The Story Tree

by Tom Percival

  ‘He’ll never do it,’ said Anansi.

  ‘He’ll have to,’ said Fitch, smirking, ‘if he wants to save the lives of every troll here.’

  ‘But why do you hate the trolls so much?’ yelled Red.

  ‘Why do you not?’ asked Fitch. ‘They’re different. They’re not like us! They’re a threat!’

  ‘No,’ said Red.

  ‘You’re the threat. And we’re not anything like you!’

  Fitch smiled. ‘I always knew there would be a few sympathizers, but that’s no problem. After all, I control the Story Tree. I can plant whatever stories I like on there and they become the truth! Have you never heard the phrase “History is written by the victors”?’

  ‘I have . . .’ said Hurrilan as he rose unsteadily to his feet. ‘But what makes you so certain that you’ll win?’

  Fitch laughed out loud, and tossed a stone to land at Hurrilan’s feet. ‘Go on then,’ he sneered, looking around at the crowd. ‘Turn that into something. How about a bunch of flowers? Admit it!’ crowed Fitch, turning back to Hurrilan. ‘You can’t do it, can you?’

  Hurrilan shook his head. ‘No,’ he admitted. ‘I can’t.’

  ‘You’ve lost all your magic!’ taunted Fitch. ‘Just like the rest of them.’ He gestured at the trolls being chained up around the square. ‘So how on earth do you think you can win? Let me demonstrate!’

  He raised the box in his hand and swung it round to aim it at one of his guards. The guard nervously stepped backwards as Fitch pressed the button. The box shone with a bright light, just as the wall had done, then there was a flash, and suddenly Fitch was standing next to a statue of a very surprised-looking guard.

  ‘You see the power I have now?’ he asked, his eyes gleaming.

  As all this was happening, Hurrilan gestured ever so slightly towards his staff, which lay on the ground a few metres away. Betsy noticed and nodded back. Her eyes narrowed, and then she loudly squawked out,

  There was a burst of action. Hansel and Gretel darted towards the guards closest to them and grabbed the swords from their hands. Rapunzel flicked her hair out until it wrapped around the staff and yanked it over so that it came skidding to a halt at Hurrilan’s feet. Anansi made a clicking noise in the back of his throat, and within a few seconds, hundreds of spiders had appeared, scuttling up the legs of Fitch’s guards and crawling all over them until they were scrabbling at their armour, trying to brush them off. The Big Bad Wolf barged into the guards near him, snapping at them with his sharp white teeth. Cole danced around in the air, performing whatever spells he could make up on the spot. Soon it was raining chocolate coins and Brussels sprouts while Jack, Ella and everyone else backed slowly away from Fitch.

  Fitch looked amused. ‘You think that this will help? The trolls have lost their magic and now I control it – all of it! This is where it ends.’

  ‘You’re right!’ yelled Hurrilan as he threw himself towards Fitch, the crystal on his staff glowing with a furious light. ‘I can’t use my troll magic, but I can use the magic in my staff! And yes, this is where it ends – for both of us!’

  He spun the staff around them in one huge sweep. Bright trails of light flared out from the crystal, forming into thick, long ropes that flickered and whipped around them, as though held by huge, invisible hands. The light became too bright to see, the sound too loud to hear. Hurrilan and Fitch existed in the centre of a swirling red ball of light. With a rush the light shot outward at a terrifying speed, in an enormous wave of heat and noise.

  Then it was gone.

  There was a ringing sound in Jack’s ears, and it took him a few seconds to realize that he had been thrown halfway across the square in some sort of explosion.

  He looked around at the destroyed Market Square. A thick cloud of dust hung over everything, but even so, it was clear to see that Hurrilan, Fitch and the Story Tree had gone. All that was left was a blackened, twisted shard of smoking wood that clawed up out of the deep crater where Fitch and Hurrilan had fought. What kind of magic could do something like that? What had happened to Hurrilan?

  Jack picked himself up and peered down into the crater. What was that? It looked like some kind of movement . . .

  There was a figure down there, clambering unsteadily to its feet, looking around in confusion. The figure climbed up the edge of the crater, growing clearer as they moved through the heavy dust that hung in the air. It was Rufaro.

  More people ran forward and helped Rufaro over the lip of the crater.

