it.”
“Oh.” Sage’s expression softened for a moment. Then he turned serious again. “We need to catch the tide.”
“Goodbye,” Isabelle said, waving down to the marmot. Then she ran over and greeted the glistening seal. “YOUR NOSE IS LOOKING EXTREMELY LOVELY… I MEAN, EXTREMELY BULBOUS THIS MORNING.”
Neptune nodded and tilted his head so Isabelle could scratch his chin. The marmot whistled and threw a rock at Neptune, who didn’t even notice—like a grain of rice bouncing off a truck.
“COME ON, LET’S GO!” Sage pushed Neptune’s rump.
Neptune rose up on his flippers and made his way into the shallows. Sage tucked Eve into the satchel and secured it to the saddle’s horn. Then he climbed on board. Rolo watched from the branch of a red-barked tree. The marmot scurried across the wet sand and sat on Isabelle’s foot.
“I’ve got to go,” she told the furry creature.
“Hurry up,” Sage urged. “We need to make the Northern Shore by nightfall.”
Isabelle tried to gently push the marmot off her foot but it flattened its body and chirped softly. “I think it wants to go with me.” She picked it up and held it at arm’s length, still unsure of those teeth. “Do you want to go with us?”
“No way,” Sage said. “We don’t have room for another passenger. There’s no place to put it.”
The marmot wiggled its bottom, then climbed up Isabelle’s arm and onto her shoulder, where it squirmed its way down the back of her kelp shirt. Its little claws tickled but didn’t prick her skin. The shirt stretched as the marmot turned itself around and popped its head back out through the neck hole. Its furry belly felt warm against her back. It sniffed her earlobe. Isabelle giggled. “I don’t think I have a choice.”
Sage grumbled to himself. “Fine. But it better not have fleas.”
Isabelle settled behind Sage. She helped tie the rope around her middle. The marmot made little wheezy sounds as it breathed in her ear. “Do marmots get seasick?” she asked.
“Probably, knowing my luck.” Sage gave Neptune a kick. The seal pushed itself into the deep water.
“What should I feed it if it gets hungry?” Isabelle asked, scratching the marmot’s head.
“I don’t know.” Sage checked the rope again. “By the way, it’s a she.”
“A she?”
“Yes. She’s a girl marmot.”
“Oh, how nice.”
Rolo flew overhead as Neptune wove between rocky reefs. Back on the island, a chorus of marmot chirps filled the air. Isabelle sensed it was a song of farewell, but if the marmot felt sad about leaving, she didn’t show it. She nestled her face against Isabelle’s neck and fell asleep.
Isabelle supposed that a barnacle-filled tide pool was a great place for her barnacle to live. But an overpopulated island was a horrible place for a marmot, just as a boardinghouse run by Mama Lu in a town where it never stopped raining was a horrible place for a person. She and her new friend were not so different, each looking for a better home. Perhaps, before falling asleep, the marmot had made the same promise that Isabelle had made—to return one day and help her friends.
Maybe, just maybe, they would both fulfill their promises.
O nce they reached the outer edge of the Tangled Islands, the sea lay wide and calm. Isabelle tried to get comfortable, though getting comfortable in a saddle with a drooling marmot stuck to one’s back is not an easy feat.
The journey to the Northern Shore took most of the day. Sage continued to withhold information. Pestering and poking didn’t work on him. “You’ll have to wait,” he grumbled.
“I don’t want to wait,” Isabelle said. “I just want to know more about being a tender.”
“If you poke me one more time, I’ll turn this seal around and then you’ll never know.”
“Fine! I’ll wait.”
Isabelle had spent her whole life waiting—for the sun to shine, for Mama Lu to make something decent to eat, for the next box to wind its way to
“Oh.” Sage’s expression softened for a moment. Then he turned serious again. “We need to catch the tide.”
“Goodbye,” Isabelle said, waving down to the marmot. Then she ran over and greeted the glistening seal. “YOUR NOSE IS LOOKING EXTREMELY LOVELY… I MEAN, EXTREMELY BULBOUS THIS MORNING.”
Neptune nodded and tilted his head so Isabelle could scratch his chin. The marmot whistled and threw a rock at Neptune, who didn’t even notice—like a grain of rice bouncing off a truck.
“COME ON, LET’S GO!” Sage pushed Neptune’s rump.
Neptune rose up on his flippers and made his way into the shallows. Sage tucked Eve into the satchel and secured it to the saddle’s horn. Then he climbed on board. Rolo watched from the branch of a red-barked tree. The marmot scurried across the wet sand and sat on Isabelle’s foot.
“I’ve got to go,” she told the furry creature.
“Hurry up,” Sage urged. “We need to make the Northern Shore by nightfall.”
Isabelle tried to gently push the marmot off her foot but it flattened its body and chirped softly. “I think it wants to go with me.” She picked it up and held it at arm’s length, still unsure of those teeth. “Do you want to go with us?”
“No way,” Sage said. “We don’t have room for another passenger. There’s no place to put it.”
The marmot wiggled its bottom, then climbed up Isabelle’s arm and onto her shoulder, where it squirmed its way down the back of her kelp shirt. Its little claws tickled but didn’t prick her skin. The shirt stretched as the marmot turned itself around and popped its head back out through the neck hole. Its furry belly felt warm against her back. It sniffed her earlobe. Isabelle giggled. “I don’t think I have a choice.”
Sage grumbled to himself. “Fine. But it better not have fleas.”
Isabelle settled behind Sage. She helped tie the rope around her middle. The marmot made little wheezy sounds as it breathed in her ear. “Do marmots get seasick?” she asked.
“Probably, knowing my luck.” Sage gave Neptune a kick. The seal pushed itself into the deep water.
“What should I feed it if it gets hungry?” Isabelle asked, scratching the marmot’s head.
“I don’t know.” Sage checked the rope again. “By the way, it’s a she.”
“A she?”
“Yes. She’s a girl marmot.”
“Oh, how nice.”
Rolo flew overhead as Neptune wove between rocky reefs. Back on the island, a chorus of marmot chirps filled the air. Isabelle sensed it was a song of farewell, but if the marmot felt sad about leaving, she didn’t show it. She nestled her face against Isabelle’s neck and fell asleep.
Isabelle supposed that a barnacle-filled tide pool was a great place for her barnacle to live. But an overpopulated island was a horrible place for a marmot, just as a boardinghouse run by Mama Lu in a town where it never stopped raining was a horrible place for a person. She and her new friend were not so different, each looking for a better home. Perhaps, before falling asleep, the marmot had made the same promise that Isabelle had made—to return one day and help her friends.
Maybe, just maybe, they would both fulfill their promises.
O nce they reached the outer edge of the Tangled Islands, the sea lay wide and calm. Isabelle tried to get comfortable, though getting comfortable in a saddle with a drooling marmot stuck to one’s back is not an easy feat.
The journey to the Northern Shore took most of the day. Sage continued to withhold information. Pestering and poking didn’t work on him. “You’ll have to wait,” he grumbled.
“I don’t want to wait,” Isabelle said. “I just want to know more about being a tender.”
“If you poke me one more time, I’ll turn this seal around and then you’ll never know.”
“Fine! I’ll wait.”
Isabelle had spent her whole life waiting—for the sun to shine, for Mama Lu to make something decent to eat, for the next box to wind its way to
Similar Books
