Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Sophie leaves the castle and encounters disaster

Midsummer dawn has come.Just as it was getting dark, Howl rushed through the door, and there was such a loud noise that Sophie jumped out of her comfort zone, thinking that the Witch was right behind her. "They're so funny, they always start before I'm there!" cried Hal.Sophie thought he was just trying to sing Calcifer's Frying Pan Song again, and lay down, but Hal fell over the chair, tripped over the stool, and flew across.Afterwards, he tried going upstairs through the broom cupboard, and then tried to get to the yard.He seemed confused.But the result was that, except for stepping on the first step correctly, he fell like a dog eating shit after that.The whole castle was shaking.

"What's going on?" Sophie asked, sticking her head over the railing. "Football club parties," Hal replied with authority. "Don't you know I flew around playing linebacker in college, Mrs. Nose?" "If you're trying to fly, you've forgotten how to fly," said Sophie. "I was born with extraordinary eyesight," Hal said, "seeing invisible things, and I was going to bed when you broke out. I know where the years have been, and who else split the devil's feet. " "Go to bed, fool," Calcifer said sleepily. "You're drunk."

"Who, me?" Hal said. "Assure you, friend, I'm wide awake." He got up and strode up the stairs, feeling the walls as if they would leave him without holding on.The bedroom door moved away from him. "What a big lie!" Hal said as he walked towards the wall, "my shining dishonesty will redeem me." He hit the wall several times in various places before finding his bedroom door and rushing in.Sophie heard him fall here and there, and kept chiding that the bed was hiding from him. "He's intolerable!" said Sophie, who resolved to leave at once.

Unfortunately, Mike and Percival were sleeping on the floor of Mike's room when Hal's noises startled them.Mike ran downstairs and said they were totally woken up and they might as well go out while the weather was cooler and pick some flowers for a Midsummer wreath.Sophie felt that she had no regrets in going to the sea of ​​flowers in the end.Outside, there is a milky white mist, full of fragrance and hazy colors.Sophie beat with her cane all the way, probed the muddy ground, and listened to the whirring and squeaking of hundreds of birds, filled with regret.She caressed a wet satin lily, and touched a purple flower with missing petals, slender stamens, and dense pollen.She looked back at the tall black castle, which was following behind with a cloud of smoke.She sighed.

"He's made it so much better," Percival said, dropping a handful of hibiscus into Mike's floating bucket. "Who?" Mike asked. "Howl," said Percival, "it was just bushes at first, and they were small and dry." "Do you remember ever being here?" Mike asked excitedly.He still didn't give up his idea that Percival might be Prince Justin. "I think I came with the witch," said Percival hesitantly. They picked two big buckets of flowers.Sophie noticed that when they entered the house for the second time, Mike turned the doorknob several times.It must have been somewhat of a defense against witches.Then, of course, the Midsummer wreaths began.It took a long time.Sophie wanted Mike and Percival to work, but Mike was busy asking Percival tricky questions, and Percival was slow to work.Sophie knew what got Mike so excited.Percival had a certain aura about him, as if he was expecting something to happen.This made Sophie curious, wondering just how much more power the witch had over him.She had to do most of the wreath by hand.She had had a fleeting thought of staying and helping Howl with the witch, but that thought had completely disappeared.Hal, who could make all the garlands with a wave of his hand, was fast asleep, snoring loudly from the shop.

It took them a long time to make the wreaths, and by the time they were done it was time to open the doors.Mike brought them bread and honey, and they ate as they greeted the first flock of customers.Even though Chipping was gloomy and cold on Midsummer's Day, as it always was, half the town came to the store, dressed in splendid festive attire, to choose flowers and garlands for the festivities.As usual, the streets were filled with throngs of people coming and going.There were so many people in the shop that it was nearly noon when Sophie finally slipped upstairs and through the broom cupboard.So much money had they got--Sophie thought, stealing about, packing some food and her old clothes into a parcel--that Mike had ten times as much savings under the hearthstones.

