Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!
The noise got louder and louder. Nancy froze as the brew began bubbling faster and faster and faster!
“It’s out of control! “Amara cried as the brew bubbled over the brim.
The girls shrieked and ran to the door. But when Nancy turned the doorknob, the door wouldn’t budge.
Nancy looked over her shoulder. The brew was bubbling out of the cauldron and oozing across the floor.
“You guys,” Amara said, “this has never happened—”
“We know, we know.” George groaned.
Nancy tried turning the doorknob again. This time she felt someone opening it from the other side.
“Aunt Ellen?” Nancy called.
The door flew open and the girls jumped back. Standing in the doorway was the witch! And she had a big bandage on her nose!
6
Stairs to Where?
What are you doing in my cottage?” the witch demanded as she stepped inside.
But when she saw the bubbling brew her eyes popped wide open!
“Cheese and crackers!” the witch exclaimed. “How did that happen?”
“You mean you don’t know?” Nancy asked.
The witch shook her head.
“I’ll bet you know what happened to Lester!” Katie said bravely.
“Lester?” the witch cried. “You mean that bird who bit my honker?”
“Nipped!” Katie corrected.
“Do you know where he is?” Nancy asked the witch.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the witch said.
But Nancy wasn’t finished asking questions.
“Can you tell us where you were in the last hour?” Nancy asked the witch.
The witch pointed to her bandaged nose. “After cracker-breath bit my nose, I went straight to the River Heights Hospital emergency room,” she said.
“You were there all this time?” Nancy asked.
The witch nodded. “You should have seen all the people in the waiting room,” she said. “But after I turned them into toads, the doctor took me right away.”
Silence.
“Kidding!” the witch said.
Nancy believed the witch. Only a doctor could wrap such a big nose so neatly.
The cauldron finally stopped bubbling. Nancy remembered the feather.
“You said you needed a parrot feather for your brew,” Nancy told the witch. “So what was a red feather doing inside your cauldron?”
The witch cackled.
She reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a key. She walked to the cabinet and unlocked it.
The witch pulled the door wide open. Inside the cupboard Nancy saw a feather duster. A big red feather duster!
“A feather must have fallen into the cauldron while I was dusting it!” the witch explained.
Nancy believed the witch again. The feather in the brew was the same color as the feathers on the duster.
The witch planted her hands on her hips. “Any other questions?” she asked.
“Just one,” Mari said. “Is that nose of yours . . . for real?”
“What do you think it is, girlie?” the witch sneered. “A salami?”
“Lester must have thought so.” Katie sighed. “He loves salami.”
“Well, I hope you find your bird,” the witch said. “If not, try dropping some bread crumbs. It worked for Hansel and Gretel.”
The girls said good-bye to the witch and left the room. Nancy opened her notebook and crossed out the witch’s name.
“Did you see how surprised she was when she saw the ooze?” Amara asked.
“Someone is doing weird things in this house,” Nancy said. She checked out her suspect list. Her only two suspects were Ernest and the troll.
“Can we go to the library?” Katie asked. “Maybe Lester flew back to his cage in the meantime.”
But when the girls returned to the library, Lester wasn’t there. Instead there were two women in the middle of the room. One was tall. The other one was short.
“They’re Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters!” Amara said with a smile.
More villains! Nancy thought.
“So!” the short sister said. “Thought you could sneak off to the prince’s ball?”
Nancy shook her head. “We were just looking for a parrot,” she said.
“Next you’ll be telling us you were looking for your glass slipper!” The tall sister laughed.
“You girls are not going anywhere until you clean this room!” the short one said.
Nancy glanced around the library. The books were back on the shelves. The pizza slices were back in the box.
“Clean what?” Nancy asked.
The sisters stepped aside. They pointed to a trail of white powdery footprints on the carpet.
“Ta-daa!” the tall one sang. She took a handful of brushes from a blue pail. She gave one to each of the girls. “Now stop gabbing and start scrubbing!”
