their throats."
"What if it was a gentleman instead of a maid?" asked the old man.
"Generous gentlemen received swords of valor or enchanted cloaks. As for the stingy ones—"
A familiar voice broke in. "I transformed people as well, but not always for being selfish. I changed my daughter's betrothed into an otter because I didn't think he was good enough for her. When I told him how to break the spell, I made it so involved that he was bound to forget it."
"Is that your grandmother?" Eadric whispered into my ear.
I nodded, shushing him with a raised finger.
"So tell us what you said!" demanded one voice.
"I don't think I will. It was too delicious!"
Go ahead, I thought. Tell them!
"That isn't fair! I told you my recipe for beauty."
"We won't share anything else with you if you don't share with us."
"Oh, all right, if you're going to be that way. I remember it word for word, since it was so perfect."
A gossamer hair from mother-of-pearl,
The breath of a dragon green.
A feather from an aged horse,
The husk of a magic bean.
"I see what you mean. He couldn't possibly have gotten that right."
"It wasn't impossible, mind you, or it wouldn't have worked."
"But for an otter to remember that, or find half the things—"
"How long did he stay an otter?"
"As far as I know, he still is!" screeched my grandmother.
The hoots of laughter from the bottles made me so angry, I felt like shaking them.
"Now it's my turn!" screamed a voice over the din. "And have I got a story."
"Who said you could go next? You talked yesterday, so it's my turn."
I backed away from the window, tugging on Eadric's sleeve. "It's time for us to go," I whispered. "We've heard what we came for."
"But it's just getting good!" he whispered a little too loudly.
"What was that?" asked the bird. "I think I heard something."
"You're always hearing something," the wizard replied. "It's probably a loose seed rattling around in your skull."
The bird's outraged squawk hurt my ears. "Loose seeds! I'll give you loose seeds!" Flip! Flip! Flip! The last thing I saw through the window before I started to run was the bird flinging seeds at the old man.
We found Grassina seated on the blanket beside my grandmother, who had fallen asleep again. Haywood was chasing seagulls up and down the beach, and appeared to be having a wonderful time.
"We found the answer!" I said. "You have to come with us."
"There's a little old wizard named Olefat—" began Eadric, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Grassina stood and brushed the sand from her gown. "Olefat? I didn't know he was still alive. It's been years since I've heard anyone mention his name. I'm not surprised he's involved," she said, looking grim. "He has a shady reputation."
"He's the one behind all this," said Eadric. "You should see his hut. He put the memories in bottles and keeps them on a shelf."
Grassina began walking and we hurried to catch up. "He has the memories with him now?" she asked, a determined glint in her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"We heard them ourselves!" said Eadric. "He was arguing with a bird. It's the size of a crow, but it's green and red and has a much bigger beak."
"That sounds like a parrot."
"And then other voices started talking," I said. "They called themselves memories, but they weren't very nice."
Grassina shook her head. "No, they wouldn't be. A nasty group of witches lives in that retirement community. Maybe all the nice ones moved away—or never moved there in the first place, once they'd learned who already lived there. Not all old witches are nasty."
"That's good," said Eadric, smiling at me. He pointed at the hut down the beach. "We listened through the window and we heard your—"
Grassina held up her hand for silence. "You two did very well, but I think you'd better stay outside. It may get unpleasant in there."
Once again Eadric and I crouched beneath Olefat's window. Hearing my aunt knock on the door, I peeked over the sill, careful to stay out of
"What if it was a gentleman instead of a maid?" asked the old man.
"Generous gentlemen received swords of valor or enchanted cloaks. As for the stingy ones—"
A familiar voice broke in. "I transformed people as well, but not always for being selfish. I changed my daughter's betrothed into an otter because I didn't think he was good enough for her. When I told him how to break the spell, I made it so involved that he was bound to forget it."
"Is that your grandmother?" Eadric whispered into my ear.
I nodded, shushing him with a raised finger.
"So tell us what you said!" demanded one voice.
"I don't think I will. It was too delicious!"
Go ahead, I thought. Tell them!
"That isn't fair! I told you my recipe for beauty."
"We won't share anything else with you if you don't share with us."
"Oh, all right, if you're going to be that way. I remember it word for word, since it was so perfect."
A gossamer hair from mother-of-pearl,
The breath of a dragon green.
A feather from an aged horse,
The husk of a magic bean.
"I see what you mean. He couldn't possibly have gotten that right."
"It wasn't impossible, mind you, or it wouldn't have worked."
"But for an otter to remember that, or find half the things—"
"How long did he stay an otter?"
"As far as I know, he still is!" screeched my grandmother.
The hoots of laughter from the bottles made me so angry, I felt like shaking them.
"Now it's my turn!" screamed a voice over the din. "And have I got a story."
"Who said you could go next? You talked yesterday, so it's my turn."
I backed away from the window, tugging on Eadric's sleeve. "It's time for us to go," I whispered. "We've heard what we came for."
"But it's just getting good!" he whispered a little too loudly.
"What was that?" asked the bird. "I think I heard something."
"You're always hearing something," the wizard replied. "It's probably a loose seed rattling around in your skull."
The bird's outraged squawk hurt my ears. "Loose seeds! I'll give you loose seeds!" Flip! Flip! Flip! The last thing I saw through the window before I started to run was the bird flinging seeds at the old man.
We found Grassina seated on the blanket beside my grandmother, who had fallen asleep again. Haywood was chasing seagulls up and down the beach, and appeared to be having a wonderful time.
"We found the answer!" I said. "You have to come with us."
"There's a little old wizard named Olefat—" began Eadric, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Grassina stood and brushed the sand from her gown. "Olefat? I didn't know he was still alive. It's been years since I've heard anyone mention his name. I'm not surprised he's involved," she said, looking grim. "He has a shady reputation."
"He's the one behind all this," said Eadric. "You should see his hut. He put the memories in bottles and keeps them on a shelf."
Grassina began walking and we hurried to catch up. "He has the memories with him now?" she asked, a determined glint in her eyes. "Are you sure?"
"We heard them ourselves!" said Eadric. "He was arguing with a bird. It's the size of a crow, but it's green and red and has a much bigger beak."
"That sounds like a parrot."
"And then other voices started talking," I said. "They called themselves memories, but they weren't very nice."
Grassina shook her head. "No, they wouldn't be. A nasty group of witches lives in that retirement community. Maybe all the nice ones moved away—or never moved there in the first place, once they'd learned who already lived there. Not all old witches are nasty."
"That's good," said Eadric, smiling at me. He pointed at the hut down the beach. "We listened through the window and we heard your—"
Grassina held up her hand for silence. "You two did very well, but I think you'd better stay outside. It may get unpleasant in there."
Once again Eadric and I crouched beneath Olefat's window. Hearing my aunt knock on the door, I peeked over the sill, careful to stay out of
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