Clover had never read anything about leprechaun girls before. In storybooks the leprechauns were always men and they always lived alone. But she had never read about ghosts that baked, or giants that used sunscreen either.
Lulu took off her glasses and began to polish them on her shirt.
“Lulu, please keep those on. You know you need them to see,” said Leonard. He then added to Clover, “She just got them last week. It’s been hard for her to adjust to them.”
“How old are you, Lulu?” asked Clover.
Lulu held up one hand, her fingers and thumb spread wide.
“Wow! Five years old. I got my first pet when I was five too. A goldfish.” (Of course, Clover didn’t add that it had jumped down the drain the first time she cleaned its bowl.)
Lulu tugged on her father’s sleeve and whispered something in his ear.
Leonard chuckled and tweaked her ear tenderly. “Those are just imaginary pets, Lu. Remember? We talked about this. Today we’re getting you a real pet—no feathered fish or bunnies with antlers.” Leonard turned to Clover. “She makes real snacks for them, you know.”
Clover smiled. Even if they weren’t real, feathered fish and bunnies with antlers sounded cute! And she probably would have made snacks for them too, when she was Lulu’s age.
“Do you have any suggestions?” continued Leonard. “Nothing too big. She wants a unicorn, but I told her we’d get something smaller first, something easy to take care of.”
“I know just the animal,” Clover said. She turned back to Lulu, only to find that Lulu was peering under the desk, her glasses in her hand again.
“She must have dropped another barrette,” Leonard explained, then said to Lulu, “Come here, Lu. Clover’s talking about a pet for you.”
Lulu stood up quickly and slipped her glasses back on as Clover explained.
“A fairy horse is kind of like a unicorn, but just the right size for you,” she said. “Do you want to see?”
Lulu nodded again—so vigorously one of her barrettes popped off. Leonard shot out his hand quick as a toad’s tongue and caught it in midair. “That happens a lot,” he explained.
Clover led Leonard and Lulu out of the front room. Lulu glanced back.
“The fairy horses are just down the hall,” said Clover. “In the small animals’ room.”
When she opened the door she spied, from the corner of her eye, that the kittens were up and at it again, and she hoped they wouldn’t catch Lulu’s eye as well. She was pretty sure a mischievous magic kitten wasn’t what Leonard meant by “easy to take care of.” Luckily, their cage was near the back of the room. And Lulu had her glasses off again, rubbing them on her shirt.
“Lu, your glasses,” said her father with a sigh.
Lulu slid them back on.
“Look,” said Clover, showing them the tank decorated like a mini forest.
Lulu adjusted her glasses and stepped forward.
The fairy horses were in different parts of the tank. Buttercup and Butternut were nibbling moss. Acorn and Hickory were snoozing standing up next to some tiny ferns. Tansy pranced up to the side of the glass and pressed her muzzle against it, right near Lulu’s nose.
Lulu gasped and broke out in a big gap-toothed smile.
Clover pointed to the card beside the tank. “Mr. Jams rescued them from mean ogres who were mistreating them. Because they are so small, it’s easy to make sure they get their exercise. And all they need are a few oat flakes or a bit of apple, and a nibble or two of a sugar cube for food.”
Now it was Leonard’s turn to nod vigorously. “Yes, just what I was hoping for! What do you think, Lu?”
Lulu smiled and pointed to Tansy, who was still standing next to the glass.
“That’s Tansy,” said Clover. Tansy was her favorite. Clover knew she probably shouldn’t have favorites amongst the animals, but it was hard not to. More than the others, Tansy loved to prance around on her palm.
Clover remembered Mr. Jams’s words: “Adoption is our Agency’s purpose. It can be hard to part ways with our animals, but the Agency isn’t a home for them. You will need to guard your heart, yet keep it open.”
So she told Lulu the truth. “Tansy’s actually my favorite because she is so gentle. She’s a good choice. Would you like to hold her?”
Lulu nodded.
“Hold your palms out together, like this,” said Clover, demonstrating. “Try to keep them as still and flat as possible. All she will probably do is nuzzle you or lick one of your fingers, but don’t jerk your hands away. That might make her fall off and she could get hurt.”
