Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 BARON VON GRUMP SETTLED BACK into his favorite chair. Edgar settled onto his favorite ceiling beam. It was dark in the windmill. It was dark everywhere, now that the electricity and lights had all gone out. But it was not a spooky dark, not like the Gloomy Woods from the Junior Monster Scouts' last adventure. This dark was like if you were hiding under your favorite blanket and you couldn't really see anything in detail, just dark, fuzzy shapes. There was enough moonlight to make sure you didn't stub your toe or run into a wall. But otherwise... it was pretty dark.

"Now this is more like it," said Baron Von Grump. "This is just what I need. A nice, quiet, soothing place to play my music, and no villagers or Junior Monster Scouts are going to get in my way!" "Caw, caw!" said Edgar. "Yes," said Baron Von Grump, "meddlesome Junior Monster Scouts always sticking their claws where they don't belong. But not this time!" Baron Von Grump shook his fist in the air. He was still upset about the Junior Monster Scouts ruining his last plan. If it weren't for the Scouts, he, Baron Von Grump, would have stopped the villagers' big cheese festival and chased them all away once and for all. Then he took a deep breath, counted to three, and let it out. This made him feel even more relaxed. It is very important to feel relaxed when you are going to play soothing

music. It is also important to stretch before you do activities. Baron Von Grump stretched his arms out in front of him and spread his fingers wide apart. First he made tiny circles with his thumb. He went in one direction, then the other direction. Then he wiggled both of his pointer fingers, then the middles, then the ring fingers, and finally the pinkies. Then he wiggled them all at the same time. If you didn't know that Baron Von Grump was stretching his muscles, you might have thought he was casting a spell. But he was not. He was just getting ready to play his violin. Edgar stretched out his wings and made tiny circles with them. He was not going to play the violin. He was going to clap when Baron Von Grump was finished with his masterpiece song, and he wanted to be ready.

He did not want to pull a feather while clapping. Baron Von Grump unfastened the clasps of his old violin case and opened the lid. A soft ribbon of moonlight covered the polished wood and silvery strings. Baron Von Grump pulled his violin from its case. He rested it against his neck and under his chin. He lifted the bow to the strings and took a deep breath. This was the moment he had been waiting for. This was his moment to create his masterpiece, a song that would make him famous. A song that everyone would love! A song that would show everyone just how good he was. He was about to draw the bow across the strings when he stopped. "It's too dark," he said. "Caw?" said Edgar. "Too dark," said Baron Von Grump. "I cannot see the strings."

"Caw, caw!" "Yes, I know that I'm the one who made it dark in the first place," said Baron Von Grump. "That was the idea! But it's a little too dark... for me." "Caw!" "Another candle!" said Baron Von Grump. "That is an excellent idea!" Baron Von Grump set his violin down and lit another candle. Now there were two. He placed it upon the open window, next to the first candle, and prepared, once again, to play his violin. The villagers were not about to sit around and do nothing. They marched right to that power shed... and stopped. The mayor leaned forward and peered at the sign on the door.

"What does it say?" asked a villager. "It says 'Do not enter,'" said the mayor. "Does that mean us?" asked another villager. The mayor leaned closer and peered at the sign again. "It says, 'This means you,'" he said. "Oh dear," said a third villager. "Now what?" The mayor held his hat in his hand and turned away from the power shed. "I suppose we'll have to cancel the village birthday party and the first ever Monster Mash competition."