Goblins on the Prowl Read Online Free PDF Page B

her,” he said, shaking his head. “Didn’t really know her myself. I was too young at the time. My parents never got overit, though.” He sighed. “Poor Gertrude. That was her name, Gertrude. I’ve always wondered what happened to her. Made things hard on me, growing up. My parents were so worried about losing another child, they never let me out of their sight.”
    He shook his head again. “Listen to me going on! Must be the brandy. Well, that’s enough for one night. We should do this again next year, William. And Fauna, of course. Always welcome here, you know, my dear.”
    That pinched my heart, as I knew that after a year, two at the most, it would no longer be true.
    â€œCome along, Fauna,” bellowed Hulda. “I’ll show you to your room.” She picked up a candlestick that held a thick candle. By its flickering light she led me to the next level of the castle. About halfway down the long hall, she opened a door and shouted, “Here you go!”
    The room was bigger than my entire cottage. A lovely fire blazed in the fireplace. The bed, high as my waist, was wide enough for four people. Against the opposite wall stood a tall wooden box with two doors. Carved into the doors were beautiful images of ­dragons and unicorns.
    Hulda used her candle to light the one on thenightstand next to the bed. “Wait here,” she said, then scurried out of the room. While she was gone, I pulled open the doors of the tall wooden box.
    It was empty.
    As I closed the doors, Hulda returned with a white shirt. “This used to belong to the Baron,” she said. “You can use it to sleep in.”
    After she left, I took the rose from behind my ear and placed it on the table beside the bed. Then I slid out of my clothes and put on the shirt. It was amazingly soft.
    I climbed into the bed and blew out the candle. The fire, low but still burning, cast a dim light into the room.
    I tossed and turned but couldn’t get comfortable. The bed was soft. Too soft. I was about to climb out and sleep on the floor when I heard a creak from the tall wooden box.
    I sat up and swallowed hard. The door of the box swung open. As I reached for my knife, a cheerful voice called, “Hey, Fauna. You still awake?”
    â€œWilliam? What are you doing here?”
    â€œI wanted to ask you about this bottle you gave me.”
    He stepped out of the box. He held a candlestick in one hand, and by its flickering light I saw that hewas fully dressed. Also, he had a rat on his shoulder.
    The rat’s name is Mervyn. William had trained the little beast to eat out of his hand.
    He is fonder of rats than I am.
    Mervyn lifted his head, stared at me for a moment, then said, “What in the name of the High Holy Rat is that thing around your neck?”
    Actually, he made a series of squeaks.
    Even so, I understood him perfectly.
    William turned his head to glance at Mervyn, clearly startled by the rat’s sudden outburst.
    â€œIt’s called Solomon’s Collar,” I said.
    William looked at me oddly. “Fauna, are you talking to Mervyn?”
    My face got hot, and I nodded.
    â€œSince when do you talk to rats?”
    â€œGood question,” Mervyn chittered.
    I was ashamed to tell William I had accidentally stolen his gift. On the other hand, if I didn’t want to get choked, whatever I told him had to be true. Thinking carefully, I put my hand to my neck and said, “It’s this collar. It lets me talk to animals.”
    Not the entire story, but true as far as it went.
    William’s eyes lit up. “Wow! I wish I had something like that.”
    I was glad the light was too low for him to see me blush.
    â€œAnyway, I came to ask about this.” He held up the little green bottle. “Right after you handed it to me, you had that almost-fainting spell. Then things got going and . . . well, you never did tell me what it’s for.