by Tom Percival
Unfortunately for Rapunzel, outside was another furious crowd.
‘WHAAAAAT!?!’ squawked Betsy from the kitchen garden.
‘WhaAaa Whaaat Whaaaat? WHAaAAaAT?’
‘Let’s try again!’ shrieked Rapunzel as they struggled to pull the door shut again. Hundreds of footsteps echoed behind them as the palace staff burst into the kitchens. They were completely surrounded.
Alphege leaped on to Rapunzel’s shoulder and tried to hide in her hair, while Ella and Rapunzel backed slowly into a corner as the crowd poured in. They looked at each other nervously.
‘I’ve got an idea!’ whispered Ella. ‘What if I take off the magic necklace that Zak made for me and you wear it? Maybe that will stop the curse?’
‘It’s worth a try!’ said Rapunzel.
Ella pulled the necklace off, but just as she was handing it to Rapunzel, someone threw a mouldy cabbage. Rapunzel ducked, but the cabbage knocked the necklace from her hand, and it tumbled to the floor and smashed into tiny pieces.
Rapunzel looked in horror at the blue shards and then back to Ella. ‘Sorry, it was an acciden—’
‘Did you see that?’ screamed Ella. ‘Rapunzel just broke my magic necklace! It’s all her fault! And have you seen what a mess it is in here? Someone really should do some cleaning!’ She looked around desperately for a mop and bucket.
Everyone fell silent as a commanding voice boomed out, ‘What the blazes is happening in here? Why is nobody doing their jobs?’ The King and Queen cut through the crowd, until they were face to face with their daughter.
‘Mum!’ Rapunzel gasped. ‘Dad! Thank goodness you’re back! You’ve got to help me! Everyone keeps blaming me for things that aren’t my fault and . . .’ She trailed off as her parents stared at her icily.
‘I hope that you’re proud of yourself, young lady,’ snapped the Queen. ‘That storm you caused almost sunk our ship! You are in serious trouble.’
Alphege put his furry little arm around Rapunzel’s shoulder as she backed even further into the corner.
Rapunzel took one last step, flattening herself against the wall as much as she could. There was a loud crash as she knocked over one of the big metal kitchen bins.
‘Rapunzel just knocked over my bin!’ shouted the cook. ‘Right in front of my eyes!’ A ripple of angry muttering passed through the crowd until, with a bright purple flash, the genie’s head appeared poking out of the top of the bin, along with a pair of muscular arms, which he used to heave the bin the right way up.
‘YOU AGAIN!’ he bellowed at Rapunzel. ‘Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?’
‘Yes!’ gasped Rapunzel. ‘Yes, I have! Please make it stop! I’ve tried to make up for it! I tried to undo what I’d done! It was me who broke your urn! I tried to blame Ella, but I did it! See? Now everyone knows! I’ve already owned up to Ella, I’ve said sorry. I can see how selfish I’ve been – how I’ve taken everything for granted!’ She paused for a moment, tears pricking at her eyes. ‘I know now that while it really is great having the longest, most amazingly silky and shiniest hair in Tale Town –’ she paused to stroke her hair – ‘perhaps, just perhaps there is more to life than having lovely hair? And most of all –’ she sniffed loudly – ‘I’m sorry!’ Then she burst into floods of noisy tears while everyone else stood there, not quite sure what to do or say.
‘Whoops, right, I see . . .’ said the genie quietly. ‘As it happens, I meant to lift that curse on the day I cast it. After I’d calmed down, I thought it was all a bit over the top – but I must have forgotten to do it! I can be terribly forgetful sometimes. Sorry about that!’ He clicked his fingers, and added, ‘There, it’s done now.’
He smiled apologetically at Rapunzel who was wiping her nose on her sleeve and rubbing her red-rimmed eyes.
‘So . . .’ she said between the last few sobs, ‘I didn’t need to say any of that?’
‘Well, no,’ admitted the genie. ‘I suppose not.’
Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Rapunzel said, ‘Well, what I said is true anyway . . .’ She paused, then added, ‘Especially the bit about having the best hair in Tale Town!’
Everybody laughed and the angry mob began to dissolve, muttering sheepish apologies, and explaining that there was no way they’d have actually used the pitchforks or flaming torches they were carrying, and how they weren’t quite sure what had come over them.
Before long, the only people left in the kitchen were Rapunzel, Ella, Alphege, the genie, and the King and Queen.
‘Confounded magic!’ blustered the King with a tear in his eye, pulling Rapunzel into a tight hug. ‘Making me miss my holiday, and worse than that . . . turning me against my own daughter! I’m so sorry, darling.’
‘Me too,’ said the Queen stroking her daughter’s hair. ‘I’m very proud of you, Rapunzel. Your brave words have shown me that there is more to life than being pretty and having lovely things. And to reward you, I shall buy you two new ponies and a party frock! But first . . . you need a good bath!’
Rapunzel’s parents swept out to continue their royal duties of sitting around and being photographed once in a while.
Ella looked over at Rapunzel with one raised eyebrow.
‘They’ll never change,’ said Rapunzel with a smile. ‘But I think I have!
‘I just wanted to say I’m sorry too . . .’ said Ella. ‘All of a sudden I felt like everything in the world was your fault.’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Rapunzel.
The genie smiled smugly. ‘Well, it was a particularly good curse!’
Rapunzel narrowed her eyes.
‘Although I can see how perhaps it wasn’t so great for you . . .’ he mumbled. ‘Sorry again!’
‘That’s OK,’ replied Rapunzel. ‘Now come on, we need to find you a new home, something a bit less . . . bin-y.’ She smiled at the genie as she picked up the old metal bin and they all set off for the Ancient Urns and Exciting-Looking Lamps, Jars and Bottles room again.
