When the Ghost Dog Howls

  Marnie laughed. “Look. It says you just add water and sand!”

  “Kind of funny,” I muttered. A slim green lizard with bright red eyes caught my attention. Was it made of rubber? Plastic? A sign read: GO AHEAD. PET THE LIZARD.

  I reached out two fingers and gently rubbed the toy lizard’s back.

  “AAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!”

  I jumped a mile as a deafening scream blared from the lizard’s open mouth.

  Marnie laughed. “That really gotcha, Andy! Ha-ha. I want one of those!”

  “Is this some kind of joke store?” I asked.

  We both turned and saw a blue-and-white sign above the cash register counter. In big drippy letters it read: CHILLER HOUSE. Under that it said: GIFTS & SOUVENIRS. ESTABLISHED 1496.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. For sure. 1496. Like I believe that.”

  “This store is awesome,” Marnie said. She picked up a glass candy jar. The label read: SOUR GUMMI GERMS. “Check it out, Andy. I guess they’re all shaped like germs!”

  “Yum!” I said.

  I glanced around. It was a small store. But it had shelves from floor to ceiling on every wall, and display counters and shelves stacked high in the middle of the room.

  Things were piled everywhere. There was barely room to walk. All the shelves were jammed with toys, and candy, and dolls, and scarves, and masks, and T-shirts, and all kinds of junk.

  Marnie and I were the only customers. I didn’t see anyone behind the cash register.

  I picked up a box with a huge gorilla on the front. It said: INFLATABLE 800-POUND GORILLA. I set it down next to a giant shark jaw.

  “Anyone home?” Marnie called.

  Silence.

  She cupped her hands around her mouth and tried again. “Anyone here? Is the store open?”

  I heard a rustling sound from somewhere behind us. Then I heard footsteps. A man stepped out from behind a stack of boxes.

  I blinked. He was big and balding, and he looked a lot like the drawing of Benjamin Franklin in our history textbook. Or maybe the old guy on the Quaker Oats oatmeal box.

  I mean, he looked very old-fashioned.

  He had little square eyeglasses perched low on his long pointed nose. He had pale blue eyes and thick white eyebrows. His thinning gray hair was swept back on his broad pink forehead and was scraggly in the back.

  He wore a dark suit with a vest under the jacket. A ruffly white shirt and a black bow tie, big and loosely tied.

  “Hello. Welcome,” he said. He had a croaky old man’s voice. When he smiled, a gold tooth gleamed in the side of his mouth.

  He rubbed his hands together as if he were cold. He had long, slender fingers. I saw a sparkly blue-jeweled ring on one hand.

  He stepped out from behind the boxes. He studied us over the rims of his square eyeglasses.

  “Welcome to Chiller House,” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the owner of this shop, Jonathan Chiller.” His gold tooth flashed again.

  “Cool shop,” I said. “Is that a real shark jaw?”

  He kept rubbing his long hands together. “It’s hard to say what is real and what isn’t real,” he replied.

  He picked up a pink animal hoof and dangled it by the little chain attached to it. “Is this a real Lucky Pig’s Foot? Or is it a fake?” He tossed it to Marnie. “I guess it comes down to what you believe.”

  Marnie examined it. “Well, it wasn’t lucky for the pig!” she said.

  Chiller’s smile tightened across his face. He turned to me. “I see you’re interested in the inflatable 800-pound gorilla. I have a good air pump to go with it. It only takes a few days to inflate it.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think my room is big enough,” I said.

  “This would make a nice gift for someone,” Chiller said. He held up a wriggling brown thing. “It’s a two-headed worm. It’s alive. I have plenty of worm food you can buy for it.”

  “Yuck,” Marnie said, making a face.

  Something caught my eye on a high shelf. I pulled it down. A large animal tooth on a leather cord.

  “Is this from a jungle animal?” I asked.

  Jonathan Chiller raised both hands, as if saying stop. “That’s not really for kids,” he said. “You might want to put that back on the shelf.”

  I stared at the tooth. “Why?”

  “It has powers you may not want to unleash,” Chiller whispered.

  The tooth fell from my hand. I caught it by the cord.

