Chapter 9 Chapter Nine: Uncle William's House

does lead to many places Peter and Charmain then returned to the fire.Waif hurried out of the way, and the two of them knocked on the fireplace in turn, shouting, "Breakfast!" But it seemed the spell only worked in the morning. "I don't mind if it's pickled herring," said Charmain, rummaging wretchedly between the two plates.There was nothing else in it except egg rolls, honey, and orange juice. "I know how to boil an egg," said Peter. "Will Waif eat this lamb chop?" "She ate almost anything," Charmain said. "She's bad—just like us. I don't think she'll want rutabaga, though. I don't like it anyway."

Their dinner was very unsatisfactory.Peter's boiled eggs were - well - too hard.To distract Charmain's attention, Peter asked her what happened at the royal residence during the day.Charmain was willing to tell him, too, so that neither of them would notice the smell of hard-boiled eggs mixed with honey.Peter is intrigued by the king's seeming search for gold, and even more intrigued by Morgan and Winky's visit. "Another fire demon?" he asked. "Two magical children, and a fire demon! I bet the princess is in a hurry. How long are they going to stay?" "I don't know, nobody mentioned it," Charmain said.

"Then I'll bet you two afternoon teas and one morning coffee that the princess will have them all gone before the weekend," said Peter. "Have you finished eating? Then let me show you what's in your uncle's box." "But I want to read!" Charmain protested. "No, don't read," said Peter. "You can read anytime. There's a lot you need to know in this box. I'll open it up and show you." He pushed the breakfast tray aside and pulled the box toward her.Charmain sighed and put on his glasses. The box is full of paper.On top was a note in Uncle William's handsome but quivering hand. "To Charmain," it read. "The index of the house." Below that was a large sheet of paper with a mass of interlacing lines drawn on it.There are boxes drawn across each line with logos inside, and at the other end of each line there are arrows pointing to the edge of the paper, and the words "unexplored" are written next to them.

"That's the index here," Charmain picked up the paper as Peter said. "The rest of the box is the corresponding map. All folded. Look." He grabbed the next sheet of paper and pulled it out, so the next sheet followed, and then the next sheet, and so on. It can be folded back and forth and put into the box.The papers were spread out on the table in a meander.Charmain looked at them resentfully.Rooms and corridors are carefully drawn on each, and notes are neatly written next to everything.Things like "Twice left here", "Two steps right here and one left turn here".There are also writings in each room, such as "Kitchen", some very long writing, such as one that reads "Where I store wizarding supplies, and often replenish the inventory with storage spells that I am proud of. Note, The ingredients on the left wall are dangerous and must be handled with care." Some papers appear to contain only criss-cross corridors with the words "unexplored north", "to goblins", "to water tower", or "to Ballroom: I don't know what the hell is going to do there."

"I was wise not to open the box," Charmain said. "That's the most confusing map I've ever seen in my life! It can't be the map of this room!" "Yes. Yes. It's big here," said Peter. "If you look closely, you'll see that the way the map is folded suggests how to get to the various parts. See, the top page is the living room, and the next page is not the study or bedroom, because those are folded on the reverse side, see Is it? After you go in, it is the kitchen, because the direction of the fold is the same as the living room..." Charmain was beginning to feel dizzy, and she closed her eyes to follow Peter's vigorous explanation.She looked at the interlaced lines on the paper in her hand.This seems simpler.At least, she saw that "kitchen" was in the middle of the paper, next to "bedroom" and "swimming pool", and "study".swimming pool?not true?sure?A line points to the right, and the box next to it says "Conference Hall".Another arrow points out from this box, with the words "To the Royal House" beside the arrow.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "From here you can go to the king's palace!" "...to the meadow outside on the hill, where it's marked 'The Stables,' but I don't know how to get past this studio yet," Peter explained, unfurling another zigzag of paper. "It's marked 'Food Store'. It says 'Hoarding spell in operation.' I don't know about you. But the place I'm most interested in is here, and it says 'Storage space. Only waste? Check it out someday. '. Do you think he created this whole twisted space himself? Or did he just discover it after he moved in?"

