Chapter 3: Ghost Still At Large

"Well then I guess I can leave out my cupcakes now." Lucy beamed as she laid out a tray. "And now NO ONE will steal them."

"Just to be sure, I'll make sure every trap is effective and foolproof." Marcie offered.

Lucy smiled "Thanks, Nerd."

Miss Etta looked over, with curlers in her feathers "Oh I sure hope Lucy's right about this ghost problem being over..."

The next morning, Lucy rushed to the treehouse to check on her pastries, only to gasp at an empty tray and untouched traps. "HOW-BUT-DIDN'T WE-I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!"

She grabbed the tray and stormed over to the classroom again, seeing the kids and dinosaurs playing around with a dress-up chest.

"Maybe I'll be a witch, this year!" Heather said before shaking her head "Nah, black's not my color."

"Snoopy, what're you gonna be?" Linus asked. Snoopy shrugged.

"I'm gonna be Alice!" Sally told Baby Bop, while putting on an Alice in Wonderland bow.

Baby Bop giggled. "Pretty. I wonder what I wanna be..."

"Sissy, Halloween's tomorrow." BJ scoffed.

"You cannot be too early." Chip joked while examining a werewolf costume.

"There are so many things to be for Halloween!" Lila squealed with delight.

Lila:

What I want to be, what I want to be

When I go out on Halloween.

What I want to be, what I want to be

Is a princess or a ballerina.

Each house I see, what fun it would be.

We'll play trick or treat, just you and me!

Barney's Friends and Peanuts Gang:

I'll do what I do so carefully

When I go out on Halloween.

What I want to be, what I want to be

When I go out on Halloween.

What I want to be, what I want to be

Charlie Brown:

Is a farmer or a firefighter.

Barney, Baby Bop, Barney's Friends and Peanuts Gang:

Each house I see, what fun it would be.

We'll play trick or treat, just you and me.

I'll do what I do so carefully

When I go out on Halloween.

Lila:

Princess?

Ballerina?

Charlie Brown:

Farmer?

Firefighter?

Barney, Baby Bop, BJ, Barney's Friends and Peanuts Gang:

We'll do what we do so carefully

Baby Bop:

When I go out on Halloween.

"I know what I'm gonna be!" Peppermint Patty explained with a wink.

"What's that?" Marcie yawned.

The tomboy rummaged in the dress up chest and then showed everyone a pair of vampire teeth. "A VAMPIRE!"

"YIPE!" gulped Marcie, accidentally stumbling into the dress up chest.

Lila giggled and helped her friend out "It's just Patty being scary."

"I know what I'm gonna wear." Linus said.

"I thought you aren't going out for Halloween." Smirked Hannah, checking on something in a basket.

"I'm not, but Lila suggested we dress up to meet the Great Pumpkin." Linus said. "Either way, I'm gonna be Joseph from the Bible. I'm gonna sew colorful fabrics together to make my coat!"

"Sounds imaginative." Barney said.

"Who's Joseph?" BJ asked.

SLAM

"Hold that thought, Lucy's here." BJ retracted. "And she doesn't look happy."

"Someone ate my cupcakes! AGAIN!" Lucy angrily exclaimed. The kids were bewildered. They thought they solved their ghost problem.

"Let's be reasonable: what're we dealing with?" Charlie Brown asked.

"A ghost." Kristen said.

"A ghost that ate LUCY'S cupcakes" BJ clarified.

"Hmmm, what's IN the cupcakes?" Chip asked

"Whatta ya mean?" Peppermint Patty arched an eyebrow.

"If we know ALL the ingredients, we'll know who might've or might not have eaten the cupcakes." Chip said. "Maybe there's a secret ingredient."

"It's just the usual things for cupcakes, with grated carrots and crushed peanuts." Lucy explained.

"I don't like peanuts, so I didn't eat them." Heather said.

"I LOVE peanuts! Those are delicious!" Scooter smiled as he poked his head in an open window.

"Okay, Scooter has a motif..." Chip realized.

"Why would I eat a cupcake with a vegetable?" Peppermint Patty asked.

"So does Pepper..." Chip noticed.

"Hmmmm...you don't suppose..." Lila said, turning her attention to Barney.

"Don't be silly! Why would Barney eat them?" Sally exclaimed.

"Yeah. Barney prefers PEANUT BUTTER." Lucy clarified.

"She's got a point." Barney shrugged.

"How do YOU know THAT?" Linus smirked.

"I just do." Lucy huffed.