The girls got down on their hands and knees. They began to brush the footprints.
“Smile,” Amara whispered. “This is supposed to be funny.”
“Ha, ha,” George grumbled.
The footprints brushed off easily. When they were done the girls stood up.
Nancy folded her arms and leaned against the bookcase. Then something strange happened. She felt the bookcase move! Nancy stepped forward and the bookcase sprang back. Too weird!
“Nice job, girls,” the tall sister said. “Those footprints are history!”
But they weren’t history for long. After a few seconds the footprints began to reappear—one by one!
“Those are trick footprints right?” Bess asked.
“If it’s a trick it’s a good one,” the tall sister gulped. “I’ve never seen that happen before.”
“Me neither! “The short one said. “Forget about working overtime. I’m outta here!”
The stepsisters lifted the hems of their skirts and bolted out the door.
“Did you see how they flipped when those footprints came back?” George asked.
“Hey!” Bess called. She pointed into the blue bucket. “This bucket is filled with sheets of stickers. Glittery ones!”
“And here’s a note from my aunt Ellen,” Amara said. She pulled out a piece of paper. “It says: ‘You glow, girls!’”
Nancy liked stickers. But she couldn’t wait to show everyone what she found.
“Look everybody!” Nancy called. She gave the bookcase a push. This time it swung open like a door. A secret door!
“Neato-mosquito!” George exclaimed.
Everyone ran to look inside.
Nancy saw a staircase leading downstairs. “Where does it lead, Amara?” she asked.
“Don’t know.” Amara shrugged. “I never saw this staircase in my life!”
“Then there’s only one way to find out,” Nancy said.
She took a deep breath. And she stepped through the secret door!
7
Tricky Troll
The girls filed down the stairs. At the bottom of the staircase was another door. Nancy opened it slowly.
“Where are we?” Nancy asked as they filed into a big room. It was filled with racks of costumes, cardboard trees and cottages—even a fake giant pumpkin!
“It’s the storage room,” Amara said. “So we must be in the basement.”
“Neat!” Mari said. Her camera flashed as she took a picture of the pumpkin.
“Arrk!”
Nancy gasped. Lester was flapping out from behind the pumpkin!
“It’s Lester!” Katie cried happily. “He was probably scared by the flash!”
“Good work, Mari!” Nancy exclaimed.
“Don’t mention it,” Mari said.
A small figure wearing a white beard and a red cap stumbled out after Lester.
“The troll!” Bess cried.
“Cotton candy! Raaak!” Lester squawked. He flapped onto the troll’s shoulder and began tugging
at his beard.
“Lester, stop!” Katie scolded.
Lester yanked the beard off. Nancy stared at the troll’s face. But it wasn’t the troll at all. It was Amara’s little cousin Ernest!
“You!” Amara shouted.
“Busted.” Ernest sighed.
“Why are you wearing the troll’s costume, Ernest?” Amara demanded. “And tell us the truth—no fairy tales!”
“It wasn’t my idea!” Ernest insisted. “Before you guys came to the house the troll asked me to wear it. So I said yes.”
“You wanted to wear his costume?” Nancy asked.
“Sure!” Ernest said. “This way I could sneak around and snoop on your sleepover!”
The girls frowned at Ernest.
“But I didn’t!” Ernest went on. “After I saw Lester I had a better idea. I’d have my own sleepover—with Lester!”
“A sleepover with a parrot?” George asked.
“Sure,” Ernest said. “But Lester wasn’t a great guest. He kept trying to eat my beard.”
“Cotton candy!” Lester screeched.
“So that’s who was hiding behind the potted plant,” Mari said. “It was Ernest!”
“He was waiting to sneak into the library so he could take Lester,” Katie added.
“And he snuck out with Lester through the secret door!” Nancy exclaimed.
Ernest wrinkled his nose. “What are you all—detectives?” he cried.
“Just one of us is,” Bess said, pointing to Nancy. “But we like to help.”
