Dragon Keepers #3: The Dragon in the Library by Kate Klimo Page A
Authors: Kate Klimo
Tags: Fiction, General, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Magic, Fantasy & Magic, Cousins, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Language Arts & Disciplines, Animals, Children: Grades 4-6, Dragons, Mythical, Body; Mind & Spirit, Animals - Mythical, Magick Studies, Books & Libraries, Libraries, Library & Information Science
Ads: Link
washtub full of soapsuds with his sleeves rolled up to his very sharp elbows. She turned her head the other way and saw Jesse sitting on his rolled-up sleeping bag, reading and eating.
"Is that a sandwich?" Daisy croaked, her voice hoarse from all the screaming she had done while flying on Emmy's back. Flying on Emmy's back! She hugged herself with happiness.
"It's a Green Eggs and Hamwich," Jesse said. He had her wildflower notebook open in his lap, and she could tell he was studying the plans she had copied down from Balthazaar's book the night
131
before. She looked around for Emmy and saw her crouched nearby, eyeing Jesse's breakfast and licking her chops.
"Hey," Daisy said. "How come you guys didn't wake me up?" She sat up and stretched.
"You looked really exhausted," Jesse said. "Your hair, especially," he added with a snicker.
Daisy reached up and felt the large rat's nest up there. She got to her feet and rolled up her sleeping bag. Then she trudged off to the washroom and used a comb to work the tangles out. It took a long time. When she was finished, her hair stood up around her head like a lopsided lamp shade. So much for the beautiful princess she had seen in the Toilet Glass.
Daisy went into the big room and swiped the last two Green Eggs and Hamwiches off the tray. Then she wandered casually off into the back room, where she tossed one of the Hamwiches to Emmy. Emmy swallowed it whole. It wasn't until the sheepdog was licking her chops and begging for another that Daisy realized Emmy had eaten her first meat without spitting it out.
"I gotta tell Jess!" she said.
But when she and Emmy went back into the big room, Mr. Stenson and Mrs. Thackeray were bundling paper plates into garbage bags and
132
clapping their hands to remind everyone to pack up all their stuff.
"We wouldn't want you to leave anything valuable behind...like a gerbil turd or a rabbit pellet," Mr. Stenson said with a tired smile.
Grown-ups had begun to show up, parents of the younger kids and those who lived too far away to walk home. Mr. Stenson and Mrs. Thackeray flung open the front doors and cheerfully said goodbye to the kids, their pets, and their parents. It looked to Daisy as if the librarians couldn't wait to air the place out and return it to its normal book-smelling, No Pets Allowed state.
As soon as she stepped outside, Daisy felt a burst of cool, fresh air on her face. "Emmy's got her wings, we've got the castle plans, and the heat wave's over!" she crowed.
Emmy barked joyfully.
"Yay!" Jesse joined in.
On the way home, Daisy told Jesse about Emmy eating her first meat for breakfast.
Jesse nodded thoughtfully and said, "So maybe now that she has wings, her eating habits will change. I wonder if anything else will change."
Daisy wasn't sure how she felt about that.
When they had closed the garage door and Emmy had unmasked, the first question out of
133
Emmy's mouth was "Is there any of your mother's pot roast in the refrigerator?"
Daisy hesitated, then said, "I don't think so, but there's a package of minimally processed sliced turkey."
"Bring it on," Emmy said eagerly. "I'll gobble it right up."
Jesse pointed at Emmy and burst out laughing. "Gobble! That's a good one, Em. Did you hear that, Daze? Emmy made another joke!"
But Daisy was too unsettled by the new carnivorous Emmy to find anything funny. She couldn't help but think that the next step in Emmy's evolutionary development was the hunting and eating of small, defenseless woodland creatures.
When they went into the house, they saw a "welcome home" note on the kitchen table from Aunt Maggie, who had already left for work. They looked around for Uncle Joe and found him in the upstairs hallway switching off the attic exhaust fan.
"It'll be nice to give this poor overworked sucker a rest," he said. He turned and gave Daisy a long, curious look. "Did you do something new to your hair?"
Jesse snorted.
"I like it," Uncle Joe said, cocking his head to one
"Is that a sandwich?" Daisy croaked, her voice hoarse from all the screaming she had done while flying on Emmy's back. Flying on Emmy's back! She hugged herself with happiness.
"It's a Green Eggs and Hamwich," Jesse said. He had her wildflower notebook open in his lap, and she could tell he was studying the plans she had copied down from Balthazaar's book the night
131
before. She looked around for Emmy and saw her crouched nearby, eyeing Jesse's breakfast and licking her chops.
"Hey," Daisy said. "How come you guys didn't wake me up?" She sat up and stretched.
"You looked really exhausted," Jesse said. "Your hair, especially," he added with a snicker.
Daisy reached up and felt the large rat's nest up there. She got to her feet and rolled up her sleeping bag. Then she trudged off to the washroom and used a comb to work the tangles out. It took a long time. When she was finished, her hair stood up around her head like a lopsided lamp shade. So much for the beautiful princess she had seen in the Toilet Glass.
Daisy went into the big room and swiped the last two Green Eggs and Hamwiches off the tray. Then she wandered casually off into the back room, where she tossed one of the Hamwiches to Emmy. Emmy swallowed it whole. It wasn't until the sheepdog was licking her chops and begging for another that Daisy realized Emmy had eaten her first meat without spitting it out.
"I gotta tell Jess!" she said.
But when she and Emmy went back into the big room, Mr. Stenson and Mrs. Thackeray were bundling paper plates into garbage bags and
132
clapping their hands to remind everyone to pack up all their stuff.
"We wouldn't want you to leave anything valuable behind...like a gerbil turd or a rabbit pellet," Mr. Stenson said with a tired smile.
Grown-ups had begun to show up, parents of the younger kids and those who lived too far away to walk home. Mr. Stenson and Mrs. Thackeray flung open the front doors and cheerfully said goodbye to the kids, their pets, and their parents. It looked to Daisy as if the librarians couldn't wait to air the place out and return it to its normal book-smelling, No Pets Allowed state.
As soon as she stepped outside, Daisy felt a burst of cool, fresh air on her face. "Emmy's got her wings, we've got the castle plans, and the heat wave's over!" she crowed.
Emmy barked joyfully.
"Yay!" Jesse joined in.
On the way home, Daisy told Jesse about Emmy eating her first meat for breakfast.
Jesse nodded thoughtfully and said, "So maybe now that she has wings, her eating habits will change. I wonder if anything else will change."
Daisy wasn't sure how she felt about that.
When they had closed the garage door and Emmy had unmasked, the first question out of
133
Emmy's mouth was "Is there any of your mother's pot roast in the refrigerator?"
Daisy hesitated, then said, "I don't think so, but there's a package of minimally processed sliced turkey."
"Bring it on," Emmy said eagerly. "I'll gobble it right up."
Jesse pointed at Emmy and burst out laughing. "Gobble! That's a good one, Em. Did you hear that, Daze? Emmy made another joke!"
But Daisy was too unsettled by the new carnivorous Emmy to find anything funny. She couldn't help but think that the next step in Emmy's evolutionary development was the hunting and eating of small, defenseless woodland creatures.
When they went into the house, they saw a "welcome home" note on the kitchen table from Aunt Maggie, who had already left for work. They looked around for Uncle Joe and found him in the upstairs hallway switching off the attic exhaust fan.
"It'll be nice to give this poor overworked sucker a rest," he said. He turned and gave Daisy a long, curious look. "Did you do something new to your hair?"
Jesse snorted.
"I like it," Uncle Joe said, cocking his head to one
Similar Books
