My Monster Has Stage Fright
8 pages · 6 min · ages 6+
A striped sock slipped off Theo's bed and dropped directly onto Gorp's three blinking eyes. Gorp poked his fuzzy purple snout out from under the dust ruffle. “Tonight is the Monster Halloween Show, and I must win,” Gorp whispered. Theo sat on the braided rug. “If you cannot scare anyone, Mayor Fang will take your official monster badge away.” Gorp felt his stomach wobble like warm jelly. “Paws up, chest out, biggest spook ever!” Gorp growled. Instead of a roar, out came a sound like a leaking balloon. Theo blinked. “That sounded like a polite mouse.”
Gorp waddled over to Theo’s closet mirror and stood tall on his tiptoes. “Paws up, chest out, biggest spook ever!” Gorp recited, puffing his furry purple belly until he looked like a giant grape. He bared his two round fangs, shook his horns, and opened his jaws wide to unleash a fierce howl. Squeep! A tiny, shiny soap bubble floated from his tongue and popped gently against the cold mirror glass. Gorp knew his fangs were completely useless. “Was that terrifying?” Gorp asked. Theo shook his head. “It was very clean, but not scary.”
Theo lined up seven stuffed toys across the wooden floorboards for an audience test. “Paws up, chest out, biggest spook ever!” Gorp shouted, wrapping Theo’s dark bedsheet around his shoulders like a spooky cape. Gorp wanted the toys to tremble in their stuffing. He stomped his heavy feet, making the floorboards rattle with a loud thump. But the sheet slipped down over his forehead and covered all three of his eyes. “I cannot see their terrified faces!” Gorp yelled from inside the woolly darkness. “You are facing the laundry basket,” Theo pointed out.
Gorp charged forward with a mighty monster leap. “Paws up, chest out, biggest spook ever!” Gorp yelled, spinning like a wild purple tumbleweed across the bedroom rug. CRASH! Gorp tripped over the trailing bedsheet and tumbled headfirst into the toy bin, sending yellow rubber ducks flying through the air. One duck landed right on Bruno the teddy bear's patched head. Bruno stared with two unblinking brown buttons. “Did Bruno shiver?” Gorp asked, pulling a plastic truck off his ear. Theo adjusted Bruno's ears. “Bruno looks sleepy,” Theo said. Gorp felt his purple fur droop.
Theo handed Gorp a pair of oversized plastic vampire fangs from the dress-up box. “Paws up, chest out, biggest spook ever!” Gorp announced bravely, jamming the clunky white teeth into his wide mouth. Gorp thought this enormous grin would finally terrify everyone in town. He leaped onto the wooden stool and inhaled deeply to unleash a terrifying snarl. The plastic teeth tickled his nose, and curtain dust rushed into his nostrils. KER-CHOO! Gorp sneezed so hard that the false teeth rocketed across the bedroom and clicked against the ceiling. Theo ducked. “Nice shot,” Theo said.
Gorp slid off the stool and sat heavily on the rug, his three eyes watering. A deep drum boomed from the town square outside, signaling the start of the Halloween show. “I will never be scary,” Gorp whispered, his purple shoulders shaking. “Every time I try, I make a mess.” Theo knelt down and patted Gorp's fuzzy arm. “Maybe you are trying the wrong trick,” Theo said. Gorp thought about the flying ducks and the soapy bubble. A sudden giggle tickled Gorp's belly. “I can make them laugh instead,” Gorp decided with a grin.
Gorp stepped onto the brightly lit wooden stage before a huge crowd of green goblins and tall witches. The hot stage spotlight beamed down, making Gorp’s purple knees wobble. Gorp knew this was his big moment. He rushed toward the microphone, opened his jaws, and tripped over his own bushy tail. WHOOSH! Gorp rolled across the stage like a furry bowling ball and splashed upside down into a wooden barrel of red apples. The whole hall burst into thunderous, howling laughter. Mayor Fang cheered, “That is the funniest monster in town!”
Back in Theo’s bedroom, Gorp placed his shiny Golden Giggler Trophy under the bed. “Paws up, chest out, biggest laugh ever!” Gorp giggled proudly, wanting to show Theo his funny tumble one more time. Gorp puffed out his round tummy, opened his mouth to give a silly squeak, and suddenly sneezed with all his strength. ROOOOOOAR! A ferocious, ground-shaking bellow exploded from Gorp’s throat, rattling the bedroom windowpanes and blowing Theo’s striped pajamas flat against his legs. Theo rubbed his ringing ears. “Oh, NOW you can roar,” Theo sighed. Bruno the teddy bear toppled over.