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哈尔的移动城堡|Howl’s Moving Castle

第8章飞天七里格靴

属类： 双语小说 【分类】魔幻小说 -[作者: 黛安娜-W-琼斯] 阅读：[6052]
Chapter 8 In which Sophie leaves the castle in several direct
《 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 》
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次日早晨，看到卡西法明亮快活地燃烧着时，苏菲真是松了一口气。如果她不是受够了豪尔的话，还真会被豪尔看到看西法时那份神情所感动。

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“老火球，我还以为你被她给整死了！”豪尔跪在壁炉旁，袖子垂在灰烬里。

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“我只是累了，”卡西法说：“好象有股力量在后头拉住城堡似的。我从不曾带着它飞那么快。”

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“好了，下次别让她在指使你做同样的事了。”他站起来，优雅地将灰红色外套上的灰烬拂掉。“麦可，你今天可以开始弄那个咒语了。还有，如果国王那边派人来，就跟他说我有要紧的私人事件要处理，明天才会回来。我要去找乐蒂，不过你犯不着告诉他。”他拿起吉他，将门把往下转到绿色，打开门，外面是宽广、多云的山丘。

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稻草人又出现了。豪尔开门时它正好由侧面跳过来，萝卜脸就撞在豪尔胸前，吉他发出当的一声。苏菲紧抓住椅子，害怕得哇哇叫，声音衰弱无力。稻草人的一只手僵硬地抓扒着，想抓住门，木杆压在豪尔脚上，依豪尔抱着脚的样子看来，那一下还真是踩得不轻。无疑地，那家伙是吃了秤砣铁了心，非要进来不可。

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卡西法的蓝脸拉出了炉架，麦可在后头一动都不敢动。“真的有稻草人耶！”两人异口同声地说。

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“是吗？现在才来说！”豪尔喘着气。举起一只脚，对着门框边踹过去，稻草人整个向后飞出去，跌在后头满是石楠的地上，发出‘沙’的一声轻响。它马上一跃而起，再度对着城堡跳过来。

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豪尔匆忙将吉他放在门口阶梯上，跳下去迎战。“朋友，不成的。”边说边举起一只手来：“回你原来的地方去！”他慢慢向它走过去，手仍伸着。稻草人稍稍往后退，慢慢地、小心地往后跳。脚踩在石楠上，衣袖褴褛的双手不时晃动着，像格斗者在寻找对方的空门似的，双臂上飞扬的破布恰好与豪尔的长袖相辉映。

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“还是不肯走吗？”豪尔问它。稻草人头慢慢地左右摇动，不走！“恐怕你非走不可，”豪尔说：“你把苏菲吓坏了。没人知道她吓坏时会做出什么事来。事实上，你也吓到我了。”

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豪尔的双手开始动，很吃力的样子，仿佛举重一般，直到高高举到头上为止。他大声喊出一个奇怪的字，声音被突然出现的累声掩盖了一半，稻草人就飞了起来，向上，向后飞，破布在风中飞扬，双手转动着在抗议，越飞越高，越飞越远，渐渐成为高空中的一点，然后在云端中渺不可见，之后就再也看不见了。

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豪尔放下手，回到门阶，以手背擦脸，喘着气说：“苏菲，我要收回那些责怪你的话。那家伙乱恐怖的。昨天也许就是它在后面拉着城堡，它拥有我所见过最强的魔法。那到底是什么东西呢？该不会是你以前顾主的屋子，被你清洁后剩下的部分吧？”

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苏菲无力地笑了几声，她的心脏又开始不舒服了。

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豪尔注意到她不对劲，跳过吉他，进入门里，扶住她的手肘，让她在椅子上坐下来。

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“慢慢来，慢慢来。”苏菲感到豪尔和卡西法之间好象发生了点什么。她所以能感觉到，是因为当时豪尔正扶着她，而卡西法仍旧探身在壁炉之外。不论那是什么，她的心脏几乎是马上又开始正常地跳动。豪尔看了卡西法一眼，耸耸肩，然后转身对麦可发出一长串、关于如何让苏菲静养一整天的指令，然后拿起吉他，终于出门去了。

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苏菲在椅子上躺着，假装自己病得起码有两倍严重。她必须趁豪尔不在时做这件事。糟糕的是，他也是要去上福而丁。不过她可以慢慢地走。这样，她可以在他差不多要起程回来的时候抵达。重点是，不能在路上叫他撞着。麦可将咒语摊开来，搔着头在伤脑筋。苏菲在旁偷偷观察他，她一直等到他由书架上取下一本厚厚的皮革书，疯狂、似乎又很苦恼地开始做笔记。看他似乎是非常专注在工作上了，苏菲开始喃喃地说：“这儿好闷。”一连说了几次。

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麦可完全没有反应。“闷得要命。”苏菲边说边起身，往门口蹒跚走去。“新鲜空气！”