Later on, everybody met up at Greentop’s Cafe. Red, Ella and Jack were drinking musical milkshakes, and Betsy was singing along with an enthusiastic chorus of ‘WhaAaaaAaa Whaaat Whaaaat Whaaat WhaAaa WHAT?’ in a surprisingly tuneful voice.
Anansi was eating a rainbow cake that actually glowed with bright, vivid colours, while Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel were playing cards with Cole and Alphege.
Professor Hendricks and the other gorillas were building Alphege a small temporary palace in the woods near Rufaro’s hideout. He was planning on staying around for a while – partly because he wanted to explore the area, but mainly because he felt that Rapunzel’s plaits needed much more thorough grooming.
Everybody had already said sorry to Rapunzel at least twenty times, and she had considered trying to keep it going a bit longer, but decided that was something the old Rapunzel would have done. Instead, she just took a bite of the butterfly cake that was hovering in the air in front of her.
That was when the air in the clearing crackled and Cole’s brother, Zak, appeared in a flash of blue light, looking wild-eyed and frantic.
‘Where is it?’ he demanded, looking at Ella.
‘Oh, hey, Zak!’ said Ella, blushing. She used her dress to wipe some crumbs off the table. ‘Er, where’s what?’
‘The necklace!’ replied Zak. ‘You know. The one that stops all magic? I . . . er, need it back.’
‘Why?’ asked Cole frowning. ‘Unless–’ he gasped – ‘it wasn’t yours! You didn’t make the spell – you took it from someone else!’
‘I did NOT!’ Zak yelled furiously at Cole. ‘Now just hand it over, OK?’ he said more calmly to Ella. He winked at her and swept his hair back for good measure.
‘I bet it was Fairy Grandfather’s!’ exclaimed Cole. He turned to face the others. ‘He’s kind of scary!’ he whispered.
Zak darted over to Ella and realized the necklace was no longer around her neck. ‘Arghhhh!’ he screamed. ‘What have you done with it?’
‘W
ell, it got, er, sort of broken . . .’ said Rapunzel. ‘You see, someone threw a potato and—’
‘Wasn’t it a turnip?’ interrupted Alphege.
‘No, it was a cabbage!’ added Ella. ‘Definitely – it had that cabbage-y smell to it.’
Zak looked furious. ‘I don’t care what it was! Have you got any idea what you’ve done? He’s going to be furious, you . . . you . . . silly girl!’ He spat the last words in such a mean voice that Ella took a step backwards, looking shocked.
There was another flash, brighter and more powerful this time, and a tall old man appeared next to Zak. His long white hair fell in swirls about his shoulders and his blue eyes burned with a furious light. ‘Zachary!’ he bellowed. ‘I trust you kept my necklace safe after you “borrowed” it!’
‘I . . . er, well . . . it wasn’t me . . . it was her fault!’ yelped Zak, pointing at Ella. ‘She broke it, not me!’
‘I know full well how the necklace was broken!’ boomed Cole’s Fairy Grandfather. ‘I do, after all have some magic!’ Zak shrank away as his grandfather continued. ‘You were showing off – as usual! Luckily for me, I can easily make another necklace . . . Unluckily for you, I shall be taking away all your magic for a MONTH.’
‘What? You can’t!’ Zak gasped.
‘I already have,’ growled the old man. ‘Now apologize to that young lady, and then I’m taking you home. You are grounded, young man!’
‘Sorry,’ muttered Zak. There was a crackling flash and both Zak and his Fairy Grandfather vanished.
‘Whoa!’ said Ella, looking over at Cole. ‘Remind me never to upset your grandfather – he is absolutely terrifying!’
Cole’s eyes widened and he put his finger to his lips. ‘Shhh!’ he hissed. ‘You never know when he’s listening!’
‘Well, it serves Zak right, if you ask me!’ said Rapunzel.
‘I never liked him anyway,’ added Gretel, ignoring the look she got from Hansel. ‘His hair was that bit too perfect, if you know what I mean?’
‘Totally!’ replied Ella and Rapunzel, making Anansi and Jack look over at Cole with a smile.
‘Well done, by the way!’ said Jack to Rapunzel. ‘You made it on to the Story Tree! I was walking through town earlier when I noticed a new shoot growing – that’s a pretty crazy story!’
‘Thanks!’ said Rapunzel. ‘So . . . the Story Tree wasn’t harmed at all by the fire?’
Jack shook his head. ‘The spell of protection worked this time – but why are the trolls so interested in the Story Tree?’
Rapunzel shrugged. ‘I don’t know . . . but I do know that we need to keep an eye on Mayor Fitch. On the ride back to town, Rufaro told us a story about him that was not good.’
Ella nodded and turned to Anansi. ‘He hates your uncle – it’s Mayor Fitch’s fault that your whole family had to leave Tale Town all those years ago!’
Anansi narrowed his eyes. ‘Do you think that’s why the troll on the poster looks like Rufaro? Do you think the mayor knows about the curse?’
‘Maybe,’ replied Rapunzel. ‘But one thing’s for sure: if there’s anyone who can find out what’s really going on in this town . . .’ She paused for a moment and looked round at her friends. ‘Then it’s us!’
‘Whaaat!’ squawked Betsy loudly, and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Oh, Betsy!’ chuckled Jack, ruffling the feathers on his pet hen’s neck. ‘You do say the funniest things!’
The End
Endnote
1. What the croak actually meant was that he was a handsome prince but Rapunzel had turned him into a frog.
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 Joshua and Zachary for saying,
‘WhaAaat?!’
First published 2016 by Macmillan Children’s Books
This electronic edition published 2016 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 978-1-4472-9214-2
Text and illustrations copyright © Tom Percival 2016
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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