The Wizard Takes a Day Off

The people of Fernbrook loved their wizard, Orlo, but they asked him for everything. When a cow got lost, they knocked on his door. When it rained too much, they knocked on his door. Orlo used to enjoy helping them, but he was old now, and his white beard was longer than his patience.

One spring morning, he called in his young helper, Pip. Pip was twelve, and she dreamed of learning real magic one day.

"Pip," said Orlo, "I'm tired. I haven't had a day off in thirty years. Today I'm going fishing, and you're in charge."

"Me?" said Pip. "But I can't do magic yet!"

"Exactly. So don't try. Just use your head." And he left before she could say another word.

Ten minutes later, the first visitor arrived: Mrs. Bramble, the baker. "My bread won't rise!" she cried. "I need a spell!"

Pip remembered something her mother used to say about bread. "Is your kitchen cold?" she asked. Mrs. Bramble nodded. "There's a crack in my window, and the wind gets in." "Then put the dough near the fire," said Pip. That afternoon, Mrs. Bramble came back with a warm loaf of bread as a thank-you.

The next visitor was Farmer Gill. "My goats have stopped giving milk!" Pip went with him to the farm and saw the problem at once: his new dog never stopped barking at the goats. "Keep the dog away from them for a few days," she said. By evening, the goats were calm again.

All day, people came, and all day, Pip listened, asked questions and found simple answers. To her surprise, she was starting to enjoy it.

Just before sunset, the mayor's son ran up the hill. "Pip! There's a dragon in the old well!"

This time, Pip thought, she might really need magic. Her heart was beating fast, but she took a lantern and ran to the well. Deep inside, two yellow eyes looked up at her. The dragon was small, about the size of a goat, and it was crying.

"How did you get down there?" Pip asked softly. "Are you hurt?"

The little dragon sniffed. "I was chasing a butterfly, and I fell in," it said. "Now I can't fly out. The well is too narrow for my wings."

Pip asked the villagers to bring every rope in Fernbrook. They tied the ropes to an old wooden door and lowered it into the well, and the dragon climbed on. Ten people pulled together, and slowly the dragon came up into the evening air. It thanked Pip with a puff of warm pink smoke and flew away toward the mountains.

When Orlo came home that night with three fish, the whole village was waiting outside his tower, and everyone told him the news at once: the bread, the goats, the dragon.

Orlo looked at Pip. "You didn't use any magic?"

"Not one spell," said Pip.

The old wizard smiled. "Then you've already learned the most important lesson. Tomorrow we'll start on your first spell. And from now on, I'm going fishing every Friday."