said sharply. "They've already done that." Gylfie's directness shocked Soren. He stopped blinking and looked straight at the Elf Owl. "Look. What did I just tell you?
Everything here at St. Aggie's is upside down and inside out. It's our job not to get moon blinked and to stand right side up in an upside- down world. If we don't do that we'll never be able to escape. We'll never be able to think. And thinking is the only way we'll be able to plan an escape. So listen to me."
Soren nodded and Gylfie continued. "Now first, I have figured out that tonight is the third night of full shine. In fact, the moon has already started to dwenk. Remember, I told you about this. You'll see that in a few days it shall almost disappear and we won't have to worry about being moon blinked. Every night in the glaucidium, it will become darker and darker and easier and easier for us to find the shadows. But in the meantime, we must act as if we are moon blinked."
Soren resisted asking a question even though he knew there was no danger with Gylfie. But still, he simply did not want to break into Gylfie's thoughts. It was clear to Soren that this Elf Owl might be very small in every way but her ideas. And he could tell that Gylfie was thinking very hard now.
"After one more newing," Gylfie continued, "you shall be very close to having fledged all of your flight feathers, and certainly by the time of full shine, you shall be ready to fly."
"But what about you, Gylfie? You will be ready in a few days."
"I shall wait for you."
"Wait for me!" It was not a question. Soren was simply shocked. Too shocked to even speak. So finally it was Gylfie who asked the question.
"What's wrong, Soren?"
"Gylfie, I cannot believe what you just said. Why would you wait for me when you can get out of here?"
"That's just the point, Soren. I would never leave you behind. You are my friend, first of all. If I escaped without you, my life would not be worth two pellets to me. And second, we need each other."
"I need you more than you need me," Soren said in a small voice.
"Oh, racdrops!" Once more Soren could hardly believe his ears. Racdrops, short for raccoon droppings, was one of the most daring, dirtiest, worst words an owlet could say. Kludd had gotten thumped good and hard by his mother when Mrs. Plithiver had reported that he had said "racdrops" to her when she insisted he stop teasing Eglantine.
"Soren, you were the one who realized that they were
trying to moon blink us with our own names by having us repeat them. That was brilliant."
"But you were the one who knew about moon blinking in the first place. I'd never heard of it."
"I just knew something that you didn't. That's not thinking, just happening to know it. You would have known it if you had been hatched a little earlier or lived in the desert. But now I learned something new.
You see, Soren," Gylfie continued, "after they took you away, I made a discovery That owlet 47-2, she sent me on an errand. It was outside the pelletorium and ..." Gylfie looked about, then continued her tale in a low voice. The first shine of the moon was just beginning to slither over the dark horizon.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gylfies Discovery
I was supposed to go and tell the pellet gatherers that new trays were needed in our area. So 47-2
pointed me in the direction of what she called the Big Crack. It was, in fact, very near our area and ran straight up a rock side of the jpelletorium. I was told to go into the crack and I would find a line of other owlets also going to the storerooms and to follow them and not go off the trail. So I did just that."
Gylfie was telling the story so well that Soren could imagine every little turn on the path through the rock crack. It was as if he were right there with Gylfie
"There were many cracks leading off the main crack and sometimes voices could be heard. It was interesting that none of the other owlets who I followed seemed to even notice these cracks or hear
Everything here at St. Aggie's is upside down and inside out. It's our job not to get moon blinked and to stand right side up in an upside- down world. If we don't do that we'll never be able to escape. We'll never be able to think. And thinking is the only way we'll be able to plan an escape. So listen to me."
Soren nodded and Gylfie continued. "Now first, I have figured out that tonight is the third night of full shine. In fact, the moon has already started to dwenk. Remember, I told you about this. You'll see that in a few days it shall almost disappear and we won't have to worry about being moon blinked. Every night in the glaucidium, it will become darker and darker and easier and easier for us to find the shadows. But in the meantime, we must act as if we are moon blinked."
Soren resisted asking a question even though he knew there was no danger with Gylfie. But still, he simply did not want to break into Gylfie's thoughts. It was clear to Soren that this Elf Owl might be very small in every way but her ideas. And he could tell that Gylfie was thinking very hard now.
"After one more newing," Gylfie continued, "you shall be very close to having fledged all of your flight feathers, and certainly by the time of full shine, you shall be ready to fly."
"But what about you, Gylfie? You will be ready in a few days."
"I shall wait for you."
"Wait for me!" It was not a question. Soren was simply shocked. Too shocked to even speak. So finally it was Gylfie who asked the question.
"What's wrong, Soren?"
"Gylfie, I cannot believe what you just said. Why would you wait for me when you can get out of here?"
"That's just the point, Soren. I would never leave you behind. You are my friend, first of all. If I escaped without you, my life would not be worth two pellets to me. And second, we need each other."
"I need you more than you need me," Soren said in a small voice.
"Oh, racdrops!" Once more Soren could hardly believe his ears. Racdrops, short for raccoon droppings, was one of the most daring, dirtiest, worst words an owlet could say. Kludd had gotten thumped good and hard by his mother when Mrs. Plithiver had reported that he had said "racdrops" to her when she insisted he stop teasing Eglantine.
"Soren, you were the one who realized that they were
trying to moon blink us with our own names by having us repeat them. That was brilliant."
"But you were the one who knew about moon blinking in the first place. I'd never heard of it."
"I just knew something that you didn't. That's not thinking, just happening to know it. You would have known it if you had been hatched a little earlier or lived in the desert. But now I learned something new.
You see, Soren," Gylfie continued, "after they took you away, I made a discovery That owlet 47-2, she sent me on an errand. It was outside the pelletorium and ..." Gylfie looked about, then continued her tale in a low voice. The first shine of the moon was just beginning to slither over the dark horizon.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gylfies Discovery
I was supposed to go and tell the pellet gatherers that new trays were needed in our area. So 47-2
pointed me in the direction of what she called the Big Crack. It was, in fact, very near our area and ran straight up a rock side of the jpelletorium. I was told to go into the crack and I would find a line of other owlets also going to the storerooms and to follow them and not go off the trail. So I did just that."
Gylfie was telling the story so well that Soren could imagine every little turn on the path through the rock crack. It was as if he were right there with Gylfie
"There were many cracks leading off the main crack and sometimes voices could be heard. It was interesting that none of the other owlets who I followed seemed to even notice these cracks or hear
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