Babes In WENNLand, Part 9

“Thanks, Floretta,” Scott said as they ducked through the undergrowth. “You saved our skins. The Living Trees really hate fire. I knew their weakness, too, but I didn't have anything around that makes fire in a hurry.”

“You're welcome, Scott. You're family, even if some of the others don't think so.” She hugged him. “I couldn't let them hurt you.” She leaned over the children. “And who are these little darlings?”

“I'm Lisa, ma'am,” she said politely, “but I'm not little. Not really.” She put an arm on Alan's shoulder. “And this is my brother Alan.”

Alan just stared at her. “Are you really a gypsy?”

Lisa groaned. “Alan!”

Floretta chuckled. “That's all right. Yes, I am a gypsy, young man. I do fortunes and gather fruit and vegetables from the forest to sell at the market. We're going to have our own booth at the Christmas Festival later today.”

“The Festival!” Lisa had forgotten all about it. “I'll bet Barnaby is going to try to do something to ruin the Christmas Festival.”

Scott nodded. “I wouldn't put it past him. If we have no toys for Santa, we won't be able to make a profit, and Santa won't have enough toys for all the kids in the world. A lot of kids won't get presents.”

“Oh dear,” Floretta fretted. “We're going to be taking the carts into town anyway as soon as I get back. We'll give you a ride.”

Scott smiled. “I haven't driven the carts in...well, in a long time.”

“You've driven gypsy carts?” Alan asked, his eyes getting bigger by the minute.

“I'm part-gypsy, remember? My mother was a member of Floretta's tribe. My father was a butcher in Toyland.” His eyes looked a little sad. “It's why I'm not accepted in either place. I'm not enough of a Toylander for the people in Toyland Town, and I'm not enough of a gypsy for the tribe.”

Floretta patted his shoulder. “You're a good man no matter what, Scott. You're a lot like your mother. People dismissed her as a thief, but she had a good heart.” She frowned. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”

“I was banished.” Scott sighed. “I was accused of stealing sheep and our toy inventory. I didn't do either.”

“We found out he's innocent,” Lisa added.

Alan nodded. “Someone planted the evidence in his office!” He kicked at a pebble. “I'll bet it was that rotten Barnaby. He doesn't like Scott, or us, really. Or anybody.”

“Mr. Barnaby?” Floretta looked surprised. “I don't really think he's that bad. He's never done anything to us. Why, he let us stay on his grounds when we were in town.”

“Barnaby's crooked in name and crooked in nature.” Scott pushed some branches aside. “He'd do anything to sell off the factory and make money. That's all he cares about.” He turned to Lisa. “What are you kids doing out here? Where's your grandfather?”

“He's back at Toyland,” Lisa explained. “We got tired of waiting for the grown-ups to do something, so we went after you ourselves.”

“I appreciate it, kids, but it probably wasn't a good idea.” He pushed aside another branch. “I imagine your grandpa is worried about you, and you don't know the woods.”

Alan kicked another rock. “We just wanted to help.”

Lisa nodded. “We're old enough to do some things on our own.”

“Well, yes,” Scott reminded them, “but you don't know the woods, or what's in here.” He turned to Floretta. “How much further to the camp? We really need help getting back to Toyland. I'm afraid Barnaby will try something at the toy factory.”

“Oh, we're there now.” Floretta looked up as they heard a commotion very near-by. “What's all that about?”

Scott pushed away another branch. “I think I hear Maple and Gil.”

Lisa made a face at a familiar squawk. “And that would be Jill, I think. She sounds like Miss Booth complaining."  

They emerged into a sun-dappled clearing. A noisy group of people, most in colorful outfits and jangling jewelry like Floretta's, were tying up what indeed looked like Maple, Gil, Jack, Jill, Betty, and Wee Mackie Willie, the town crier. A group of brightly-painted carts encircled the clearing.

“Betty!” Scott hurried over to her, pushing past several gypsies. “Release her!”

“We found these people in the woods, snooping around,” said the tallest gypsy. He had long, thick dark hair and a very bushy black beard. He looked like a big bear in a red and purple tunic. “They say they're looking for a friend, but I don't believe them. No one comes here but criminals and animals and us gypsies.”

“It's me they're looking for, Vardan,” Scott explained. “They're my friends from Toyland Town.”

“Scott!” The moment Betty was released, she ran to him. “You're all right!”

Scott smirked. “It would take a lot more than a bunch of living trees to take me out.”

