Chapter 3: Misunderstandings
The next day, Sammie returned to school more tired than ever. As soon as she walked into class, she slumped into her seat and lay her head down on the desk. The night before, she had been plagued by nightmares about giant wildflowers chasing Cracklen all over the castle and causing him to sneeze. Sammie had woken up somewhere between five and seven times, and each time she had tiptoed down the hall and peeped into Cracklen's room, feeling greatly relieved that aside from his usual snoring he appeared to be fine.
Sammie was just beginning to nod off when the bell for the start of school rang, and she screamed, sitting up with a start in her seat.
"Honestly, Sammie," Mrs. Fuller said irritably as she stood at the blackboard jotting down names of potions for the week's vocabulary words. "Is it so wrong for someone to change the color of their hair if they want to?"
"Huh?" Sammie then noticed that her teacher's jet-black hair had been dyed blond, which looked absolutely ridiculous, Sammie thought. "Oh, uh, no; of course not. It.it looks nice."
"Liar," Bobby MacMagic whispered from his desk a few rows down from hers, a cruel glare present on his face.
Sammie turned away and stared in despair down at her desk. If she wasn't so tired and didn't have so much on her mind, then she might have responded with an insult of her own; but she decided that she just couldn't handle any more plights.
That day as Sammie and her classmates wrote their vocabulary words in their notebooks and copied down the descriptions out of their 1,001 Terms and Definitions of the Magical World dictionaries, all she could think about was how helpless she felt for not being able to help Cracklen; not to mention the inquisitive encounter of the night before with Sunny Bunny and his companions. Where were they from and what were they doing here?
"That's something I've got to find out," Sammie whispered to herself as she wrote down the tenth and last of her vocabulary words and opened the dictionary to copy its definition.
"Sammie De Spell," Mrs. Fuller said firmly, and Sammie looked up at her. "Must I ask you every day not to talk so that the rest of your classmates who actually want to go on to the fifth grade may concentrate on their work?" Mrs. Fuller shook her head. "Honestly. You are one of the most disruptive students I've ever had the inconvenience of teaching."
"S.sorry, Mrs. Fuller." Sammie lowered her head to her paper and pretended to look busy. But inside all she could think about was how much she wanted to disappear and never be seen by anyone again. That afternoon at the end of school, Sammie was heading down the steps outside the building when Bobby and several of his friends who were just as nasty as he was assembled around her.
"Where do you think you're going, De Spell?" Bobby said wickedly.
"Get out of my way, Bobby. I have to go home." Sammie did not in the least feel in the mood to put up with someone who was famous for making her especially angry, and so she attempted to make her way passed him. Unfortunately, Bobby yanked her forward by the collar of her cloak and flung her to the ground. She landed on her back, hitting her head painfully on the hard ground. "What the heck is your problem?" she said, sitting up.
"My problem?" As Bobby said this, his friends giggled. "It's you who has the problem. If you weren't such a baby and understood why no one in this school likes you, then we wouldn't be in this predicament now, would we?"
"What are you talking about?" Sammie got to her feet and stood before Bobby, staring him straight in the eyes.
"Boy, you really are stupid. I told you that I'd get you back for that day on the playground, or are you so slow in the head that you forgot?"
"Never underestimate him," one of Bobby's friends said to Sa`mie. "He always keeps his promises."
Sammie glared at Bobby. "If you dare do anything to me, then my uncle will- "
"Do what?" Bobby interrupted. "Sneeze at me? Oh, we'd better not let that happen huh, you guys?"
"That's it!" Sammie shouted, now unable to control her anger. "I've had it with you, you big jerk!" Just as she had the day before, she lunged forward at Bobby; but before she could tackle him to the ground, she felt several hands grab her from behind. She was tossed to one side and again landed on the hard ground. This time, though, it was not her head that was struck with pain, but her right wrist as it jerked in the opposite direction the second her chest descended on top of it. She let out a laborious yowl, which immediately caught the attention of Bobby and his friends.
"Oh, no," one of them said.
"Do you think she's badly hurt?" another asked.
"I.I don't know," Bobby said; his voice streaked with fear. "Come on, let's get out of here." He and the others turned and hurried off the school grounds.
Sammie lay on the ground, bawling heavily and clutching her wrist, which was throbbing in unbelievable pain.
It wasn't long before a teacher who had just stepped out of the building perceived her sobs. The woman rushed over to Sammie and knelt down beside her. "Oh dear," the woman said, "what's happened?"
"My wrist," Sammie managed to reply through sobs. "I think it's broken."
"Lie still. I'll be back in a moment with help." The woman hurried back into the school and returned a short time later with the school nurse.
After examining Sammie's wrist, the nurse said to her, "Your wrist indeed appears to be broken. How did this happen?"
"I.I got into a fight with this kid who's always bothering me. He and his friends cornered me and threw me down on the ground." Sammie let out a shaky sob as the pain in her wrist subsided to a more intense sensation. "Ouch, oh gosh it hurts!"
"What's your name?" the nurse asked.
"Sammie De Spell."
"De Spell?" the woman said. "Then you must be-"
"Sammie! My gosh, what's happened to you?" Sammie and the two women turned their heads to see Cracklen standing before them. In a flash he had sprinted over to them and was kneeling beside Sammie. He took her left hand into his and said softly, "Why are you lying here like this?"
"Sir," the woman said, and Cracklen looked at her. "Your niece here told us that some other children cornered her. They threw her down on the ground, causing her to break her wrist."
"I see." Sammie could easily tell that her uncle was trying hard to control his anger.
"Does it hurt very much, Sammie?"
She nodded.
"We'll take care of that as soon as we're home," Cracklen replied. Carefully he scooped her up into his arms and rose from the ground. "Excuse me, ladies, but my niece and I must depart. Good day to you." He then turned and headed down the path toward his castle.
