Cheating like Nostradogmus! is a DuckTales 2017 comic book story, and the third of four prequel stories focusing on the adventures of Donald, Scrooge and Della prior to the triplets' birth.
Synopsis[]
Scrooge, Della, and Donald-the latter encased in a giant cookie-drive away from a castle in Provence, France. A flashback reveals that the castle was once home to Nostradogmus, a figure famous for his accurate predictions and cookie recipes. However, as Scrooge explains, Nostradogmus has a secret: magical jelly beans that allowed him to travel six minutes into the past. Unfortunately, as the trio of Ducks discover the last six jelly beans concealed in one of Nostradogmus' portraits, the ghost of Nostradogmus himself is awakened.
Believing that the Ducks wish to surpass his skills as a chef using his jelly beans, Nostradogmus reveals that he has laid six traps throughout his castle. The intent is to force the intruders to use up the last six jelly beans to save themselves from the various traps. His plan seems effective, as Della is almost immediately forced to eat one to save the group from a trap door. She is then forced to eat four more jelly beans to save the group from floodwaters, an army of living skeletons, flaming boulders, and a pack of ghostly hounds.
Down to their last jelly bean, Della and Scrooge come up with a plan that requires Donald's unwilling cooperation. When Nostradogmus arrives, Donald is apparently gone, and despite his best efforts he is unable to locate him. Admitting defeat-and hoping to avoid word getting out that the Ducks have created a better cookie recipe than his-Nostradogmus allows them to leave. Unbeknownst to him, Della and Scrooge have baked Donald into a giant cookie, which they take with them out of the castle. Returning to Duckburg, Scrooge allows the students of Duckburg Elementary School to "free" Donald, while Nostradogmus stumbles into his own final trap-a ghostly dragon-while attempting to figure out how Donald escaped.
Appearances[]
Characters[]
- Scrooge McDuck
- Donald Duck
- Della Duck
- Grandma Duck (mentioned)
- Nostradogmus
Locations[]
- The Castle of Nostradogmus, Provence, France
- Duckburg Elementary, Duckburg
Trade paperback IDW reprint[]
- "Mysteries and Mallards" (ISBN 9781684052301)