Lulu nodded again and held out her hands just as Clover had instructed. Clover carefully lifted Tansy out of the tank and placed her on the little leprechaun’s palms.
“There you go, Tansy. This is Lulu. She might be adopting you.”
Tansy sniffed Lulu’s hands, then stiffened. And then…the gentlest fairy horse began to act like she never had before. She tossed her mane, reared up on her two back hoofs, and then began to buck furiously. Her nostrils flared and her ears lay back.
Lulu’s lower lip trembled, and she looked up at Clover with frightened eyes, but she did not move her hands, though they were shaking.
“What’s going on?” said Leonard.
“I…I…I…” Clover stammered. She wasn’t sure herself, but she had to do something. She plucked Tansy from Lulu’s palms.
As soon as Tansy was back in Clover’s hands, the little horse quieted down. After a few snorts, she stood still.
Lulu pressed up against her father’s leg.
“Are you okay?” asked Clover.
Lulu nodded slowly.
“That’s my girl,” said Leonard.
“You were so good,” said Clover. “You didn’t drop Tansy. You were brave and kept still. I don’t know why Tansy acted like that. She’s usually so gentle.”
And now Tansy was gentle again, licking Clover’s thumb.
Lulu tugged her dad’s arm. He leaned over and she whispered something in his ear. Leonard smiled as he stood straight again.
“My daughter says that Tansy loves you so much she doesn’t want to leave, and I think I agree with her. You did say that little horse was your favorite. You must take good care of the animals to have them so attached to you.”
Clover blushed. “I don’t know….”
But she wondered if maybe he was right, at least about the attachment part, because when she tried to set Tansy back in the tank, the fairy horse didn’t want to budge from her hand. She had to entice her off with a sugar cube.
When Clover was done, Lulu tugged on her arm and pointed to the tank again. “Oh, you want to try again?”
Lulu nodded hard. One of her barrettes popped off again and Leonard caught it.
“You are brave!” said Clover. “You must like animals as much as me.”
Lulu smiled.
They settled on Hickory, a speckled fairy horse who especially liked to eat apples. “There are some wee apple trees near the Meadows where we live that are just the right size,” said Leonard.
Hickory didn’t make a fuss in Lulu’s or Leonard’s hands. And Clover even set up a makeshift paddock on the floor of the small animals’ room, so Lulu could see how Hickory galloped. She laughed and clapped her hands.
With Hickory in a small carrying cage and the paperwork all filled out, Lulu and Leonard were about to leave, when Lulu spoke for the first time. “Can we take the puppy too?” She was holding her glasses again.
“Um…um…” Clover stammered, because, of course, they did not have a puppy.
“Now, now, Lulu, no more imaginary pets. You have Hickory. And do put on your glasses.”
She did, then added softly, “Please?”
Leonard sighed, and with a wink at Clover, said to Lulu, “Very well.”
Lulu looked at Clover too, as though to make sure.
Clover smiled. “Yes, of course you can.”
“Come on, Lu,” said Leonard
. “We should hurry. It’s looking stormy out.”
And indeed it was. The sky outside the open door was now dark gray.
“It’s about time for a storm. We’re due for some rainbows. Rainbow Lane—that’s where we live. You can visit us anytime, Clover. Thank you for all your help.” He gave Lulu a little nudge to go.
“Thank you,” Clover replied.
With a big smile, Lulu headed out the door after her father, holding Hickory’s cage in one hand and her other hand in midair, resting on an imaginary puppy beside her.
The Agency felt quiet after the leprechauns left. The unicorns were unusually still, not even swishing their tails. The magic kittens were also acting oddly—not sleeping or bounding around their cage, but instead sitting perfectly in a row (except for Twister, who was standing on his head). A single spark sputtered from Lightning’s tail, and Blizzard’s eyes were flashing, but no beams shot out. Cloudy bobbed an inch above the bottom of the cage.
Maybe it’s the coming storm, thought Clover. Indeed, the Agency was starting to cool down as clouds covered the sky, and so she put away the fans.