  Marnie laughed. “Chicken,” she muttered.

  “It isn’t a joke,” Chiller said. He took the tooth from me. He polished it with one finger.

  The yellowish tooth had to come from a very big animal. It was nearly as big as my thumb! It was flat on the top except for a slender dent in the middle. It came down to two sharp points.

  “Is it a tiger’s tooth?” I asked.

  Chiller shook his head. He pushed his tiny glasses up on his nose. “I’ll tell you the history of this tooth,” he said in his croaky voice. He began his story, rubbing the tooth as he talked.

  “This tooth is more than three hundred years old. It comes from a tiny Highland village in Scotland. The people of the village were fishermen and sheep herders. Their village was a cold, bleak place. It was winter there six months of the year. They were cut off from the rest of the world — and very superstitious.

  “One day, an unusual dog wandered into the village. The dog was a Blue Kerlew Hound. I know you’ve never heard of it. It was a rare breed of Scottish wolfhound. The hound’s fur really was a dark shade of blue.

  “The villagers didn’t like a stranger in their village — especially a stranger with blue fur. And then bad things started to happen. The lake suddenly stopped giving up fish. And the sheep began dying from an unknown disease.

  “They blamed it on the dog. They claimed the dog was enchanted and had brought the bad luck to their village. They tried to chase the dog away, but it wouldn’t leave. They were afraid to kill it because of its evil powers.

  “The desperate villagers sent for a sorcerer who lived nearby. They offered him the best house in the village if he could rid them of the dog.

  “The sorcerer tried several spells to make the hound vanish. But the vanishing spells all failed.

  “Finally, the sorcerer tried a different kind of spell. He cast a spell to make the hound lose all its teeth. He believed that would take the dog’s power away.

  “But the spell wasn’t powerful enough. The dog lost only a single tooth.

  “As the sorcerer watched, the dog uttered a howl of surprise. And then it turned and ran away. It wasn’t seen again.

  “People began catching fish once more. The sheep stopped dying. Good luck returned.

  “The sorcerer was a hero in the village. He stayed in the best house, high on a green hill overlooking the lake.

  “The sorcerer kept the tooth as a good-luck charm. To his surprise, he discovered that it could grant wishes. The tooth made him famous. Highlanders came from distant villages to have their wishes granted. Poems were written about the sorcerer and songs were sung.

  “His story ended on a stormy, cold night.

  “As the rain poured down, villagers heard horrible howls and cries from up on the hill. A flash of lightning lit up the sorcerer’s cottage. Several villagers braved the rain to run up there.

  “They found the tooth in a puddle of rain water. And they found the sorcerer dead. Torn to pieces. And then the villagers saw dog footprints in the mud surrounding the sorcerer’s house.

  “They knew that the Blue Kerlew Hound had returned for its revenge.”

  Chiller dangled the tooth in front of us. Marnie and I gazed at it silently. I guess we were both thinking about the incredible story.

  I spoke up first. “How did you get the tooth?”

  Chiller shrugged. His heavy suit made a scratchy sound. “I’m a collector,” he said.

  “The tooth really grants wishes?” I asked.

  He no
dded.

  Marnie rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Sure. Like in all the old stories,” she said. “It grants you three wishes — right? But the first two wishes don’t turn out right. So you have to use the third wish to undo the first two wishes.”

  “No,” Chiller said softly. “It’s not like the old stories. The tooth grants ALL wishes. You just have to be careful of one thing.”

  He rubbed the tooth gently. Then he raised his pale eyes to us. “Don’t let it get wet,” he said. “The tooth was lying in a rain puddle. There’s a lesson there. Keep it dry. Always keep it dry.”

  “What happens if it gets wet?” I asked.

  “You’ll get a shock,” Chiller replied.

  “A shock? What kind of shock?” I asked.

  Chiller shrugged. He held the tooth up. It gleamed under the bright shop lights. “You still want to buy it?”

  “I’ll buy it!” Marnie said.

  “Whoa. Wait,” I said. “Give me a break, Marnie. I saw it first. I took it off the shelf. I want it.”

