It took a lot to convince Muriel to let him go outside - especially since
he had been too anxious and wasn't able to eat much of his breakfast.
He quickly headed for Shirley's little shop on the outskirts of town. By the time he got to the shop it was a just past noon and Shirley was just leaving with her cart.
"Shirley!" Courage ran hard to catch up with her.
Shirley turned around and saw Courage running down the road. "Whoa .. be careful. You might hurt somebody running that fast."
Courage gasped to catch his breath as he caught up with Shirley.
"What the matter with you Courage?" Shirley's tone of voice sounded as if she was more annoyed than anything else.
Courage finally caught his breath and explained about the necklace and strange events that had been reported in town. Shirley listened wide-eyed as Courage told her what had happened at the farm last night.
"Do you have the necklace with you?"
Courage nodded, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."
"Let's go take a look it." Shirley led Courage into her shop and into a back room. There was a round table in the center of the room with four chairs arranged around it. A crystal ball sat on the table close one of the chairs. Shirley sat in the chair near the crystal ball and Courage picked one of the chairs next to her. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket had handed it to Shirley.
Shirley studied the necklace and reached back to get a book out of the bookcase that stood against the wall behind her. She searched through and matched some of the symbols of the necklace to pictures in the book. Finally, she reached back to get another book and flipped through the pages until she was able to match the verse on the pendant to one she found in the book.
She looked down at the necklace again then got up and walked over to a small desk in the corner of the room. She searched through some papers in the drawer until she pulled out a folder with some newspaper clippings in it. When she turned back toward the table, Courage noticed that she had tears in her eyes.
Shirley stood by the table for a moment staring at the folder before finally sitting down and taking a deep breath. "I know all about the children Courage. It happened a long time ago but I must warn you, it's a sad story. "
Courage looked down at the folder then back up at Shirley who was staring blankly down at the table. After a moment, she looked through the folder and pulled out an old newspaper clipping. She handed it to Courage.
Courage read, "There were several tombs broken into last night at the cemetary. One of the tombs that was broken into was the monument to the children who got lost while on a nature outing with their teacher. The tomb contains what little was found of the teacher and children. There was also a necklace that had been placed in the tomb by the townspeople after several reports of children crying from somewhere in the cemetary. According to various reports, the crying stopped when the necklace, which was supposed to be for protection from evil, was placed inside the tomb. However this necklace appears to have been stolen."
Courage looked back up at Shirley. "This is the necklace that was stolen from the tomb?"
Shirley just nodded.
Courage looked back down at the pendant then back up at Shirley. "Can you tell me the whole story?"
Shirley gazed blankly at the crystal ball and nodded. "It happened over a hundred years ago. I'm not sure exactly when because I heard the story from my mother who had heard it from my grandmother. There used to be a school just a few miles outside of Nowhere. It was a one-room school house and all the grades were taught by one teacher, a man called Mr. Worth. All the children liked Mr. Worth because he was a good teacher who cared about them. He often took his class on nature walks into the mountains several miles north of Nowhere. These trips were usually took one or two days and the parents all gladly gave their children permission to go. The last trip Mr. Worth and his class took was in early spring just one week after what was supposed to be the last snow of the year. The weather was good when they left and he had planned for the class to be gone about three days. Most of the snow had already melted with the warmer weather so the children didn't bring a lot of warm clothing. They weren't prepared for the freak snow-storm that hit late the second day. Worried parents got together a seach party and went up into the mountains to look for them when then didn't return on the fourth day. But the unusually cold weather made the search almost impossible. The remains of Mr. Worth and the children weren't found until late in the spring and, back then they really weren't able to .. well .." Shirley hesitated, "They put all of the children in one large tomb with their teacher."
Shirley stopped for a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. Courage gazed blankly down at the pendant as he waited for Shirley to continue.
