It was Saturday morning and Hugo and his friend Gigi were sitting on the floor playing a game they had made up called Castles Knights They used cups turned upside down for the castles For the roads they used sticks and they had painted faces on rocks for their characters There 2
were smooth bits of red and green and blue glass that Hugo’s grandpa had found in the woods while hunting mushrooms these were the magic gems My knight is crossing the moat to attack your castle Gigi said pushing a painted rock forward Okay then my wizard is going to open the secret trapdoor Hugo said and a Snallygaster is going to fly out and attack your knight Gigi looked at Hugo A Snallygaster You can’t make up creatures out of your head Hugo Maybe you could use a dragon Or a Minotaur But there really is such a thing as a Snallygaster Hold on I’ll prove it 3
Hugo got up and walked over to his bookshelf Rick-a-tick-a-tick Gigi frowned at the sound From the bookshelf Hugo pulled out a very thick hardcover book called The Biggest Biggest Ever Book of Cryptids His best friend Boone had lent the book to him and Hugo had been reading it every day Even when it was past his bedtime he would read the book under his blankets using his jar of glowworms for light The book listed all the known cryptids which is a fancy word for mysterious creatures in alphabetical order It had full-color illustrations of each one of them too Once in a while there was a photograph of a cryptid but those 4
were usually pretty blurry and could just as easily have been something else Hugo walked back to Gigi to show her the book Rick-a-tick-a-tick Hugo Gigi said staring down at Hugo’s feet when was the last time you cut your toenails I don’t know Why Hugo sat down beside her and leafed through the book to find the section about Snallygasters Because your toenails are so long that they’re clicking against the ground Hugo ignored this He flipped through 5
