In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz Read Free Book Online Page B

legs!”
    Then Jill said, “Jack, I think he’s peeing on you.”
    Jack shouted and dropped the frog. Jill looked down at the plump little amphibian. “I’m sorry, Frog,” she said.
    “It’s okay,” he replied. “Boys will be boys.”
    Jack stared at the frog, then at Jill, then back at the frog. “Did he talk?” said Jack. Then he said, “And did you just apologize to
him
?
He peed on me!”
    “Yes,” said Jill. “You shouldn’t be so rough with him.”
    The frog smiled up at Jill and said, very simply, “Thank you.”
    Jack stared at the frog and his mouth hung open. At long last, he said, “That’s amazing.”
    “See?” Jill said to the frog, “I told you he’d like you.”
    “In that case,” said the frog, “Jack, I am sorry for peeing on you. We frogs don’t have many defenses, you know.”
    Jack laughed and smiled kind of sideways. “That’s okay,” he said. “Little boys don’t either.”
    And just like that, the three of them became fast friends.
    ----
    And had the day ended there, it would have been a very eventful day indeed.
    But it did not end there.
    If it had, much suffering, much bloodshed, many tears would have been avoided.
    In fact, if you’re the kind of person who does not like to read about suffering and bloodshed and tears, why don’t you just pretend that the day did end there, and close the book right now?
    On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person who does like reading about suffering, and bloodshed, and tears . . . well, may I politely ask, “What is wrong with you?”
    ----
    Just then, at the edge of Jack’s father’s land, there was a rustling in the trees. Jack and Jill and the frog turned toward the sound, and then, in unison, they all shivered.
    Standing at the edge of the property was a tiny woman, no taller than a child. Her posture was hunched, and her hair was wispy white. But her face was smooth as a baby’s, and her pale blue eyes shone through the murky dusk. As she walked toward the children (and the frog), both Jack and Jill had the uncanny sensation of recognizing her. Though neither could quite place where from.
    The frog whispered, “There’s a creepy old lady walking toward us.” He burrowed down into Jill’s blanket.
    When the old woman stood right beside them, she still had not said a word. There was a sudden wind, and her thin cloak fluttered. Jack realized how dark it had become. Jill felt cold.
    The frog whispered, “Now there’s a creepy old lady standing right next to us.”
    And then, the creepy old lady spoke.
    “Had a bad day?” she asked. Her voice did not match her body. It was high and light and lilting, almost like a child’s.
    Jack and Jill stared at her, silent, mesmerized.
    The frog whispered, “Now there’s a creepy old lady talking to you.”
    Jack looked up into the strange, childlike face. “Who are you?”
    “We have many names,” said the old woman. The wind blew harder.
    “We?”
    “And we know many things. Especially about the children ’round here. You might say it’s our job.”
    “Who’s job?” said Jack.
    The old woman brought her face right down beside the children’s. Her pale blue eyes sparkled. “Ours,” she said.
    And then she said, “We’d like to do something for you.”
    Jill asked, “What?”
    “We’d like to change your very lives.”
    The frog whispered, “Now there’s a creepy old lady scaring the bejeezus out of me.”
    But Jack said, “You wanna change our lives?”
    “Yes, Jack. What if everyone liked you and admired you? Especially that tall boy. What’s his name?”
    “Marie,” Jack replied.
    “Yes. Marie would admire you. And, better yet, he would like you. He, and the whole world, would really, truly like you.”
    There was a pause. Crickets sang through the darkness. Finally, Jack said, “You can do that?”
    “Surely can,” replied the old woman.
    Jill squinted her eyes uncertainly.
    “And you, dearie,” the old woman smiled at her. “How about