The Twelve Little Cakes Read Online Free PDF Page A

from my nap, my mother and the grandmother were gone. The living room was dark, and the trees outside were whispering in the wind. I climbed down from my bed and tiptoed over to the door. I had recently discovered that if I stood on the very tips of my toes, I could reach the handle and open the door by myself. I was very proud. I didn’t have to call my mother to let me out, and I could surprise her by appearing in the kitchen unexpectedly.
    I pushed the door open and walked down the hall into the stairwell, where I could hear my mother and sister laughing. I decided that before I went down and joined them, I would go and say hello to Mr. Carp. I climbed to the second floor and tiptoed into the bathroom. The Nedbals’ door was slightly ajar, but the house was quiet and I hoped they might be out. The Nedbals were very old and they smiled all the time, but I never had a good feeling when I saw them. They didn’t seem like nice people, and Mrs. Nedbal smelled like old sheets.
    There was a rusty metal bucket beneath the sink, and I pushed it over to the tub and climbed on top. The fish was floating motionlessly in the bath. His back was close to the surface of the water, and I reached down and gave him a pat.
    â€œHello, Mr. Carp,” I said softly. “Are you asleep?”
    He squirmed at my touch but eventually got used to my patting. I followed his long, slick body with my hand, stroking him from head to tail.
    â€œYou’re a good boy,” I told him.
    There was a faint creaking behind me, and I turned to see Mrs. Nedbal in the doorway. She was a plump and wrinkled lady who always dressed in faded tracksuits and cardigans.
    â€œHello, Mrs. Nedbal!” I said. “Look! There’s a fish in the bath!”
    â€œSo I see,” Mrs. Nedbal said pleasantly. “This is a communal bathroom and there’s a fish in the bath, and yet no one has bothered to ask me or my family if we wanted to use it.”
    She gave me a tight-lipped smile that sent a shiver down my spine.
    â€œDo you want to take a bath?” I asked.
    â€œNot at this moment, no,” she replied. “But if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to, would I?”
    She took another step toward me and broadened her smile into a grimace. Her hair smelled like she hadn’t washed it in months.
    â€œAnd you’re standing on my bucket.” Mrs. Nedbal sighed. “It’s my private property and you’ve taken it without asking. I do hope you haven’t broken it.”
    I climbed off the bucket, and she made a show of checking its rusty bottom for damage.
    â€œDear, oh dear,” she said tartly. “An apple never rolls far from the tree, does it? You start taking people’s things without asking, the next thing you know, you’ll be stealing the very beds they sleep on. It’s no wonder your grandmother keeps her room locked downstairs.”
    I looked up at Mrs. Nedbal in surprise. “My grandmother?” I exclaimed. “Do you know her?”
    â€œOh, yes,” Mrs. Nedbal smiled. “This is your grandmother’s house. She used to live here before your father drove her out.”
    â€œShe did?”
    â€œYes. This whole house was hers. Now all she has is that one room downstairs, which she keeps locked because your parents were very cruel to her. Such a terrible shame.”
    I thought about the locked door opposite my parents’ bedroom.
    â€œIs she still there?” I asked.
    â€œYour father drove her out before you were born. Imagine! His own mother-in-law!” She leaned down and lowered her voice confidentially. “It’s all in the courts, you know. I wouldn’t be surprised if you found yourselves looking for a new house next year.”
    â€œBut I don’t want a new house!” I cried. “I like this one!”
    â€œSo did your grandmother,” Mrs. Nedbal said quietly.
    She put the bucket back under the sink, shaking her head