  Rufaro looked around in confusion at the battle-scarred town.

  ‘What happened?’ he croaked.

  Anansi was about to reply when he noticed someone else down in the crater. Another figure was stumbling out of the dust. He skidded down the side, hardly daring to believe his eyes. He knew that silhouette – he’d know it anywhere.

  ‘Mum?’ he called out, scrambling across the mud and rocks. ‘Mum!’

  Then he had reached her and she pulled him into a tight hug as the dust settled all around them.

  13

  ‘Wow! That is quite some story!’ said Alphege, the small green monkey, as he let go of the tiny leaf on the brand-new Story Tree that had been growing down in Lily’s cave. It was now planted outside of Tale Town in a large clearing that anybody – human, troll, imp or otherwise – could use.

  ‘I still can’t believe I missed it all,’ he continued. ‘You see, my second-favourite aunt makes the most amazing banana pie and she invited me over for tea, but, well . . . time ran away from us and I ended up staying a couple of days. It was all very nice, but sounds like you lot had much more fun!’

  Jack looked at Red, who looked at Anansi, who looked round at all their other friends.

  growled Betsy under her breath.

  ‘I’m not sure “fun” is exactly the right word . . .’ began Anansi. ‘Don’t you remember the bit about Fitch locking us all up and turning the trolls into statues and stealing their magic?’

  ‘Well, yes,’ said Alphege, a bit dismissively, ‘but you all got free, didn’t you? And when Hurrilan cast the spell that transported him, the Story Tree and Fitch into the crystal from his staff, didn’t that undo all Fitch’s magic?’

  ‘Well, yes, I suppose that technically it did,’ replied Red.

  ‘And when that happened, didn’t all Fitch’s men throw down their swords and run off? And once all your parents who’d been exiled to Far Far Away, or wherever it was, came home, I guess everything was pretty much back to normal?’ said Alphege casually as he picked around under his armpit and eyed up the banana that Professor Hendricks was eating.

  ‘Well . . . yes, but that’s not the point!’ exploded Red furiously. ‘The point is that we risked everything to stop Fitch and . . .’

  ‘And then it all turned out rather well!’ finished Alphege, smiling. ‘So shall we pop along to Greentop’s Cafe? I really am rather peckish!’

  As they all walked through Market Square, Ella was pleased to see grass shoots and flowers pushing up through the soil. The crater had been filled in and nearly all the repair work had been done to the houses that had been damaged in the battle. Most of the stone from Fitch’s wall had been used for that, and now all that remained of it were a few broken blocks lying around.

  ‘Hold on a minute!’ boomed a loud voice. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’

  Red spun around. ‘Oh, hey, Rufaro!’ she called out. ‘Sorry, Mayor Rufaro.’

  Anansi’s uncle beamed. ‘It’s just been made official,’ he said proudly, pointing at a small brass badge on his chest with the word ‘Mayor’ stamped into it.

  ‘I can’t think of anyone better for the job,’ said Anansi.

  ‘Thanks!’ said Rufaro. ‘So anyway, where are you going? Greentop’s, right?’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Jack. ‘Do you want to come too?’

  ‘I’d love to,’ said Rufaro, ‘but I’m a busy man. Hurrilan’s been on at me to do a few bits and pieces.’

  ‘But . . . I thou
ght Hurrilan and Fitch were trapped in the crystal on his staff? At least . . . that’s what happened in the story,’ said Alphege, looking confused.

  Rufaro laughed. ‘Well, yes, he is.’ He held up the crystal, which hung on a chain around his neck. It pulsed with a dancing red light. ‘But he’s found a way to come out of the crystal . . . at least, sort of. He always was good at magic – isn’t that right, Hurrilan?’

  There was a bright flash of red light as Hurrilan appeared in front of them. He looked thin and transparent, more like a projection of a person than an actual, solid thing.

  ‘Oh yes, incredibly good at it!’ said Hurrilan with a grin. ‘It takes quite a lot of my energy, though, so I can’t hang around. Right, Rufaro! Today we need to sort out all the gateways in town. They’re tiny! The trolls keep banging their heads on them. I heard that Philicite took a whole chunk out of a wall the other day! Mind you, he is particularly tall, and he never looks where he’s going, but still, seeing as we’ve got so many trolls living in Tale Town, we need to make sure the place works for everyone.’

