“Hurry! Hurry!” she said to herself. The chatter was starting to fade, and someone would notice her soon. Just then, Samson let out a terrible screech, fluttered his wings, and flew into Granny Yenta’s arms. Everyone turned to look.
Sasha was the only one to notice the shadow of Puck disappearing behind the chicken coop. In his mouth was a bunch of Samson’s tail feathers.
Sasha finished pouring the feed and dashed out of the lot. She joined the group and did her best to look like she’d been there the whole time.
“All right, all right,” said Granny Yenta. “You bunch of milk drinkers can stay. But don’t touch anything or say anything or get in the way. And don’t sigh if you don’t get what you want. And don’t stand around my house crying or anything. We do the thing, she gets her match, then you leave. Ten minutes after, I’ll set my slime buzzards loose, and you don’t want to be around when they’re hungry.”
Everyone agreed. They stood a little closer to each other, out of a new fear for slime buzzards.
Granny carried Samson to the lot. She whispered gentle words to him, then she put him down. They all stood by the fence to see where he would go.
Sasha hoped her plan was enough. It was a logical method. But would it work? Did Samson work by logic, or did he have supernatural matchmaking pecks that worked only by magic?
She didn’t know.
Samson took a few steps into the lot and began to peck at a particular mound of feed.
“L,” said Granny Yenta.
“That’s the last letter in Basil!” shouted Sisal, even though L was the first letter in Latouche’s name. She was probably imagining herself getting endless boxes of chocolate.
“Shh,” said Basil, though he was already red in the cheeks.
The rooster walked to another mound and pecked at it.
“A,” said Granny. “O.”
“Latouche,” said Latouche with a triumphant smirk. “I knew she was in love with me. I’ll admit, Latouche is nothing if not a little lonely.”
Everyone watched Samson, hoping he would peck some more. Latouche continued, “Mrs. Latouche…wait, what’s your first name?”
Ms. Kozlow had her head in her hands. “Leticia,” she said from behind her fingers.
“Leticia Latouche,” said Latouche. It didn’t really have a ring to it.
Sasha was beginning to worry. All day, Ms. Kozlow had had the worst luck imaginable. Surely she would blame Papa, and Papa would go out of business, and the Gentrys would buy the shop and kick them out.
“V,” said Granny Yenta. Then, “P. Looks like we have our winner.”
Everyone turned to Gregor Pavlov, whose eyes had been closed the entire time. He opened them. They were full of a kind of joy that Sasha could only describe as supernatural. He laughed. Ms. Kozlow was crying. “I was hoping it would be you,” she said.
“Oh, Letty,” said Gregor. “You’ve made me the luckiest man in the world.”
They ran into each other’s arms.
Everyone clapped, even Latouche and Basil, because, at the end of the day, all of them were on the side of true love.
Sasha laughed. She heard a “woop!” next to her and saw that Puck had reappeared beside her.
He stuffed a fistful of hazelnut feed into his mouth and gobbed on the paste it made.
Chapter 12
Letty and Gregor kissed twice.
Then Granny Yenta walked to the buzzard cages, and the crowd had to disperse. As they marched out of Thistlewood Swamp, Ms. K shook Papa’s hand. “Thank you,” she said. “You saved me.”
She kissed Papa on the cheek.
Sasha ran up to walk next to them. “Seems like the potion worked, huh? You had great luck after all.”
Ms. K laughed. “Oh. It wasn’t me. I had terrible luck today. Look at me. I’m soaked.” She slipped her arm around Gregor’s and said, “But Mr. Pavlov, on the other hand…”
Gregor’s eyes went wide. “You mean…was there a potion in that bonbon you gave me?”
Ms. K smiled and put her head on his shoulder. “I know you don’t believe in them,” she said.
“I believe in you,” he said, holding her close. “But no wonder it tasted so foul.”
“I told her to mix jam with it,” said Papa.
“So Gregor was the lucky one,” said Sasha. She looked at Puck. “We knew that.”
Puck nodded.
Chapter 13
Granny Yenta had escorted them through the swamp and into the Village. At first, Sasha thought it was to protect them from her buzzards. But then they reached the Village, and she kept walking. Maybe she had some business at the night market.
Sasha watched as she said to Papa, “Mr. Bebbin, I am impressed with your potionography.”
“Thank you, Granny,” said Papa.
“I think we could do some business,” she said.
“Oh? Is there something I can help you with?”
Granny Yenta looked around, to make sure no one else could hear. Then she whispered something into Papa’s ear. Sasha tried to scoot up to hear, but she missed it.
Whatever it was, it meant she’d have another mission soon.
Papa shook Granny’s hand and said, “I’ll have it for you in the morning.”
It was a fresh spring evening. Everything was flowering, and the streetlamps were all aglow.
At the Village center, everyone went their own way. Basil and Sisal called the coachman to drive them to Upside. Gregor and Ms. K walked arm in arm toward her shop. Sergeant Latouche wandered toward the inn.
That left Sasha, Papa, and Puck.
“It was really nice to meet you,” said Sasha.
“Guh!” said Puck.
“I suppose I’ll see you around?”
“Guh! Guh!”
“I think we should probably become friends.”
Puck nodded so vigorously that his whole body seemed to bounce. He reached into a tattered pocket and pulled out a macaron from Ms. Kozlow’s shop. It was completely smashed, and his hands were covered in dirt, but he held it out to Sasha with eyes as wide and hopeful as a puppy’s.
“You want me to eat that?” said Sasha.
Puck nodded.
Sasha thought about all the desserts she had lost that day and all the terrible luck. And yet she had made a friend, and even though he was dirty and made her nose wrinkle up, he had been thinking of her. Sasha popped the macaron into her mouth. It was delicious.
Puck clapped his hands as she chewed it.
“Thank you,” she said. She expected him to break off, but he walked with them all the way through Downside and out of the Village, toward their home. Sasha was suddenly struck with the question: Where did Puck live, exactly?
Papa walked beside her and said, “Would your friend like to spend the night? I bet we could find a rug or something, or maybe a box full of straw.”
Puck clapped and howled and hugged Papa’s leg all the way up the hill.
Sasha did the same.
“You know,” said Papa, “I smelled the fumes from that luck potion and had wonderful things happen to me all day. I even got a new customer with Granny Yenta.”
“Well, I smelled the fumes and had horrible luck all day,” said Sasha.
Papa put his arm around her shoulders. She loved it when he did that.
He said, “It seems to me you had a magical day. You saved Letty Kozlow. You helped Gregor find a wife ten times his better. And you made a new friend.”
“I even got dessert out of it,” admitted Sasha.
They both laughed.
However it had happened, Sasha and Puck had done it. They’d saved the day…or at least made sure nothing horrible had happened. The new couple was awfully in love. Papa’s shop had kept its reputation for magical abilities, and, maybe luckiest of all, Sasha and Puck had found each other.
Sasha and Puck and the Potion of Luck Page 5