Exercise Your Imagination! Do you like stories with mystery and suspense? Well, if you do, keep reading and enjoy Eggcentricsagas. If you are just joining Eggcentricsagas, start from the beginning: A La Mano: Part 1-The Treasure
“Why don’t you let Myrtle roll out the bottom of the pie and you do the top?” Ravenna suggested to Zerlinda after they had finished making the pie filling from some apples they had gathered. Ravenna retrieved the dough that she had made the previous day. Giving it to them, she kept a close eye on the girls as they rolled it out. Magic had curled up on one of the kitchen chairs. Uninterested in the activities, their furry friend had closed his blue eyes and was napping.
Ravenna listened as Zerlinda instructed Myrtle on how to use the rolling pin properly. “The important thing, Myrtle, is to roll the dough evenly by pushing with both hands the same.” Turning to Ravenna, she confirmed, “Right Baba?”
Ravenna smiled at her granddaughter. “That’s right. You need to keep the rolling pin level by exerting the same amount of pressure with both hands.”
When the apple pie was in the oven, Myrtle asked, “Can we hear the story now?”
““Yes. Take your mugs of hot chocolate to the table and let me set the timer,” the grandmother told the girls.
When they were all sitting at the table, Ravenna launched into her tale.
“The only two that knew all about the journey were the Owl and the Hummingbird, but the Supreme Fool instructed they were only to guide Cora and Thaddeus in their Supreme Quest.”
“Mrs. Mariposa,” Myrtle interrupted, “who are Cora and Thaddeus?”
“I told you, Myrtle. Cora is the Sun Princess and Thaddeus is the Moon Prince,” Zerlinda reminded her.
Myrtle nodded her head in agreement, and Ravenna started again.
“The Owl flew in the window of Cora’s tower room and asked her if she had solved the riddle. ‘No, I don’t know the song of One,’ Cora replied.
‘I will give you another clue: if you are not living, you are…?’
‘Dead, of course,’ Cora answered promptly.
‘What is another word for someone to have died?’
‘Expired? Passed? Departed? Gone?” The Owl continued to shake his head. Cora, frustrated by her inability to guess correctly, offered, ‘Pushing up daisies?’
‘I said one word.’ The Owl gave another clue. ‘It is the sound of a green animal that lives on the edge of land and water.’
Throwing up her hands, Cora asked, ‘Why all the riddles? Just tell me what I need to know so we can get started on the quest. I don’t want Thaddeus and the Royal Hummingbird to win, do you? What would Father say?’
Tilting his head almost upside down and blinking his eyes repeatedly, the Owl pointedly asked, ‘What does a frog do every night?’
‘Oh! Croak! It croaks!’
‘Yes, so we are to follow the song of the frog and it is the same sound made by Two. Two lives in the sky. What do you think Two is?’
The princess answered tentatively, ‘A bird?’
His patience tried, the Owl rolled his large eyes around. ‘Yes, a bird. What bird makes the sound of the frog?’
‘Ummm…’ Cora noticed the Owl was motioning with his head towards the window. She looked outside and saw a large, black raven gliding around on the wind currents high in the sky. ‘A raven! A raven croaks!’ Cora seemed very pleased with herself, believing that she had figured it out on her own.
The wise, old Owl knew better but sighed happily anyway as she was making progress. ‘Yes! Number Two has wings of dark. So, gather your things for the journey. We must seek the advice of Mr. Frog, but he likes to hide. To find him, we must ask the Raven. Bring your lamp and let us go.’
Zerlinda interrupted and said assuredly, “I knew it was a frog and a raven.” Then turning to Myrtle, she informed her, “We hear them talking all the time in the garden.” Then her granddaughter said to Ravenna, “Cora isn’t very smart, Baba.”
‘ “Well…” her grandmother answered, “She is just inexperienced. She has done little in her life, so she lacks self-confidence. You see, The Crone of the Tree and the Supreme Fool know and understand all. They want to save their world by helping these two succeed. That is why the Sun Princess got the Owl to help her on her journey. She needs his wisdom. Thaddeus needs the energy and spirit of the Hummingbird.” Ravenna glanced at her watch before commencing to narrate.
“Meanwhile, the Hummingbird had convinced Thaddeus to get up and begin his Supreme Quest. The Moon Prince did so reluctantly and then paused in front of his dressing mirror to examine his face and arrange his hair. As he dawdled and fussed with the dark mop upon his head, Lady Hummingbird flitted back and forth. She informed him, ‘Your journey begins in the trees. There you shall find three creatures that will impart their essence to you. This knowledge and understanding will help you succeed. Quickly now! We must be off!’
Zooming close to his face, she startled him, and he dropped his comb. Grumbling, the lad gathered his knapsack and the knife. Then he followed the tiny bird with the gem-colored feathers into the silvery forest of Moon Kingdom. She hummed along ahead, leading him through the shadowed canopy and dark green, lacy ferns.
‘Where are we going?’ Thaddeus asked.
‘We are going to the Sacred Grove. The first thing to do is find The Old Lady.’
‘Old Lady?’ Thaddeus groaned in a dreary voice. ‘I thought we were looking for animals.’
Hummingbird zipped back and around his head. Her bright wings catching the soft light of the woods and creating a lunar rainbow. ‘We are. They live in her house.’ Her wings beat furiously as she paused by his ear. Over the thrum, he heard her say, ‘But we must take care as fairies zealously guard her.’
The timer alarm for the pie sounded. Ravenna paused and then announced, “Time to get the pie out.” She got up and moved over to the oven. Opening it, the old lady saw that the crust was to her liking. She turned off the oven, took out the pie, and set the dessert on top of a hot pad on the counter to cool. As she turned back to the girls, the front doorbell rang. “That must be your mom, Myrtle.” Ravenna went to answer the front door with Magic at her heels.
It was Janelle. “Hi Ravenna! I’m back to fetch my girl.” Ravenna ushered Janelle in and closed the door.
“I hope Myrtle behaved herself,” Janelle said as she reached down and momentarily scratched behind Magic’s ears as he rubbed against her legs.
“The girls were great. They helped me in the garden a lot. In fact, I have a bag of apples for you to take home. As I offered before, I can look after the girls every day after school and when we aren’t busy on the weekend.”
“Honestly? I would really appreciate it. Work has been keeping me late these days…”
“Of course.” Ravenna lowered her voice and confided, “Your dad and I had some, er… words, over the fence.” Then, explaining what happened, Ravenna omitted a few things that she had said. She concluded her commentary by stating, “I spoke out of turn and said some rather unpleasant things to him. His feelings may have been hurt, and I felt bad about it. We, the girls and I, made an apple pie. I thought you could give it to Herman with my apologies.”
Next: The Myth of Madame Mariposa: Part 9- Dark Feathers and the Treasure Hunter
