18-I WANT TO GO HOME!

I WANT TO GO HOME! Still shaking, I made my way back to the guest room. At least there were no mummies there. But I got lost in the LONG HALLWAYS. As I searched for my door, I noticed something on the floor. I reached down and picked it up. It was an old piece of paper. I raised it to my snout. It was a treasure map! Even though I was tired, and scared, and hungry, I had to follow the map. I was too curious to resist. I took three steps

to the right. Then two steps to the left. Then one more step to the right. I found myself facing a big stone in the wall with the letter T carved in it. T for treasure? Excited, I pushed on the stone... ...and fell down a tunnel! I tumbled down... down... down. Finally, I found myself in a cold, dark room. I stood up and brushed the dust off my fur. I looked around. Cobwebs dangled from the corners. A grinning skeleton hung from the wall. I took a step back... and fell right into a coffin! I jumped out... and bumped into a suit of armor!

I fell back... and tripped over a tombstone! I stood up... and found myself holding a mummy! Then I heard a ghostly wail. "Boooooooooooooooooo!" "I want to go HOME!" I screamed. Suddenly, all the lights came on. In the light, I could see that everything was fake! The dust was made of flour. The cobwebs were made of cotton candy. The skeleton was made of plastic. The coffin was made of rubber. The suit of armor was made of soda cans. The tombstone was made of cardboard. The mummy was made of toilet paper. And the ghostly sound was coming from a speaker on the wall. I also saw a sign on the wall:

SNIP AND SNAP'S COLLECTION OF TRICKS PAWS OFF! (THAT MEANS YOU!) I should have known. Those twin terrors were behind this! I was fed up. I found a staircase and ran up the steps. Snip and Snap were in the hall, smiling. "I know you left that treasure map for me to find," I growled. "HE DID IT!" said Snip. "HE DID IT!" said Snap. Boneham shook his head. "Snip and Snap have struck again, sir!"