Tansy told her friends everything she knew about the ogre, including the rumors that he stole sheep and set fires. She’d just finished telling them about the eight young men who’d been turned into stone when there was a loud knock at her door.
The princesses jumped, then laughed at themselves for being so startled. Tansy hopped off her bed and scraped open the door.
Jonah stood in the doorway, panting and holding the handles of several large bags. “These just arrived,” he said, dumping them inside the room. He glanced over at Tansy’s friends. “I guess none of you believes in traveling light, do you?” But he was smiling as he said it.
Tansy introduced Jonah to everyone.
“Thanks for lugging our things upstairs,” Fatima said. “I had to send them by carriage. They never would’ve fit on my carpet.”
“Plus, our bags are so heavy, she probably couldn’t have gotten the carpet off the ground,” added Lysandra.
Tansy patted her brother’s arm. “Good thing you’re so strong.”
Jonah tried to flex but only managed a small bump. “Not at all like Edward’s,” he said sadly.
“Who cares?” said Tansy. “Edward may have bigger muscles, but you’ve got a bigger brain.”
“You’re right, of course,” Jonah said with a grin.
“I love your paintings,” Elena said softly.
Jonah blushed to the roots of his ginger hair. “Thanks.” He started to leave, then turned back again. “Forgot to tell you. Mom said dinner will be ready in about ten minutes.”
At dinner the princesses met Tansy’s other brothers: Edward, James, and twelve-year-old Matthew. To Tansy’s relief, Edward and James made an effort to have better table manners, eating more slowly than usual and asking for things instead of lunging across the table.
Elena and Jonah, who were sitting across from each other, got into a discussion about poetry and art. At the other end of the table, James chattered away with Fatima. Even shy Matthew, seated beside Lysandra, became quite talkative during the meal.
After dinner King Albert and Queen Charlotte excused themselves to talk with a group of villagers who were upset about the latest ogre rumors. Tansy’s brothers left too—except for Jonah and Matthew, who stayed to clear the dishes from the table. The other princesses must have been surprised that there weren’t any servants to do the job, but they jumped up to help too. Tansy’s face went warm. “We can do this by ourselves. You can go relax.”
“Nonsense,” said Fatima. “It’ll be fun.”
“Matthew and I can stack and carry the plates,” said Lysandra.
“And I’ll help Jonah with the drinking glasses,” added Elena.
Tansy filled the sink with soap and water, and they all took turns scrubbing and rinsing the dishes. They slopped most of the water on themselves but had a great time.
Later that night, the princesses wearily climbed the stairs to Tansy’s room to get ready for bed. Lysandra brushed her wavy blond hair. “Your brothers are much nicer than I thought they’d be,” she told Tansy. “I think Matthew’s really sweet.”
Elena pulled her nightgown over her head. “Jonah’s going to let me watch him paint sometime.”
Tansy grinned. “I hope you like getting up early, then.” She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, polishing her wooden flute with a rag. The flute was magical, and Tansy carried it with her everywhere. Whenever she played it, the thoughts of anyone near could be heard as if spoken aloud. Her flute often helped her uncover the mischief her brothers were up to. But so far their behavior had been better than she’d expected. Even Cole and Ethan hadn’t been too awful, in spite of the scare they’d given the girls earlier that day.
Tansy was also glad that her friends didn’t seem to care that the castle was in bad shape. They’d even thought clearing the table and doing the dishes was fun!
Fatima kicked off her sandals and hopped onto Tansy’s bed. “James said he and Edward are going on a hunting trip tomorrow.”
“Oh?” said Tansy. She wasn’t very surprised. Her two oldest brothers often hunted for deer and rabbit.
“He said they might be gone a couple of days. Then he added something else kind of odd.” She paused, as if remembering. “He said, ‘This time we’ll be hunting for really big game.’”
Tansy stopped polishing her flute, suddenly alert. “Did he say what he meant by that?”
Fatima shrugged. “I asked him if he meant elephants, but I was joking, of course. I know there aren’t any elephants around here. Anyway, James just smiled and said, ‘Much bigger game than that.’ You don’t suppose he was talking about that ogre, do you?”