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边说边打开门爬出区，卡西法不得不让城堡完全停顿下来。苏菲走下石楠地，四处眺望，以确定自己的位置。越过山丘往上福而丁的路，是一条穿越石楠地的多沙小路，就在城堡下坡不远处。卡西法当然不会让豪尔不方便。苏菲开始对着那条路走去，她觉得有些悲伤，她会想念麦可跟卡西法的。

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就在她快走到路口时，后面传来一阵叫唤声。麦可跟着她一路跳下山坡，高高的黑色城堡则四个角楼喷着烟，焦虑地跟在他深厚一路跳动。

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“你在干吗？”麦可上来后问她。由他的眼光看来，他显然认为苏菲被稻草人吓的脑筋不太正常了。

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“我没事，”苏菲觉得被侮辱了：“我不过是要去看我另一个妹妹的孙女罢了。她的名字也叫做乐蒂.海特。现在你懂了吧？”

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“她住哪儿？”麦可逼问，仿佛认定了苏菲不会知道。

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“上福而丁。”苏菲回答。

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“那可是在十哩之外呢！”麦可说：“我答应豪尔要让你好好休息的，我不能放你走，我跟他说过绝不让你离开我的视线！”

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苏菲可不高兴听到这些。因为需要她去见国王，所以豪尔现在觉得她有用了，当然不要她离开城堡了！“哼！”她嗤之以鼻。

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“而且，”麦可慢慢进入状况了。“豪尔一定也是去上福而丁。”

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“我确信他是的。”苏菲说。

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“那么，你是在为这个可能是你孙外甥女的女孩担心喽？”麦可终于抓到重点。

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“知道了。但我还是不能让你去。”

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“我就是要去。”苏菲坚持着。

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“如果豪尔在那里看到你，他会很生气的。”麦可边说边想。“而且因为我跟他承诺过，所以他也会一并声我的气。你应该休息才对。”

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苏菲越听越生气，几乎想动手揍他了，他突然大叫道：“等等！放扫帚的柜子里有一双七里格靴！”

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他抓住苏菲老瘦的手腕，拉着她上坡，走向等着的城堡。为了不被石楠绊住，她只好一路跳着。“可是，”她气喘吁吁地说：“七个里格是二十一哩！我只消跨两步就到往避难港的半路了。”

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“不对！跨一步是十哩半，”麦可说：“差不多就是到上福而丁的距离。我们一人穿一双，一起上路，这样我就不会让你离开我的视线，你也不会过度劳累，而且我们可以赶在豪尔之前到达，这样他就不知道我们去了哪里。我们所有的问题不就都圆满解决了吗？”

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麦可显然是太得意了，让苏菲不好泼他冷水。她耸耸肩不置可否，心里想到，或许让麦可在两个乐蒂把外貌换回之前让他知道事实比较好，这样比较诚实。但是当麦可由储物柜拿出七里格靴时，她开始犹豫。她一直以为它们是两个掉了提柄，又被挤压得有点变形的皮桶，谁知道……

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“穿的时候是连脚带鞋都放进去的。”麦可边将这两个活像水桶的东西提到门口，边解释：“这是豪尔为国王的军队造的靴子的原型。最后的制成品比较轻，也比较像靴子。”他跟苏菲坐在门阶上，各放一脚到靴子里。“身体先面对上福而丁的方向，在把靴子放下。”麦可警告她。他跟苏菲各用穿普通鞋的那只脚站起来，然后转身面对上福而丁。“现在，跨步！”麦可喊口号。

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滋！身旁的景色一下就飞过去了。因为太快，看来只是一片模糊……灰绿色的是土地，蓝灰色的是天空。

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前进速度带起的风扯着苏菲的头发，并将她脸上的皱纹全部往后拉扯。苏菲想着，到达目的地时，只怕一半的脸都跑到耳后去了。

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但是，开始的同时也就突然结束了。身旁一切是那么祥和，阳光普照。他们已置身上福而丁中间一块草原上头，站在及膝的金凤花之间，旁边一头牛惊奇地凝视着他们，再过去，是懒洋洋坐落在树下的茅屋。不幸的是，因为那桶状的靴子实在太重，苏菲停下来时因此晃动了一下，脚步踉跄。

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“别把脚踩下去！”麦可喊道，但是太迟了！

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旁边马上又是一片模糊和疾风。当一切停下来时，苏菲发现他们跑到福而丁谷，都快到福而丁沼泽区了。“噢，岂有此理！”她咒骂了一声，小心地以单脚跳转身来，再试一次。

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滋！模糊。他们再度回到上福而丁的草原，她却又被靴子的重量拖着前跨步，她眼角瞥见麦可俯身要扶她……

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滋！模糊。“天哪！”苏菲大声叹气，这次他们回到山丘了，形状歪歪的黑色城堡就在近处漂浮着。卡西法看得兴高采烈，由一个角楼里吹出一圈圈的黑烟。苏菲只看到这儿，然后她的靴子在石楠上绊了一下，她向前俯跌……

