Brambleheart by Henry Cole

Author:Henry Cole
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2015-12-11T16:00:00+00:00

chapter 13

The Necklace

Twig scurried into the house.

“Well!” said his mother, coming from the kitchen, drying her paws. “How was your day?”

“I just turned in my Metal Craft project,” Twig replied. He found himself turning red at the ears. “It’s . . . pretty good.”

“Oh?” his mother exclaimed. “Funny. You never liked Metal Craft before. Now you can hardly wait to get to class. But your take-home assignments . . . I never see you working on them.”

“I . . . I do lot of them at school, in my free time. Or over at Lily’s,” Twig answered. He felt his fur ripple nervously. “I like working on them when no one is around, so I wait until after school sometimes.”

“Hmm,” said Olive. “Well, anyway, I’ve invited Beau over for dinner tonight.” She was spreading a brightly flowered cloth over the oak table, smoothing it out, and placing a vase of honeysuckle flowers in the center. “Get washed up. He’ll be here soon.”

“What are we having?” called Twig from his washbasin.

“Artichokes!” Olive called back.

That explained the delicious smells: artichokes stuffed with garlic, pine nuts, spices, and morels, and stewed pawpaws, and deep-dish elderberry pie with maple-seed custard sauce. Twig’s mouth watered.

There was a knock and then a familiar voice.

“Halloo! Your guest has arrived,” Beau hollered as he hobbled into the house, his gait stiff and slow. The kitchen glowed with the warmth of good food being prepared.

Twig smiled and greeted the elderly raccoon with a paw shake. “Hi, Beau,” he said. “Mom’s made some of your favorites.”

“Ah . . . is that elderberry pie I smell?”

“Everything’s ready!” Olive sang out from the kitchen. “Beau, have a seat.”

“Thank you,” Beau said gratefully, sitting down at his place of honor on the carved bench. Olive’s steamed artichoke dish filled the air with its savory aroma, and Twig took note of the elderberry pie, still warm, waiting to be sliced, bursting with its juicy dark-purple berries.

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