Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales Paperback

Ivan expected the white cat, whose name seemed to be Blanchefleur,

to leave him with Marmalade. Instead, she accompanied them, following Ivan through the doorway, then through a great hall whose

walls were hung with tapestries showing cats sitting in gardens,

climbing trees, hunting rabbits, catching fish. Here too there were cats, setting out bowls on two long wooden tables, and on a shorter table set on a dais at the end of the room. As Marmalade passed,

they nodded, and a gray cat who seemed to be directing their activities said, “We’re almost ready, Mr. Marmalade. The birds are nicely roasted, and the mint sauce is really a treat if I say so myself.”

“Excellent, Mrs. Pebbles. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking

forward to those birds. Tailcatcher said that he caught them himself.”

“Well, with a little help!” said Mrs. Pebbles, acerbically. “He doesn’t go on the hunt alone, does he now, Mr. Marmalade? Oh, begging your pardon, Miss,” she said when she saw Blanchefleur. “I didn’t

know you were there.”

“I couldn’t care less what you say about him,” said Blanchefleur,

with a sniff and a twitch of her tail. “He’s nothing to me.”

“As you say, Miss,” said Mrs. Pebbles, not sounding particularly

convinced.

At the back of the great hall was another, smaller door that led

to a long hallway. Ivan was startled when, at the end of the hallway, which had been rather dark, they emerged into a room filled with sunlight. It had several windows looking out onto a green lawn,

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and scattered around the room were low cushions, on which cats

sat engaged in various tasks. Some were carding wool, some were

spinning it on drop spindles, some were plying the yarn or winding

it into skeins. In a chair by one of the windows sat the Lady, with a piece of embroidery in her lap. One of the cats was reading a book aloud, but stopped when they entered.

“My Lady, this is Ivan Miller, your new apprentice,” said Marmalade.

“Otherwise known as the Idiot,” said Blanchefleur. “And he seems

to deserve the name. He’s said nothing for himself all this time.”

“My dear, you should be polite to your cousin,” said the Lady. “Ivan, you’ve already met my daughter, Blanchefleur, and Marmalade, who takes such marvelous care of us all. These are my ladies-in-waiting: Elderberry, Twilight, Snowy, Whiskers, and Fluff. My daughter tells me you have nothing to say for yourself. Is that true?”

Ivan stared at her, sitting in her chair, surrounded by cats. She had green eyes, and although her gray hair hung down to the floor, she reminded him of his mother. “Yes, Ma’am,” he said.

She looked at him for a moment, appraisingly. Then she said,

“Very well. I will send you where you need not say anything. Just

this morning I received a letter from an old friend of mine, Professor Owl. He is compiling an Encyclopedia of All Knowledge, but he is old and feels arthritis terribly in his legs. He can no longer write the entries himself. For the first year of your apprenticeship, you will go to Professor Owl in the Eastern Waste and help him with his Encyclopedia. Do you think you can do that, nephew?”

“It’s all the same to me,” said Ivan. It was obvious that no one

wanted him here, just as no one had wanted him at the mill. What

did it matter where he went?

“Then you shall set out tomorrow morning,” said the Lady.

“Tonight you shall join us for dinner. Are the preparations ready,

Marmalade?”

“Almost, my Lady,” said the orange cat.

“How will I find this Professor Owl?” asked Ivan.

“Blanchefleur will take you,” said the Lady.

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? Blanchefleur ?

“You can’t be serious!” said Blanchefleur. “He’s an idiot, and he

stinks like a pigsty.”

“Then show him the bathroom, where he can draw himself a

bath,” said the Lady. “And give him new clothes to wear. Those are