Ernest heaved a big sigh. “I guess the door isn’t a secret anymore,” he said.
“And speaking of secrets,” Nancy said. “Were you trying to scare us, too?”
Nancy mentioned the tumbling books, the fireplace, and the footprints.
“No way!” Ernest said. “The only trick I played was the rubber bat. I’m not allowed to go near the controls!”
Nancy studied Ernest. “Is he telling the truth?” she muttered to Amara.
“Yeah,” Amara muttered back. “When Ernest lies his nose twitches. It’s not twitching now.”
Nancy believed that Ernest just wanted Lester. But now her only suspect was the troll.
“Tell us where the troll is,” Nancy said to Ernest. “You’ve got to know.”
“Can’t,” Ernest said. “I promised I wouldn’t. And a promise is a promise.”
“Okay,” Amara said. “But wait till your mom finds out that you put that whoopie cushion on grandma’s chair last Thanksgiving-”
“You said you wouldn’t tell!”Ernest cried.
“But I never promised,” Amara said with a wide grin.
“Okay, okay,” Ernest said. “The troll is in my room. Check it out.”
Amara led the girls out of the storage room and up to the third floor.
“This is it,” Amara said. She pointed to a blue door.
“What if it’s a trick?” Bess whispered. “What if he has a whole room full of rubber bats?”
“Or smelly socks!” Mari gasped.
Nancy pressed her ear against the door. She could hear a man’s voice.
“Steal third!” he was saying. “What are you waiting for? Steal third!”
Nancy recognized the voice. It belonged to the troll.
Without knocking, Nancy pushed the door open. She saw a little man sitting on the floor. He was wearing a sweatshirt, jeans, and Ernest’s baseball cap. He was staring at a round object in his lap.
“Looks like we got your goat,” George growled. “Troll!”
Startled, the troll jumped. The glass object flew out of his hands and into Nancy’s.
“What’s this?” Nancy gasped.
“That’s my aunt’s crystal ball!” Amara explained. “But it’s really a TV.”
Nancy looked inside the TV crystal-ball. There was a baseball game going on!
“Rats!” the troll muttered. “They were just in the bottom of the seventh!”
“So that’s the plan you had up your sleeve,” Nancy said. “Ernest would wear your costume while you hid in his room and watched the baseball game.”
“You got me,” the troll admitted.
“That was sneaky!” Amara scolded. “You were supposed to be working tonight.”
The troll looked worried. “Are you going to tell your aunt Ellen?” he asked.
“I don’t have to tell her,” Amara said. She nodded at Mari. “I’ll show her!”
Mari snapped a picture of the troll.
“Hey!” the troll cried. “Now your aunt will see me without my costume!”
“Exactly!” Mari said.
“And if that doesn’t work,” Katie said, smiling. “Lester has a big mouth!”
“Steal third! Steal third!” Lester squawked. “Arrrk!”
“Give me a break!” the troll groaned.
“But we won’t tell if you get back to work,” Amara said firmly.
“Okay, okay.” The troll sighed. “Our team is losing anyway.”
The girls left the troll in Ernest’s room. Nancy handed Amara the crystal ball. Then she crossed Ernest’s and the troll’s name off her suspect list.
“So if it’s not the witch, or Ernest, or the troll,” Bess said, “who is making all those weird things happen?”
Nancy didn’t know. But she knew they had to return Aunt Ellen’s crystal ball.
“Let’s put the crystal ball in Aunt Ellen’s office,” Nancy said. “If she’s there we’ll tell her the troll found it.”
This time the girls didn’t take the secret staircase. They climbed the usual stairs all the way up to the tower.
“Isn’t it strange,” Nancy told her friends, “that every time something weird happens, something nice happens, too?”
“Like the cookies, the sweets, and the stickers,” Bess pointed out.
“Those were from my aunt Ellen,” Amara said, a bit angrily. “Are you saying that my aunt is trying to scare us?”