"Just hold still," Cracklen said. "This will take less than a minute." Holding his wand over Sammie's injured wrist where she sat in the big armchair in the library, he recited the following spell:
"Although you are induced with great pain, You can put your trust in me To take it all away, No injury, Illness, Nor sorrow of mind, Has the power to stand up To the power that my wand shall wind. Now rest assured, As I cast this spell And make all of your pain Become well."
Cracklen waved his wand, sending a pale, almost invisible yellow light around Sammie's wrist. The light engulfed it, and at once she could feel the almost unbearable pain in her wrist become smaller and smaller until finally it disappeared.
Sammie lifted her right arm and turned her wrist back and forth, amazed that a magic spell actually had the power to heal such a painful injury. "You did it," she said, and looked at Cracklen in utter wonderment. "My wrist doesn't hurt at all." She paused. "But I thought you said that magic shouldn't be used to fix things."
"In this case," Cracklen replied, "I decided to make an exception. I couldn't stand by and watch you suffer through such pain, especially when it was someone else's actions who caused it."
"I'm not ever going back to that school. What's the point anyway? It's impossible for me to remember everything I'm told. Not only that, but all the kids make fun of me and even Mrs. Fuller thinks I'm incapable of doing anything."
Cracklen gawped at Sammie for a long time before speaking. Finally he said, "Sammie, my dear, I know it hasn't exactly been an easy year for you, what with your parents sending you away from home and to a new school, but it's important for you to know that you can't let what people say or do get you down. As long as you have faith in yourself, you will remain strong and make it through."
"How can I? Face it, Uncle Cracklen, when it comes to the world of wizards and witches, I'm a lost cause. Besides, no one even believes that I can do anything except make mistakes." "That's where you're wrong. I have faith in you. I always have. And there's no reason why you shouldn't have faith in yourself as well." He paused. "Sammie, I will tell you this right now: I believe in you and I always will."
Cracklen's words had left Sammie with a strength that she couldn't recall ever having at any other time in her life. Her parents had never nurtured their daughter's desire to become a witch; only told her how, if she didn't apply herself to her studies, that she would only fail in life. Sammie's mother and father had sent her off to Cracklen, thinking that he would be able to snap some sense into her with unyielding discipline. However, this wasn't the case at all. Instead, he had managed to provide his niece with something that her parents never did: He showed her exactly how much he believed in her by explaining, over and over, that she must never give into the nasty things that people did and said to her. Although Cracklen understood how hard his words were for Sammie to interpret because of how badly the kids treated her and because she found it difficult to retain information taught to her in school, he figured that if he kept showing her how much confidence he had in her, then she would, at her own pace, succeed at her dream of one day following in his footsteps.
As Sammie practiced flying her broom outside, something she hadn't done in nearly a week due to all of the problems she was experiencing at school and at home, she felt more sure of herself all because of her uncle's confidence in her. She no longer felt as afraid of soaring high through the air as she used to, knowing that if she kept practicing then there was a good chance she would pass her final exam in broomstick flying. After she had been in the air for a while, she spotted Sunny Bunny and the people he had been with the night they had met. Sammie grinned and prepared for a smooth landing, but instead zoomed just inches above the ground where she crashed into a bush.
Raggedy Ann's mouth dropped open as her hands met the sides of her face. "Let's hurry," she exclaimed, and raced toward the bush with the others following. "She might be hurt!"
When they arrived at the bush where Sammie had landed, they were relieved to find that she was unharmed. A few leaves stuck out of her hat and cloak, but the smile that she had attained at the sight of Raggedy Ann and the others had never left her face. "There you are," Sammie said, and got to her feet. "I was wondering when I'd see you all again." She papsed. "So, what brings you here?"
"Never mind that now," Ann said. "The question is what are you doing here? Do you know how much trouble you'll be in if that evil wizard finds you?"
Sammie stared at her in half confusion and half exasperation. "What are you talking about? There's no evil wizard living here-well, he's a wizard, but you're mistaken on the evil part. He's my uncle and I live here with him. And he is, mind you, the nicest man in all the world." Now Ann was just confused, as well as the others. "What's his name?"
"Cracklen," replied Sammie. "Why do you ask?"
"Cracklen?" Ann and the others all exclaimed in shock.
"There's no way you're related to him," Sunny Bunny said as he came forward.
"You're.well.you're.so nice."
"Of course I'm nice." Sammie crossed her arms over her chest and stared at them all.
"And so is my uncle. Why is that so hard for you guys to understand?"
"You mean you don't know?" Andy said.
"Know? Know what?"
"About all of his evil antics," Ann explained.
"I still have no idea what any of you are trying to say."
"He's always trying to kidnap one of us," Grouchy Bear said. "Sometimes two of us at a time."
"Once he sent Tic and Tac to kidnap our friend, Raggedy Dog," Sunny Bunny put in. "He needed a piece of his hair for an evil recipe of gloom brownies. But they grabbed me instead."
"You can't be serious," Sammie said. "My uncle loves me and I love him. He's never been mean to me or mistreated me. He's the only person who believes in me when no one else does. If it weren't for him then I don't think I would want to become a witch so badly."
"It's all true," Andy insisted. "You've got to believe us."
"Give me one good reason why I should." Sammie's voice was filled with anger. "All day at school I have to listen to people like stupid Bobby MacMagic taunt me. Then when I come home my uncle's there to greet me with a smile and comforts me when I tell him how rotten everyone is to me. You can go on believing whatever you want about him, I don't care. Just keep in mind that you guys aren't the ones trying your best to be happy when almost everything around you seems miserable."
Sammie was about to turn and start heading back in the direction of the castle when Ann reached out to her. "Sammie," she said. "Please. Don't be angry. We're only telling you what we know." Sammie looked over her shoulder at Ann and the others, and they were shocked and rather ashamed of themselves to see that tears were already beginning to weld up in the little girl's eyes. "Well, keep it to yourselves," Sammie managed to say between deep sobs. "I don't need to hear you make judgments about somebody who I care about. I used to think that the only things people did were make fun of his allergies.but now I hear these ugly rumors about him being evil. Well, guess what? Even if he were, I'd love him anyway. So there!" Sammie spun around and rushed quickly back to the castle, leaving Raggedy Ann and her friends with an unintentional feeling of guilt.
