The Daring Escape of the Misfit Menagerie by Jacqueline Resnick

Author:Jacqueline Resnick
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2012-11-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-seven

Holy Horseshoe

Smalls was dreaming of honey. He was on a boat, crossing the ocean, but instead of water, the ocean was made of thick, gooey waves of honey.

He was just about to scoop up a pawful when a noise—a moan—suddenly shook him awake. He opened his eyes, a thin line of sunlight streaming in at him from the caravan window. He was in a cage instead of a boat, not a drop of honey in sight. And every inch of his body—his head, his paws, his back, even his claws—was aching.

“Ooooo.”

At the sound of the moan, Smalls pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the throbbing in his right paw. The sound was coming from May’s cage.

“May?” Smalls whispered. But she just let out another moan. The sound wiggled its way into him, making him feel itchy in his own fur. He touched his ear, wishing desperately for a four-leaf clover. But of course, there was nothing there.

Pressing his muzzle against the bars of his cage, he looked out at May. Her legs were twitching, her stomach was heaving, and there was a strange red bump on her tail. It was the wound from falling off her unicycle, he realized. Overnight it had grown puffy and inflamed. Smalls didn’t know a lot about cuts, but he did know they weren’t supposed to look like that.

“What’s she doing?” Juliet’s voice made Smalls jump. He looked over to see her standing in her cage, swishing her tail in nervous circles. “I can’t see her from over here!”

“She’s asleep,” Smalls said. “But . . . she doesn’t look good.” He watched as May took a slow, wheezing breath. “I think it’s her cut.”

Juliet shook her head. “You can go back to sleep now,” she said sharply. She kept her voice low, and in the cages around them, the other animals slept peacefully on. “I’ll stay up with her.”

Smalls ignored her. Stifling a yawn, he sat down, keeping his eyes on May. He could hear Juliet’s tail swishing back and forth, back and forth in her cage. As May let out another moan, he shook his head. “Holy horseshoe,” he said softly.

“Holy what?” Juliet asked.

“Horseshoe,” Smalls sniffed.

Juliet studied him curiously. “Are you sure you don’t mean holy mackerel? Or holy moly?”

Smalls rubbed at the yellow horseshoe on his chest. “Holy horseshoe,” he repeated firmly.

Juliet cocked her head. “Holy horseshoe,” she tried out. She looked almost amused, but before she could say anything else, the door to the caravan swung open. Lloyd and Loyd stomped in, followed by Bertie. As Bertie headed through the caravan with the animals’ trays of slop, his eyes fell on May.

He let out a gasp, stopping short. “Look at May!” he told the Lloyds.

The twins clomped over to May’s cage, peering inside. “That monkey does not look good,” Lloyd said.

The twins exchanged a befuddled look.

“Boss left us in charge of the morning rounds,” Lloyd said nervously.

“He told us not to bother him no matter what,” Loyd agreed anxiously.

Smalls watched as Bertie crouched next to May’s cage, reaching through the bars to pet her.

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