Dora walked along the beach with Boots, both of them smiling as the warm breeze fluttered through the air. Dora carried her backpack, and Boots hopped from one smooth stone to another, laughing whenever a tiny wave splashed his red boots. "What a beautiful day for an adventure, Boots, and maybe we'll even find something amazing by the sea," Dora said. "I hope we find treasure, or a funny fish, or maybe a giant sandcastle with a secret tunnel," replied Boots.
A strange figure lurched out from the rocks, covered in red shells and tangled green seaweed, with two large crab claws snapping in the air. Its hat was bent and pointy like a witch's, and its voice came out in a scratchy, grumbly croak that echoed across the shore. The crabby crab witch waved its claws and stomped forward through the wet sand. "Leave this beach at once, or I'll pinch the ground beneath your feet and fill the whole shore with spooky crab magic," it cried.
Dora gasped, and Boots jumped straight into the air before landing beside her with trembling knees. They turned and ran as fast as they could, their voices ringing down the path while the snapping sound of claws seemed to chase them from behind. "Run, Dora, run, that crabby crab witch is scary and crabby and I do not want to get pinched by magic claws today," shouted Boots. "Keep going, Boots, we have to find help right away and tell someone exactly what we saw near the cave," cried Dora.
Geo Umizoomi looked up from his gadgets as Dora and Boots rushed toward him, breathless and wide-eyed. Their faces were pale with fear, and grains of sand clung to their shoes and fur as they tried to explain all at once. "Geo, we were walking by the beach cave and a crabby crab witch came out with huge claws and a witch hat and a spooky voice, and it told us to leave before it used crab magic," said Dora. "Slow down and tell me everything, because if something scared you that badly, we'll figure it out together step by step," said Geo Umizoomi calmly.
Geo Umizoomi knelt beside the tracks and studied them carefully, noticing that some prints looked like shoes instead of crab legs. He picked up a broken piece of red painted wood shaped like a claw and then found a strip of cloth with glitter stuck to it, fluttering from a thorny bush. "This doesn't look like real magic to me, because witches don't usually leave costume pieces in the sand, and these marks show someone was walking here in disguise," said Geo Umizoomi. Boots blinked and leaned closer. "So maybe it wasn't a real crabby crab witch after all, and maybe someone just wanted us to be scared," he whispered.
The strange figure appeared again, but this time Geo Umizoomi stepped forward instead of running. A wave splashed against the rocks, and one of the giant claws slipped off, dropping into the sand with a hollow clunk that sounded more silly than scary. Under the seaweed cape and crooked hat was a grumpy beach collector, a man with a sunburned nose and embarrassed eyes who had been hiding in the cave. "You're not a crab witch at all, you're someone wearing a costume, and you frightened my friends because you wanted the beach to yourself," said Geo Umizoomi.
The beach collector lowered his head and admitted that he had dressed up to scare people away because he wanted to gather rare shells without anyone bothering him. Dora and Boots looked at each other, their fear slowly melting into relief as they realized there had never been any real witch magic at all. "I'm sorry for scaring you both, I was being selfish and grumpy, and I should have asked for space instead of pretending to be a monster from the sea," said the beach collector. "You really scared us, but telling the truth is the right thing to do, and next time you should never try to frighten people with a costume," replied Dora.
Geo Umizoomi helped the beach collector gather the costume pieces, and soon the shore looked friendly again. Boots let out a long breath and finally laughed, feeling brave now that the truth had come out into the open. "I am very happy that was just someone in a costume, because I like crabs at the beach, but I do not like crabby crab witches chasing me down the path," said Boots. "Sometimes the scariest things turn out to be mysteries with simple answers, and when we stay calm and look for clues, we can help our friends feel safe again," said Geo Umizoomi.
