The Creepy Sleep-Over Read Free

now. For sure!
    Miss Hershey’s pets turned out to be four cats. Not eight. Someone had stretched the truth. Times two.
    So Milo had three little sisters. All fluffy black cats. They were Muffin, Minka, and Maggie Mae.
    Muffin and Minka were OK names. But Dunkum wondered about Maggie Mae. Sounded to him like someone’s great aunt.

    Miss Hershey served up hot pizza. She made sundaes for everyone. Hot fudge, caramel, and strawberry.
    The cats were stuck with tuna delight.
    Dunkum wanted hot fudge and caramel topping. Both. Abby and Stacy had strawberry topping. Of course.
    Eric asked for hot fudge. Jason, too, only he wasn’t supposed to have chocolate. It made him jittery. He was having it anyway.
    Dunkum glanced around. There were strange Old Mother Hubbard kitchen cupboards. Dark brown. The beamed ceiling was rusty brown. Same as the mantel over the fireplace. Even the hardwood floors were dull.
    Dark wood. Black cats. Chocolate topping . . .
    Was something scary inside those cupboards? What about the ceiling? Was something about to float down from the beams?
    And the music? Abby was right about Mozart. Miss Hershey put on some violin music. Sounded like a mystery waiting to happen.
    Miss Hershey’s cats were almost finished with their dinner. Dunkum tried not to stare. They were going to have dessert now. They licked their chops and waited.
    Milo stopped eating and glanced at Dunkum. Those orange-yellow eyes made him jumpy. Not jumpin’ happy. No way!
    Dunkum turned around. He saw more goodies coming. Miss Hershey was bringing a tray to the table. “Care for a brownie?” she asked.
    â€œThank you.” Dunkum took a medium-sized one. They were extra dark. Extra chocolatey, too.
    After supper, Miss Hershey began to light candles. Lots of them! There were candles in the windows and on the long mantel. Tall candlesticks on the grand piano.
    â€œWill you play something for us?” Abby asked.
    â€œYes! Play the piano,” Eric begged.
    All the kids chimed in. “Please?”
    â€œVery well,” Miss Hershey said. She went to sit down. But there were no music books in sight.
    â€œHow’s she gonna play?” Jason asked.
    â€œMaybe she plays by ear,” Dunkum replied.
    Jason laughed. “How’s she gonna see where to put it?”
    That got everyone going. Even Miss Hershey was chuckling.
    When things were quiet, she began. The melody seemed a bit gloomy. Dunkum thought so at first. But the more he listened, the more he liked it. Was it more Mozart?
    Miss Hershey kept her hands on the piano keys afterward. The last notes were still sounding. Slowly, they faded away.
    Then she lifted her hands. The piece was done.
    Before the kids could clap, she began to speak. Her words were soft. “I’d like torecite a poem from memory. It’s one of my very favorites.”
    Uh-oh , thought Dunkum. Is this the bedtime story?
    â€œ ‘Once upon a midnight dreary,’ ” Miss Hershey began.
    â€œIt’s from ‘The Raven,’ ” whispered Abby.
    Dunkum listened. He wouldn’t let this raven poem shake him up. No way!

FIVE
    Miss Hershey continued. “ ‘Suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.’ ”
    The poem excited Dunkum. Was it the flow of the words? Was it the air of mystery?
    He really didn’t know, but he liked it.
    Miss Hershey went on. There was a visitor tapping at someone’s bedroom door. “ ‘Only this and nothing more,’ ” said his teacher.
    Suddenly, Dunkum felt somethingbehind him. He froze. Someone was tapping on his back!
    He turned to see.
    It was Milo. He was pawing at Dunkum.
    Kung fu kitty , Dunkum thought.
    He almost laughed out loud, but he didn’t move.
    Milo kept it up.
    What’s he want? Dunkum wondered.
    Miss Hershey was still saying the poem. “ ‘Deep into that darkness peering . . .’ ”
    It was hard to pay