chapter 9

A Sundial

After a few days Twig and Lily had developed a routine. They would meet surreptitiously at the clock tower between or after classes, letting the dragon explore and romp, and always being careful to go unnoticed.

The dragon flapped and fluttered its wings, like a baby bird fledging from its nest.

“His wings are so little . . . I wonder if he’ll ever fly,” Lily pondered.

“I bet they grow,” Twig replied. “Why else would he have them?”

The two friends lounged on the leaves in the dappled sunlight, smiling as the dragon snorted and sniffed through the dry leaves, suddenly pouncing on an insect. He rummaged with his nose through the weeds and bumped headfirst into a rock.

Lily laughed. “He really is kind of a klutz,” she said.

“Maybe even a bigger klutz than me,” Twig added.

Lily looked up at the sun. Metal Crafting started promptly. “We’d better get to class,” she said.

Twig sighed. It seemed like torture to have to leave the dragon, but they led it back to the clock tower and hurried down the path to school.

Class had nearly begun when they slid onto their bench seats.

“Attention, class,” Professor Burdock said from the front of the room. A map of the Hill had been pulled down to conceal their next assignment. “Your next Metal Crafting project will be one that will be completed at home. It is a difficult one. Your skills will be tested to their limits. It will be more of a challenge to some”—he looked straight at Twig—“than to others.”

Twig burned under Burdock’s gaze.

“Normally, at this point in the semester, I would want you each to design and construct a simple hinge. Sounds easy, but they are more difficult than you might think. However, for this next project, I have thought of something more unusual.”

Twig wiggled uncomfortably. He was afraid to see what was under the map.

With a flourish, Master Burdock pulled at the map, and it shot up with a clatter.

USING FOUND MATERIALS, CONSTRUCT A SUNDIAL OF YOUR OWN DESIGN THAT IS BOTH VISUALLY APPEALING AND TELLS THE TIME OF DAY.

DUE IN ONE WEEK.

Twig gulped. A sundial? He had always told the time by the arch of the sun and didn’t think much of how sundials were made. That would take some research. And a week wasn’t very long.

After class Twig scampered through the school grounds and went directly to the Burrow of Records. In front of the entrance to the burrow sat an ancient sundial that he could use as a prototype. Already several other students had gathered, taking notes and sketching the sundial.

“Hey, Twig!” Sumac said as he approached. “Good luck with this one. . . . Remember, it’s supposed to tell time, not explode in Professor Burdock’s face!”

His pink mouse tail wiggled as he laughed, and the others chittered.

“Maybe Twig’s sundial will only work at night!” another jeered.

The tips of Twig’s ears turned red, but he tried not to notice the taunts. Instead he concentrated on the sundial. Moss and lichens decorated the carvings on the old marble pedestal. The broad face was a large disc made of copper, now green with time, as was the triangular gnomon. The gnomon cast a shadow on an arch of numbers, giving an indication of the time of day.

Twig studied the different parts of the sundial, already getting ideas of what to use from the piles of parts and pieces in his room. He raced home and then started to gather together his materials.

Spreading the things on the floor of his room, he set to work, but his mind kept wandering back to the dragon. The thought of it sitting alone in the base of the clock tower kept gnawing at his conscience. Who says I have to work on the sundial here? he thought. Making sure no one was looking, he hauled everything out to the tower.

The next day he continued with his project near the clock tower, keeping a watchful eye on the dragon. He built a small fire and with difficulty tried his best at melting some solder to attach his parts together.

There were many stops and starts to getting the solder melted and trying to weld things together. It took several days and many attempts before Twig finally got the pieces attached. He felt fairly confident about the sundial design, and although it was a little fragile and lopsided, he was proud to have constructed it.

“Won’t be the best in the class, but won’t be the worst, either,” he said, smiling at the dragon, putting everything in the tower and locking the door. He led the dragon back into the dark tower room. “Don’t make any noise,” he whispered to the dragon. “Be a good boy!”

Twig headed home.