The Mystery of the Shifting Hedge Maze
The old, abandoned mansion at the end of the street was creepy enough, but the massive, overgrown hedge maze in its backyard was terrifying. The towering walls of twisted branches were so high they blocked out the sun. The air smelled of damp earth, rotting leaves, and something sour, like ancient moss.
Ten-year-old Jake and his best friend, Tara, stood at the entrance. The wind whistled through the dead branches, making a horrible scratching noise.
*(can you make the sound of scratching branches? Rub your hands together really fast and go **SWISH-SWASH-SWISH!**)*
*We really shouldn't go in there,* Jake thought, his stomach doing flip-flops.
Would you have been brave enough to step into a dark, tangled maze where the paths all look exactly the same?
Suddenly, a strange, thick, glowing green fog began to ooze out from beneath the mansion's porch. It rolled across the grass and began creeping into the maze.
"The green fog," Tara whispered, her eyes wide. "The legends are true!"
They knew the story. Once a year, the magical fog swallowed the maze. Anyone caught inside when the paths vanished would be lost in the twisting hedges forever. The only way to stop it was to reach the stone statue at the very center of the maze before the fog completely filled the paths.
The fog was already at their ankles. They had to hurry!
They dashed into the maze.
Left. Right. Left again.
The green fog was rising to their knees, cold and wet. The maze was so quiet, the only sound was their own panicked breathing.
Step. **Crunch.** Step.
Suddenly, Jake was yanked backward! Something wrapped tightly around his ankle, gripping him with sharp, prickly fingers. He fell to the dirt with a heavy thud.
*The maze is grabbing me!* Jake panicked, thrashing on the ground.
He opened his mouth and let out a terrified yell.
*(give us your best startled yell! **AHHHHH!**)*
Tara quickly spun around and shined her flashlight at Jake's leg. Then, she let out a loud laugh. Jake stopped thrashing and looked down. It wasn't a monster grabbing him at all. In his panic, he had just tripped and tangled his foot in a thick, thorny vine growing out of the hedge!
A false alarm! Jake untangled his shoe and laughed too.
*( let out a big, relieved sigh! **PHEW!**)*
But the laughter stopped quickly.
**Whoooooosh.**
The fog was up to their waists now. It was getting impossible to see the turns!
"Run!" Tara yelled.
They sprinted blindly down the final corridor and burst into a large, circular clearing. At the center sat a stone statue of a giant owl. In its heavy stone claws, it held a small wooden chest shut tight with a combination lock that had letters instead of numbers.
Carved into the pedestal of the statue was a glowing riddle.
"Read it!" Jake shouted. The fog was filling the clearing, swirling up to their shoulders!
Tara read the glowing words aloud:
*“I have no voice, but I can howl. I have no hands, but I can push. You cannot see me, but you can feel me. What am I?”*
The green fog was creeping up to their chins! The maze was about to disappear!
*(Wait! Don't read any further! Can you help Jake and Tara solve the riddle? Think about the weather! Yell out your answer before the fog swallows them!)*
...
...
...
"THE WIND!" Jake and Tara screamed together.
Tara frantically spun the letters on the lock to spell W-I-N-D.
CLICK! CLACK!
The wooden chest popped open! Inside rested a beautiful, glowing silver compass. The moment Jake picked it up, it let out a chime like a tiny bell.
**DING!**
Instantly, a powerful gust of warm air exploded from the compass. It blew the terrible green fog completely away, sending it rushing back into the ground. Then, right before their eyes, the thorny hedges began to shift and move, magically parting down the middle to create one perfectly straight, safe path leading right back out to their neighborhood.
Jake and Tara smiled, holding the glowing silver compass tightly. Because they had been brave enough to face the maze and clever enough to beat the ticking clock, they were rewarded with a magical guide that would ensure they never, ever got lost again.