school.
Dunkum didnât line up right away. He checked out the fort. It was really cool. It had a large main entrance, curved like acave. There were lookout holes on the top and sides.
Making the fort with his friends gave him a good feeling. Abby would call it double dabble good.
But he didnât feel so great about something else. Miss Hersheyâs house.
Was it really haunted?
THREE
Lunch recess came fast.
The Cul-de-sac Kids crawled around inside the snow fort. âThis is better than making a snowman,â Eric said. âAnd weâve made lots of them.â
Dunkum wasnât interested in a snowman. Something else was on his mind: the teacherâs cats. âWhatâs with Miss Hersheyâs cats? Why so many?â he asked.
Abby looked surprised. âShe loves them, thatâs why.â
âBut eight cats? Câmon!â Dunkum answered.
âThatâs way too many,â said Eric.
Jason was nodding his head. âI heard she willed her mansion to them.â
âWhatâs that mean?â Dunkum asked.
Abby spoke up. âWhen she dies, her cats get the house.â
Dunkum couldnât believe his ears! Heâd heard of fat cats, but rich cats?
Abby giggled. âTheyâre like her children, I guess.â
Dunkum shook his head. âArenât we her children? Well, you know. . .â
Jason started jigging inside the snow fort. âMama Hershey. . . Mama Hershey,â he chanted.
The kids laughed, holding their stomaches. âYouâre crazy, Jason Birchall,â shouted Eric.
Dunkum thought the same thing. Jason was a little crazy.
Finally, Stacy told Jason to quit dancing. âItâs too crowded in here. Go outside and do your jig.â
But Jason wouldnât listen. He kept it up. âJust waitâll tonight,â he said in a weird voice. âMiss Hersheyâs house will be dark as midnight. Thereâs no streetlights out there in the country. Thereâll be spooky music, too.â
Eric joined in. âAnd donât forget all those cats.â He and Jason were cackling like hens.
âCats donât scare me,â said Dunkum.
âWhat about black ones?â Jason joked. âHowâd ya like a sleep-over with eight black cats?â
Abby put a stop to it. âNobody knows what color Miss Hersheyâs cats are. It doesnât really matter anyway.â
âAbbyâs right,â said Eric. âBut what about the bathroom? What color is that? â
Eric, Abby, and Stacy started laughing again.
âHey! Whatâs so funny?â Dunkum asked. âWho says Miss Hershey even has a bathroom?â
âYeah, who says?â Jason said.
Abby waved her hands. âWhoa! Miss Hersheyâs a human being. People need bathrooms, right?â
Ericâs eyes were wide. âBut sheâs our teacher, so that makes her special. And different.â
Jason stopped jigging. âThen maybe she does have a bathroom and wears pajamas . . . and takes out the trash.â
âWell, why not?â said Abby.
Dunkum didnât want to hear about Miss Hersheyâs pjâs or her garbage. He wanted to know if her house was haunted. And how she discovered music in Poeâs poetry.
Dunkumâs mom helped him roll up his sleeping bag. They tied it neatly.
âDonât forget your toothbrush,â his mother said. âAnd your warmest pjâs.â
Dunkum remembered his flashlight.He wanted to take it along for sure. âAnything else?â he asked.
His mother went down the teacherâs checklist. âLetâs see.â Her finger slid over the page. âI think everythingâs packed now.â
âItâs just one night. I donât need much,â Dunkum said.
His mother looked over the list again. âWhat about stuffed animals?â she asked. âIt says you may bring two animals each.â
Dunkum wondered about his friends.
Philipp Frank
Nancy Krulik
Linda Green
Christopher Jory
Monica Alexander
Carolyn Williford
Eve Langlais
William Horwood
Sharon Butala
Suz deMello