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滋！滋！这次苏菲以飞快的速度跑到马克奇平镇的方形市场，再跑到一栋豪宅的前院。“什么嘛！”“岂有此理！”每个地方恰好够她喊一句话。然后‘滋’的一声，她又被带往山谷尾端的某个草原。一只硕大的红色公牛由草地上抬起它戴着鼻环的鼻子，然后审慎地低下头，以角对着他们。

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“牛儿乖，我们马上就走！”苏菲大叫，急急跳转身。

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滋！回到豪宅。滋！回到方形时常。滋！又看到城堡啦！她越来越熟稔了。滋！终于又回到上福而丁了。但是——该怎么停下来呢？滋！

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“噢！真个该死！”苏菲大叫。又快跑到福而丁沼泽区了。

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这次她非常小心地跳转身，很谨慎地跨步。滋！这次她踩到一块牛粪，一屁股坐到底墒。麦可一跃而起，在苏菲能移动之前一把将靴子由她脚上扯下来。“谢啦！”苏菲上气不接下气地叫道：“好象没有非要停下来不可的理由。”

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他们走过草原，往菲菲克丝太太叫走去，苏菲的心跳不由得稍稍加快，但只是像一下子做了许多事后那种心跳的感觉，她不禁对豪尔和卡西法稍早为她所做的事充满感激。

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“好地方。”麦可边将靴子藏在菲菲克丝太太家的树篱间边说。

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苏菲同意他的看法。那房子是村里最大的一间，屋顶覆有茅草，黑色的梁木之间是白色的墙。苏菲小时候来玩过，她记得要走到前廊之前会先穿越一个繁花盛放、蜜蜂嗡嗡飞舞的花园。前廊上头爬有一棵忍冬及一棵会攀爬的白色蔷薇，两棵都开满了花，似乎在比赛，看谁能让蜜蜂更忙碌。那是一个完美的、炎热的上福而丁堡的夏日早晨。

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菲菲克丝太太自己前来开门，她是那种看起来很舒服的、胖胖的女人，奶油色的头发盘在头上。光看着她，就让人觉得生命是件美好的事。苏菲觉得有那么一点点嫉妒乐蒂。菲菲克丝太太瞧瞧苏菲又瞧瞧麦可，上次她见到苏菲是一年前的事，当时苏菲十七岁。现在当然不可能要她认出眼前这个九十岁的老妇。“早啊。”她礼貌地打招呼。

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苏菲叹了一口气。麦可说：“这是乐蒂.海特的姨婆。我带她来找乐蒂。”

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“哦，难怪觉得脸看来好熟！”菲菲克丝太太说：“有你们家族的特征。快近来！乐蒂现在正忙着，你们等的时候不妨吃点圆饼和蜂蜜。”

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她将前门开大一些。突然，一只大大的柯利狗由菲菲克丝太太的裙边挤过，穿过苏菲和麦可之间，跑过最近的花床，两侧的花跟着倒霉，折枝断叶。

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“噢，快阻止它！还不能让他出来！”菲菲克丝太太喘着气，在后头拼命追赶。

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接下来几分钟是一团混乱。狗以一种令人不舒服的声音吠叫着，东南西北乱窜。菲菲克丝太太和苏菲追着它跑，时而跳过花圃，时而互相妨碍。麦可则追着苏菲大叫：“快停下来！你会跑出病来的！”然后狗朝着房子的一个转角跑去。麦可意识到要苏菲停下来的唯一方法，就是让那只狗停下来，于是改变策略，快速地横过花圃，绕过房子，对狗扑过去，在它行将跑到屋后的果园之前，扯住它身上的皮毛。

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苏菲蹒跚着赶到时，麦可正在将狗往后拉，同时一直对她做出奇怪的表情。起先，她以为麦可不舒服，但在他多次将头往果园方向甩动后，她终于明白他不过是想要告诉她什么。

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她藏到屋子的转角，只露出头来，心想大概会看到一群蜜蜂。

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但是，她看到豪尔和乐蒂在一起。他们在一个开满了花、树身长着青苔的小苹果林里。

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乐蒂做在一把白色的庭园椅上，豪尔单膝跪在她脚边的草地上，抓着她的一只手，表情既高尚又热切。乐蒂则亲切地对着他微笑。但对苏菲而言，最糟的是，乐蒂看起来一点也不像玛莎，她还是那个美丽非凡的乐蒂。她身上穿的是一件与顶上满簇苹果花类似的粉红及白色的洋装，她光华卷曲的黑发垂落在一边的肩膀，眼里则闪着对豪尔的爱。

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苏菲将头缩回来，不悦的看着手里犹抓着呜呜叫的柯利狗的麦可。“他一定是用了速度咒语！”麦可说，声音里同样透着不悦。

