The Secret Of Cacklefur Castle

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The Secret Of Cacklefur Castle Page 5

by Geronimo Stilton


  myself facing a big stone in the wall with

  the letter

  T

  carved in it.

  T

  for treasure?

  Excited, I pushed on the stone . . .

  . . . and fell down a tunnel!

  I tumbled down ... down ... down.

  Finally, I found myself in a

  cold

  ,

  dark

  room. I stood up and brushed

  the dust off my fur. I looked around.

  Cobwebs

  dangled from the

  corners. A grinning skeleton hung from

  the wall.

  I took a step back ... and fell right

  into a coffin!

  I jumped out ... and bumped into a

  suit of armor!

  I fell back ... and tripped over a tombstone!

  I stood up ... and found myself holding a

  mummy!

  Then I heard a ghostly wail.

  “Booooooooooooooooo!”

  “I

  want to go

  H O M E

  !”

  I screamed.

  Suddenly, all the lights came on.

  In the light, I could see that everything

  was fake!

  The dust was made of flour. The cobwebs

  were made of cotton candy. The skeleton

  was made of plastic. The coffin was made of

  rubber. The suit of armor was made of soda

  cans. The tombstone was made of cardboard.

  The mummy was made of toilet paper. And

  the

  ghostly

  sound was coming from a

  speaker on the wall.

  I also saw a sign on the wall:

  78

  Snip and Snap’s

  Collection of Tricks

  Paws Off!

  (That Means You!)

  I should have known. Those twin terrors

  were behind this!

  I was fed up. I found a staircase and ran

  up the steps.

  Snip and Snap were in the hall, smiling.

  “I know you left that trea

  sure map for me

  to find,” I growled.

  “He did it!” said Snip.

  “He did it!” said Snap.

  Boneham shook his head. “Snip and Snap

  have struck again, sir!”

  79

  80

  PROFESSOR

  FRANKENSTEIN’S WILL

  I was looking for my room again when I

  noticed that all of the Cacklefurs had left

  the dining room table. They were gathered

  in front of the fireplace.

  Suddenly, I remembered why Creepella

  had brought me here in the fi rst place. For

  the reading of her grandfather’s WILL!

  They say that curiosity kills the cat. But

  I am a mouse, after all, and a very curious

  one at that. I stood in the background and

  listened to what the family was saying.

  “Poor Professor Frankenstein,” said one

  mouse. “Remember how much he loved

  mummy jokes?”

  “Y

  es, he told many mummy jokes,” said

  another. “Many

  , many mummy jokes.”

  “Maybe too many mummy jokes!”

  The chattering stopped when a plump

  rodent walked in.

  “It’s BYRON BADNEWS, the family lawyer,”

  the Cacklefurs whispered.

  Byron Badnews was an unpleasant-looking

  mouse. He carried a small silver box shaped

  like a coffin.

  The lawyer cleared his throat.

  “Attention, Cacklefurs!” he

  announced. “The moment

  you have been waiting for

  is here!”

  Byron tapped

  the lid of the

  coffin. “In this

  box I have" - he

  paused dramatically —

  BYRON BADNEWS

  82

  “

  Professor Frankenstein’s

  WILL

  !”

  T

  he family began to

  chatte

  r

  in

  excitement.

  “What would you do if he left you the

  castle?” asked one mouse.

  “I would turn it into a

  HORROR

  museum,”

  replied another mouse.

  “I would turn it into an

  amousement

  park,” said another.

  “I would open a

  vacation

  lodge,”

  said another.

  Chef Stewrat tapped his paw impatiently

  on the flo

  or. “

  Cheese chunks!

  ” he cried.

  “Are you going to read the will or what? I

  have to go stir my stew.”

  Byron Badnews sniffed. “You seem to have

  your tail in a twitch,” he said. “Very well. I

  will

  read the will. Cacklefur Castle goes to . . .”

  Byron Badnews lifted the lid of the coffin

  .

  83

  A stream of black ink SHOT out and

  squirted him in the snout!

  "Who did this?" he bellowed.

  "He did it!" said Snip

  "He did it!" said Snip

  Suddenly, a bold of lightnigh struck the

  castle

  Thunder shook the castle walls!

  Boooooooom!

  All the candles blew out. The room was as

  dark as the inside of a tomcat's tummy

  An icy wind swirled throught the room. It

  froze the tip of my whiskers.

  "Isn't this fun?" Creepella asked, grabbing

  my paw. "I told you you'd have a good time"

  at Cacklefur Castle.

  A good time? This was the worst time

  I'd ever had in my life! "I want to go

  HOME! I wailed.

  84

  At that moment, the doors to the dining

  hall flew open. A shadowy figure stood in

  the doorway.

