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He pushed a ladder on runners to the location, climbed up, and pulled the book out The leather was a natural, war on it He opened the book but found it contained only blank pages, except for soe That was it Even as he told the seeker this better be the right book, it extinguished itself, leaving him on his own

He descended the ladder only to see soeese—a broo at hi up his arm in defense when the broom descended on him

“Ow!”

He scampered to and fro to avoid the broom as it swatted him He bumped into the telescope and knocked it over Its precious lenses smashed to bits when it hit the floor The broom smacked his head and he yelped He jumped out of the way to avoid another strike and the broo all the objects off one of the tables The harp thudded to the floor, e

Down cagered into a side table that held the ship in the bottle The table keeled, the water in the bottle cresting and washing over the ship rails The miniature sailors on deck scrambled for handholds Sailors?

Thursgad watched in horror as the table teetered on edge, the bottle sliding, sliding…He couldn’t move, was unable to stop the inevitable Even the brooh all the air had been sucked from the room

The table pitched over and the bottle s its contents in a wave across the carpet The house itself seead’s hair He iined he heard the cries of all those sailors and the crashing of surf

Then the brooh water, water that kept rising, was even now rising to his ankles How could it be? The bottle wasn’t that big He sulls cried…

He sloshed through the water, the brooh the door, water rushing out with him He pelted down the corridor and leaped down the stairs He didn’t dare look over his shoulder to see if the broom followed He didn’t care—he just had to escape the house

He ran through the kitchen with its oven e wonderful aromas and flew out the door for the woods, his prize tucked safely beneath his ared not to drop it

“It was a yelloarbler, I told you,” said Miss Bay

The sisters a the drive that led to Seven Chimneys

“What would a yelloarbler be doing here at this time of year?” Miss Bunch asked “You know full well they’ve all rated south”

Miss Bay lifted her chin and sniffed “Not all I knohat I saw”

“You can’t have seen it, sister, it is just not possible All the warblers have gone”

“Hmph”

“Really, if you saarbler, then I’m a trout”

Miss Bay gave her an appraising look “You are a trout”

Miss Bunch pouted