The Tale of Despereaux

THE MOUSE COUNCIL sent Furlough to collect Despereaux. And Furlough found his brother in the library, standing on top of the great, open book, his tail wrapped tightly around his feet, his small body shivering.

Despereaux was reading the story out loud to himself. He was reading from the beginning so that he could get to the end, where the reader was assured that the knight and the fair maiden lived together happily ever after.

Despereaux wanted to read those words. Happily ever after. He needed to say them aloud; he needed some assurance that this feeling he had for the Princess Pea, this love, would come to a good end. And so he was reading the story as if it were a spell and the words of it, spoken aloud, could make magic happen.

“See here,” said Furlough out loud to himself. He looked at his brother and then looked away. “This is just the kind of thing I’m talking about. This is exactly the kind of thing. What’s he doing here for cripes’ sake? He’s not eating the paper. He’s talking to the paper. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong.”

“Hey,” he said to Despereaux.

Despereaux kept reading.

“Hey!” shouted Furlough. “Despereaux! The Mouse Council wants you.”

“Pardon?” said Despereaux. He looked up from the book.

“The Mouse Council has called you to sit with them.”

“Me?” said Despereaux.

“You.”

“I’m busy right now,” said Despereaux, and he bent his head again to the open book.

Furlough sighed. “Geez,” he said. “Cripes. Nothing makes sense to this guy. Nothing. I was right to turn him in. He’s sick.”

Furlough crawled up the chair leg and then hopped onto the book. He sat next to Despereaux. He tapped him on the head once, twice.

“Hey,” he said. “The Mouse Council isn’t asking. They’re telling. They’re commanding. You have to come with me. Right now.”

Despereaux turned to Furlough. “Do you know what love is?” he said.

“Huh?”

“Love.”

Furlough shook his head. “You’re asking the wrong question,” he said. “The question you should be asking is why the Mouse Council wants to see you.”

“There is somebody who loves me,” said Despereaux. “And I love her and that is the only thing that matters to me.”

“Somebody who loves you? Somebody who you love? What difference does that make? What matters is that you’re in a lot of trouble with the Mouse Council.”

“Her name,” said Despereaux, “is Pea.”

“What?”

“The person who loves me. Her name is Pea.”

“Cripes,” said Furlough, “you’re missing the whole point of everything here. You’re missing the point of being a mouse. You’re missing the point of being called to sit with the Mouse Council. You’ve got to come with me. It’s the law. You’ve been called.”

Despereaux sighed. He reached out and touched the words fair maiden in the book. He traced them with one paw. And then he put his paw to his mouth.

“Cripes,” said Furlough. “You’re making a fool of yourself. Let’s go.”

“I honor you,” whispered Despereaux. “I honor you.”

And then, reader, he followed Furlough over the book and down the chair leg and across the library floor to the waiting Mouse Council.

He allowed his brother to lead him to his fate.

10

THE ENTIRE MOUSE COMMUNITY, as instructed by the Most Very Honored Head Mouse, had gathered behind the wall of the castle ballroom. The members of the Mouse Council sat atop three bricks piled high, and spread out before them was every mouse, old and young, foolish and wise, who lived in the castle.

They were all waiting for Despereaux.

“Make way,” said Furlough. “Here he is. I’ve got him. Make way.”

Furlough pushed through the crowd of mice. Despereaux clung to his brother’s tail.

“There he is,” the mice whispered. “There he is.”

“He’s so small.”

“They say he was born with his eyes open.”

Some of the mice pulled away from Despereaux in disgust, and others, thrill seekers, reached out to touch him with a whisker or a paw.

“The princess put a finger on him.”

“They say he sat at the foot of the king.”

“It is simply not done!” came the distinctive voice of Despereaux’s aunt Florence.

“Make way, make way!” shouted Furlough. “I have him right here. I have Despereaux Tilling, who has been called to sit with the Mouse Council.”

He led Despereaux to the front of the room. “Honored members of the Mouse Council,” shouted Furlough, “I have brought you Despereaux Tilling, as you requested, to sit with you.” He looked over his shoulder at Despereaux. “Let go of me,” Furlough said.

Despereaux dropped Furlough’s tail. He looked up at the members of the Mouse Council. His father met his gaze and then shook his head and looked away. Despereaux turned and faced the sea of mice.

“To the dungeon!” a voice cried out. “Straight to the dungeon with him.”

Despereaux’s head, which had been full of such delightful phrases as “happily ever after” and “lovely ears” and “I honor you,” suddenly cleared.

“Straight to the dungeon!” another voice shouted.

“Enough,” said the Most Very Honored Head Mouse. “This trial will be conducted in an orderly fashion. We will act civilized.” He cleared his throat. He said to Despereaux, “Son, turn and look at me.”

Despereaux turned. He looked up and into the Head Mouse’s eyes. They were dark eyes, deep and sad and frightened. And looking into them, Despereaux’s heart thudded once, twice.

“Despereaux Tilling,” said the Head Mouse.

“Yes, sir,” said Despereaux.

“We, the fourteen members of the Mouse Council, have discussed your behavior. First, we will give you a chance to defend yourself against these rumors of your egregious acts. Did you or did you not sit at the foot of the human king?”

“I did,” said Despereaux, “but I was listening to the music, sir. I was there to hear the song that the king was singing.”

“To hear the what?”

“The song, sir. He was singing a song about the deep purple falling over sleepy garden walls.”

The Head Mouse shook his head. “Whatever you are talking about is beside the point. The question is this and only this: Did you sit at the foot of the human king?”

“I did, sir.”

The community of mice shifted their tails and paws and whiskers. They waited.

“And did you allow the girl human, the princess, to touch you?”

“Her name is Pea.”