Cat and mouse in a haunted house

CHAPTER 1: It was a foggy October night...

It was a foggy October night. Oh,how I wished I was at home in my comfy mouse hole! It was the perfect night to curl up with a good book and a cup of hot cheddar. But I wasn't at home. I wish I could say I was bowling down at lucky paw lanes. Or nibbling on a delicious dinner at my favourite French restaurant, Le squeaky. But I was far away from every mouse I knew. I was stuck in the middle of the DARK FOREST! Do you want to know why? Let me tell you....Lets see, oh, yes , how I got to the dark forest. Well, I had left New Mouse City to go visit my aunt Sweetfur. She was on vacation in the Pleasant Paw Hills. To get there, I had to drive through the Dark Forest. Have you ever been there? It reminds me of the woods where Hansel and Gretel mouse get lost. Very dark and spooky.

I just passed Cat Claw Rock when a foggy cloud settled over my car. I felt like one of the Three Blind Mice. I couldn't see my own paw in front of my snout! I tried to check out my map, but it was no use. I was lost!

The road grew narrow and finally led to a dirt path. Stale Swiss Rolls! This didn't look good. Now I was really in the middle of nowhere. I shivered

Who knows what kinds of crazy rats lived out here in the deep, dark woods? What if they jumped on my car? What if they jumped on me?

With shaking paws, I tried sailing my sister, Thea. Rats! I couldn't get a signal on my cell phone. Oh, how I wished I was at home! I drove on for another half hour in the thickening fog.

I tried turning on my radio to get my mind off things, but I couldn't get a station. Instead, I listened to my teeth chattering. Then suddenly, out of the fog, a sign appeared. It read: To Cannycat Castle! Too shocked to squeak, I checked my map. Strange, very strange, I thought. There was no castle listed.

I folded the map and shoved it into my pocket. Well, there was only one thing to do. I headed for the castle. I would ask for directions there.

Just then, a BOLT OF LIGHTNING streaked down right next to me! For a spit second, the Dark Forest glowed. It reminded me of the time my uncle Flickrat turned on the lights before the movie was over at the Grand Squeak Cinema. The audience went CRAZY! Every mouse wanted his or her money back. After that, Uncle Flickrat got stuck working the cheese popcorn machine. His boss wouldn't let him near a light switch.

I blink'd my eyes in the bright white light. I could just make out the shape of a weathered OLD CASTLE in the distance. Right at that very moment, my cat stopped!

I groaned. This was just not my day or night. I hopped out of the car.

Now what? I knew next to nothing about cars. I have trouble pumping my own gas! Suddenly, it started to rain. My whiskers were soon DRIPPING with water. And it was bitterly cold.

I turned up my collar and started along the path leading to the castle.

It was covered with dried twigs that cracked under my paws. The grass surrounding the castle looked like it hadn't been mowed in YEARS!!!

Overgrown bushes lined the walls. The place really need a good lawn service, I thought. Maybe I could give the owners my cousins Greenpaws's business card. He cut lawns for a living." Next yellow, green is my favourite colour" he liked to say. Staring up at the dark castle, I stumbled over more twigs. Maybe there was another reason why this place was a mess.

Maybe the castle was empty