by E. D. Baker
Chapter 6
Maggie gave the unicorn’s horn one last swipe with the polishing rag and stepped back to admire her handiwork. The horn glistened in the sunlight pouring through the stall window. Pale blue and silver, it looked beautiful against the unicorn’s white coat.
Randal snorted and shook his head, tossing the mane Maggie had just brushed. His coat glistened from being brushed, too, but she knew that wouldn’t last long. He would roll and get dirty again as soon as she let him out in one of the paddocks. Having one wooden leg didn’t stop Randal from having fun.
‘That beast has only three legs!’ Peter said from the doorway. ‘Why do you keep it around?’
‘What are you doing here, Peter?’ Maggie asked.
‘I came to see Bob,’ he said, smirking.
‘Bob!’ Maggie called without taking her eyes off her stepbrother. ‘Peter wants to talk to you.’
Bob came out of the end stall, where he’d been fixing a broken board. When he saw Peter, he nodded as if he’d been expecting him.
‘I found something that I think belongs to you,’ Peter said, opening a cloth bag. He pulled out Maggie’s journal and handed it to Bob. Glancing at Maggie, Peter’s smirk grew broader.
‘Maggie left your book in the forest,’ said Peter. ‘You can see that she doesn’t take very good care of your things. See how dirty it is? Some of the pages are torn, too. I wouldn’t lend anything to someone who treats my stuff that way.’
‘I wouldn’t either,’ Bob said, shaking his head. ‘This is a real shame. Here you go, Maggie.’
Maggie took the journal from Bob and turned it over to look at the damage.
‘Why did you give it to her?’ asked Peter.
‘Because it belongs to her.’ Bob pointed at the writing on the cover. ‘If you or your mother could read, you’d know that’s Maggie’s name. She wouldn’t do this to her journal or to mine, which means that you did it. I don’t take kindly to thieves or liars. Maybe I should contact the sheriff.’
‘I’m not a thief!’ exclaimed Peter.
‘Really?’ said Bob. ‘You used your little sister to lure Maggie into the forest. While Maggie was trying to help a child who needed her, you stole the journal, thinking it belonged to me. I don’t know which is worst: using your little sister like that, stealing the journal, lying about it, or trying to blame Maggie for the damage you did to the book.’
‘Hey, at least I brought it back,’ Peter said grudgingly.
‘Don’t ever touch my stuff again, Peter!’ Maggie told him.
Peter scowled and walked away.
Leonard kicked the side of his stall. ‘If he does, I’ll tell the sheriff myself,’ he shouted, loud enough for Peter to hear. ‘And don’t you ever say anything bad about Randal again. That unicorn is better with three legs than you are with two!’
Chapter 7
It was chilly out the next morning. Maggie had a hard time getting out of her warm, cosy bed, and Bob reached the stable before she did. He was scooping feed for Carmelita and her piglets when Maggie saw his hat. She couldn’t help it; she giggled and then laughed out loud. When Bob turned to look at her, she covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head.
‘That is the funniest hat I’ve ever seen!’ she told him. The hat was long and pointed with a tassel on the end. Earflaps covered his ears, and another flap dangled in front of his forehead to cover his nose.
Bob shrugged. ‘Maybe, but it’s the warmest hat I own. The only place I wear it is the stable. The horses don’t seem to mind it. Even Leonard hasn’t complained.’
‘That’s because they don’t know what hats usually look like,’ said Maggie. ‘What does Nora think of it?’
Bob grinned. ‘She thinks it’s as funny as you do. Why do you think I don’t wear it anywhere but here?’
‘If it makes you happy …’ Maggie said, giggling as she walked off carrying the feed for the flying pigs.
After she’d fed the pigs and helped with the other animals, Maggie took Leonard for another ride. They decided on a change of scenery, so they rode around the castle, then down the road as far as the mill. The sun was shining, the day had warmed up, and Leonard was in a good mood.
‘I’m tired of this poky pace,’ he announced when they reached a straight stretch of road. ‘Hold on tight!’