"He found it," Charmain said. "If you look at the arrows marked 'unexplored', he doesn't know where it leads." "You may be right," agreed Peter. "He only used the space in the middle, right? We can help him explore more places." "Go if you want," Charmain said. "I'm going to read a book." Charmain folded the paper with criss-cross lines in his hand and put it in his pocket.This will save her some travel tomorrow morning. In the morning, Charmain's beautiful suit was still wet.She had to go on hanging them in her room, and put on lesser clothes, while she wondered if she should leave Waif in Peter's care today.Maybe it's better not to.Just in case Peter cast another spell and turned Waif into something else.

Naturally, Waif followed Charmain up and down into the kitchen.Charmain knocked on the fireplace for her to eat, and then hesitantly asked for his own breakfast.Maybe she and Peter had spent the breakfast spell last night. Fortunately, the spell didn't work.She received a large breakfast plate with tea and coffee and toast, a plate of fish piled high with rice, and a peach.I think the spell is an apology, she thought.She didn't like fish very much, so she left most of it for Waif, who liked it as much as any other food, and when she was done she walked up to Charmain smelling like fish.Charmain was opening the complicated map, ready to go to the royal residence.

Charmain was already perplexed by the sight of those intricate lines.Looking at the map in the box, she was even more at a loss.She looked at the piece of paper, trying to restore it to the way it was when it was taken out of the box, but there was nothing she could do.After several left and right turns, she found herself in a large room with large windows all around looking out to the river.There was a view of the town across the river, including the golden domes of the royal mansions shining in the sun. "But that's where I'm going, not here!" she said, looking around. There were long wooden tables under the windows, piled with strange implements, and more such implements in the middle of the room.The shelves on the other walls were filled with bottles, jars, and strangely shaped glassware.Charmain could smell the smell of fresh wood here, but this was overshadowed by another pungent, pungent smell that had been in Uncle William's study.It must be after magic, she thought.This must be the studio.Waif jumped up and down happily, judging from this, she should be familiar with this place.

"Come on, Waif," Charmain said, pausing to look at a note lying on the tools in the middle of the room.It says "DO NOT TOUCH". "Let's go back to the kitchen and start over." But that doesn't work either.After turning left from the studio door, they came to a warm place in the open air, with a small blue pond rippling among the white stones.The rocks there were surrounded by roses, and beside the roses were some white lounge chairs with large fluffy towels on them for those who had finished swimming, Charmain thought.But poor Waif is terrified of it.She squatted at the door, whimpering and trembling.

Charmain picked her up. "Is someone trying to drown you, Waif? You were dumped? Okay. I won't go near that pool. I can't swim." She stepped back through the door, turned left, and suddenly realized that swimming was just her Not one of many things.Peter was right to criticize her ignorance. "I'm not lazy," she explained to Waif, when she appeared to be in the stables, "and I'm not stupid. I'm just not used to being around my mother and watching her do things, you understand?" The stable smell is strong.Charmain was pleased to see the horses, which obviously belonged here, in the grass on the other side of the fence.Horses were another thing she didn't understand.But at least Waif isn't scared here. Charmain sighed, put Waif down, put on his glasses, and looked at the dizzying map again. The "stable" is here, somewhere on the hill.From here she has to turn right two more times to get back to the kitchen.She turned right twice, Waif following behind.She found herself in a dark place, outside a huge cave filled with busy blue goblins.Everyone turned to look at her.Charmain quickly turned right again.This time she came to a shop that sold cups, plates, and teapots.Waif yelled twice.Charmain looked at the hundreds of teapots lined up neatly on the shelves, in all colors and sizes, and she began to feel afraid.It is very late.To make matters worse, she put on her glasses and looked at the map