A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket

one of the freaks. The world is a harum-scarum place." "Harum?" Sunny asked. "It's complicated and confusing," Olivia explained. "They say that long ago it was simple and quiet, but that might be a legend. There was a schism in V.F.D., a great big fight between many of the members and since then it's been hard for me to know what to do. I never thought I'd be the sort of person who helps villains, but now I do. Haven't you ever found yourself doing something you never thought you'd do?" "I guess so," Klaus said, and turned to his sisters. "Remember when we stole those keys from Hal, at the Library of Records? I never thought I'd be a thief." "Flynn," Sunny said, which meant something like, "And I never thought I would become a violent person, but I engaged in a sword fight with Dr. Orwell." "We've all done things we never thought we'd do," Violet said, "but we always had a good reason." "Everybody thinks they have a good reason," Olivia said. "Count Olaf thinks getting a fortune is a good reason to slaughter you. Esme Squalor thinks being Olaf's girlfriend is a good reason to join his troupe. And when I told Count Olaf where to find you, I had a good reason because my motto is 'give people what they want.'" "Dubious," Sunny said. "Sunny's not sure that's a very good reason," Violet translated, "and I must say I agree with her. You've caused a lot of grief, Olivia, to a lot of people, just so you could give Count Olaf what he wanted." Olivia nodded, and tears appeared in her eyes once more. "I know it," she said miserably. "I'm ashamed of myself. But I don't know what else to do." "You could stop helping Olaf," Klaus said, "and help us instead. You could tell us everything you know about V.F.D. And you could take us to the Mortmain Mountains to see if one of our parents is really alive." "I don't know," Olivia said. "I've behaved so badly for so long, but maybe I could change." She stood up straight, and looked sadly around the darkening tent. "I used to be a noble person," she said. "Do you think I could be noble again?" "I don't know," Klaus said, "but let's find out. We could leave together, right now, and head north." "But how?" Olivia asked. "We don't have a car, or a minivan, or four horses, or a large slingshot, or any other way to get out of the hinterlands." Violet retied the ribbon in her hair, and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Olivia," she said finally, "do the carts on that roller coaster still work?" "The carts?" Olivia repeated. "Sort of. The wheels move, but there's a small engine in each cart, and I think the engines have rusted away." "I think I could rebuild an engine using your lightning device," Violet said. "After all, that piece of rubber is a bit like..." "A fan belt!" Olivia finished. "That's a good idea, Violet." "I'll sneak out to the roller coaster tonight," Violet said, "and get to work. We'll leave in the morning, before anyone gets up." "Better not do it tonight," Olivia said. "Count Olaf or his henchmen are always lurking around at night. It'd be better to leave in the afternoon, when everyone is at the House of Freaks. You can put the invention together first thing in the morning, when Olaf will be in here asking the crystal ball about you." "What will you do then?" Klaus asked. "I have a spare crystal ball," Olivia answered. "That isn't the first one that's been broken." "That's not what I mean," Klaus said. "I mean, you won't tell Count Olaf that we're here at the carnival, will you?" Olivia paused for a moment, and shook her head. "No," she said, but she did not sound very sure. "Promise?" Sunny asked. Olivia looked down at the youngest Baudelaire for a long time without answering. "Yes," she finally said, in a very quiet voice. "I promise, if you promise to take me with you to find V.F.D." "We promise," Violet said, and her siblings nodded in agreement. "Now, let's start at the beginning. What does V.F.D. stand for?" "Madame Lulu!" called a scratchy voice from outside the tent. The