"People started hearing voices from the cemetary. They were the voices of frightened children crying. There was also another voice that could be heard sometimes. The voice of a man trying to comfort the children saying things like, 'I won't let them get you.' People began to think that spirits of the children were trapped in this world for some unknown reason and there was something evil trying to hurt the them. So they called upon an old lady who was rumored to be a witch to cast a spell to protect the children. This old lady was my great grandmother. She made this pendant to protect the spirits of the children and their teacher until it was time for them all go to the next world. The front of the pendant has a picture of the tomb surrounded by symbols of protection. The back is a prayer of protection written in an ancient language - I do not remember which one. About fifty years later, as you read in the article, someone broke into the tomb and stole the necklace. Ever since then the children have been haunting the town. They come out every 10 years frightening people and causing mischief for several weeks before disappearing again. The reason the children are haunting the town and your farm is that they are searching for their necklace. They will haunt the people of this town and, especially anybody who has the necklace until the necklace is returned."
Shirley looked into Courage's eyes, " I would hate to be living at your house right now Courage. From what you told me, those children are very angry!"
"But, how did the necklace get in my yard?" Courage asked.
Shirley thought about it for a second or two. "The person who had it was probably scared to death of the ghosts and decide to get rid of it. They must have burried it in your yard to hide it.
Courage looked down and gulped to swallow the fear in his throat then looked back up at Shirley. "So all we have to do is return the necklace to the tomb, right?"
Shirly looked back towards her crystal ball. "I wish it were that easy, but you see, the cemetary was destroyed during an earthquake over 60 years ago and the tomb is no more. Part of the town of Nowhere is built on what used to be that cemetary so there is no way of even finding out exactly where the tomb was located." Shirley turned her gaze back toward Courage, "There is only one way to return the necklace and that is to give the necklace back to the children .. and you have to be the one to do it."
Courage thought about this for a few moments. "How do I do that?" He knew the answer even before he asked the question.
"You have to wait until the children appear at your farm again - and they will appear. They will continue to appear and wreak havoc on your home until you give the necklace back to them. When they appear you must take the necklace to them."
Courage turned pale white and nearly melted out of his chair at the very thought of going near any of the ghosts. He was about to ask something else when the sound of child's angry shriek startled both of them. Courage grabbed the necklace and they both ran to the door. When they got to the door of Shirley's shop, they realized that it was nearly dark outside. The children would return to the farm soon and one could only guess what they would do.
"Courage, quick, we have to get to your house!!" Shirley was already headed up the road and Courage ran after her grateful that Shirley was going back to the farm with him.
He quickly headed for Shirley's little shop on the outskirts of town. By the time he got to the shop it was a just past noon and Shirley was just leaving with her cart.
"Shirley!" Courage ran hard to catch up with her.
Shirley turned around and saw Courage running down the road. "Whoa .. be careful. You might hurt somebody running that fast."
Courage gasped to catch his breath as he caught up with Shirley.
"What the matter with you Courage?" Shirley's tone of voice sounded as if she was more annoyed than anything else.
Courage finally caught his breath and explained about the necklace and strange events that had been reported in town. Shirley listened wide-eyed as Courage told her what had happened at the farm last night.
"Do you have the necklace with you?"
Courage nodded, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."
"Let's go take a look it." Shirley led Courage into her shop and into a back room. There was a round table in the center of the room with four chairs arranged around it. A crystal ball sat on the table close one of the chairs. Shirley sat in the chair near the crystal ball and Courage picked one of the chairs next to her. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket had handed it to Shirley.
Shirley studied the necklace and reached back to get a book out of the bookcase that stood against the wall behind her. She searched through and matched some of the symbols of the necklace to pictures in the book. Finally, she reached back to get another book and flipped through the pages until she was able to match the verse on the pendant to one she found in the book.
She looked down at the necklace again then got up and walked over to a small desk in the corner of the room. She searched through some papers in the drawer until she pulled out a folder with some newspaper clippings in it. When she turned back toward the table, Courage noticed that she had tears in her eyes.
Shirley stood by the table for a moment staring at the folder before finally sitting down and taking a deep breath. "I know all about the children Courage. It happened a long time ago but I must warn you, it's a sad story. "
Courage looked down at the folder then back up at Shirley who was staring blankly down at the table. After a moment, she looked through the folder and pulled out an old newspaper clipping. She handed it to Courage.
Courage read, "There were several tombs broken into last night at the cemetary. One of the tombs that was broken into was the monument to the children who got lost while on a nature outing with their teacher. The tomb contains what little was found of the teacher and children. There was also a necklace that had been placed in the tomb by the townspeople after several reports of children crying from somewhere in the cemetary. According to various reports, the crying stopped when the necklace, which was supposed to be for protection from evil, was placed inside the tomb. However this necklace appears to have been stolen."