again, and found that she was almost at the bottom on the left hand side, and there was a note on the edge of the arrow pointing next to it that read "A bunch of Lubbkins live here. Be careful .” "Oh," exclaimed Charmain. "This is ridiculous! Come here, Waif." She opened the door she had come in and turned right again. This time they came to a place of total darkness.Charmain could feel Waif sniffing anxiously at her ankle.Both of them were sniffing.Charmain exclaimed, "Ah!" There was a smell of damp stone, which she remembered from the day she first entered the house. "Uncle William," she asked, "how do I get to the kitchen from here?" To her relief, the kind voice answered her.The voice sounded faint and distant. "If you're there, honey, you're lost, listen carefully. Go around clockwise..." Charmain need not hear any more.She didn't make a full circle, but carefully turned half a circle, and then looked forward.She could clearly see a dim stone corridor ahead, intersecting with the one she was in.She stepped forward gratefully, and Waif followed her, turning and walking up the corridor again.She knew she had arrived at the royal mansion.It was the corridor where she met Sim pushing the cart on her first day at Uncle William's.Not only did it smell the same—a faint mix of food and damp stone—but the walls also looked typical of a royal residence, with faint square marks of all kinds where the paintings had been removed.The only thing she didn't know was where the mansion was located.Waif couldn't help either.She just rubbed against Charmain's ankle, shivering. Charmain picked up Waif and walked down the corridor to see if there was anyone he knew.She turned two corners and saw no one to turn to.Suddenly she almost bumped into the inconspicuous gentleman who distributed the pancakes yesterday.He stepped back, looking surprised. "My God," he said, staring at Charmain in the dark. "I didn't know you were here, Cha...uh...Miss Chamin, are you? Are you lost? Need help?" "Yes, thank you," Charmain replied cleverly. "I'm going...to...uh...uh...you know, to the women's room—must have turned the wrong way when I got out. Can you tell me how to get back to the library?" "Small thing," said the inconspicuous gentleman. "I'll take you. Come with me." He turned and walked back the way he had come, down another dimly lit corridor, up a long, cold hall, and up a set of stone steps.Waif's tail began to wag slightly, as if the place was beginning to feel familiar to her.Waif's tail stopped wagging when they reached the stairs, though.Morgan's voice came from above the stairs. "I don't want it! I don't want it! I don't want it!" Winky's high-pitched voice joined in. "I can't wear this! I want my striped one!" Sophie Pendragon's voice came through as well. "Be quiet, you two! Or I'll be rude to you, and warn you! I'm impatient!" The inconspicuous gentleman took a few steps back.He said to Charmain, "Children bring a lot of life here, don't they?" Charmain looked up at him, about to nod and smile, but felt a little shuddering.She didn't know why either.She nodded reluctantly, and followed the gentleman through the archway, Morgan's shout and Winky's scream fading away in the distance. Another corner was turned, and the inconspicuous gentleman opened the door, which Charmain recognized as the library door. "Miss Charmin appears to be here, Your Majesty," he said, bowing. "Oh, good," said the king, looking up from a stack of thin leather bound books. "Come in and sit down, dear. I found another pile of letters for you last night. I didn't know we had so many." Charmain felt as if he had never left.Waif sat down, belly up, by the warm brazier.Charmain also sat down, with a stack of papers of different sizes in front of him.She found a pen and white paper and started to work.Everything is normal. After a while the king said, "This ancestor of mine wrote these diaries and fancied himself a poet. What do you think of this one? It was written for his lover, of course." "You dance gracefully like a goat, my love, and your voice is gentle like a cow in the mountains." "Do you find this romantic, honey?" Charmain laughed. "It's terrible. I think she will refuse him. Uh... Your Majesty, who is the Mr.... Uh... who brought me here just now?" "Do you mean my steward?" asked the king. "You know, he's served us for many, many, many years—I've never been able to remember the poor fellow's name. You can ask the princess, dear. She'll remember things like