"That means the rest of us are suspects." Gulped Sally. "I DON'T WANNA BE A SUSPECT IN A CRIME I DIDN'T COMMIT!"

"Maybe the treehouse actually IS haunted!" Peppermint Patty smirked, scaring the six year old.

"Pepper, stop it." Chip groaned.

Just then, Stella arrived in her door, which had been decorated with orange and black streamers.

"I wonder where she's been now." Linus smiled.

Stella chuckled and peered her head out of the door, making the kids gasp: she was in a full vampire costume with fake fangs and makeup to give her skin a ghostly look.

"VAMPIRE!" Baby Bop screamed, hiding in her blankey.

"It's not a real vampire, you blockdino. It's Stella." Lucy said.

"Hey Stella!" Marcie waved.

"Good evening!" Stella replied, pretending to be a real vampire. She then chuckled. "So, what's new?"

"A ghost keeps stealing MY cupcakes!" Lucy fretted.

Stella smiled a little "Don't worry, Lucy. I'm sure you'll catch the ghost."

"So, where've you been?" asked Chip.

"I am actually getting ready for a Halloween Party, at my good friend Dracula's place!" Stella declared.

"Dracula?!" Peppermint Patty gasped. "Is he really as scary as he's portrayed?"

Stella shook her head "No, he's actually a really sweet guy."

"See? Things aren't always as they seem." Linus reminded.

"In fact, zat reminds me of a ztory!" Stella said, putting on an accent. She then pulled out a puppet from her suitcase.

"Oh boy! I love stories!" Barney smiled.

"Once upon a time. There was a boy who delivered newspapers, early in the morning." Stella began. "The boy liked to be awake before everyone else. He'd ride his bicycle through the quiet neighborhood...but there was a teeny tiny problem."

A dramatic pause.

"At the end of his route was a great, big, spooky house! The boy had heard there was a great, big, spooky dog who lived there." Stella continued as Lila rushed over to manipulate a dog puppet. "So everyday, he would carefully deliver the newspaper to the house and then pedal off."

"Oooooh!" Snoopy gasped.

"ONE MORNING, the boy got up early, before anyone else, and went about his route. He threw papers left and he threw them right. Then he reached the great, big, spooky house. He carefully threw a newspaper and began to pedal off, when his bicycle got caught on a rock and he landed with a BOOM!"

The kids, animals and dinosaurs gasped.

"Now, the dog burst out of the house and off the yard and right towards the little boy! He was scared, frightened and almost certain the dog would bite him!"

She paused.

"But the dog just whimpered and licked the boy's face. He wasn't a mean dog at all. He was great and big, but didn't want to hurt anyone. He just wanted a friend."

"Awwwwww!" Snoopy and Woodstock said.

"The boy realized how wrong he was to judge the dog without knowing him and from that day on, when the boy got up early and delivered papers, he'd always wave to the great, big, spooky house with the great, big, friendly dog. The end."

"Yay!" the kids cheered.

"That story was just what we needed." Sally said. "To get our minds off of...the you know what."

Stella smiled "Don't worry, Sally. I KNOW you all will figure out what's going on."

"I know we will, too!" Heather bubbled.

"Well then, I must get going now. And until we meet again..." Stella chuckled as she reentered the door. "Good evening..."

"Good evening!" the kids and dinosaurs replied.

"Toodles!"

As Stella left, the others stood by. "You know, I thought for sure the trap was indeed foolproof." Danny said.

Hannah shrugged "We'll find a way TO catch the 'ghost'." She did parentheses on 'ghost'. "So, while we think of a plan, who wants an apple doughnut?"

"YUM!" BJ gasped, grabbing one.

"I do!" added Baby Bop.

"I'm good." Marcie said.

Hannah smiled "They don't have sugar."

"Still a pass."

"So, let's think of a plan. Clearly our last one didn't work." Linus said.

Sally then sat on the bench outside the treehouse while she hummed a song, trying to come up with an idea to catch the ghost.

Sally:

I''d like to think of something

I'd never thought before.

If it doesn't happen right away,

I'll think a little more.

I'll sit a little while

Imagine what could be.

And a new idea might come to me.

I'd like to think of something new,

Something fun to do.

Maybe solve a problem

Or fix a thing or two.

If I sit a little while I'm sure I'll see.

A new idea will come to me.

"HEY! I GOT IT!" Sally smiled, her mind already hatching an idea.

"Big brother! Big brother! Everyone! In the treehouse!" she ordered.