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菲菲克丝太太赶上来了。边喘气边试着将一缕松掉的头发别回去。“坏狗！”她轻声但严厉地跟狗说：“你再给我搞一次的话，我就跟你下咒！”狗眨了眨眼，乖乖坐下。菲菲克丝太太以手指着它，严厉地说：“到屋里去！不准出来！”狗挣脱麦可的手，溜过屋子的转角，大家跟着它后面走。菲菲克丝太太跟麦可说：“多谢你了。他想去咬乐蒂的客人。进去！”她在屋前的花园又严厉地大叫一声，因为狗好象想绕过屋子另一个转角跑到果园去。狗转过头来悲伤地看她一眼，很不快乐地经由前廊爬进屋里。

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“搞不好那狗是对的。”苏菲说：“菲菲克丝太太，你可知道乐蒂的客人是谁？”

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菲菲克丝太太咯咯地笑。“围龙先生，或者豪尔，或是任何他高兴称呼自己的名字。我想到他第一次来的时候就忍不住好笑，他自称是希尔斯德.奥克。他显然不记得我了，我可是没忘记他，虽然他学生时代头发是黑的。”菲菲克丝太太现在双手在胸前互搭，身体站得挺直，苏菲见过好几次这个架势，知道这以为着她准备要说上一天话啦。“他是我的老师退休前收的最后一名弟子。我先生还活着时，常常三五不时要我施法送我们两人去金斯别利看表演，如果我把速度放得很慢时是可以办到的每次去我都会顺道拜访老潘思德曼太太。她喜欢跟旧日的学生保持联系。有一次她介绍这位年轻的豪尔给我们认识。噢，她非常以他为傲。你知道，苏利曼也是她教出来的，但是她说豪尔的能力在他俩之上……”

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“可是，你难道不知道他的名声吗？”麦可插嘴。

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要插进菲菲克丝太太的谈话，有点像是要加入正在转动的跳绳一样，你必须选对时刻，进场的时间对了，才搭得上线。菲菲克丝太太微微转过身来看着麦可。

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“对我而言，那些大多是传言罢了。”她说。麦可张嘴，想说不是的，但是跳绳自顾自地往下跳。“所以我就跟乐蒂说：‘亲爱的，这可是你的大好机会哦！’反正我也不介意告诉你们，豪尔可以教给她的，当在我二十倍以上。乐蒂的聪明远在我之上，将来似乎会达到荒地女巫那种等级的，只不过，她会是‘好’的那种女巫。乐蒂是个好女孩，我很喜欢她。如果潘思德曼太太仍在教学的话，我会马上就送乐蒂过去。但是她已经退休了，所以我跟乐蒂说：‘豪尔巫师来追求你，再也没有比这更好的事了，跟他恋爱，然后让他来教你。你们这一对将很有不凡的成就。’乐蒂刚开始有点排斥，但最近好多了。今天看来则进行得相当顺利的样子。”

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说到这儿，菲菲克丝太太停下来对麦可亲切地微笑。苏菲赶紧抢进来，参与跳绳：“可是，有人跟我说乐蒂喜欢的是别人。”

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“你是同情他吧？”菲菲克丝太太压低了声音：“可是，真的无能为力。”她意有所指地悄声说：“那对任何女孩都太残忍。我就是这么跟他说的，我自己也蛮同情他的……”

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苏菲听得满头雾水：“哦……”

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“……但是那个咒语实在是太强了，真是另人难过。”菲菲克丝太太继续喋喋不休：“我只好告诉他，我的能力无法破除荒地女巫下的任何魔咒。豪尔或许有办法，但是他当然无法跟豪尔开口，对不对？”

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麦可一直紧张地注视着屋子转角处，深怕豪尔走过来，发现他们。这时他逮住空隙，插嘴打断跳绳的韵律：“我想我们该走了。”

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“你真的不要近来尝尝我的蜂蜜吗？”菲菲克丝太太问道。“你们知道吗？我几乎所有的咒语都用到蜂蜜。”

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然后她的话匣子又开了，这次说的是关于蜂蜜的各种神奇特性。麦可和苏菲刻意朝大门方向走去，菲菲克丝太太落在他们之后，嘴里兀自说着，不时怜惜地停下来，将被狗弄弯的植物扶直。苏菲飞快地动脑筋，想在不惊吓到麦可的情况下，问菲菲克丝太太她是怎么发现乐蒂是乐蒂的。菲菲克丝太太将一棵大大的羽扇豆扶直后，停下来喘气。

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苏菲马上跳进来：“菲菲克丝太太，本来不是安排我另一个孙外甥女玛莎过来的吗？”

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“顽皮的孩子们！”菲菲克丝太太微笑着摇头，由羽扇花旁站起来。“我怎会认不出自己以蜂蜜为底调制的咒语呢？不过就像我当时跟她说的：‘不想学的人我绝不会留她！我宁可教有心学习的人。但是，我这儿不允许有任何伪装，所以你要的话，就必须以本来面貌留下来。’结果就像你看到的，一切都很好。你真的不想留下来问她？”