  “It’s Grandfather’s

  GHOST

  !” the Cacklefurs

  all cried at once.

  “I’m not a ghost,” said the figure. “I am

  alive and squeaking, my dear family!”

  The lights came back on. A small, skinny

  mouse stood in the doorway. His face was

  the color of moldy cheese. The white fur

  on his head struck straight up. He wore a

  stained white lab coat. He walked with a

  limp and leaned on a cane.

  As he limped closer, I got a better look at

  him. One of his EYES was made OF GLASS!

  Professor Frankenstein adjusted his false

  teeth. Then he gazed at his family.

  “What a nice family reunion,” he said.

  “Why does everyone look so sad? You look

  PRO

  FESSOR

  FRANKENSTEIN

  Who Is He? A scientist who studies ancient Egypt.

  He is an expert on mummies and tombs. He is a little

  clumsy and has had many accidents in his lab. So far,

  he has lost an eye, an ear, a little fi nger, and a toe.

  His Secret: He dreams of being a stand-up comic.

  86

  like you’re at a funeral. Ha!”

  “Grandfather! Y

  ou’re alive!” shouted the

  Cacklefurs.

  “Of course I am,” Professor Frankenstein

  cackled

  . “I was picking mushrooms in

  Nightmare Wood. I fell asleep under the


  Tree of Eternal Rest. If a bat had not peed on

  my snout, I would never have woken up.”

  The mice all nodded their heads in

  surprise.

  The professor waved his cane in the

  air. “Sorry to disappoint you, family!” he

  squeaked. “Cacklefur Castle is mine! So

  paws off — or you’ll be sorry!”

  Everyone in the dining hall looked slightly

  afraid

  .

  Professor Frankenstein smiled. “Don’t look

  so glum. I have some

  bloodcurdling

  jokes

  to tell you. You will laugh your heads off!”

  What is Count Dracula’s

  favorite dog?

  A bloodhound!

  Why was the skeleton

  afraid of the dark?

  Because it didn’t have

  any guts!

  Where do ghosts go on vacation?

  To the Dead Sea!

  A skeleton went to see the

  doctor. The doctor opened

  the door. He looked at the

  skeleton and said, “Aren’t

  you a little late?”

  What kind of music does

  a mummy like best?

  Wrap music!

  PROFESSOR

  FRANKENSTEIN’S

  BLOODCURDLING

  JOKES

  Why do ghosts make good cheerleaders?

  Because they have a lot of spirit!

  88

  SPEAKING OF

  MUMMIES .

  . .

  The professor slapped me o

  n the

  shoulder.

  “Did you like my jokes?” he asked. “And

  who are you, anyway?”

  “The name is Stilton,

  Geronimo

  Stilton

  ,” I said.

  Creepella walked up and kissed me on

  the snout. “Isn’t he sweet?” she asked. “He

  and I are getting married.”

  I cleared my throat. “Actually, we are

  not —”

  But Professor Frankenstein interrupted

  me. “So this is your latest VICTIM — I mean

  fiancé,” he said. “What is your name again?

  Gabriel?”

  89

  “Geronimo!” I said.

  He pinched my cheek. “So when will the

  wedding be, Gideon?”

  “NEVER!” I said firmly.

  He ignored me. “Well, then, Gerald, you

  had better treat my little Creepella well. If

  anyone dares to treat my granddaughter

  badly

  , I will turn him into a

  MUMMY!”

  He waved his cane.

  Th

  e Cacklefurs all agreed. “That’s right!

  We pity the mouse who mistreats our

  Creepella!”

  I was quaking in my fur. “Of course,

  Professor,” I said. “I will treat Creepella

  well. Rodent’s word of honor! ”

  Professor Frankenstein pulled a watch from

  his pocket. “I must go, my dear Gary,” he said.

  “The mummy of the great Tutankhamouse

  has arrived. I must get to work!”

  Before the professor left, he told another

  joke. “Why did the werewolf cross the

  road? To eat the chicken on the other side.

  HA!”

  Wi

  th that, he limped down the hallway,

  still laughing.

  Chef Stewrat came up to me. “I should get

  started on your wedding cake. Stew cake

  with stew frosting, of course.

  When will the wedding be?”

  “NEVER!” I yelled at the top

  of my voice.

  The Cacklefurs all stared at

  me. “That Geronimo Stilton

  is a strange mouse!” they

  whispered.

  91

  WAH! WAH! WAH!

  The doorbell meowed.

  Boneham scurried to lift the drawbridge.

  “It must be Mr. Von Cacklefur!” he said.

  A few minutes later, a

  very thin

  rat came

  through the door. He was dressed in black

  and wore a top hat. I had met him before.

