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 The Pumpkin That Said “BOO!”

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The Pumpkin That Said “BOO!”

Halloween had arrived in the backyard, and Basil, Watson, and Sherlock were busy decorating with their friends from The Backyard Adventure Crew.

Basil wore a tiny vampire cape. Watson had fuzzy bat wings. Sherlock wore his detective hat because, according to Sherlock, “A mystery can happen at any moment!”

Suddenly...

“BOOOOO!”

Everyone froze.

“Did that pumpkin just talk?” whispered Watson.

Sitting near the garden was a giant orange jack-o’-lantern.

Sherlock crept closer.

“BOOOOO!”

Basil jumped straight into a pile of leaves.

Watson hid behind Sherlock.

“Don’t worry,” Sherlock said bravely. “We shall investigate!”

The three brothers slowly approached the pumpkin.

Sherlock sniffed it.

Basil peeked behind it.

Watson looked underneath it.

Then—

ACHOO!

A tiny head popped out of the pumpkin.

It was Theo the frog!

“THEO!” everyone shouted.

Theo giggled. “I thought Halloween needed a little more BOO!”

Basil shook the leaves from his cape.

“You nearly scared the whiskers off me!”

Everyone laughed so hard that even Sherlock forgot to look serious.

But suddenly, from behind the fence came another sound.

“BOOOOOOO!”

Everyone stared at Theo.

Theo’s eyes grew huge.

“That wasn’t me.”

The Adventure Crew screamed and raced toward the house.

Behind the fence, a tiny owl blinked.

“Whoooo?”

And that was the night everyone learned that sometimes the spookiest Halloween mysteries have the silliest answers.

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Basil, Watson & Sherlock and the Great Fall Leaf Mystery

The backyard looked completely different.

The green leaves had turned red, orange, yellow, and gold, and every little breeze sent them twirling through the air.

Basil raced through a giant pile.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

Watson jumped in after him.

POOF!

Leaves flew everywhere.

Sherlock stood nearby wearing his detective hat.

“Gentlemen,” he announced, “those leaves were perfectly organized.”

Basil popped his head out of the pile.

“That was the problem!”

Suddenly—

RUSTLE... RUSTLE... RUSTLE...

Everyone stopped.

The biggest pile of leaves in the backyard was MOVING!

Watson's eyes grew wide.

“Sherlock... leaves aren't supposed to walk.”

The pile moved again.

RUSTLE... BUMP... RUSTLE!

Basil backed away.

“Maybe it's a leaf monster!”

Sherlock stepped forward.

“There is no such thing as a—”

ROOOOAR!

The leaf pile jumped!

Basil, Watson, and Sherlock took off running.

“LEAF MONSTER!” cried Watson.

The rest of The Backyard Adventure Crew came rushing over.

Nala and Gus climbed to a safe spot.

Skie hid behind a pumpkin.

Theo the frog hopped straight into a flowerpot.

Then the mysterious pile started chasing everyone around the backyard.

RUSTLE! RUSTLE! RUSTLE!

Sherlock suddenly stopped.

“WAIT!”

He noticed something sticking out from underneath the leaves.

A tail!

Sherlock grabbed the leaves with his teeth.

Basil and Watson helped.

PULL!

Leaves went flying everywhere.

And underneath was...

RHINO!

Rhino had crawled into the warm pile for a nap and accidentally gotten buried.

“You thought I was a monster?” Rhino asked.

Watson looked embarrassed.

“A very terrifying monster.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Just then, a gust of wind swept through the backyard.

WHOOOOOSH!

Hundreds of colorful leaves swirled around the friends.

Basil jumped.

Watson rolled.

Sherlock forgot all about being a serious detective and dove straight into the biggest pile.

POOF!

Only his little detective hat remained on top.

“Sherlock?” called Basil.

A nose appeared.

Then two eyes.

“Case closed!” Sherlock announced.

The Backyard Adventure Crew spent the rest of the afternoon jumping through leaves, rolling past pumpkins, and enjoying the crisp autumn air.

As the sun began to set, the friends curled up together beneath their favorite tree.

Basil smiled.

“Fall might be the best season ever.”

Watson nodded.

“Especially when the monsters turn out to be friends.”

From inside the leaf pile came a voice.

“ROOOOAR!”

Everyone jumped.

Rhino popped out laughing.

“Got you again!”

And the backyard filled with laughter.

 Until Our Next Adventure...