Harper and the Night Forest by Cerrie Burnell

Author:Cerrie Burnell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510734852
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: 2018-03-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

LONE WOLF AND THE ICE RAVEN

I’m not sure if you have ever heard an Ice Raven sing, but imagine the sound of a thousand hummingbirds learning how to fly, or a nightingale calling to a long-lost moon, and that will be close.

As each of the children listened, they felt the soft tug of magic and they knew that the Wild Conductor was right—this was a bird whose song could tame Othello Grande’s heart and help him win back his place in the Circus of Dreams. Win back the life he so longed for. Win back an adventure of music and clouds.

The children knew they would do anything to help the Wild Conductor succeed, each of them keen to rush back to the University of Fine Literature and tell him the great news. As the bird’s song took hold of their hearts, Liesel found it was impossible not to start dancing, so she spun her on toes as lightly as a falling leaf, grabbing the eldest golden-haired boy and swinging him into a polka.

Ferdie felt as if the poetry of the trees had come to life. He at once found a spare pencil and began scribbling a rhyme. For Nate, it was like hearing the whispers of the woods turned into a lullaby, so sweet it could make you weep.

Harper seemed to fall beneath the spell of the song completely. In a dreamy daze, she found herself reaching into the Scarlet Umbrella and pulling out her golden harp. In a streak of claws and fur, Midnight leaped into her arms, knocking the instrument to the ground. The harp clanged loudly, breaking the Ice Raven’s spell.

The whole room stared at the black cat with a look of puzzlement. “What’s wrong?” whispered Harper, gathering Midnight to her.

“That’s a most extraordinary instrument,” said the granddad fairy-tale keeper, stooping to pick up the fallen harp and inspecting it. “It is said that with the right song, a harp could draw the Ice Raven out of the trees.”

The children nodded, but the fairy-tale keepers looked grave.

“But the Ice Raven must never leave these woods,” cried the littlest daughter, “or her story will disappear and she’ll never turn back into a maiden!”

Liesel let go of the boy with golden hair, Ferdie stopped scribbling, Nate frowned deeply, and Harper held Midnight tighter, all of them trying not to think of the blue leather-bound songbook, or the man with magpie-feather hair so desperately seeking the mythical bird. “You mean the Ice Raven must stay here forever . . .” Harper murmured, and the family of fairy-tale keepers all nodded.

“Come.” The mother smiled. “Let us tell you the tale.” And she sank gracefully into the rocking chair, which the children now realized was a storytelling chair. Nate felt around for cushions and handed them out to his friends, then everyone settled down to hear the tale of “The Lone Wolf and Ice Raven.”

“Once upon a time, in a deep, dark wood, there was a witch’s daughter and a young prince who were very much in love.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.