Maggie barely had time to tighten her grip on the reins before they were off, racing through the forest. She was enjoying the wind on her face and the way her hair whipped behind her when suddenly there was a loud crack! as if a big branch had broken. A moment later, a huge animal ran out of the woods in a blur of fur and teeth. Leonard planted his front feet and slid to a stop. Maggie shrieked as she struggled to stay on the horse’s back. The animal was gone by the time she was upright again.
‘Sorry about that!’ said Leonard. ‘Did you see that beast run past? I thought we were going to run right into each other.’
‘I’m glad you were able to stop like that,’ Maggie told him.
‘I think we should head home now,’ said Leonard. ‘I don’t want to run into whatever that was again.’
‘Is that its paw print?’ Maggie asked, pointing to a mark in the soft mud at the edge of the road.
‘Could be,’ said Leonard. ‘I wasn’t exactly looking at its paws.’
They had just turned around to head back to the stable when Maggie saw someone slipping between the trees. She thought it might be Peter, but she couldn’t be sure.
Leonard trotted all the way back to the stable. After taking care of Leonard, Maggie put him in his stall and went to find Bob. She found him returning from a trip to the castle.
‘How was your ride?’ he asked.
‘Great, until we almost ran into a huge beast, and I mean actually ran into it. The whole thing happened so fast that I didn’t get a good look at it, but I think this was its paw print.’ Taking out her journal, Maggie drew the print as best she could.
‘That looks like a manticore print,’ said Bob. ‘Running into a manticore like that could have been very bad, with terrible results.’
‘There was a loud sound in the forest right before the manticore came charging out. Later I thought I saw Peter in the woods,’ Maggie told him.
Bob sighed. ‘I wouldn’t put it past Peter to startle a manticore just so it would run into Leonard. But then, there are a lot of things that I think Peter is capable of doing. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him.’
Chapter 8
The next day, Bob let Carmelita out of the barn for some fresh air and exercise. Maggie held the blanket while Bob tossed the piglets, but only one had a hard time flying. While the mother pig was still outside, Maggie cleaned the stall and played with the piglets. She was putting the pitchfork back where it belonged when she noticed the brush they had used for the palomino unicorn during its short stay in the stable. With the brush in her hand, she went to look for Bob.
‘Would it be all right if I gave this brush to Lily?’ Maggie called. ‘The palomino unicorn has been staying near her waterfall and they’ve become friends. When he was here, he loved it when she brushed him with this.’
Bob stepped out of a stall to take a look. ‘Sure, give the brush to Lily. It will make both of them happy.’
Maggie giggled. Bob was wearing his funny hat again and she laughed every time she saw it. He put on a pretend-serious face and said, ‘I’ll have you know that this hat is very special to me! My dear old mother made me this hat when I was a young man. I love this hat, despite what other people might think.’
‘Your mother did a lovely job,’ Maggie said, trying to look just as serious.
‘If you’re going to the waterfall, can I go, too?’ Leonard asked from the next stall. ‘I really like the taste of that water.’
‘Sure,’ said Maggie. ‘But please be nice to Lily. Water nymphs are sensitive people.’
‘People say rude stuff to me all the time!’ Leonard replied with a snort. ‘Do you know how many people are shocked when
I talk?’
‘Even so …’ Maggie began.
‘All right! I’ll be nice to your friend. But she had better be nice to me,’ Leonard finished under his breath.
When all her chores were done, Maggie saddled Leonard and led him out of the stable. As soon as she was on his back, the horse walked a short way before breaking into a trot. He slowed again as he entered the forest, and they heard shouting just ahead.
‘I throw stones best!’ shouted a goblin. ‘You watch. I hit turtle first try!’
‘I better than you! I hit turtle now!’ cried another.
‘I recognise those voices,’ Leonard told Maggie.
‘So do I!’ Maggie replied.
Maggie was about to reach for the tip of a unicorn horn that she kept in her pocket when she saw Lily. The water nymph was walking out of the water towards the goblins with her own unicorn horn tip in her hand.
