Mayor Hubbletree glared at Waldo. "Change my son back right now!"
"I'm trying!" Waldo waved his wand back and forth.
Timothy the porcupine ran frantically around the gym. Monsters jumped out of his way.
Suddenly . . . Pop, pop, pop! The balloons drifted down. Many of them landed on Timothy, instantly popping. The sound was deafening.
As the balloons popped, the performers came out of their trances. Maddy dropped everything she'd been juggling—the monster children and the dodo eggs. Sarah hurried up the ladder to help Deb down from the trapeze.
"Help!" Winnie cried, still hanging from the rafter.
"Hold on, Winnie!" Ben called. "Brunhilda has her broom—she's flying up to get you!"
A minute later Winnie was safe on the gym floor. And poof! Timothy turned back into a human child.
"Yay! I did it!" Waldo jumped up and down with excitement.
"That was fun, Dad!" Timothy said.
Mayor Hubbletree groaned.
Ringmaster Ronny looked dazed as he gathered everyone around. "Performers, let's go backstage for a few minutes. My assistant"—he shot a frown at Sarah—"obviously has some explaining to do. You should come too, ghost!" He beckoned to Ben.
Backstage, Sarah hung her head. "I was really scared of monsters so I hypnotized all of you."
"What?" Mog blinked. "How?"
"I trained you to go into a trance whenever you heard the word 'sludge.' And then I popped bubbles to snap you out of it. I'm sorry," Sarah added. "I just wanted to make Ronny's circus school a big success—and keep things under control."
"Hooray!" Mr. Freaky ran over. "Everything is under control?"
"Not exactly," Winnie murmured. "The circus was a disaster."
Maddy nodded, looking sad. "Can we still put on a show?"
Everyone looked at Mr. Freaky.
"Um." His noses began to wiggle. "Do you think you can do it the Monster Academy way this time?"
The performers exchanged glances. "Yes!"
"Okay then." Mr. Freaky hurried away. "I'll make an announcement to the audience."
Sarah looked confused. "What's the Monster Academy way?"
"We'll show you!" Mog said.
Soon the circus began again. Ben watched with his family as Maddy came out first, juggling three bowling pins. Next Zork walked across a very low tightrope. Cleo walked around on stilts without trying to spin anything—or anyone. Then Deb and Winnie took turns swinging from a trapeze bar while Sarah watched closely.
The grand finale featured Mog, who climbed into the cannon so Ronny could shoot him across the gym. Boom! Mog soared through the air, landing safely on a mat. "Awesome!" Mog cried.
When the show was over, even Mayor Hubbletree looked pleased. He brought Timothy over to meet the performers.
Timothy grinned shyly up at Mog. "The monster cannonball act was so cool! When I get bigger, I want to go to Monster Academy too!"
Mayor Hubbletree cleared his throat nervously. "We'll discuss that later, Timothy."
Mr. Scribblebottom joined the group. "I captured the whole circus on film. Oh, and Ronny, I'd like to make my next documentary about your circus school. Is that possible?"
Ronny beamed. "Of course!"
"First, can you explain something to me?" Mr. Scribblebottom asked. "What's the wrath of the circus?"
Ben leaned forward. He'd been wondering about that question ever since the circus school had arrived.
Ronny flushed. "I have no idea. I just made it up to intrigue students and make sure they behave!"
Everyone laughed. A minute later, as Hank and Huck began to take down the circus equipment, Winnie approached Ben.
"Can I help you with Bones tomorrow?" she asked softly.
Ben grinned. "I thought you'd never ask!"
The next day Ben and Winnie played with Bones in Ben's backyard. They played fetch and tug-of-war. Then they laughed as he chased a deadjay.
"Bones is having a great time," Ben said. "And he's not digging in my mom's garden."
"Exercise is really important for skeleton dogs," Winnie said. "If you walk him more often and give him lots of playtime, he'll behave better. You should teach him commands too, but exercise is great."
Ben nodded. "My mom will be really happy if it works. Speaking of happy, I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore."
"The whole thing was my fault," Winnie said. "You were just trying to warn me about the circus." She shook her head. "I guess the hypnosis was affecting me in strange ways."
"Luckily Sarah Swingwire learned a lesson," Ben said. "She won't be using hypnosis to train performers anymore."
Ben tossed the ball for Bones again. But to his surprise, Bones didn't chase it. Instead the dog flopped down, panting.
Ben's mother came outside. "Now, that's what I call a well-behaved dog! What's your training secret?"
Ben glanced at Winnie and smiled. "We'll never tell!"