Waiting for Midnight
Poppy took Little-paw upstairs. Her aunt and uncle would come back from the workshop soon and she didn’t want them to find the fox cub in their kitchen. She knew they’d love Little-paw just as much as she did, but it didn’t seem fair to get them into trouble with Sir Fitzroy.
The sun began to set. Little-paw fell asleep on Poppy’s bed with her tails curled around her. Poppy went downstairs to have dinner.
“Are you all right, my dear?” said her aunt as she served the chicken pie. “You’re very quiet.”
“She’s tired from selling all those candles, I expect,” said her uncle.
“I’m fine!” Poppy smiled. “This pie is delicious. Could I have another piece?” When her aunt and uncle weren’t looking, she carefully wrapped the extra pie in her handkerchief to take upstairs to Little-paw.
After eating the pie, Little-paw gazed out Poppy’s window. “Is that shiny thing the river? Is that where my mummy, daddy, Quick-eye, and Sleepy-tail have gone?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Poppy sat beside her. The river looked like a shining blue ribbon catching the last rays of the setting sun. “Soon you’ll be there with them. We’ll wait till it’s dark and quiet and then I’ll take you away from here.”
Little-paw’s nose quivered. “I liked it in our old den. It smelled like home!”
“I’m sure the new home your mummy and daddy have chosen is nice too,” said Poppy, tickling her under the chin.
Little-paw climbed on Poppy’s lap and fell asleep again. As she dreamed, parts of her changed color. One tail went leafy green, then her feet turned white and one ear went blue like the river. Poppy stroked her fur. She hoped the little cub was dreaming about something nice.
Poppy tried not to close her eyes. She was worried that if she went to sleep she wouldn’t wake to meet Natasha at midnight. She read a story to herself. Then Little-paw woke up and she read a book to her. The story was all about a crafty fox who tricked a mean lion.
Little-paw got quite excited and made her read it three times. “I love it, Poppy!” She bounced on the bed, her tails swishing. “Especially the part where the fox scares the lion and eats all the pie!”
“That is a good bit!” Poppy noticed the time on her clock. “Oh, it’s five minutes to midnight. We need to go!” She put on her cloak and shoes before showing Little-paw the basket. “Hop in here, Little-paw.”
The cub jumped into the basket and Poppy laid a green cloth over the top.
“You need to stay in here until we’ve left town,” she whispered. “No one must see you.”
“It’s bumpy in here!” said Little-paw fretfully. “I don’t like it.”
“It won’t be for long.” Poppy stroked the cub’s ears gently. “We’ll be down at the river soon.”
Closing her door quietly, she tiptoed down the stairs. Her aunt and uncle had turned out the lamps and gone to bed long ago, but the fire in the hearth was still burning. Poppy took the lantern that hung on a hook by the door. She lit a candle from the fire and put it inside the lantern, closing the glass hatch firmly.
Bong! The church clock began to chime midnight. Natasha would be waiting!
Poppy slipped out the door into the darkness as the clock went on chiming. She held the basket carefully, keeping Little-paw steady. She was glad to find the streets completely empty. She needed to act as if she was going to gather night flowers, just in case someone came along.
She rounded a corner and caught a sudden movement. A black cat turned its bright-yellow eyes toward her before slinking away. Poppy carried on toward the crossroads.
A figure with a lantern stepped out of the shadows. “Hurry up!” hissed Natasha. “I’ve been waiting for ages.”
“Did anyone see you walking here?” asked Poppy, glancing round nervously.
“No one at all!” Natasha reached into the basket and scratched Little-paw behind the ears. “Everyone’s asleep.”
The girls followed the road out of Penlee. As they passed the last house, they turned onto a smaller track that wound down the valley toward the river. A sprinkling of tiny stars glistened in the black sky.
Poppy and Natasha held their lanterns out in front of them and carefully picked their way down the stony path. As they passed a clump of bushes, Poppy caught sight of the river at the bottom of the slope.
“Who’s there?” someone growled.
Natasha jumped and grabbed Poppy’s arm, almost making her drop the basket.
One of Sir Fitzroy’s guards peered at them in the lantern light. “Hey! Aren’t you the girl with all the candles? What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”
Poppy’s hand shook and her lantern wobbled. “Sometimes I come out to pick the night flowers that grow by the river,” she told him. “They’re used for our Purple Dream candles that help people sleep. You can only pick them in the middle of the night otherwise their scent is lost.” She didn’t add that her aunt and uncle were usually the ones who picked the flowers.
“And I came to help her,” added Natasha.
The guard’s face twisted suspiciously. “So what’s in that basket then?”
“Nothing!” Poppy took a step back. “I haven’t picked any of the flowers yet.”
“Why is it bulging then?” The guard pointed to the wrinkled cloth. Before Poppy could stop him, he snatched the cloth off the basket and peered inside.
There was nothing there.
Poppy’s eyes widened. Where had Little-paw gone? Then she noticed a tiny movement at the bottom of the basket.
The guard tossed the cloth back on. “Hurry up and get your flowers then, but don’t get in anyone’s way.”
“We won’t!” Natasha pulled Poppy’s arm.
Poppy longed to look in the basket again, but glancing back she saw the guard was still watching them. As soon as the path curved behind some trees, she stopped. “Little-paw?” she whispered, lifting the cloth. “Are you there?”
Something shifted inside—something that was exactly the same brown color as the basket itself. Three little tails flicked from side to side.
“I’m still here,” said the cub. “I changed color all over!”
“You did it!” Poppy beamed. “Well done, Little-paw! That was just in time too.”
“Shh! You’ll make that guard come down here,” Natasha warned Poppy before smiling down at the basket. “She’s such a clever thing! I’d never have spotted her if I wasn’t looking closely.”
Little-paw’s red ears appeared first, which looked very strange. Gradually the rest of her changed from brown to red too. “I closed my eyes and wished really hard,” she said solemnly.
“You learned how to use your magic,” said Poppy. “I bet your family will be just as proud as we are!”