"Gosh," Andy said. "I didn't think she'd take it so hard. I.I feel sort of bad now."
"Oh, Andy," Ann said gently and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. We were all involved and said some things. But you should consider that we did it out of nothing less than concern."
"Sammie needs to know who her uncle really is," Sunny Bunny added.
However, these thoughts of theirs were quickly interrupted when Sunny Bunny said, his voice filled with excitement, "Look at this!"
They all turned and stared at another message that had been written by the pen in the dirt: It's her! The little girl! She's the one!
"Do you have any idea what this means?" Ann said.
"That Sunny Bunny's magic pen will sure come in useful when it comes to taking really hard tests?" Andy suggested jokingly.
"No," said Sunny Bunny. "It means that Sammie's the one we've come to help."
"Yes," Ann replied. "And we've got to find out what the problem is so we can help her."
"Hold on," Andy said, and everyone looked at him. "When Sammie ran off before, she didn't exactly seem like someone who would be willing to talk to us again anytime soon. What do you think we should do? We certainly can't walk up to Cracklen's front door and say to him, 'Excuse us, but is your niece at home?'"
"Of course I don't expect you to do that. But I do have an idea."
"And just what might that be?"
"Well," explained Ann, "Sammie and Sunny Bunny seemed to get along pretty well. I was thinking maybe we could dress him up as a wizard. That way he could get passed Cracklen and be able to talk to Sammie with no problem at all." "Wait a minute," Sunny Bunny said. "I don't think I'm completely comfortable with this whole plan. I mean, what if something happens? Cracklen could easily find out it's me and then there would be all sorts of trouble."
"That's not going to happen," Ann assured Sunny Bunny.
"How do you know?" Andy put in. "Have you forgotten that Cracklen is also allergic to Sunny Bunny? How can you be sure he won't sneeze? If that happens then that old wizard will definitely suspect something."
"It won't be for very long," Ann answered. "And besides, Cracklen always sneezes. So don't worry about a thing." She turned to Sunny Bunny. "You will do this, won't you, Sunny Bunny? We'll be close by if you need us."
Sunny Bunny sighed. "I guess so," he replied.
"We only have one more problem," Grouchy Bear reminded them.
"What's that?" Ann asked.
"Where are we going to get wizard's clothes?"
Ann pointed across to a clothesline just a few inches from Cracklen's castle where a blue robe and matching pointed wizard's hat with crescent moons, stars and planets sewn into the material with golden thread were hanging. "Over there!"
Sunny Bunny stood nervously outside the front door of Cracklen's castle, dressed in the blue wizard's cloak. He peered up at the door from underneath the matching pointed wizard's hat, and gulped fearfully. "I'm not so sure I want to do this," he said.
"You'll do fine," Raggedy Ann whispered from behind a nearby bush where she and the others were hiding. "Just tell Cracklen you're a friend of Sammie's from school."
"Okay." Sunny Bunny lifted his paw to the door and knocked.
A moment later the door opened. Sunny Bunny lifted his head and saw Cracklen towering above him. Sunny Bunny, unable to control his shaking, gulped again and asked, "H-hello, Mr. Cracklen. Is-is Sammie home?"
"That depends," replied Cracklen. "Who might you be, young man?"
"Me? I'm a friend of Sammie's from school. I came here because.um.we're working on a project for class and she's my partner."
"That's funny. She didn't say anything to me about a project." Sunny Bunny thought for sure that Cracklen was beginning to get suspicious, but then he added, "Well, maybe she just forgot. She hasn't actually had it easy lately. Well, I suppose I should invite you in." Just when Sunny Bunny was about to step inside, Cracklen put one foot forward, blocking Sunny Bunny's entrance. "One moment. What's your name?"
"My name?" Sunny Bunny looked around nervously, trying desperately to think. "Why it's."
"Timmy," he heard Ann whisper from behind the bush.
"Timmy," he answered.
"Is that so?" Cracklen's voice was more incredulous than ever, but nonetheless he moved to one side and permitted Sunny Bunny to enter. When Cracklen realized that Sunny Bunny did not move, he suddenly became very irritated. "Why are you just standing there? I invited you in so you can either enter or get off my premises!"
"No, that's okay. I'll come in." Sunny Bunny scooted inside and was halfway down the hall when Cracklen shouted after him.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I was going to look for Sammie."
"Well, you're headed in the wrong direction," Cracklen said. "She's in her room on the other side of the castle. Since you'll probably get lost I'll take you there myself."
As Cracklen led Sunny Bunny down the hall, the wizard said something that both surprised and confused him. "Before I let you into my niece's room, I want you to tell me only one thing."
"What's that, sir?"
"You aren't by any chance that little dunderhead that broke her arm, are you?"
"Huh? No, I'm not."
"For your sake you'd better be telling the truth. Because if you're lying then I give you my word that I'll make you suffer ten times the pain as she did."
Mr. Cracklen really cares about Sammie a lot, Sunny Bunny thought as they continued down the hall. He actually has a heart.
When they arrived at Sammie's bedroom, Cracklen turned to Sunny Bunny and said, "You wait here while I go in and inform her of your presence." Cracklen pushed open the door and went inside the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Sammie was lying across her bed with her chin resting on the pillow, which was completely soaked from the amount of tears she had cried into it. "They don't know what they're talking about," she said, unaware that Cracklen had entered the room.
"Who doesn't?" he asked, and Sammie looked over her shoulder at him.
"No-no one, Uncle Cracklen," she replied.
"What's this I see?" He proceeded across the room and sat down beside his niece on the bed. "Have you been crying again?"
"No." Sammie sniffed hard. "It's just allergies."
"Oh, come on. You and I both know you don't have allergies. Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
Sammie sat up and nudged closer to Cracklen. He drew his arm around her and pulled her close. "I." Sammie began, "I can't. I'm sorry."
