Lois June Wickstrom and Lucrecia DarlingThe Mystery of the Haunted Amusement Park 4 let, and dropped...

Lois June Wickstrom and Lucrecia Darling

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The Mystery of the Haunted Amusement Park

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The Mysteryof the

HauntedAmusement

Park

An Orange ForestRabbit Tale

By Lois June Wickstromand Lucrecia Darling

© 2003, Lois June Wickstrom andLucrecia Darling


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Chapter One: Here to Play

nock, knock, scratch, pause, knock,pause, knock, pause, scratch,knock, knock, long pause, knock,knock, scratch, pause, knock,

knock, knock. Two young voices giggled.

“They’re here!” From the far corner of thekitchen Robes Pierre perked his ears, one whiteand one brown. He ran to the door, sniffed underthe crack, and wagged his stumpy tail. “They’rehere to play with me!” The tapping and gigglingcame again.

Knock, knock, scratch, pause, knock, pause,knock, pause, scratch, knock, knock, long pause,knock, knock, scratch, pause, knock, knock,knock.

Robes Pierre dashed to the bedroom. “Mr.Rabbit. Mr. Rabbit! Time to wake up!” He puthis front paws on the bed.

Gregory had overslept. A tongue licked his face.He rolled out from under his soft downy cover-


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let, and dropped to the dirt floor of his bedroomon all fours. His feet cringed at the cold. Hislegs tightened with goose bumps. His orange furstood up in a thick coat, making him look biggerand rounder than ever. He jumped twice towarm up. Then he wrapped himself in his newcarrot-print robe.

Gregory’s puppy, Robes Pierre, had become sofond of Gregory’s old furry orange robe that hetook it everywhere. He even slept with it.

Gregory loped past the kitchen to the door of hisrabbit hole and peeped out through the peep-hole. Robes Pierre followed at his heels.

Knock, knock, scratch, pause, knock

His niece Joey and his nephew Hopalong weretapping out secret code words on his front door.Gregory opened the door and smiled happily.

Hopalong was the older of the two; he was infifth grade. His fur was grey and his big roundpink eyes glittered in the morning sun. Joey waslight brown with a nearly white belly. Her pinkeyes were almond shaped. She was in secondgrade. Before closing the door, Gregory glanceddown Sassafras Hill to admire his carrot farmsthat extended as far as he could see. He rubbed


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his tummy and licked his nose, just thinkingabout his delicious carrots.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” Gregory huggedJoey.

“No carrots for me please.” Last summer Joeyate so many carrots that her fur turned orange,like her uncle’s.

Hopalong sneaked around behind Robes Pierreand grabbed a carrot muffin from the basket onthe kitchen island. “Mm-mm ... delicious...”

Robes Pierre licked Hopalong’s face, thensneaked a lick of his muffin.

“Don’t you feed this dog?” asked Hopalong, ashe broke off a morsel of muffin and fed it toRobes Pierre. Hopalong winked at his uncle.Robes Pierre flapped his ears and said what healways said to visitors: “He never feeds me. Henever plays with me. He doesn’t love meenough.”

“Enough means all the time,” said Gregory. “Ifit were up to Robes, I’d spend all day playingwith him.”

Hopalong got down on all fours and grabbedRobes Pierre’s front right leg. The two of them


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rolled over and over.

“That’s more like it!” said Robes Pierre.

“Do I get a hug?” asked Gregory.

“I’m too big for hugs, Uncle Gregory,” saidHopalong.

“You want to do a high five?” Gregory raisedhis front right paw.

Hopalong leaped up and pounced paws with hisuncle. Their paws made a soft thwacking soundwhen they met.

‘Me, too!” shouted Joey, bouncing on her toes.Gregory held out his paw for her.

“No! Higher! Like you did for my brother!”

Gregory held his paw higher.

“All the way up!” said Joey. “I want a reallyhigh five.”

Gregory smiled at his niece, and raised his pawall the way up. “A really high five.”

Then Joey backed up to the door and made arunning start. Then she jumped with all her


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might... And missed.

“Ha ha, you missed!” Hopalong waggled hisears at her, rudely.

Gregory opened his orange refrigerator, took outa sweet crunchy carrot and put it in Hopalong’smouth.

“That will keep him busy for a while,” he said toJoey. “Want to try again?”

Joey backed up to the front door again. She ran.She jumped. And missed.

Aunt Jennifer, chief advertising executive ofOrange Forest Rabbit Carrots, loped into thekitchen, wearing her orange robe and towelingher ears with an orange towel. “Joey, what youneed is a carrot boost,” she said.

She opened the refrigerator, took out a box ofmaximally delicious Orange Forest Rabbit®

carrot muffins, and handed one to Joey. “Youchew this really well, and you’ll be jumping thehighest fives in no time.”

“I’m not eating carrots any more,” said Joey. “Idon’t want to turn orange and have the otherrabbits tease me, again.” Joey held theprizewinning orange speckled muffin as if it


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were a lump of mud.

Robes Pierre looked at her, his eyes wide andpleading. “Nobody ever feeds me.”

“Hopalong just fed you,” said Joey. “Andbesides, you’re a big dog. You can feed your-self.”

Robes Pierre wagged his stumpy tail and gaveJoey his sweetest look. She ignored him.

“I was getting hungry myself,” said Gregory,holding out his paw. Joey placed the muffin onher uncle’s paw. He immediately took a greedybite, getting orange crumbs on his whiskers, ashe chewed happily. Gregory only ate food thathe grew himself. And when he ate, he enjoyedeach bite thoroughly. He was born an ordinarygrey rabbit like Hopalong, but he ate so manycarrots that he had become orange.

“Would you prefer a warmed muffin?” Jenniferasked Joey.

“I told you,” said Joey, stamping her back paw.“I’m not eating carrots any more.”

“My own niece!” said Gregory in mock dismay.

“I heard you tapping your secret code,” said


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Jennifer. “Knock, knock, scratch, pause, knock,pause, knock, pause, scratch, knock, knock, longpause, knock, knock, scratch, pause, knock,knock, knock. It means feed us. What wouldyou like to eat, Joey?”

“She’ll need a hearty breakfast,” said Gregory.“We’re going to have a big day at CarrotWorld.”

“Finding ghosts!” said Hopalong.


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Chapter Two: Carrot World is Haunted

inding out what silly rabbits thinkare ghosts,” said Joey.

Gregory had paved over his mostproductive carrot patch to build Carrot World. Ablue fireball had exploded over this field, out ofthe night sky, and thousands of little blackstones had landed, bringing strange minerals tothe soil. Curly carrots, his most delicious ever,grew in abundance—but they had strange sideeffects. People and rabbits who ate them becameinvisible and turned into thieves.

Gregory himself, a most honest rabbit, hadthought about stealing free rides on airplaneswhen he became invisible. His loving wifeJennifer had stopped him. And it was her idea tomake sure nobody ever grew carrots on themeteor field again.

“We’ve got carrot waffles, carrot pancakes,carrot muffins, carrot bread, carrot soup, carrotpie...,” said Jennifer.

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“Do you have anything without carrots?” askedJoey. She was starting to cry.

Hopalong waggled his ears at her rudely again.Jennifer walked over to him and petted thebacks of his ears making it impossible for himto waggle them. The petting was so pleasant;Hopalong never wanted it to stop. He gave upbeing rude to Joey

Gregory said, “We have some pancake batterthat doesn’t have carrots yet. I always add thecarrots at the very last minute to keep them attheir crunchy best. I could make you some plainpancakes.”

“That’s the best news I’ve had all morning,”said Joey.

Gregory made stacks and stacks of pancakes.Joey ate the plain brown ones. Gregory, Jennifer,and Hopalong ate the orange ones. They alltook extra big stacks so they could sneak someunder the table to Robes Pierre. Gregory, Jenni-fer and Hopalong poured carrot sauce on theirpancakes. Joey poured maple syrup on hers.Gregory, Jennifer and Hopalong drank freshlysqueezed carrot juice. Joey drank carrot greentea. “The greens can’t turn me orange,” shesaid.


