First and foremost, as a result of these many violations, Angus Cairns is now and forevermore to be branded a rascal. Henceforth, his full and formal name shall be Angus Cairns (Rascal).
Second, though the curse laid upon his line as a result of his interfering grandfather Seamus Cairns (Rascal) has now been lifted, it is ruled that for his many violations of the Great Oath of the Brownies, including insufficient mischief, being seen by humans, and worst of all, bringing humans into the Enchanted Realm, Angus Cairns (Rascal) shall be sentenced to serve additional time with the family to which he is now attached.
The court was in favor of an additional fifty years. However, the queen in her mercy has declared that in exchange for his role in returning the Princess of Sunshine to the Enchanted Realm, this term shall be reduced to five years, at which time Angus Cairns (Rascal) will be free to attach himself to any family he wishes.
So it is decreed, and so shall it be.
November 18
Dear Parents:
My name is Jill Dietz, and I am delighted that I will be working with your kindergartners for the rest of the year. One of my primary responsibilities over the next few months will be helping your children to cope with the unusual disappearance of Ms. Kincaid. With that in mind, I want to invite you to contact me at any time if you have concerns about your child and his or her progress, or how she or he is dealing with this transition.
I will do all I can to make this a wonderful year of growth and learning for your child.
Sincerely,
Jill Dietz
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Carhart—
I wanted to let you know that of all the children in the class, Destiny is the one who is best dealing with this situation. She is a calm and happy child. On the other hand, I do have some concerns about her clearly overactive imagination. Someday we need to have a conversation about Herbert the Goblin.
All best,
Jill Dietz
Saturday, November 21
I am back with the Carharts! Of the journey home there is not much to say. As I was sentenced to return here by the High Court, my passage was paid. The ship was smooth and fast, and I had a good time playing knucklebones with Herbert the Goblin. We swapped stories about the Carharts, and he has promised to come visit the next time he has leave. I know this will make Destiny happy.
I did—as I was bound to do, and would have been a fool not to do—take a bit of a detour to tell Granny Squannit all that had happened. She pronounced herself well pleased, and with that blessing, I headed for home.
I reached the house late at night, and when I went through the flap I found Bubbles at his bowl in the kitchen.
“You’re back!” he said in surprise.
“Aye, that I am,” I replied.
“That’s good,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”
I recounted for him some of our adventures, and promised to tell the rest on the morrow. “But right now,” I said, “I am fiercely tired and need to sleep.”
I was in the Pink Horror when Alex woke.
I found myself in the mood for a bit of mischief. (After all, the court itself had declared I had been lax in this department!) So when I came out of the house and she cried, “You’ve come back!” I did not tell her right away of my sentence.
This was also partly because I was not sure how she felt about my return. So I experienced a happy warmth in my heart when she said, “I’ve been so worried about you, Angus! How did you make out in your trial?”
“Well, the sentence was a bit harsh.…”
“That’s not fair! You did a great thing by bringing the princess back to her mother.”
“Oh, aye. But I hardly did it on my own. And I broke many a rule in the doing of it.”
Alex said nothing for a bit. Finally she said, in a voice not like herself, “So do you have to go?”
“Nae, but I do not want to stay where I am not wanted.”
Which was true, if not the entire story.
“Well, who says I don’t want you?” she asked indignantly.
“You did, many and many a time.”
“Well, you don’t always believe everything I say, do you?”
Still in the mood for a wee bit o’ mischief, I told a wee bit of a lie. “Well, I canna stay without you asking me.”
She rolled her eyes, put her hands on her hips, then looked at me straight and said, “Angus Cairns, will you stay? You need a home, and I need a brownie.”
Trying to keep the tears from my eyes—really, I’m getting far too sentimental as I grow older—I said, “Alex Carhart, I would be glad to stay and be your brownie true.”
“Let’s swear on it,” she said.
Then she licked her thumb and held it out.
I licked mine and did the same.
We pressed them together, and thus it was settled and sealed.
I expect that many a day the girl is going to drive me stark-raving mad.
I plan to do my best to return the favor.
But oh and och, ’tis good to have a home again.
Every brownie needs one.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BRUCE COVILLE is the author of over one hundred books for children and young adults, including the international bestseller My Teacher Is an Alien and the wildly popular Unicorn Chronicles series. His work has appeared in more than a dozen languages and won children’s choice awards in over a dozen states. He has been, at various times, a teacher, a toy maker, a magazine editor, a grave digger, and a cookware salesman. He is also the founder of Full Cast Audio, an audiobook publishing company devoted to producing full cast, unabridged recordings of material for family listening. Mr. Coville lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife, author and illustrator Katherine Coville. Visit him at BruceCoville.com.
Visit Angus and Bruce at TheEnchantedFiles.com
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
PAUL KIDBY is a self-taught artist whose first job was making false teeth. He eventually left the tooth business and became an illustrator. His work has appeared on computer game packaging, magazine covers, and bestselling books. Paul also enjoys sculpting, and his limited-edition bronzes are collected worldwide. Paul lives and works at his home studio in the south of England with his wife, Vanessa, and two dogs. When he is not painting, drawing, or sculpting, he is mostly found growing vegetables in his garden or walking in the countryside. Visit Paul at paulkidby.net.
Bruce Coville, Diary of a Mad Brownie
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