One Wish Read Online Free PDF Page B

out his hand. ‘Seeing as you’re here, I might as well take it.’
    Tanya held the bottle out and his hand closed round it. ‘There was one other thing.’
    The boy gave the bottle a light tug, but Tanya tightened her grip.
    ‘I know you can see fairies.’
    The boy snorted. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve been reading about that stupid tree, haven’t you? Well, it’s just a story, a legend.’
    ‘No, it isn’t,’ Tanya said. ‘You know it’s real and so do I. I heard the tree talking. And I heard you speaking to it. I know you can see fairies, because I can see them, too.’
    A sudden scurrying movement caught her eye, down by the boy’s foot. She released the wish bottle into the boy’s hand, a slow smile spreading across her face.
    ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he muttered, but he sounded less sure of himself now.
    Tanya raised her eyebrows. ‘I think I do,’ she said. ‘Because there’s a fairy with very hairy toes putting a stolen shoelace into your boot right at this moment.’
    The fairy thief looked up, guilt and surprise etched on to her face. She had been so intent on threading the lace into the boot that she hadn’t even noticed Tanya watching. She gave a squeak and climbed, monkey-like, up the boy’s clothes to sit on his shoulder, clutching her bag of loot to her tightly.
    Tanya folded her arms, waiting. Finally, the boy sighed.
    ‘Oh, all right.’ He reached up and gave one of the hairy toes a prod. ‘This is Turpin and I’m Henry. Henry Hanratty. Most people call me Ratty.’
    ‘Pleased to meet you, Ratty,’ she said. ‘I’m Tanya. Now what can you tell me about fairies?’ She glanced at Turpin, who was chewing on a strand of Ratty’s hair and glaring at her. ‘Because you seem to know more than I do.’
    ‘Plenty,’ said Ratty. He took a deep breath, as though trying to make some kind of decision. ‘But we shouldn’t talk about it here. Follow me.’

4
    Nessie Needleteeth
    ‘T HE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW about fairies,’ said Ratty, ‘is that they can only use magic on you if you let them.’
    ‘If I let them?’ Tanya said doubtfully. ‘It’s not like I tell every fairy I see that they’re free to do whatever horrible things that they can think of.’ She clambered over yet another stile into a deserted field, catching a splinter in her thumb as she did so. ‘I ignore them—’ She caught Turpin shooting her a filthy look and quickly added, ‘—Well, mostly.’ She sucked her sore thumb and dropped to the grass, waiting for Oberon to jump over.
    ‘What sort of horrible things do they do?’ Ratty asked. He was striding ahead now, with Turpin still perched on his shoulder like a parrot.
    Tanya hurried to catch up with him. They had been walking for nearly fifteen minutes, leaving the noise and bustle of the pier far behind. Already she missed the breeze from the sea. They had traded it instead for swarms of low-flying midges that kept sticking to Tanya’s damp skin and hair, and by now she was feeling decidedly hot and grumpy.
    ‘Well, I know the tooth fairy is a lie.’ She swatted a bug from her face. ‘It stole every single one of my teeth and I never got a penny in return, just any disgusting rubbish it had picked up from the street.’ She shuddered. ‘It once left a chewed-up toffee that someone had spat out. I woke up with it stuck to my cheek.’
    Ratty began to chuckle, then quickly turned it into a cough as she gave him a stony look. ‘I was once told that the teeth are supposed to be ground into fairy forks and knives,’ he said. ‘But I think that’s just a rumour, probably started by the fairies themselves to get parents to believe it. The truth is, you should never let a fairy have any of your teeth.’
    ‘Why not?’ Tanya asked.
    ‘I’ll explain later,’ Ratty said mysteriously. ‘Go on.’
    ‘They put spells on my hairbrush all the time. It either puts tangles in my hair or makes it stand on end, like a