16-THE ATTACK OF THE FLESH-EATING STRAWBERRIES

THE ATTACK OF THE FLESH-EATING STRAWBERRIES I bumped into the twins in the hall. "Where is the bathroom?" I asked them. Snip and Snap pointed to a nearby door. "It's in there!" "Thank you!" I said. How polite. But when I opened the door, I saw I wasn't in a bathroom. I was in a greenhouse. Clay pots with small green plants filled the room. For a moment, I thought I heard a noise. Munch! Munch! Munch! I moved closer to the plants. They looked so pretty! Each plant was loaded with red, sweet-smelling fruit. "Strawberries!" I said. "At last, something

normal to eat!" I reached out with my paw to pick a strawberry... and it bit me! "Ow!" I cried. I looked down. The little strawberry had a mouth and tiny teeth! "I want to go HOME!" I wailed. All at once, the strawberries jumped out of their pots. They began to chase me! Munch! Munch! Munch! Their little teeth chomped as they got closer and closer.... Luckily, at that moment Boneham ran in. He was carrying a can of sardines. "Dinnertime, my sweets!" he called out. The strawberries ran to Boneham. He fed them the sardines. They gobbled them up like a pack of cats at a mouse buffet. I sighed with relief and headed for the door. It was then that I noticed a sign on the wall. FLESH-EATING STRAWBERRIES ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. (BUT YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO ENTER, DO YOU?)

Then I heard a giggle. I turned to see Snip and Snap. "YOU ROTTEN LITTLE RATLETS!" I cried. The twins just laughed and ran away. I scurried down the hall, looking for a bathroom door. In the dim light, I saw a small yellow figure flying toward me. It was Madame Latomb's were-canary! The little bird chomped on my finger with its sharp beak. "Ow!" I squeaked. Madame Latomb stepped out of a door. "Come here, my little songbird," she said. The were-canary flew to Madame Latomb and disappeared inside her huge hairdo. I wanted to tell her what I thought of her little terror, but I really, really had to find a bathroom now.

I looked at the nearest door. It had a sign with teeny-weeny print on it. DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! REALLY! DON'T TRY IT! Boneham ran up to me. "Please don't open this door, sir," he said. "We have lost many guests this way." "But what is inside?" I asked. Boneham's whiskers twitched. "I do not know, sir," he said. "But I am sure it is not very nice!"