“I have,” Virginia said. “He’s in the barn.”
“Well, go fetch him, girl,” the Judge said. “And smartish, or I’ll have to disqualify you. This is a sheep and shepherdess competition.”
Virginia silently cursed her father as she made her way off the stage. She didn’t know how she was going to fix this one. As she hurried toward the barn, she heard the Judge continue.
“Now,” he said, “to start the competition, I’ll ask all entrants, as is the age-old custom, to sing their favorite sheep song. Young Mary Ramley, will you start off?”
A wobbly female voice started into a soft rendition of ‘ ‘Baa-Baa Black Sheep.” Virginia winced. She hurried to the barn to discover her father had just gotten there.
He was holding a pink-rinsed lamb.
“What the hell is that?” Virginia asked.
“It’s a mirror-winning sheep, that’s what it is,” her father said.
She hoped he was right. She snatched the lamb from him, and then realized she had a new problem. “What sheep songs are there?”
“ ‘Baa-Baa Black Sheep?’ ” her father said.
“She’s already doing that.”
“ ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb?’ ”
“What’s the tune?” Virginia asked. “It doesn’t have a tune.”
“I don’t know,” her father said. “Make one up. Sing it to some other tune.”
“Like what?”
‘Sailing,’ ” her father said. “The Rod Stewart song. You | can sing any lyrics in the world to that song.”
Virginia closed her eyes and shook her head. “I can’t go through with this. I’m not going to win.”
“Virginia, look at me,” her father said.
She opened her eyes. He was looking like her father of old, the man she believed, when she was just a little girl, could conquer the universe.
“If you ever want to go home again,” he said, “do what it takes to win this competition.”
Virginia nodded. She paused, then made some adjustments to her costume. She clutched her lamb and hurried back to the competition. She made it just as Sally Peep was finishing her song.
As Virginia climbed the stage, she watched in disbelief as Sally turned an innocent sheep song into a siren song. The shepherdess was pouting and bending and finger-wagging seductively.
When Sally finished, she waved at the crowd, then turned her back on them. Her smile faded as she saw Virginia.
“And now contestant number three,” the Judge said.
As Virginia stepped onto the stage, the men started catcalling. She had ripped out the smock bodice and pulled it down to show what cleavage she had. She’d also raised the skirt, knowing her legs were better than the other contestants’.
Only the Peeps looked upset. They all had identically angry expressions on their faces.
She took a deep breath—and forgot the tune to “Sailing.” Then she saw the mirror, leaning beside the trophies, and she cleared her throat. The melody was in her head now.
She sang,
‘ 'Mary had a . . . little lamb and . . .
‘ ‘It was whi-ite, white as snow,
“Everywhere-ere that,
“Mary went that ‘‘Little la-amb was sure to go
Slowly the crowd got into it. Her voice got stronger the more she sang, and she knew she had all of them. Her father had joined the edge of the crowd, and he was singing too.
Some of the farmers had lit matches and were holding them up the way people did at Billy Joel concerts. She switched poems midstream and no one, not even her father, seemed to notice.
“We are lambing, we are lambing,
“Home again, cross the fields,
“We are lambing . .. stormy pastures,
‘ ‘To be near you, to be free ...”
She ended on that last warbling note and everyone else did too. There was a moment of silence, and then the crowd exploded into applause. Virginia flushed, grabbed the edges of her very short skirt, and curtsied.
And that was when she noticed the Peep family, staring at her as if she’d just murdered a sheep.
Wolf had fallen into the straw near the post, not willing to move. He was sweating. He had to control himself. Had to.
Had to. The blackout the night before terrified him. The way he had yelled at Virginia terrified him more.
He was dying of thirst and hunger and—
There was a trough nearby. Something to drink would help. Those books he’d been reading said that water cut a man’s appetite in half.
He rolled onto his knees and bent over the trough. The water shimmered, and suddenly the Queen appeared.
