Garden Princess by Kristin Kladstrup

had seen Hortensia lock the box with the very same key Adela had found, then bury the box in the garden in the middle of the night.
    “But you didn’t see what was in the box,” said Adela.
    “No,” the magpie acknowledged.
    “Then I don’t understand how you know it’s treasure.”
    “What else?”
    “It could have been anything! Besides, if it were treasure, why should Hortensia keep it buried in the garden? Why not keep it with the rest of her things? I saw what was in her bedroom. What could be more valuable than that?”
    “More treasure,” said the magpie. “Better treasure.”
    Adela was skeptical. If Hortensia was as fond of treasure as she seemed — so fond that she orchestrated these garden parties in order to enchant her guests and steal their jewelry — would she really bury her best treasure? Wouldn’t she want to display it?
    But if the box didn’t contain treasure, then what
had
she buried? What did she need to keep hidden? And from whom?
    An idea was sizzling in Adela’s mind like the fuse on a firework. The firework went off. “It’s ‘The Dog Princess’!” she exclaimed.
    “‘Dog princess’?” asked the magpie.
    “It’s a story.”
    “What is a story?”
    “It’s something you read or tell . . .”
    “Tell
me
!”
    Adela shook her head. “Not here. Let’s get the shovel. You can show me where the box is buried, and I’ll tell you on the way.”

As rickety as Garth’s wheelbarrow was, Adela was pleased to find nothing wrong with his shovel. She took care to be silent as she worked it free from the other tools, casting a wary glance at the lighted windows above her. It would be the end of everything if anyone heard her.
    She rested the shovel on her shoulder and followed the magpie as it hopped around the house. “Story?” said the bird when they reached the garden.
    How do you tell a story to a magpie? she wondered, then decided on the ordinary way. “Once upon a time,” she began, “there was a wicked sorcerer who lived in the mountains and raised dragons. The dragons terrorized the people living in the valley below, and —”
    “What is a sorcerer?” asked the magpie. “What are dragons?”
    “A sorcerer is someone who performs magic — like Hortensia,” said Adela. “And dragons are horrible creatures. They eat sheep and cattle and —”
    “Wolves eat sheep and cattle,” said the magpie.
    “Dragons are much worse than wolves. Hadn’t we better go? You need to show me where the box is buried.”
    The magpie began to hop along the path, and Adela followed, continuing the story as she walked: “The people were so frightened of the dragon that they went to King Ival for help.”
    The magpie came to a stop and looked up at her. “King EYE-vull?”
    “He’s the hero,” Adela explained.
    “What is a hero?”
    “A hero is . . . a very brave person. King Ival is always the hero in stories.”
    “Why?”
    “Because he just is!”
    “Why?”
    “Because there’s always some villain that has to be defeated.”
    “What is a villain?”
    They would never get anywhere at this rate! “A villain is someone very bad — like Hortensia,” said Adela. “Please hurry!”
    On they went, and she continued. “The sorcerer is the villain in this story. King Ival finds his hideout in the mountains, spies on him, and notices that he drinks out of a special flask every night.”
    “What is a flask?” said the magpie, stopping again. It seemed to be unable to ask questions and move forward at the same time.
    “It’s a kind of bottle,” Adela explained impatiently. “The sorcerer keeps it in a cupboard that’s guarded by a dragon with seven heads. That’s how Ival knows the flask is important.”
    “How?”
    “Because why would he have a dragon guarding the cupboard if it weren’t? Anyway, Ival decides to steal the flask. So he does, and —”
    “How does he steal it?”
    “He kills the dragon! Look, this part doesn’t matter all that much. Please