Ereth stopped abruptly and gave a snort. “Poppy, some creatures aren’t worth trying to figure out. If they bother you, what I say is, swat ’em with your tail.”
“Ereth, not every tail has quills.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t hold yours against you.” He set off again.
“Ereth,” Poppy said after a while, “if I could just find out what it is that Mr. Ocax is frightened of and tell my family, I wouldn’t care what happened to me.”
Ereth laughed sarcastically. “Even if it kills you?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Poppy, if you don’t stay alive, the only thing you’ll be good for is maggot mash.”
As they traveled farther, Poppy noticed that the trees were growing less dense. There were greater varieties of flowers, too. As the brightness intensified, Poppy guessed that they were reaching the northern limits of the forest.
“Ereth,” she said, “when we get out of the woods, where will we be?”
“First there’s a dirt road and an old barn. Then a field of corn. Beyond the field is some low grass, then the buildings where the people live. There’s also a new big barn. That’s for chickens.”
“What are people like?” Poppy asked. Other than pictures in the magazines back home, she had never actually seen any humans.
“They don’t bother me.”
“Do they dance a lot?”
“What’s dancing?”
“It’s gliding, swirling, dipping, and sliding with someone you like.”
“You are strange,” the porcupine said. “Now, don’t try to distract me. On the short grass—not far from the cornfield—is the salt lick. You figured a way to get it for me yet?”
“Ereth, I haven’t even seen it,” Poppy answered.
“It’s beautiful, Poppy,” Ereth murmured, “really beautiful.”
They had reached the northern edge of Dimwood Forest. Beyond the last of the trees, Poppy saw a dirt road. Even farther was a dilapidated barn—smaller than Gray House and considerably older. It stood on the edge of the field, leaning over slightly. The field itself was full of tall stalks bearing plump and tasseled ears of corn. Tossed by a gentle breeze, row upon row rustled and whispered with heavy ripeness.
Ereth trotted across the dirt road.
“Come on, move it,” the porcupine scolded once he looked back and saw Poppy on the other side.
“I’m checking for Mr. Ocax,” Poppy called across, though since the owl’s one attempt to grab her she had not seen him. Deciding he was either gone or hiding, she darted across the dirt road and rejoined Ereth.
“Let’s go!” the porcupine cried, and plunged into the cornfield, beating his way through the stiff stalks. Poppy paused now and again in his wake to snack on fallen corn, which lay about in great quantity.
Compared with the fallow fields the mice scoured near Gray House, the profusion of food here was a marvel. Back home, the food the family had access to took long hours to find, and there wasn’t that much of it. Here was food enough to feed a family twice their size. Was it this rich field that Mr. Ocax wished to hide? Did he want her family to go hungry? All that searching for food out in the open did make them more vulnerable.
“There!” Ereth cried, when they finally burst through the far side of the cornfield. “Look!”
Poppy sat up. Before her was a neatly cropped grass lawn. Not far from them stood a smooth shiny pole as high as a cornstalk. It was capped by a large block of white salt.
“Isn’t that something,” Ereth whispered. Poppy glanced at her friend. He was drooling.
Now that Poppy could see what she had promised to bring Ereth, her heart sank. How in the world would she be able to do it? It was perfectly clear that even if she could manage to get the salt off the pole, it was too huge for her to carry.
The problem itself was too huge to carry. With a sigh, Poppy looked farther. Beyond the salt lick was a white house. It bore some resemblance to Gray House, but its paint was bright and its windows were newly curtained—signs that suggested that people were living there. Was this what Mr. Ocax didn’t want them to know about?
Poppy turned to the left and saw a red barn. It was considerably larger than the house but had only a few windows. The roof was highly pitched and covered with sheet metal. At the front end of the barn the roof jutted out to form a door hood. Poppy gasped. Sitting right below the overhang near a large, closed window was an owl—an owl twice the size of Mr. Ocax.
CHAPTER 15
Alone Again
ERETH MOANED SOFTLY. “Isn’t that the most luscious thing in the whole world?” he asked, gazing at the salt lick.
Poppy, whose eyes were fixed on the enormous owl, could hardly speak. “It’s awful,” she barely squeaked.
Ereth turned to her. “What are you saying?” he demanded.
“Look!” cried Poppy, trembling, as she pointed to the owl on the barn.
Ereth turned, looked. “Never noticed that before,” he grunted.
In wonder, Poppy murmured, “Mr. Ocax is only half that size.”
Ereth shrugged, then went back to gazing at the salt. “Well, girl,” he said, “have you figured out how you’re going to get that salt for me?”
Poppy, still in a state of shock, managed only to shake her head.
Ereth took one last, loving look at the salt and turned. “You know where to find me,” he said. “Don’t let me down.” With that, he began to waddle away.
“Ereth!” Poppy cried, her fearful trance broken. “Wait!”
The porcupine peered around peevishly. “What now?” he grumbled.
“You aren’t just leaving me here, are you?”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
“Help me,” Poppy said in a small voice.
“Poppy, we made a deal. I’d get you here. You’d get me that salt. I’ve done my part. Now you do yours.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Ereth snapped, lashing his tail in irritation. Poppy backed away. “I’m going home now, but I’ll be waiting.” With a final glare, he said, “Keep your promise, fur ball,” and marched
