RARE BEASTS Read Free

it in the den, perched upon the back of a dark leather wingback chair, illuminated by the flickering light of the large black-and-white television.

     
    Pet didn’t look like any other kind of animal you’ve ever seen. It wasn’t very large. It didn’t have scales or feathers. It was a matted ball of long, dark hair, similar in appearance to an old, dirty wig. Pet had no ears, nose, or mouth that could be seen, nor had it visible arms or legs, and the small heap sat so still on the chair that it would be easy to mistake it for an oversized ball of lint. Well, except for the single milky yellow eye that sat atop the tangled pile of hair.
    Pet had lived in the house with Edgar and Ellen for as long as they could remember. The twins had first noticed Pet behind a large wooden wine cask in the cellar. Since Pet didn’t seem to eat much or make much noise—in fact, they never witnessed Pet doing much of anything—they decided to keep it.
    How lucky for Pet.

8. Today’s Program
     
    And so it happened that just as Edgar had finished binding Pet’s shaggy body to a long wooden pole, and just as Ellen was about to collect the spiderwebsfrom the ceiling of the den with their new Petbroom, Professor Paul announced something on TV that grabbed the siblings’ attention:
“Today, we’re going to explore the amazing world of exotic animals. The rarest of the rare, the most unique of the unique, the cream of the crop, these magnificent creatures are worth their weight in gold.
These are the most valuable animals on Earth!
“Join me, Professor Paul, as we meet wealthy collectors from all over the world who covet these amazing beasts and are willing to pay thousands to own one. For the richest of the idle rich, money is no object, and exotic animals make much more fashionable pets than dogs and cats….”
     

     
Edgar and Ellen stopped listening. A scheme was forming.
    “If we had our own exotic animals to sell,” said Edgar, “we’d make enough money to construct giant pillows
and
buy white pepper. We’d have enough to carry out all of our plans!”
    “Think
big
, Edgar! If we were rich, rich,
rich
, just
imagine
what we could do,” said Ellen. “We wouldn’t have to stop with the
small
ideas we’ve had before.
    “If we bought a hang glider and a giant tank of fizzy cola, we could take off from the top of our house and spray all the soccer fields from above. Turn them into sudsy, sticky messes!” she said, twisting her pigtails.
    “We could erect a giant windmill, buy tons of manure, and blow the stink all over town.” Edgar was bursting with enthusiasm. “P-U, nobody would go outside for days because of the smell! We’d have the toy stores and candy shops and ice cream parlors all to ourselves!”
    “We could buy a whole carnival and put the tents right in the middle of town,” Ellen said.
    “And we could keep the bright colored lights and music on all night and day, and never let anyone else in to enjoy the games and rides!” added Edgar.
    They grinned at each other as they mulled over all these new ideas for mischief and mayhem.

9. Aha!
     
    Edgar and Ellen climbed the steep staircase to the ninth floor. The whole floor was one big open room, and the twins used it as their ballroom when they were in a festive mood. Two large arched windows in the front wall (the ones that looked like watchful eyes from the outside) let in a fair amount of light during the day, making it the least dismal room in the house.
    Edgar and Ellen danced and pranced their way across the room, cackling as they went:
“A plan, a scam, is what we need
To fund our games and revelries.
Our clever minds are guaranteed
To conjure up some brilliant deeds.
There is no plot we can’t concoct,
Our brains, with schemes, are overstocked,
And kids from all around the block
Fear our genius ’round the clock.
Look out, look out! For here we come
To hatch our plans for pranks and fun!”
     
    Edgar and Ellen stopped in the center of the