The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo [44]
“Speak,” said the fortuneteller. “Ask.”
“My parents,” said Peter.
“That is your question?” said the fortuneteller. “They are dead.”
Peter’s hands trembled. “That is not my
question,” he said. “I know that already. You must tell me something that I do not know. You must tell me of another — you must tell me . . .”
The fortuneteller narrowed her eyes. “Ah,” she said. “Her? Your sister? That is your question? Very well. She lives.”
Peter’s heart seized upon the words. She lives. She lives!
“No, please,” said Peter. He closed his eyes. He concentrated. “If she lives, then I must find her, so my question is, how do I make my way there, to where she is?”
He kept his eyes closed; he waited.
“The elephant,” said the fortuneteller.
“What?” he said. He opened his eyes, certain that he had misunderstood.
“You must follow the elephant,” said the fortuneteller. “She will lead you there.”
Copyright © 2009 by Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo
is the author of Because of Winn-Dixie, which received a Newbery Honor; The Tiger Rising, which was a National Book Award Finalist; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which won a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award; the best-selling Mercy Watson series; and The Magician’s Elephant. About The Tale of Despereaux, she says, “My best friend’s son asked me if I would write a story for him. ‘It’s about an unlikely hero,’ he said, ‘one with exceptionally large ears.’ ‘What happens to this hero?’ I asked. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘That’s why I want you to write the story, so we can find out.’ Well, Luke Bailey, here’s the tale of your exceptionally large-eared, extremely unlikely hero. Thank you for waiting so patiently.” Kate DiCamillo lives in Minneapolis.
Timothy Basil Ering
is the author and illustrator of The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone and Necks Out for Adventure!, as well as the illustrator of Mr. and Mrs. God in the Creation Kitchen by Nancy Wood, and Finn Throws a Fit! by David Elliot. His artwork has also appeared in magazines, theater sets, private murals, and fine art galleries. He says, “My mother may have been a mouse in her past life, as I watched her save and help so many mice in our house growing up. The illustrations I’ve done of Despereaux Tilling are, in a way, my tribute to her.”