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After breakfast, Gregory and Jennifer gotdressed while Hopalong washed the dishes andJoey dried. “We’re off to Carrot World,” shoutedHopalong. “I’m going to have my picture takenwith the giant turtle in the petting zoo.”

“Are you sure it’s safe to bring Joey andHopalong to Carrot World?” Robes Pierrefollowed Gregory and Jennifer into their bed-room.

Gregory buttoned up his vest. “All the rides inCarrot World are perfectly safe. Even the onesthat seem scary.”

“But Carrot World is haunted,” said RobesPierre. “Everybody says so.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” said Jennifer,fastening her jacket. They returned to thekitchen.

“I do love a good profit,” said Gregory. “But I’dclose Carrot World in an instant if I thought anyghosts might hurt anybody.”

“I’m not afraid of ghosts,” said Joey. “I’mgoing to find the hidden carrot in the mirrormaze.”

“And I’m going to ride the Tower of Carrots,


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and the Carrot Coaster, and the Penda-Carrot!”said Hopalong.

“And I’m going to ride the Tilt-a-Carrot, and theCarrotsel and the Carrot Slide, and the BumperCarrots!” said Joey.

“Take me! Take me!” begged Robes Pierre.“Nobody ever lets me have any fun.”

“You have to mind the warehouse today,”reminded Gregory. “As Vice President, you areChief in Charge of Carrots when I’m absent.”

“You never pay me enough,” said Robes Pierre.But he wiggled his stumpy tail to show that hewas happy to be wanted. Then he added,“Aren’t you afraid of the ghosts?”

“I’m not afraid of ghosts,” said Hopalong. “Ihope I meet one.”

“Me, neither,” said Joey. “But I don’t want tomeet one.”

“I’ll take pictures so you can see what Joey andHopalong do today,” said Gregory. He opened adrawer in the knotty pine cabinet beside thepainting by the famous artist Jack Rabbit. Hegrabbed his orange digital camera and slipped itinto the pocket of his carrot print vest. Then he


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closed the drawer.

“Don’t forget to take pictures of me!” said Joey.“I want to enter the braveness contest at school.”

“You’re not brave,” said Hopalong. “You’rescared of the Tower of Carrots. And you’rescared to meet ghosts.”

“Lots of folks are afraid of ghosts,” said Jenni-fer. “I hope you bunnies can solve the mystery. Abrand new amusement park shouldn’t behaunted. It’s scaring away our customers.”

“And that’s not good for business,” said Gre-gory. “Every seat should be full on our wonder-ful rides.”

#

Usually there were long lines at the entrance tobuy tickets. But that day there was no line.

“That’s odd,” said Gregory. “I was expecting abusy day today. He paid their admission. Eventhough he owned the park, he always insisted onpaying for his relatives and for himself if he wasnot doing business.

The attendant said, “Attendance is down. Every-body is afraid of ghosts. About half the patrons


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insist on refunds. You’ve got to do something.”

“We’ll figure this out,” said Gregory as he paidtheir admission. “There has to be some way toget rid of ghosts.”

“Maybe ghosts can be good for business,” saidJoey. “People might pay extra for a ride withreal ghosts.”

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” said Hopalong.“There’s got to be a reasonable explanation.”

“You two are my detectives today. It’s your jobto figure out what’s haunting this park.”

“You should have brought Robes Pierre,” saidHopalong. “He’d smell the ghosts out in notime.”

“I don’t think ghosts have a smell,” said Gre-gory, as he stroked the silky orange hairs on theback of his right ear thoughtfully.

Joey and Hopalong raced to the Petting Zoo. Itwas deserted. No animals or visitors. Theyfound the giant turtle bravely climbing a steepstone wall, holding a green leafy weed in itsmouth. Hopalong pulled a treat out of his pocketand offered it to the giant turtle. The turtleignored him and continued climbing.


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“I didn’t know turtles could climb walls,” saidJoey.

“Who says amusement parks aren’t educa-tional?” said Hopalong.

“Why are you climbing the wall?” Joey askedthe turtle.

‘To get away from the ghost,” said the turtle.


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Chapter Three: Climbing the Wall

here is the ghost?” asked Joey,looking around nervously.

“It’s right there beside you,”said the turtle. “It’s big and purple and lookslike whale. It swims in the air, instead of water.”

A low sound like a foghorn tooted “Looo-woo.”

“Is that a ghost?” asked Hopalong. “It doessound scary.”

“I think it sounds friendly,” said Jennifer, in hermost optimistic voice.

Joey waved her paws around as if swimming inthe air. “I don’t feel anything,” she said. Thenher hand bumped into something soft andnubbly. “It’s right here! I feel it, but I don’t seeanything.” She looked again. Perhaps she didsee a purple haze. She’d never heard of a ghostyou could touch, so she was curious, rather thanscared.

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“Come here, Uncle Gregory, Aunt Jennifer.You’ve got to touch this.”

“Where?”

“Right there,” Joey pointed towards the turtle.“It’s right next to the wall.”

Somebody clapped, and a honk sounded.

“This is really weird,” said Hopalong. “Ghoststhat you can touch and look like whales.”

Gregory reached his paw where Joey pointed,but did not feel anything. “Can you see it?”

“I think I saw something,” said Joey

“I saw something too,” said Jennifer. “Some-thing purple and round. It moved when youreached for it.”

A moment later the turtle’s left hind leg slipped.Joey reached out to steady his foot.

Gregory pulled her back. “That giant turtleweighs over fifty times what you do! If he fallson you, you’ll be crushed.”

“I won’t fall,” said the turtle. “I’m just pushingthe ghost out of the way.”


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The turtle found its footing and continuedstruggling up the wall. Near the top, his rightfront foot slipped from a rock above its head.Joey gasped.

“Help!” shouted the dangling turtle.

“Ooo-woo” came the foghorn.

Gregory climbed the wall and carefully placedhis paws on the turtle’s flailing foot.

“Relax,” he told the turtle. “Let me help.”

Gregory pushed the giant turtle’s foot securelyonto the wall. The turtle’s toes grasped a rock. Ittook a deep breath and resumed climbing. Whenit finally reached the top, it said, “That ghostnearly got me.”

“What would it do if it got you?” asked Joey.She wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw thepurple haze again.

“I don’t know,” said the turtle. “But I am scaredof it.”

“Can you see it?

“Sometimes, I see it clearly but other times Idon’t see it at all, but I always feel it.”


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“How does it feel?”

“It feels like a big pillow and it looks like awhale,” replied the turtle.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Gregory.He thumped his back left foot like he always didwhen figuring things out. “But it sounds like awhale, too.”

“Don’t be scared.” Hopalong pulled a turtle treatfrom his pocket. “We’ll protect you.”

The turtle ignored the treat. Hopalong ran hispaw over the giant turtle’s smooth shell, andsmiled up at his uncle. Gregory snapped apicture.

Hopalong and Joey ran over to see the picture inthe window on the back of the camera.

“There’s Hopalong!” said Joey. “But the giantturtle isn’t in the picture.”

“You need to hold the camera lower,” saidHopalong. “I’ll go try to feed the turtle again.”

He ran back to feed the turtle. This time, theturtle took the treat at the same time Gregorysnapped the picture. Joey and Hopalong racedback to see the picture in the back of the digital


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camera.

“The turtle still isn’t in the picture,” said Joey.“But I can see Hopalong’s paw holding the treat.It looks like he’s there all by himself.”

“And there’s the treat,” said Jennifer. “It’s inyour paw. Maybe a little above your paw.”

“The turtle took the treat,” said Hopalong. “Weall saw him do it.”

“He’s not showing up on camera,” said Gregory.

More clapping came from beside the turtle.“Honk! honk!”

Gregory looked flustered.

“Maybe your camera is broken,” said Joey,looking intently at the view window on the backof the camera.

“You’re such a lovely family,” said a woman’svoice behind them. A single flower protrudedfrom her hatband, and she had a huge leatherbag slung over her shoulder. “I’ll take yourpicture.”

All four of them, Gregory, his wife Jennifer,Joey and Hopalong, turned around. They saw


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Mrs. Covert and her grandson Timmy. Mrs.Covert was holding out her arm on which shewore a bulky bracelet. Hopalong looked closely-- it looked like a tiny film camera.