“No,” Nancy said. She didn’t want Amara to be mad. “It was just a thought.”
When the girls reached the tower it was empty. Amara placed the crystal ball on Aunt Ellen’s desk.
“Let’s leave her a note that we returned it,” Nancy said.
She sifted through the papers on the desk for a notepad. Her eyes fell on a bright red folder with a silver design.
Nancy picked up the folder and studied it. The design was a spider!
Taking out her notebook, Nancy compared her sketch of the spider stickers she kept finding around the house with the one on the folder. They matched!
“Look!” Nancy cried. “It’s the exact same spider that’s all over the house!”
8
Party On!
Why is the spider on the folder?” Amara asked, wrinkling her brow.
Nancy opened the folder. The papers inside all had a silver spider in the top corner. And the words: “Slinky Spider Special Effects Company.”
“What are special effects?” Mari asked, looking over Nancy’s shoulder.
Nancy knew. She had seen a show about special effects on TV.
“Special effects make weird things look real,” Nancy explained. “Like people flying and animals talking in the movies.”
“You mean like magic?” Bess asked.
“Sort of,” Nancy said. She pulled out the next page. It was a list of special effects —an overflowing cauldron, squirting portholes, a cracking mirror!
Nancy read each one out loud.
“So that’s it,” George said. “It was the Slinky Spider Company that made all those things happen.”
“And they left silver spider stickers to sign their work!” Nancy decided.
Bess sighed with relief. “So the house isn’t spooked!” she said.
“And my aunt Ellen planned the whole thing,” Amara said. She turned to Nancy. “I’m sorry I acted mad. But why didn’t my aunt tell us in the first place?”
“I don’t know,” Nancy said. “Why don’t we ask her?”
<
br /> Nancy put the folder under her arm. Then she and her friends left the tower.
They searched the rooms on the second floor. No Aunt Ellen. As they climbed down to the main floor they called Aunt Ellen’s name. No answer.
“Now, where did she go?” Amara asked on the staircase.
Nancy heard footsteps. She looked down and saw a flash of red running down the hall. The person wore a red cape, a red hood, and Mary Jane shoes. She carried a basket over her arm.
“It looks like Little Red Riding Hood!” Nancy said, racing down the stairs.
“Little Red Riding Hood?” Bess asked. “She’s not a villain!”
“Raaak!” Lester screeched. He flew off of Katie’s shoulder and toward the figure in red.
“Lester!” Katie shouted. “Come back!”
Lester landed on top of the red hood and it dropped down.
“Hey! That’s not Little Red Riding Hood!” Amara cried. ”It’s my aunt Ellen!”
With Lester perched on her head, Aunt Ellen walked over. She held up the basket.
“I was going to leave these donuts for you in the wolf’s cottage,” Aunt Ellen said. “But you caught me jelly-handed!”
Nancy peeked inside. The basket was filled with yummy-looking jelly donuts.
“Thanks for the neat surprises, Aunt Ellen,” Nancy said. “But there were lots of other surprises we didn’t expect.”
“Oh?” Aunt Ellen asked. Her eyes twinkled. “Like what?”
Nancy told Aunt Ellen about the bubbling cauldron, the cracked mirror, the squirting portholes....
“And,” Nancy went on, “the little silver spider.”
“What spider?” Aunt Ellen asked.
Nancy held up the folder. “The Slinky Spider! ” she replied.
Aunt Ellen stared at the folder. Then she threw back her head and laughed.
“Whoops!” Aunt Ellen said. “I guess the cat is out of the bag!”
She put two fingers in her mouth and gave a shrill whistle. All the doors opened. Curious villains peeked out.
“Meeting in the library now!” Aunt Ellen hollered. “Be there!”
The girls followed the witch, the goats, the pirate, and the troll into the library.
“Psst,” the troll whispered. “You didn’t rat on me, did you?”
The Scarytales Sleepover Page 3
