Otto Tattercoat and the Forest of Lost Things

by Matilda Woods

  “But what about the others?” Otto said. “They’re still trapped inside. Can’t we help them too?”

  “It’s too risky,” Nim said. “Frau Ferber won’t miss one or two children. But if a whole bunch of them start to disappear she’ll know they aren’t being eaten by rats. She’ll send her sons out to fetch them back.”

  “Then we have to tell someone,” Otto said. Bertha may not have told anyone about the conditions inside the factory, but he would. The adults would learn the truth and help set the children free. The city guards might even lock Frau Ferber up.

  “It won’t happen,” Nim said.

  “How do you know?” Otto asked. “You haven’t even tried.”

  “Yes I did!” Nim said. “When I escaped from the factory I told everyone what it was like. I told the tattercoats. I told the storekeepers. I even told the city guards. And what did they do?”

  Otto didn’t know.

  “They did nothing. They said I was just a silly little girl who didn’t know what she was talking about. None of the adults in this city care about us. They see us tattercoats sleeping on the rooftops and starving in the streets every day, and none of them ever try to help. No one cares about the children in the factory. They only care about themselves.”

  “That’s why we need to get them out,” Otto said.

  “I know,” Nim agreed. “But I don’t know how. Not yet. I’ve been thinking about it for years but still haven’t been able to come up with a plan. Now, come on.” She closed the cover to the drain. “We need to get out of here before Frau Ferber sees.”

  They ran off down the lane. When the factory was out of sight, they came to a stop.

  “What now?” Otto asked.

  “Now, I go back to my chimney.”

  “What about me?” Otto said. “What should I do?”

  “That’s up to you.”

  “But I have nowhere to go. I don’t have any money either, and I still don’t have a coat.” The initial run from the factory had warmed Otto up. But now the heat was swiftly leaving, and the deep cold of Hodeldorf was creeping back in. It was rising through his old socks and leaching into his bones.

  Nim wanted to keep walking, but something held her back. Otto still needed help, and if anyone in the city could help him survive on the streets, it would be a tattercoat like her.

  “All right,” Nim said. “You can come with us. But there are two conditions. Don’t ever say I’m as bad as Blink again, and you have to be nice to Nibbles.”

  14

  THE CODE OF THE TATTERCOATS

  Now that Otto was free of Frau Ferber’s factory there was something important that had to be done.

  “Let’s get that black stuff off your hands,” Nim said the morning after he’d escaped. They’d spent the night beside her chimney. With no coat to keep him warm, Otto had nestled between the bricks and Nim. It had kept the worst of the chill away, but he hadn’t stopped shivering since he left the warm factory. In an attempt to keep warm, he jogged as they made their way to the main square.

  “This is the place,” Nim said when they arrived. They stood in front of a stall that sold all types of soap: sweet milk, dill, parsley and holly.

  “That’s the one we want,” Nim whispered, nodding to the box that held the holly soap. “It’s the only thing in the whole city that’ll get the muck off your hands. Trust me. I tried almost every soap in Hodeldorf, and it was the only one that worked.”

  Nim reached out to take the soap, but Otto pulled her back.

  “You can’t steal it,” he whispered. “Stealing’s wrong.”

  “Well, it’s not like we can buy it. We don’t have any money.”

  “Maybe we could ask for it?” Otto said.

  “You mean, beg?” Nim couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “There’s no point begging round here. No one’s going to give you anything for free. You’ve got two hands, Otto. They’re not for holding out and asking people to fill them. They’re for grabbing things: grabbing things you really need from people who have more than they should.”

  “But that’s stealing, and I’m not a thief.”

  “Better a thief than a beggar,” Nim said.

  “No, it isn’t,” Otto replied.

  “Well, I’ve lived on these streets for four years, and I’ve never met a single tattercoat who got anything from begging. Do you know why?”

  Otto shook his head.

  “Because if they’d spent all their time begging they’d be dead on account of not having any food to eat or a coat to keep them warm. Besides, the man who owns this stall is so rich he has two houses. A man with two houses won’t miss a bar of soap.”