“Wolf,” she said. “You’re making me angry. Obey me.” This day couldn’t get any worse. He stared at her shimmery face in horror. “No.”
“Time is running out,” the Queen said. “Kill the girl and get me the dog. Do it.”
It took ail of his effort to fall away from the trough. He lay for a moment; then he felt the change coming over him. He struggled, struggled, struggled as hard as he could, but he couldn’t stop it.
His body shifted and altered, his head growing into its wolf shape. And even though his mind was against it, his teeth were already snapping his bonds.
Before he could even think about what he was doing, he was running from the barn, blessedly free. A real wolf at last.
Chapter Thirty
The Judge was kneeling and inspecting the teeth of the sheep. For the first time, Tony was glad he didn’t have the Judge’s job. Virginia was standing uncomfortably beside Sally Peep, who kept shooting her little hate-filled glances. Tony was less worried about Sally than he was about the rest of the Peep family. They were pointing at Virginia’s lamb and muttering angrily to themselves.
Finally the Judge stood. “Three beautiful girls, and three beautiful lambs. It’s the hardest competition to judge so far by a long chalk.” He glanced at the contestants. “But I give Mary and her sheep eight of ten and a well-earned third place.” There was polite applause, and Mary looked like she was going to cry. Tony had to take his gaze off her, poor thing. She had no idea the entire competition was rigged.
The Judge put a hand first on Sally’s gold lamb, then on Virginia’s pink one. “Both of these lambs are so beautiful,” he said. “How do I make a decision? I have to give Sally Peep ten out of ten.”
Tony cursed. They’d have to find another way to get the mirror now. But the Peep family cheered and whooped and gave each other high-fives. The Judge waited patiently until the cheering was over, and then said, “But I have to give Virginia Lewis ten out of ten as well.”
“A tie?” Wilfred said. “You can’t have a tie. Someone has to win.”
There was shouting and arguing in the crowd. Some people
were running, yelling the news to those who hadn’t heard. Tony watched it all in wonder. Apparently no one had taken on the Peep family in years.
“I have to win,” Sally Peep said. “Peeps always win.” “How about if you keep the trophy and I have the mirror?” Virginia asked.
“They’re both mine!” Sally bounced up and down, literally. “It’s not fair!”
The entire area erupted into verbal fighting. Tony stood back, listening to the Peeps hurl insults at the Judge and at Virginia. Virginia kept glancing at the mirror, as if she were thinking of just running off with it.
The Judge banged his gavel for silence.
Everyone stopped yelling and turned toward him.
‘ ‘This is a shepherdess competition,’ ’ the Judge said. “We’ll set up an obstacle course, and whoever guides her sheep through the pen in the shortest time is the winner, using only sheepdogs and commands. Sound fair enough?”
“No!” Virginia said. “I haven’t got a sheepdog.”
“ ’Spect I’ll win then, won’t I?” Sally said.
The Peep family laughed. A little Peep girl kicked Virginia in the shin. She grabbed her leg and looked down. The little girl snarled. Tony wa
s appalled.
But the villagers didn’t seem to notice. Apparently the Peeps’ lack of sportsmanship didn’t bother anyone but him and Virginia. Several of the village men were setting up an obstacle course. Someone asked Tony to help, but he ducked out of it.
He clenched a fist and started pacing. He had to do something. But what? This had seemed like such a good idea this morning.
“Damn!” he muttered. “Damn. Where in God’s name can we get a sheepdog at short notice?”
“Excuse me.” The village idiot had crept up beside him and tugged his sleeve.
“Not now,” Tony snapped. “I’ve got to think quickly.” “But you’ve got a dog,” the idiot said.
This guy was not called the village idiot for nothing. “In case you haven’t noticed,’’ Tony started, “this dog is—”
Tony stopped himself. He had a hand on Prince Wendell’s golden head. In less than thirty seconds he put it all together.
He grabbed the idiot’s hand and shook it. “Of course. You’re a genius,” Tony said to the idiot. The idiot looked dumbfounded. But Tony didn’t care. He grabbed Prince Wendell’s rope, and shouted to Virginia, “Stall them. I’ll be back.”