“Wow, what a tiny camera,” said Hopalong. “Isit real?”

“Yes dear, it is a real camera, and you shall haveyour photos,” said Mrs. Covert. “I saw youruncle taking your picture, so I took one at thesame time.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to encourage herspying,” whispered Jennifer.

“It’s better this way,” whispered back Gregory.“We can spy on her while she spies on us.”

“Do you follow him around and take pictures ofhim all the time with that tiny little camera?”asked Joey.

“Of course not, dear. I’m just helping out be-cause your uncle had trouble with his camera.I’m happy to share my pictures of his charmingniece and nephew.”

“Are you a spy?” asked Joey.

“Nonsense, I’m here with my grandson to enjoy


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this lovely amusement park,” said Ms. Covert.

“But that’s a spy camera isn’t it?” askedHopalong.

“I’m just a weak old woman,” replied Ms.Covert. “I’m not strong enough to carry a bigcamera like your uncle’s.”

“She didn’t have any trouble running with ashopping basket at our uncle’s store,” said Joey.

“And her huge leather bag,” added Hopalong.

“Thanks, Ms. Covert,” said Gregory. “I prom-ised Robes Pierre that he could see pictures ofwhat we do today.”

“Cool! Can we spend the whole day with you?”asked Timmy. “I’ve always wanted to spend awhole day with Joey and Hopalong. Theyalways have so much fun!”

“Aren’t you afraid of ghosts?” asked Joey.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” said Mrs.Covert. “So it’s settled. We’ll spend the daywith you.”

“You promise there are no ghosts!” said Timmy,looking straight at his Grandma.


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“I promise.”


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Chapter Four: The Spy Spends the Day

opalong made a face at Joey.

He tapped: knock, scratch,scratch, pause, knock, knock,

knock, pause, scratch, knock, knock, scratch,pause, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, pause,scratch, knock, pause, scratch, scratch, scratch,pause, knock, pause, scratch, pause, knock,pause, knock, knock, knock. That meant, “Dowe have to?”

“Our uncle says so,” said Joey.

“I don’t trust him,” said Hopalong

“Me, either.”

“Tower of Carrots!” shouted Hopalong. “I’mgoing to ride the Tower of Carrots!”

Timmy’s face went pale again at the thought ofthe Tower of Carrots


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“You could go on the Bumper Carrots with me,”said Joey.

“Nah, that’s dumb,” said Timmy, trying to soundtough.

“I think the Bumper Carrots will make a goodphotograph,” said Mrs. Covert. “Drive straightand true. Smash your carrot car into as manycars as you can.”

“Yes, Grandma!” said Timmy, looking relieved.

“I’m not letting a spy like you out of my sight,”said Hopalong. “I’m going, too!”

Timmy stuck out his tongue.

“I’ll take pictures of all of you,” said Mrs.Covert. “I expect a big smile!”

Timmy’s said, “Yes, Grandma.”

The Bumper Carrots were empty. Each BumperCarrot was comprised of a green bumper on theback of a bright orange nose cone. The nosecone was designed to give maximum push toany car it rammed into.

“Oh, good no lines, we have the cars all toourselves,” shouted Hopalong.


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“No lines means no customers,” said Gregorystroking his right ear.

“This is not good for business,” said Joey andHopalong together.

“Business will be great when you two detectivesfigure out our ghosts.” said Jennifer.

Gregory helped Joey climb into her BumperCarrot and fastened her safety belt. Then hesaid, “Smash ‘em good!”

Hopalong said loudly, “I can do it myself!”Jennifer buckled him in anyhow.

Timmy approached a Bumper Carrot on the farside of the ring from Joey and Hopalong. Hereached for the steering wheel, but his handscouldn’t touch it. Something kept pushing himaway.

Clapping sounds seemed to come from the car.

Timmy lifted his leg as if to climb in, but some-thing pushed his leg back. “This car is haunted!”shouted Timmy. Joey looked, and thought shesaw a purple haze over the car. She reached forthe buckle on her seatbelt. She wanted toinvestigate. The buckle wouldn’t open.


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The car honked.

“Your buckle won’t release until the ride isover,” said the guard. “It’s for your safety.”

A large bunny who had been about to enter theBumper Carrot ride ran back to his father.“There’s ghosts in there. I want to go home!”The father led the screaming bunny away.

“You promised!” said Timmy. “If this isn’t aghost, what is it?”

“I don’t see any ghost,” said Mrs. Covert, butshe snapped a picture of the bumper carrot withher wrist camera. “Now come here young manand get in this carrot.” Mrs. Covert held a carrotcar that was aimed right at Hopalong.

“Climb in!” ordered Mrs. Covert. Timmyclimbed into the carrot and grabbed the steeringwheel as if it were a life preserver. Mrs. Covertbuckled Timmy into his carrot. “I’m too big forBumper Carrots,” he complained.

“You’re afraid of ghosts,” said Hopalong.

“You ought to be afraid,” said Timmy.

As soon as the operator threw the power switch,Timmy smashed his carrot into the side of


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Hopalong’s carrot. Mrs. Covert took a picture.Hopalong glared at Timmy as his car slid furtherand further away from his assailant. Mrs.Covert took another picture. Joey saw thatTimmy was getting ready for a second slam ather brother, and deftly guided her carrot to blockhim. But an empty car slammed hers. She hearda “Woooo.” Then she looked. She was sur-rounded by empty cars.

“Look out!” shouted Mrs. Covert. Timmylooked around just in time to see an empty carcoming straight at him. “Wooooo-ooo.” Timmyscreamed. The empty car bumped into him, thenanother. He skidded to the edge of the ring.

“Let’s get them!” screamed Joey and she aimedher carrot at one of the empty cars.

“Woooo rrrrrreeeee”

Mrs. Covert covered the lens on her camera,stepped into the Bumper Carrots Corral andgrabbed Timmy’s carrot by its green bumper. Itlooked as if he had been surrounded by hugeinvisible pillows. Not quite invisible — palepurple pillows. The Operator extended a shep-herds crook and pulled Mrs. Covert to the edgeof the corral. Meanwhile, Joey and Hopalonghad recovered control of their carrots. They


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were smashing into empty cars. Each time theysmashed one there was a “Woooo-oo,” andclapping.

Mrs. Covert extricated herself from theshepherd’s crook, climbed into the Operator’sbooth, and pushed the Operator aside. Thepower went off. Carrots that had just collidedcontinued to skid for a few moments. Therewere a few more “woooooos,” then everythingstood still. Mrs. Covert picked up the micro-phone in the Operator’s both, and said, “Thisride is closed because of ghosts.”

Children who had been watching the ride ranfrom it. Parents took their children’s hands andpulled them toward the gate. “We’ll get ourmoney back and do something fun,” said oneparent.

“They need to shut this place down,” saidanother.

Gregory pressed the button on his walkie talkie.“Calling all guards. Assistance needed at theBumper Carrots.” In moments a guard was athis side. Gregory nodded towards Mrs. Covert.“That woman doesn’t work here. Please removeher from the controls.”


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The guard tried to step between Mrs. Covert andthe handles of the control box. But, Mrs. Covertheld onto those handles with all her strength.She was not a weak old woman, as she hadclaimed. She shouted into the microphone,“This park is inhabited by ghosts. Run for yourlives.”

Gregory looked around. Customers were stilllining up at the Tower of Carrots. “Well at leastthe Tower seems all right. But we might have toclose the park.” Gregory thumped his back leftfoot.

A second guard showed up in the control booth.He pried the handles from Mrs. Covert’s graspwhile the first guard held her shoulders. Thenthe two of them carried her to Gregory. Theyheld her tightly while she kicked.

“Mrs. Covert, I know you are concerned,” saidGregory. “But you may not touch the controlson any of the rides.”

“I was protecting the children from ghosts!”shouted Mrs. Covert, shaking her head. But, shestopped kicking. “If something happens to myTimmy I am suing.”

“Please calm down Mrs. Covert. I’ll refund


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your money,” said Gregory.

“It’s not just the money, this place is not safe.”

