The Tale of Despereaux - Kate DiCamillo [6]
At least Lester had the decency to weep at his act of perfidy. Reader, do you know what “perfidy” means? I have a feeling you do, based on the little scene that has just unfolded here. But you should look up the word in your dictionary, just to be sure.
THE MOUSE COUNCIL sent Furlough to collect Despereaux. And Furlough found his brother in the library, standing on top of the great, open book, his tail wrapped tightly around his feet, his small body shivering.
Despereaux was reading the story out loud to himself. He was reading from the beginning so that he could get to the end, where the reader was assured that the knight and the fair maiden lived together happily ever after.
Despereaux wanted to read those words. Happily ever after. He needed to say them aloud; he needed some assurance that this feeling he had for the Princess Pea, this love, would come to a good end. And so he was reading the story as if it were a spell and the words of it, spoken aloud, could make magic happen.
“See here,” said Furlough out loud to himself. He looked at his brother and then looked away. “This is just the kind of thing I’m talking about. This is exactly the kind of thing. What’s he doing here for cripes’ sake? He’s not eating the paper. He’s talking to the paper. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong.”
“Hey,” he said to Despereaux.
Despereaux kept reading.
“Hey!” shouted Furlough. “Despereaux! The Mouse Council wants you.”
“Pardon?” said Despereaux. He looked up from the book.
“The Mouse Council has called you to sit with them.”
“Me?” said Despereaux.
“You.”
“I’m busy right now,” said Despereaux, and he bent his head again to the open book.
Furlough sighed. “Geez,” he said. “Cripes. Nothing makes sense to this guy. Nothing. I was right to turn him in. He’s sick.”
Furlough crawled up the chair leg and then hopped onto the book. He sat next to Despereaux. He tapped him on the head once, twice.
“Hey,” he said. “The Mouse Council isn’t asking. They’re telling. They’re commanding. You have to come with me. Right now.”
Despereaux turned to Furlough. “Do you know what love is?” he said.
“Huh?”
“Love.”
Furlough shook his head. “You’re asking the wrong question,” he said. “The question you should be asking is why the Mouse Council wants to see you.”
“There is somebody who loves me,” said Despereaux. “And I love her and that is the only thing that matters to me.”
“Somebody who loves you? Somebody who you love? What difference does that make? What matters is that you’re in a lot of trouble with the Mouse Council.”
“Her name,” said Despereaux, “is Pea.”
“What?”
“The person who loves me. Her name is Pea.”
“Cripes,” said Furlough, “you’re missing the whole point of everything here. You’re missing the point of being a mouse. You’re missing the point of being called to sit with the Mouse Council. You’ve got to come with me. It’s the law. You’ve been called.”
Despereaux sighed. He reached out and touched the words fair maiden in the book. He traced them with one paw. And then he put his paw to his mouth.
“Cripes,” said Furlough. “You’re making a fool of yourself. Let’s go.”
“I honor you,” whispered Despereaux. “I honor you.”
And then, reader, he followed Furlough over the book and down the chair leg and across the library floor to the waiting Mouse Council.
He allowed his brother to lead him to his fate.
THE ENTIRE MOUSE COMMUNITY, as instructed by the Most Very Honored Head Mouse, had gathered behind the wall of the castle ballroom. The members of the Mouse Council sat atop three bricks piled high, and spread out before them was every mouse, old and young, foolish and wise, who lived in the castle.
They were all waiting for Despereaux.
“Make way,” said Furlough. “Here he is. I’ve got him. Make way.”
Furlough pushed through the crowd of mice. Despereaux clung to his brother’s tail.
“There he is,” the mice whispered.