Still, she wasn’t sure if it was just the storm. Something was different about the Agency. There was a new emptiness, a silence that hadn’t been there before. Even Dipity was acting strange, keeping watch at the front door, his tail bristled, his ears pricked.
But Clover didn’t realize what it was until the rain starting pattering down on the Agency roof, and she took an umbrella out to the gnome.
He wasn’t just in a different spot, he was in a different position too. He was standing in the middle of the open gate, one arm raised and pointing down the path that led to the Woods. In the dust, which was slowly being speckled by the rain, Clover could see Leonard’s and Lulu’s footprints. And some other prints too. Some paw prints! They looked just like a puppy’s!
Right away, Clover knew. She had asked the gnome to watch out for the creature from the egg. She had asked him to alert her if it left. And it had! But it hadn’t escaped through a window or a door. Lulu had taken it with her. She had taken the little animal that hatched from the egg, the little animal that Clover hadn’t seen in the pen, or the trap, or anywhere, because of one simple fact.
It wasn’t imaginary.
It was invisible.
That’s why she couldn’t find it! That’s why the shell had seemed to be empty—and the trap too. That’s how the Wish Book was destroyed right under her nose! And that’s why Mr. Jams couldn’t figure out what the hatchling might be! Clover had never heard of an invisible puppy before. In fact, Clover had never heard of invisible animals at all! She was tingling, she was so excited.
But Clover had let the puppy leave with Lulu…let him escape! She had to get him back.
“Oh, thank you, Gnome. Thank you!” She popped the umbrella over him, then raced back inside. There was no time to lose.
Leonard had told her they lived on Rainbow Lane. She checked Hickory’s file to find out the house number:
#1 RAINBOW LANE, THE MEADOWS
There’s a sign in the Woods that points to the Meadows, thought Clover. That should lead me there.
After digging out another umbrella from the storage room and making sure that everything, including the animals, was safe and secure, she found a small leash in the tack room, then searched the kitchen for a treat that a puppy might like. Regular puppies, she knew, would still be drinking milk, but regular puppies didn’t hatch from eggs. She saw a bin in the cupboard labeled THREE-HEADED-DOG BISCUITS, which was filled with bone-shaped treats in three different flavors (goose, pheasant, and potato). With one of each in her pocket, she was about to leave, when a flash lit up the front room, and a moment later she heard a terrible CRACK, like a giant firework exploding.
She jumped. A thunderstorm, thought Clover with a shudder. She didn’t like thunderstorms. She never had. When she was little, she’d hidden under the bed. She wasn’t quite so scared of them now but still her heart was pounding. Thunderstorm or not, though, she had to get the puppy back. But her feet wouldn’t move.
Mew?
She heard Dipity close by, then felt his tail brush her legs. She looked down at him, as he wove a figure eight around her.
“Not now, Dipity,” she said.
There was another flash, followed by an even louder CRACK! Clover jumped, but this time she didn’t feel scared. She really didn’t! “Dipity, you calmed me. That must be your magic.” She bent down and gave him a hug.
She opened the door, and he started to follow her. “You can’t come with me, but I’ll be okay. Thanks.”
Dipity’s tail curved like a sideways smile.
She smiled back at him, then shut the Agency door and turned the ENTER sign to CLOSED (EVEN FOR ROYALTY!). As she popped open the umbrella, she noticed that it had a bite taken out of it, a bite far bigger than a puppy’s. It wouldn’t provide much protection, but she shouldered it bravely and trudged forth.
The gnome was back in his usual position beside the gate, except the hand that had been pointing down the path was now holding his umbrella (unbitten, Clover noticed). Rain fell steadily, and she could see his boots were already splashed with mud.
“Can you watch the Agency for me?” she asked.
The gnome blinked.
“Thank you. I’ve locked the door. I won’t be gone long, I hope.”
Then she headed off, walking as fast as she could, with a quick glance back at the Agency, which was, as always, slightly lopsided, covered in vines, and, most of all, full of surprises.