“Has anybody been hurt?” Gregory asked theguard.

“No sir, but some invisible blobs are taking upthe seats and push the children out.”

“I see people and rabbits at the Tower of Car-rots,” said Gregory

“There is no problem with the rides that go up inthe air, sir.”

A woman, with two little girls who had beenlistening, said, “I want my money back too.Come along girls. We’re leaving.”

“I want to go to the Tower of Carrots,” said oneof the girls. Her mother dragged her away.

Gregory looked very puzzled. His customerswere heading back to the gate.

Mrs. Covert looked around for Timmy.


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Chapter Five: Entering the Maze

eanwhile, since the bumpercarrots weren’t moving, and thepower was off, Joey, Hopalongand Timmy left the corral to find

rides that were working. Hopalong led the wayto the Tower of Carrots.

Timmy said, “If my grandmother hadn’t cut thepower, I’d have smashed you into the middle ofnext week.”

“Yeah, right,” said Joey. “You were surroundedby ghosts. We were beating them.”

“Woooo-ooo,” said Hopalong trying to scareTimmy

Another “Wooo-ooo,” replied from above. Allthree of them looked up and saw nothing.

On to the Tower of Carrots,” said Joey

Timmy glared at her, and bit his lip.


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Then Hopalong remembered how postponingthings you are afraid of makes them worse. Hehad dreaded climbing the rope in gym class. Heput himself at the end of the line, and the teacherdidn’t get to him the first day. So he had spentthe whole night and the morning of the next daydreading climbing that rope. And by the time itwas really his turn, he was so scared he couldn’tdo it at all. His paws kept slipping off the rope.He got an F in rope climbing.

So, when they came to the Carrot Maze,Hopalong said, “Let’s do the Maze first! Joeywants to find the hidden carrot.”

The maze was just across the pathway from theTower of Carrots and there was no line thereeither. The guard was falling asleep in his chair.

“Wake up,” said Hopalong. “You are on duty.”

“I am sorry. It is so boring without customers.”

“Where are all the customers?” asked Joey

“They are scared of the ghosts,” replied theguard.

“You are a guard. Can’t you keep them out?”asked Hopalong.


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“I don’t know how,” said the guard. “I can’t seethem. But I know they’re there. They smell likebuttered nutmeg.”

“That’s a good clue. Thank you.”

“We’ll solve this mystery.”

“I am not scared of ghosts,” said Hopalong.

“Me, either,” said Joey. “Let’s go.”

Only one child could enter the maze at a time.Each child got one minute in the maze alonebefore another child was allowed to enter. Eachchild hoped to finish the first leg of the mazeand be out of sight before the next child entered.And somewhere in the maze was a real carrot.The child who found it won a prize.

“I am going to find the real carrot this time,”said Joey

“I bet your uncle told you where it is,” saidTimmy

“My uncle wouldn’t do that,” said Joey.

“The maze keeps changing,” said Hopalong.“Our uncle couldn’t possibly know all thedifferent mazes the computer generates.”


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The walls of the maze were glass and mirrorsthat could be shifted along tracks controlled by acomputer program. Holograms of carrots addedto the confusion. When a child first entered themaze it appeared to be an endless hall of mirrorslined with old-fashioned Tiffany ceiling lampsand dangling carrots. Each child had to find thesecret exit from the passageway. Each leg of themaze had a different secret exit.

“I’ll go first said, Joey

“I’m the guest,” said Timmy. “You come here allthe time.” He cut in front of Joey.

The guard grabbed Timmy’s shoulder. “Joeywas here first. Go on, Joey.”

“Not fair!” yelled Timmy as Joey entered themaze. “I hope a ghost gets you!”

Most of the carrots in the maze were holograms,or protected behind glass. Joey reached for thefirst carrot she saw. Another paw reached towardhers. A mirror. Another carrot appeared right infront of her. Her paw went right through it: ahologram.

She kept walking. Mirrors. Glass. Lamps.Untouchable carrots. It seemed to go on forever.


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She reached for another dozen carrots, none ofthem real -- and then looked at her watch. Herminute was almost up, and she was still in thefirst leg of the maze. She couldn’t let Hopalongor Timmy see her. She had to find the secretexit to this leg of the maze.

Another carrot hung tantalizingly just ahead ofher. She walked toward it. It moved. Shechased it. It rose over her head and just as shereached for it, and disappeared. Now she was inanother corridor that she hadn’t seen before. Shehad found the first secret exit. And just in time.She heard Hopalong enter the maze.

She recognized his hop. Every second hop was along hop, Thump, thump, pause, thump, but itwasn’t a pause -- it was a very long jump. Shereached her arm out of the secret passage andmotioned to him to come to the new corridor.He didn’t respond. She started to whisper,“Hopp…” The maze echoed, “hop, hop, hop,hop, hop, hop, hop, hop.” She poked her headout to see what he was doing.

It wasn’t Hopalong! It was Timmy pretendingto be Hopalong. She ran down the secret corri-dor and bumped her nose on another pane ofglass. “Ow!” she yelled. “Ow! Ow! Owww!Oww! Ow!” echoed the maze. She tried to run


38

back. A purple haze blocked her way. Shesmelled buttered nutmeg, and reached out totouch it. It backed away, honking and clapping.She didn’t see any way out of this passage. Sheput one paw on the glass pane beside her andretraced her steps. Glass. Mirror. Mirror. Glass.This wasn’t working. She put out both paws,one on each wall.

Timmy entered the passageway. “Hah! I’ve gotyou now!” he yelled. “Now, ow, ow, ow, ow!”echoed the maze. There -- on her right, her pawwent in where a solid wall appeared to be. Itwas a hidden passage, the next leg of the maze.She looked for the ghost. The purple haze wasgone, but she could still smell buttered nutmeg.

She didn’t want Timmy to see her enter the nextpassageway.

“There’s a ghost right behind you,” said Joey.When Timmy’s back was turned, Joey duckeddown the hidden corridor.

This corridor was different. Its slippery woodenfloor sloped upwards. Carrot-shaped handleslined the walls. Joey pulled on the carrot-handles to help her move along the hallway.Suddenly a carrot handle turned and the flooropened under her.


39

The slippery floor became a slide. A slide intodarkness. Joey found herself wondering if she’dstumbled into a trap set by Mrs. Covert. But thiswas her uncle’s Carrot World. And he haddesigned this maze himself. He had said all therides in the park were perfectly safe. Even theones that seem scary.


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Chapter Six: The Secret Room

he slide came to an end on a moundof soft pillows. But the roombecame darker still when the slidelifted back into place, becoming

again the floor of the passageway above her.Joey reached out her arms, expecting to feelanother narrow corridor. She felt nothing at all.After a minute, her eyes became accustomed tothe dimness.

She was in a large storage room. She lookedaround for the pillows. They were gone. Sheheard Timmy, or maybe Hopalong, thump,thump, pause, thump over her head. Shethought about calling out. The maze was overher head and she had no idea how to get back upthere. This was her chance to explore by herself.

From what she could make out in the dim light,the room was nearly empty, but it smelledstrongly of buttered nutmeg. Along the walls,were large wooden boxes. She hopped over toone and opened a lid. Dirt. Just dirt with littleround black stones in it. The stones had a slight


41

metallic smell. She’d have to ask her uncleabout that.

She opened another box. More dirt, with morelittle stones. At the end of the row of boxes, shesaw a door with a black knob. She turned theknob, and pulled. Sunlight streamed in. Shesquinted and waited for her eyes to adjust. Shewas now in a glass-walled greenhouse. Joeyrecognized the delicate green tendrils of carrottops right away. She liked carrot greens. Carrotgreens couldn’t turn her orange, and she washungry. She broke off greens from several plantsand popped them into her mouth.

As she chewed the greens, the room changedcolor. Being a rabbit, Joey was used to seeinglots of red and even infrared that humans can’tsee. Now she was seeing purple. She wasstanding below a translucent purple pillow. Thepillow moved. It was a whale. Indeed, anairwhale! She could see it clearly now. Dozensof purple airwhales swam in the air around thegreenhouse. Each one was about the size of thepurple haze she’d seen near the frightened giantturtle in the petting zoo. They looked friendly.One with stripes on its side seemed to be incharge.

