Cory’s pretty blue dress was ruined. Everyone gave her worried looks and asked if she was all right as they climbed onto the pedal-bus, but she was less concerned about her cuts and bruises than she was that her favorite dress was torn and stained. At least her new bracelet was still on her wrist.
All Cory wanted to do when she got home was take a hot bath and rinse her mouth out to get rid of the taste of the lake. She must have looked awful when she got off the bus, because the goblin driver offered to help her to her door, and no one got mad at the possible delay if she took him up on the offer.
“I’m fine,” she croaked, her throat still sore.
She turned and was walking toward the house when she saw that the gate to Noodles’s enclosure was open. “Oh, no!” she cried, and hurried across the side yard. “Noodles!” she called when she didn’t see him behind the garden shed. “Where are you, boy?” she shouted when he wasn’t in the backyard.
“Cory!” her neighbor Salazar shouted from the street. “I’ve been waiting for you to come home.”
“They kidnapped Noodles again!” she called, hurrying to where he stood with his iguana, Boris.
“No, that’s what I wanted to tell you. I was walking Boris when I thought I saw Noodles run across the street to the park. I can help you look for him, but I have to take Boris home first. He’ll want to stop and eat every flower we see if I take him with us. Boris, get out of that yard! Those aren’t your flowers! Did you redo your lawn today?” he asked Cory.
“No, the Flower Fairy Guild did it for me,” she said absently. “I appreciate your offer, but if Noodles went into the park, I think I might know right where to find him.”
Cory headed straight for the spot that Noodles had favored the last few times they’d visited. It took her only a few minutes to find the tree and was relieved to see Noodles there. “What are you up to, Noodles!” she called as she made her way through the underbrush. “Why did you . . . Oh!”
Cory stopped where she was and held her breath. Noodles wasn’t alone. A smaller, more delicate-looking woodchuck was sitting just past him, nibbling a leaf. Cory thought the woodchuck might be a girl. When they both turned to look at Cory, she couldn’t help but say, “How sweet! You found a little friend!”
“You must be his two-legger,” the other woodchuck said.
Cory gasped. She had met plenty of animals that could talk, but none of them was living in the wild. Meeting one like this couldn’t have surprised her more.
“You can talk!” Cory squeaked.
“You said she was bright, but she hasn’t shown any signs of it yet,” the woodchuck said to Noodles.
“I’m sorry,” Cory began. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting Noodles to have a friend who could talk.”
“Why not?” the wild woodchuck asked. “He’s smart, good-looking, and a real gentlechuck. I don’t think you give him the credit he’s due. You lock him in small spaces all the time, and don’t let him roam loose nearly as much as he’d like. What kind of life is that for a chuck? I told him he should run away, but he says he loves you too much and that you need him. Do you love him back? Because if you don’t, I think he should leave you right now!”
“Of course I love him! He’s been living with me since he was a baby. Noodles was an orphan when a friend found him and I bottle-fed him until he could eat solids. I’ve loved him since the day I met him!”
“So you’re sort of like his mother,” said the girl woodchuck.
Cory shrugged. “I suppose you could say so.”
“All right, then. I can understand that. Although I can’t imagine why you would give him a name like Noodles!”
“I named him that because he likes noodles so much,” said Cory. “What’s your name?”
“Weegie,” said the woodchuck. “I’m glad I wasn’t named after my favorite food, or I might be called Grass or Leaf!”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but how is it that you can talk?” Cory asked.
“I met a witch once who needed to find a way through the woods where I was living at the time, so she cast a spell on me just so she could ask directions.”
“Wow,” said Cory. “And she didn’t undo the spell afterward?”
“Why should she? She got what she wanted and didn’t care what happened to me. As far as I know, all two-leggers are like that.”
Noodles grumbled something and butted Weegie with his head. She grumbled back, then looked up at Cory and said, “Noodles says you’re not like that. Say, did you know that you’re all scratched up? Did you do that on purpose or do you fall down a lot? I bet two-leggers fall down all the time, without four legs to keep them steady.”
Cory shook her head. “I was in an accident. I was going to go wash up, but then I saw that Noodles was gone.”
“I’ll tell you what—you leave Noodles here with me and I’ll make sure he’s home before dark.”
“Is that all right with you, Noodles?” Cory asked him.
When Noodles just grunted at her, she assumed that he wanted to stay. “Then I’ll see you later,” she said, and started to go. Suddenly, Cory was so tired that she wasn’t sure she could even make it home.
She was only a few steps away when she paused and glanced back. Both woodchucks were still watching her. “It was nice meeting you, Weegie,” she said.
“You, too,” said Weegie. “Noodles was right about one thing; you do have good manners.”
