Curiosity Killed the Cat Read Online Free PDF Page A

her friend always made time to spend with Hannah, too, even if she did have to schedule it in.
    Paisley sighed. “I’m sorry, Hannah,” she said apologetically. “I guess seventh grade is going to be tougher to manage than I thought.”
    “That’s okay,” Hannah said as the bell rang for homeroom to begin. “I’ll figure something else out. Maybe my dad will help me hang the flyers.”
    “Thanks for understanding,” Paisley whispered as their homeroom teacher, Mr. Jaffe, began taking attendance. “You’re the best!”
    Hannah smiled weakly. She didn’t feel very understanding. Was seventh grade going to be the year Paisley stopped having time in her schedule for her best friend? That was just one more change Hannah didn’t think she could bear.
    Hannah slipped into her English class just as the bell rang for first period to begin. It was only after she sat down that she remembered that English was her one class with Madison. Hannah glanced around,breathing a sigh of relief when she didn’t spot her evil stepsister. Then something made her turn around.
    Madison was sitting right behind Hannah. She scowled darkly.
    Great
, Hannah thought.
Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.
    “Today we’re going to talk about legends,” their English teacher, Mr. Bonaventure, announced as he paced the front of the classroom. “Can anyone define the term
legend
?”
    Everyone was silent. Finally, the class brain, Emilia Lacey, raised her hand.
    “It’s a story that’s passed down from one generation to another, right?”
    “Yes, that’s part of it,” Mr. Bonaventure agreed. “But legends aren’t just tales that are passed down within families or among groups of friends — they’re stories that become so popular that everyone knows them, even if no one is sure if they’re true or not.”
    “You mean like the legend of King Arthur?” Thomas Lee asked. He was on the fencing team and was really into anything medieval. Hannah’s mom had dragged her to the New York Renaissance Faire in August, and Hannah had bumped into Thomas —literally. He had been wearing a costume with puffy sleeves and he had said something goofy like “Pardon me, m’lady” after almost knocking her over.
    “Yes, the legend of King Arthur is a great example,” Mr. Bonaventure replied. “Robin Hood is another. Can anyone think of some local legends that originated right here in our area?”
    Ryan Walsh raised his hand. “Rip van Winkle?” he asked hesitantly.
    “Yes, that’s one of them,” Mr. Bonaventure said. “Any others?”
    Silence again. The answer was so obvious Hannah couldn’t believe no one was speaking up.
    Without even meaning to, the words popped out of her mouth. “The legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
    “Yes!” Mr. Bonaventure cried. “That’s one of the most famous legends in this town, and we’re going to be reading it this week.”
    The class groaned, and even Hannah rolled her eyes. It wasn’t the first time any of them had read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in school. In fact, Hannah’s sixth grade English teacher had made the class study the story for an entire month. Every teacher in town obviously thought it was the thing to do during pumpkin season.
    “Any other local legends you can think of?” Mr. Bonaventure asked as he passed out copies of the story.
    “Well, there are all those ghost legends about the cemetery,” Shana Strobert said. “You know, like the story about the ghost cat? People see it around there all the time.”
    A bunch of the boys laughed. “That’s no ghost!” Jordan Saks shouted. “That’s just a cat from crazy old Mrs. Wilkinson’s house. She’s got about a thousand of them in there.”
    “Yeah, weird people live near the cemetery,” Parker Anderson added. “Like that one over there.” He gestured at Hannah. “I know cuz I’m on her bus.”
    Hannah rolled her eyes. Parker had been pestering Hannah regularly since second grade, when he had been