by Kate Howard
“Like, what’s in it for me?” Shaggy asked.
“If we solve this mystery and make the giant go away, the Ice Carnival will be back on again,” Daphne said.
Norah nodded. “And that means we’ll have the ice-cream eating contest tomorrow.”
Shaggy and Scooby high-fived.
“I guess now we just need to get that giant to come out of hiding,” Fred said, adjusting his scarf. He put his hand over his eyes and peered around the forest. “How on earth are we going to do that?”
“Guys?” Shaggy said. “Like, I think that’s not going to be a problem. Look!”
Everyone turned. The frozen giant was charging through the forest. It was headed straight toward them.
“Ruh-roh,” Scooby whimpered. “Ret’s run.”
“Like, again!” Shaggy cried. He waved his arms in the air and jogged around in circles.
“Follow me, everyone,” Norah began to hustle through the woods the other way. “I know the way back to town.”
Scooby’s tongue was out and he panted as they flew through the forest. After a few moments, Norah and the gang could see the edge of town up ahead. They were almost there, but the giant was right on their heels and closing in fast.
“Are you ready to run for the pirate ship, guys?” Fred asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Shaggy answered.
The group ran down the town’s main street. Shaggy and Scooby leaped through the door of the icy pirate ship. They jumped up onto the deck to put as much distance between them and the giant as possible. The giant was close enough that it could reach out one hand and touch them. It stormed into the pirate ship behind them.
Just then, Fred dropped the ship’s fishing net straight onto the giant! It was trapped like a huge fish on a frozen sea. The beast thrashed inside the net.
The giant reached one hand through the net to grab Scooby’s tail. Shaggy and Scooby slipped out of the boat through a porthole. The giant was still caught inside.
But as the two buddies ran for safety, the giant shook free of the net! Now it was really angry. It started after them.
Shaggy ran toward a snowplow that was parked at the edge of the town square. “Like, let’s hide in here, Scooby!”
The giant was just a few steps behind them. That’s when Scooby noticed the keys were in the snowplow. “Rook!”
“Not now, old pal,” Shaggy said nervously. “I don’t think it’s a good time for a joyride in a snowplow, if you know what I mean.”
Scooby pointed at the giant, and then at the big shovel on the front of the snowplow. “Oh,” Shaggy said, realizing what Scooby was trying to tell him. “Scoob, you’re a genius! We can shovel up the giant!”
“Res!” Scooby cried.
Shaggy turned the snowplow on, and it roared toward the frozen giant. As they drove through the square, the plow’s front shovel filled with snow. The giant realized what was happening a few seconds too late. The plow reached down and scooped the giant up.
A few seconds later, they dumped the beast into a pile of snow. The rest of the snow from the plow landed on top of the giant. The frozen giant was trapped in a mound of ice and snow!
Norah and the rest of the gang came running over with shovels. “Good thinking, guys!” Fred exclaimed. They all began digging the giant out of the snow pile.
As they uncovered the giant’s head, Velma asked, “Are you ready to see who our frozen giant is?”
“Soren Gray!” Norah cried.
“Just as we suspected,” Velma said.
“But I don’t understand why one of the ice artists would try to ruin the Ice Carnival,” Norah cried.
Soren Gray sat miserably in the pile of snow. His arms were still trapped inside the snow bank. “You tried to trap me inside my own ship,” he muttered.
Norah was still shaking her head. “So … does this mean the frozen giant definitely isn’t real? It was Soren Gray, dressed up in a costume all along?”
“It looks that way,” Fred said. “Soren Gray was using the legend of the frozen giant to try to scare people out of Giant’s Ridge.”
“How on earth did you figure out it was just someone in costume?” Sabrina asked, staring at the other ice carver. “The giant seemed so real!”
“Reah,” Scooby agreed, holding his tail. “Real.”
Velma put one finger in the air. “We knew the giant was really just someone in a costume when we found our first big clue—the boot prints in the snow. A real giant wouldn’t be wearing regular winter boots … it just doesn’t make any sense.”
Fred nodded. “As soon as we figured out that we were looking for a person, instead of a real giant, we began to hunt for clues.”
“There were three obvious suspects,” Daphne said. “It was just a matter of figuring out who our frozen giant really was.”
“The first person that looked suspicious was Isabella Hooperman,” Velma said. “She had plenty of reasons to scare people away from Giant’s Ridge. But when we found traces of red glitter paint outside the caves in the forest, we realized our giant was either Lynn Johnson or Soren Gray.”
Soren Gray grumbled from inside the snow bank.