Tansy hugged herself worriedly. It was exactly what she thought.
4
Gone Hunting
“YOUR BROTHERS WOULDN’T REALLY GO AFTER an ogre, would they?” asked Elena. Her hazel eyes shone with concern.
Tansy bit her lip. “They want to go after it. But my father forbids them.”
“You don’t think they’d go anyway, do you?” Fatima asked.
“I don’t know,” said Tansy. “I hope not, but who can tell with those two?”
“I bet James was just talking big,” said Lysandra. “Boys do that, you know.”
Lysandra was probably right, thought Tansy. But even so, she found it hard not to worry.
The next morning, when the girls went downstairs for breakfast, Queen Charlotte and Matthew were already eating. Matthew blushed when Lysandra sat down beside him.
“Have Edward and James left to go hunting yet?” Tansy asked.
Her mother nodded. “They left before your father and I were up,” she said, passing around a basket of apple tarts. “They promised last night they’d bring back some rabbits for dinner.”
The princesses exchanged worried looks. James had said they might be gone a couple of days. And rabbits certainly weren’t “big game.”
“When did they leave?” Tansy asked.
“I’m not sure,” her mother replied. “But Jonah might know.”
After the girls finished breakfast, they went outside to search for Jonah. Matthew came too. Walking alongside Lysandra, he told her the names of all the trees and wildflowers growing near the castle. He loved studying nature.
They found Jonah in the field behind the castle, finishing a painting of Mount Majesta. As usual, he’d been up with the sun.
“How did you make the snow on the mountain look so real?” Elena asked, admiring the picture. “I can almost feel how cold it is.”
Jonah beamed, obviously pleased at Elena’s interest. He started to launch into an explanation of his painting techniques, but Tansy interrupted. “Did you see Edward and James go off this morning?”
“Sure did.” He rubbed his freckled nose, leaving a smudge of blue paint. “They left about two hours ago. Their poor horses were loaded down with so much stuff, it looked like they were going off to war!”
This news alarmed Tansy and her friends. Excusing themselves, they started back to the castle.
“I imagine we’re all thinking the same thing,” said Elena.
Tansy nodded. “We’ve got to stop them! If we took your flying carpet, could we catch up to them, Fatima?”
“Of course,” she said.
“Then let’s go!” said Lysandra.
Soon the four princesses were sailing over the forest toward Mount Majesta. Tansy had thought it would be easy to spot Edward and James from the air, but the trees were so thick and leafy, it was impossible to see the ground.
“Where does the ogre live?” Lysandra asked.
Tansy pointed north, toward a clearing about halfway up the mountain, and Fatima steered the carpet in that direction. When they neared the ogre’s camp, the princesses saw a stone well in a meadow. Tansy counted eight granite statues surrounding the well. She sighed with relief. At least there weren’t any new ones.
The ogre was nowhere in sight.
“Where now?” Fatima asked after they’d circled the meadow a co
uple of times.
“I don’t know,” Tansy admitted.
The princesses finally landed at the edge of a small lake. Tucked between the trees, but close to the shore, stood a trim white cottage.
“Let’s ask whoever lives there if they’ve seen my brothers,” Tansy said.
Fatima rolled up her carpet and strapped it onto her back. As the princesses approached the cottage, they heard someone singing in a dry, raspy voice. It sounded like a key rattling in a rusty lock. When they knocked on the door, the singing stopped. Then the door creaked open, and a wrinkled and bony old woman stared out at them.
5
The Old Woman
“STARS AND MOONBEAMS!” THE OLD WOMAN exclaimed. “And who might you young ladies be?” Her eyes were so sharp and gray, they sent a shiver down Tansy’s spine.
But when the old woman stepped outside in her baggy flowered dress, suddenly she didn’t seem so frightening anymore. After introducing herself and her friends, Tansy said, “We’re searching for my two brothers. I wonder if you’ve seen them.”