Cory crossed the street, thinking about how good it would feel to take a long, hot bath. She opened the front door and was on her way to the bathing room when she heard someone banging around in the kitchen. Wondering why her uncle was home early, she stepped into the kitchen and stopped. It wasn’t Micah; it was that awful girl Goldilocks, poking around in the kitchen cabinets!
“What are you doing here?” demanded Cory. “How did you get in?”
Goldilocks glanced over her shoulder at Cory. “Waiting for you and through the back door. The lock on your back door is lousy. I’d change it if I were you, especially considering how many people you’ve managed to infuriate. Where do you keep your tea bags? Surely you have tea?”
Water was already boiling in the teapot on the stove, and Cory’s favorite mug was waiting on the table. Cory was tired and hurt all over. Her mind was muzzy, but it was working well enough for her to wonder how long Goldilocks had been there.
“Next cupboard over, bottom shelf,” said Cory. “Why do you want to see me?”
“I give as much money to someone as I gave to you, I expect personal attention. Ah, here it is. Chamomile? Is that all you have?”
Cory shrugged. “It’s my uncle’s. I’m not a big tea drinker.”
“I suppose it will do,” Goldilocks said, carrying the jar of tea to the table. Anyway, I . . .” She stopped halfway across the room, having gotten a good look at Cory. “Say, what happened to you? You look like something the cat dragged in after she chewed it up and spit it out.”
“Blue took me to the matinee performance of the water nymphs’ ballet. There was an accident.”
“I heard about that!” Goldilocks said, looking concerned. “Were you hurt?”
Cory shook her head. “Just cuts and bruises. And my throat hurts from swallowing that nasty water.”
Goldilocks turned off the stove and started for the door. “What you need is to get out of those filthy clothes and take a hot bath. Come on, I’ll get the water started.”
“I don’t really think . . . ,” Cory began, but Goldilocks had already left the kitchen.
“Where’s your bathing room?” Goldilocks called as she went down the short hallway. “Never mind. I found it.”
The hot water was running in the tub when Cory reached the bathing room. She paused in the doorway and watched as Goldilocks rummaged through the cupboard. None of this seemed real, but Cory was too tired and sore to care.
Goldilocks took a big, fluffy towel off the shelf and kept looking. “Wait right there and I’ll have a hot bath ready for you in a New York minute.”
“What’s a New York minute?” asked Cory.
“I have no idea,” Goldilocks told her. “It’s just something my father used to say. My real father, not the man who kidnapped me.”
Cory peered at her through the steam rising from the tub. “Your last name doesn’t happen to be Piper, does it?”
“That’s my adopted name. My last name used to be Sanders. I was Megan Sanders before I came here. The Pied Piper called me Goldilocks because of my hair and the name stuck. You don’t happen to have any bubble bath, do you?”
Cory shook her head. “I don’t know what that is. So, you’re one of the children Gladys Piper raised.”
Goldilocks expression softened. “You know my mother? Isn’t she great? I remember the day we all showed up on her doorstep. I could tell she was overwhelmed, but she welcomed us and loved us and raised us all by herself. We haven’t seen the Pied Piper since the day he brought us here and the FLEA took him away for kidnapping. Mama had to do everything. It wasn’t easy and we never had enough money, but she loved us and that’s what mattered.”
“She told me that her oldest children had moved out,” said Cory.
“I moved out three years ago. I send money back whenever I can. That’s part of the reason I visit people’s houses when they aren’t home. I’m an artist and I make decent money with my artwork, but my family needs the money more than I do. Even I have to eat, though. There, that should be enough,” Goldilocks said, turning off the hot water. She stuck her finger in the bath and jerked it out again. “That’s too hot. Why don’t you get undressed while I add a little cold water. Don’t worry, I won’t look!”
Cory slipped off her clothes and dropped them on the floor. When the water was the right temperature, she stepped into the tub. The cuts stung as she lowered herself in the hot water, but she knew she had to clean them out before she put anything on them. Reaching for the soap, she washed herself as gently as she could. “What is bubble bath?” she asked Goldilocks, who was leaning against the sink with her back turned.
“Stuff you add to the water that fills the tub with bubbles. It’s fun, that’s all. I miss it, just like I miss cotton candy, soda, pizza, TV . . . Anyway, I came to see you because I wanted to find out who you’re going to fix me up with next. Jack Horner didn’t work out. We didn’t have anything in common. He barely spoke a hundred words to me the entire evening. Who else do you have in mind?”
Cory set the soap down and leaned back in the tub. She was drowsy from the hot water and her mind still wasn’t very clear. She thought about the eligible young men she knew. None of them were Goldilocks’s Mr. Right, of course, but until Cory found the man she’d seen in her vision, she could still set Goldilocks up on a date. Jonas MacDonald’s face was the first one to come to mind.
