How to Save Your Tail Read Online Free PDF Page A

candlestick maker, and that horrible witch.
    Bob read his stories to the witch’s servant girl, Cindy. Cindy hated being cooped up in the cottage, and she was sick of sweeping the fireplace. She wanted to get out and kick up her heels.
    Nearby, in a castle, lived a Prince named Charming. He was crazy for horses. He spent so much time talking to his horses that the King and Queen were afraid he would forget how to talk to people. For that reason, they announced a gala party and invited every maiden in the kingdom.
    Bob and Cindy were both tickled pink when the invitation arrived at the cottage. Bob was happy he had something new to read, even if it was a bit short:
    Cindy was thrilled at the chance of an evening out. She danced about the kitchen with a song on her lips and Bob in her pocket. Birds fluttered to the window to sing along.

    Suddenly, a spine-tingling cackle split the air.
The witch!
The birds flew off.
    Cindy had forgotten about the No Singing rule.
    The old hag flew into the room, and Bob peeked through a tattered hole in Cindy’s pocket.
    “Don’t think
you’re
going to the ball,” snarled the witch when she saw the invitation. She ripped the card from Cindy’s hand and left, as quickly as she had come.

    A teardrop splashed on Bob’s head. He looked up.
    Cindy blew her nose.
    “I wish … Oh, how I wish …”
    Presto-bingo
, from out of nowhere, in a puff of purple smoke, popped a little lady with wings.
    She had a sparkly wand, a big book, and a nervous twitch.
    Bob climbed out of Cindy’s pocket to get a closer look.
    “I—am—your—Fairy—Godmother,” said the lady, reading from her book. “My name is—Twinkle. Wish do you what? I mean, what—do—you—wish?”
    Cindy blew her nose. Again. “To go to the ball, please,” she said. “And wear silver and gold and dance under the stars and meet the Prince and eat something new and different and—”

    “Goodness sakes alive,” said Twinkle. “Please slow down. This is my first job and I’m a bit rattled.”
    Just then, with a screech, the witch burst into the kitchen. Twinkle poofed away in fright. Bob skooched under the rug, and the witch dragged Cindy away to sweep gingerbread crumbs.
    The kitchen was quiet.
    Bob skooched back out and spotted Twinkle’s wand and book. He could not resist. He flipped through pages and pages of mysterious magical words. One charm reminded him of his friend Blue Sue, a niece of Justine’s. I’m sure you remember Justine. She was the goose who laid the golden eggs. Anyway, it was a catchy little thing. It started:
“Blue goose, true goose,”
and so on and so forth. Bob smiled, but then he remembered Cindy and turned the page.
    “Look!” he said when Cindy returned.
    “It’s a book of spells! And I found one for you!”
    “Really?” she asked.
    “Sort of,” he said. “It’s called ‘Perfect for Parties.’ It looks like it includes everything—dress, slippers, fancy hairstyle—everything.”
    “Okay,” Cindy said.
    The witch shrieked from the parlor. Again.
    “But hurry!” said Cindy.
    “Icanbeyourhorseandweneedapumpkinfora coach,” said Bob.
    “I don’t have a pumpkin,” said Cindy. “Only a seed.”
    “That will have to do,” said Bob. “Now be still.”
    But Cindy was too excited to be still. When Bob waved the wand, slowly intoning,
“Sparkle and splendor, scribbily scrat,”
Cindy turned acartwheel, knocked over a chair, and banged into the broom. It was very distracting. And noisy. Bob lost his place in the spell. The witch must have heard the racket, because she stormed in and grabbed the book.
    It’s now or never
, Bob figured, and guessed the rest:
“Pumpkins and ponies—poofily splat.”
    Okay, okay, so it wasn’t a great guess.
    Glitter swirled about the kitchen. Bob’s legs felt funny. When the air cleared, his handsome fur was gone. He was smooth and silky and much too tall. Instead of a tail and whiskers, he wore glass slippers and a blue gown. A