that." Oh, well, Charmain thought.Then I'll just treat him as Mr. Inconspicuous. Time passed peacefully.Charmain felt it was a welcome change after such a tumultuous morning.As she sorted, she took notes. There were bills from two hundred years ago, bills from a hundred years ago, and bills from only forty years ago.Oddly enough, the old bills seemed to involve larger sums than the new ones.Royal residences seem to be spending less and less.Charmain also sorted out letters from four hundred years ago, as well as some recent reports from ambassadors of various countries, including Stranchia, Ingrid, and Rashput.Some ambassadors wrote poetry.Charmain read the worst of them to the King.Below that, she also saw a receipt.Papers that say something like "Pay for a portrait of a lady, by a master painter, two hundred guineas" appear more and more frequently, all within the last sixty years.It seemed to Charmain that the sale of the portraits at the royal residences seemed to have taken place during the king's reign.She decided not to ask the king about it. Lunch came and it was Jamal's delicious spicy food.Waif jumped high and wagged her tail as Sim brought them, then stopped again, looking disappointed, and ran out of the library.Charmain didn't know whether Waif wanted the chef's dog or the lunch he had cooked.It should be lunch. When Sim put the tray on the table, the King asked cheerfully, "How is it out there, Sim?" "It's noisy, Your Majesty," replied Sim. "We've just received our sixth rocking horse. It appears Master Morgan wanted a live monkey, though I'm happy to report this was refused by Mrs. Pendragon. This caused some commotion. Besides, Winky The Master seems to think that there is a reluctance to give him striped trousers. He has been raving about it all morning, Your Majesty. And the Fire Demon has made the fire in the vestibule his ideal shelter. You will come to the parlor today to talk to everyone Shall we have tea together, Your Majesty?" "I don't think so," answered the King. "It's not that I hate Fire Demons, it's just that there are so many rocking horses that it seems to be crowded. Just bring some pancakes to the library and give them to us, Sim." "No problem, Your Majesty," Sim replied, staggering back from the room. After the door closed, the King said to Charmain, "Not because of the rocking horse, really. I like the noise too. It's just that it reminds me of the joys of being a grandfather. What a pity." "Well..." said Charmain, "people in the town say that Princess Hilda is not very good at love. Is that why she is not married?" The king looked surprised. "I don't know that," he said. "When she was young, there were princes and dukes lined up to marry her. But she didn't want to get married. Never liked the idea of ​​it, she told me. She wanted to stay here and help me. It's a pity Ah. My throne will go to Prince Ludvik, the son of one of my brothers. You'll see him soon, if we can move a rocking horse—or the great drawing room. But a real pity Yes, there are no young people in the mansion now. I miss it so much." The king didn't look very unhappy.He was stating, not sentimental, but Charmain suddenly felt that the royal residence was a sad place.It's big, it's empty, it's sad. "I understand, Your Majesty," she said. The king smiled and took a bite of Jamal's delicious food. "I know you can understand," he said. "You're a very bright girl. One day you'll have the grades of your great-uncle William." Charmain blinked.Before she could feel a little uncomfortable with the compliment, though, she realized that she was not at all kind and unsympathetic.I think I'm even a little cold.Consider the way I treated Peter. These thoughts haunted her all afternoon.As it turned out, when Sim came back with Waif at the end, Charmain stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for being so kind to me." The king seemed surprised and told her not to think about it.But I really can't stop thinking about it, she thought.He's so nice, that should teach me a lesson.She followed Sim's slow pace, and Waif, looking fat and sleepy, struggled behind them both.Charmain was determined to treat Peter better when he returned to Uncle William's house. Sim was almost at the front door when Winky burst out of nowhere, rolling a big hoop vigorously.Morgan galloped after him, holding out his hands and yelling, "Uh, uh, uh!" Sim was knocked around in a circle.And when Winky rushed over, Charmain wanted to lean against the wall.For a moment, she