Millie                          Susie                          Snoozie

This is the story of three five-year-old girls - Millie, Susie, and Snoozie - and the very surprising adventure they had at an old abandoned mansion in their neighborhood.

Millie was the adventurous one, the one who loved taking the risks that often got them all into trouble. Susie was the cautious one. She always considered the consequences of pursuing Millie's crazy ideas and usually argued against them. And Snoozie was the clueless one. She was just along for the ride.  

The girls lived in three houses right next to each other on Park Street. As the name implied, there was a park on the street and, as luck would have it, that park was located right across the street from their houses. 

The girls had been fast friends for as long as they could remember and spent most of their free time bouncing as a group from one house to another.  And, since the park was right across the street from their houses, their parents could keep an eye on them when they went over there to play.

One day, the girls were practicing their knock knock jokes at the park. Susie began by saying, "Knock knock" and Millie answered "Who's there?" Then an unfamiliar voice answered "Boo."

"Boo who?" responded Millie, looking around to see where that unfamiliar voice was coming from.

"What?" said Susie, who had not heard the unfamiliar voice. "Millie," she protested, "you're supposed to wait until I say, 'Boo'." 

"Someone did say 'Boo'," replied Millie, "but I'm not sure who it was. I don't see anyone."

"Neither do I," said Susie, "and I didn't hear anyone either. Snoozie, did you see or hear anyone."

"Huh?" responded Snoozie, who - as usual - had not been paying attention. Millie and Susie just laughed. "Never mind," they said in unison.

"Come on, Millie," said Susie, "stop fooling around."

"Knock knock," said Susie for the second time. Millie once again said "Who's there?" and then that same unfamiliar voice answered "Boo."

"Who said that?" asked Millie, looking around but seeing no one. 

Susie, looking puzzled, asked, "Who said what?" Once again, she had not heard a thing.

"It was that voice again!" said Millie. "WHO SAID THAT?" 

"I did!" proclaimed the voice, which seemed to be coming from right behind Susie. Strangely, though, Millie didn't see anyone there. It was weird.

"Where are you?" asked Millie, looking in Susie's direction. Millie and Susie were both getting frustrated.

"I'm right here!" said Susie. "Have you gone blind?"

"No, not you, Susie!" said Millie. "Where is that voice coming from?"

"Again with the voice?" asked Susie, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not kidding," said Millie, "there is a voice and it is coming from right behind you."

Susie wheeled around, expecting to find someone sneaking up on her as a prank, but there was no one there. "Very funny," she said, facing Millie once more.

"She can't hear me and she can't see me," said the voice. And then, out of nowhere, a ghostly apparition began to 

materialize right behind Susie. 

Millie's jaw dropped and she said slowly, "Susie, turn around again. It's a ghost!"

"Yeah, sure," said Susie dismissively. Then, turning around, she said mockingly, "Oh, hello Mr. Ghost, how are you on this fine afternoon?"

"She still can't hear or see me," said the ghost. "Only you can." 

"Oh," said Millie, who didn't quite know what to say to Susie. Then the ghost faded from her vision and so did the voice, bidding her farewell as it drifted away.

"Can we puh-lease get back to our knock knock jokes?" asked Susie, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Sure," replied Millie, wondering if she would ever see or hear the ghost again. And, to be honest, she was beginning to wonder if the whole thing had just been the product of her overactive imagination. About an hour later, the girls went home.

For the next week, Millie could not get the ghost out of her mind, but she could not talk about it for fear that people would think that she was going crazy. She tried hard to forget about it, but about a week later she returned to the park to see if the ghost was still there. This time, though, she went by herself.

"Hello, ghost," she said softly, sitting on a bench to wait for a response. "It's Millie. I'd really like to talk to you again." After a few minutes, just as she was about to leave, she heard a rustling of leaves. "Strange," she thought to herself, "since there is no breeze today." 

As she watched the leaves, that same ghostly apparition began to materialize before her once again. "Hello, Millie," said the ghost, "it's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too," said Millie. "What's your name?" 

"I don't have one," said the ghost. "How do I get one?"

"Well," replied Millie, "I guess I could give you one. How about ... um ... Esprit?" (pronounced "ess-pree").

"Esprit?" replied the ghost.

"Esprit is the French word for spirit," said Millie. "But if you don't like it, I'm sure that I can come up with a better one."

"No, no, no," said the ghost, "Esprit is fine. I like it. Esprit. It fits. How do you do? My name is Esprit."

"Well, pleased to meet you, Esprit," chuckled Millie. "My name is Millie."

Millie and Esprit spoke for what seemed like hours, becoming friends as time went on. Esprit, who was a girl about the same age as Millie, explained that most people could neither hear her nor see her and that Millie was one of the few who had that gift. But even for people with that gift, Esprit had the ability to make herself be seen and heard or to keep herself hidden.

"Most people are afraid of ghosts," said Esprit, "and I do not like to frighten people. I just want to make friends with them."

She also told Millie that she lived in the old abandoned mansion at the very end of Park Street and invited Millie to come visit her. Millie said that she would love to, but that her parents would never allow that.  

"Well," said Esprit, "there is nothing to be afraid of. Maybe you could sneak out at night and come for a sleepover. Bring your friends!"

This appealed to Millie's adventurous spirit, but she wondered if she would ever be able to talk Susie into it. If she did though, Snoozie would probably also do it. 

"Alright," said Millie, "I'll try to talk my friends into it, but I should tell you that my friends don't believe in ghosts and they are afraid of the old mansion. They think it's haunted." 

"Well," said Esprit, "if they don't believe in ghosts, how could they believe that the old mansion is haunted?"

"Ha ha," laughed Millie. "I guess it doesn't make much sense, does it?"

"Nope," agreed Esprit. "See you there tomorrow night?"

"OK," said Millie confidently, "we'll be there." The truth, though, was that she was still not sure that she could talk her friends into it.

The following day, the three girls met at the park and Millie presented them with the idea of sneaking out at night for a sleepover at the old mansion. 

"I don't think that's a very good idea," said Susie, "You know that the old mansion is haunted."

"I thought you didn't believe in ghosts," said Millie. 

"I don't," responded Susie, realizing for the first time that her argument didn't make much sense. "Anyway," she added, "our parents will never allow it."

"That's why we have to sneak out," said Millie. "What do you think, Snoozie?"

"Huh?" responded Snoozie, causing Millie and Susie to laugh as usual. Then she added, "If Susie goes, I will too."

"OK, Susie," said Millie, "it's up to you, so what about it? Are you a scaredy-cat?"