  It

  was Boris von Cacklefur

  , Creepella’s father!

  He held out a paw to me. “Hello there,

  Geronimo,” he said. “You look well. Too

  bad. We’re having a sale on coffins

  this

  week.

  HA-HA!

  ”

  “Nice to see you, Mr. Von Cacklefur

  ,” I

  said.

  Then another sound rang through the

  hall.

  M

  E

  E

  E

  E

  O

  O

  O

  O

  O

  O

  O

  O

  W

  !

  92

  Curious, we all ran to the window.

  Boneham took a pair of binoculars out of

  his pocket. He looked down.

  “Cheddar biscuits!” he exclaimed. “What

  is that?”

  I looke

  d through the binoculars. There

  was a small basket in front of the drawbridge.

  And it sounded as if the basket was ... crying.

  We all ran outside.

  Inside the basket was a tiny bundle

  93

  wrapped in a blanket. The butler moved

  aside the blanket to reveal a baby mouse!

  “

  Mol

  dy mummies

  !” cried Professor

  Frankenstein.

  “A little orphan,” said Boneham.

  “He’

  s so small,” said Boris.

  “He’s so sweet!” said Creepella.

  “My,he can cry,” said Madame Latomb.

  Snip said, “He must be . . .”

  “. . . hungry!” Snap said.

  Chef Stewrat clapped his paws together.

  “He needs some stew!”

  The members of the Cacklefur family

  surrounded the baby. The little mouselet

  stopped crying. He opened his eyes and

  looked at them all. Then he smiled.

  94

  THE SECRET OF

  THE CACKLEFUR

  FAMILY

  “We must have a big family meeting!

  shouted Professor Frankenstein.

  Th

  e entire family gathered in thelibrary.

  “Ladies and gentlemice, rodents and rats,

  dead and alive, family and friends,” began the

  professor. “Even you, Garrett. We must make

  an important decision. We have found a little

  baby. What should we do?”

  Boris von Cacklefur placed his paw on

  his heart. “I hate to be a mushy mouse.

  But this makes me think of a poem by Emily

  Dickinson:

  “That Love is all there is,

  is all we know of Love.”

  95

  I felt my eyes fil

  l with tears. What a lovely

  poem!

  Boris went on. “Weall know the Cacklefur

  family secret,” he said. “We lo

  ve one

  another. With love, we can do anything!”

  The mice nodded in agreement.

  “This little mouselet needs our love,”

  said Boris. “And we have plenty to give

  him.”

  Creepella stood up. “Let’s vote on it. If you


  think we should adopt the orphan mouse,

  raise your paw!”

  Every Cacklefur raised a paw.

  “This mouselet is no longer an orphan,”

  said Boris. “As of today, he is a

  CACKLEFUR!”

  The Cacklefurs all cheered.

  I took the baby in my paws. “What a sweet

  little snout he has!” I said. “What will you

  call him? He needs a name.”

  Creepella passed around a piece of paper.

  “Everyone write down a name,” she said.

  When the Cacklefurs were done, she read

  the names out loud.

  96

  S

  LI

  MER

  ?

  S

  POOKSTER

  ?

  BATRICK?

  S

  CREAMER

  ?

  SPECTER?

  S

  TEWIE

  ?

  C

  REEPERS

  ?

  I

  GOR

  ?

  D

  REAR

  Y

  ?

  M

  USHMOUSE

  ?

  F

  ROGG

  Y

  ?

  GRIMY?

  S

  KEL

  ETIN

  O

  ?

  S

  KUNKY

  ?

  F

  ESTER

  ?

  M

  U

  MMYKINS

  ?

  S

  PIDERRAT

  ?

  S

  KULLY

  ?

  HOWLER?

  ZIGZAG?

  TOADIE?

  “Um, don’t you think those names are a

  bit weird for a baby?” I asked.

  “That’

  s it!” the Cacklefurs shouted. “We’ll

  call him Baby!”

  Just then, I felt something

  wet and warm on my

  jacket.

  “Um, I think the

  little Cacklefur has

  done a wee-wee!” I

  said.

  97

  OUR LOVE IS

  STRONGER THAN

  CHEESE

  Chef Stewrat ran to the kitchen. “I must

  get him a bottle of stew! It is just what he

  needs.”

  I put Baby in a coffi

  n-shaped cradle.

  Madame Latomb took out her violin and

  played him a lullaby:

  GO TO SLEEP, LITTLE

  CACKLEFUR,

  YOUR FAMILY IS NEAR.

  WE WILL ALL WATCH OVER YOU,

  TO US YOU ARE DEAR.

  SO GO TO SLEEP.

  GO TO SLEEP, IF YOU PLEASE.

 

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