The Missing Unicorn by April Fernsby

Author:April Fernsby [Fernsby, April]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2019-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

At first glance, the snoutwoozle looked like an animal a child would think up. He had the body of a grizzly bear complete with thick fur and sturdy legs. His head was elephant-like, with a trunk. He didn’t have elephant ears, his ears were tiny and pointed. And he was purple with orange spots.

Stanley and I couldn’t do anything but gawp at him. He wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before, not in a book or on the TV. The creature regarded us solemnly and swished his trunk from side to side. Then he yawned, lay down and closed his eyes.

Fearing he might fall asleep, I cried out, “Hi! Hello! Harold, isn’t it? Sorry to disturb you. I’m Cassia Winter.”

“And I’m Stanley.” Stanley took a few steps forward. “You are amazing. I’ve never seen anyone like you before.”

The snoutwoozle replied lazily, “Thanks.” His eyes remained closed.

I moved over to him, gently tapped him on his bear-like shoulder and said, “We’d like to ask you a few questions, please.”

“Not today. I’m tired. Come back another day.”

My tap was more insistent. “We can’t come back another day. This is important.”

“Extremely urgent,” Stanley added.

Not sure if Harold was listening or not, I continued, “We’ve come from the town of Brimstone, and—”

The creature’s eyes abruptly opened. “Did you say Brimstone?”

“I did. Are you Harold?”

His head turned away from me, and he hissed, “Don’t say a word! Be quiet. Don’t tell her. Go to sleep.” He turned back to me. “But I have to talk to her. If she asks me a question, I have to answer. She knows my name.”

Stanley looked up at me. “Cassia, what’s going on? Who’s he talking to?”

I tried to explain, “Beryl told us he was in two minds. Now I know what she means. I think.” I tried again and asked, “Have you been to Brimstone recently?”

“Yes, I like Brimstone.” He interrupted himself. “No! I haven’t. I never leave this town. Never!” He shook his head at his words. “I did go. I went this morning. I remember.” He closed his eyes and snapped, “Leave me alone! I’m asleep.”

I shared a look with Stanley. How was I supposed to get a straight answer from him?

Once more, I attempted to do so. “Why did you go to Brimstone? What did you do there?”

His eyes opened and he smiled. “I had a job to do there. An important job. I made a noise for the gnomes. They like that noise.” He let out an angry snort. “The gnomes in Brimstone didn’t like it at all! They hated it. They got hurt. I knew I shouldn’t have done it, but he told me to. Yes, she did.”

Stanley shook his head. “I’m so confused.”

“Me too,” I admitted, “but I think we’re getting part of the story.” I addressed Harold again. “Did someone ask you to visit Brimstone and make your special noise?”

Harold nodded. “She said it was a good idea. Then he told us what to do. Or was it her again? I don’t know.

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.