Bubble Trouble

“Oh, great, ” Katie groaned. “First Lester — now Bess! ”

“Or maybe Bess is playing a trick on us! ” Mari said.

The girls ran up and down the hall calling Bess’s name. They checked behind plants, doors, even behind a tall clock. But Bess was nowhere to be found!

“Poor Bess! ” George cried. “I’ll never call her clothes prissy again! ”

“You promise? ” a voice asked.

Nancy and her friends froze. The voice belonged to Bess!

“I think it came from around the corner! ” Mari said.

The girls raced down the hall and skidded around the corner. There Nancy saw Bess. She was standing in front of a door that was covered with candy bars and lollipops.

“I thought I smelled chocolate, ” Bess said, peeling off a chocolate-caramel bar. “But I never thought I’d find all this! ”

“Why didn’t you answer when we called your name? ” George cried, waving her arms.

“My mouth was full, ” Bess said. She shrugged. “And it’s not polite to speak with your mouth full.”

George looked mad. “Be careful. Or you’ll get chocolate all over your prissy clothes! ” she snapped.

“George! ” Bess said. “You promised! ”

“Stop fighting, ” Nancy said. “The most important thing is that we found Bess.”

“And all this candy! “Mari said. She took a quick picture. “Let’s pig out! ”

Nancy studied the candy-covered door. She had never seen anything like it.

“This is the door that leads to the witch’s cottage, ” Amara explained.

“Which witch? ” Mari asked.

“The witch from “Hansel and Gretel, ’” Amara said. “The one who Lester bit.”

“Nipped! ” Katie corrected.

“Uh-oh, ” Bess said. She dropped a purple lollipop. “When she finds out I was eating her candy — she’ll bust a wart! ”

“No! ” Amara said, smiling. “She wants you to eat it. That’s why it’s there.”

But Nancy was more interested in what was behind the door. She reached out and grabbed the doorknob.

“What are you doing? ” Bess asked.

“The witch is a suspect, ” Nancy said. “She might be making all these weird things happen. And she might have Lester, too.”

The door creaked as Nancy opened it. Slowly she peeked inside.

The room looked like the inside of a tiny cottage. The walls were made of stone. A big basket sat on a wooden table. There was a tall cabinet against one wall, and a big black pot against the other.

“Is the witch in there? ” Mari hissed.

“No, ” Nancy said. “But let’s go inside and look for clues.”

The girls stepped into the room. Bess ran straight to the basket and looked inside.

“Cool! ” Bess said. “It’s filled with raisins, nuts, and dried fruit.”

“That witch may be mean, ” Mari said, shaking her head, “but she sure knows how to throw a party.”

“I don’t think it’s from the witch, ” Amara said. She opened a note next to the basket. “It’s from my aunt Ellen! ”

Nancy read the note over Amara’s shoulder: “Sweets for a sweet sleepover! Luv, Aunt Ellen.”

“Who wants dried apricots? ” Bess asked, reaching into the basket.

“Who wants nuts? ” George asked.

“All I want is Lester.” Katie sighed sadly.

The treats looked yummy but Nancy wanted to look for more clues. She walked over to the cabinet and tried to open it. The door was locked.

Nancy was about to look for a key when she heard a strange gurgling noise.

“What’s that sound? ” Nancy asked.

Her friends stopped eating to listen.

“It can’t be my stomach, ” Bess said. “It’s too full.”

Nancy followed the noise to the black pot. Her mouth dropped open when she looked inside. The pot was filled with a thick, green, bubbling liquid!

The other girls ran to the pot, too.

“Yuck! ” Bess said.

“What is it? ” Katie asked.

“Well, it’s not chicken soup! ” George said.

“I know, ” Amara said. “It’s the witch’s brew. She always has something brewing in her cauldron.”

Nancy looked at the brew through her magnifying glass. She saw something red floating on the top. “Does the recipe call for feathers? ” she asked Amara.

Katie gripped the rim of the cauldron. “Feathers! ” She gasped. “The witch said she needed them for her brew! ”

Nancy reached for a broom. Using the handle she fished out the red feather.

“Say! ” Mari said. “Doesn’t Lester have-”

George nudged Mari but it was too late. Katie put the pieces together.

“Lester! ” Katie cried. “He was my only pet. Now he’s — parrot chowder.”

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!

The noise got louder and louder. Nancy froze as the brew began bubbling faster and faster and faster!

“It’s out of control! “Amara cried as the brew bubbled over the brim.

The girls shrieked and ran to the door. But when Nancy turned the doorknob, the door wouldn’t budge.

Nancy looked over her shoulder. The brew was bubbling out of the cauldron and oozing across the floor.

“You guys, ” Amara said, “this has never happened —”

“We know, we know.” George groaned.

Nancy tried turning the doorknob again. This time she felt someone opening it from the other side.

“Aunt Ellen? ” Nancy called.

The door flew open and the girls jumped back. Standing in the doorway was the witch! And she had a big bandage on her nose!