"Patricia C. Wrede - Enchanted Forest 4 - Calling on Dragons" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wrede Patricia C)

attached, then shook it, then wiggled its toes. "My goodness gracious. Thank you very much, ma'am."
"Morwen. And I would still like that explanation."
A low, warning growl of agreement came out of the apple tree, and a moment later Murgatroyd
scrambled down through the apple's branches to the fence rail.
Killer gave the cat a nervous look and began backing away. "It isn't a very interesting story. I'm sure
you all have better things to do."
"All?" Morwen glanced back over her shoulder. Fiddlesticks, Miss Eliza, Aunt Ophelia, Jasmine,
Trouble, Chaos, and Scorn were lined up in a long row at the bottom of the garden, staring at the rabbit.
They made an intimidating picture. When Morwen looked at Killer again, he had retreated another
couple of feet. Morwen glared.
"I, ah, was just going," said the rabbit. "You see, I'm late."
"For what?" Morwen demanded.
"Something important, I'm sure. Not that it matters. I'm always late, you see. It runs in the family; my
brother even got himself a big gold pocket watch, and he still can't get anywhere on time."
"In that case, it won't matter if you're a little later. How did you happen to get caught in my lilac bush?"
The rabbit sighed. "I wanted something to eat, and this thing-you say it's a lilac?-looked large enough
for a meal. It takes a lot to fill me up, now that I'm so big. Only I couldn't reach the bit I wanted, and
when I tried, the branches twisted around and I got stuck, and then he snarled at me-" Killer broke off,
cringing, as Murgatroyd demonstrated the snarl for Morwen's benefit.
Morwen frowned at the rabbit. "How long have you been six feet tall?"
"Seven feet, eleven inches," corrected Killer, "counting the ears.
Since this morning. And it's no fun, believe me. I'm hungry all the time, and I don't fit in my hole, and I
can't hide under bushes the way I used to."
"And how did you happen to grow so large so quickly?"
"I don't know." Killer sighed again and his ears lifted and dropped expressively. "I was just nibbling at
my clover patch when all of a sudden everything started shrinking. The next thing I knew, I was nearly
eight feet tall-counting the ears-and there wasn't enough clover for a snack, much less breakfast. It didn't
even taste right," he finished sadly.
"Before or after you started growing?"
The rabbit's ears stiffened as he frowned in concentration. "The taste? Before. Definitely before. The
leaves were a little sour and the stems didn't crunch right."
It sounded as if some enchanted seeds had gotten mixed in with the clover, and Killer had eaten the
sprouts. If Morwen was lucky, he wouldn't have eaten all of them. A plant that increased one's size
would be a valuable addition to the garden, even if it only worked on rabbits. "I'd like to see this clover
patch."
"WellтАж" Killer hesitated. "Do you have to bring them? I don't like it."
"I don't think I'll need everyone," Morwen said. "Aunt Ophelia, Trouble, and Miss Eliza will be quite
enough."
"Why can't I come?" Fiddlesticks trotted up to the gate and inspected the rabbit through the slits. "I
didn't get to chase Fatso, and I didn't get to chase the rabbit. My, he's big. And I didn't get any fish."
"You talk too much, that's why," Trouble told him.
"Perhaps you should go tell Jasper what's happened," Miss Eliza put in.
"Right," said Fiddlesticks. "Maybe he's caught a mouse while we've been out here talking to rabbits.
Maybe he'll share? And he bounded off.
"Optimist," said Scorn, looking after him.
"If we are going to look at vegetables," said Aunt Ophelia in tones that conveyed her poor opinion of
the entire undertaking, "perhaps we should get it over with."
"Are you done for now, Morwen?"Jasmine asked. "Because if you are I'm going back to the window
before someone else grabs it."
"Go ahead," Morwen told her. Immediately, Jasmine and Scorn took off at a dead run for the house.