Read Online A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket - Free Book Online Page B

think cinnamon will help." "We have to get into that fortune-telling tent," Violet said, "and this may be our only chance." "Do you think it's really true?" Klaus asked. "Do you think Madame Lulu really saw something in her crystal ball?" "I don't know," Violet said, "but I do know from my studies of electricity that lightning can't appear inside a tent. Something mysterious is going on, and we need to find out what it is." "Chow!" Sunny said, which meant "Before we're thrown to the lions!" "But do you think it's real?" Klaus asked. "I don't know," Violet said testily, a word which here means "in her regular voice, forgetting her disguise because she was becoming very frustrated and upset." "I don't know if Madame Lulu is a fortune-teller. I don't know how Count Olaf always knows where we are. I don't know where the Snicket file is, or why someone else had Olaf's tattoo, or what V.F.D. stands for, or why there's a secret passageway that leads to our house, or..." "If our parents are alive?" Klaus interrupted. "Do you know if one of our parents is really alive?" The middle Baudelaire's voice quivered, and his sisters turned to look at him, a feat that was difficult for Violet, who was still sharing his shirt and saw that he was crying. Violet leaned so that her head was against his while Sunny put her mug down and crawled closer to hug his knees, and the three Baudelaires stood quietly together for a few moments. Grief, a type of sadness that most often occurs when you have lost someone you love, is a sneaky thing, because it can disappear for a long time, and then pop back up when you least expect it. When I am able, I go out walking on Briny Beach very early in the morning, which is the best time to find materials important to the Baudelaire case, and the ocean is so peaceful that I feel peaceful, too, as if I am no longer grieving for the woman I love and will never see again. But then, when I am cold and duck into a teashop where the owner is expecting me, I have only to reach for the sugar bowl before my grief returns, and I find myself crying so loudly that other customers ask me if I could possibly lower my sobs. With the Baudelaire orphans, it was as if their grief were a very heavy object that they each took turns carrying so that they would not all be crying at once, but sometimes the object was too heavy for one of them to move without weeping, so Violet and Sunny stood next to Klaus, reminding him that this was something they could all carry together until at last they found a safe place to lay it down. "I'm sorry I was testy, Klaus," Violet said. "There's just so much we don't know that it's hard to think about all at once." "Chithvee," Sunny said, which meant "But I can't help thinking about our parents." "Me neither," Violet admitted. "I keep wondering if one of them survived the fire." "But if they did," Klaus said, "why would they be hiding in a faraway place? Why aren't they trying to find us?" "Maybe they are," Violet said quietly. "Maybe they're searching for us everywhere they can think of, but they can't find us, because we've been hiding and disguising ourselves for so long." "But why doesn't our mother or father contact Mr. Poe?" Klaus said. "We've tried to contact him," Violet pointed out, "but he doesn't answer our telegrams, and we can't seem to reach him by phone. If one of our parents has survived the fire, maybe they're having the same wretched luck." "Galfuskin," Sunny pointed out. By "Galfuskin" she meant something like, "This is all guessworklet's go to the fortune-telling tent and see if we can find out anything for sure, and we'd better do it soon before the others get back." "You're right, Sunny," Violet said, and put her mug down next to Sunny's. Klaus put down his mug, and all three Baudelaires took disguised steps away from their hot chocolate. Violet and Klaus walked awkwardly in their shared pants, leaning against one another with every step, and Sunny followed alongside, still crawling