05-WELCOME TO CACKLEFUR CASTLE!

WELCOME TO CACKLEFUR CASTLE! "Welcome to Cacklefur Castle!" Creepella shrieked. She parked the car, and we walked up to the front door. I could make out a plant next to the doorway. A big plant. It had a thorny stem. It had SPIKY leaves. And when I looked closer, I saw the plant had white, sharp, shiny... TEETH! "Rat-munching rattlesnakes!" I cried. The plant leaned over and sniffed me. Then it bit off one of my buttons! "Geronimo, meet chompers, our watch plant," Creepella said.

THE CACKLEFUR WATCH PLANT Who Is She? Her scientific name is Horrifica dentibula. Her nickname is Chompers. She has very sharp teeth at the end of her flower. Her Secret: She owns a collection of toothbrushes that she guards ferociously.

I quickly turned on my cell phone. "I'm just going to call my sister," I said casually. "I want to tell her I've been mousenapped—l mean, that I'll be away for a while." Creepella's green eyes flashed. She snatched the phone away. "No phone calls!" she snapped. "They are forbidden here!" She threw my cell phone to the plant. "Here, Chompers," she said. "A little snack for you." The plant gulped down my phone in one mouthful! I began to lose hope. I was going to be trapped in Cacklefur Castle forever! Creepella stepped up to the door. I followed her. I set my paw on the doormat, and it cried out, "OUCH!" I jumped back. What kind of a place was this? Creepella opened the door. We stepped into an enormouse hall with marble floors.

Tall windows let in the morning sunlight. Paintings of the Cacklefur family's ancestors lined the walls. THE CACKLEFUR ANCESTORS 1. Abracadabra von Cacklefur, a medieval magician famouse for his love potions. 2. Swashbuckler von Cacklefur, a knight who fought against that mythical monster, the Three-headed Cat. 3. Cruella von Cacklefur, a charming rat. Many a rodent lost his head over Cruella. (Really—she had them all beheaded!) Creepella turned her snout to mine. "It's so good to be home," she said with a sigh. "How about a kiss, my little zombie- wombie?"

I took a step back. A cold breeze BLEW through the windows. The curtains whirled in the air like ghosts. Creepella turned to the window. "This room has a lovely view of the graveyard. Isn't it romantic?" "I want to go HOME!" I wailed. Then I heard a loud cough. I turned around. A gray rat stood there. He held a candelabra in his paw. He was tall and thin, with a pointy snout and whiskers that were waxed and curled. What a curious-looking rodent!