02-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-YOU! Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-YOU!

Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You! Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You! I was so mad, I lost my squeak. I shook my paw in the air. I pounded my tail on the ground. My snout turned red with rage. "Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You! Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You!" I finally managed to stutter. My cousin just giggled with glee. He shook his paw in the air. "Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You!" he sneered, making fun of me. I chewed my whiskers. STEAM poured out of my ears. Have I told you my cousin is the most annoying mouse on the planet? He is loud. He is rude. And he loves to play tricks. Especially on me. Now Trap pinched my tail. "You had to see your face when you saw the skull

in your desk drawer!" he hooted. "You're such a SCAREDY MOUSE. Cousinkins!" Then he pulled a notepad out of his pocket. Deep in thought, he began to scribble on it. "Let's see," he mumbled. "I'll give the little skull a 10. I'll give the fake blood on the doorknob a 9. The skeleton gets an 8 1/2. But the ghost needs work. It wasn't scary enough."

What was my cousin babbling about? Well, it turns out he had started working with his friend Paws Prankster. Paws had opened a store called Tricks for Tails. It was filled with gag gifts, magic tricks, and practical jokes. Trap's job was to test out some of the Halloween stuff. "Don't you just love HALLOWEEN, Germeister?" he snickered. "I can't wait for October 31!" I rolled my eyes. "I can't wait to get home," I grumbled. I left, slamming the door behind me. The truth is, I hate Halloween. I hate scary parties. I hate scary costumes. And I especially hate scary candy. What's scary candy? Moldy cheese, of course. Last year, my next-door neighbor gave out moldy Cheesy Chews to every trick-or-treater. Now, that's frightening!