"What? Why on earth not?"
"Because you'll get mad."
"By any chance does this have anything to do with what the people in town and children at school say about me?" Cracklen was looking at Sammie with serious eyes, holding within them a question that she found herself unable to avoid an answer to.
Sammie shrugged. "I guess so. I get so mad when I hear people say nasty things about you-especially things that just aren't true-like today some kids told me that you're evil. I got so angry I told them off."
"Is that why you've been in here all afternoon sobbing?"
Sammie nodded. "I know it makes me seem like a baby."
"Not at all. It only proves that you're very protective of those you care for, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I just don't want you to feel like you have to get all wrapped up in protecting me, because there's always going to be someone who has mean things to say about another. And there's no way you'll be able to prevent that from happening a hundred times over."
"But I don't understand, Uncle Cracklen!" Sammie blurted out. "I just don't get why people act so mean and hurtful to you all the time. What the heck did you ever do to them that would make them make fun of you? Don't these fools know that your allergies aren't something you can control? And they think it's funny! Well, whenever they laugh I start to cry! It hurts me to see you suffering. Sometimes when you're having one of your allergy attacks I feel sick to my stomach. That's how much I care about you, Uncle Cracklen. If I could I'd take away your allergies and give them to myself just so you could feel better-"
"Sammie!" Cracklen suddenly grabbed her by both arms and met her eyes with a gaze so intense that it nearly froze her in place. "Please, don't say that! Don't you ever let me hear you wish such a terrible burden upon yourself again." As uncle and niece continued to stare at one another, Sammie realized that there was something in Cracklen's eyes that she had never seen before: A sparkle. Almost as soon as she had noticed it, she watched as two tears trickled from his eyes and down his cheeks.
Sammie's mouth gaped slightly, and she reached out one small hand to his face. "Uncle Cracklen?" she said, and brushed her fingers gently across his right cheek and felt the warm moist tears. "You're.crying?"
Cracklen, so overcome by his niece's powerful love for him, bent forward where his head collapsed in Sammie's small lap. It wasn't long before he allowed himself to sob freely, where Sammie leaned down and wrapped her arms around him.
Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Sunny Bunny had become aware of the time Cracklen had been inside Sammie's room. He decided to let his curiousness overcome him, and he stepped quietly inside.
What Sunny Bunny saw shocked him. As he stared, astounded, at Cracklen where he had buried his head in Sammie's lap, all the memories of the awful things that the wizard had ever done to him and his friends disappeared. As he continued to gaze, he felt something tug at his heart and he came to realize that everyone had a reason for behaving in a way they did. Something must have happened to Mr. Cracklen in his past, Sunny Bunny thought. Something bad. That's probably why he acts so mean.
However, the moment was soon interrupted when Cracklen lifted his head from Sammie's lap and turned away to sneeze. The sneeze was so powerful, in fact that it managed to blow the wizard's hat clear off Sunny Bunny's head. Just as he had feared, the absence of the hat revealed his ears and as he lifted his paws to try and cover them before Cracklen noticed, a look of fear spread across Sunny Bunny's face.
"You!" Cracklen shouted, and pointed a sharp finger at him. "What are you doing here?"
"Sunny Bunny?" Sammie exclaimed.
Cracklen looked at her in astonishment. "You.you know him?" Sammie nodded. "Yes. I met him and his friends in the woods last night."
"I see." Cracklen turned back to Sunny Bunny. "I should have known it was you," he said as he rose up from the bed and walked over to Sunny Bunny, who was by now cowering in fear. "However, I will give you this much: You're disguise was indeed very clever."
"Sunny Bunny," Sammie spoke up, "I think you'd better leave-"
"No!" Cracklen held up one hand. "I have special plans for this one."
"But what about your allergies?"
"Sammie, don't include yourself in things that don't concern you-"
"But Uncle Cracklen-"
"Shut up!" He suddenly turned on Sammie, his eyes red with rage. "Listen to me: When I tell you to be quiet I mean it! Do I make myself clear?"
Sammie, shocked and deeply hurt that her uncle, the one person she cared more about than anyone in the world, would turn on her so suddenly and violently. Her eyes filled with tears, and she leaped off the bed. "So I guess Sunny Bunny and the others were right," she said, trying desperately to control her sobs. "You are an evil wizard. Well, you don't have to worry. I won't get in your way anymore. I'll go back home to Cranberry Knoll and you'll never have to see me again." With that, Sammie raced passed Cracklen and Sunny Bunny, who looked after her, both with expressions of sorrow.
"Sammie," Cracklen called, but she didn't look back. "Sammie, I." The front door slammed. ".I'm sorry."
After a long moment of silence, Cracklen hollered for Tic and Tac, causing Sunny Bunny to jump. Tic and Tac appeared immediately in the doorway, their always-present expressions of deviousness sprawled across their faces.
"You called, your wizardship?" Tic said.
"Yes," Cracklen replied. "Now, here's what I want you to do-"
"Sir!" Tac hollered, pointing at Sunny Bunny. "It's one of the Raggedys."
"Yes, I know!" Cracklen waved this aside. "Forget about him for now. There's something more important that I need you to do."
"He needs you to go and find Sammie," said Sunny Bunny.
"Why, you little-" Cracklen said irritably. "You mean she's missing?" Tic said.
"Again?" added Tac.
They both groaned.
"She keeps us on our toes all day," Tic complained.
"That girl is always getting herself into trouble," whined Tac.
Cracklen placed his hands on his hips. "Well, she's ten years old! What can you expect?"
"Mr. Cracklen?" Sunny Bunny spoke up, and tugged on the wizard's cloak.
"What is it?" His voice was more annoyed than ever.
"Um.I'll help Tic and Tac look for Sammie."
Cracklen sighed. "Since I'm unimaginably worried about her and there's no way on earth I'll ever forgive myself if any harm comes to her, then I suppose I can't say anymore then 'yes.'"