“That’s right,” Fred agreed. “We saw Lynn Johnson spraying all the welcome signs with red painted X’s when we arrived this morning. She really wants people to leave Giant’s Ridge. She’s worried about tourists coming into town and pushing the bears and wolves out of the forest.”
“But we’re leaving the forest around our town alone!” Norah cried. “I would never do anything to hurt the forest or the animals’ natural habitat. They’re a big part of what makes Giant’s Ridge so special!”
“You should probably talk to Lynn Johnson about that,” Daphne suggested. “She’s very worried.”
Velma nodded. “The other person that we suspected was Soren Gray. When we were talking to him about his pirate ship ice carving, he told us he was planning to paint the ship a sparkling red.”
“But how did you know who it really was?” Norah asked. “It sounds like it really could have been either of them.”
“I was sure that Soren was our giant when we found a map of the woods and caves,” Fred said. “Lynn Johnson knows this area so well that she wouldn’t need a map to find her way around. The giant was obviously someone who was unfamiliar with the forest and hills around Giant’s Ridge.”
“Also,” Velma added, “every time we saw Lynn Johnson, she was wearing snowshoes. Not boots.”
Daphne looked at Soren Gray. “And you’re the only person who had a reason to melt the other ice houses and kidnap Sabrina,” she added. “Sabrina’s ice castle was the best ice carving in the whole competition. But if she didn’t have time to finish, you would have a better chance of winning.”
“I deserved to win!” Soren Gray spit out angrily. “I’m the best ice carver in the entire world. That prize money should be mine! I would have gotten away with this, if it weren’t for you meddling kids and your wiggling dog.”
“Well, you’re certainly not going to win the competition now,” Norah said. “You’re going to jail—we need to get you out of here so the rest of us can enjoy the Ice Carnival!”
“And don’t forget about the ice-cream eating contest!” Shaggy reminded them.
“Rand the Rooby Racks,” Scooby said, bounding over to Sabrina’s ice castle.
“A promise is a promise,” Sabrina laughed.
Norah nodded. “And since Scooby is the one who figured out how to stop the giant once and for all, I guess we really owe you!”
“Rhat’s right!” Scooby barked, and everyone laughed. “Scooby-Dooby-Doo!”
Ready for more mystery? Here's an excerpt
from the next spine-tingling Scooby adventure!
“Raggy!” Scooby-Doo poked at his friend.
Shaggy had been dozing in the backseat of the Mystery Machine. He jumped when his pal touched his tummy.
“Hee, hee,” Shaggy giggled in his sleep. “That tickles! Stop
poking me, sandwich!”
Shaggy wiggled away from Scooby and stretched his arms in the air. Then he opened his eyes and groaned. “Oh, man, Scoob! Like, I was just dreaming about the most perfect sandwich you’ve ever seen. But you woke me up before I got to take a bite!”
“Rorry,” Scooby said. He slowly chewed the last bits of a Scooby Snack he’d sneaked into his mouth while Shaggy was napping. Then he grinned. “Ralmost rere! Rook.”
Shaggy rubbed his eyes and peeked out the van window. All he could see was sparkling blue water. It stretched for miles on either side of the van. It almost seemed like the van was driving on top of the water.
“Hey, Fred, old buddy? Like, I think you took a wrong turn somewhere.” Shaggy rubbed at his eyes again, sure he must be seeing things. “The van seems to have lost the road.”
Fred laughed. “We’re still on the road, Shaggy. This bridge is just really narrow. It’ll take us across the channel between the mainland and the island. The Ruby Princess sets sail from an old marina on the island. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
“Yum, yum, yum!” Shaggy cried, rolling down his window. “It smells like ocean out there! And you know what I always say….”
“Rhat?” asked Scooby.
“Like, there’s nothing like salty fresh air to build up my appetite!” Scooby cried, patting his belly.
“Ruh-huh!” Scooby agreed, licking his lips hungrily.
“What time did you say this big, fancy meal is happening on the ship tonight?” Shaggy asked Velma.
“The pirate feast is scheduled for sundown,” she replied. “After we get some exercise and exploring in.”
Daphne nodded. “That’s right. Before we can eat like pirates, we have to survive the high-seas pirate adventure that lies ahead!”
“Rurvive?” Scooby asked nervously.
“Like, I thought you said this ship was safe?” Shaggy said, peering out at the ocean again. Little boats that looked like specks of dust dotted the horizon. The colors of the sky seemed to melt together in blue and gold streaks.
