha said. “I want to be a princess!”

  “I know where the princess costume is!” said Oscar. “It’s in the royal bedroom.”

  “Really?!” said Samantha excitedly. “How do you know that? You must have been around the whole castle already!”

  “I have,” said Oscar truthfully.

  “Cool! What other costumes are there?” Jasper asked.

  Oscar started to list all the different dress-up outfits that were hidden around the castle.

  “I want the archer’s outfit!” yelled Jasper. “I can be like Robin Hood!”

  “Patience, please, Jasper,” called Miss Cherry from the next table. “We’ll get to see the archery room after lunch.”

  “The archery room?” asked Samantha. “What is that?”

  “It’s the place where they keep all the bows and arrows,” explained Oscar. “And there’s a section where you are allowed to try them. It’s really fun.”

  “Ooh,” said Jasper. “I can’t wait for that.”

  I stayed quiet and ate my lunch while my friends asked Oscar more questions about the castle. It was nice to see Oscar so happy. He was having such a good time telling everyone what he knew. They all seemed very impressed.