by M. C. Badger
‘What is it?’ asked Marcus, sitting up.
‘My plan worked!’ said Mila. She sounded very excited. ‘Some ghosts are moving into flat number twelve. Come and see!’
Marcus pulled on some clothes. Turtle pulled on a shell. Then the Tinklers Three went down to level twelve of their building. The door of the flat was open and two men were carrying a table inside. Behind him was another man carrying a lamp.
‘You’re right that some people are moving in, Mila,’ said Marcus. ‘But I don’t think they’re ghosts.’
‘Just wait until you see the family,’ said Mila. ‘Then you will see I was right. Look! Here they come now!’
Marcus looked. Coming up the stairs were a family. There was a mother and a father. They were carrying cardboard boxes. There were also two children: a boy and a girl. All of them were very pale. They had pale skin and very fair hair. Their clothes were light too.
‘See?’ whispered Mila. ‘They’re a ghost family. I bet they like what we’ve done to the apartment.’
The Tinklers watched as the family looked around, confused, at the messy apartment and the socks stuck to the windows.
The mother said something to the children in another language.
‘They’re speaking a ghost language,’ explained Mila confidently. ‘It’s called Spookish.’
Marcus listened carefully. And then he heard a word he recognised.
‘Hang on. That’s not Spookish,’ said Marcus. ‘It’s Swedish! They’re not ghosts, Mila.’
Just then the man dropped the box he was carrying. Out fell a pile of white sheets.
Mila gave Marcus a triumphant look. ‘See?’ she said. ‘That proves it! Only a ghost family would have a box full of white sheets.’
Marcus sighed. Mila was hopeless! ‘What do you think, Turtle?’ he said. Maybe his younger sister would be a bit more sensible.
Turtle was staring at the man as he repacked the sheets.
‘I think…’ she said, ‘I think that box would make a REALLY great shell.’
Blame it on the Boo-gie
published in 2014 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street
Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au
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A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia.
eISBN 9781743582664
Text copyright © 2014 MC Badger
Illustration copyright © 2014 Jon Davis
Series design copyright © 2013 Hardie Grant Egmont
Design by Elissa Webb
Illustrations by Jon Davis
based on original characters by Leigh Brown
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