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“我想我们该走了。”苏菲说。

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“我们得回家了。”麦可加上一句，同时又紧张地瞥了果园的方向一眼。他由树篱里取出七里格靴，出了大门后，为苏菲放下一个，说：“这次我要好好抓着你。”

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菲菲克丝太太由大门探出头来，看苏菲把脚放到靴子里。“七里格靴！你相信吗，我不知多久没见到这玩意儿了！对你这种年纪的人是再方便不过了。呃……该怎么称呼你来着？到我这个年龄似乎也可以考虑拥有一双。所以乐蒂的巫术天分是遗传自你吧？虽然不一定会透过遗传，但是通常……”

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麦可拉住苏菲的手臂，两只靴子同时着地，菲菲克丝太太剩下的话语就在‘滋！’的一声及疾风中消失了。接着麦可必须抱住自己的脚，以免和城堡相撞。门开着，卡西法对着他们咆哮：“避难港的门！从你们离开后，有人一直在敲那门。”

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To Sophie’s relief, Calcifer blazed up bright and cheerful next morning. If she had not had enough of Howl, she would have been almost touched by how glad Howl was to see Calcifer.

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“I thought she’d done for you, you old ball of gas,” Howl said, kneeling at the hearth with his sleeves trailing in the ash.

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“I was only tired,” Calcifer said. “There was some kind of drag on the castle. I’d never taken it that fast before.”

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“Well, don’t let her make you do it again,” said Howl. He stood up, gracefully brushing ash off his gray-and-scarlet suit. “Make a start on that spell today, Michael. And if anyone comes from the King, I’m away on urgent private business until tomorrow. I’m going to see Lettie, but you needn’t tell him that.” He picked up his guitar and opened the door with the knob green-down, onto the wide, cloudy hills.

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The scarecrow was there again. When Howl opened the door, it pitched sideways across him with its turnip face in his chest. The guitar uttered an awful twang-oing. Sophie gave a faint squawk of terror and hung onto the chair. One of the scarecrow’s stick arms was scraping stiffly around to get a purchase on the door. From the way Howl’s feet were braced, it was clear he was being shoved quite hard. There was no doubt the thing was determined to get into the castle.

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Calcifer’s blue face leaned out of the grate. Michael stood stock still beyond. “There really is a scarecrow!” they both said.

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“Oh, is there” Do tell!” Howl panted. He got one foot up against the door frame and heaved. The scarecrow flew lumpishly away backward, to land with a light rustle in the heather some yards off. It sprang up instantly and came hopping towards the castle again. Howl hurriedly laid the guitar on the doorstep and jumped down to meet it. “No you don’t, my friend,” he said with one hand out. “Go back where you came from.” He walked forward slowly, still with his hand out. The scarecrow retreated a little, hopping slowly and warily backward. When Howl stopped, the scarecrow stopped too, with its one leg planted in the heather and its ragged arms tilting this way and that like a person sparring for an opening. The rags fluttering on its arms seemed a mad imitation of Howl’s sleeves.

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“So you won’t go?” Howl said. And the turnip head slowly moved from side to side. No. “I’m afraid you’ll have to,” Howl said. “You scare Sophie, and there’s no knowing what she’ll do when she’s scared. Come to think of it, you scare me too.” Howl’s arms moved, heavily, as if he was lifting a large weight, until they were raised high above his head. He shouted out a strange word, which was half hidden in a crack of sudden thunder. And the scarecrow went soaring away. Up and backward it went, rags fluttering, arms wheeling in protest, up and out, and on and on, until it was a soaring speck in the sky, then a vanishing point in the clouds, and then not to be seen at all.

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Howl lowered his arms and came back to the doorway, mopping his face on the back of his hand. “I take back my hard words, Sophie,” he said, panting. “That thing was alarming. It may have been dragging the castle back all yesterday. It had some of the strongest magic I’ve met. Whatever was it-all that was left of the last person you cleaned for?”

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Sophie gave a weak little cackle of laughter. Her heart was behaving badly again.

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Howl realized something was wrong with her. He jumped indoors across his guitar, took hold of her elbow, and sat her in the chair. “Take it easy now!” Something happened between Howl and Calcifer then. Sophie felt it, because e she was being held by Howl, and Calcifer was still leaning out of the grate. Whatever it was, her heart began to behave properly again almost at once. Howl looked at Calcifer, shrugged, and turned away to give Michael a whole lot of instructions about making Sophie keep quiet for the rest of the day. Then he picked up the guitar and left at last.

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Sophie lay in the chair and pretended to feel twice as ill as she did, she had to let Howl get out of sight. It was a nuisance he was going to Upper Folding as well, but she would walk so much more slowly that she would arrive around the time he started back. The important thing was not to meet him on the way. She watched Michael slyly while he spread out his spell and scratched his head over it. She waited until he dragged big leather books off the shelves and began making notes in a frantic, depressed sort of way. When he seemed properly absorbed, Sophie muttered several times, “Stuffy in here!”