The next day, Sammie returned to school more tired than ever. As soon as she walked into class, she slumped into her seat and lay her head down on the desk. The night before, she had been plagued by nightmares about giant wildflowers chasing Cracklen all over the castle and causing him to sneeze. Sammie had woken up somewhere between five and seven times, and each time she had tiptoed down the hall and peeped into Cracklen's room, feeling greatly relieved that aside from his usual snoring he appeared to be fine.
Sammie was just beginning to nod off when the bell for the start of school rang, and she screamed, sitting up with a start in her seat.
"Honestly, Sammie," Mrs. Fuller said irritably as she stood at the blackboard jotting down names of potions for the week's vocabulary words. "Is it so wrong for someone to change the color of their hair if they want to?"
"Huh?" Sammie then noticed that her teacher's jet-black hair had been dyed blond, which looked absolutely ridiculous, Sammie thought. "Oh, uh, no; of course not. It.it looks nice."
"Liar," Bobby MacMagic whispered from his desk a few rows down from hers, a cruel glare present on his face.
Sammie turned away and stared in despair down at her desk. If she wasn't so tired and didn't have so much on her mind, then she might have responded with an insult of her own; but she decided that she just couldn't handle any more plights.
That day as Sammie and her classmates wrote their vocabulary words in their notebooks and copied down the descriptions out of their 1,001 Terms and Definitions of the Magical World dictionaries, all she could think about was how helpless she felt for not being able to help Cracklen; not to mention the inquisitive encounter of the night before with Sunny Bunny and his companions. Where were they from and what were they doing here?
"That's something I've got to find out," Sammie whispered to herself as she wrote down the tenth and last of her vocabulary words and opened the dictionary to copy its definition.
"Sammie De Spell," Mrs. Fuller said firmly, and Sammie looked up at her. "Must I ask you every day not to talk so that the rest of your classmates who actually want to go on to the fifth grade may concentrate on their work?" Mrs. Fuller shook her head. "Honestly. You are one of the most disruptive students I've ever had the inconvenience of teaching."
"S.sorry, Mrs. Fuller." Sammie lowered her head to her paper and pretended to look busy. But inside all she could think about was how much she wanted to disappear and never be seen by anyone again. That afternoon at the end of school, Sammie was heading down the steps outside the building when Bobby and several of his friends who were just as nasty as he was assembled around her.
"Where do you think you're going, De Spell?" Bobby said wickedly.
"Get out of my way, Bobby. I have to go home." Sammie did not in the least feel in the mood to put up with someone who was famous for making her especially angry, and so she attempted to make her way passed him. Unfortunately, Bobby yanked her forward by the collar of her cloak and flung her to the ground. She landed on her back, hitting her head painfully on the hard ground. "What the heck is your problem?" she said, sitting up.
"My problem?" As Bobby said this, his friends giggled. "It's you who has the problem. If you weren't such a baby and understood why no one in this school likes you, then we wouldn't be in this predicament now, would we?"
"What are you talking about?" Sammie got to her feet and stood before Bobby, staring him straight in the eyes.
"Boy, you really are stupid. I told you that I'd get you back for that day on the playground, or are you so slow in the head that you forgot?"
"Never underestimate him," one of Bobby's friends said to Sa`mie. "He always keeps his promises."
Sammie glared at Bobby. "If you dare do anything to me, then my uncle will- "
"Do what?" Bobby interrupted. "Sneeze at me? Oh, we'd better not let that happen huh, you guys?"
"That's it!" Sammie shouted, now unable to control her anger. "I've had it with you, you big jerk!" Just as she had the day before, she lunged forward at Bobby; but before she could tackle him to the ground, she felt several hands grab her from behind. She was tossed to one side and again landed on the hard ground. This time, though, it was not her head that was struck with pain, but her right wrist as it jerked in the opposite direction the second her chest descended on top of it. She let out a laborious yowl, which immediately caught the attention of Bobby and his friends.
"Oh, no," one of them said.
"Do you think she's badly hurt?" another asked.
"I.I don't know," Bobby said; his voice streaked with fear. "Come on, let's get out of here." He and the others turned and hurried off the school grounds.
Sammie lay on the ground, bawling heavily and clutching her wrist, which was throbbing in unbelievable pain.
It wasn't long before a teacher who had just stepped out of the building perceived her sobs. The woman rushed over to Sammie and knelt down beside her. "Oh dear," the woman said, "what's happened?"
"My wrist," Sammie managed to reply through sobs. "I think it's broken."
"Lie still. I'll be back in a moment with help." The woman hurried back into the school and returned a short time later with the school nurse.
After examining Sammie's wrist, the nurse said to her, "Your wrist indeed appears to be broken. How did this happen?"
"I.I got into a fight with this kid who's always bothering me. He and his friends cornered me and threw me down on the ground." Sammie let out a shaky sob as the pain in her wrist subsided to a more intense sensation. "Ouch, oh gosh it hurts!"
"What's your name?" the nurse asked.
"Sammie De Spell."
"De Spell?" the woman said. "Then you must be-"
"Sammie! My gosh, what's happened to you?" Sammie and the two women turned their heads to see Cracklen standing before them. In a flash he had sprinted over to them and was kneeling beside Sammie. He took her left hand into his and said softly, "Why are you lying here like this?"
"Sir," the woman said, and Cracklen looked at her. "Your niece here told us that some other children cornered her. They threw her down on the ground, causing her to break her wrist."
"I see." Sammie could easily tell that her uncle was trying hard to control his anger.
"Does it hurt very much, Sammie?"
She nodded.
"We'll take care of that as soon as we're home," Cracklen replied. Carefully he scooped her up into his arms and rose from the ground. "Excuse me, ladies, but my niece and I must depart. Good day to you." He then turned and headed down the path toward his castle.
