Ben gasped as dinosaur skeletons stomped through the museum, their bones rattling.
"N-n-nobody panic!" Mr. Freaky yelled. "Everything is totally under control!"
"No, it's not!" Dr. Bones cried. A stegosaurus lumbered toward her. "What have you monsters done?"
Ben saw a big dinosaur stomp into the Early Humans exhibit and roar at a stuffed mammoth. The stegosaurus was now drinking from the fountain in the lobby. A tall beast was munching on the plastic palm trees at the entrance to the Egyptian exhibit.
"Help!" screamed Al Normal as the stegosaurus charged toward him.
"Stop!" Ben commanded, floating in front of the dinosaur. But the stegosaurus ran right through Ben.
Winnie jumped on her broom. She zoomed toward Al Normal and yanked him out of the way. "Waldo! Fix this!"
"My spell book is upstairs!" Waldo moaned. "All I have is a wand."
"Yay!" whooped a skeleton who was hanging onto the tail of the big dinosaur. Mr. Freaky and Dr. Bones ducked as the dinosaur ran by them.
"Do something, Mr. Freaky!" the museum director commanded.
Mr. Freaky blew his noses. "Students!" he bellowed. "Do something!"
"No!" Cleo yelled at the stegosaurus as it charged toward the mummy display case. "Stay away from my uncle." She grabbed Waldo's wand and cried, "Spell, begone!" Magic sparks flew from the wand—and the dinosaur froze in its tracks.
"Why didn't I think of that?" muttered Waldo.
Winnie was still on her broom. She took the wand from Cleo and flew around the museum, waving it. Zap! Zap! Zap! Soon all the dinosaurs were lifeless bones again.
Mr. Freaky dusted off his suit. "You see?" he said to Dr. Bones. "Everything is totally under control."
"I think this is enough excitement for one day," Miss Bungle announced. She checked her watch. "It's nearly dinnertime. Why don't we return to the education wing and eat? Then we can settle down for the night. I'm sure by tomorrow everyone will feel much better."
"But what about Uncle Tut?" Cleo protested. "They're keeping him prisoner!"
"He's not a prisoner," Dr. Bones snapped, "and he's not your uncle. He's an exhibit. He's been with us for decades."
Cleo folded her arms. "Well, he's been my uncle for centuries!"
"We're not going to solve this tonight," Miss Bungle said. "Cleo, let's talk about this again in the morning."
"That's a fine idea." Dr. Bones scowled. "I must get back to work. Now I have to check on the dinosaur exhibits as well."
"I'm sorry." Waldo hung his head. "It was an accident," he murmured.
Back in the education wing, the monsters ate dinner quietly. After dinner Al Normal led them to the movie theater. "Students, this is an absolutely thrilling documentary."
"Goody!" yelled a goblin.
"What's the film about?" Mog asked.
"The history of glaciers."
"Ugh!" All the monsters groaned.
"That sounds so boring," Mog complained.
"Now, students!" Mr. Freaky leaped to his feet. "We are guests here. Show your monster manners, please."
The lights went out and the movie started. Al Normal hurried off to help Dr. Bones lock up the building for the night.
Ben stared at the massive chunks of ice on the screen. They were actually kind of interesting. He turned toward Mog. "I never knew that—"
Zzzz. Zzzz. Mog was already snoring. With a sigh, Ben turned back to the screen.
After the movie the monsters had a snack. Then the kids started telling spooky people stories.
A goblin finally burst into tears. "I'm scared! I want my mommy!"
"Bedtime, everyone!" Mr. Freaky said, clapping his hands.
Soon all the monsters were settled into their beds for the night. The girls were in one classroom with Miss Bungle. The boys were in another with Mr. Freaky.
"Ha-ha!" Mog was laughing as he poked Ben. "Check out Mr. Freaky's pajamas!"
Waldo climbed into his sleeping bag. "Mr. Freaky, what about Cleo's uncle?" he asked. "We can't just leave him here."
"We'll talk about it in the morning," Mr. Freaky said. "I'm sure the people will be reasonable."
"They haven't been reasonable so far." Waldo sighed. "Poor Cleo."
Ben was sleeping near a desert display. It had friendly-looking birds and snakes. Mr. Freaky's snores echoed through the quiet room. Most of the other monsters fell asleep fast too. But Ben kept tossing and turning.
"So far this field trip has been a disaster," he thought. "No wonder people are afraid of monsters." Even worse, Dr. Bones was going to tell Mayor Hubbletree about the dinosaur incident. Soon Monster Academy would be nothing but a pile of rubble.
Just then Ben heard something moving on the other side of the room. A shadowy figure was creeping toward the classroom door. The door opened, and the figure slipped out.