The Shelf Beneath the Pumpkin — Past the stepping stones, Arlo hurried with a pumpkin pail bumping his knee—clack, clack, clack—because the bookshop bell had chimed three times without anyone touching it. Read the full story →
Past the stepping stones, Arlo hurried with a pumpkin pail bumping his knee—clack, clack, clack—because the bookshop bell had chimed three times without anyone touching it. Warm paper smell drifted through the open door, and a little bat-winged cat tapped one paw against the threshold. Arlo wanted to solve the bell’s riddle before the clouds covered the moon, so he followed the sound between shelves, past jars of candy buttons and books that rustled like dry leaves.
The chime grew quicker near the front window. “Where are you hiding?” Arlo whispered, and the ghost by the display giggled like wind in a bottle. Everyone looked up at the roof, the doorway, even the smiling pumpkins outside—but the sound came from down low. Arlo knelt and slid a loose floorboard from beneath the lowest shelf. Inside was a tiny brass bell tied to a rolled map, and the map showed secret reading spots all over town.
The cat gave the bell one proud tap, and the ghost floated backward as if the whole shop had just taken a deep, happy breath. Arlo tucked the map into the pumpkin pail, ready to race wherever it led first. If you trace the books beneath the window, can you guess which shelf hid the bell that went clack, clack, clack?