"Just hold still," Cracklen said. "This will take less than a minute." Holding his wand over Sammie's injured wrist where she sat in the big armchair in the library, he recited the following spell:
"Although you are induced with great pain, You can put your trust in me To take it all away, No injury, Illness, Nor sorrow of mind, Has the power to stand up To the power that my wand shall wind. Now rest assured, As I cast this spell And make all of your pain Become well."
Cracklen waved his wand, sending a pale, almost invisible yellow light around Sammie's wrist. The light engulfed it, and at once she could feel the almost unbearable pain in her wrist become smaller and smaller until finally it disappeared.
Sammie lifted her right arm and turned her wrist back and forth, amazed that a magic spell actually had the power to heal such a painful injury. "You did it," she said, and looked at Cracklen in utter wonderment. "My wrist doesn't hurt at all." She paused. "But I thought you said that magic shouldn't be used to fix things."
"In this case," Cracklen replied, "I decided to make an exception. I couldn't stand by and watch you suffer through such pain, especially when it was someone else's actions who caused it."
"I'm not ever going back to that school. What's the point anyway? It's impossible for me to remember everything I'm told. Not only that, but all the kids make fun of me and even Mrs. Fuller thinks I'm incapable of doing anything."
Cracklen gawped at Sammie for a long time before speaking. Finally he said, "Sammie, my dear, I know it hasn't exactly been an easy year for you, what with your parents sending you away from home and to a new school, but it's important for you to know that you can't let what people say or do get you down. As long as you have faith in yourself, you will remain strong and make it through."
"How can I? Face it, Uncle Cracklen, when it comes to the world of wizards and witches, I'm a lost cause. Besides, no one even believes that I can do anything except make mistakes." "That's where you're wrong. I have faith in you. I always have. And there's no reason why you shouldn't have faith in yourself as well." He paused. "Sammie, I will tell you this right now: I believe in you and I always will."
Cracklen's words had left Sammie with a strength that she couldn't recall ever having at any other time in her life. Her parents had never nurtured their daughter's desire to become a witch; only told her how, if she didn't apply herself to her studies, that she would only fail in life. Sammie's mother and father had sent her off to Cracklen, thinking that he would be able to snap some sense into her with unyielding discipline. However, this wasn't the case at all. Instead, he had managed to provide his niece with something that her parents never did: He showed her exactly how much he believed in her by explaining, over and over, that she must never give into the nasty things that people did and said to her. Although Cracklen understood how hard his words were for Sammie to interpret because of how badly the kids treated her and because she found it difficult to retain information taught to her in school, he figured that if he kept showing her how much confidence he had in her, then she would, at her own pace, succeed at her dream of one day following in his footsteps.
As Sammie practiced flying her broom outside, something she hadn't done in nearly a week due to all of the problems she was experiencing at school and at home, she felt more sure of herself all because of her uncle's confidence in her. She no longer felt as afraid of soaring high through the air as she used to, knowing that if she kept practicing then there was a good chance she would pass her final exam in broomstick flying. After she had been in the air for a while, she spotted Sunny Bunny and the people he had been with the night they had met. Sammie grinned and prepared for a smooth landing, but instead zoomed just inches above the ground where she crashed into a bush.
Raggedy Ann's mouth dropped open as her hands met the sides of her face. "Let's hurry," she exclaimed, and raced toward the bush with the others following. "She might be hurt!"
When they arrived at the bush where Sammie had landed, they were relieved to find that she was unharmed. A few leaves stuck out of her hat and cloak, but the smile that she had attained at the sight of Raggedy Ann and the others had never left her face. "There you are," Sammie said, and got to her feet. "I was wondering when I'd see you all again." She papsed. "So, what brings you here?"
"Never mind that now," Ann said. "The question is what are you doing here? Do you know how much trouble you'll be in if that evil wizard finds you?"
Sammie stared at her in half confusion and half exasperation. "What are you talking about? There's no evil wizard living here-well, he's a wizard, but you're mistaken on the evil part. He's my uncle and I live here with him. And he is, mind you, the nicest man in all the world." Now Ann was just confused, as well as the others. "What's his name?"
"Cracklen," replied Sammie. "Why do you ask?"
"Cracklen?" Ann and the others all exclaimed in shock.
"There's no way you're related to him," Sunny Bunny said as he came forward.
"You're.well.you're.so nice."
"Of course I'm nice." Sammie crossed her arms over her chest and stared at them all.
"And so is my uncle. Why is that so hard for you guys to understand?"
"You mean you don't know?" Andy said.
"Know? Know what?"
"About all of his evil antics," Ann explained.
"I still have no idea what any of you are trying to say."
"He's always trying to kidnap one of us," Grouchy Bear said. "Sometimes two of us at a time."
"Once he sent Tic and Tac to kidnap our friend, Raggedy Dog," Sunny Bunny put in. "He needed a piece of his hair for an evil recipe of gloom brownies. But they grabbed me instead."
"You can't be serious," Sammie said. "My uncle loves me and I love him. He's never been mean to me or mistreated me. He's the only person who believes in me when no one else does. If it weren't for him then I don't think I would want to become a witch so badly."
"It's all true," Andy insisted. "You've got to believe us."
"Give me one good reason why I should." Sammie's voice was filled with anger. "All day at school I have to listen to people like stupid Bobby MacMagic taunt me. Then when I come home my uncle's there to greet me with a smile and comforts me when I tell him how rotten everyone is to me. You can go on believing whatever you want about him, I don't care. Just keep in mind that you guys aren't the ones trying your best to be happy when almost everything around you seems miserable."
Sammie was about to turn and start heading back in the direction of the castle when Ann reached out to her. "Sammie," she said. "Please. Don't be angry. We're only telling you what we know." Sammie looked over her shoulder at Ann and the others, and they were shocked and rather ashamed of themselves to see that tears were already beginning to weld up in the little girl's eyes. "Well, keep it to yourselves," Sammie managed to say between deep sobs. "I don't need to hear you make judgments about somebody who I care about. I used to think that the only things people did were make fun of his allergies.but now I hear these ugly rumors about him being evil. Well, guess what? Even if he were, I'd love him anyway. So there!" Sammie spun around and rushed quickly back to the castle, leaving Raggedy Ann and her friends with an unintentional feeling of guilt.
