Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales Paperback(116)

the British Museum, and one in the New York Public Library. It is

the only Encyclopedia of All Knowledge, and as you can imagine, it

takes all my time to keep it up to date. I’ve devoted my life to it. But since I’ve developed arthritis in my legs,”—and Ivan could see that indeed, the owl’s legs looked more knobby than they ought to—“it’s

been difficult for me to write my updates. So I’m grateful to the Lady for sending you. Here is where you will work.” He pointed to the table with his clawed foot. On it was a large pile of paper, each page filled with scribbled notes.

“These are the notes I’ve made indicating what should be updated

and how. If you’ll look at the page on top of the pile, for instance, you’ll see that the entry on Justice needs to be updated. There have been, in the last month alone, five important examples of injustice, from the imprisonment of a priest who criticized the Generalissimo to a boy who was deprived of his supper when his mother wrongly

accused him of stealing a mince pie. You must add each example to

the entry under Justice—Injustice—Examples. The entry itself can be found in one of the cabinets along the wall—I believe it’s the twenty-sixth row from the door, eight cabinets up. Of course I can’t possibly include every example of injustice—there are hundreds every hour.

I only include the ones that most clearly illustrated the concept. And here are my notes on a species of wild rose newly discovered in the mountains of Cathay. That will go under Rose—Wild—Species. Do

you understand, boy? You are to look at my notes and add whatever

information is necessary to update the entry, writing directly on the file. The Encyclopedia itself will incorporate your update, turning it into typescript, but you must make your letters clearly. And no

spelling errors! Now, it’s almost nightfall, and I understand that

humans have defective vision, so I suggest you sleep until dawn,

when you can get up and start working on these notes as well as the ones I’ll be writing overnight.”

? 349 ?

? Blanchefleur ?

“Professor,” said Blanchefleur, “we haven’t had dinner.”

“Dinner?” said Professor Owl. “Of course, of course. I wouldn’t

want you to go hungry. There are some mice and birds in the

cupboard. I caught them just last night. You’re certainly welcome to them.”

“Human beings can’t eat mice and birds,” said Blanchefleur. “They

have to cook their food.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” said Professor Owl. “An inefficient system, I must say. I believe I had—but where did I put it?” He turned around, looking perplexed, then opened the door of a closet under the stairs.

He poked his head in, and then tossed out several things, so both

Ivan and Blanchefleur had to dodge them. A pith helmet, a butterfly net, and a pair of red flannel underwear for what must have been a

very tall man. “Yes, here is it. But you’ll have to help me with it.”

“It” was a large iron kettle. Ivan helped the owl pull it out of the closet and place it on the long wooden table. He looked into it, not knowing what to expect, but it was empty.

“It’s a magic kettle, of course,” said Professor Owl. “I seem to

remember that it makes soup. You can sleep on the second floor. The third is my study, and I hope you will refrain from disturbing me

during daylight hours, when I will be very busy indeed. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going out for a bit of a hunt. I do hope you will be useful to me. My last apprentice was a disappointment.” He waddled comically across the floor and up the stairs.

“These scholarly types aren’t much for small talk,” said Blanchefleur.

“I thought he was going out?” said Ivan.

“He is,” said Blanchefleur. “You don’t think he’s just going to walk out the door, do you? He’s an owl. He’s going to launch himself from one of the tower windows.”

Ivan looked into the kettle again. Still empty. “Do you really think it’s magic?” he asked. He had eaten the bread and cheese a long time ago, and his stomach was starting to growl.

“Try some magic words,” said Blanchefleur.

“Abracadabra,” he said. “Open Sesame.” What other magic words

? 350 ?