High on a hill, in a small quiet town sat a big old tumbled down house. When rain pounded on the roof, buckets in the attic caught the raindrops. Ping! Ping! Ping!
Harry had told his friends about the dangers that lurked inside. Not one of Harry’s friends would go near the old house.
One evening when it was almost dark, five boys rode their bikes to the edge of town. Harry was in the lead. He decided to show his friends just how brave he was.
“Stop right here!” said Harry. “I’m going inside this old house and I dare you guys - I double dog dare you guys- to go inside with me.”
“Not me,” shouted each of the four boys. They parked their bikes and hid behind a big tree.
Slowly, Harry climbed the steps to the front porch. Before he could tap, the knocker knocked. Then the front door opened. He looked down a long hallway. Was that sound a clock tick-tocking?
What a noisy house.
The knocker knocked.
A clock tick-tocked.
Was Harry afraid? No! Not one bit.
Harry stepped inside. The door slammed. Outside the shutters bammed.
What a noisy house.
The knocker knocked.
A clock tick-tocked.
The door slammed.
The shutters bammed.
Was Harry afraid? No! Not one bit.
Harry climbed the stairs. The stairs creaked. A mouse squeaked.
What a noisy house.
The knocker knocked.
A clock tick-tocked.
The door slammed.
The shutters bammed.
The stairs creaked.
The mouse squeaked.
Was Harry afraid? No, not one bit.
At the top of the stairs, Harry heard a snake rattle. From the drawing room, a bat skedaddled.
What a noisy house.
The knocker knocked.
A clock tick-tocked.
The door slammed.
The shutters bammed.
The stairs creaked.
The mouse squeaked.
The snake rattled.
A bat skedaddled.
Was Harry afraid? No! Not on bit!
Down the hallway, Harry thought he heard a ghost howl. As he opened the library door, a cat meowed.
What a noisy house.
The knocker knocked.
A clock tick-tocked.
The door slammed.
The shutters bammed.
The stairs creaked.
The mouse squeaked.
The snake rattled.
A bat skedaddled.
The ghost howled.
A cat meowed.
Was Harry afraid? No! Not one bit.
In the library, sat a wrinkled old woman all dressed in black. On the table beside her were two glasses of milk and six chocolate-chip cookies.
“You’re late again, Harry dear,” said his Auntie. “Come in and sit down.”
Harry’s friends waited for what seemed like forever near the old tumbled-down house. Suddenly, without warning, the front door burst open. Harry came bounding down the front-porch steps two at a time.
His friends rushed out of the shadows of the big oak tree to greet him. “What happened in there?” they asked. “What did you find?”
“Well, let me count—
A mouse squeaked,
a snake rattled,
a bat skedaddled,
a ghost howled,
a cat meowed,
and there was a wrinkled old lady all dressed in black.”
“Harry, weren’t you afraid?”
Harry chuckled. “No! Not one bit.”