  Marnie stuck her tongue out at me. Then she turned to Chiller. “We’ll both buy one!” she told him.

  Jonathan Chiller swept a hand back over his thinning gray hair. “No,” he said. “That’s impossible. There’s only one Blue Kerlew tooth in the world.”

  “I called it first. I said I’d buy it first,” Marnie insisted.

  “But I saw it first,” I said. “Why are you such a copycat? Why do you always have to have what I have?”

  That shut Marnie up. For a moment.

  “Okay, okay. Fine,” she snapped. “Take it. Go ahead, Andy. It’s a total fake. You know it is. It probably isn’t even a dog’s tooth. I don’t want it.”

  “Okay, great,” I said. I turned to Chiller. “I’ll take it.”

  He was already wrapping the tooth up in tissue paper. Then he placed it in a little box. He wrapped a blue ribbon around the box.

  Then he took something from a drawer. A furry little figure. It was a tiny green-and-purple Horror, like the park workers in HorrorLand.

  He attached the little Horror to the ribbon. Then he gazed hard at me and said, “Take a little Horror home with you.”

  I reached for my money. “How much does it cost?” I asked.

  Chiller waved me away.

  “No. No money,” he said. “You will pay me back next time you see me.”

  I stared at him.

  What did he mean by that?

  Back home, I placed the little Horror on the top shelf of my bookcase. I didn’t unwrap the tooth. I guess I kind of forgot about it. School break was over, and I had piles of homework to do.

  The next Saturday, Marnie’s parents dropped her off at my house for the day. She lives about twenty minutes away, so we’re always visiting each other.

  I don’t mind. I told you — Marnie and I get along great. Except when she drives me crazy.

  And today she was driving me crazy about the Blue Kerlew tooth. We were up in my room, and I wanted to finish my math assignment so maybe we could go to the mall or something.

  But Marnie wouldn’t let up about the tooth. “Where is it, Andy? Why haven’t you tried it? Come on. Get it. Let’s make a wish.”

  I pushed her out of my face. “It’s just a joke,” I told her. “You didn’t really believe that crazy old guy’s story — did you?”

  “How do you know it’s crazy unless you try it?” she asked. She pushed me back. “Come on. Just one wish. Where is it? Where?”

  She reached for my shirt pocket. I tried to pull away. But she dug her fingers into my ribs and started tickling me like crazy. “Come on. Give it up, Andy. Where is it? Where?”

  Marnie knows I’m totally ticklish. I struggled to squirm away from her, but I was laughing too hard to move. “Stop! Stop it!” I wailed.

  She finally pulled her hands from my ribs. “Just one wish, Andy. Then I’ll stop talking about it.”

  I squinted at her, gasping for breath. “Promise?”

  She raised two fingers in the air. “I swear.”

  “Okay, okay.” Grumbling to myself, I pulled the box from the desk drawer where I’d hidden it. I opened it and unwrapped the tissue paper.

  Marnie made a grab for the tooth, but I swung it out of her reach. I slid the leather cord around my neck. Then I adjusted the big tooth on my chest.

  Marnie shut her eyes. “Let’s think…. What should we wish for?”

  I squeezed the tooth in one hand. We stared at each other, thinking hard.

  Downstairs, I heard my parents’ voices. They were talking about dinner.

  Without thinking, I said, “I wish we could go out for dinner. Mom’s cooking is, like, disgusting.”

  Before Marnie had a chance to answer, Dad’s deep voice rolled up the stairs: “Andy, are you ready? We’re going out to the Burger Basket for dinner.”

  “Yessss!” I pumped my fist in the air.

  Marnie’s mouth dropped open. “Andy — you made a wish. And it came true!” she said breathlessly.

  I blinked. “Huh?”

  Marnie grabbed the tooth and squeezed it in her hand. “I wish I could go to the Burger Basket with you!” she cried.

  And Dad called up the stairs: “Marnie — would you like to come with us?”

  We were both so stunned, we burst out laughing.

  “Is everything okay up there?” Dad called.

  “No problem. We’re coming,” I shouted.

  “The tooth — it works!” Marnie said, staring hard at it. “You squeeze it in your fingers and make a wish. And it works instantly!”