felt Winky give her a strange look as he ran past her, but Waif's cry made her rush to protect her, and she didn't think about it any more.Waif was knocked onto his back and panicked.Charmain turned her over and nearly bumped into Sophie Pendragon, who ran out after Morgan. "Which way?" Sophie asked breathlessly. Charmain pointed in that direction.Sophie pulled her skirt up and rushed over, cursing guts for garters or something as she ran. Princess Hilda came running from a distance, stopped and grabbed Sim, and made him steady. "I'm really sorry, Miss Charmin," she said when Charmain came up to her. "That kid's like an eel—well, it's both. I've got to do something, or poor Sophie won't have time to help us out. Are you on your feet, Sim?" "Very steady, ma'am," said Sim.He bowed to Charmain and watched her walk out of the gate into the bright afternoon sun as if nothing had happened. If I were married, Charmain thought, as he walked across the Royal Square with Waif in his arms, I wouldn't have children either.They'd make me brutal and heartless in a week.Maybe I'm just as unmarried as Princess Hilda.That way, maybe I'll still have a chance to be nicer.Anyway, try it on Peter first, he's really trying. When she returned to Uncle William's, she was filled with a firm desire to be kind.It might help, as she followed the path through the blue hydrangea bushes on either side, but there was no sign of Rollo.It was absolutely impossible for Charmain to be friendly to Rollo. "From a human point of view, it's totally impossible," she said to herself, setting Waif down on the living room rug.To her surprise, the room was unusually clean and tidy.Everything was in order, the suitcase was put back next to the armchair, and the vase of hydrangeas in every color was on the coffee table.Charmain frowned at the vase.That must be the one that disappeared after I put it on the cart.Maybe it came back when Peter asked for his morning coffee, she thought—but only for a moment, because it occurred to her that her wet clothes were still hanging all over the room and the bedding was still hanging on the floor.hell!I'm going to sort it out. She walked to the door of her bedroom and stopped for a moment.Someone made her bed.Her clothes were dry and neatly folded on top of the wardrobe.This is too much.Charmain rushed unkindly into the kitchen. Peter sat at the kitchen table, looking neat, and Charmain knew he must have done something.On the stove behind him, a black cauldron was bubbling with a strange, faint aroma. "What are you doing in my room?" Charmain asked. Peter looked wronged, although Charmain could see that he had many private and emotional thoughts. "I thought you'd be happy," he said. "Well, but I'm not happy at all!" replied Charmain.She was surprised that she shed tears. "I just learned that if I drop something it stays on the floor unless I pick it up, and if I mess it up I have to clean it up because it won't clean itself, But you came to clean it up for me! You are as bad as my mother!" "I've got to find something to do when I'm here all by myself," protested Peter. "Or do you want me to just sit here?" "You can do whatever you want," cried Charmain. "Dance. Stand on your head. Make faces at Rollo. But don't screw up my learning!" "Just go learn it," Peter retorted. "You still have a lot to learn. I won't touch your room again. Are you interested in what I learned today? Or are you only interested in your own business?" Charmain held back tears. "I wanted to be nice to you tonight, but you made it difficult." "My mother said that difficulties help you learn," Peter said. "You should be happy. Let me tell you one thing I learned today, and that's how to prepare enough for dinner." He pointed his thumb at the bubbling pot.There is a green thread wrapped around that thumb.A red thread is wrapped around the other thumb, and a blue thread is wrapped around one finger. He would try to see three directions at once, Charmain thought.She tried so hard to be nice, "So how do you prepare enough for dinner?" "I kept knocking on the pantry door," Peter said, "until there was enough food on the table. Then I put it all in that pot and cooked it." Charmain looked at the pot. "What is it?" "Liver and bacon," said Peter. "Cabbage. And kohlrabi and a piece of rabbit. Onions, and two pieces of meat, and a leek. Simple, really." ah!Charmain thought.In order not to say anything rude, she turned and walked back to the living room. Peter stopped her. "Don't