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Dragon Rider Cornelia Funke 20240K 2023-09-01

Ben tied the boat to a tree and shyly caon "Thank you verythose ently nuzzled the boy "What are you going to do now?" he asked "You can’t go back there, can you?"

"No" Ben sat down on his backpack, sighing "That factory won’t be left standingto blow it up"

"Oh, you’ll find so, and picked a few leaves from the bramble bushes "I know! Why not ot plenty of room"

"Rat’s cousin!" cried Firedrake "With all the exciteotten about him What did he say? Does he knohere we must look?"

"Well, sort of!" Sorrel stuffed the leaves into her mouth and picked herself another handful "But we’d have found that out for ourselves, anyway One thing’s for sure, we have a long journey ahead of us Are you certain you don’t want to change yourback, Sorrel Exactly what did the rat say?"

"He gave us a map," said Ben "The map shows it all Where to fly, what to watch out for, everything It’s great!"

Excited, the dragon turned to Sorrel "A map? What kind of a map?"

"Well, just a map" Sorrel took it out of her backpack "There you are" She spread it out in front of the dragon

"What does all that le of lines and marks, baffled "Can you read it?"

"Of course," said Sorrel, looking is like that, to help hion nodded "Good" He put his head to one side and looked up at the sky "Which way do I fly first? Straight east?"

"Um, east? Wait a minute" Sorrel scratched behind her ears and bent over the olden line "No, I think we go south First south, then east, he said Yes, that’s exactly what he said" She nodded "I’m certain he did"

"Sorrel," said Firedrake, "are you quite sure you understand what these scribbles mean?"

"Of course I do!" Sorrel looked offended "Oh, bother these human clothes!" Crossly, she pulled Ben’s sweatshirt over her head and slipped out of the trousers "I can’t think properly with this stuff on"

The dragon looked at her thoughtfully Then he stretched his neck and looked at the sky "The sun’s setting," he said "We can start soon"

"Thank goodness!" Sorrel folded up the map and put it in her backpack "About tion and a brownie"

Ben picked up a couple of stones and chucked the back, will you?"

"Why on earth would ant to?" Sorrel stuffed a few extra bramble leaves into her backpack "I certainly don’t want to see that conceited white rat again"

Ben nodded "Then I’ll wish you both luck," he said, throwing a final stone into the water "I hope you find this Rim of Heaven place"