by Avi
He was talking to a deer mouse by the name of Poppy.
Though most of her fur was soft orange-brown, Poppy had pure white fur on her round, gracefully plump belly. Her whiskers, which stuck straight out from her delicate pink nose, were quite full. Her toes were small and her tail was long. As for her ears, they were relatively large and dark, and from the right one hung an earring, nothing more than a purple plastic bead dangling from a tiny chain.
“Ereth,” Poppy explained, “if something happened to a child of yours, wouldn’t you want to hear about it?”
“Look here, slug-brain,” the porcupine said with something close to anger, “I thought you liked living in my neighborhood. Thought you were my friend. But if you want to trundle off, forget me, make new friends, start a new life, go ahead. I’ve got plenty of things to do.”
“Like what?” Poppy asked.
“Eating,” the porcupine growled. “And sleeping.” With a rattle of quills Ereth moved off toward the far end of his log.
“Ereth,” Poppy pleaded as she followed after him, “let me try to explain one more time. Ragweed was a golden mouse. He was like no one I’d ever met before. And when he came here, I fell in love with him.”
“Love!” sneered Ereth. “You can put love in a wasp’s nest and chew on it.”
“But I did love him,” Poppy insisted. “And we . . . we were going to get married.”
“Marriage!” Ereth hooted. “Head for the toilet bowl and bring two plungers!”
“But then,” Poppy continued patiently, “that owl, Mr. Ocax, killed him and—”
“Poppy, stop! I’ve heard this slop a hundred times!”
“But all I want to do,” an exasperated Poppy continued, “is tell Ragweed’s parents what happened to him. Don’t you think they should know? Besides, I want to give them this.” She touched the earring. “So they’ll have something to remember him by.”
“Listen, swamp-mouth,” Ereth said, “take my word. They don’t care what happened to him. No more than I do. Wise up. You’d have to be mushroom mucus not to know that!”
“The thing is, Ereth,” Poppy persisted, “the trip would be so much nicer if you came along. It’ll be an adventure. We’ll see the world.”
“Oh, frozen frog pips!” Ereth cried. “I don’t want to see the world. I hate going places. I hate doing things. And I like being alone. Most of all, I’m sick and tired of hearing about Ragweed! So beat it!” The porcupine continued on toward the far end of his log.
A frustrated Poppy let out a sigh, tenderly fingered Ragweed’s earring, then went to the open end of the log and gazed out at Dimwood Forest.
This forest of towering trees was her home. One moment it was dark, the next moment it was light. Usually serene, the forest often exploded with noisy life. Though Poppy loved the forest dearly, and would miss it, she felt a great need to make the journey.
Poppy had to acknowledge that there was no particular reason for Ereth to go. He had never met Ragweed. Besides, Poppy hardly knew where his home was. Ragweed had never offered much detail about it. “The Woodlands,” he called his home area. He said it was a few miles west of Dimwood Forest.
His family nest, he had once told her, was on the banks of a brook. He referred to it as little more than “The Brook.” “It’s a decent spot, girl,” Ragweed had told her. “But, know what I’m saying, like, dullsville. Totally. Nothing ever happens there.”
“Tell me about your parents,” Poppy had said to him.
“They’re named Clover and Valerian,” he said. “Pretty cool . . . for parents. But, hey, like, I needed to see the world. And I did, too.”
“Did they give you permission to go?” Poppy asked, impressed with Ragweed’s story. At the time not only hadn’t she gone far from where her own family lived, she was certain her parents would never allow her to travel.
Ragweed laughed. “Naw, they weren’t too easy ’bout what I was doing. Particularly Clover, my old mouse. But girl, a mouse has to do what a mouse has to do.”
“Will you ever go back?” Poppy wanted to know.
“Oh, sure, someday. And hey, dude, I’ll take you there,” Ragweed promised. “Bet you’ll like my folks. They’ll think you’re way sweet.”
“Why?”
“’Cause you’re my main girl, girl!” Then—Poppy remembered—Ragweed had winked at her with a sense of his own saucy being.
But Ragweed had died. And Poppy wanted to tell his parents what had happened. Maybe, she mused, it was her way of saying a final good-bye to the mouse she had loved.
Still, to go all that distance alone would be quite an undertaking.
It was not that Poppy was frightened of the distance or of being alone. It was merely a question of wanting to go with someone. True, she had plenty of sisters and brothers—cousins, too, for that matter. Still, she could think of no better companion for an adventure than her best friend, Ereth. But now the porcupine had said no. Poppy sighed. There were moments she actually thought Ereth was jealous of Ragweed.