  Otto had to admit Nim had a point. He remained silent as she slipped the soap into her pocket. Then, they made their way towards one of the public fountains in the main square.

  “It’ll take a long time to clean your hands,” Nim said as they walked. “I reckon you’ll need a good two hours at least to get that grime off.”

  “Two hours?” Otto asked.

  “I wouldn’t complain if I was you. I’ve spent four years trying to wash the grime off Nibbles, and it still won’t come out. It’s better than it was, though. He was black when we left the factory. Besides, it’ll give me a chance to tell you about the code.”

  “What code?”

  “The Tattercode. It’s a set of rules all true tattercoats must follow. If you’re not going to be one of Frau Ferber’s children, you’re going to have to be one of us. No one survives for long on their own in Hodeldorf.”

  Otto didn’t look too pleased about this. From the little he knew about tattercoats, he knew they liked to steal.

  “You could leave of course,” Nim said. “Go some place else.”

  “I can’t leave without my mother.”

  “Then you’ll need to be a tattercoat. Any boy or girl who has nowhere else to go can be one of us. But you’ve got to follow the rules. If people find out you’ve broken them, you’re out. That’s it. Well, you can break them a little,” Nim conceded. “Once Skid took more than he should when a lady dropped her shopping. But Sage let him stay because he shared the food with Roe and promised never to do it again.”

  They reached the fountain. Otto wet his hands and began to lather them with soap.

  “The code has existed for as long as the tattercoats,” Nim said. “That’s longer than we’ve been alive. The Tattercode is made up of five rules. Rule one: when you become a tattercoat you must choose your own name. It’s a name that’s made to match you. Take me, for example. I used to be called something else, but when I became a tattercoat I chose my proper name. The name that matched me like a coat that was measured and stitched to my exact size. I’m called Nim because I’m quick. Fast. Light on my feet. Nimble as a fox. My friend Skid chose his name because when he stole his first coat he skidded on the icy cobbles and almost broke his leg. And Blink chose his name because if you blink you’ll miss him. He’s the finest pickpocket I’ve ever known and the fastest tattercoat there ever was.”

  Otto tried to think of a name for himself, but couldn’t. He wasn’t quick like Blink or nimble like Nim. He was just ordinary.

  “Rule two,” Nim continued. “If another tattercoat is in trouble you must always help them out. After all, in Hodeldorf no one else is going to look out for us, so we’ve got to look after each other. As a tattercoat, you can never leave another tattercoat behind.”

  Otto liked the sound of that rule. It wasn’t nice to be alone. It made him think of all the other children still trapped inside Frau Ferber’s factory. He wished they had come with him to the cellar. Then, they would all be free. He wondered if he would ever get the chance to save them. Maybe if he found his mother she could help him get them out.

  “Rule three,” Nim said as Otto kept on lathering. “Tattercoats only ever steal what they need and not a nickel or crust more. If we only steal a little bit, there’ll be enough for everyone.”

  “That does make sense,”
Otto admitted.

  “It also helps with rule four,” Nim said. “A tattercoat must live without leaving a trail. You can’t leave a trace of yourself anywhere.”

  “Why not?” Otto asked. He didn’t like the sound of that rule. It sounded too much like what had happened to his mother. If she had left something behind, he might have been able to find her.

  “Because it’s dangerous. If I left my things on the Vidlers’ roof, they’d know I was sleeping there and kick me off. Without a warm chimney to sleep beside, I’d freeze in the night. And if I left my things lying in the street, someone would steal them. Maybe not another tattercoat, but definitely a thief.”

  “About this thief and tattercoat thing,” Otto said. He rinsed his hands under the water and lathered on more soap. “I still don’t understand the difference.”

  “It all comes down to rule three,” Nim said. “Thieves just steal whatever they want, but a tattercoat only steals when it’s necessary. If a tattercoat saw a man eating two schnitzels for lunch, the tattercoat would steal one. That way, the man would still have lunch and someone else would too. If a thief saw that same man, he would take both schnitzels, all his money, his coat and maybe even his shoes. By the time the thief was finished, the man would have lost his lunch, his clothing and his dignity. A tattercoat would never rob anyone of that. We only take what we need in order to get by.”