"Are you here to talk to me?" Calcifer asked. "Later," Sophie said, and walked across the room, hiding the package behind her back.She didn't want Calcifer to shout about the contract. She reached out to unhook the cane from the chair when there was a knock on the door.Sophie froze in the air with her outstretched hand, looking at Calcifer with a questioning expression. "The door of the Great House," said Calcifer. "No harming flesh and blood." The knocking came again.Always happens when I'm leaving!thought Sophie.She went and turned the handle to the orange mark down and opened the door.

On the avenue under the statue was a carriage, drawn by a pair of large horses.Sophie glanced past the tall footman knocking at the door and caught sight of the carriage. "Mrs Sashefrier Smith is calling on the new resident," said the valet. How embarrassing!thought Sophie.This is the result of Hal's new paint and drapes. "We're not in—" she began.But Sashefriel Smith waved the footman aside and came in. "Wait by the carriage, Diobo." She told the manservant, and she put away her parasol and walked past Sophie lightly. That was Fanny—Fanny looked very rich in cream silk.She wore the creamy white silk hat trimmed with roses that Sophie knew all too well.She remembers adorning the hat and saying to it, "You're going to be super rich." From Fanny's appearance, she clearly was.

"Oh, dear!" Fanny looked around. "There must be a mistake. This is the servants' room!" "Er—we haven't quite moved in yet, ma'am," said Sophie, wondering how Fanny would feel if she knew that the old hat shop was behind the broom cupboard. Fanny turned and stared at Sophie dumbfounded. "Sophie!" she yelled. "Oh my God, boy, what's the matter with you? You look ninety years old! Are you very ill?" To Sophie's astonishment, Fanny removed her parasol, her hat, and her stately manner. Throwing it aside, he stretched out his arms and hugged Sophie, tears streaming down his face. "Oh, I don't know what's happened to you!" she sobbed. "I went to Martha and wrote to Letty, but they didn't know. They changed places, silly girl, do you know that?" But no one knows anything about you! I've got a reward out there. You're working as a maid here when you're supposed to be living with me and Mr. Smith in the mansion on the hill!"

Sophie found herself crying too.She tossed the package hastily away and made Fanny sit down.She took a stool and sat down beside Fanny, and took her hand.They both laughed and cried at the same time.They were overjoyed to see each other again. "It's a long story," said Sophie, after Fanny had asked her six times what had happened to her. "When I saw myself in the mirror, I was so shocked that I just wandered aimlessly—" "Too tired," said Fanny, distressed. "It's all my fault!" "No," said Sophie. "Don't you worry, Wizard Howl took me—"