Then he ran down the road. Fortunately, all of the Peeps were still getting ready for the competition. Tony figured he had maybe fifteen minutes. He had no idea how long Sally Peep’s shepherding would take.
It seemed to take him forever to get to the farm, and even longer to get Prince Wendell inside the barn. The wheels on the cart kept getting stuck. Finally, Tony picked Wendell up and carried him inside.
Wendell was certainly easier to get into the bucket than that blasted sheep had been, but as Tony started to winch the dog down, the weight of the gold pulled on the rope, and the lever broke. The basket spun out of control, hitting the well with a giant splash.
Tony peered over. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness, not even the little fireflies of light. What would he do if the Peeps came back and nothing had happened and there was a gold dog in their well?
He didn’t want to screw this one up. Not this time.
“Wishing Well,” he said, trying not to sound desperate. “Oh magic wishing well, use your healing—um, whatever— water to bring back to life this poor dog trapped in a gold body.”
“You’ve just had a wish.” The wishing well’s echoey voice sounded horribly disapproving.
‘ ‘I know, I know,” Tony said. “But this is very important.’ ’
“Oh, all right,” the well said. “But you swear this is the last wish today?”
“Yes, yes, I swear.”
There was a groaning and bubbling of water. Only a lew stars came up, and those were dim. Tony clenched his hands together. After a few moments, the sound stopped.
Tony pulled the rope, winching it as best he could. The dog was heavy, and he wished he had some help. He tried hard not to focus on the millions of ways this could have gone wrong.
He finally winched the bucket into view, and his heart literally sank. Prince Wendell was still a gold statue.
“I don’t believe it,” Tony said.
Then the statue gave a little tremor and fine gold cracks appeared. Prince Wendell shook his head like a dog trying to dry itself, and gold flew through the air like droplets.
“It worked!” Tony screamed. “It worked!”
Wendell jumped out of the bucket and landed on the ground. He gave one more shake, and the last of the gold fell off him. He turned and looked groggily at Tony.
“Hey, Prince, my boy, welcome back,” Tony said. “What does it feel like to be back in the real world?”
Prince Wendell lunged at Tony and bit him on the ankle so hard that Tony screamed in pain. Prince backed off, and Tony hopped on one foot, clutching his injury.
“You moron,” Prince Wendell said. “Why did you turn me into gold?”
“It was a heat-of-the-moment thing,” Tony said, checking the skin around his ankle. It was broken and seeping blood. “I was trying to save you from those Trolls.”
“You are really the most incompetent manservant I have ever had. You are a complete imbecile.”
“You have to help me, Prince.”
“Help you?” Prince Wendell said. “You must be joking.”
Virginia watched as they finished setting up the obstacle course and the little pen; then she watched as they set up a crude timer. It reminded her of a metronome. Then she watched as Sally Peep led her dog, with a series of whistles and commands, to guide the sheep into the pen.
The Judge had thought it splendid. Sally finished in a count of eighty-five.
Virginia wondered if they’d disqualify her because she didn’t have a dog. She didn’t see her father anywhere. She had no way to consult him.
The Judge was watching her. Virginia was going to ask him for a few more minutes, some kind of stall, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze. The villagers had taken her lamb to the other side of the village, and she could barely see it.
“Time starts now,” the Judge said.
Oh, no, Virginia thought. The lamb even had its back to her.
“Here, sheep,” Virginia said. “Here, sheep.”
The lamb did not move. Virginia could hear the little clicks of the clock as the time went by.
“Coming up on thirty,” the Judge said.
Virginia whistled and shouted, but the lamb didn’t even seem to notice. The Peeps were beginning to chuckle. A few of the villagers walked away.
“Coming up to fifty.”
Then she heard barking. Virginia glanced toward the edge of town and saw Prince running at top speed toward the lamb. The lamb saw him too and scurried away from him toward the pen, running as fast as its little legs would carry it.