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Michael took no notice. “Terribly stuffy,” Sophie said, getting up and shambling to the door. “Fresh air.” She opened the door and climbed out. Calcifer obligingly stopped the castle dead while she did. Sophie landed in the heather and took a look round to get her bearings. The road over the hills to Upper Folding was a sandy line through the heather just downhill from the castle. Naturally. Calcifer would not make things inconvenient for Howl. Sophie set off toward it. She felt a little sad. She was going to miss Michael and Calcifer.

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She was almost at the road when there was shouting behind her. Michael came bounding down the hillside after her, and the tall black castle came bobbling along behind him, shedding anxious puffs of smoke from all four turrets.

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“What are you doing?” Michael said when he caught up. From the way he looked at her, Sophie could see he thought the scarecrow had sent her wrong in the head.

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“I’m perfectly all right,” Sophie said indignantly. “I’m simply going to see my other sis-ter’s granddaughter. She’s called Lettie too. Now do you understand?”

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“Where does she live?” Michael demanded, as if he thought Sophie might not know.

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“Upper Folding,” said Sophie.

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“But that’s over ten miles away!” Michael said. “I promised Howl I’d make you rest. I can’t let you go. I told him I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.”

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Sophie did not look very kindly on this. Howl thought she was useful now because he wanted her to see the King. Of course he did not want her to leave the castle. “Huh!” she said.

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“Besides,” said Michael, slowly grasping the situation, “Howl must have gone to Upper Folding too.”

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“I’m quite sure he had,” said Sophie.

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“Then you’re anxious about this girl, it she’s your great-niece,” Michael said, arriving at the point at last. “I see! But I can’t let you go.”

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“I’m going,” said Sophie.

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“But if Howl sees you there he’ll be furious,” Michael went on, working things out. “Because I promised him, he’ll be mad with both of us. You ought to rest.” Then, when Sophie was almost ready to hit him, he exclaimed, “Wait! There’s a pair of seven-league boots in the broom cupboard!”

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He took Sophie by her skinny old wrist and towed her uphill to the waiting castle. She was forced to give little hops in order not to catch her feet in the heather. “But,” she panted, “seven leagues is twenty-one miles! I’d be halfway to Porthaven in two strides!”

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“No, it’s ten and a half miles a step,” said Michael. “That makes Upper Folding almost exactly. If we each take one boot and go together, then I won’t be letting you out of my sight and you won’t be doing anything strenuous, and we’ll get there before Howl does, so he won’t even know we’ve been. That solves all our problems beautifully!”

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Michael was so pleased with himself that Sophie did not have the heart to protest. She shrugged and supposed Michael had better find out about the two Lettie’s before they changed looks again. It was more honest this way. But when Michael fetched the boots from the broom cupboard, Sophie began to have doubts. Up to now she had thought they were two leather buckets that had somehow lost their handles and then got a little squashed.

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“You’re supposed to put your foot in them, shoe and all,” Michael explained as he carried the two heavy, bucket-shaped things to the door. “These are the prototypes of the boots Howl made for the King’s army. We managed to get the later ones a bit lighter and more boot-shaped.” He and Sophie sat on the doorstep and each put one foot in a boot. “Point yourself toward Upper Folding before you put the boot down,” Michael warned her. He and Sophie stood up on the foot which was in an ordinary shoe and carefully swung themselves round to face Upper Folding. “Now tread,” said Michael.

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Zip! The landscape instantly rushed past them so fast it was only a blur, a gray-green blur for the land and a blue-gray blur for the sky. The wind of their going tore at Sophie’s hair and dragged every wrinkly in her face backward until she thought she would arrive with half her face behind each ear.

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The rushing stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Everything was calm and sunny. They were knee-deep in buttercups in the middle of Upper Folding village common. A cow nearby stared at them. Beyond it, thatched cottages drowsed under trees. Unfortunately, the bucketlike boot was so heavy that Sophie staggered as she landed.

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“Don’t put that foot down!” Michael yelled, too late.

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There was another zipping blur and more rushing wind. When it stopped, Sophie found herself right down the Folding Valley, almost into Marsh Folding. “Oh, drat!” she said, and hopped carefully round on her shoe and tried again.

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Zip! Blur. And she was back on Upper Folding green again, staggering forward with the weight of the boot. She had a glimpse of Michael diving to catch her-

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Zip! Blur. “Oh, bother!” wailed Sophie. She was up in the hills again. The crooked black shape of the castle was drifting peacefully nearby. Calcifer was amusing himself blowing black smoke rings from one turret. Sophie saw that much before her shoe caught in the heather and she stumbled forward again.