“Woo-loo. Ooo-ooo.” The airwhales clapped


42

their flippers against their sides.

“Where did you come from?” asked Joey.

“You’rrre rrrrrrude,” said the purple airwhale.“You land on top of me. You ignorrrrre me.Now, you ask wherrrrre I’m frrrom. I could askyou the same.” The airwhale honked andclapped.

“I’m Joey. My Uncle Gregory owns CarrotWorld. How did you get here?”

“My name is Bobbin,” said the airwhale. “Icome frrrom planet Zarrrrgon.”

“Wooo-ooo! Wooo-loooo!” cheered the otherairwhales.

“Planet Zargon?” asked Joey. “Where’s that?”

“Verrry farrrr away,” replied the airwhale. “Ooo-ooo.”

“Do you have a space ship?”

“Ship brrrrrroke when it touchedatmospherrrrrre. We escaped. Landed on fieldgrrrowing orrrange roots.”

“Those are carrots,” said Joey


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“Carrrrrots. We love carrrrrrrrots. But thensomebody built this playgrrround. We love thisplaygrrrrrround.”

Joey laughed. “This is not a playground. It’s anamusement park. You must be the ghosts thatare scaring everybody.”

“We don’t want to scare. We want to play”Bobbin brushed a flipper across the dirt wherethe carrots were growing and picked up a fewblack pebbles.

“Black rrrrrocks come frrrrom brrrrrokenrrrrrrrrocket ship. You’rrre uncle buildplaygrrround. He can build rrrrrocket ship. Helpus go home?”

“I’ll ask my uncle,” said Joey. “If there’s a wayto sell carrots - orange roots — on your homeplanet, I’m sure he’ll find a way to get there.”

“We love carrrrrots,” said the purple airwhale.“Everrybody on Zarrrrrrgon will lovecarrrrrrrrrrrots.”

“Woo-ooo!” cheered the other airwhales, clap-ping.

Joey couldn’t wait to tell her Uncle Gregory thatshe’d solved the ghost mystery. That was much


44

more exciting than finding a carrot in a maze.

The airwhale was high above her head. Joeyjumped and gave the whale a high five on itsflipper. She’d never jumped so high before inher life. As she exited the greenhouse, she said,“You’ve got to meet my uncle. He’ll know whatto do!”

Joey found herself at the edge of Carrot World.The maze hadn’t felt that big, but she was nowblocks away from the Tower of Carrots. Shebegan walking. As she neared the entrance tothe ride area, Mrs. Covert spied her.

“What are you doing back here?” demandedMrs. Covert. “Timmy and your brother came outof the maze half an hour ago.”

Before Joey could answer, Mrs. Covert took herpicture. “I’ll show your uncle where you’vebeen, and then you’ll be in trouble.”


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Chapter Seven: Tower of Carrotsf I’m not supposed to be here, thenyou’re not supposed to be here, either,”said Joey. If you show my uncle thatpicture, he’ll know you were here,

too.” Joey was not usually a brave rabbit, butever since she’d eaten those carrot greens in thegreenhouse, she felt like she could do anything.

She dashed past Mrs. Covert and ran down thepath back into the park, where she got in linewith her brother. “Where’s Uncle Gregory?” sheasked. “I’ve got news for him about theghosts.”

“He’s gone off with Aunt Jennifer to check onanother ghost scare.”

“There’s nothing to be scared of,” said Joey.

“I know that,” said Hopalong. Then he took adeep whiff. “How come you smell like butterednutmeg?”

“I’ve been talking with a ghost.”

“


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Hopalong scowled then made room for Joey inthe line. They were nearly at the front.

Joey felt brave enough to ride the Tower ofCarrots!

The Tower of Carrots was the tallest building intown. It had large orange benches lying side-ways around the base of a 100-foot-tall orangeand green tower that looked like a jumble of 6-foot long metal carrots welded together. A guardopened the carrot-shaped gateway. Children andrabbits rushed to find places on the benches

Joey and Hopalong dashed in and took the frontmiddle seats. All the seats had thick padding,and the bunnies sank into them as if they werefeatherbed comforters. Timmy followed afterthem, and tried to climb into one of the backseats. Something pushed him from behind. Heturned and saw nothing, but a clap sounded. Hescreamed, “This ride is haunted.”

“No it’s not,” said Joey. “Can’t you see there’s apurple airwhale floating above us now?

“He’s scared enough without you teasing him,”said Hopalong. “I’m going to investigate.” Hestood up in his seat and waved his paws. Aguard stopped him. “Fasten your belt. The ride


47

is about to start.”

“I’m never going to solve the mystery with allthese guards,” said Hopalong.

“I told you it’s an airwhale,” said Joey. “Stopworrying and enjoy the ride.”

The airwhale cheered, “Wooo-loo!”

Mrs. Covert yelled, “Up front Timmy! I want agood photo of you!” Timmy reluctantly came tothe front row and sat down next to Joey. Theharnesses were designed to hold them safely,when the seat dropped out from under them.

A winch pulled the cars slowly, slowly up to thetop where they could see their uncle’s carrotfields which lay far beyond the town.

“Wow!” said Hopalong. “I never knew that ouruncle’s carrot fields were so big!”

“And there’s our school!” said Joey.

Timmy gurgled if he’d regressed to babyhoodand forgotten how to talk.

When they reached the top of the tower, thebench paused for a minute. Then their seats fellout from under them.


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Timmy screamed.

Joey gasped as they hung in the air. They werein freefall.

The orange bench whooshed to the bottom ofthe tower. Rabbits and children came to a softlanding on the cushioned seats. Hopalongsmiled with relief.

“That was fun,” said Joey.

Timmy continued to scream.

Just as they were settling in at the bottom of thetower, magnets repelled their bench upwards,bouncing children and rabbits up again to thetop of the tower.

Joey laughed.

This was fun. Nothing held them. Not evengravity. Their harnesses kept them safe.

Timmy moaned and screamed again. Anairwhale called, “Woo-ooo.” Timmy lookedsicker than ever.

They fell once more, only to be repelled againby the magnets, rising higher and higher! Theybounced and fell, and bounced and fell.


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“Wooo hooo!” shouted Hopalong. His knucklesturned white, holding onto the safety bar as heleaned forward for a better view.

“Woo-ooo,” said an airwhale.

Timmy turned green. He threw up over the edgeof the carrot bench.

Joey raised her arms in the air. She smiled. Shelaughed. She’d never had so much fun in herlife. “I’m flying!” she shouted.

Every time the carrot bench fell, they wereweightless, hovering above their seats.

Every time the bench rose up to the top of thetower, gravity pushed them down deep into theircushions, making them feel heavier than after abig meal.

They bounced up again. The purple whales inthe air cheered, “Looo-ooo.” Timmy threw upagain.

Joey turned to Hopalong and said, “I’m going tobe an astronaut.”


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Chapter Eight: Candy Carrot Cotton Tails

regory and Jennifer were wait-ing for them at the base of thetower.

“Timmy, your grandma has taken her spy cam-era to the one-hour photo lab for developing,”said Jennifer. “She said you could have lunchwith us while you wait for her.”

“We’ve closed all the haunted rides,” saidGregory.

“What do you have to eat?” asked Timmy.

“Your choice: carrot sandwiches, or peanutbutter.” Timmy took a carrot sandwich, likeHopalong’s.

Once they were seated, Joey told them all aboutthe secret passage at the maze that ended in thegreenhouse, and about the airwhales that neededa rocket ship and about the possibility of sellingcarrots on another planet. This was a long


51

speech for Joey. But she wasn’t afraid of any-thing, since she ate the carrot greens and saw thepurple airwhales.

Knock, knock, pause, knock, knock, knock,pause, scratch, pause, knock knock, knock,scratch, scratch, knock, pause, knock, scratch,pause, scratch, scratch, pause, knock tappedHopalong, meaning: “is this a game?”

Scratch, pause, knock, knock, knock, knock,pause, knock, pause, knock, scratch, scratch,pause, scratch, knock, pause, knock, pause,knock, scratch, pause, knock, scratch, knock,knock, tapped Joey, meaning: “the whales arereal.”