  I shook my head. “It had to be a total coincidence. Don’t make a big deal about it, Marnie.”

  I started for the door. But she grabbed me and spun me around.

  “Let’s make a big deal,” she said. “Let’s make a BIG wish. Something crazy.”

  “Not now,” I said. “Mom and Dad are waiting for us.”

  She ignored me. “Let’s see …” she murmured. “I wish … I wish …”

  I clapped my hand over her mouth. I squeezed the tooth. “I wish Dad got a huge, brand-new red Escalade!” I exclaimed.

  Marnie shoved my hand away. “Good one,” she said. “Let’s see if it came true.”

  We raced down the stairs. At the bottom, Marnie tripped me, and I nearly fell on my head.

  “What’s the rush? Are you two starving?” Mom called.

  We ignored her and hurtled to the front door.

  I held my breath. Was the tooth for real? Would there really be a new Escalade in the drive?

  I pulled open the front door and leaped onto the stoop. My eyes swept up and down the driveway.

  No.

  No new car.

  And then behind me, Marnie screamed: “I don’t BELIEVE it!”

  She grabbed my head with both hands and turned it to the street.

  I uttered a cry when I saw a brand-new red Escalade parked at the curb.

  “That’s — that’s impossible!” I stammered. “No WAY!”

  Dad came up behind me. He had a big smile on his face. “Like it?”

  “Well … YEAH!” I blurted out.

  “The dealer is so desperate to sell it,” Dad said, “he’s letting me test drive it for a few days.”

  Marnie and I stared at each other. We were practically bursting. So far, the tooth had granted three wishes out of three!

  I tucked the tooth down the front of my T-shirt. Marnie and I climbed into the back of the car. It was a real climb. The car was about a mile off the ground!

  I took a long, deep breath. I love that new-car smell.

  I rubbed my hands over the smooth leather seat. “Check it out, Marnie.” I pointed to the DVD screen in front of us. “Is that totally awesome?”

  “What movie should we wish for?” she whispered.

  “Stop!” I said. I glanced to the front. Mom and Dad were fastening their seat belts. “Not another word about the tooth,” I whispered.

  Marnie stuck out her tongue. ??
?Andy, don’t you realize how incredible this is?” she whispered back. “We can have anything we want. Anything!”

  “Why do you keep saying we?” I demanded. “Did you forget? It’s MY tooth.”

  “I know it. So big deal.”

  “So stop saying we,” I said. “I know you. You’ll start making wish after wish, and I won’t get a word in.”

  Mom twisted her head to the back. “What’s that about wishes?” she asked. “What are you two arguing about?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “We wish we could decide whether to get fries or onion rings.”

  Mom laughed. “Why don’t you get both?”

  Marnie poked me in the ribs. “See?” she whispered. “Another wish came true!”

  * * *

  We sat in a big booth at the Burger Basket. Mom and Dad sat across from Marnie and me.

  My dad is a clothing store manager, and he’s a very calm, very serious person. But tonight he was totally psyched. All he wanted to talk about was the Escalade.

  “I’m not sure we need such a huge thing,” Mom said.

  “Sure, we do,” Dad insisted. “Look how easy it will be to drive the soccer team.”

  “But I’m not on the soccer team!” I chimed in.

  “You might get on the soccer team sometime,” Dad argued.

  Good one, Dad.

  Of course, Marnie and I were psyched, too. We were totally excited about the tooth. We were both bursting to tell my parents. But we both knew we had to keep it secret.

  My parents don’t have the greatest imaginations. If they thought I was getting crazy ideas about this big tooth I was wearing, they would definitely take it away from me.

  The waitress took our order. Marnie and I both got fries and onion rings. Suddenly, my parents jumped up. They saw some friends across the restaurant. They slid out of the booth and hurried over to say hi.

  As soon as they were gone, Marnie stuck out her hand. “Quick. Pull out the tooth.”

  “No way,” I said. “They’ll be back here in a second.”

  She wriggled her fingers toward me. “I’ll tickle you. I really will.”

  I let out a long sigh. I pulled the tooth from under my shirt.