  Otto had to admit he could see a difference between the two.

  “What’s the last rule?” he asked.

  “It’s the most important rule of all,” Nim said. “It’s the golden rule. The fifth rule is you can only ever own one coat at a time, and you can’t get a new one until the old one becomes tatters.”

  “I wish I still had my coat,” Otto said.

  “Well, there’s no point wishing it back now. Once Blink steals something you’ll never get it back. Besides, it’ll just be a tatty coat one day. Might take longer than most because it’s so fancy and all. But it’ll happen. Everything round here turns to tatters,” Nim said glumly.

  Nim’s glumness was contagious. It was hard for Otto to feel anything else now that he was stuck in a freezing city without a coat or a mother.

  “Why does Blink have so many coats?” Otto asked.

  “Because he’s greedy,” Nim said. “He’s a thief. He used to only have one coat, like all of us, but then he stole a second and was thrown out.”

  “He must have been really cold,” said Otto.

  “Of course he was. Who isn’t? But he didn’t have to steal Snot’s coat.”

  “Snot?” Otto said. He’d never heard that name before. “Who’s Snot?”

  “Snot was a tattercoat,” Nim said sadly. “He chose his name on account of always being snotty. Snot and Blink were best friends. One night, during the worst coldstorm in ten years, Blink stole Snot’s coat. While Blink slept with two coats, Snot had none. In the morning, Snot was dead. Sure, the cold killed him, but the cold only got to him because of Blink. Blink was greedy. Blink broke the code in more ways than one. Now he spends his days stealing coats he doesn’t need and all sorts of other things as well.”

  Otto realized why Nim had been so upset when he compared her to Blink. He had been wrong. She wasn’t anywhere near as bad as him. He bet if Blink had seen him in the factory he wouldn’t have done anything to get him out.

  “Now, come on.” Nim nodded to Otto’s hands. “Keep scrubbing. Once they’re clean they can be put to work.”

  “You don’t mean stealing, do you?”

  “Oh yes,” Nim said with a glint in her eye. “And I know exactly what you need to steal first.”

  It took two hours for Nim to convince Otto to steal a coat. At first, he refused. But the cold of Hodeldorf soon won out. He’d been spoiled by the warmth of the boot polish factory and now the city felt even colder than when he’d first arrived.

  “All right,” he said. His hands were purple and his arms were covered in goose bumps. He was cold in every bone of his body. “I’m ready.”

  Nim’s eyes lit up. “About time. If you waited any longer you might have frozen in the streets. Now, come on. Let’s get to work.”

  Nim hauled Otto around the main square, pointing out various coats.

  “What about that one? Or how about that?” she would say of the coats passing by. But no matter which coat Nim pointed to, Otto kept shaking his head.

  “Fine,” Nim eventually said after a whole hour of searching. “We’ll look somewhere else.”

  Otto and Nim left the main square and went to Hodeldorf station. A train had just pulled in and passengers were preparing to step on board.

  “Do you see any you like?” Nim asked as they watched the people crossing the platform.

  Otto didn’t reply. Nim turned around. The boy was gone.

  “Otto?” Nim hissed. She searched the platform. He was standing at the ticket counter.

  Nim arrived just in time to hear Otto ask the stationmaster, “So you’re certain she hasn’t boarded a train?”

  “Absolutely. I’d remember a coat like hers anywhere.”

  Otto sighed. “OK. Thanks.”

  Nim pulled him away from the counter. “There’ll be plenty of time to search for your mother. But right now we need to find you a coat.” She spun Otto around so he was facing the passengers. “Come on, now. Are you sure you don’t see any you like?” she repeated.

  Otto shook his head. “None are as nice as my old one.”

  “Of course they aren’t.” Nim sighed. “You’d be searching for years to find another like that.”

  “Not if I get it back.”

