for the animalsâ might.
Â
So that was how Winnie had come to surviveâ
while watching her family swallowed alive!
Â
Having eaten, the creatures leapt up in the sky.
And then Winnie the windigo started to cryâ¦
To Morty, the story was rather inane,
but before he began to protest or complain,
there was one little detail he wanted to check.
âWait a minute,â he said. âNow hold on a sec!
Â
âYou mean Cyril DeYoung? The best of the best?
If youâre playing with him, then Iâm pretty impressed.
His flings were like lightening. Aw, man, he could throw!
Used to play for the Underwood Titans , you know.
Â
âMy Pop used to take me. Weâd go to their games.
I knew all of the players, knew all of their names.
But my favorite, of course, was that Cyril DeYoung.
âThe greatest of flingers that ever has flung!ââ
Â
âYouâre right,â Winnie sniffled, her eyes going damp.
âThereâs nobody like him. He was truly a champ.
But what does it matter? I mean, Cyril is dead!
He was eaten , remember?! Itâs just like I said!â
Â
âI donât know,â Morty said. âIt sounds hard to believe.
Itâs really too horrid to even conceive!
You say flesh-eating monsters? From up in the sky?
I wonât be convinced. So donât even try.â
Katrina, however, was sure it was true.
She didnât know why, it was simplyâ¦she knew .
She had only to look into Winifredâs eye,
to see it was real, that it wasnât a lie.
Â
âBut Morty,â she said, âWinnieâs being sincere.
She witnessed it all! She was hiding right here.
And now a big part of the mysteryâs solved,
now that we know there are monsters involved!â
Â
âMonsters?â said Morty, with a tremor of doubt
(he hated to think there were monsters about).
âBelieve me, Katrina, and I have to insist,
creatures like that, they donât really exist.â
Â
Winnie sucked in a breath. She held up a hand.
âMr. Morty,â she stammered, âyou donât understandââ
Â
Morty ignored her. He was shaking his head.
He folded his arms and dismissively said,
âIâve seen all sorts of weirdness, since I was a kid,
but never a flying, carnivorous squid!â
Winnie covered her eyes. She grimaced and frowned.
âUh, Morty,â she whimpered, âthen donât turn around.â
There followed a horrible, ominous hum,
and a clack like a raspy, mechanical drum.
Â
It was one of the creatures that Morty denied,
and so, as he turned, his eyes going wide,
he realized, too late, that the creatures were real ,
and that he and his friendsâ¦would be their next meal!
Â
And so, before Winnie or Morty could speak,
before even Katrina could utter a shriek,
all three were ensnared in those terrible claws,
and tossed in the creatureâs
Chapter 11
the moonagerie crypt
My goodness! It seems that our heroes are doomed!
Devoured! Digested! Completely consumed!
Itâs true. They were eaten (like pickles and pie).
But to call it âThe End?â Well, no. Thatâs a lieâ¦
Â
Because Mortimer Yorgle, Katrina Katrell,
who were followed by whimpering Winnie, as well,
they indeed had gone slithering into the maw,
of that ugly monstrosityâs slobbery jaw.
Â
They went under its tongue and over its teeth.
They slid down its neck to the belly beneath.
The belly, however, was stiff as a stone,
as if all of its innards were nothing but bone.
âHold on,â said Katrina, âthis doesnât make sense.
This stomach has walls like the bars of a fence!
Itâs all iron and copper and rusty with age.
Itâs less of a belly, and more of a cage!â
Â
âHmm,â Morty wondered, scratching his head.
âWhat Iâd like to know is: Why arenât we dead?â
Â
âYouâre right!â Winnie cried. âI mean,
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