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Saonfly, Seth pointed out
I wish I had a caed Sure
He trotted over to the table, grabbed the mirror by the handle, dashed to the pool, and dove in Some of the insects scattered instantly The one but dispersed before reaching the pool
Seth surfaced Any bees after me?
Get the mirror out of the water You’ll ruin it!
Settle down, it’s fine, he said, stroking over to the side
Give it to me She took the mirror froed Let’s try an experie chair and backed away Think they’ll come back?
We’ll see
Kendra and Seth sat down at the table, not far frolided over to the mirror and hovered above it Soon it was joined by a few butterflies A bu another swared creatures crowded the mirror
Go turn the mirror face down, Kendra said I want to see whether they like the reflection or the mirror itself
Seth crept toward the mirror The little animals took no apparent notice of his approach He reached forward slowly, flipped the mirror over, and then retreated to the table
The butterflies and bees that had landed on the ht when it was overturned, but only a few of the winged creatures fleay Most of the swaronfly landed on the lounge chair at the edge of the ht, they flipped theit off the chair in the process
With the reflective surface showing again, the swarm pressed close Several of the creatures landed on the face
Did you see that? Kendra asked
That eird, Seth said
How could they be strong enough to lift it?
There were a few of theain?
No, I’m scared the mirror will fall off and break
Okay He draped his towel over his shoulder I’e
Would you take the et stung
Seth moved toward the arden toward the house Part of the swar
Kendra wrapped the towel around her waist, picked up the sunblock Seth had left behind, and started toward the house
When Kendra reached the attic playrooe shirt He picked up the cereal box that served as his eency survival kit and headed for the door
Where are you going?
None of your business, unless you want to come
Hoill I knohether I want to coave her a uess Into the woods
Want to coet Lyme disease, Kendra warned
Whatever Ticks are everywhere Same with poison ivy If people let that stop theo anywhere
But Grandpa Sorenson doesn’t want us in the woods, she protested
Grandpa isn’t going to be around all day Nobody will know unless you blab
Don’t do this Grandpa has been nice to us We should obey him
You’re about as brave as a bucket of sand
What’s so brave about disobeying Grandpa?
So you’re not co?
Kendra hesitated No
Will you tell on
Seth walked out the door She heard hihtstand The handheldwith the three tiny keys She had spent a long tiest key opened a jewelry box on the dresser that was full of costus, es, and ruby bracelets She had not yet discovered what the other two opened
She picked up the keys They were all ser than a thumbtack Where could she find such a ht before, she had spent most of her time on drawers and toy chests Some of the drawers had keyholes, but they were already unlocked, and the keys did not fit
Saht her attention What better place to find tiny keyholes than inside a little house?
She unlatched the clasps and opened it, revealing two floors and several rooms full of miniature furniture Five doll people lived in the house-a father, a hter, and a baby
The detail was extraordinary The beds had quilts, blankets, sheets, and pillows The couches had removable cushions
Chapter Three
The knobs in the bathtub really turned Closets had clothes hanging inside
The armoire in the dollhouse’s master bedrooe keyhole in the center Kendra inserted the tiniest key and turned it
The doors of the arold foil-opening it, she saas a piece of chocolate shaped like a rosebud
Behind the chocolate she found a solden key was larger than the key that opened the armoire, but smaller than the key that opened the jewelry box