“It is safe,” Fred answered reassuringly. “Daphne is just teasing you. This pirate cruise is going to be so much fun. It’s the Ruby Princess’s maiden voyage, you know! We’re among the very first passengers.”
The Mystery Inc. gang had been looking forward to a day of boating and swimming for several weeks. They’d been invited to join about forty other people on the very first Pirate Adventure Cruise on a replica pirate ship called the Ruby Princess. Guests on the cruise could explore beautiful coral reefs, hidden coves, and even enjoy a high-seas pirate feast.
“Time to slip your eye patch on, old buddy,” Shaggy told Scooby as the van bumped off the bridge and onto the sand-covered island drive. He pulled two black eye patches out of his pocket. He and Scooby each slipped a patch over one eye. Then they looked at each other.
“Ahoy there, matey!” Shaggy said, giggling.
“Rahoy!” Scooby growled back.
“Oh, boy,” Velma said, rolling her eyes. “This is going to be one long pirate cruise.”
Fred eased the van off the road and parked next to a giant sand dune. The gang could see groups of people standing on the other side of the dune. Crowds were gathered around a gangway that led to a looming black and white ship. A pirate flag flew from the mast, and wooden gangplanks stuck out from either side.
“Looks like they’re getting the ship ready for our day at sea,” Fred observed. The others watched as people dressed like pirates scurried about the deck, pulling at ropes and sails. “I wonder if they could use some help from a knot expert like myself.” He stuck out his chest proudly.
“Oh, this is going to be so groovy!” Daphne said, giggling. “I hope we get to dress like pirates, too.” She gazed up at the pirates on the ship, who were dressed in pirate hats, scarves, and long, flowing black coats. Daphne looked down at her own dress and frowned. “Or maybe we can just learn some pirate songs. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“Hooks for sale!” A voice rang out behind the gang. “I’ve got genuine pirate hooks for sale!”
A woman selling pirate gear and souvenirs stopped when she noticed Shaggy and Scooby staring greedily at her cart of trinkets. The woman’s long brown hair was braided and sticking out from under a pirate’s hat. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a loose white blouse. On her back, she wore a backpack with THE RUBY PRINCESS stitched on it. Underneath the words there was a picture of a creepy pirate face.
The woman smiled at them, and Shaggy noticed that one of her teeth was covered in gold. “Hello thar,” she said with a mean-looking smile. “Would ya like to buy a pirate’s hook?”
“Are they really real?” Shaggy asked, reaching out to touch one of the hooks on her cart. “Like, did you steal them from Captain Hook or something?”
“Reah,” Scooby said, giggling. “Raptain Rook!” He grabbed a hook off the pile and held it in his paw. “Arrr!” he growled, waving it in the air.
“Ye touch it, ye buy it,” the woman said angrily. She squinted at the gang and coughed. Her golden tooth glinted in the sunlight. “Twenty dollars.”
“Twenty dollars for a cheap toy hook?” Velma said, frowning. “That’s ridiculous.”
The woman shrugged. “Too late now. Yer dog took one of me hooks, so ye need to buy it.”
Scooby returned to the vendor’s cart and dropped the hook back in the box with all the others. “Ro ranks,” he muttered sheepishly.
“Fine,” the woman spat. “Don’t buy it. But I’m the only person that’s allowed to sell authentic pirate hooks around here. Good ol’ Sally’s got an exclusive arrangement with the ship, y’know.” She grinned evilly. “And yer gonna be sorry later, when ya wish ya had a hook!”
“Why would we be sorry?” Daphne asked.
The woman leaned in and whispered, “Because the real pirates in these parts are always watchin’ ya, ready to pounce. And y’never know when yer gonna need something to fight ’em off!” She tipped back her head and laughed.
“Real pirates?” Shaggy asked nervously. “Like, what real pirates?” He gulped.
The woman chuckled. “Tell the ghosts of long-ago pirates out at sea that Sassy Sally says hello!” Then she stalked away.
Shaggy and Scooby stared after her. They looked scared.
Suddenly, Sassy Sally turned and called out over her shoulder, “I’m just tellin’ stories.”
Shaggy and Scooby both let out a sigh of relief.
But they sucked that sigh right back in again when the woman flashed her creepy smile at them one last time. “Unless they’re not stories … wait till ya see what’s out thar in the ocean deep. Maybe yer want to stay on dry land, eh?”
She laughed and disappeared into the crowd….
SCOOBY-DOO and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Hanna-Barbera.
Published by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.
SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, February 2012
e-ISBN 978-0-545-44804-8
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
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