Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 CASTLE DRACULA WAS VERY BIG. It had lots of rooms and lots of stairs and lots of towers for Cleo to hide in. But when the Junior Monster Scouts ran across the drawbridge and into the front hall, they found her curled up in front of the fireplace. It was a big fireplace, but Cleo was even bigger. Imagine finding a creature the size of a car curled up in front of your fireplace.

"All that flying around and asking riddles must have tired her out" said Neveen. "I hope she's not too tired to turn everyone back to normal," said Franky. Neveen sat down next to her pet sphinx and gently stroked her soft fur. Cleo yawned in her sleep and stretched her long legs and large paws. Her eagle wings unfurled, and her snake tail rattled. She was so comfortable that she began to purr. She opened one yellow eye, and then the other. When she saw the Junior Monster Scouts and Little Junior Monster Scouts all

gathered behind Neveen, she sat up and let out a very loud meow. "Cleopatra," said Neveen. "Have you been asking people riddles?" "Meow," said Cleo. That meant "Yes." "And did you turn them to stone?" asked Neveen. "Meow meow," said Cleo. That meant "Yes, because they did not answer my riddle correctly." "That is not a nice thing to do, Cleo," said Neveen. "Especially not when we're guests here." Cleo meowed and licked her paw. "Meow meow meow," she said. "I know that's the rule of riddles," said Neveen, "but we're not in the desert. We're not back home with the pyramids. We're guests here, and we should be on our best behavior."

Cleo twitched her tail and rubbed her paw behind her ear. Franky raised his hand. "I have a new game. What if we answer one more riddle, Cleo?" Franky asked. "If we get it right, you turn everyone back. If we get it wrong… then you can turn us to stone." "Franky!" Vampyra said. "What are you thinking?" Wolfy said. "I don't wanna be turned to stone!" said Fern. The other Little Junior Monster Scouts agreed. Franky smiled. "Any problem can be solved when all your friends get involved," he said. "I think we've gotten pretty good at these riddles, and I'll bet we can solve this one too." "Okay," said Wolfy. "If you think so," said Vampyra. "Ask away, Cleo," said Fern.

Cleo thought for a moment. She was excited to ask the Junior Monster Scouts a riddle, but she wasn't sure which one. She had so many! Finally, she sat up straight, cleared her throat, and spoke in a language they could all understand. (If all her riddles were in meows, nobody would ever be able to solve them!) This is what Cleo asked: "What do you find at the end of a rainbow?" The Junior Monster Scouts and Little Junior Monster Scouts gathered in a circle. "Okay, what's at the end of a rainbow?" Franky asked. "Grass," said Wolfy. "It ends in the grass." "But what if it lands in the lake?" Vampyra asked. "Maybe it's water." "Could be water or grass," said Franky, "so that can't be it. What about gold? Everyone knows that leprechauns hide their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow."

Fern listened while the Junior Monster Scouts puzzled over the answer. She was thinking too. Sometimes it helped her to write down parts of the questions. She used her little claw to scratch RAINBOW on the stone castle floor. Do you know the answer to the riddle? What do you find at the end of a rainbow? The clue is right in front of you.… RAINBOW. Franky, Wolfy, and Vampyra stopped puzzling. They looked at what Fern had written, and then, at the same time, the answer came to them. It was right there in front of their faces. The answer to Cleo's last riddle was—