“So that’s where you were: in the maintenancepassage. You must have gone in just as we wereshutting down some rides,” said Gregory. “Wewere worried about you.” Then he paused, andhis face turned slightly red, which is hard to dosince he was already orange. “You didn’t eat anyof the carrots did you?” Before Joey couldanswer, he said, “Of course not. You don’t eatcarrots.

“I ate the carrot greens, and then I could see thewhales.”

“Hmm aliens in our greenhouse. That is some


52

story.” Gregory stroked the back of his right ear.

“Don’t you believe me?” asked Joey. “I amtelling you. I saw them after I ate some carrotgreens. Those carrot greens in your greenhouseare the best ever.”

“I know you don’t lie,” said Gregory. “I wonderif those carrot greens make people hallucinate.Does your tummy itch?”

“I’m not hallucinating!” said Joey. “Theairwhales are everywhere, but people can’t seethem. The carrot greens have something that letsme see the airwhales. This is good for business.”

“She might be right,” said Jennifer squeezingher husband’s paw. “But how did meteor dirt getin our greenhouse? We paved over the field andbuilt Carrot World to prevent problems likethis!”

“Not in front of the boy,” said Gregory.

Jennifer remembered how her husband’s skinhad itched so badly when he became invisiblethat he had to take off all his clothes. She couldonly see him with her excellent peripheralvision. And Robes Pierre could only find him bysmell.


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“I’m telling!” said Timmy. “I’m telling mygrandmother that you are growing secret carrotsthat make people itch and hallucinate!” Timmytook another bite of his carrot sandwich. “Is thiswhat rabbits eat all the time? Yuck!”

“My tummy doesn’t itch,” said Joey. “I feelgreat! I rode the Tower of Carrots, and I didn’tthrow up!”

“I want to find the secret entrance to the green-house!” said Timmy. “I am going to be a spylike my grandmother!” As he spoke, Mrs.Covert arrived. “Timmy. Come with me. We’regoing to pick up the pictures.”

“But Grandma! I was listening. I heard that theOrange Forest Rabbit grows carrots that makeyour tummy itch.”

“You can tell me all about it while we get thepictures,” said Mrs. Covert as she put her handson Timmy’s shoulders and steered him out ofthe picnic spot.

As they neared the parking lot, Timmy saw abright orange concession stand. Its huge orangeand white sign read Carrot Cotton Tail Candy--the sweet snack you can wear. “I want CarrotCotton Tail Candy!” shouted Timmy.


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“And I want the secret recipe,” said Mrs. Co-vert. She rummaged in her big leather bag andpulled out a white smock with the words HealthDepartment Inspector embroidered on the leftshoulder, and a badge. She put her arms throughthe sleeves and buttoned the smock up over herdress

“Now you wait here, while I steal the recipe,”she told Timmy. Then she knocked on the sidedoor of the concession stand and waited to be letin.

Timmy tiptoed after her. He was never going tolearn to be a spy if he couldn’t watch his grand-mother in action. And besides, he desperatelywanted some of that Carrot Cotton Tail Candy.

A young man wearing the orange Carrot Worlduniform answered the door.

“I’m here to inspect this establishment,” saidMrs. Covert. The young man let her into thekitchen. Timmy tiptoed after.

The young man led them by a huge pot of softorange Carrot Cotton Tail Candy. Timmy dippedhis hand in and put a huge blob of soft orangecandy straight into his mouth. It was warm andsquishy. It oozed all over his tongue like thick


55

carrot-flavored honey. He took another big bloband put it on his backside like a tail. Hetwitched his rear end back and forth pretendinghe was a rabbit. He put two soft orange blobson his head like rabbit ears.

All the while he kept his eye on his grandmotheras she followed the young man in the orangeCarrot World uniform around the kitchen,walking along the orange striped floor, spying.

“I’ll need to inspect your recipe,” said Mrs.Covert.

“You may inspect our carrot grinders, and carrotgraters, and carrot steamers, and carrot grillers,”said the young man. “Not the recipe.”

“Is this orange stove where you cook thecandy?” asked Mrs. Covert.

“Yes, indeed!” said the young man. “See hownice and clean and shiny it is!”

“I see a spot down here,” said Mrs. Covert. Shepointed very low on the stove so the young manwould have to take his eyes off her to look at it.When he bent down, she grabbed the recipefrom its stand on the orange countertop betweenthe orange electric mixer and the orange ceramicsink. She took a picture of it with her spy cam-


56

era. The young man stood up quickly when hesaw the flash.

“I didn’t see a spot,” he said. Then he noticedshe was holding the secret recipe. “Did youphotograph that?”

“Photograph? ... Do you see a camera?”

“No, but I saw a flash. You can’t have thatrecipe!” He snatched it from Mrs. Covert’sfingers and put it back in its place.

“I don’t have camera. Look in my bag if youwant.” Mrs. Covert held out her gigantic leatherbag to the young man. “I need to inspect therecipe to make sure all the ingredients you useare healthy,”

“You may inspect our ingredients,” said theyoung man. “But not the recipe.” He led herback along the orange countertop to an orangecabinet. But before he could open the cabinethe noticed Timmy digging deep inside the pot oforange Carrot Cotton Tail Candy with his barehands, his face and hair all covered in candy.

“Little boy!” shouted the young man. “You arenot allowed in this kitchen. You are dirty, andthis is a clean kitchen. The health inspector ishere and you could get us in trouble.”


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“Well that does it. I’m closing this kitchen,” saidMrs. Covert.

She picked Timmy up and shouted. “You areevidence young man.” Timmy kicked andscreamed. “Let me go!”

“I’m taking you to the Orange Forest Rabbitmyself.” said Mrs. Covert. Then she turned tothe young man who stood holding the dirty potand said, “There will be no more candy makinghere until your establishment passes my inspec-tion. Close down your kitchen at once.”

As soon as they were out of earshot of thekitchen, Mrs. Covert kissed Timmy on the cheekand said, “Well done, dear. Our next stop is thegreenhouse.” She set him down on the ground,near the bushes.

Timmy broke off one of the carrot cotton candyears. He popped it into his mouth and sucked onit as he raced down the path. Mrs. Covert ranafter him.

The young man in the orange Carrot Worlduniform watched in panic. Then he returned tothe kitchen, picked up the phone, and called theOrange Forest Rabbit.

“Carrot Cotton Tail Kitchen here. We have an


58

emergency. A health inspector found a dirty boydigging into the candy cooking pot. I don’tknow how the boy got in here.”

“A what inspector?”

“A health inspector, sir.”

“Nonsense, we already passed our health inspec-tion this month.”

“Well sir, an old lady came over wearing abadge...and she shut us down.”

“Oh no! That was Mrs. Covert up to her tricks.She’s a spy for Lucky Dog Carrots, and she’salways after my secret recipes. Did she takeCarrot Cotton Tail Candy recipe?”

“No, sir, the recipe is still here, but I think thelady might have taken a picture of it. There wasa flash...”

“Where did she and the boy go?”

“They were headed towards the greenhouse.”

“I’ll have the entrance secured and call RobesPierre. Go back to the kitchen, save that pot forRobes Pierre to pick up Timmy’s scent.” Gre-gory picked up his cell phone and dialed Robes


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Pierre’s direct line. “No wonder it was so easyto talk Mrs. Covert into letting Timmy stay.”

“Orange Forest Rabbit Carrots. Chief in Chargeof Carrots speaking.”

“Robes Pierre,” said Gregory. “We need you atCarrot World. Mrs. Covert was in our candykitchen and she took pictures of our secretrecipe for Carrot Cotton Tail Candy. I need youto find her.”

“I’ll be right there!” said Robes Pierre. Hestarted to sing, “It’s playtime” It’s playtime!”


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Chapter Nine: In the Basket

obes Pierre arrived flapping hisears. He ran up to Gregory andlicked his cheek, just as Gregorywas finishing the last of his carrot

sandwich.

“It’s playtime,” Robes Pierre kept singing.

“You can play after you find Mrs. Covert,” saidGregory.