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Zip! Zip! This time Sophie visited in rapid succession the Market Square of Market Chipping and the front lawn of a very grand mansion. “Blow!” she cried. “Drat!” One word for each place. And she was off again with her own momentum and another Zip! right down at the end of that valley on a field somewhere. A large red bull raised its ringed nose from the grass and thoughtfully lowered its horns.

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“I’m just leaving, my good beast!” Sophie cried, hopping herself round frantically.

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Zip! Back to the mansion. Zip! to Market Square. Zip! and there was the castle yet again. She was getting the hang of it. Zip! Here was Upper Folding-but how did you stop? Zip!

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“Oh, confound it!” Sophie cried, almost in Marsh Folding again.

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This time she hopped round very carefully and trod with great deliberation. Zip! and fortunately the boot landed in a cowpat and she sat down with a thump. Michael sprinted up before Sophie could move and dragged the boot off her foot. “Thank you!” Sophie cried breathlessly. “There seemed no reason why I should ever stop!”

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Sophie’s heart pounded a bit as they walked across the common to Mrs. Fairfax’s house, but only in the way heart’s do when you have done a lot rather quickly. She felt very grateful for whatever Howl and Calcifer had done.

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“Nice place,” Michael remarked as he hid the boots in Mrs. Fairfax’s hedge.

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Sophie agreed. The house was the biggest in the village. It was thatched, with white walls between the black beams, and, and Sophie remembered from visits as a child, you walked up to the porch through a garden crowded with flowers and humming with bees. Over the porch honeysuckle and a white climbing rose were competing as to which could give most work to the bees. It was a perfect, hot summer morning down here in Upper Folding.

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Mrs. Fairfax answered the door herself. She was one of those plump, comfortable ladies, with swathes of butter-colored hair coiled round her head, who made you feel good with life just to look at her. Sophie felt just the tiniest bit envious of Lettie. Mrs. Fairfax looked from Sophie to Michael. She had seen Sophie last a year ago as a girl of seventeen, and there was no reason for her to recognize her as an old woman of ninety. “Good morning to you,” she said politely.

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Sophie sighed. Michael said, “This is Lettie Hatter’s great-aunt. I brought her to see Lettie.”

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“Oh, I thought the face looked familiar!” Mrs. Fairfax exclaimed. “There’s quite a family likeness. Do come in. Lettie’s little bit busy just now, but have some scones and honey while you wait.”

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She opened her front door wider. Instantly a large collie dog squeezed past Mrs. Fairfax’s skirts, barged between Sophie and Michael, and ran across the nearest flower bed, snapping off flowers right and left.

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“Oh, stop him!” Mrs. Fairfax gasped, flying off in pursuit. “I don’t want him out just now!”

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There was a minute or so of helter-skelter chase, in which the dog ran hither and thither, whining in a disturbed way, and Mrs. Fairfax and Sophie ran after the dog, jumping flower beds and getting in one another’s way, and Michael ran after Sophie crying, “Stop! You’ll make yourself ill!” Then the dog set off loping round one corner of the house. Michael realized that the way to stop Sophie was to stop the dog. He made a crosswise dash through the flower beds, plunged round the house after the dog, and seized it by two handfuls of its thick coat just as it reached the orchard at the back.

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Sophie hobbled up to find Michael pulling the dog away backward and making such strange faces at her that she thought at first he was ill. But he jerked his head so often toward the orchard that she realized he was trying to tell her something. She stuck her face round the corner of the house, expecting to see a swarm of bees.

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Howl was there with Lettie. They were in a grove of mossy apple trees in full bloom, with a row of beehives in the distance. Lettie sat in a white garden seat. Howl was kneeling on one knee in the grass at her feet, holding one of her hands and looking noble and ardent. Lettie was smiling lovingly at him. But the worst of it, as far as Sophie was concerned, was that Lettie did not look like Martha at all. She was her own extremely beautiful self. She was wearing a dress of the same kind of pinks and white as the crowded apple blossom overhead. Her dark hair trailed in glossy curls over one shoulder and her eyes shone with devotion for Howl.

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Sophie brought her head back round the corner and looked with dismay at Michael holding the whining collie dog. “He must have had a speed spell with him,” Michael whispered, equally dismayed.

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Mrs. Fairfax caught them up, panting and trying to pin back a loose coil of her buttery hair. “Bad dog!” she said in a fierce whisper to the collie. “I’ll put a spell on you of you do that once more!” The dog blinked and crouched down. Mrs. Fairfax pointed a stern finger. “Into the house! Stay in the house!” The collie shook himself free of Michael’s hands and slunk away round the house again. “Thank you so much,” Mrs. Fairfax said to Michael as they all followed it. “He will keep trying to bite Lettie’s visitor. Inside!” she shouted sternly in the front garden, as the collie seemed to be thinking of going round the house and getting the orchard the other way. The dog gave her a woeful look over its shoulder and crawled dismally indoors through the porch.

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“That dog may have the right idea,” Sophie said. “Mrs. Fairfax, do you know who Lettie’s visitor is?”

