Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 WHILE GEORGE WAS GETTING FITTED at the tailor's, the Junior Monster Scouts busied themselves getting everything they needed for the s'mores. Franky bought the chocolate. Vampyra bought the graham crackers. All they needed were the marshmallows. "Hi, Junior Monster Scouts!" George said. "Hi, George!" they replied. They could see him now because he was dressed in a whole new outfit. He had a pair of buckled shoes and knee-high socks, pants and a shirt, gloves and glasses, and even a fancy cap on his head. A fancy cap with a feather! The

only things they could not see were his mouth and nose. "I never thought that new clothes might make a difference," he said. "My old clothes must have turned invisible in the same experiment that first turned me invisible." He was also holding a bag of marshmallows. "Brought you these," he said. "Now we can have s'mores tonight!" said Fern. The other cubs all howled with delight. Sprocket barked and howled along with them.

"Ah, there you are," said the mayor. "George, you are looking splendid. Simply magnificent! I want to show you all something." The mayor led them to the village square where Peter, the piper, stood next to something tall and rectangular and covered with a sheet. Peter pulled the sheet off to reveal a full- length mirror. Only, when you looked at it, you did not get hypnotized. Instead, it made you look squashed and extra wide, or stretched out and super skinny, or wavy and

wobbly. It was a new fun-house mirror, and this one was actually FUN! "Junior Monster Scouts, George," said the mayor, "you taught us all another valuable lesson today. It's not what you look like—it's what you do. We used to be scared of the monsters because they looked different, but they always come to our aid. And George, you weren't noticed because of what you looked like… or didn't look like… but because you helped save us all from being hypnotized!" "So what's the mirror for?" asked Wolfy. He stuck his tongue out, and his reflection looked even sillier. His tongue looked ten times as long! "Because when we look into it," Peter said, "we're reminded that things aren't really what they seem! Even if it looks that way."

"But where did that hypnotizing mirror go?" Franky asked. "You know," said the mayor, "I really don't have the slightest idea."