“They look a lot like her,” Lysandra added helpfully. “Only they’re bigger and hairier.”
“One has dark hair and lots of muscles,” said Fatima. “The other is sandy haired and a bit shorter.”
“And they’re on horseback,” said Elena.
The old woman ran a bony hand through long, wispy hair. “Nay. I’ve not seen hide nor hair of them.”
Tansy’s shoulders slumped. “Oh.”
“Be they lost, my child?” the old woman asked kindly.
“I don’t know,” said Tansy. “We’ve been searching, but we can’t find them. They went hunting this morning, only we’re not sure…that is, we think maybe…” Her voice trailed off. She was uncertain of whether to say more.
But the old woman didn’t need to be told what Tansy was thinking. “Stars and moonbeams!” she exclaimed again. “I suppose they be after the ogre!”
Sighing, Tansy nodded.
The old woman shook her head. “I tells them and I tells them,” she muttered, “but I be just an old woman. And they be hotheaded young fools. They won’t listen to me. More’s the pity, says I.”
“Excuse me, please,” Elena said politely. “But who are ‘they’? And what do you tell them?”
Fixing the princesses with her sharp, gray-eyed stare, the old woman pushed the cottage door open wider. “Come inside, dearies. I be just about to make tea, and then we can sit and have a chat.”
Before they went inside, Lysandra picked up a piece of broken shingle from beside the door. Winking at Tansy, she pretended to bite into it. “Just making sure it’s not made of gingerbread,” she whispered.
Tansy stifled a giggle. The old woman might look like a witch, but she seemed kindly enough. Besides, whoever heard of a witch wearing a baggy flowered dress?
The cottage was only large enough for a tiny kitchen and a cozy living room. There was nowhere to sit except for a rocking chair in the middle of a woven rug. The princesses settled on the rug, politely leaving the chair for the old woman while she put a kettle on the stove to boil.
“Eight young men in eight years,” the old woman said, joining the princesses. “All be turned to stone.” She sighed. “Such a waste.”
“Did they all stop here before they tried to fight the ogre?” Elena asked.
Rocking back and forth in her chair, the old woman nodded. “I tells them to go home. I tells them the ogre means no harm. But not a one of ’em listens. They laughs at me. Then they rushes off.” She tapped the side of her nose. “But I be knowing things they don’t know.”
“What kind of things?” asked Tansy.
The kettle whistled, and the old woman started to rise. But Elena jumped up first. “Please relax,” she said. “I’ll make the tea.”
“I’ll help,” offered Lysandra. They found a tin of tea in the cupboard and poured cups for everyone.
“Thank you, dearie,” said the old woman. She blew on her tea to cool it. “There be a way to face the ogre and not be turned to stone.”
Tansy’s eyes widened. “How?”
“By wearing a veil.”
Fatima sipped her tea. “A veil?”
“Aye. To cover your eyes.” The old woman gazed at Fatima’s filmy purple pantaloons. “I be thinking the fabric in those be good for veils.”
Fatima almost choked on her tea. “We’ll keep that in mind,” she replied. “Thanks.”
As the princesses prepared to leave, Lysandra untangled her hair from the straps of the purse she always wore around her neck—a magic purse that never emptied of coins. She reached inside and then slipped a few gold pieces into the old woman’s hand. “I hope you’ll accept these coins in gratitude for your hospitality and advice.”
The old woman’s eyes misted over. “Thank you, dearie, and good luck!” she exclaimed as the princesses seated themselves on Fatima’s flying carpet. “If you be seeing the ogre, don’t be afraid. Look with your hearts, not with your eyes.”
The princesses waved good-bye as they sailed away.
“One more thing,” the old woman called to them. “Be using your gifts!”
“What do you suppose she meant by ‘looking with our hearts’ and ‘using our gifts’?” Tansy asked as the flying carpet cleared the treetops.
“I’m not sure,” said Elena.
Lysandra shuddered. “Let’s hope we never need to know.”
“Where to now?” Fatima asked.