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Mrs. Fairfax chuckled. “The Wizard Pendragon, or Howl, or whatever he calls himself,” she said. “But Lettie and I don’t let on we know. It amused me when he first turned up, calling himself Sylvester Oak, because I could see he’d forgotten me, though I hadn’t forgotten him, even though is hair used to be black in his student days.” Mrs. Fairfax by now had her hands folded on front of her and was standing bolt upright, prepared to talk all day, as Sophie had often seen her do before. “He was my old tutor’s very last pupil, you know, before she retired. When Mr. Fairfax was alive he used to like me to transport us both to Kingsbury to see a show from time to time. I can manage two very nicely if I take it slowly. And I always used to drop in on old Mrs. Pentstemmon while I was there. She likes her old pupils to keep in touch. And one time she introduced this young Howl to us. Oh, she was proud of him. She taught Wizard Suliman too, you know, and she said Howl was twice as good-”

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“But don’t you know the reputation Howl has?” Michael interrupted.

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Getting into Mrs. Fairfax’s conversation was rather like getting into a skipping rope. You had to choose the exact moment, but once you were in, you were in. Mrs. Fairfax turned herself slightly to face Michael.

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“Most of it’s just talk to my mind,” she said. Michael opened his mouth to say that it was not, but he was in the skipping rope then and it went on turning. “And I said to Lettie, ‘Here’s your big chance, my love.’ I knew Howl could teach her twenty times more than I could-for I don’t mind telling you, Lettie’s brains go way beyond mine, and she could end up in the same league as the Witch of the Waste, only in a good way. Lettie’s a good girl and I’m fond of her. If Mrs. Pentstemmon was still teaching, I’d have Lettie go to her tomorrow. But she isn’t. So I said, ‘Lettie, here’s Wizard Howl courting you and you could do worse than to fall in love with him yourself and let him be your teacher. The pair of you will go far.’ I don’t think Lettie was too keen on the idea at first, but she’s been softening lately, and today it seems to be going beautifully.”

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Here Mrs. Fairfax paused to beam benevolently at Michael, and Sophie dashed into the skipping rope for her turn. “But someone told me Lettie was fond of someone else,” she said.

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“Sorry for him, you mean,” said Mrs. Fairfax. She lowered her voice. “There’s a terrible disability there,” she whispered suggestively, “and it’s asking too much of any girl. I told him so. I’m sorry for him myself-”

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Sophie managed a mystified “Oh?”

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“-but it’s a fearsomely strong spell. It’s very sad,” Mrs. Fairfax would on. “I had to tell him there’s no way someone of my abilities can break anything that’s put on by the Witch of the Waste. Howl might, but of course he can’t ask Howl, can he?”

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Here Michael, who kept looking nervously to the corner of the house in case Howl came round it and discovered them, managed to trample through the skipping rope and stop it by saying, “I think we’d better be going.”

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“Are you sure you won’t come in for a taste of my honey?” asked Mrs. Fairfax. “I use it in nearly all my spells, you know.” And she was off again, this time about the magical properties of honey. Michael and Sophie walked purposefully down the path to the gate and Mrs. Fairfax drifted behind them, talking away and sorrowfully straightening plants that the dog had bent as she talked. Sophie meanwhile racked her brain for a way to find out how Mrs. Fairfax knew Lettie was Lettie, without upsetting Michael. Mrs. Fairfax paused to gasp a bit as she heaved a large lupine upright.

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Sophie took the plunge. “Mrs. Fairfax, wasn’t it my niece Martha who was supposed to come to you?”

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“Naughty girls!” Mrs. Fairfax said, smiling and shaking her head as she emerged from the lupine. “As if I wouldn’t recognize one of my own honey-based spells! But as I said to her at the time, ‘I’m not one to keep anyone against their will and I’d always rather teach someone who wants to learn. Only’ I said to her, ‘I’ll have no pretense here. You stay as your own self or not at all.’ And it’s worked out very happily, as you see. Are you sure you won’t stay and ask her yourself?”

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“I think we’d better go,” Sophie said.

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“We have to get back,” Michael added, with another nervous look toward the orchard. He collected the seven-league boots from the hedge and set one down outside the gate for Sophie. “And I’m going to hold onto you this time,” he said.

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Mrs. Fairfax leaned over her gate while Sophie inserted her foot in the boot. “Seven-leaguers,” she said. “Would you believe, I’ve not seen any of those for years. Very useful things for someone you age, Mrs. Er-I wouldn’t mind a pair myself these days. So it’s you Lettie inherits her witchcraft from, is it? Not that it necessarily runs in families, but as often as not-”

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Michael took hold of Sophie’s arm and pulled. Both boots came down and the rest of Mrs. Fairfax’s talk vanished in the Zip! and rush of air. Next moment Michael had to brace his feet in order not to collide with the castle. The door was open. Inside, Calcifer was roaring, “Porthaven door! Someone’s been banging on it ever since you left.”

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