Then the notion struck Poppy that it was probably nothing more than Ereth feeling his age. How like Ereth to be so proud he wouldn’t admit to such a thing. She wished she had not pushed him so.
Never mind. Poppy made up her mind: Since she wanted to go, she’d go alone.
Oh, well, she thought, I’m sure I’ll meet someone interesting. Besides, once I get to Ragweed’s brook it should be pleasant and calm. Recalling his words about the Brook, Poppy smiled. I could use a little dullness in my life, she thought.
Poppy went back into the log to say good-bye to Ereth. He was at the far, smelly end, licking a hunk of salt as if it were a lollipop.
Trying to keep from inhaling too much, Poppy said, “Ereth, I wanted to say good-bye.”
The porcupine offered up an indifferent grunt.
“And Ereth . . . I should apologize.”
“What for?”
“Asking you to come.”
Ereth paused in his licking and squinted angrily down at Poppy. “Why?”
“I should have remembered you’re too old for such a trip.”
The salt dropped from Ereth’s paws with a clatter. “Too what?” he gasped.
“Well, you know,” Poppy said with care. “Elderly.”
“Me? Old? Elderly?” the porcupine cried, quills bristling. “You twisted bee burp! I can do whatever I want. Where I want. When I want. Or are you hankering to turn yourself into a busted bee bottom?”
“But, Ereth . . .”
“Look here, you pickle-tailed fur booger,” he roared on, “I can keep up with you any day of the week. Night too, for that matter, you slippery spot of squirrel splat!”
“You mean you’ll come with me?” Poppy cried, trying to keep from grinning.
“Blow your nose and fill a bucket!” Ereth screeched. “Can’t you understand anything? Never mind me going with you. You’re going with me!”
With that, Ereth burst past Poppy, moving so fast, so furiously, his quills combed her belly fur into twenty-seven neat rows.
Poppy, laughing, ran after him.
About the Author and Illustrator
AVI is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning CRISPIN: The Cross of Lead and the Newbery Honor Books NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH and THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE. He also writes the beloved Poppy stories, an animal adventure series that includes RAGWEED; POPPY, winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award; POPPY AND RYE; ERETH’S BIRTHDAY; POPPY’S RETURN; and POPPY AND ERETH. His many other critically acclaimed books include DON’T YOU KNOW THERE’S A WAR ON?, the hilarious animal fantasy THE MAYOR OF CENTRAL PARK, and the Victorian ghost story THE SEER OF SHADOWS. Avi lives in Denver, Colorado. You can visit him online at www.avi-writer.com.
BRIAN FLOCA’s illustrations have appeared in several books by Avi, including the six volumes of the Poppy stories and the graphic novel CITY OF LIGHT, CITY OF DARK. For younger readers, he is the author and illustrator of MOONSHOT: The Flight of Apollo II as we
ll as the highly praised books LIGHTSHIP, a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and ALA Notable Book; THE RACECAR ALPHABET, also an ALA Notable Book; and FIVE TRUCKS. You can visit him online at www.brianfloca.com.
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Books by Avi
Ragweed
Poppy
Poppy and Rye
Ereth’s Birthday
Poppy’s Return
Poppy and Ereth
Praise for the Poppy Books
RAGWEED
“A crackerjack tale that’s pure delight from start to finish.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
POPPY
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Winner
SLJ Best Book
Booklist Editors’ Choice
ALA Notable Book
“IRRESISTIBLE!” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
POPPY AND RYE
“A sequel worthy of its predecessor.” —The Horn Book
ERETH’S BIRTHDAY
“A must-read for fans of the series.” —ALA Booklist
POPPY’S RETURN
“A heartwarming tale of friends, family, and home.”
—Chicago Tribune
Credits
Cover art © 2006 by Brian Floca
Cover design by Jennifer Bankenstein
Copyright
POPPY. Text copyright © 1995 by Avi. Illustrations copyright © 1995 by Brian Floca. The illustrations are drawn with Eberhard Faber Design Ebony pencils on Stonehenge paper. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
* * *
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-006040
ISBN-10: 0-380-72769-2 — ISBN-13: 978-0-380-72769-8
EPub Edition © March 2018 ISBN 9780062696342
* * *
Revised Harper edition, 2007
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