comfortable if you went in front of Emma and me."
"Excellent thinking," said the snake. "I'll scout ahead for trouble." Li'l took off, and the snake watched to see where she headed before slithering off into the leaf litter.
It was up to me to tie the vial to Eadric's back. Although frogs can do many things with their fingers, tying knots is not one of them. "You'd think four fingers would be enough to tie a knot," I said, fumbling with the twine. "But these things just don't work the same as human fingers do. I wish Moe were here. He was the one who knew all about knots."
"Who is Moe?" Eadric asked. "Not another friend of yours? You collect friends like black tunics collect dandruff."
I sighed. I'd forgotten that Eadric had slept through an entire day. "Never mind," I told him. "Someday I'll tell you all about everything you missed while you were asleep. But right now, you can tell me something. What are you and Li'l up to?"
"Li'l and I don't trust that snake and we want to keep an eye on him. I wouldn't want him behind us anyway. Who knows when he might get tired of watching such tempting morsels hopping along right under his nose? A promise is easy to forget when you're hungry."
"He was hungry when he left the cottage. If he wanted to eat us, wouldn't he have done it already?"
"My dear Princess Emeralda, you are awfully naive, or perhaps I should say that you're too trusting. You think that everyone is going to be your friend until you learn otherwise."
"Look who's talking! You're the one who ate the witch's worm! But you're wrong, you know. I didn't trust you at first."
"Then you trust everyone but me."
"That's not true. I trust you now."
"Good! But you still shouldn't trust that snake. I don't think we need him, despite what he says."
"You don't think we're in danger in these woods?"
"I think the biggest danger we'll face just invited itself along."
"I don't know—these woods are awfully creepy. I can't wait to get through them and back into the sunlight." I looked up at the leafy canopy.
Li'l flew off periodically to check our progress, then returned to keep us headed in the right direction. However, we saw little of Fang for the rest of the day. He scouted ahead as he'd said he would, and if he came across anything dangerous, he didn't tell us about it.
We saw some strange sights as we traveled, things that could be attributed only to magic. Trees seemed to move in most untreelike ways, bending with a fluid grace to lean toward neighbors, the rustle of their leaves almost sounding like words. I swore I saw one pull up its roots and move into a patch of sunlight, but when we reached the spot the roots looked as if they'd been growing there for years.
We'd been traveling through the woods for a few hours when the ground began to shake and we heard the thudding footsteps of a large, heavy creature. Although the noise grew increasingly loud, distance and dense foliage kept the thing hidden from sight. Suddenly, there was a tremendous crash, followed by the shriek of splitting wood. The trees around us shuddered in sympathy, raining leaves like emerald teardrops. I jumped to avoid a falling twig, but the ground wasn't where I thought it would be and I landed in a depression nearly twice my height.
"Emma! What happened? Are you all right?" Eadric's shout made me cringe, for he had been loud and I knew the sound would carry.
"Shh!" I whispered. "Not so loud! I'm down here!"
Eadric's face appeared over the edge of the hole, peering down at me with a look of such concern that I immediately regretted scolding him. "Let me help you up," he said, extending his hand to take mine.
"You don't need to do that," I said, backing up a few steps. "I think I can make it. Watch out!" I tensed my legs and was about to leap when the ground shook with such force that the sides of the hole began to crumble, dropping clods of dirt onto my head and shoulders. A faint whimper came from above, and Eadric plopped into the hole
"Excellent thinking," said the snake. "I'll scout ahead for trouble." Li'l took off, and the snake watched to see where she headed before slithering off into the leaf litter.
It was up to me to tie the vial to Eadric's back. Although frogs can do many things with their fingers, tying knots is not one of them. "You'd think four fingers would be enough to tie a knot," I said, fumbling with the twine. "But these things just don't work the same as human fingers do. I wish Moe were here. He was the one who knew all about knots."
"Who is Moe?" Eadric asked. "Not another friend of yours? You collect friends like black tunics collect dandruff."
I sighed. I'd forgotten that Eadric had slept through an entire day. "Never mind," I told him. "Someday I'll tell you all about everything you missed while you were asleep. But right now, you can tell me something. What are you and Li'l up to?"
"Li'l and I don't trust that snake and we want to keep an eye on him. I wouldn't want him behind us anyway. Who knows when he might get tired of watching such tempting morsels hopping along right under his nose? A promise is easy to forget when you're hungry."
"He was hungry when he left the cottage. If he wanted to eat us, wouldn't he have done it already?"
"My dear Princess Emeralda, you are awfully naive, or perhaps I should say that you're too trusting. You think that everyone is going to be your friend until you learn otherwise."
"Look who's talking! You're the one who ate the witch's worm! But you're wrong, you know. I didn't trust you at first."
"Then you trust everyone but me."
"That's not true. I trust you now."
"Good! But you still shouldn't trust that snake. I don't think we need him, despite what he says."
"You don't think we're in danger in these woods?"
"I think the biggest danger we'll face just invited itself along."
"I don't know—these woods are awfully creepy. I can't wait to get through them and back into the sunlight." I looked up at the leafy canopy.
Li'l flew off periodically to check our progress, then returned to keep us headed in the right direction. However, we saw little of Fang for the rest of the day. He scouted ahead as he'd said he would, and if he came across anything dangerous, he didn't tell us about it.
We saw some strange sights as we traveled, things that could be attributed only to magic. Trees seemed to move in most untreelike ways, bending with a fluid grace to lean toward neighbors, the rustle of their leaves almost sounding like words. I swore I saw one pull up its roots and move into a patch of sunlight, but when we reached the spot the roots looked as if they'd been growing there for years.
We'd been traveling through the woods for a few hours when the ground began to shake and we heard the thudding footsteps of a large, heavy creature. Although the noise grew increasingly loud, distance and dense foliage kept the thing hidden from sight. Suddenly, there was a tremendous crash, followed by the shriek of splitting wood. The trees around us shuddered in sympathy, raining leaves like emerald teardrops. I jumped to avoid a falling twig, but the ground wasn't where I thought it would be and I landed in a depression nearly twice my height.
"Emma! What happened? Are you all right?" Eadric's shout made me cringe, for he had been loud and I knew the sound would carry.
"Shh!" I whispered. "Not so loud! I'm down here!"
Eadric's face appeared over the edge of the hole, peering down at me with a look of such concern that I immediately regretted scolding him. "Let me help you up," he said, extending his hand to take mine.
"You don't need to do that," I said, backing up a few steps. "I think I can make it. Watch out!" I tensed my legs and was about to leap when the ground shook with such force that the sides of the hole began to crumble, dropping clods of dirt onto my head and shoulders. A faint whimper came from above, and Eadric plopped into the hole
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