The Naughtiest Unicorn and the Spooky Surprise

For Jamie and Katie – RLO For Ada – LB

To Freya – David O’Connell

Cover and interior illustrations by David O’Connell

Special thanks to Rebecca Lewis-Oakes and Liz Bankes

Text first published in Great Britain in 2020

by Egmont Books

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF

Text copyright © 2020 Egmont Books

Illustrations copyright © 2020 David O’Connell

ISBN 978 1 4052 9720 2

Ebook ISBN 978 1 4052 9721 9

www.egmontbooks.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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1  Chapter One: Countdown to Halloween

2  Chapter Two: A Mysterious Stranger . . .

3  Chapter Three: Weird Science

4  Chapter Four: Spooky Mr Spooky

5  Chapter Five: Bat Raps and Phantom Football

6  Chapter Six: Time to Catch a Werewolf

7  Chapter Seven: The Teacher Trap

8  Chapter Eight: Mr Spooky’s Surprise

9  Chapter Nine: Zombie Ghost Princess

10  Chapter Ten: Spooooooky Celebrations

11  How Spooooooky Are You?

12  Back series promotional page

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication And Copyright

Chapter One: Countdown to Halloween

Chapter Two: A Mysterious Stranger . . .

Chapter Three: Weird Science

Chapter Four: Spooky Mr Spooky

Chapter Five: Bat Raps and Phantom Football

Chapter Six: Time to Catch a Werewolf

Chapter Seven: The Teacher Trap

Chapter Eight: Mr Spooky’s Surprise

Chapter Nine: Zombie Ghost Princess

Chapter Ten: Spooooooky Celebrations

How Spooooooky Are You?

Back series promotional page

‘It was very nearly Halloween and everything was dark and spooky. . .’

The wind rattled the windows of the Unicorn School dormitory.

‘. . . everything was dark and spooky AND it was also super windy,’ continued Mira.

She was holding a torch under her chin to make her face look extra spooky. Everyone in Class Red was there – along with their UBFFs (Unicorn Best Friends Forever).

They were all gathered around Mira, listening as she told her spooky sleepover story.

Halloween was just two days away, and everyone was very excited. At Unicorn School, Halloween was celebrated for a whole WEEK, not just one day!

‘As the storm raged, a brave girl and her unicorn made their way towards the Scary Forest of Death,’ continued Mira.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Then lightning flashed, lighting up the room.

‘Cool!’ said Darcy. Darcy was one of Mira’s best friends at Unicorn School.

Raheem’s unicorn, Brave, gave a high-pitched squeal and hid his head under a pillow.

‘Why would they go to the Forest of Death?’ said Jake.

‘Um,’ said Mira, thinking quickly. ‘There was something they really needed to get from the shops, and the only way to get there was through the Forest of Death.’

‘That makes sense,’ said Raheem thoughtfully. Raheem was Mira’s other best friend.

‘So, the girl and her unicorn had just got to the forest,’ said Mira, ‘and they heard a rustling in the bushes.’

Everyone jumped as a strange rustling sound came from behind Mira. She looked around in surprise. Her unicorn, Dave, was opening a large packet of sour sweets shaped like mini ghouls.

Mira grinned and gave her UBFF a scratch behind the ears.

Dave wasn’t like the other unicorns at Unicorn School. They were mostly glittery, magical and pranced elegantly around, being very well-behaved. Dave was grumpy, greedy and interrupted most lessons by doing giant poos or falling asleep and snoring loudly.

‘Get on with the story, I want to tell mine!’ said Jake.

Mira frowned at Jake. ‘So . . . they heard a rustling in the bushes, and then . . . a big witch jumped out.’

‘How big was she?’ asked Tamsin.

Mira thought. ‘Bigger than a car, but smaller than a dinosaur.’

‘Did she have a black caticorn?’ said Seb.

‘Did she have a SLOTH?’ said Flo. Flo loved sloths and slothicorns.

‘Both!’ said Mira.

‘Yay!’ shouted Flo and Seb.

‘The big witch, her black caticorn and her sloth CHASED the girl and the unicorn,’ said Mira.

Flo and Seb gasped. Their unicorns, Sparkles and Firework, shivered and whinnied excitedly.

‘The girl and the unicorn managed to do a spell and turn the witch into a tiny toad, but now it was completely dark and they were lost,’ said Mira. ‘All around them it was silent. Suddenly –’

Dave’s giant fart rocketed around the room like a thunderclap.