"Wizard Howl!" cried Fanny, "that wicked, wicked man! Is that what he did to you? What about the others? Make him look good!" She grabbed the parasol, looking so murderous that Sophie had to hold her.Sophie didn't want to think about how Howl would react if Fanny stabbed him awake with the parasol. "No, no!" she said, "Howl was nice to me." And Sophie realized that was true.It's weird how Hal shows kindness, but he's been really nice to Sophie, given all the things she's done to piss him off. "But they say he eats women alive!" said Fanny, still struggling to get up. Sophie took hold of the parasol she was waving. "He's not," she said. "Listen. He's not evil at all!" Just then there was a little hiss from the fireplace, and Calcifer was watching with interest. "He's not!" said Sophie, half to Calcifer, half to Fanny, "and I haven't seen him make a single evil spell in the days since I've been here!" She knew, and it was true. "Then I'll have to trust you." Fanny breathed a sigh of relief, "but I'm sure if he reforms, it must be your influence. You always have a way, Sophie. When I can't do anything about Martha You can hold her back when she's in a hurry. I always say it's thanks to you that Letty gets her way half the time, not all the time! But you should tell me where you are, darling!" Sophie knew she should.She took Martha's opinion of Fanny completely, though she should have known Fanny better.She is ashamed. Fanny couldn't wait to tell Sophie about Mr. Sashefrill Smith.She recounted with delight how she had met Mr. Smith the week Sophie left, and how she had been married within a week.Sophie just looked at her and said.Getting older gave her a whole new perspective on Fanny.She was still a young and pretty woman, and like Sophie she found hatters boring.But she couldn't let it go, and she did her best, both to the hatter and to the three girls--until Mr Haight died.Then suddenly she had the same fears as Sophie: old, unreasonable, and lackluster. "Later, since you were away and no one took over the store, there seemed to be no reason not to sell the store." Fanny said, and there was a sound of footsteps from the broom cupboard. Mike came in, saying, "We closed the store. Look who's coming!" He took Martha's hand. Martha lost weight and lightened her hair, almost back to normal.She let go of Mike and ran to Sophie, hugging her hard and shouting, "Sophie, you should tell me!" And then she hugged Fanny like she never said those things about her .But the surprises don't stop there.Lettie and Mrs. Fairfax followed Martha through the broom cupboard into the room, and they both carried a large basket together, and then Percival entered, more alive than Sophie had ever seen him . "We drove up at daylight," said Mrs. Fairfax. "We brought—goodness! Fanny!" and she threw off the side of the basket, and ran to embrace Fanny.Letty let go too, and ran to hug Sophie. Hugging, screaming, and shouting one after another, Sophie thought it was a miracle that Howl didn't wake up.But through the shouting, she could still hear his snoring.I have to go tonight, she thought to herself.She was too happy to see everyone to think about leaving. Letty liked Percival very much.Mike lifted the basket to the workbench and brought out the cold chicken, wine and honey pudding. Letty took Percival's arm tightly in an owner's attitude that Sophie didn't like, and asked him to tell her all he remembered. thing.Percival didn't seem to mind.Letty looked so lovely that Sophie didn't blame her. "He just came running around like this, and kept being a man, and a different dog, and insisted he knew me," Letty said to Sophie. "I know I've never met him, but it doesn't matter." She patted Percival on the shoulder as if he were still a dog. "But you met Prince Justin?" Sophie asked. "Oh, yes," Letty said casually. "Look, he's wearing a green uniform to disguise his identity, but it's obviously him. He's so gentle and graceful, even when he's pissed off by that Finding Charm. I have to give I got him double because it kept showing that Wizard Suliman was somewhere between us and Chipping, and he swore that was impossible. The whole time I was casting the spell, he kept interrupting me, sarcasm Xidi called me 'Beauty' and asked me who I was, where I lived and how old I was. I thought he was really cheeky! I'd rather be Wizard Howl, he's so disgusting!" At this point, everyone was walking around, eating chicken and drinking wine.Calcifer seemed a little shy.He shrunk into a little green flame, and no one seemed to notice him.Sophie wants him to meet Letty.She tried to coax him out. "That devil really wanted Hal's life?" Letty looked down at the little green flame, unable to believe it. Sophie looked up to assure Letty that Calcifer was real, only to see Miss Angorian standing in the doorway, looking shy and bewildered. "Oh, sorry to bother you. Didn't I come at the right time?" said Miss Angorian. "I just wanted to talk to Harwell." Sophie stood up, a little bewildered.The attitude of shooing Miss Angorian out before made her very ashamed.Only because she knew Hal was after Miss