Every day when she left the Agency, Clover followed the same path from Dragon’s Tail Lane through the Woods and out to her village, and had only ventured from it once, when she rescued Dipity from Ms. Wickity. Although it hadn’t been so long ago—just a few weeks—it felt like months had passed.
As she reached the signpost and the arrow that pointed to the Meadows, she suddenly wished that she had asked Mr. Jams for a map or a tour of the Woods and Beyond. What if the Meadows was a long way away?
But Leonard and Lulu had walked, hadn’t they? So it couldn’t be too far. Or so she hoped. Already, the chewed-up umbrella was proving useless—her hair was drenched. The trees did little to stop the heavy rain, and the wind had picked up, sending small twigs and leaves skittering about like mice. Even though the thunder crashed, she stayed calm. Thoughts of the puppy kept her going.
She saw a man dressed all in green, like Leonard, with a golden umbrella, hurrying down the path.
He must be a leprechaun too, thought Clover. “Excuse me,” she said. “Is this the way to Rainbow Lane?”
“If you have to ask, I can’t tell you,” he said, glancing briefly up from under his umbrella, then continuing on his way.
Clover trudged on.
Before long, she came to a sign that said, RAINBOW LANE, HOUSES 1–50, THIS WAY. And indeed, around the bend, the path grew wider and the trees thinned, opening up to a neat semicircle of houses that reminded Clover of little golden pots. The rain pinged noisily off their metal roofs, and the wind tore at their gates and shutters and nearly ripped the umbrella from her hand.
Beyond the houses stretched a sea of green grass, whipped by the wind. The Meadows. Boulders dotted the landscape, half-hidden in grass and mist. It was the perfect place for unicorns to roam, and Clover wondered if there were any unicorns that lived in the wild. Mr. Jams had once told her about wild dragons, but not wild unicorns. She would have to ask him sometime. But first—#7 Rainbow Lane.
Number 7 was the merriest-looking of the houses, with a crooked chimney and bright green shutters that seemed to be smiling despite the storm. Clover’s heart was pounding again—but this time with excitement. In moments, she would finally meet the little animal that had hatched out of the egg. She knocked on the tiny door.
“Who is it?” came an unfamiliar voice from inside.
“It’s Clover, from the Magical Animal Adoption Agency. I’m looking for Leonard and Lulu.”
; “Oh…” The door clicked and opened to reveal a plump and pretty woman dressed in a light green dress with a green apron and green slippers. Her eyes were amber-gold, like candlelight, the kind of eyes that made you feel warm inside.
“Oh dear, you’re soaked. Come in, come in. Leonard and Lulu told me all about you. I’m Marigold, Lulu’s mom.”
Clover closed her umbrella and ducked, dripping, into the most cozy, colorful living room she had ever seen. Each wall was painted in a different vibrant color. So too was each cushion and chair a different hue. It was like walking into a rainbow. As she watched, she saw that one of the walls was slowly fading into another color.
Marigold saw her surprise. “It’s rainbow-made paint. Rainbows are full of such amazing magic, aren’t they? We haven’t had any rainbows for a long time. Thank the skies for this storm—though I wish it wasn’t so strong. Poor Leonard. He’s out right now, harvesting.”
“Harvesting…?”
“Harvesting the rainbows, of course,” said Marigold. “He’ll be out for a while. I’m sorry.”
Although Clover was curious about how rainbows were harvested, she replied, “That’s okay. Really it’s Lulu I need to speak to.”
“I’m afraid she is a little upset right now,” said Marigold. “But let me get her. She’s with her new fairy horse. Just make yourself at home. Don’t worry that you’re damp.”
While Marigold hurried out of the living room, Clover looked around. She couldn’t see any sign of a puppy—but, of course, that was part of the problem. Marigold emerged a few moments later with a very sad-looking Lulu.
“Hush now,” Marigold was saying to Lulu. “I told you that it’s not real. Papa told you too.” Then to Clover she said, “Sit down, sit down! Can I fetch you some tea? Or hot chocolate?”
The Enchanted Egg Page 5
