Read Online Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Liesl Shurtliff
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fault. I was the greedy one. I had spun the gold. I had traded the gold. I had fumbled and tripped and spilled the gold. Now Opal was all spun into the mess and she hadn’t done anything at all. Poor, beautiful Opal. That thought poured icy water over my head. An innocent girl was being led to her doom because of me.
A pixie fluttered up to me, shaking her fists and squealing as if she were reprimanding me. The pixie bit my nose, and in a minute it swelled so large I had to breathe through my mouth. Now my nose was bigger than my face.
I guess I deserved that.
It was still morning, but no one was working in the mines now. Everyone was scattered around the town, buzzing about King Barf and all his soldiers. A gnome ran past my feet and down the road chanting, “The king is gone! The king is gone! He took the miller’s daughter along!”
Gran once said there would be times in my life when I would be trapped, with walls all around me too high to climb and no way out. Then I would need someone from outside and above to throw down a rope and pull me up. I believed Gran; I just always thought that she would be the one to throw the rope.
I needed help. I needed advice. But I couldn’t think of a single person in all The Mountain who could help me. Red was mad at me. The miller probably wanted to strangle me. Milk and Nothing had nothing to offer. Andthe magic and the gold had spun me into a bigger heap of trouble than I could have imagined.
And that’s when I realized who could possibly help—the one person who might be able to give me some answers about my mother and the spinning and the magic.
I needed The Witch of The Woods.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Witch of The Woods
I grabbed a gnome by his leg just outside The Woods. I held him upside down with both my arms. He grunted and swatted his stubby hands at me, but once I said I had a message for him to deliver, he clapped his hands and smiled, showing tiny yellow teeth. I set him down and recited my message.
For Red:
I know you are mad at me, and this might make you madder, but I am going to see the witch.
If I don’t return, please take care of Milk and Nothing.
Rump
“Now repeat, and be quiet. Only Red should hear this.”
The gnome repeated the message in a croaky little voice and then sped off to deliver it, chanting, “Message for Red! Message for Red!” over and over.
I stood on the edge of The Woods. They were so dark you could hardly tell that it was daytime, and spring’s warmth seemed far away. There was a clean blanket of snow on the ground, and it was unnaturally quiet. It should have looked peaceful, but it felt eerie. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat and ears.
I looked for the path that Red had shown me before, when we went to the honey. Something about that path made me feel a little safer, but I didn’t see any sign of it. Perhaps it was hidden beneath the snow. Perhaps the witch didn’t want to be found.
I started to think this was a very stupid idea.
Just as I was about to turn back, a twig snapped and Red appeared, her cheeks and nose rosy with cold and her breath raspy from running.
“What do you mean you’re going to see the witch?” Red asked.
“I have to,” I said.
“Rump, witches don’t help with things like this. It’s not that they can’t. They don’t like to, and even if they do, sometimes they cause more trouble.”
“Opal is in trouble because of me.” My chin began to tremble.
“Opal got taken away because her father is a greedy pig!”
“No,” I said. “Because I spun all that gold. And then I traded it with the miller, even though you told me not to. And then I tried to hide the gold, but I dropped it right in front of the king!” I held my breath to keep the tears from spilling over.
Red was stunned into silence. She probably thought I was a bigger numbskull than ever. I thought she might hit me over the head again or punch me in
A pixie fluttered up to me, shaking her fists and squealing as if she were reprimanding me. The pixie bit my nose, and in a minute it swelled so large I had to breathe through my mouth. Now my nose was bigger than my face.
I guess I deserved that.
It was still morning, but no one was working in the mines now. Everyone was scattered around the town, buzzing about King Barf and all his soldiers. A gnome ran past my feet and down the road chanting, “The king is gone! The king is gone! He took the miller’s daughter along!”
Gran once said there would be times in my life when I would be trapped, with walls all around me too high to climb and no way out. Then I would need someone from outside and above to throw down a rope and pull me up. I believed Gran; I just always thought that she would be the one to throw the rope.
I needed help. I needed advice. But I couldn’t think of a single person in all The Mountain who could help me. Red was mad at me. The miller probably wanted to strangle me. Milk and Nothing had nothing to offer. Andthe magic and the gold had spun me into a bigger heap of trouble than I could have imagined.
And that’s when I realized who could possibly help—the one person who might be able to give me some answers about my mother and the spinning and the magic.
I needed The Witch of The Woods.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Witch of The Woods
I grabbed a gnome by his leg just outside The Woods. I held him upside down with both my arms. He grunted and swatted his stubby hands at me, but once I said I had a message for him to deliver, he clapped his hands and smiled, showing tiny yellow teeth. I set him down and recited my message.
For Red:
I know you are mad at me, and this might make you madder, but I am going to see the witch.
If I don’t return, please take care of Milk and Nothing.
Rump
“Now repeat, and be quiet. Only Red should hear this.”
The gnome repeated the message in a croaky little voice and then sped off to deliver it, chanting, “Message for Red! Message for Red!” over and over.
I stood on the edge of The Woods. They were so dark you could hardly tell that it was daytime, and spring’s warmth seemed far away. There was a clean blanket of snow on the ground, and it was unnaturally quiet. It should have looked peaceful, but it felt eerie. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat and ears.
I looked for the path that Red had shown me before, when we went to the honey. Something about that path made me feel a little safer, but I didn’t see any sign of it. Perhaps it was hidden beneath the snow. Perhaps the witch didn’t want to be found.
I started to think this was a very stupid idea.
Just as I was about to turn back, a twig snapped and Red appeared, her cheeks and nose rosy with cold and her breath raspy from running.
“What do you mean you’re going to see the witch?” Red asked.
“I have to,” I said.
“Rump, witches don’t help with things like this. It’s not that they can’t. They don’t like to, and even if they do, sometimes they cause more trouble.”
“Opal is in trouble because of me.” My chin began to tremble.
“Opal got taken away because her father is a greedy pig!”
“No,” I said. “Because I spun all that gold. And then I traded it with the miller, even though you told me not to. And then I tried to hide the gold, but I dropped it right in front of the king!” I held my breath to keep the tears from spilling over.
Red was stunned into silence. She probably thought I was a bigger numbskull than ever. I thought she might hit me over the head again or punch me in
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