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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"What was that?" Ian said,
sitting up straight. The midnight sky was black. There were few stars and
only a sliver of a moon. Clouds floated lazily across the dark sky.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"There it is again. Mac,
wake up. Wake up!" Ian said, shaking the other raccoon.
"What is it this time?" Mac
yawned.
"There’s a ghost out
there," Ian said, fear in his voice.
"A ghost? Don’t be silly.
There is no such thing as a ghost! Go back to sleep and be quiet!" Mac
replied. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Soon he was back to
sleep.
Ian, however, lay awake. He
saw shadows moving through the trees. A slight breeze was blowing the
branches, tree trunks were creaking and leaves were rustling.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Yikes! There it is again,"
Ian whispered. He sat up and looked around. He looked down through the
trees. He couldn’t see any ghost. He looked behind him. There was no ghost
there either. "It must just be the wind or something," he sighed and lay
back down. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something happy.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The noise was getting closer.
"Yikes! It is a ghost and
it’s coming to get us! Mac, Mac, wake up! The ghost is coming! The ghost
is coming! I’m scared," he cried and buried his head under his arm.
"Ian, there is no ghost!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Oh yeah? Then what was
that?" Ian shivered.
Mac sat up and looked
around. He felt goose bumps flowing up his arms and legs.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"It’s going to get us, Mac.
What will we do?" Ian cried.
Mac, being the most
sensible of the two, decided to go and see what the noise was. "Stay here.
I’m going to go and find the ghost," Mac warned.
"Don’t leave me here alone.
Ghosts can fly," Ian whimpered.
"Stop being a fraidy cat.
I’ll be back in a bit," Mac said. He climbed down the tree and slowly
walked through the woods.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
He turned and looked to
where the noise was coming from. That’s when he saw it. "Yikes!" he
whispered. "It is a ghost! But it doesn’t look too scary to me. In fact,
it looks like it’s crying." Mac ran cautiously toward the ghost.
The ghost saw Mac
approaching and looked up. "Aren’t you scared of me?" he asked.
"Should I be?" Mac
answered.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Are you crying?" Mac
asked.
"Yes," he sniffled.
"Why? What happened? Why
would a ghost cry?" Mac questioned.
"I’m lost. This is my first
time out of the castle and I came too far. Now I can’t find my way back,"
he sobbed.
"What’s your name?" Mac
wondered.
"Ruari. I live at the
castle on the other side of the glen. Will you help me find my way back? I
have to be back inside before the sun rises," Ruari explained.
"I’ll help you. First, lets
go and get Ian. He’ll be worrying his head off," Mac said.
"Who’s Ian?" the ghost wondered.
"My friend. Come on," Mac
said.
The ghost floated through
the air, following Mac back to the tree. "Ian. Ian. Come down here," Mac
called.
Ian climbed down the tree.
When he saw the ghost, he screamed, "YIKES! It’s the ghost!" He climbed
back up the tree as fast as he could.
"Ian, come down here. It’s
a nice ghost. He won’t hurt you," Mac said.
"Are you sure?" Ian asked.
"Yes, now hurry."
Ian climbed back down and
stood in front of Mac and the ghost.
"His name is Ruari. He’s
lost and needs to find his way back to the castle on the other side of the
glen before sunrise. We’re going to help him," Mac said.
"Oh. Hi Ruari," Ian said,
relaxing a bit.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Ian jumped. "Stop that!"
"I can’t help it. I’m
scared. I want to go home," Ruari whined.
"You’re not a very scary
ghost, are you?" Ian said, suddenly feeling very brave. "Let’s get him
home, Mac."
They made their way through
the woods and came to a clearing. There were hills all around. "This is
the glen," Mac said to Ruari. "Your castle is on one of those hills over
there."
"Which one? There are a lot
of them?"
"I suppose we’d better take
him across the glen," Ian sighed.
"Please," said Ruari.
They walked towards the
hills. Ian looked around. "The glen’s quite lovely at night, isn’t it,
Mac?"
Mac looked towards the
stream. "It is sort of pretty. If the moon was out and the clouds were
gone, it would be nicer." After a few more minutes, he said, "Ah, there
are the hills now."
They walked to the top of
one. "I see your castle," Ian pointed. "It’s way over there. It’s got
turrets and towers and is made of gray stone. Do you see it, Ruari?"
The ghost floated into the
air a little higher. "I do. It’s my castle. Oh, how can I ever thank you?"
he asked the two raccoons.
"Go on home. The sun’s
going to rise soon. See how the sky is reddening over in the east?" Mac
said.
"But, you’ve been so kind.
What can I do for you?" Ruari asked again.
"Stop coming into the woods
and crying. You terrified us and probably half the creatures in the
woods," Ian answered.
"I’ll stay in the castle
from now on. Thank you," Ruari said and flew towards the castle.
The sun began to rise over
the horizon. "Well, Ian, we missed a night’s sleep. Instead of walking all
the way back to the tree, let’s curl up and sleep right here, under this
mulberry bush. The sun won’t be all the way up for a while. We can catch
forty winks," Mac suggested.
"Good idea," Ian replied.
They lay down and fell asleep, happy that Ruari had found his way home. |