you want to know how I got that vase back?" "You're in the cart," Charmain replied dryly, and went off to read The Twelve-Forked Wand. But it didn't work.She kept looking up at the hydrangea vase, then at the cart in the distance, wondering if Peter had really sat on it and disappeared with his afternoon tea.Then I wondered how he came back.And every time she reads it, she understands even more that her determination to be nice to Peter has completely failed.She stood there for nearly an hour before returning to the kitchen. "Sorry," she said. "How did you get the vase back?" Peter was poking the contents of the pot with his spoon. "I don't think it's good," he said. "The spoon popped off." "Oh, well," said Charmain, "I'm being polite." "I'll tell you at dinner," said Peter. It's very annoying that he keeps his word.For an hour he said almost nothing, until the contents of the pot were poured into two bowls.It was not easy to divide the food, because Peter was too lazy to peel and cut it, so he threw it directly into the pot.They had to use two spoons to split the cabbage.Peter also didn't know that stew should be salted.So everything—white, soaked bacon, chunks of rabbit, whole kohlrabi, limp onions—was floating in the bouillon.To put it mildly, the food is simply awful.In an effort to appear friendly, Charmain just didn't say it. The only good thing is that Waif loves this pot of food.She finished licking the light soup, and then seriously finished eating the meat and cabbage.Charmain ate almost all of it too, trying not to tremble.She was glad that she could still concentrate on listening to Peter's stories so she could distract herself from the food. "You know what," Peter began, sounding haughty to Charmain.But she could see that he had already conceived it in his heart like telling a story, and would tell her according to his conception. "Did you know? The thing that disappeared from the cart, returned to the past." "Well, I guess the past was a pretty good dump," Charmain said. "As long as you can be sure it's really the past, and things don't reappear, moldy—" "Do you want to hear it or not?" Peter asked. Be nice, Charmain said to himself.She ate another piece of disgusting cabbage and nodded. "And part of this room is in the past," continued Peter. "I didn't get on the cart. I just went to scout, made a list of turns I needed to make, and stumbled across this, really. I must have made a wrong turn once or twice." I am not surprised at all.Charmain thought. "Anyway," said Peter, "I got to a place where hundreds of Miss Goblins were washing teapots, putting food on plates, preparing breakfast, afternoon tea, etc. I was a little nervous because you put They were so annoyed, but I tried to be as friendly as I could, nodding and smiling at them as I walked past. And I was really surprised that they nodded and smiled at me and said 'good morning' and were very friendly. So I nodded and smiled and walked over, and then entered a room I had never seen before. As soon as I opened the door, the first thing I saw was the vase of flowers on a long table. The next thing I saw was Nuo Wizard Lan, sit behind the table—" "My God!" cried Charmain. "I was surprised too," admits Peter. "I was just standing there, dumbfounded, to be honest. He looked healthy—you know, strong, rosy-cheeked, with a lot more hair than I remembered—and he was busy drawing pictures, the ones in the box ...he spread them all out on the table and was only about a quarter done. I think that gave me the cue. Still, he looked up and said politely, 'Can you close the door? It's very windy.' Before I could say anything, he said, 'Who the hell are you?' "I said, 'My name is Peter Regis.' "He frowned and said, 'Regis, Regis? So what do you have to do with the witches of Montalbino, don't you?' "'She's my mother,' I said. "He added, 'I thought she had no children.' "'I was the only one she had,' I said. 'My father died in a big avalanche in the mountains beyond the mountains, when I was born.' "He frowned again and said, 'But that avalanche was a few months ago, young man. It was supposed to be caused by Lubbock, and a lot of lives were lost—or are we talking about the avalanche from forty years ago? 