Courage looked back up at Shirley. "This is the necklace that was stolen from the tomb?"
Shirley just nodded.
Courage looked back down at the pendant then back up at Shirley. "Can you tell me the whole story?"
Shirley gazed blankly at the crystal ball and nodded. "It happened over a hundred years ago. I'm not sure exactly when because I heard the story from my mother who had heard it from my grandmother. There used to be a school just a few miles outside of Nowhere. It was a one-room school house and all the grades were taught by one teacher, a man called Mr. Worth. All the children liked Mr. Worth because he was a good teacher who cared about them. He often took his class on nature walks into the mountains several miles north of Nowhere. These trips were usually took one or two days and the parents all gladly gave their children permission to go. The last trip Mr. Worth and his class took was in early spring just one week after what was supposed to be the last snow of the year. The weather was good when they left and he had planned for the class to be gone about three days. Most of the snow had already melted with the warmer weather so the children didn't bring a lot of warm clothing. They weren't prepared for the freak snow-storm that hit late the second day. Worried parents got together a seach party and went up into the mountains to look for them when then didn't return on the fourth day. But the unusually cold weather made the search almost impossible. The remains of Mr. Worth and the children weren't found until late in the spring and, back then they really weren't able to .. well .." Shirley hesitated, "They put all of the children in one large tomb with their teacher."
Shirley stopped for a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. Courage gazed blankly down at the pendant as he waited for Shirley to continue.
"People started hearing voices from the cemetary. They were the voices of frightened children crying. There was also another voice that could be heard sometimes. The voice of a man trying to comfort the children saying things like, 'I won't let them get you.' People began to think that spirits of the children were trapped in this world for some unknown reason and there was something evil trying to hurt the them. So they called upon an old lady who was rumored to be a witch to cast a spell to protect the children. This old lady was my great grandmother. She made this pendant to protect the spirits of the children and their teacher until it was time for them all go to the next world. The front of the pendant has a picture of the tomb surrounded by symbols of protection. The back is a prayer of protection written in an ancient language - I do not remember which one. About fifty years later, as you read in the article, someone broke into the tomb and stole the necklace. Ever since then the children have been haunting the town. They come out every 10 years frightening people and causing mischief for several weeks before disappearing again. The reason the children are haunting the town and your farm is that they are searching for their necklace. They will haunt the people of this town and, especially anybody who has the necklace until the necklace is returned."
Shirley looked into Courage's eyes, " I would hate to be living at your house right now Courage. From what you told me, those children are very angry!"
"But, how did the necklace get in my yard?" Courage asked.
Shirley thought about it for a second or two. "The person who had it was probably scared to death of the ghosts and decide to get rid of it. They must have burried it in your yard to hide it.
Courage looked down and gulped to swallow the fear in his throat then looked back up at Shirley. "So all we have to do is return the necklace to the tomb, right?"
Shirly looked back towards her crystal ball. "I wish it were that easy, but you see, the cemetary was destroyed during an earthquake over 60 years ago and the tomb is no more. Part of the town of Nowhere is built on what used to be that cemetary so there is no way of even finding out exactly where the tomb was located." Shirley turned her gaze back toward Courage, "There is only one way to return the necklace and that is to give the necklace back to the children .. and you have to be the one to do it."
Courage thought about this for a few moments. "How do I do that?" He knew the answer even before he asked the question.
"You have to wait until the children appear at your farm again - and they will appear. They will continue to appear and wreak havoc on your home until you give the necklace back to them. When they appear you must take the necklace to them."
Courage turned pale white and nearly melted out of his chair at the very thought of going near any of the ghosts. He was about to ask something else when the sound of child's angry shriek startled both of them. Courage grabbed the necklace and they both ran to the door. When they got to the door of Shirley's shop, they realized that it was nearly dark outside. The children would return to the farm soon and one could only guess what they would do.
"Courage, quick, we have to get to your house!!" Shirley was already headed up the road and Courage ran after her grateful that Shirley was going back to the farm with him.