The Awfully Angry Ogre (4 page)

T
O THE GIRLS' SURPRISE, THE OGRE FELL SILENT.
His eyes took on a dreamy look. Carried along by the melody, his thoughts drifted upward.
Pretty music
, he was thinking.
So soothing.
His hands—amazingly clean, with long, slender fingers—waved gently in time to the music.

But now the ogre's eyes darkened, and his thoughts shifted.
I only want to be left alone in peace. Why must humans plague me? Eight years
ago, before I fled to this place, humans killed my husband and sons!

Husband?
thought Tansy. Well, what do you know? The ogre was female, then. An
ogress
, actually.

As Tansy continued to play, the door to the ogress's shack opened and a small ogre—not much taller than a full-grown human—stepped shyly outside. It had the same thick lips and sloping forehead as the ogress, but its cheeks were round and dimpled and it had lots of curly brown hair on top of its head. Its eyes widened when it saw the princesses.

Tansy was so surprised, she almost stopped playing her flute.
It's a child
, she thought.

The ogress must have understood Tansy, because she whirled around in alarm and roared a warning to her child:
Keep away!

But drawn by the music, the small ogre limped downhill to its mother. Its left leg was wrapped in a bandage.

“Poor thing,” murmured Elena.

The ogress hugged her child.
Oh, my sweet daughter. Just look how those bad men have wounded you!

Tansy pulled her flute away from her mouth. Edward and James must have hurt the ogress's child! She felt so ashamed.

Pulling her small blue bottle from the pocket of her gown, Elena approached the ogress and child. Roaring, the ogress reared back.

“Quick,” Tansy said, lifting her flute to her lips. “Let her know you mean no harm.”

As Tansy played a soothing melody, Elena's thoughts soared above the music.
Please let me help your daughter. I have a lotion that may heal her wound.

The ogress relaxed and allowed Elena to unwind the bandage from her daughter's leg. There was a nasty cut just below her knee. Tansy suspected it came from Edward's sword.
Don't be afraid
,
child,
Elena thought as she dabbed lotion over the wound.
This should make you feel better
.

The lotion's magic did its work and, within seconds, the wound had disappeared completely.

The ogress's daughter smiled. Jumping and skipping, she roared with happiness.
Look at me, Mother! My leg is healed. I'm well again!

The ogress looked around at all four
princesses.
Thank you,
she thought. Then she pointed uphill to her shack.
I don't have much to offer, but would you please stay for lunch?

The girls followed the ogress and her daughter into the shack. Its roof beams towered above the princesses, but the ogress could barely stand without hitting her head. A gigantic iron kettle hung in the fireplace, but to the princesses' relief, the ogress showed no intention of cooking and eating them.

In fact, lunch turned out to be vegetable soup and bread. Tansy put down her flute to eat. Afterward, the ogress showed them the huge garden behind her house. It was filled with carrots, potatoes, peas, and tomatoes—and all kinds of flowers.

Motioning to Tansy to play her flute again, the ogress asked,
Why do humans hate ogres?

They're afraid of you,
thought Lysandra.

They don't understand you,
thought Fatima.

They think that you start fires and steal their sheep,
thought Tansy.
And that maybe you'll eat them!

The ogress's furry eyebrows drew together.
But I don't even eat meat!
she thought.
Can you tell them that?

We can try,
thought Elena.

The princesses smiled at one another. Tansy was sure they were all thinking the same thing: Not only was the ogre an
ogress
, but she was a vegetarian, too!

The ogress's daughter had been playing in the garden, digging in the dirt with a stick. Now she ran up to her mother and hugged her. The ogress glanced down at her daughter's leg, which showed no trace of its earlier wound.
You are the first humans to be kind to us,
she thought.
I wish there was something I could do for you.

Tansy's heart skipped a beat, but she kept on playing.
Perhaps there
is
something you could do,
she thought.
Those stone statues…could you make them human again?

T
HROWING BACK HER SHAGGY HEAD, THE OGRESS
roared so loudly, the princesses' ears rang.
How can you ask me that?
she thought.
Those men tried to kill my daughter!!

I know.
Tansy gulped.
But two of those men are my brothers
.

The ogress frowned.
Then I am sorry for you.

Please give them a second chance,
pleaded Tansy.
We can explain what we've learned about
you. We can make sure no one ever bothers you again.

The ogress's frown deepened.
I'd like to believe you, but how can I take the chance? You don't look much older than my daughter. Why would other humans listen to what you say?

