10-HELLO! HELLO! IT'S TINA!

HELLO! HELLO! IT'S TINA! I called Tina. "Hello! Hello! Who's calling?" she yelled in a squeaky voice. I told her it was me. Then I began to explain about Creepella's HALLOWEEN party. "Allohwean?" Tina repeated. "What is it?" I did my best to describe the holiday. I squeaked on and on about costumes and trick-or-treating. Finally, I told her we needed someone to cook a special Halloween meal. It needed to look scary but taste yummy. When I was finished, Tina did not say a word. I coughed. Maybe she thought the

whole idea was silly. Tina was a very traditional mouse. "Um, it's OK if you are too busy," I mumbled. "I can call another cook." Tina snorted. "Too busy?" she shrieked. "I am never too busy to cook. You name it, I can make it!" Meanwhile, Creepella had begun printing out a menu. She slipped it to me. It was filled with gross-sounding dishes. I read them to Tina. Once again, there was silence on the line. "Um, so what do you think?" I murmured. "Can you do it, Tina?" Another snort. "Of course I can do it!" she shouted. "Nothing is too hard for

Tina Spicytail! I'm going right away to find some sewer slugs. Then I will head off to the cemetery. Maybe I can catch a few bats there..." I gasped. uhhh-ohhh! Tina thought the dishes were real. I did my best to set things straight. "Sewer slugs are really just penne pasta. Bats' eyes are actually cherry tomatoes. It's all just make-believe," I explained. But I wasn't sure if Tina was listening. I heard pots and pans banging on the other end. "Tina will cook exactly what you ask for!" she insisted. "Now I must go. There's much work to be done!"