13 THE HOLE STORY

CHAPTER 13 THE HOLE STORY Alexander and Rip squeezed through the balloon-holding, song-singing, pretzel-eating crowd of people with strange shadows. The boys soon found themselves near a bandstand. A brass band honked its way through "You Are My Sunshine." The bandleader had a familiar shock of white hair. "It's Mr. Hoarsely!" said Alexander. "Never mind him," said Rip. "Check out the gopher hole."

There was a sign in front of the bandstand: STERMONT STELLA The sign pointed to a hole in the ground. "Now everyone is just waiting for Stella to pop out," said Rip. "If she doesn't see her shadow, it means we'll have an awesome spring." "Gopher Day sounds just like Groundhog Day," said Alexander. "What? NO!" Rip shouted. "Oh, wait. Maybe." Rip leaned in and whispered. "But I think Gopher Day is totally rigged! She never sees her shadow!" The band played a loud "TA-DAAA!" "Here we go!" said Rip.

Alexander scanned the crowd. The shadow smashers were pulling away from everyone's feet. They hopped from shadow to shadow until they reached the edges of the park. Everyone's shadows were back to normal. "I don't get it," said Rip. "Why did the shadow smashers all leave?" The crowd grew silent as Stella peeped out of her hole. She ran into the open. Then she sat on the ground and scratched her ear. The audience cheered. "Hooray!" said a man in a gopher hat. "Stella didn't see her shadow! Sunny days are on the way!"

Just then, the air grew as cold as winter. From all corners of the park, shadow smashers melted together and stretched upward, totally blocking out the sun. The daytime sky became entirely dark like the darkest night, with no stars.

Alexander could see his breath as he spoke. "We're too late. The shadow smashers have made a shadow dome over Stermont!" Stella squeaked as she looked up at the darkened sky. Then she scampered back into her hole.