Angorian.But then again, that didn't mean she had to like her. Mike greeted Miss Angorian with a broad smile, and relieved Sophie. "Hal's going to be asleep now," he said. "Come over and have a drink and wait while you drink." "Thank you very much," said Miss Angorian. But apparently Miss Angorian was not happy.She declined the wine and wandered nervously, nibbling on chicken legs.The room was full of familiar friends, but she was an outsider.Fanny broke away from her incessant conversation with Mrs. Fairfax to say, "What a special dress!" but it did not improve the situation.Martha was of no help either.She saw Mike's admiring expression as he greeted Miss Angorian.She walks over to make sure Mike doesn't talk to anyone but her or Sophie.Letty ignored Miss Angorian's presence at all, and sat on the stairs with Percival. Miss Angorian seemed soon to be overwhelmed.Sophie saw her at the door trying to open it.She felt very guilty and hurried over.After all, Miss Angorian must have had strong feelings for Hal, so she ran over desperately. "Please don't go yet," said Sophie. "I'll wake Hal up." "Oh, no, you mustn't," said Miss Angorian, smiling nervously. "I have a free day and am happy to wait. I was thinking of getting out and looking outside. It's kind of stuffy in the house." To Sophie, this seemed like the perfect way to get rid of Miss Angorian without trying to get rid of her.She politely opened the door for her.Somehow—maybe it had something to do with the protective gear Hal had Mike make—the doorknob had turned the purple label down.Outside is the misty sunshine, and the red and purple flowers are drifting. "What a beautiful cuckoo!" exclaimed Miss Angorian, in her hoarseest trembling voice, "I must go and see!" and she rushed eagerly down the wet grass. "Don't go southeast," Sophie called after her. The castle drifted sideways.Miss Angorian's beautiful face was buried in a bush of white flowers. "I'm not going far," she said. "Dear me!" said Fanny, following Sophie, "what's the matter with my carriage?" Sophie tried her best to explain.But Fanny was very worried, so Sophie had to turn down the orange sign and open the door to show her. The weather was much more gloomy, and in the driveway in front of the mansion, the footman and the coachman were sitting on the roof of the carriage, eating cold sausages and playing cards.Only then did Fanny believe that her carriage had not mysteriously disappeared.Sophie tries to explain how a door can open to different places, though she doesn't understand it herself.Then Calcifer sprang up from among the logs, yelling. "Hal!" he cried, blue flames filling the chimney, "Hal! Harwell Janken, the witch has found your sister's family!" There were two loud bangs upstairs.Hal's bedroom door was knocked open, and Hal sprinted downstairs.Letty and Percival were pushed away.Fanny gave him a slight squeak.Hal's hair was like weeds, and his eyes were red. "Flanking, damn it!" he roared, galloping across the room with flowing black sleeves. "I was afraid she would do that! Thanks, Calcifer!" He pushed Fanny aside and opened the door forcefully. As Sophie staggered upstairs, she heard Howl slam the door shut.She knew it was a bit of a nosy, but she still had to see what happened.As she staggered through Howl's bedroom, she heard the others following her. "What a dirty room!" Fanny exclaimed. Sophie looked out the window.It is raining lightly in the tidy garden.Raindrops hang on the swing.The witch's curly red hair was beaded with water.Standing leaning on the swing, she was tall and dressed in a red robe giving orders, calling again and again.Howl's niece Mary is walking slowly towards the witch on the wet grass.It didn't look like she wanted to go, but it seemed she couldn't help herself.Behind her, Howl's nephew Neil was glaring desperately, walking more slowly towards the witch.Hal's sister Meghan is behind the two children.Sophie saw Meghan gesturing with her arms, opening and closing her mouth.Apparently she's cursing witches, but she's also drawn to witches. Hal rushed onto the lawn.He didn't bother to change clothes.He didn't bother to cast any magic.He went straight to the witch.The witch tried to catch Mary, but Mary was still too far away.Howl caught up with Mary first, tucked her behind him, and continued his march.The witch ran away.It was like a dog chasing a cat, across the grass, over the neat fence, his robe like a burning flame, and Hal, like a dog in hot pursuit, a foot or so behind, getting closer and closer.The witch ran to the fence, only to see the shadow of the red dress.Howl followed her, shadowy and flickering, with flowing sleeves.The two were then obscured by the fence. "I hope he catches her," said Martha. "The little girl is crying." Downstairs, Megan put her arms around Mary and brought the two children back into the house.There is no way of knowing what happened to Hal and the Witch.Letty, Percival, Martha and Mike went back downstairs.Fanny and Mrs. Fairfax stood motionless with nausea at the state of Howl's bedroom. "Look at those spiders!" said Mrs. Fairfax. "And the dust