My last haunting didn’t work out. My brother Sneak told our parents about it like it was a great joke. They didn’t think it was all that funny. They were pretty upset and sent me to haunt the floor below the next night.
I’m sure I’ve told you before—I’m a block-of-flats creeper, so my stomping grounds is the block of flats, and my creepy hauntings are… well, let’s just say I’m not very good at it.
But today I really have to get it right, or they won’t let me haunt the kids’ rooms. And I really want to do that.
I love kids! But I’m supposed to be scaring them while they sleep. I just wish I could play with them instead. But how could a creeper ever play with children?
So tonight, I’ll do my haunting one floor down. That’s where Mr.Carlos lives, and from what my brother said, it should be easy enough to give him a little trouble in his sleep.
As soon as it gets dark, I sneak into the room where Mr. Carlos is lying in bed, fast asleep. Well, Mr. Carlos is quite a big fellow—he fills up the whole bed, and I can hear him snoring from all the way at the door. He’s puffing like a steam engine. Suddenly, I feel so small inside. Me, such a tiny thing, still just a little creeper, and I’m supposed to scare a giant like that? I shake off my fear—it’s not a good advisor—and I sneak over to the bed. While I’m at it, I stretch out my claws and hook them into the carpet. So as I go, you can hear: Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Mr. Carlos keeps snoring as usual. The scratching doesn’t bother him. I notice his toes peeking out from under the blanket! For a hungry sneaky little creature like me, that’s like a grand feast! So I get to gently scratch his big toe with my claws. But I’m not going to bite it—it smells like old cheese, and I don’t like that at all.
The foot gave a little twitch. I’ll try digging my claws into the foot a bit more. Scratch, scratch!
In a flash, I duck, because Mr. Carlos’ foot jerks and disappears under the blanket, where it stays. And Mr. Carlos rolls over. Oh well, I’ll try it from the other side. I tiptoe around the bed and right away I see my chance. From the nightstand, I’ll have Mr. Carlos within paw’s reach.
One quick leap, pull myself up, and I’m there. I stretch out my paw to tickle Mr. Carlos’ nose, when suddenly…
Chrrrrrrrr!
Run! flashes through my mind. In my hurry, my legs get tangled up and I tumble off the nightstand onto the soft carpet. I roll under the bed and wait there. Well, that really gave me a fright. But Mr. Carlos’ throat isn’t jackhammering anymore, so maybe he won’t do it again.
I carefully peek out from my hiding place. Mr. Carlos’ hand is hanging off the bed! I’m there in a flash and start gently nibbling it with my sharp little teeth. Before I can even react, the hand lifts up and… oh no… pats me on the head like a dog!
“Hang on, Leo, it’s still too early for breakfast,” mumbles Mr. Carlos into his pillow, and on top of that he gives me a scratch on the head.
“Well, I never…. How dare you! Who are you calling Leo, you rascal!”
My little heart is thumping under my fur with fear, and now with annoyance, too. The hand disappears under the blanket, but I’m already wiggling my hips and getting ready to jump onto the bed. I don’t even know where I’ve found the courage to do that. But it instantly disappears when I hear a hiss behind me. No jump this time—instead, I turn around and see a cat standing there. Oh no! Leo. He’s hissing and arching his back, so I do the same and puff up my black fur as much as I can. By now, Leo is growling in a deep, threatening way.
“Leo, jeez, what’s crawled up your nose?” comes a voice from the bed.
I want to run away, but Leo is blocking the doorway to the hall. Mr. Carlos sits up, switches on the lamp, and for a moment he sees the cat hissing at something. At me—at a little, crouched, black bundle on the carpet.
“Oh my God! A rat! Or a giant spider! Help!” he screams and pulls the blanket over himself.
Leo gets startled by his voice, and that gives me just enough time to slip out into the hallway and hurry through the hole into our little corridors. I can still hear someone calling, ‘Leo, catch it!’
I quickly squeeze into our hideout. My heart is pounding, my fur is still trembling, just like the little body beneath it. But finally, at home, I can say I managed to give someone a real fright. Good thing Mr. Carlos is scared of mice and giant spiders. And Leo is afraid of his master’s screaming. Who knows what would have happened to me otherwise. But in the end, it all turned out fine.
The sun is rising outside. At home, my parents praised me. It’s time to hit the hay—at least until afternoon, so I can sneak out and watch the children play. Alright then, good day, I’m off to bed.