Tansy straightened her shoulders and nodded toward her friends.
Because we're princesses
.
My father is king of Majesta. He has never believed the rumors the villagers spread about you. If you free the men, the villagers will see you mean no harm. My father will give you his protection.

The ogress cast a glance over her garden and home.
And my daughter and I can stay here as long as we want? No one will try to make us leave?

Tansy nodded.
I promise
.

The ogress sighed heavily.
All right
.
Wait here
. She lumbered into the shack, returning
a few minutes later with a small cloth pouch. She handed the pouch to Tansy.
There's powder inside. Throw a tiny pinch over each statue's head.

Tansy's face lit up.
Thank you so much! I promise you won't regret this.
The ogress's hand was too large to shake, so she squeezed one of her fingers instead.

The ogress and her daughter waited inside their shack while Tansy and her friends raced down to the well. Tansy opened the pouch, drew out a pinch of the powder, and threw it over James's head. Flecked with gold and silver, the powder sparkled as it fell. Immediately the granite melted into warm, rosy flesh.

Still on his knees, James glanced up in confusion at Tansy and the other princesses. Then he leaped to his feet, his cheeks red
with embarrassment. “I…uh…I was looking for something. A…a…
rock
to throw at the ogre,” he stammered. “Hey—what are you doing here? And what are those funny purple things you're wearing over your eyes?”

“We'll explain in a minute,” said Tansy. “But first we need to free the others.” She opened the pouch wide so she and her friends could all take pinches of powder to toss over Edward and the rest of the statues.

Sneezing violently as the powder drifted over him, Edward waved his sword in the air. “Take that, you fire-setting, sheep-eating, spell-casting—”

“STOP!” shouted Tansy, quickly stepping back to avoid being sliced in two.

Edward stared at Tansy and her friends, looking just as bewildered as the other young
men. Then they all began asking questions at once.

Tansy waved her arms in the air. “Be quiet and we'll explain.”

The men sat on the ground before them, and the princesses took turns telling their story. They told about trying to follow Edward and James on Fatima's flying carpet. They described the old woman they'd met, and the good advice she'd given. Finally, they explained what Tansy's flute had revealed about the ogress and her daughter.

After the princesses finished speaking, the young men remained quiet for a long time. “I feel kind of foolish now,” one of them said at last.

“Me too,” said another.

Edward bowed his head. “I wounded a
child
,” he said, sounding ashamed.

“But she's okay now,” Elena reminded him softly.

James ran a hand through his hair. “You're saying the ogre is really an ogress and she's a
vegetarian
?”

Tansy nodded. “That's right.”

“Well, I guess she wouldn't steal sheep then,” he said.

“No,” said Tansy. “And I'm sure she didn't do any of those other horrible things she's been accused of, either. She only wants to live in peace.”

James scrambled to his feet. “Maybe we should go and apologize.”

“That's a great idea,” said Tansy. “Only you'll need to wear blindfolds. And I'll need mine to play my flute so the ogress can understand your thoughts.”

It was decided that Edward, James, and a
young man named Steven would go to see the ogress. “Of course the blindfolds would have to be
purple
,” Edward grumbled as they approached the shack. “That's a
girl
color.”

Tansy smiled. “It's a
royal
color too, you know.”

When the ogress opened the door, Tansy raised her flute and began to play. Many thoughts swirled through the air.

Thank you for releasing us,
thought Steven.

I'm sorry I believed things about you that weren't true,
thought James.

I'm sorry I hurt your daughter,
thought Edward.
I'm glad she's okay now.

The ogress was so pleased with their apologies that she gave them vegetables from her garden to share with their families and the other young men.

By now it was late afternoon. Edward's and
James's horses had disappeared after their masters had changed into statues. James frowned. “I guess we'll have to walk back to the castle.”

Fatima eyed the brothers. “It'll be a squeeze,” she said, “but I think I can fit two more on my carpet.”

When all six of them were seated as comfortably as possible, they waved good-bye to the eight young men returning home on foot. With the added weight of Edward and James, the carpet rose more slowly than usual, but soon it had cleared the treetops and was soaring toward the castle.

“Wow! You can see everything from up here!” James exclaimed.

Edward said nothing. As they picked up speed, his face turned as white as the snow on Mount Majesta, and his knuckles gripped the edge of the carpet. Suddenly Tansy realized why Edward always refused to climb the stairs to her tower room. She hid a smile. Her biggest, strongest, oldest brother—who'd shown no fear in facing what he thought was a ferocious ogre—was afraid of heights!