Fortune's Magic Farm by Suzanne Selfors (i read book .TXT) 📗

with Sage and her family at the end of the crowd, had not yet been noticed by Mr. Hench. “It worked,” she whispered.

“These old eyes have never seen anything like it,” Grandma Maxine whispered back.

Mr. Hench poked a few workers with his umbrella. “Move it. Move it, I say. Lazy bunch of good-for-nothings.”

“But… but… but…” Gwen stammered. “The factory is gone.”

“Where’d it go?” Leonard asked.

Mr. Hench nearly fell over. “What?” He hurried back up the road. “What’s going on here?” He poked the mountain with his umbrella. “Where’d this come from?”

As Mr. Hench poked and cursed, the workers of the former Magnificently Supreme Umbrella Factory gave Isabelle their full attention while she explained the wonders of the Curative Cherries. And she thought it best to do so in a little song.

The Fruit Song

Is your phlegm weighing you down?

Does your fever make you frown?

Is the frog in your throat hopping around?

Eat some fruit, eat some fruit, eat some fruit.

Are your boogers cramping your style?

Are your lips too chapped to smile?

Are the sores on your tongue terribly vile?

Eat some fruit, eat some fruit, eat some fruit.

Stop wheezing and sneezing and listen to me,

for I have something that’s totally free.

If you’re feeling sick it will sure do the trick

but don’t eat the stem and spit out the pit…

Are you tired of wiping your snot?

Does your breath always smell like rot?

This is better than pills and won’t hurt like a shot,

eat some fruit, eat some fruit, eat some fruit.

As Nesbitt, Walnut, Sage, and Grandma Maxine helped hand out the Curative Cherries, they all sang, “Eat some fruit, eat some fruit, eat some fruit.”

Isabelle dove straight for Gwen.

“Mmmm, that’s good.” Gwen’s eyes began to sparkle. The crust around her nostrils disappeared. “I feel great,” she said. “Isabelle? Is that really you? What happened to your hair? Why did you leave without saying goodbye? Where have you been? I’ve missed you so much. Mama Lu’s been spreading horrible lies about you. She called you a thief.”

“I don’t care about Mama Lu.” Which, for the first time in Isabelle’s life, was the truth. She didn’t care if Mama Lu took away another privilege, or yelled at her, or called her a stupid dimwit. Mama Lu was as insignificant as a grain of salt. “Could you help Grandma and me pass these out?” She poured some cherries into Gwen’s hand. “Find Leonard and give him one. He can help us, too.”

Isabelle found Boris and Bert, the Limewigs, and the Wormbottoms. They straightened their backs and legs and held their heads higher than they had ever held them before. “I can breathe,” Mrs. Limewig said.

“My headache’s gone,” Boris said.

“My nose is clear,” Mr. Wormbottom said.

Mr. Hench stumbled down the road, waving his umbrella. “I don’t know what all the singing’s about but we’ve got a real problem here, people. The factory is gone!”

“I don’t see why that’s a problem,” Grandma Maxine said. “I say, good riddance.”

“Look, old woman,” Mr. Hench growled. “You don’t seem to understand. Mr. Supreme is coming here this morning for an inspection and when he sees that his factory’s gone, well, I’m going to be in a heap of trouble.”

That comment frightened the workers and they huddled. “He’ll blame us,” they said.

“No, he won’t blame you,” Isabelle told them. “I won’t let him. I’ll tell him that this was my idea.”

“That’s too dangerous,” Sage said. “I’m the protector. I’ll tell him that it was my idea.”

“I’m not afraid of him any longer,” Isabelle said. Which, for the first time in Isabelle’s life, was the truth.

And at that very moment, it stopped raining. A patch of blue appeared directly above the gravel road.

“The marmots have made a dent in the Cloud Clover,” Walnut said.

The blue patch widened, pushing away the clouds. Workers turned their faces toward the sky. Yellow rays trickled down, caressing their heads and drying their slickers. Grandma Maxine held up her arms. “It’s the sun,” she said. “The sun has returned.”

Some who stood on that road could remember the days when Runny Cove had been a sunny, happy place. But for the young ones, like Gwen and Leonard, the glowing sky was a sight they had never dreamed possible. As the villagers cast off their slickers, the gray that had soaked into their bodies began to evaporate. Mold patches dried up. Hair turned blond, brunette, red, and black. Irises ignited. Gwen took Isabelle’s hand, her blond curls bouncing. “It’s the sun, Isabelle. I’m so glad we get to see it together.”

Leonard wandered up, his birthmark less noticeable on skin that had turned brown. “Isn’t this great?” he asked. “It’s like a dream.”

“Let’s go to the beach,” Boris said to Bert. “We haven’t made a sandcastle since we were kids.”

“Let’s take a stroll,” Mr. Limewig said to Mrs. Limewig. “Remember how strolling used to be our favorite thing to do?”

“Let’s do absolutely nothing,” Mrs. Wormbottom said to Mr. Wormbottom. “I can’t remember the last time we did absolutely nothing.”

Gwen and Leonard somersaulted down the sand dunes while Leonard’s parents waltzed off down the road. Even Mr. Hench got caught up in the happiness, announcing that he was going to dig for buried treasure. Soon everyone had wandered away, holding hands, laughing, running, and leaping. Grandma Maxine, Isabelle, Sage, Nesbitt, and Walnut watched with quiet satisfaction.

“Isabelle, you should be very proud of yourself,” Nesbitt said. “You’ve brought a bit of happiness to Runny Cove.”

“I couldn’t have done it without all of you. Without… my family.”

BEEP! BEEP!

Isabelle’s heart lurched, then somersaulted. “Oh no. Here comes Mr. Supreme.” It’s easy not to feel afraid of someone when that person is far, far away. But now she wasn’t so sure.

A black roadster barreled up the road. Walnut whipped out his packet of Camoflauge Creepers but not soon enough—they had been spotted. The driver slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop just inches from Nesbitt. The driver’s door opened and Mr. Supreme slid out, his shiny black coat crunching as he stood. “What have