Tansy thought for a moment. “Let’s fly to the woods near the ogre’s camp,” she said. “We can watch for my brothers from there. If we can’t stop them, at least we can give them the old woman’s advice.”
Fatima guided the carpet north again, until they could see the ogre’s shack and the stone well.
Counting the statues, Tansy gasped. “Ten!” she cried. “We’re too late!”
6
Statues
FATIMA LANDED THE FLYING CARPET NEAR THE well, and Tansy jumped off. She raced to the statues of her brothers. As if he’d been charging the ogre the instant he changed to stone, Edward’s body stretched forward, his sword held high. There was a fierce scowl on his face. James, however, knelt on the ground, his hands flung up in horror.
“I should’ve stopped them,” Tansy sobbed. “It’s all my fault. Poor Edward and James! How will I tell my family?”
Elena ran to Tansy and gave her a hug.
“Bats and bullfrogs!” muttered Fatima. “You didn’t make your brothers go after the ogre. You weren’t even sure that’s what they were up to! And you did try to stop them.”
Lysandra’s forehead wrinkled with concern. “There’s got to be a way to restore them to life.”
“We could try my lotion.” Elena pulled a small blue bottle out of her pocket.
Tansy stared at the bottle. She knew that Elena’s lotion was magical. A small dab could make cuts and bruises disappear. But could it turn her brothers from stone to flesh?
“Wait a second,” said Fatima. Reaching down, she ripped off the bottom halves of her pantaloons. “Veils,” she said, dividing the filmy purple fabric into four long pieces. “Well, more like blindfolds, really. In case the ogre sees us.”
“I certainly hope that old woman knew what she was talking about,” Lysandra said as the princesses tied the fabric over their eyes.
The blindfolds made everything look fuzzy, but Tansy could see well enough to watch Elena pour out a small amount of lotion. Poor James, Tansy thought as Elena rubbed the lotion over his granite hands. He’d be so embarrassed if he knew they’d all seen him this way, kneeling and begging for his life. If the lotion worked, she wouldn’t mention how scared he’d looked. “How long does it take?” Tansy asked when nothing happened right away.
Elena frowned. “It usually doesn’t take more than a few seconds.”
Fatima and Lysandra stayed silent, but Tansy could see the pity in their eyes. Staring hard at James’s hands, she willed him to come to life. But a
few minutes passed, and still nothing happened.
“Maybe I just didn’t use enough lotion.” Elena dabbed a bit more onto James’s hands. At that exact moment, a tremendous roar split the air.
Tansy turned around, then froze in horror. So did the others. Still roaring, the ogre stood before them, spit flying from his mouth. His features were blurred by their blindfolds, but the princesses could see that the ogre was hideously ugly. He had a huge, shaggy head with thick, slobbering lips, a sloping forehead, and extremely furry eyebrows. Covered with a coat of brown bushy hair, the ogre stood taller than a church steeple, and his legs were as big around as tree trunks.
The ogre roared again. Even though her knees were shaking, Tansy forced herself to stand up straight. “I don’t suppose you speak English,” she said.
The ogre responded by roaring right in Tansy’s face. He seemed awfully angry, and his breath smelled horrible—worse than cooked cabbage and onion.
“I think that’s a no,” Lysandra whispered.
Suddenly the ogre stopped roaring. Staring at the princesses, he scratched his head, looking confused.
“He’s probably wondering why we haven’t turned to stone,” said Fatima. “I think these blindfolds are working.”
“Hooray for that,” said Lysandra. “Now he’ll probably just eat us.”
The ogre began to whimper.
“I wish I knew what he was trying to say,” Elena whispered.
“My flute!” Tansy exclaimed, pulling it out of her pocket. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it before. Maybe that’s what the old woman had meant when she said they should use their gifts. Though her flute had worked its magic on humans many times, could it reveal the thoughts of an ogre in a language the princesses could understand? After all, Elena’s gift—her magic lotion—hadn’t helped. Still, anything was worth a try. Being careful to keep her blindfold in place, Tansy brought her flute to her lips and began to play.
The Awfully Angry Ogre Page 2