on the curtains!" Fanny said, "Annabelle, I saw some brooms in the aisle you came from." "Let's fetch it," said Mrs. Fairfax. "I'll pin it up for you, Fanny, and we'll get to work. I can't stand a room like this!" Oh, poor Hal!Sophie thought to herself.How he loves those spiders!She lingered on the stairs, wondering how to stop Mrs. Fairfax and Fanny. Mike yelled from downstairs, "Sophie! Let's look around the house. Come?" It seemed like an ideal opportunity to get the two ladies to stop.Sophie called Fanny and staggered downstairs.Letty and Percival were already opening the door.Letty wasn't listening when Sophie explained to Fanny.Apparently Percival didn't know the right way either.Sophie saw that they had turned the purple label off the handle by mistake.Sophie staggered across the room to correct, but the door was already open. A scarecrow stands at the door, with wild flowers behind it. "Shut the door!" Sophie screamed.She knows what's going on.She had done herself a disservice by ordering the scarecrow to go ten times faster last night.It sped up to the castle entrance, trying to get in.But Miss Angorian was at the door.Sophie was afraid that she would be frightened and lost consciousness in the bushes. "No, don't," she said feebly. But no one paid her any attention.Letty's face was the same color as Fanny's skirt, and she was holding on to Martha.Percival stood in a daze, Mike wanted to grab the skull, its teeth chattered so badly, it almost fell off the table with a wine bottle.Skulls also seem to have an eerie effect on the guitar.It made a long hum: Horror — man!Number -- people! Calcifer jumped up the chimney again. "This guy is talking," Calcifer said to Sophie. "It says it's a good guy. I think it's telling the truth. It's waiting for you to let it in." Naturally the Scarecrow just stood there.It's not trying to break in like it was before.Calcifer must have trusted it.He stopped the castle.Sophie looked at the turnip-faced and fluttering rags.It's actually not that scary.For a time she felt sympathetic to it.She suspected she was using it as a convenient excuse to stay at the castle, because she really wanted to.But it doesn't make sense anymore.Sophie had to go anyway: Howl had his heart set on Miss Angorian. "Come in," she said, her voice hoarse. "Yeah!" said Guitar.The scarecrow jumped into the house with a big jump.It stood on one leg, wobbling, as if looking for something.The scent of flowers that drifted in with it did not mask its own smell of dust and rotten turnips. The skull began to rattle again between Mike's fingers.The Scarecrow turned gladly, and fell against it.Mike wanted to protect the skull, but hurriedly dodged aside.Because as soon as the scarecrow fell sideways on the workbench, there was a hissing sound of strong magic shaking violently.The skull melts into the scarecrow's turnip head.It seemed to get inside the turnip and fill it up.Now the turnip head has a sharp-edged face.The trouble is, the face is on the back of the scarecrow.The scarecrow fumbled awkwardly, jumped up uncertainly, and then quickly turned around so that the angular turnip face was facing the front.Slowly, it relaxes its outstretched arms and hangs them by its sides. "Now I can talk." Its voice was muffled. "I'm going to faint," Fanny yelled from the stairs. "Don't talk nonsense," said Mrs. Fairfax, behind Fanny. "This thing is just a magician's puppet. It does what it's told. They don't hurt anyone." Even so, Letty still looked like she was about to faint.But the only one who really fainted was Percival.He fell silently, curled up on the floor as if sleeping.In spite of her fear, Letty ran to him, but backed away at once, for the Scarecrow jumped again, and was in front of Percival. "This is part of what I was sent to find," it said vaguely.Its stick wobbled until it faced Sophie. "I have to thank you," it said, "my skull is too far away, and I am exhausted before I can catch it. If you hadn't come and watered me with life by talking, I would lie forever in the hedge Time." It turned to Mrs Fairfax, and then to Letty. "Thank you both too," it said. "Who sent you? What did you come for?" Sophie asked. The scarecrow swayed uncertainly. "It's not over yet," it said. "There are still parts to be found." Everyone waited, most of them speechless in shock, and the Scarecrow walked around as if thinking. "Part of what is Percival?" Sophie asked. "Let it cool down," Calcifer said. "No one has questioned it before—" He stopped abruptly, shrinking back to a single green flame.Mike and Sophie exchanged horrified glances. A strange voice came from nowhere.It grew louder and more indistinct, as if speaking in a box, but it was unmistakably the voice of a witch. "Mike Fisher," it said, "tell your master Hal that he has hooked me. I have a woman named Lily Angorian in my hold in the Badlands. Tell Hal unless He went to the rescue himself, or I wouldn't have let that woman go. Do you hear me, Mike Fisher?" The Scarecrow turned and jumped towards the open door. "Oh no!" Mike yelled. "Grab it! The witch must have sent it so the witch can come in!"