Hopalong gave Robes Pierre a piece of muffinthat he’d saved in his pocket. Robes Pierrelicked Hopalong’s paw to be sure he got everylast crumb.

‘Time’s a-wasting,” said Gregory. “The youngman who makes the candy has saved a candypot that Timmy touched, just for you to smell.You may lick it clean after you’ve foundTimmy.”

Robes Pierre flapped his ears again. “Bowl tolick! Bowl to lick! Yum!”


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He already knew Timmy’s scent. He couldsmell it on the bench beside Gregory. He put hisnose to the ground and began sniffing. The trailled him around the kitchen, and past the maze.Robes Pierre wanted to go in the maze. He wassure he could find the real carrot hidden there.He could smell Timmy’s trail going into themaze. But it was not a fresh scent. The freshscent continued along the path. Robes Pierrelooked longingly at the maze.

Someday he would go in there. Mazes are fun!He might even find the real carrot and get theprize. But he looked at the OFR logo on hisjacket and remembered that he was Vice Presi-dent of Orange Forest Rabbit Carrots Incorpo-rated, Chief in Charge of Carrots. He had re-sponsibilities. Only his nose was clever enoughto follow Timmy’s trail. Only he could save thesecret recipe.

“Now we can go on more rides,” said Joey. Sheled the family out of the picnic area toward thetwist-a-carrot ride. Suddenly she stopped andtapped on Hopalong’s arm. A series of scratchesand knocks meaning: “whale straight ahead.”

Hopalong turned to her and said, “Where?”

“Above the basket,” said Joey.


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“I don’t see a basket,” said Hopalong. “Is this agame?”

“Follow me.” Joey led Hopalong by the paw.She placed his paw on the side of the basket.

“I feel something. Something smooth andstrong,” said Hopalong. “But I don’t see any-thing.”

“Look up. Do you see a purple haze?” Joeyremembered that she had seen a haze before shecould see the airwhales.

Joey looked up at the purple airwhale. “I’mJoey. This is my family: my uncle Gregory, myaunt Jennifer and my brother Hopalong. We’regoing to the greenhouse to meet Bobbin.”

“Who are you talking to?” asked Hopalong. “Idon’t see anything.”

“Hush,” said Joey. “Don’t interrupt.”

Hopalong stopped talking, surprised. Joey neversaid hush to him. She was acting very brave thisafternoon.

“Bobbin sent me to find you,” said the airwhale.“I’m Swodin, herrr assistant. I brrrrought thisbasket to carrrrrrrrry you. I’ll lowerrr a ladderrr


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to help you climb in.” Swodin untied to a cordaround his waist, and a ladder descended. Joeystepped onto the ladder and began climbing.This was going to be the best ride ever.

“You’re just floating in the air,” said Hopalong.“How did you do that?”

Gregory and Jennifer ran over and reached theirarms up to catch Joey, but Joey did not fall.Their arms bumped into the basket. “What isgoing on here?” asked Gregory. “Why are you inthe middle of the air?”

“I’m not in the middle of the air,” said Joey.“I’m climbing a ladder into a purple basket, heldup by a purple airwhale.” She pointed to theladder. Hopalong reached where she waspointing and grabbed it. But he was afraid ofclimbing a ladder he couldn’t see.

“Come on it’s safe,” Joey finished climbing andsat comfortably inside the cushioned basket.

“You really are brave today,” said Jennifer. “Iwonder what has gotten into you.”

The three rabbits stood under the basket, theirarms out, ready to catch Joey. “I’ve been eatingthose extra-delicious carrot greens,” said Joey.“Even if you can’t see the basket, you can feel it.


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Come on! This is good for business.”

Finally Hopalong grabbed a rung and climbedup. Jennifer and Gregory continued to run theirpaws over the invisible rope ladder. It felt verystrong.

Jennifer pulled gently and the basket lowered alittle with Joey and Hopalong aboard. ThenJennifer felt her way up the ladder. Joey andHopalong helped her onto a cushion. Then shesat down and the basket went back up. “This isfun.”

“Come on, Honey Bun,” she called, waving toGregory who was still on the ground.

Gregory grabbed the ladder and began climbingup into the basket. He looked down. He felt therungs, but he couldn’t see anything under hisfeet.

Cautiously, one rung at a time, Gregory climbedthe ladder. The rungs were broad and easy tostep on, but since he couldn’t see them, hemoved very slowly. Finally he reached the topand hesitated.

“Come on in,” said Joey.

“It’s safe,” said Hopalong. “It’s an invisible


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basket with soft cushions. Sit next to me.”

“I’ll hold your paw,” said Jennifer. She held outher paw and helped her husband climb down.

Gregory patted the pillow with his foot to besure where it was. As soon as he sat down, thebasket rose high into the air. Then he said. “I’venever seen the Tower of Carrots from above,before. It’s really tall!”

“And there’s the bumper carrots and thecarrotsel,” said Jennifer. “They look so pretty.We should take a picture from up here to use inour advertising campaign.”

“The camera is broken,” said Gregory.

Jennifer reached into the satchel and pulled outthe camera. She took a picture and looked at thedigital screen on the back. “Everything showsup sharp and bright. It’s working fine now,” shesaid.

“How can you take a picture through a purplebasket,” asked Joey.

Gregory said, “Joey, I was worried about thegreenhouse carrot greens making you halluci-nate. You’ve been seeing purple airwhales and abasket that nobody else can see. And now you


66

can’t see the amazing view that all of us areenjoying. But if you hadn’t seen the basket, wewouldn’t be taking this ride. So, I think thegreenhouses carrot greens help you see thingswe don’t see.”

“Would you hold me up so I can see the view?”asked Joey.

Uncle Gregory lifted Joey onto his shoulders.She petted the silky orange fur on the backs ofhis ears while she looked around. “Now I seehow the airwhales got into the greenhouse. Thesunroof is open.”

“The sunroof is designed to open whenever theweather is warm,” said Jennifer.

“What will the airwhales eat when the green-house is closed?” asked Hopalong.

“You’re being rude again,” said Joey. “AskSwodin what he eats when the greenhouse isclosed.”

“Why?” asked Hopalong. “He heard me.”

“Airwhales only speak when spoken to,” saidJoey.

“I can’t see Swodin,” said Hopalong. “I don’t


67

know how to talk to somebody I can’t see.”

“Hah!” said Joey. “You talk to me in the darkalmost every night.”

“But I know you exist,” said Hopalong.

“And you know Swodin exists,” said Joey.

“No I don’t!” said Hopalong.

“You’ve heard him talk,” said Jennifer.

“And you’re riding in his basket,” said Gregory.“You can’t see that, but it is holding you up. Youhave to trust all your senses.”


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Chapter Ten: Trust Your Senses

kay,” said Hopalong. “I’ll talk toSwodin.” Hopalong paused andlooked up at the sky. “Okay,here goes: Swodin, what do you

eat?”

“I eat airrrrrr plankton,” said Swodin.

“What’s that?” asked Jennifer.

“Small yummy things that float in the airrrrrrr,”said Swodin.

“You mean dust?” asked Jennifer.

“I don’t know your name for it,” said Swodin. “Icall it air plankton.”

“I thought you said carrots are yummy,” saidJoey. “Now you think dust is yummy? You haveweird taste buds.”

“Now who’s being rude?” asked Hopalong.“You aren’t supposed to insult someone else’s

“


69

taste buds.”

“Look! There’s Robes Pierre sniffing around. Itlooks like he is following Timmy’s trail.”

“And it looks like Timmy is in the greenhouse.”

Swodin lowered the basket through the green-house sunroof, and gently set it down betweentwo rows of carrot seedlings. Joey scrambledout and ran to Bobbin who was swimming overto greet them. She jumped to give her a highfive on her flipper.

“Wow!” said Gregory. “That was the highesthigh five ever! I guess you don’t need to eat thewhole carrot to get a carrot boost. Eating thegreens is enough.”

“I feel like a blind person in a trap,” said Jenni-fer. She moved her paws up the sides of thebasket until she found the rim. Then she beganwalking around the basket, hunting for theladder.

