Escape from the Haunted Castle
Sha Tin Junior School, Victoria Wong, Fiction: Group 2
I
magine a place dark and spooky, where ghosts haunt the sands, where animals are curious:
this is where the story begins. In the Gobi Desert, there were three adventurous Marbled
Pole-Cats: Marble, Hippolyta (Polly), and Cinnamon. They were as spotty as pigs with
chicken-pox. Marble had caramel fur and chocolate spots while her friends had striking
black spots and beige fur. Polly was smart while Cinnamon was beautiful.
One day the Trio was searching in the Desert. They were searching for the mysterious Haunted
Castle that was inhabited by the Mongolians. They found it, but not like they expected it. Instead
of looking old, rusty and ruined, it was beautiful: made out of silver that shimmered in the sun.
It smelled like fresh flowers in a meadow but echoed like a ghost in your dreams. It did not look
scary so they decided to enter…
Before they could place a paw on the door’s handle, a hoofed leg stopped their path. It was
Holly the Bactrian camel who had promised their mothers to keep them safe. “Don’t go my dears,
it’s dangerous!” she begged.
“Why not? No danger no fun. We’re old enough to take care of ourselves!” they protested. “Yes
children, you should enter. For I will take care of you before you meet my master. I’m Delilah, the
guard.” a sly voice whispered. They turned to see a dragon with fierce red eyes. “Yeah I agree!
Yeah I agree! Yeah I agree!” It was 3 vs 1 but Holly still did not give up. “Don’t go near the door.
DON’T!!!” she shrieked.
But Delilah was up to her own mischief. Her red eyes were like balls of coal and hypnotized
the confused pole-cats. They were drawn towards the door and opened the door just to hear
Holly’s cries of despair. They arrived into a vast hall with three doors. One was sealed shut and
the others were rusty and old.
They walked closer to have a better look. On the sealed door was a riddle: The left has nothing
right and the right has nothing left. Which is better, left or right? “The left of course! The right
has nothing but the left has something even though it’s wrong! Something’s better than nothing!
Let’s go left!” Polly could not wait to show off her wisdom.
Once again they arrived in a hall with another riddle. It only had two doors but in the middle
lay a plaque that said: What’s white, yellow or black and has holes in it? The doors had two
answers: Cheese on the right and pasta on the left. “This is easy! Cheese!” said Polly. She walked
towards the right door, “Come on girls!!!”
Another riddle lay in their path: What is the most important thing in the world? There were
three ladders that had one word on them: Wisdom, Beauty and Wealth. Marble chose Wealth for
she was poor, Cinnamon chose Beauty for that was she and the wise Polly chose wisdom. They
now faced their journeys by themselves. Marble found sacks of money dangling around her. She
greedily grabbed them off and stuffed them into her pocket. Cinnamon found magical mirrors
which flattered her and convinced her that she was the prettiest in the world. Polly managed to
solve all the riddles on her way to the top that made her think that she was the smartest in the
world. They met up again at the top of their ladders.
However, they were not alone in the vast hall, for Delilah stood in their paths once again. The
dragon breathed fire around Polly and demanded, “Fight me or die. I am hungry for FOOD.” The
