It was the Stuffed Animal Sleepover 2016, and it began with the animals peaceably lounging and waiting for everyone to arrive….

Then they all introduced themselves. Snowy, Mr Crab, Brown Sugar, Derby, Bunny, Teddy, Cobra Commander, Whiskers, and I,Guana all knew right away they were going to have a great time together!

The first thing they did was Skype with their Ohio friends Blanket and Bailey…

…who were ALSO awake while their human friends slept.

Then Brown Sugar noticed something odd.

A treasure chest!

“Push it down here, so we can see it!” Said Mr Crab

All the animals rushed over to check it out.

It was full of costumes and disguises!

Everybody dressed up.

Then they began to explore the library.

Some climbed the books.

Some sat on the books.

Some sniffed the books.

…And the ones who could, READ the books.

All the others gathered around to hear Snowy’s story. A ghost story! “Let’s play hide and seek,” Cobra Commander suggested.

Teddy began to count as Bunny climbed the mantel.

Derby snuck into a bin of books.

Cobra Commander slithered behind some shelves.

Mr. Crab found a sneaky red magazine rack.

Snowy got comfortable in a box from the book sale.

Brown Sugar chose the Barstow book return.

Teddy was almost to 10! I,Guana threw himself into a paper bag, just in time.

“9! 10! Ready or not, here I-“

But when Teddy opened his eyes, it was just as dark as when he’d had them closed.

At first, he was frightened. But then he remembered he and Snowy had brought flashlights!

He shined his light around the library. Wait! What was THAT? A shiny ghostly hovering footprint?

When Teddy looked again, it was gone.

But he DID see something else.

“Gotcha, Cobra Commander!”

They began their search for the others.

“Teddy, do you see…” Cobra started to ask. But in a second, it vanished.

“Is that you, Brown Sugar?” called Teddy.

Brown Sugar climbed out of the book return to join Teddy and Cobra. “Hey guys, do you see those-?” But before Brown Sugar could finish, the ghostly footprints had again disappeared.

Next, they found Derby, who was getting antsy since the pictures books were not very comfortable.

“We could hear you moving around!” said Teddy. “It gave us a clue!” “But I WASN’T moving around at all,” said Derby, confused.

“Guys! Do you see-” “I did!” said Derby. “A glowing footprint! But it vanished.” “Weird,” said Teddy.

Cobra found Mr Crab.

Mr Crab was afraid of heights, and now too scared to open his claws and come down.

Brown Sugar and Derby climbed up to help him out.

“I feel like we’re being watched,” said Derby.

Next they found Snowy in his box of books.

“Good thing I brought a flashlight!” said Snowy.

Then I, Guana in his bag.

“Does anyone else feel like we’re being watched?” asked I, Guana. But Snowy was calling “I found Bunny!”

Suddenly, there was a loud crash from across the room!

“Does anyone else see those ghostly footprints?” asked Mr Crab. “I do!” said Bunny. “Me too!” said Snowy. At last, everyone could see them. Floating and strange, they led in the direction of the crashing sound. The animals bravely decided to investigate.

At the very next moment, the power came back on!

In front of them lay a tangled pile.

And in the middle of it was Whiskers!

“Whiskers! Are you okay?” asked Snowy. “Oooo,” Whiskers moaned. “I fell off the shelf and hit my head. Ooooow!” moaned Whiskers.

“We’ll get you all fixed up,” said Bunny. But as Whiskers rolled off the pile of fallen books, Brown Sugar noticed something. “Whiskers, were YOU the ghost?” “Yes!” said Whiskers. “I thought it’d be fun to scare you all during hide and go seek.” “Well, you sure DID!” said Cobra, angry. “I’m sorry,” said Whiskers. “I guess I got what I deserved when I fell off the shelf. Can you all forgive me?”

They all did. Bunny fixed up Whiskers and everyone headed for bed.

They all curled up on the comfy carpet and chair. I,Guana began snoring lizard-snores immediately. Snowy held his flashlight and drifted off quickly.

“Hey, guys?” whispered Brown Sugar. “Guys? If the ghost was just Whiskers in a sheet….then what made those ghostly footprints?”

But everyone was already asleep. Brown Sugar curled up next to Derby, and was soon fast asleep herself.