Joey helped everyone find the ladder and climbout of the basket. Then she loped over toBobbin and introduced everyone. “This isBobbin. Bobbin, I’d like you to meet my UncleGregory, my Aunt Jennifer and my brother


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Hopalong.” But her family acted rudely again.They all ran towards the carrot greens, becausethey wanted to see what Joey was seeing.

Timmy and Mrs. Covert were hiding behind abig bag of dirt. They heard everything Joey andGregory said. “I don’t see a purple whale,” saidTimmy. “I think they’re lying.”

“Hush,” said Mrs. Covert. “Sometimes peopletell their best secrets when they think they arelying.”

Gregory looked around. He didn’t see Timmy.


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Chapter Eleven: Unexpected Shower

regory, Jennifer and Hopalongpicked pawfuls of carrotgreens and started chewing.

“These are delicious,” saidGregory. “Carrot greens could be a new salesitem for us.”

“We buy grrrrreens and the orrrrrrangerrrrrrroots,” said Bobbin. “This is good planet.I’ve found thrrrrrree things to buy.”

“Did you come here on a shopping trip?” askedGregory.

“No otherrr rrrrreason to trrrravel,” repliedBobbin.

Jennifer chewed her carrot frond thoughtfully,then she licked her nose. When her visionshifted and she could see Bobbin, she said,“Joey didn’t mention that you have stripes.”

Hopalong said, “More than stripes. That looks


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like a rocket ship on your side.” Bobbin turnedso that Hopalong could no longer see the rocketship design.

“I’m embarrrrrrrassed,” said Bobbin. “Icrrrashed rrrocket ship. Please don’t look at it.”

Gregory said, “What would you trade for ourcarrots?”

Bobbin squeezed her eyes shut for a momentand then said, “We can’t buy carrrrrots yet.”

“What are you waiting for?” asked Hopalong.“Orange Forest Rabbit carrots are the bestcarrots ever.”

“And you’ve already been eating them,” saidJoey. “So you have to pay for them.”

“Agrrree,” said Bobbin. “But we needrrrrrrocket ship to go. Can you build rrrrrocketship?”

“I could build one to your design,” said Gregory.

“But can’t pay,” said Bobbin.

“I’ll take the design as payment for the rocketship,” said Gregory. “And once we get toZargon, I’m sure you’ll have something to trade


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for the carrots.”

“Where is the design?” asked Jennifer.

“On my side.” said Bobbin. “I had the designtattooed.”

“Can you pack all these airwhales in that ship?”asked Jennifer. Pointing to the other airwhaleswho had come to listen.

“This is small rrrrocket ship,” said Bobbin. “Wego home and brrring big rrrrocket ship to buycarrrrots and pick up otherrr airrrwhales.”

In the back of the greenhouse, Mrs. Covert andTimmy were still hiding. “I want to see thewhales,” said Timmy.

“Ugh, we might have to eat those carrot greensafter all”

“Yuck,” whispered Timmy

Outside, Robes Pierre, raced towards the green-house. He was sure Timmy was inside. Insteadof scratching at the door, he quickly dug a tunnelunder the greenhouse wall into the potting room.Timmy saw the paws at work and pointed themout to his grandmother.


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“We can’t hide from that dog,” said Mrs. Co-vert.

Timmy didn’t wait for instructions. He stood upand activated the sprinklers. Then he made afew flips in the air knocking over potting traysand cartons of dirt. He kicked over buckets ofwater. Mrs. Covert, dripping wet, covered herwrist to protect the camera, and hurried towardsthe door.

“I’ll catch you,” shouted Joey chasing afterTimmy, also knocking over potting trays andstepping on seedling carrots.

‘Try not to hurt the carrots,” said Jennifer.

“Get out of my way.” Robes Pierre raced aheadof her.

“Halt!” shouted Gregory. But nobody halted.

Robes Pierre caught Timmy, closing his jawsdown on Timmy’s ankle and shaking his head.

“Yow! Yow! Yow!” shrieked Timmy! He wasn’thurt, but he was angry at being caught, and hewas afraid that Robes Pierre would really bitehim.

“What a horrrrrrrrrible planet!” said Swodin.


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“We can’t do business here!”

“Yow! Yow! Yow!” Timmy shrieked again!

Robes Pierre dragged Timmy to Gregory. Withhis mouth was full of Timmy’s leg, his wordswere hard to understand, “Thake him!”

Gregory took Timmy from Robes Pierre.

“Oooo, Oooooh. Owwww,” said Timmy.

“Nobody is hurting you,” said Gregory. “Bequiet.”

Mrs. Covert was already outside and running.But her bag was too heavy. Robes Pierre caughtup with her. His jaws closed on her wrist. Bitsof black plastic fell from his mouth.

“My camera! My precious camera!” cried Mrs.Covert. “You’ll pay for this!”

Robes Pierre dragged Mrs. Covert back toGregory.

“I can’t hold both of them,” said Gregory.“Timmy is too squirmy.”

“Let me have that bag.” Gregory grabbed Mrs.Covert’s leather bag. She resisted. They


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struggled. The bag fell open on the ground. Outspilled the pictures.

“Pictures!” said Bobbin. “I love pictures!”

The picture on top showed Timmy smashing hisBumper Carrot car into Hopalong’s BumperCarrot. Hopalong looked unhappy and Timmywas grinning.

“Didn’t you take a picture of me hitting him?”Joey asked.

“Why would I do that?” asked Mrs. Covert.

“That’s the maze,” said Swodin. “I love themaze.”

Hopalong asked, “Where is the picture of mefeeding the turtle?”

“I want the picture of the cotton candy recipe,”said Gregory. “And the negative.”

Joey flipped through the pictures. “I don’t seethe recipe. She’s got one of you holding someturtle food. But there’s no turtle. Just like ours.

“Where is the recipe?” asked Gregory again.

“Why would I have your recipe?” asked Mrs.


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Covert.

“The recipe was still in her camera,” said RobesPierre, smiling. “All smashed now.”

“Don’t tell me you can smell things on anundeveloped roll of film too?” asked Gregory.

“I trust my senses,” replied Robes Pierre.

“May I see the negatives?” asked Jennifer. Joeyhanded her aunt the envelope. Jennifer held thenegatives up to the light. Gregory looked atthem, too.

“Well?” asked Joey. “Do the negatives show theturtle?”

“The negatives show an airwhale, and the turtleis probably behind,” said Jennifer.

“That’s odd, the airwhale only shows in thenegatives,” said Gregory.

“Your camerrra no good,” said Bobbin from theair. “Zarrrgon camerrras verrry good”.

“Mrs. Covert,” said Gregory. “You may go now,and please stay out of my park.” He releasedTimmy.


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Mrs. Covert straightened up her hat, took herbag and headed towards the door. Timmy ranahead of her.

“Now we can do business,” said Gregory. “I’llbuild you the rocket ship in exchange for thedesign. You will also help me sell carrots andcarrot products on Zargon ...”

“Shouldn’t the airwhales do something to payfor the carrots they eat while they’re here?”asked Jennifer.

“We’ll give basket rides,” said Swodin.“They’ll be the best ride at Carrot World.”

“But nobody can see you,” said Hopalong.

“I’ve got an idea,” said Joey. “We can sell carrotgreens at the park”

“Good thinking. I have never been able to sellcarrot greens,” said Gregory “But now every-body will want to see the airwhales. You wereright. These ghosts are good for business.”

“With all the new customers, there won’t beroom for the airwhales on the rides during theday,” said Jennifer.

“We’ll be too busy giving basket rides,” said


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For the latest news about the Orange Forest Rabbit be sure to

visit:

http://www.orangeforestrabbit.com

Swodin.

“We’ll run the rides at night, just for airwhales,”said Gregory.

“Woo-oo!” called the airwhales.

“Why do you only like the rides on the ground?”asked Gregory

“We play on airrrrr all the time,” said Bobbin.

“Can we all go to Zargon?” asked Joey.

“Zarrrgon is frrriendly planet,” said Bobbin.

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Lois June Wickstrom and Lucrecia DarlingThe Mystery of the Haunted Amusement Park 4 let, and dropped...

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