“I know a young man named Jonas McDonald. He has a big farm and is a hard worker,” Cory said.
“He’ll do. Listen, I’ve got to go. Will you be all right by yourself? You’re not going to fall asleep in the tub and drown or something, are you?”
“I’ll be fine,” Cory told her. “I’ll get out in a few minutes and go lie down for a little while. Thanks for doing this. You’ve been a big help.”
“Hey, I ran baths for my little brothers and sisters for years. I’m a real pro at bath time! Let me know what you set up with the farmer.”
“I will,” Cory said, but Goldilocks was already gone. A few seconds later, Cory heard the front door close. That was a surprise, she thought. I guess she’s not nearly as bad as I thought she was.
After a good long soak, Cory rinsed herself off and climbed out of the tub. Finding some salve in the cupboard, she smeared some on her cuts. It was sticky, but it made her cuts hurt less.
Cory had just put on clean clothes when there was a knock on the door. When she peeked out of the window and saw that it was her neighbor Wanita, she opened the door and stepped outside.
“I hate to bother you,” said the witch, “but I’ve had a little magical mishap and I need your help.”
“Was someone hurt?” Cory asked, locking the door behind her.
She followed Wanita down the steps and across the lawn as the witch explained what had happened. “A new book of spells arrived today. I was trying one, but I forgot to lock Theo out of the room. He’s hard to stop when he gets curious, and he shoved the door open and came in at a crucial moment. I was turning marbles into cockroaches and my Theo got in the way. Now I have one extra cockroach and no boar.”
“Why did you want to turn marbles into cockroaches?” Cory asked her.
“They make great party favors. I’m going to my friend Griselda’s birthday party tonight and she asked me to bring them.”
“Couldn’t you turn all the cockroaches back into what they were originally?”
“Sure, if I had enough dried salamander spit, but I have only enough for one or two attempts. If I don’t choose the right one, Theo is going to stay a cockroach for the rest of his life, which might not be long if I accidentally step on him.”
“What do you want me to do?” asked Cory.
“Help me figure out which cockroach is really my boar. I met your friend Marjorie at your party and she told me what you did about the spiders that were taking over her house. I’ll pay you back with a favor when you need it, if that’s all right with you.”
“That’s fine,” said Cory. “Although I don’t really expect you to pay me back. You’re my neighbor and I’d be happy to help you.”
“Nope, one favor deserves another,” Wanita declared as she opened the door to her house.
Although it had looked like a hovel at the edge of a swamp, it was actually quite comfortable inside. Even so, Cory noticed the musky smell right away. So that’s what a boar smells like, she thought.
Wanita led the way to a round table with a large pink doily. A wooden box sat on the middle of the table. “Here we are. See, I put the cockroaches in the box. I’m going to lift the lid, so be sharp. I don’t want them to get out.”
Cory leaned over the table as the witch took the lid off the box. It was filled with a seething mass of shiny black cockroaches. “Maybe it’s this one,” said Wanita, reaching into the box. “He’s bigger than the others.”
She was fumbling around, trying to grab the bigger cockroach, when the rest discovered that the lid was off. They swarmed out of the box, darting across the table and falling to the floor in their haste to get away.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Wanita exclaimed. Pointing a finger at them, she said something in a language that Cory didn’t understand and they all froze in place. “Good! That should make it easier. Take a look and see which one you think is Theo.”
Cory didn’t know what to do. The cockroaches all looked alike, although some were a little bigger than others. Crinkling her nose in distaste, she picked one up and examined it. Still frozen, it didn’t even wave its antennae, although she had a feeling that it was looking at her. She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know how to tell them apart. Unless . . . Can you unfreeze them one at a time?”
“Sure,” said Wanita. “What do you have in mind?”
“Theo just turned into a cockroach, so he wouldn’t know how to be a cockroach yet. He’s used to being a boar, so wouldn’t he move differently from the others?”
“Now why didn’t I think of that?” Wanita said. “Let’s give it a try. We can start with that one.”
When she pointed her finger at the one Cory was holding, Cory hurried to set it down. As soon as the spell was lifted, the cockroach started to scurry away, but Wanita snatched it up and stuck it in the box, clapping the lid on tightly. “Not that one!” she said.
They had tried twenty or thirty cockroaches when the next one turned around and shambled toward Wanita instead of running away. “That’s got to be my Theo!” the witch cried. When she dusted him with powder, he turned back into the boar. Dropping to the floor, Wanita wrapped her arms around Theo and hugged him so hard that he grunted. “I thought I’d lost you, boy! It’s good to have you back.”
“I have to go now,” Cory said, starting for the door. “I’m glad we found Theo!”
“Thanks to you!” Wanita called as she raised her face from the boar’s side. “I won’t forget about that favor.”