Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 WHEN SOMEONE SAYS, "I'M RIGHT here!" and you look and there is nobody there, that can be very confusing. You might think that there is something wrong with your eyes. Or maybe that you are hearing things. Or maybe even that someone is playing a prank on you. That's exactly what the Junior Monster Scouts thought. They thought that someone was trying to play a funny trick on them. "Peter, is that you?" asked Franky. Peter, the piper, was a friend of the Junior Monster Scouts. They had helped him find his cat, Shadow, when she was lost in the Gloomy Woods.

"Who's Peter?" the voice asked. "Who said that?" asked Wolfy. "Where are you?" asked Vampyra. "Come out and show yourself. Stop playing tricks!" "I'm right here," the voice said. "I told you guys…" "Wolfy, look!" said Fern, the littlest of the little wolf cubs. She pointed to where a rock floated up off the ground and stopped. It hung in midair all by itself. But… it wasn't all by itself. There was a hand holding it. An invisible hand that belonged to an invisible boy. Because it was invisible, nobody could see it. I'll give you an example. I'm going to tell you how this story ends, but I'm going to write it in invisible ink. Ready? Okay, just read the next line and you'll know how the story ends: Well, what do you think? Good ending, right? Were you surprised? Wait… what?

You couldn't read it? No, of course you couldn't read it. It was invisible. And that is exactly what the Junior Monster Scouts saw when they looked at where the rock was floating… nothing. "Whoa," said Wolfy. "That rock is talking!" "It's not the rock, it's me," said the voice. "I'm invisible!" "That explains why we can't see you," said Franky. "That's the problem," said the voice. "Nobody can see me. I'm just an invisible boy." "What's your name?" asked Vampyra. "George," said the invisible boy. "Hey, can I pet your dog?" "You sure can, George," said Franky. "Hey, she likes you!" Sure enough, Sprocket wagged her tail and licked the space where George must

have been standing. To everyone else, it looked like she was licking the air. "I guess that answers my question as to why I've never seen you in the village before," Vampyra said. "What does?" asked George. "Being invisible," she said. "Oh no," said George, "I don't live here. I've only just arrived. I was hoping that maybe someone might see me." "It must be tough when nobody can see you," Wolfy said. "And lonely," said George. "My brother is a Junior Monster Scout," said Fern. She stood as tall as she could (which was not very tall at all, but she tried). "He'll help you!" "You will?" George asked. "Of course," said Wolfy. "We all will. That's what we do!"

"And you can even come to our campfire tonight," said Vampyra. "We're having s'mores!" "Wow, thanks, Junior Monster Scouts," George said. But the scouts did not get a chance to say "you're welcome" (which is a very nice thing to say when someone says "thanks"). Because at that moment, a very large, very colorful wagon pulled by four very large horses bounced its way up the road. It was not the wagon, or the horses, that interrupted their conversation. It was the man driving the large, colorful wagon, and his equally colorful cape and silly glasses and tall top hat. "Gather round, gather round," he said, riding his large, colorful wagon right into the middle of the village. "Stop flying your kites. Stop gazing at clouds. Put down your

unicycles and gather around. Step right up, step right up, to my Fun House of… FUN!"