  ‘See what I mean?’ asked Rufaro, smiling. ‘Always on at me!’

  ‘But what about Fitch, though?’ asked Alphege. ‘What happened to him?’

  ‘Oh, he’s fine!’ said Hurrilan’s projection, with the faintest hint of a smile. ‘I mean, the Story Tree’s in here too, so he’s got plenty to do, and it’s actually very comfortable inside the crystal – I’ve been able to create us houses and woodlands, and rivers and animals and all sorts! We can do anything we want to, really. Apart from, you know . . . leave. And even that might be possible one day. Still, for the time being, we’re trapped in here, but you never know, we might end up being the best of friends! If he ever agrees to talk to me, that is! Anyway, come on, Rufaro, there’s a lot to do.’

  The projection of Hurrilan zipped back inside the crystal and Rufaro smiled at the children.

  ‘I’d better be off,’ he said. ‘Have fun at Greentop’s!’

  Jack sat back and looked around at his friends. Everyone was there. Even Lily had splashed up in the river near the cafe, so they’d put some picnic blankets out and were all sitting on the riverbank having their snacks.

  Alphege and the gorillas were having musical milkshakes, and light tinkling melodies danced around through the trees. Cole was chasing after the musical notes, which you could just about see if you squinted out of the corner of your eye.

  Hansel, Gretel, Wolfie and Ella had all chosen to have Alburtus Greentop’s latest experiment, Burp-Bubble Pie. They sat there, each taking a few bites and burping up brightly coloured bubbles that drifted off through the air. When the bubbles finally popped they each made a huge belching sound.

  The sun shone down warmly, and Jack smiled as the sound of the water mixed with the music and his friends’ laughter. Lily had brought along a transformation spell, and Red, Rapunzel and Anansi were playing transform-a-tag with Quartz. Everybody laughed as Red got tagged and suddenly transformed into a giant squirrel in a bright red hood with a big bushy tail.

  ‘You’re it!’ laughed Anansi as she spun around and tried to tag him back.

  Jack sat there and watched it all. This was what they had fought so hard for – a happy, peaceful life, for everyone.

  He looked over at Lily, who kept leaping out of the water, trying to do somersaults in mid-air and failing every time.

  squawked Betsy as a big splash of water cascaded over her.

  ‘Oh, come on!’ said Jack. ‘I think she’s getting better. One of these days she’ll get the hang of it.’

  Betsy shrugged, and then nestled in closer. As Jack patted the water off Betsy’s back, she looked up at him and happily squawked,

  Jack smiled. ‘Yeah, you’re right,’ he said. ‘Today is a good day!’

  Then he lay back, with Betsy cradled in the crook of his arm, and thought about all the adventures that he and his friends would be able to grow on the new Story Tree.

  One thing was certain: the best was yet to come.

  The End

  Footnotes

  1 The palace actually belonged to Rapunzel’s parents, the king and queen, but since he’d banished them, Fitch had decided that perhaps he should move in there instead.

  2 It’s a long story you can read in The Magic Looking Glass. You’ll like it.

  Tom Percival grew up in a remote and beautiful part of south Shropshire. It was so remote that he lived in a small caravan without mains electricity or any sensible form of heating. He thinks he’s probably one of the few people in his peer group to have learned to read by gas lamp.

  Having established a career as a picture-book author and illustrator, Little Legends is Tom’s first chapter-book series for young readers. The idea for Little Legends was developed by Tom with Made in Me, a digital studio exploring new ways for technology and storytelling to inspire the next generation.

  MACMILLAN CHILDREN’S BOOKS

  This book is dedicated to Rory Kellehar Greener (and his mum, Rachel, who helped make Little Legends happen. Thank you!)

  First published 2017 by Macmillan Children’s Books

  This electronic edition published 2017 by Macmillan Children’s Books

  an imprint of Pan Macmillan

  20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR

  Associated companies throughout the world

  www.panmacmillan.com

  ISBN 978-1-5098-4218-6

  Text and illustrations copyright © Tom Percival 2017

  Characters and ‘Little Legends’ world copyright © Tom Percival and Me Studios Ltd 2015

  The right of Tom Percival to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third-party websites referred to in or on this book.

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  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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