'He looked very serious and very distrustful of me. "I was thinking about how to convince him of what was going on. I said, 'I promise it's true. A part of your house went back in time. Afternoon tea just disappeared there. And this can also be proved - we yesterday put the vase of flowers on the cart and it came to you.' He looked at the vase but said nothing. I said, 'I came to your house because my mother wanted me to be your apprentice .' "He said, 'Really? Then I must have seriously asked her to do that. You don't look very talented.' "'I can do magic,' said I, 'but my mother can indeed arrange anything if she wants to.' "He said, 'Yes. She does have a very strong character. What did I say when you showed up?' "'You didn't say anything,' I answered. 'You're not here. A little girl named Charmain Baker is looking after your house—at least she's supposed to, but she's gone off to work for the king, and Met a fire demon—' "He interrupted me, looking shocked. 'Firefiend? That's a dangerous creature, young man. Are you trying to tell me that the Witch of the Wasteland is coming to Nolan soon?' "'No, no,' said I. 'One of the royal wizards in Ingrid replaced the Witch of the Waste about three years ago. What has this wizard to do with the king,' said Charmain. I think from your present opinion , Charmain should have just been born, but she said, you were sick and the elves took you out for treatment, and her aunt Sembroni arranged for Charmain to watch over your house while you were away.' "He looked disturbed, leaned back in his chair, and blinked. 'I have a great-niece named Sambroni,' he said, very slowly, as if thinking.' Maybe so. Sambroni Ronnie married into a very respectable family, I think--' "'Oh, yes!' I said. 'Just look at Charmain's mother. She's too noble to let Charmain do anything.'" Thank you so much, Peter!Charmain thought.Now he must think I'm a complete piece of shit! "But he doesn't seem interested," Peter went on. "He wants to know what's wrong with him, but I can't tell him. Do you know?" he asked Charmain.Charmain shook his head.Peter shrugged and said, "Then he sighed and said he didn't think it mattered, because it always seemed to be inevitable. But then he whispered in confusion, 'But I don't know any elves!' "I said, 'Charmain said it was a spirit sent by the king.' "'Oh,' he said, looking delighted. 'Of course it must be! The royal family has elf blood—several of them married elves, and the elves keep in touch, I suppose.' Then he looked at me again and said, 'Then the story begins to logically begin.' "I said, 'It should be. It's all true. But what I don't understand is what you did to make the goblins so angry.' "'Nothing, I assure you,' said he. 'The earth-elves are my friends, friends of many years. They have done a great deal for me. I would not have pissed off my friend the king. Won't piss off the goblins.' "He seemed really annoyed by it, so I thought I'd change the subject. I said, 'So can I ask you about this house? Did you build it, or did you find it?' "'Oh, I found it,' he said. 'I bought it when I was young, when I was a struggling wizard, because it seemed small and cheap. Then I found out it was a place with lots of roads. I tell you, it's a delightful discovery. This once belonged to the wizard Merricol, the one who turned the roof of the royal mansion into gold. I've always hoped that somewhere in the house was the royal treasury of the time Real gold. The king has been looking for it for years, you know.' "Then you guessed it, I pricked up my ears and started listening," Peter said. "But I didn't have time to ask too much because he looked at the vase on the table and said, 'So are these really flowers from the future? Can you tell me what flowers these are?' "I was surprised he didn't know about it. I told him it was a hydrangea from his own garden. 'It's colored flowers cut by the goblins,' I said. Then he looked at them , murmured how beautiful they were, especially how colorful they were. 'I should grow some myself,' he said. 'They are more colorful than roses.' "'You can grow blue ones, too,' I said. 'My mother powdered and spelled our flowers.' As he murmured something, I asked him if I could take them away so that I could prove I saw you. "'Of course, of course,' he said. 'They're in the way here, too. Tell that little girl who knows the Fire Demon that I hope I'll finish the map of the house when she grows up, and she'll need it.' "So," said Peter, "I took the flowers and left. That's unusual!" "Extremely unusual," Charmain said. “要不是地精灵把绣球花割下来，而我又把它们收集起来，你又迷路的话，他也不会种绣球花——我头晕了。”她推开自己那碗卷心菜和大头菜。我要对他好点。好点，好点！ “彼得，明天回来路上我去找父亲要本烹饪书怎样？他一定有上百本。他是镇上最好的厨师。” 彼得看起来很欣慰。 "Good idea," he said. “我母亲从来没有教过我多少烹饪的事。她总是自己一个人做。” 我不介意他让威廉叔公那样想到我，查曼发誓。我要友善点。但他要是再那样……