All the children screamed loudly. The unicorns shrieked and Brave bolted and hid in a cupboard.

‘Oh, Dave!’ said Mira, grinning at her unicorn. She loved it when Dave joined in with her stories, even if it was by accident. Even though Dave wasn’t quite the sparkly, glittering Unicorn Best Friend Forever Mira had dreamed of before she’d started Unicorn School, she still thought he was the best unicorn in the whole WORLD.

Mira went to give him a hug. Dave took the opportunity to stick his nose straight into her plastic pumpkin snack bucket and started chomping on the snacks that were in there.

‘My turn to tell a story!’ said Jake. He grabbed the torch from Mira and held it under his chin. ‘My story is called the Terrifying Tale of the Spookicorn.’

‘Ooooooh,’ said Class Red, snuggling into their sleeping bags.

‘I’ve heard of the Spookicorn!’ said Tamsin.

‘I didn’t know it had a terrifying tail, though,’ said Flo.

Jake’s unicorn, Pegasus, shushed them.

‘It was a dark and spooky night . . .’ said Jake.

‘I’ve heard that the Spookicorn is the spookiest of all unicorns,’ said Seb. His unicorn Firework nodded wisely.

‘And it has red eyes,’ said Flo.

‘When it arrives somewhere it knocks three times and then does a bone-chilling neigh,’ said Darcy.

‘Sshhh!’ said Jake. ‘You’re spoiling the story! As I was SAYING,’ he continued, ‘it was a dark and spooky night. AND it was a full moon. A really cool boy and his unicorn were all alone. Do you know where they were?’

‘In a creepy old castle?’ said Seb.

‘In space?’ said Flo.

‘In the zombie apocalypse?’ said Darcy.

‘No,’ said Jake. ‘They were here, at Unicorn School.’

A hush descended on the dorm. Mira felt a little shiver go up her spine.

‘It was nearly midnight, and the really cool boy and his unicorn were having a midnight feast. And then, there was a knock at the door.’

The unicorns all jumped in fright. Jake shone the torch around the room.

The light fell on Dave. His face was stuck in the plastic pumpkin treat bucket, and he was banging it on the floor to try and get it off.

Mira grabbed the bucket with both hands and tugged. Raheem and Freya joined her. Eventually they managed to pull the bucket off Dave’s head.

Jake narrowed his eyes at Dave. ‘ANYWAY, it was Halloween, it was a full moon and it was midnight. And it was really spooky. And there was a knock at the door. And –’

‘Dave, stop it!’ said Jake.

But Dave was now snoring quietly on top of a mountain of sweet wrappers.

Lightning flashed in the windows. A rumble of thunder followed quickly.

Mira shivered. If Dave hadn’t made the knocking noise . . . who – or what – had?

‘I think it was someone knocking at the front door,’ said Mira.

‘Maybe it’s the Spookicorn. Let’s investigate!’ yelled Darcy.

‘Let’s NOT,’ said Jake.

‘I want to see the Spookicorn!’ said Flo, standing up beside Darcy.

‘Me too,’ said Mira. ‘Come on, Jake – it will be just like in your story.’

‘Okay, fine!’ said Jake. ‘But I’m not going first.’

Mira nudged Dave, who farted himself awake. Then she and her friends and their UBFFs all crept out of the dorm. They tiptoed and tiphoofed along the corridor to the staircase into the hallway. The rain drummed on the roof and the moonlight shone through the high windows, casting strange shadows all around.

‘So spooky!’ whispered Mira to Dave.

‘BURP,’ Dave agreed.

‘Look!’ whispered Darcy.

Madame Shetland, the Unicorn School headteacher, was standing by the large front door.

The door opened with a long creak.

There was another flash of lightning. Mira gulped. Outside in the gloom, there loomed a figure in a wide-brimmed hat and cloak.

‘Do come in out of the storm,’ Madame Shetland said.

Thunder boomed outside.

The clock struck midnight.

The cloaked figure stepped inside.

The children and their unicorns turned and sprinted back towards the dorm. Who was the mysterious figure that had arrived in the dead of night . . . ?

‘Happy Halloween!’ Madame Shetland, the Unicorn School headteacher, greeted the pupils as they walked into assembly the next morning.

Mira was excited to see that the Grand Hall had been decorated for Halloween. The entire hall ceiling was covered in sparkly cobwebs, the rows of chairs were draped in black and orange glittery streamers and there were inflatable unicorn skeletons dotted around the indoor paddock.

