Free How I Got My Shrunken Head by R. L. Stine Page B

ever!”
    Carolyn sighed. “Please, Benna. Don’t make it difficult.”
    My aunt stared back at her. “Never,” she murmured.
    Aunt Benna blinked.
    I swallowed hard, watching for two more blinks.
    No. Not the signal. Not yet.
    Dr. Hawlings stepped forward. “Please, Benna. I’m giving you one last chance. Tell us the secret — now.”
    Aunt Benna shook her head.
    “Then I have no choice,” Dr. Hawlings said, shaking his head. “Since you two are the only ones in the world who know the secret, you are both too dangerous. The secret must die with you.”
    “Wh-what are you going to do to us?” I blurted out.
    “We’re going to shrink your heads,” Dr. Hawlings replied.

28
    The pot hissed as water boiled over the side. I stared in horror at the billows of steam rising up over the pot.
    Was he really going to shrink our heads?
    Was I going to end up shriveled and leathery, with a head the size of a doorknob?
    I forced my legs to stop wobbling and stared at Aunt Benna. Stared at her. Stared hard. Watching her eyes. Waiting for the three blinks.
    Hurry!
I pleaded silently.
Hurry — before he tosses us into the boiling water!
    Kareen watched in silence. What was she thinking? I wondered. I couldn’t see her expression. Her face was hidden under the brim of the straw hat.
    “Benna, one last chance,” Dr. Hawlings said softly. “Because I like you. And I like your nephew. Don’t let me harm your nephew, Benna. Do it for him, okay? Tell me the secret — for Mark’s sake.”
    “It isn’t worth it, Benna,” Carolyn chimed in. “It will be so easy for you to give the Jungle Magic to us.”
    “I — I can’t,” Aunt Benna stammered.
    “Then we have no choice,” Dr. Hawlings said, almost sadly. “The boy goes in first.”
    He took a step toward me.
    Aunt Benna blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.
    Finally!
    With a trembling hand, I tugged the head from my pocket.
    I raised it in front of me. I opened my mouth to shout the secret word.
    But Dr. Hawlings swiped the head from my hand.
    He grabbed it away — and tossed it onto the big pile of heads.
    Then he dove for me, reaching out to grab me with both hands.
    I ducked out from under him.
    And threw myself onto the disgusting pile of heads.
    I began frantically sorting through them with both hands. Picking one up, tossing it aside. Grabbing the next one. The next one. The next one.
    They felt sticky and warm. Hard as baseballs. The hair brushed my hands. The dark eyes stared up at me blankly. They were so ugly, my stomach tightened. My breath came in wheezing gasps.
    Behind me, I could hear my aunt struggling with Dr. Hawlings. Wrestling with him. Trying to keep him away from me.
    I heard Carolyn’s shouts. Kareen’s cries of alarm.
    I had to find
my
shrunken head.
    I had to find it before Dr. Hawlings broke free of my aunt and grabbed me.
    I picked one up. Tossed it down. Picked up another. Tossed it down.
    How could I find mine?
    Which one was it?
    Which one? Which one?

29
    I grabbed a head. Saw ants crawling over its cheeks.
    Picked up another.
    It stared at me with glassy black eyes.
    Picked up another.
    It had a long white scratch on its ear.
    I started to toss it back onto the pile.
    But stopped.
    A white scratch on its ear?
    Yes! Mine had a scratch! My sister, Jessica — she scratched it back home!
    Yes! This head was mine!
    “Thank you, Jessica!” I cried at the top of my lungs.
    With an angry cry, Dr. Hawlings dove at me. He wrapped his arms around me and started to drag me off the pile of heads.
    “Kah-lee-ah!” I shouted, holding on tightly to the shrunken head.
My
shrunken head.
    “Kah-lee-ah!”
    Will it save Aunt Benna and me?
I wondered.
    Will the Jungle Magic work this time?
    Dr. Hawlings still had his arms around my shoulders. He was still trying to pull me toward the boiling pot.
    “Kah-lee-ah!” I screamed.
    His hands slid away.
    They seemed to shrink. His arms seemed to shrink into his body.
    “Huh?” I uttered a startled cry