“Where did he come from?” Sally asked.
“Go, Prince, go,” Virginia shouted.
“Count of seventy,” the Judge said.
The lamb tried to escape sideways, but Prince didn’t let him. Prince shoved and nipped and bit at the lamb, forcing it relentlessly toward the pen.
“Count of eighty,” the Judge said.
They were close.
“Eighty-one.”
Prince got the lamb inside the pen.
“Eighty-two.”
“Pen’s closed,” Virginia said, feeling incredible relief.
“Eighty-three,” the Judge said. “Virginia the Shepherdess is this year’s winner.”
The villagers cheered and shouted and high-fived each other. The celebration was raucous. They must have wanted the Peeps to lose for a very long time.
“No, no,” Sally said, “it’s not fair.”
Virginia hurried to Prince Wendell. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him. She hugged him tightly, and he let her. “Well done, Prince,” Virginia said.
Sally Peep stormed down the stage and shouted something at one of the older Peeps. Then she huffed away. Virginia buried her face in Prince’s ruff.
“Come and get your prize, lass,” the Judge said.
The mirror. In the excitement of seeing Prince Wendell alive, she had almost forgotten. She and Prince went across the stage, and her father joined them.
Her father was the one who made the speech. “Thank you, thank you,” Tony said. “It was a team effort. No one person could have done it. Thank you.”
The Judge handed Virginia the mirror. It was heavier than she expected, and she could see herself in the glass. She looked ridiculous in her shepherdess outfit, but she didn’t care.
She could finally go home.
Tony could barely contain his elation. It took all of his self-control to keep from jumping through the mirror right there in the center of the crowd. But Virginia got him out of the area and led him back to the barn. Prince Wendell followed.
Tony yanked the bam door open and stepped inside. “Wolf!” he yelled. “We got the mirror back.”
There was no answer. Tony peered around the entire area. He didn’t see Wolf at all.
“He’s
got out,” Virginia said. She looked perplexed and more than a little worried.
“Never mind,’ ’ Tony said. ‘ ‘Let’s get this mirror working.’ ’ Virginia leaned the mirror against a post. It just reflected
them. No magical scenes of Central Park, no nothing. Tony’s hands had gone clammy.
“Why isn’t it showing our world?” Tony asked.
“Because it’s not turned on,” Prince Wendell said. Every word he spoke since he got de-golded, except for the insults he’d yelled at that poor lamb, had dripped sarcasm. “There’s probably a secret catch somewhere.”
Tony started examining the frame. After a moment, Virginia did too.
“How did you get through in the first place?” Tony asked Prince.
“I fell on it,” Prince said. “The switch can’t be that hard to find.”
Virginia pressed part of the cornicing, and suddenly there was a click. The mirror started to vibrate and fizz like an ancient black-and-white television set. Tony crouched, peering at the fuzzy image. It gradually came into focus, complete with color.
“That’s Central Park,” Virginia said.
“It’s Wolman Rink,” Tony said.
The image was becoming even clearer when suddenly Tony heard terrible screams.
Wolf! Wolf!
It sounded like a woman’s voice. Tony looked at Virginia. She seemed alarmed. Prince Wendell was already running for the door. Tony and Virginia followed.
As they stepped outside, a distraught farmer was running into town. He looked wild.
“Sally Peep’s been murdered!” he shouted.
A mob of angry Peeps followed him, dragging someone.
“We’ve got him,” another farmer shouted. “We’ve got him.”
It took Tony a moment to see what was happening. Wolf was in the center of that mob. He was being kicked and slapped and punched and dragged as they pulled him toward the center of the village. His gaze caught Tony’s and he mouthed—or maybe he shouted, it was impossible to tell over the noise— Help! Help me!
“Caught him red-handed,” the farmer shouted. “The murdering bastard.”
The crowd was too thick to get through. Virginia started forward, but Tony held her back. Wolf struggled, but he couldn’t get away.
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