Class Red had spent the whole morning talking about the mysterious stranger who’d arrived in the storm. Who could it be? Tamsin thought it was a big witch. Darcy thought it was a Zombie Ghost Princess. Flo thought it was either a new teacher or a yeti.

Mira took her notebook out of her bag. The notebook was new, and would be perfect for taking notes about mysteries. (She knew this was what all great detectives do.) She wrote down:

On the stage behind Madame Shetland, the teachers sat down in their seats. Mira couldn’t see anyone new. But then she realised one of the seats was empty. Where was Miss Glitterhorn?

Madame Shetland clapped her hands to shush the pupils and their unicorns.

‘Now, as many of you may know,’ said the headteacher, ‘unicorns love all things spooky, which is why at Unicorn School we celebrate Halloween all week long!’

Mira felt an excited tingling in her tummy. Her sister Rani had been going to Unicorn School for two years and had told her about all the spooky-themed lessons. Mira couldn’t wait! She squeezed Dave tightly. Her UBFF gave her a friendly burp.

Madame Shetland continued. ‘In two days, on official Halloween night, we have our traditional Spooky Fancy Dress Party. But I am also thrilled to announce that we also have a special quest . . .’

An ‘Ooooooooooh!’ travelled around the room.

‘What do you think it is, Dave?’ whispered Mira.

Dave gave Mira a mysterious look, and then he did a spooky poo (which was really just a poo). Mira sighed and got out her trusty poo shovel.

‘The special quest is the Spooky Surprise Challenge,’ said Madame Shetland. ‘Whoever creates the spookiest surprise in time for the Halloween Party wins a very special spooky quest medal.’

‘Is it a GHOST medal?’ said Darcy.

‘Hand up to ask a question please, Darcy,’ said Madame Shetland.

‘Is it a GHOST medal?’ said Darcy, putting her hand up.

‘What’s a ghost medal?’ said Jake.

‘It’s a medal that died hundreds of years ago and haunts the corridors looking for revenge,’ said Darcy.

‘Can I just have a normal medal, not a ghost one?’ said Tamsin, putting her hand up.

‘Hold on. Nobody has won the quest yet!’ said Madame Shetland sternly. ‘You may create your spooky surprise alone, in pairs, or as a whole class, but every single pupil and their unicorn must enter the challenge!’

All the pupils were chatting noisily about their spooky surprise ideas, so Madame Shetland called an end to assembly and told everyone to go to their classrooms to start lessons.

‘Make sure you all start thinking about your spooky surprise,’ she called after them. ‘And Class Red?’

Mira and the others stopped and looked back.

‘Miss Glitterhorn is . . . away this week,’ said Madame Shetland. ‘So you have a supply teacher – he’s waiting for you in the classroom.’

Mira threw Dave some pumpkin sweets to catch as they walked down the corridor to their classroom.

‘What do you think has happened to Miss Glitterhorn?’ said Raheem.

‘I heard she was poisoned by the school dinners,’ said Tamsin.

Dave snorted as if to say no way. Dave loved Unicorn School dinners.

‘Actually, she was abducted by aliens,’ said Darcy.

‘Are you sure? I haven’t read about any aliens at Unicorn School,’ said Raheem. He was thumbing through a book called The Dangers of Halloween at Unicorn School.

‘Of course there aren’t any aliens here,’ said Darcy.

Raheem breathed a sigh of relief.

‘ANY MORE,’ Darcy added. ‘Because they’ve abducted Miss Glitterhorn and taken her back to their home planet.’

‘I’d love to go on holiday with an alien,’ said Flo.

‘I think Miss Glitterhorn was actually a zombie in disguise and they caught her trying to eat everyone’s brains,’ said Darcy.

Star snorted in agreement and Darcy gave her UBFF a hoof-five.

Mira nodded and chewed her pen. It certainly looked like there was a mystery! She wrote ‘Miss Glitterhorn – zombie in disguise?’ in her notebook.

‘Er, guys,’ interrupted Freya.

They’d reached the classroom, but the door was shut and all the lights were off.

‘Maybe the teacher’s not here yet?’ said Mira.

There was a pause while they all looked at each other. No one wanted to go in first. Everyone nudged each other until Mira was at the front of the group. Tamsin grabbed Mira’s hand, knocked on the door with her knuckles, and ran back behind everyone else.

With a

‘Welcome, Class Red,’ said a deep voice. ‘I’ve been DYING to meet you!’

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