Chapter 22

Appleblossom looks through the gap between the woven sticks of the basket. She sees the little monster come into the den and put a plate on the floor. She smells food, and feels her stomach rumble as the tip of her nose twitches.

It might be a trick!

Mama Possum said that monsters leave offerings that are really traps. The little people walks out of the room and Appleblossom waits. And waits. She hears no dog sounds. No noise from people. Through one of the cracks in the side of the basket, she can see the food on the plate. It is driving her crazy.

Appleblossom works her way up through the pile of clothing. Once on top, she balances on the edge of the basket, then swings her body around and climbs down. It doesn’t take long before she is on the floor next to the plate of food.

All fear melts away at the first bite of the cheese. It’s delicious. She follows with a grape. Each new thing is better than the last. Her sharp little teeth make quick work of the crunchy carrots. The best part of the sesame cracker is the dark seeds that coat the crisp offering. She drinks all of the purple liquid in the cup and it is so much tastier than muddy water! Her stomach rejoices at every new swallow of goodness, but the best comes last.

Appleblossom can’t believe the taste of the dark square. Is there a way to describe this morsel of goodness? It is so sweet and smooth. It makes a green snail seem like an old pinecone seed, and every possum knows that a green snail is fantastic eating.

It isn’t long before Appleblossom has finished everything in front of her. She lifts her hat-covered head into the air and considers her next move. Something sweet-smelling is close by. She knows that she should concentrate on finding a way out of the monster house, but her escape takes a backseat to her stomach, and she scurries to the area with the sweet smells.

The smells come from an area with a water chair and two empty ponds. Appleblossom climbs up a fuzzy cloth that hangs low and leads to a tube of fresh-smelling white stuff. The goop inside is delicious! It’s tangy and tastes like the wild mint that grows in the fields by the stream. What a find! Appleblossom squeezes out all of the goodness. The white goo (with a swirl of red and green inside!) oozes over her hands, and she does her best to eat it up.

The next treasure is right there near the empty pond. Appleblossom pulls herself up the plastic curtain, paying no attention to the fact that her sharp nails poke small holes as she travels. She reaches a container and uses her opposable thumbs to twist the cap. It comes right off. What’s inside smells like strawberries. Appleblossom scurries down to the hard white ground and lifts the large container to her mouth and takes a swig. And then . . . ALERT. PROBLEM. BAD MOVE.

The red goop is awful! It’s not the juice of a strawberry. It is thick, foul-tasting poison. Appleblossom spits up the red slime and it comes out as a frothy mess. Her head spins. She staggers forward, moving in a weaving line around the tile floor. She doesn’t notice that the red goop is all over her feet and that she’s leaving pink footprints with every step.

Appleblossom does everything that she can to get the nasty sludge out of her mouth. The more she tries, the bigger mess she makes. She grabs the end of the white paper that dangles next to the water chair. The thin tissue spins down in a seemingly endless stream, and she uses this to clean her teeth and mouth.

She burps, and pink bubbles float into the air. She’s dizzy and she realizes that she’s going to have trouble staying on her feet. So she wobbles back to her spot in the basket. It’s a tough climb to the top, but once she reaches the rim, she happily falls into the pile of monster clothing. She then curls into a ball, pulls the hat down around her head, and holds on to her own tail. She tries to imagine that it belongs to one of her possum siblings.

And then with the taste of red slime still in her mouth, she drifts off to sleep.