THERE IS A PLACE WHERE the odd intersects with the absurd. Where silliness crisscrosses with fear. Where that which is spooky and weird crashes straight into everything that is goofy and nonsensical. The road to this place is paved with words and pages, not concrete and asphalt. A guide is required to enter. A fuzzy long-eared companion who, through long experience, has learned to navigate these creepy supernatural byways. And there is a price for admission. What is that fee? you ask. You must surrender yourself completely to imagination. To goofiness. And to the unknown. Have you surrendered? If so, then your journey begins here. Imagine, if you can, the world of long ago. It is an ancient world ruled by fear and folklore. A world where every mystery of the universe is explained by guesswork and superstition. What causes the full moon? Easy. An enormous rabbit in the sky makes a huge wheel of cheese, once every month. Mystery explained. Why are vegetables healthy? A magic fox goes around at night filling all vegetables with goody-juice. Obviously. What makes scary noises in the darkness of the night? Monsters. Plain and simple. Fast-forward to the world of today. It is a modern world of logic and science. In this modern world lives a modern reader. You. And a modern badger. THADDEUS BADGER. To a modern reader like you and a modern badger like Thaddeus, the ancient ways seem silly. Rational thought explains the mysteries in his life. Why does the moon go from empty to full? Rotation. And orbit. And other explainable stuff. Why do vegetables make you healthy? Science. There is no magic fox. And goody-juice is the stuff of myth. What makes the noises that go bump in the night? Not monsters, that's for sure. Our great and vast knowledge explains the boogeyman away. And yet even in this age of logic, despite our vast understanding of the ways of the world... some mysteries remain. Modern badgers like Thaddeus can pretend the mysteries aren't there. They can squash the unknown with sound scientific arguments. But some mysteries won't be explained away. They remain, lurking just on the edge of vision. Hiding in the dark. Hungrily lingering in the shadows, just waiting to pull a modern badger... ... into a CREEPY TALE. Excerpted from Unsettling Salad! by Aaron Reynolds All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
