It was a dark, stormy night in the winter of 1839. The wind was whirling while the tree branches were cracking. The window shades were banging on the windows. A slim seven-year old boy, Gunthur was walking through the dark, screechy forest. He suddenly noticed a skinny creature with long white hair. His face was as dark as a howling hound and was heading closer and closer towards him...

The next morning Gunthur found himself in his own bedroom. Everything was still the same. His wooden bed still had that crack that he cut with his carving knife. He went from his bed and checked his jewellery box and wardrobe to make sure everything was still there. As he turned around he noticed a note pinned to his large wooden door. It read:

Gunthur,
You must meet me at the old cemetery under the bridge at quarter to two this afternoon. Don't be late or you'll be sorry!
Unsigned...

Gunthur was very scared about this. So, after his mid-day meal, he asked Selden his best friend, to come along. They met at Gunthur's house. When they left for the cemetery at 1:30pm, they did not know what to expect. Gunthur brought his carving knife along just in case. When they got there nobody was around. They waited for about half an hour, but still nobody appeared. So, they both decided to go inside the cemetery. Still, no sight of anyone.

Fearfully they planned to leave, and as they turned around and took a step forward, something grabbed their ankles. Turning white as a sheet, they screamed and tried to pull away. But, the grasps tightened. There were hands reaching up through the dirt beside the grave. Gunthur quickly took out his knife and chopped the hands off and both dashed to the exit. As they stumbled over wet grass, green hands popped out everywhere. Pop! Thwack! Pop! Thwack! The hands rose up and reached for them. They darted to the left. Pop! Then to the right. Pop!

"Run, Selden! Run!" Gunthur shouted to his friend. He could hear Selden's sneakers pounding on the ground behind him. Finally, with much effort, they made it to the cemetary gate. As they went out they saw a men dressed in a black cloak like a druid, trying to get closer to them.

He said, "Gunthur, I saw you in the forest yesterday. I was the one who have put you to sleep and pinned a note on your door. Now, I am here to warn you. I will give you two sheets of paper with two simple riddles, one on each sheet. Show them to your parents. I have cast a spell on these riddles, they can give the correct answer to these riddles, they are humans. But if they cannot, then they are something horrible. The spell will turn them into whatever they really are..." Then he disappeared suddenly.

Gunthur and Selden were terrified when they looked at the sheets. The first one read:
A box without hinges, key or lid
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.

There was complete silence. Then all of a sudden Selden said, "I know! It is an egg!"

Then they flipped to the next page. The second one read:
Thirty white horses on a white hill
First they champ
Then they stamp
Then they stand still.

Then there was silent again, but it did not take long for Gunthur to say, "This is easy. The answer is teeth!"

Then they went home. When Gunthur arriver home, the first thing he did was to ask his parents, "Father and Mother, I need to find the answer to these two riddles. Can you please help me?"

Gunther pleaded, but his parents could not possibly figure out the correct answers. In the meantime, they started to get clearer and clearer, and Gunthur could see through them. It took no time for him to realize that they were actually........Ghosts!........

"Darn! Now that Gunthur found out that we are ghosts, what should we do with him ?" asked his mother.....

K.L., Grade Six
Upper Canada College Preparatory School

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