Free Masks by Laurie Halse Anderson

disturbances through witchcraft was a crime punishable by death. Sailorsbegan keeping cats on board ships in order to win favor with witches, whom they believed caused storms. The cats’
real
benefit to sailors was much more practical—they ate any mice or rats that had snuck into the ships’ food stores!
    The cat eventually lost its charm, though. By the twelfth century, people thought cats could do black magic, just as they thought the witches could, and they began killing cats in large numbers. The rapid spread of the bubonic plague—a deadly disease that killed millions during the Middle Ages—came about partly because so many cats were killed. These cats would ordinarily have been killing rodents, which often spread the contagious disease. Without the cats to keep the mouse and rat population down, the rodents roamed from home to home, bringing bubonic plague with them.
----
    CATS HELPED STOP THE SPREAD OF BUBONIC PLAGUE
----
    The witch hunt came to America in the 1600s. Many innocent women were accused of being witches. These women were burned at the stake for their supposed crimes. Notonly were the women killed, but their cats were also put into baskets and burned along with them, because people believed the cats had evil powers, too.
    Stopping Superstition. Through the years, people have slowly become less superstitious. For the most part, the witch and her cat have become fun figures that remind us of past folklore. Still, cats today are at risk around Halloween. Believe it or not, there are people who use Halloween as an excuse to hunt or kidnap cats, much as people did in the old days, when belief in witches was common. Many shelters and humane societies refuse to adopt cats out during October, just to make sure the cats aren’t being adopted by someone who intends to harm them. If you own a cat, it’s best to keep your pet inside at night during the last week or two of October.
----
    KEEP CATS INDOORS THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF OCTOBER
----
    Your cat’s natural curiosity means you need to help her stay safe indoors, too. Make sure your jack-o’-lantern is out of your cat’s reach so she won’t be tempted to play with theflame inside. Consider decorating the outside of your house with pumpkins instead of having lit jack-o’-lanterns inside.
    In addition, keep your cat in an inner room on Halloween night. (Remember to supply a dish of water and a litter box.) That way she won’t dart outside as you give goodies to trick-or-treaters!

Tips for keeping all pets safe on Halloween
----
    • Don’t feed trick-or-treat candies to pets. Chocolate is poisonous to a lot of animals. The foil and cellophane candy wrappers can also be hazardous if your pet swallows them.
    • Keep your pet at home when you go trick-or-treating. Crowds and costumes can be scary for animals.
    • Don’t dress your cat, dog, or any other pet in a costume if it resists it. Forcing your pet into a costume can put a lot of stress on the animal.
    • If you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume lets the animal move easily and see clearly. Keep your pet in the costume only long enough to snap a few pictures.

Turn the page to read a sample of the next book in the Vet Volunteers series…
    End of the Race

Chapter One

    H i, Maggie! Are you working at the clinic this afternoon? I’ll walk with you.” Sunita taps my shoulder as the school bus pushes us through the first heavy snowstorm of the new year.
    I turn to her in the seat behind me. She’s wearing a purple parka, her favorite color. “Sure,” I say.
    When the bus grinds to a halt, we jump off and tromp through the sparkly drifts to Dr. Mac’s Place, my grandmother’s veterinary clinic, where Sunita and I volunteer along with some of our friends. I live with Gran—or Dr. Mac, as everyone else calls her—in the house attached to theclinic. It’s great getting to care for animals every day.
    “How come you’re taking the late bus?” asks Sunita. “Were you studying at the