Betty shook her head. “Are you sure you didn't steal the sheep?”

Scott pulled away from her. “Betty!”

Maple chuckled. “She's kiddin', Scotty. We got the cops to check the eviden-ts. Yeah, they were pork sausages, not lamb. Someone probably put 'em in your office while no one was lookin'.” She frowned. “We still haven't found my poor sheep, though. We were hopin' they'd be out here.”

“C.J Grumio and Mr. Eldridge are looking for the toys now,” Wee Mackie Winkie added, tugging his nightshirt down. “We're supposed to meet them at the Christmas Festival after we get Scotty back.” He looked around, shivering. “Could we get moving? This place gives me the heebie-jeebies. I hate the dark, and who knows when you'll be attacked by some troll?”

“Trolls are real?” Alan's face was utterly delighted. “Neat-o!”

Floretta shivered. “Oh, it's not neat at all, young man! Trolls are awful creatures. They're hairy and smelly and will attack anything that gets in their way.”

Scott nodded. “I've tangled with them before.” He rolled up his sleeve, revealing three long, angry red scars. “I was lucky I just got off with these. They tried to eat me whole, but I was too fast for them and escaped.”

“I think we need to get moving.” Jill straightened her fancy yellow and blue dress. “Jack and I are doing 'The Night Before Christmas' with Betty and Maple and the musicians at the Christmas Festival. We have one more rehearsal before the big show.”

Scott nodded. “And I'm supposed to be helping Mr. Eldridge and C.J with the toy shop booth.”

Two strong gypsies helped Floretta onto the driver's seat of one of the carts. “We'll give you a ride to Toyland Town. We're on our way there ourselves. We'll be selling our cocoa truffles and candied fruit and telling fortunes.”

Vardan helped Lisa in next to Floretta. She watched as Alan eagerly climbed into a cart next to Vardan. “Are you a real gypsy, Miss Floretta?” she asked.

“Of course. My family goes back generations. We've been a part of this tribe for centuries.”

Lisa had to hold on tight as the Floretta cracked the reigns and the cart started bouncing off through the woods. “Ohh! It's kind of bouncy, isn't it?”

Floretta smiled. “You get used to it after a while, little one. There's nothing like traveling by cart, I always say. Beautiful scenery, and your home is always with you wherever you go.”

“I'm not little!” Lisa protested. “I'm almost grown-up...well, sort of.”

“Why do you want to be grown-up?” Floretta gave her a strange sideways look. “There's plenty of time for you to be an adult.”

Lisa picked at a thread on her lacy apron. “I guess I really haven't had much of a chance to be a kid lately. Mother takes care of us alone. I go straight home from school and take care of Alan. I start dinner and clean and do my homework and make sure Alan does his.”

“Why don't you make a game out of it?” Floretta chuckled. “Put on music and see who can clean the fastest and the best, with no corners missed. Set your homework to music, too. You'd be surprised how easier a rhyme can make learning your capitols or how much two times five is.”

“Well...maybe.” Lisa sighed. “I can't believe any of this is real. Where I come from, toys are just toys. They're kid's stuff. And nursery rhymes are just something babies read, and gypsies are a wandering group of people in geography books.”

Floretta shook her head. “You have to believe, young lady. Just like people always believe the spring will come back after winter, or know they breathe air, even when they can't see it. The holiday spirit is a special feeling.” She touched her chest. “Right down in here. It's something you can't wrap and put under the tree. It's in your heart.”

Lisa thought a lot about that as they clip-clopped across the Forest of No Return. The trees finally began to thin out. There were fewer and fewer of them, until finally, they found themselves in the green woods behind the Toy Factory.

“Everyone out here!” Floretta said cheerfully. Scott and Gil helped Lisa down.

“Thank you for the lovely ride, Miss Floretta,” Lisa said. “Aren't you coming with us?”

Floretta shook her head. “I'm afraid we don't have the time. We have to get to the Christmas Festival to set up our booth.” She took Lisa's palm and ran her finger over it. “I read in your future that you'll learn a very important lesson...and you'll do someone a great service. You have a lot of heart, young lady. You just need to have faith. It's not such a bad thing to be a child.”

Lisa smiled. She'd thought a lot about what Floretta said on the trip. Even if she didn't believe a word Floretta said or that she could predict the future, it was nice of her to talk to her like a real adult. “Thank you, Miss Floretta.”

“You're welcome.” Vardan climbed in with her now. “All right, everyone. Off to the Christmas Festival!”