FOURTEEN

Elodie’s bedroom was filling with morning light as Pinky crept inside. It was by far the most interesting room she had encountered, with all sorts of miniature things on the floor. She wandered through the doll’s house and was amazed at the artificial humans and animals she saw sitting side by side. She picked up an acorn and gave it a sniff, recognizing it from the woods where she and Sam had often played. There was reindeer moss, too. Pinky was especially attracted to a length of bright, pink ribbon that was twisted around other ribbons and doll’s hair. She yanked it and yanked it, but it was knotted up good. Using her sharp teeth she began to gnaw it free when she heard a sound from above. She had forgotten all about the humans!

Luckily Elodie was just beginning to awaken and was stretching her arms into the air, yawning loudly. Pinky dragged the clump of ribbon under the bed and continued to untangle the mess. She had never seen such a pretty ribbon and wanted to take it back to the warren. She knew that Sam would disapprove but she couldn’t bear to leave without it.

All of a sudden Pinky heard the thunder of steps quickly approaching and saw two blue pajama-covered feet leap into the air. Next she heard Elodie scream and Didier giggling as he tormented his sister. “You’re going to school today!” he said, trying to tickle her.

“Get off my bed before I tell Dad,” said Elodie, trying her best to sound angry.

Didier tried to get under the covers, pushing her from the bed with his little feet, “Mustn’t be late!” he squealed.

Elodie landed on the floor with a thud, “Ouch! You little brat!” She jumped back onto the bed and was pulling his hair when Mrs. Verlaine entered the room.

“Elodie! Didier! Stop it this minute!” She separated the two and glared at them. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“She pulled my hair!” whined Didier, rubbing his head.

“He kicked me out of bed!” moaned Elodie, giving Didier a shove with her foot.

“All right, Elodie, stop hurting your brother. And Didier, you leave your sister alone. What are you doing in here, anyway?”

Didier shrugged his shoulders and Elodie answered, “Being a brat as usual!”

“I’m not a brat, you're the brat. Brat! Brat!”

“Didier, that’s enough. Get out of your sister’s room, she needs to get dressed for school. Your father will make you some breakfast.”

Didier hopped off the bed and headed out the door before turning and sticking his tongue out at Elodie.

“Mom!” she yelled, pointing, but he was gone.

Pinky cowered in the corner beneath the bed, hoping that this boisterous family wouldn’t discover her hiding spot. What a lot of commotion! Did humans always wake up making this much noise? She suddenly longed for the quiet and comfort of the warren and the pleasant way everyone treated each other. Well, most of the time, anyway.