"Gosh," Andy said. "I didn't think she'd take it so hard. I.I feel sort of bad now."
"Oh, Andy," Ann said gently and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. We were all involved and said some things. But you should consider that we did it out of nothing less than concern."
"Sammie needs to know who her uncle really is," Sunny Bunny added.
However, these thoughts of theirs were quickly interrupted when Sunny Bunny said, his voice filled with excitement, "Look at this!"
They all turned and stared at another message that had been written by the pen in the dirt: It's her! The little girl! She's the one!
"Do you have any idea what this means?" Ann said.
"That Sunny Bunny's magic pen will sure come in useful when it comes to taking really hard tests?" Andy suggested jokingly.
"No," said Sunny Bunny. "It means that Sammie's the one we've come to help."
"Yes," Ann replied. "And we've got to find out what the problem is so we can help her."
"Hold on," Andy said, and everyone looked at him. "When Sammie ran off before, she didn't exactly seem like someone who would be willing to talk to us again anytime soon. What do you think we should do? We certainly can't walk up to Cracklen's front door and say to him, 'Excuse us, but is your niece at home?'"
"Of course I don't expect you to do that. But I do have an idea."
"And just what might that be?"
"Well," explained Ann, "Sammie and Sunny Bunny seemed to get along pretty well. I was thinking maybe we could dress him up as a wizard. That way he could get passed Cracklen and be able to talk to Sammie with no problem at all." "Wait a minute," Sunny Bunny said. "I don't think I'm completely comfortable with this whole plan. I mean, what if something happens? Cracklen could easily find out it's me and then there would be all sorts of trouble."
"That's not going to happen," Ann assured Sunny Bunny.
"How do you know?" Andy put in. "Have you forgotten that Cracklen is also allergic to Sunny Bunny? How can you be sure he won't sneeze? If that happens then that old wizard will definitely suspect something."
"It won't be for very long," Ann answered. "And besides, Cracklen always sneezes. So don't worry about a thing." She turned to Sunny Bunny. "You will do this, won't you, Sunny Bunny? We'll be close by if you need us."
Sunny Bunny sighed. "I guess so," he replied.
"We only have one more problem," Grouchy Bear reminded them.
"What's that?" Ann asked.
"Where are we going to get wizard's clothes?"
Ann pointed across to a clothesline just a few inches from Cracklen's castle where a blue robe and matching pointed wizard's hat with crescent moons, stars and planets sewn into the material with golden thread were hanging. "Over there!"
Sunny Bunny stood nervously outside the front door of Cracklen's castle, dressed in the blue wizard's cloak. He peered up at the door from underneath the matching pointed wizard's hat, and gulped fearfully. "I'm not so sure I want to do this," he said.
"You'll do fine," Raggedy Ann whispered from behind a nearby bush where she and the others were hiding. "Just tell Cracklen you're a friend of Sammie's from school."
"Okay." Sunny Bunny lifted his paw to the door and knocked.
A moment later the door opened. Sunny Bunny lifted his head and saw Cracklen towering above him. Sunny Bunny, unable to control his shaking, gulped again and asked, "H-hello, Mr. Cracklen. Is-is Sammie home?"
"That depends," replied Cracklen. "Who might you be, young man?"
"Me? I'm a friend of Sammie's from school. I came here because.um.we're working on a project for class and she's my partner."
"That's funny. She didn't say anything to me about a project." Sunny Bunny thought for sure that Cracklen was beginning to get suspicious, but then he added, "Well, maybe she just forgot. She hasn't actually had it easy lately. Well, I suppose I should invite you in." Just when Sunny Bunny was about to step inside, Cracklen put one foot forward, blocking Sunny Bunny's entrance. "One moment. What's your name?"
"My name?" Sunny Bunny looked around nervously, trying desperately to think. "Why it's."
"Timmy," he heard Ann whisper from behind the bush.
"Timmy," he answered.
"Is that so?" Cracklen's voice was more incredulous than ever, but nonetheless he moved to one side and permitted Sunny Bunny to enter. When Cracklen realized that Sunny Bunny did not move, he suddenly became very irritated. "Why are you just standing there? I invited you in so you can either enter or get off my premises!"
"No, that's okay. I'll come in." Sunny Bunny scooted inside and was halfway down the hall when Cracklen shouted after him.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I was going to look for Sammie."
"Well, you're headed in the wrong direction," Cracklen said. "She's in her room on the other side of the castle. Since you'll probably get lost I'll take you there myself."
As Cracklen led Sunny Bunny down the hall, the wizard said something that both surprised and confused him. "Before I let you into my niece's room, I want you to tell me only one thing."
"What's that, sir?"
"You aren't by any chance that little dunderhead that broke her arm, are you?"
"Huh? No, I'm not."
"For your sake you'd better be telling the truth. Because if you're lying then I give you my word that I'll make you suffer ten times the pain as she did."
Mr. Cracklen really cares about Sammie a lot, Sunny Bunny thought as they continued down the hall. He actually has a heart.
When they arrived at Sammie's bedroom, Cracklen turned to Sunny Bunny and said, "You wait here while I go in and inform her of your presence." Cracklen pushed open the door and went inside the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Sammie was lying across her bed with her chin resting on the pillow, which was completely soaked from the amount of tears she had cried into it. "They don't know what they're talking about," she said, unaware that Cracklen had entered the room.
"Who doesn't?" he asked, and Sammie looked over her shoulder at him.
"No-no one, Uncle Cracklen," she replied.
"What's this I see?" He proceeded across the room and sat down beside his niece on the bed. "Have you been crying again?"
"No." Sammie sniffed hard. "It's just allergies."
"Oh, come on. You and I both know you don't have allergies. Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
Sammie sat up and nudged closer to Cracklen. He drew his arm around her and pulled her close. "I." Sammie began, "I can't. I'm sorry."