  Nim sighed. “I’ve already told you. Blink’s too quick for us to snatch it off him.”

  “But what if it fell off and we were there to pick it up? Or we might find another coat lying about that no one wants.”

  Nim laughed. “In a city as cold as Hodeldorf no one’s going to hand you a coat. Now, come on. Choose one already. We’re running out of options.”

  They had been standing on the platform for so long half the passengers had left. Another train wasn’t due until tomorrow.

  “You’ve got to be smart about this,” Nim whispered. “You need it to be big enough to grow into and thick enough to keep you warm.”

  “OK,” Otto said. “But wha—”

  “I’ve found it,” Nim said, cutting Otto off. “I’ve found the perfect one.”

  Otto followed her gaze. A man stood by the ticket counter. Two thick leather suitcases rested beside his feet. He was wearing one coat and another – a heavy one coloured deep blue – lay on top of the suitcases.

  “Now’s your chance,” Nim said. “You won’t get another like this. I bet he owns heaps of coats.”

  Otto didn’t move.

  “Go on,” Nim said. “I’m not stealing it for you. Look. I’ll distract him and you take the coat.”

  Before Otto could argue, Nim darted across the platform. True to her name, she was nimble as a fox. She grabbed one of the suitcases and disappeared into the crowd.

  “Give that back!” the man with two coats screamed. “Hand it over you little thief!” He took off after Nim.

  This was Otto’s chance. While everyone on the platform watched Nim he ran over to the forgotten suitcase. He reached out and touched the coat draped on top. The coat wasn’t very soft, but it was thick, and he figured it would keep him warm.

  “Go on,” a person hissed. Nim had doubled back and now stood beside him. “What are you waiting for? This is the easiest steal you’ll ever get.”

  Before he came to Hodeldorf Otto never imagined he would ever steal anything. But the cold of the city was eating into his bones and he knew Nim was right: no one was going to give him a coat for free. So he reached out and snatched it.

  Unfortunately, the stationmaster saw what was happening and blew his whistle. Nim and Otto didn’t wait around. In a flash, they were off. They only stopped running when the station was far behind them, and it was clear no one had fo
llowed.

  “Go on.” Nim nodded to the coat. “Put it on.”

  With heavy hands, Otto put on the equally heavy coat. As soon as the cloth settled over his shoulders, he felt warm for the first time since leaving Frau Ferber’s factory.

  “Don’t worry, Otto,” Nim said. She placed a supportive hand on the sleeve of his new coat. “You’re no thief. You’re a tattercoat, and there’s no shame in being one of us.”

  At the same moment Otto was putting on his new coat, two boys were opening the door to Frau Ferber’s cellar. It was almost time for the daily counting and they knew Otto would not be passing it.

  “Wakey. Wakey,” Helmut said as he peered down into the darkness. Silence greeted him.

  “Get up,” Heinz ordered.

  Nothing stirred inside the cellar. Even the rats were quiet.

  “You better go and check on him,” Heinz said.

  “Me?” Helmut asked. “I’m not going down there.”

  “Well, I’m not going either.”

  In the end, they sent Frida in. After searching every corner of the cellar, she failed to find any trace of Otto.

  “It’s like he’s disappeared,” Frida said as she climbed back up the stairs.

  “But he can’t have,” Helmut hissed. “The door’s been locked the whole time.”

  “He must have been eaten by the rats,” Heinz said. “They even ate his socks. There’s not a trace of him left.”

  15

  THE WELCOMING CEREMONY

  That night a ceremony was held in the streets of Hodeldorf. The clanging of metal garbage lids called the tattercoats together. They gathered in a small alley near the main square.

  The tattercoats lined both sides of the alley. They held small glass jars full of twigs. They’d lit the twigs and now little smoky dragons, fiery giants and evil crows flew around inside the old glass. They threw their shadows upon the walls of the alley, so it looked like real beasts and monsters were circling about.

  “The twigs were gathered from Hodeldorf woods,” one of the tattercoats whispered to Otto. “The woodcutters bring them back with the wood. They’re magical, like the forest itself.”