Chapter 2

The next day, Maggie woke before the sun came up. Zelia had taken away her bed a few days before. Her stepbrother Peter slept on it now. Maggie slept in the loft with some of the other children. She shared a mattress with her stepsister, Jenny, and the twins, Timmy and Tommy. When Maggie sat up, the straw-stuffed mat tress crinkled. One of the twins muttered and rolled over. Maggie slid off the bed as quietly as she could. She held her breath as she climbed down the ladder. Tiptoeing out of the cottage, she shut the door behind her.

If she’d waited any longer, Zelia would have woken up and found something for her to do. But Maggie couldn’t stay at home today. She needed to go see Bob, the stableman in charge of magical animals. He would know what to do about those flying pigs.

Maggie started down the path as the sun was coming up. She spotted a doe leading her fawn, and a heron wading in a pond.

Maggie turned onto the road leading to the castle. She passed a gnome tending his mushroom garden. “Hello!” she called.

“Hello, yourself,” he replied.

Maggie glimpsed fairies sipping dew from flowers. “Good morning!” she said, waving. The fairies giggled and waved back.

Out of nowhere, she saw someone—or something—coming toward her.

Maggie remembered the troll that had once chased her. She darted from the road and hid behind a thick tree trunk. A mother manticore strolled past with her three cubs trailing behind her. When the manticores were out of sight, Maggie returned to the road. She looked both ways, but no one was coming.

Maggie passed the old ruins and then the mill. Finally, she passed the castle and saw Bob’s cottage.

Bob was in the stable, feeding the animals their breakfast.

“Look who’s here!” said Leonard, the talking horse. “You’re up early. I haven’t even had my grain yet.”

“Hi, Leonard! Hi, Bob! I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you, Bob,” said Maggie.

“Is everything all right?” Bob asked her.

“Not really. I’m having trouble with flying pigs,” Maggie said.

Bob nodded. “I’ve had a lot of trouble with flying pigs myself. Here,” he said, handing her his journal. “You should find what you need to know in this.”

“What about my grain?” asked Leonard. “I’m starving! Why am I always the last one to get breakfast?”

Maggie giggled. Leonard was as fat as a tick and looked like he’d never missed a meal.

Bob sighed. “The last to eat and the first to complain. You know, I’ve been thinking about putting you on a diet.”

“Never mind,” said Leonard. “There’s no need to get nasty!”