"What? Why on earth not?"
"Because you'll get mad."
"By any chance does this have anything to do with what the people in town and children at school say about me?" Cracklen was looking at Sammie with serious eyes, holding within them a question that she found herself unable to avoid an answer to.
Sammie shrugged. "I guess so. I get so mad when I hear people say nasty things about you-especially things that just aren't true-like today some kids told me that you're evil. I got so angry I told them off."
"Is that why you've been in here all afternoon sobbing?"
Sammie nodded. "I know it makes me seem like a baby."
"Not at all. It only proves that you're very protective of those you care for, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I just don't want you to feel like you have to get all wrapped up in protecting me, because there's always going to be someone who has mean things to say about another. And there's no way you'll be able to prevent that from happening a hundred times over."
"But I don't understand, Uncle Cracklen!" Sammie blurted out. "I just don't get why people act so mean and hurtful to you all the time. What the heck did you ever do to them that would make them make fun of you? Don't these fools know that your allergies aren't something you can control? And they think it's funny! Well, whenever they laugh I start to cry! It hurts me to see you suffering. Sometimes when you're having one of your allergy attacks I feel sick to my stomach. That's how much I care about you, Uncle Cracklen. If I could I'd take away your allergies and give them to myself just so you could feel better-"
"Sammie!" Cracklen suddenly grabbed her by both arms and met her eyes with a gaze so intense that it nearly froze her in place. "Please, don't say that! Don't you ever let me hear you wish such a terrible burden upon yourself again." As uncle and niece continued to stare at one another, Sammie realized that there was something in Cracklen's eyes that she had never seen before: A sparkle. Almost as soon as she had noticed it, she watched as two tears trickled from his eyes and down his cheeks.
Sammie's mouth gaped slightly, and she reached out one small hand to his face. "Uncle Cracklen?" she said, and brushed her fingers gently across his right cheek and felt the warm moist tears. "You're.crying?"
Cracklen, so overcome by his niece's powerful love for him, bent forward where his head collapsed in Sammie's small lap. It wasn't long before he allowed himself to sob freely, where Sammie leaned down and wrapped her arms around him.
Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Sunny Bunny had become aware of the time Cracklen had been inside Sammie's room. He decided to let his curiousness overcome him, and he stepped quietly inside.
What Sunny Bunny saw shocked him. As he stared, astounded, at Cracklen where he had buried his head in Sammie's lap, all the memories of the awful things that the wizard had ever done to him and his friends disappeared. As he continued to gaze, he felt something tug at his heart and he came to realize that everyone had a reason for behaving in a way they did. Something must have happened to Mr. Cracklen in his past, Sunny Bunny thought. Something bad. That's probably why he acts so mean.
However, the moment was soon interrupted when Cracklen lifted his head from Sammie's lap and turned away to sneeze. The sneeze was so powerful, in fact that it managed to blow the wizard's hat clear off Sunny Bunny's head. Just as he had feared, the absence of the hat revealed his ears and as he lifted his paws to try and cover them before Cracklen noticed, a look of fear spread across Sunny Bunny's face.
"You!" Cracklen shouted, and pointed a sharp finger at him. "What are you doing here?"
"Sunny Bunny?" Sammie exclaimed.
Cracklen looked at her in astonishment. "You.you know him?" Sammie nodded. "Yes. I met him and his friends in the woods last night."
"I see." Cracklen turned back to Sunny Bunny. "I should have known it was you," he said as he rose up from the bed and walked over to Sunny Bunny, who was by now cowering in fear. "However, I will give you this much: You're disguise was indeed very clever."
"Sunny Bunny," Sammie spoke up, "I think you'd better leave-"
"No!" Cracklen held up one hand. "I have special plans for this one."
"But what about your allergies?"
"Sammie, don't include yourself in things that don't concern you-"
"But Uncle Cracklen-"
"Shut up!" He suddenly turned on Sammie, his eyes red with rage. "Listen to me: When I tell you to be quiet I mean it! Do I make myself clear?"
Sammie, shocked and deeply hurt that her uncle, the one person she cared more about than anyone in the world, would turn on her so suddenly and violently. Her eyes filled with tears, and she leaped off the bed. "So I guess Sunny Bunny and the others were right," she said, trying desperately to control her sobs. "You are an evil wizard. Well, you don't have to worry. I won't get in your way anymore. I'll go back home to Cranberry Knoll and you'll never have to see me again." With that, Sammie raced passed Cracklen and Sunny Bunny, who looked after her, both with expressions of sorrow.
"Sammie," Cracklen called, but she didn't look back. "Sammie, I." The front door slammed. ".I'm sorry."
After a long moment of silence, Cracklen hollered for Tic and Tac, causing Sunny Bunny to jump. Tic and Tac appeared immediately in the doorway, their always-present expressions of deviousness sprawled across their faces.
"You called, your wizardship?" Tic said.
"Yes," Cracklen replied. "Now, here's what I want you to do-"
"Sir!" Tac hollered, pointing at Sunny Bunny. "It's one of the Raggedys."
"Yes, I know!" Cracklen waved this aside. "Forget about him for now. There's something more important that I need you to do."
"He needs you to go and find Sammie," said Sunny Bunny.
"Why, you little-" Cracklen said irritably. "You mean she's missing?" Tic said.
"Again?" added Tac.
They both groaned.
"She keeps us on our toes all day," Tic complained.
"That girl is always getting herself into trouble," whined Tac.
Cracklen placed his hands on his hips. "Well, she's ten years old! What can you expect?"
"Mr. Cracklen?" Sunny Bunny spoke up, and tugged on the wizard's cloak.
"What is it?" His voice was more annoyed than ever.
"Um.I'll help Tic and Tac look for Sammie."
Cracklen sighed. "Since I'm unimaginably worried about her and there's no way on earth I'll ever forgive myself if any harm comes to her, then I suppose I can't say anymore then 'yes.'"