The Chestnut King: Book 3 of the 100 Cupboards

by N. D. Wilson

  Kansas for Being

  Henry for Winning

  Rory D. for Loving

  Jim T. for Scrubbing

  Heather Linn for Waiting

  Baseball

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  At the age of twelve (and thanks to a house fire), N. D. WILSON spent nearly a year living in his grandparents’ attic. The ceilings were low and baggy, and a swamp cooler squatted in a window at one end. Inviting crawl spaces ran the length of the attic on both sides. If there were cupboards in those walls, he never found them. But not for lack of trying. He loves barns, still checks walls for hidden doors, and is certain that dandelions are magic.

  N. D. Wilson and his wife live in Idaho, along with their four young explorers. For more information, please visit www.ndwilson.com.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2010 by N. D. Wilson

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  The frontispiece illustration by Jeff Nentrup, copyright © 2007 by Jeff Nentrup, was originally published in 100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson.

  Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Visit www.100Cupboards.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Wilson, Nathan D.

  The Chestnut King / by N. D. Wilson. — 1st ed.

  p. cm. — (100 Cupboards ; 3)

  Summary: Twelve-year-old Henry York, finally reunited with his family,

  works with them and the Chestnut King, the long-deposed and mythic leader

  of the faeren people, to destroy Nimiane and her forces of evil.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89320-9

  [1. Magic—Fiction. 2. Space and time—Fiction. 3. Kings, queens, rulers, etc.—Fiction.

  4. Fairies—Fiction. 5. Doors—Fiction. 6. Family life—Kansas—Fiction.

  7. Cousins—Fiction. 8. Kansas—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.W69744Che 2010

  [Fic]—dc22

  2008032748

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.0

  Table of Contents

  Other Books By This Author

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Prelude

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Epilogue

  Gratitude

  About the Author

  Copyright