When the goblins saw the shining piece of horn, they screeched and ran into the forest.
‘I’m happy to see you using it!’ Maggie called to Lily.
The water nymph turned and smiled when she saw Maggie. ‘That little bit of unicorn horn has helped a lot!’ Lily told her. ‘I love how it scares the goblins away. I still can’t thank you enough for giving it to me.’
‘You deserved it after you helped cure the unicorn,’ said Maggie. ‘Here, I brought you something.’
Sliding off Leonard’s back, she walked to the pool and handed the brush to Lily. ‘You said that the palomino unicorn was living around here. I know how much you both liked it when you brushed him. Bob said that you could have this.’
‘That’s so thoughtful!’ said Lily. ‘Thank you! And please thank Bob for me too.’
‘I’m glad you like it,’ Maggie said, beaming. ‘I like giving things to people who appreciate them. My stepsiblings always took things without ever saying thank you. Peter was the worst.’
‘I saw him about an hour ago,’ said Lily. ‘He was heading towards the stable. Did he come to talk to you?’
Maggie shook her head. ‘I didn’t see him.’
‘He was carrying a sack and had a big smile on his face,’ said Lily. ‘I had a feeling he was up to no good. I really don’t like that boy.’
Leonard snorted. ‘You’re not the only one!’
Chapter 9
‘I wonder what Peter was up to,’ Maggie said on the way back to the stable.
‘Nothing good, I’m sure,’ said Leonard. ‘We’ll look around when we get home.’
Maggie worried the entire way. As soon as they reached the stable, she slid off Leonard’s back and began studying everything, trying to see if anything looked different. Lily had said that Peter was carrying a bag. Maybe he was planning to haul something away. Or maybe he had brought something that shouldn’t be there. Everything looked the same, however, so she led Leonard into the barn to remove his saddle and bridle.
After putting Leonard back in his stall, Maggie hurried to check on the piglets. There were a lot of rare and valuable animals in the stable, but the piglets and the tiny flying horses would be the easiest to steal. She counted the piglets and the tiny horses before looking in on the other animals. They were all where they belonged, and they all seemed fine.
‘Maybe Peter didn’t come here after all,’ Maggie said as she looked in on Leonard one last time.
‘Don’t jump to any conclusions,’ replied the horse. ‘He might have gone to talk to Bob.’
‘That’s true,’ said Maggie. She hoped Peter hadn’t gone to pester Bob; none of the conversations Bob had had with either Peter or Zelia had ever gone very well. She didn’t want Bob or Nora upset, especially not because of her.
Bob was writing a letter when Maggie walked into the cottage, but he set it aside when she stood in front of him.
‘I took the brush to Lily,’ Maggie told him. ‘She asked me to thank you.’
‘I’m glad she liked it,’ Bob said. ‘You did a very nice thing, Maggie.’
‘Did Peter stop by while I was gone?’ asked Maggie.
‘If he did, I didn’t see him,’ said Bob. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Lily said that she saw Peter headed this way with a bag. She thinks he might have been up to something.’
THUD! THUD! came a sound from outside.
Startled, Maggie looked around as Bob got to his feet.
‘What was that?’ Maggie asked him.
‘It sounds as if one of the animals is cast in its stall,’ Bob said as he started to the door.
Maggie hurried after him. ‘What does that mean?’
‘That an animal lay down in a stall too close to the wall and isn’t able to get up,’ said Bob. ‘It’s kicking the wall as it tries to stand. If it stays cast, it might hurt itself, so I have to help it get to its feet.’
‘Peter couldn’t have caused this, could he?’ Maggie asked.
‘It’s not likely,’ said Bob. They could still hear the thudding as they reached the stable. The sound led them straight to Leonard’s stall. Maggie was relieved to see that he was standing and seemed to be fine.
‘Why were you kicking your wall?’ Bob asked him.
‘It was a good way to get your attention,’ said Leonard. ‘Someone put nasty weeds in my hay. I’m positive they weren’t here before we left. If I eat these, I’ll get really sick.’
Bob bent down to examine the hay. ‘Leonard is right! Eating these weeds would make any animal sick. We’ll have to throw out all this hay.’
‘I’ll check the rest of the stalls and see if the weeds are in the other animals’ hay,’ said Maggie.
‘We need to check the hay in the loft, too,’ said Bob.
‘Peter did this, didn’t he?’ Maggie asked.
Bob sighed. ‘You’re probably right. I never have believed in coincidences.’
Chapter 10
To Maggie’s relief, the only place they found the bad weeds was in Leonard’s hay. She had checked all the hay, including the bales in the loft, when Nora called her in for lunch. Bob had already eaten and was about to go out again just as Maggie walked in.
‘Has anyone seen my hat?’ asked Bob. ‘I know I put it on the hook by the door.’
‘If you’re talking about that awful hat with the nose flap, I hope you lost it for good,’ said Nora. ‘I’ve never liked that thing and I’ve been tempted to throw it out more than once.’
‘I like it because it’s warm,’ said Bob. ‘I’m going to look in the bedroom. Maybe I took it in there.’
‘I’ll be right back,’ Maggie told Nora. ‘I got some hay under my tunic and it itches like crazy!’
Maggie hurried to her room to get cleaned up. Bob and Nora had given her some of their daughter’s old clothes, which meant that she had two other tunics she could wear. Looking through her clothes, she found Bob’s funny hat on the bottom of the pile.
‘I found this buried under my clothes,’ Maggie said as she carried it to the kitchen. ‘I don’t know why it would be there.’
‘That’s odd,’ Bob said, frowning. ‘I know I didn’t take it to your room.’
‘That is odd,’ said Nora. ‘And it reminds me about something odd that happened to me today, too. I went to collect eggs from the chickens this morning, like I do every day. When I came back in, the cottage door was open. I know I closed it because I remember jiggling the latch to get it to stay shut. It could have blown open if it was windy out, but there hasn’t even been a breeze today.’
‘I asked the blacksmith to make a new latch,’ said Bob. ‘I need to visit him again to see if it’s ready. You know, the three of us are the only ones who know about the problems we’re having with the latch. Anyone else might think they’d shut the door and it would stay shut. It’s possible that someone came inside while we were all out.’
‘And put your hat in Maggie’s room?’ said Nora. ‘Why would anyone do that?’
‘Bob was telling me how much he loves that hat just this morning,’ said Maggie. ‘He said that his mot
her made it for him and it’s very special.’
‘That old thing!’ said Nora.
Bob frowned. ‘If someone heard me talking to Maggie, they might think I really did treasure it.’
‘And putting the hat in my room might make you think I had taken it,’ said Maggie.
‘I suppose that’s possible,’ Bob said, ‘but it would be an awful thing to do. It sounds like something Peter might try.’
Nora looked worried. ‘Maybe we should get a dog that will bark when someone comes to the door.’
‘Or a big dog that will bite intruders. I want to keep everyone safe,’ Bob said, looking from Nora to Maggie.
‘And maybe a good lock?’ asked Nora.
‘Sure,’ said Bob. ‘And a really big dog. I’ll look around. I’m sure I can find something that would keep intruders out.’
Chapter 11
When Stella stopped by the next morning, she helped Bob and Maggie give the piglets another flying lesson. After they fed raspberries to the tiny horses, Maggie went with Stella to get Eglantine out of the stall where the goose had been happily pecking at grain.
‘Be careful when you go home,’ Maggie told her friend. ‘Peter has been coming around here a lot lately. I don’t want him to try to steal Eglantine.’
‘I thought about that,’ said Stella. ‘That’s why we came here in disguise. Here, Eglantine. Hop in.’
When Stella set a basket on the floor of the stall, the goose hopped in and settled down. Stella picked up the basket and strapped it to her back, then tossed a faded grey cape over her shoulders. With the hood pulled low over her face, she looked like a frail old woman. The disguise was nearly perfect until Maggie got close enough to see Eglantine peeking over Stella’s shoulder.
