Tuesday Night Storytime 3, Part 8
The next to last part of Mr. Snaggle’s Oddities. In this part, Peter struggles to come to grips with what Mr. Snaggle has asked of him. Can he really transform a human into an animal? Can he stop the man before he’s forced to?
As always, I hope you enjoy the story.
Peter didn’t know what to think about Mr. Snaggle’s request. He thought his comment had been safe enough because surely he wouldn’t actually ask him to do such a thing. That obviously was not the case. With time running out, he saw no other options and agreed to do it.
“Good, Peter, very good. I see you’re scared, that’s perfectly fine, my boy, perfectly fine. Did you know that I was just as nervous my first time?”
“Were you really? Does that mean we are going to do it tonight?” Peter asked.
“No, I have been searching for a special book for some time now. It must be here somewhere, but I haven’t been able to find it. Until I do, I’m not sure that I can talk you through the process I’m afraid. Do not worry though, I will find it soon enough.”
Peter’s heart skipped a beat at that. What was he going to do? Could he return the book without the man realizing what had happened? An idea came to him, he just hoped his guess was right. “Is it an old leather book? Brown, with golden symbols on the cover?” Snaggle turned to him, suspicion plain on his face and he went on quickly. “I- I found a book like that last night in my bedroom. It had the word book in it too, scribbled very poorly.”
“That damned fool of a beast! I don’t even know why I still bother with him after all this time.” The man said.
“Who?”
“It’s the monkey, I know it. It’s not the first time he’s pulled such a prank. I should have seen it coming I suppose. Peter, have you looked in the book at all?”
Peter was happy that his guess was right, but he pretended to be nervous anyway. “I did glance through it a bit last night. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be nosy. I was going to bring it back, but I completely forgot about it today when I woke up. I meant to bring it right back, I really am sorry I forgot.”
“That’s alright, my boy, I understand your curiosity. I don’t imagine what was inside made much sense anyway.” Snaggle laughed at that. “Sometimes I don’t even understand it!”
Peter forced a smile. “If you want I can go get it and bring it to you?”
“That’s quite all right. Why don’t you read some more from it tonight. I’d be curious to know what you can make of it. No, don’t worry, I know it won’t be much. You are very bright though, so perhaps you can find something that makes sense.”
“I can try, was there anything else you wanted before I leave tonight?”
Mr. Snaggle considered the words for some time before answering. Peter felt a little uncomfortable at the way he was just staring at him. “I do, Peter. I’m curious why you have not asked me about your friends yet.”
Peter couldn’t hide his surprise this time. He’d tried very hard to avoid talking about that all together. He looked at the ground, unsure of what to say.
“I understand that you don’t want to talk about it. You must understand that I don’t seek out people to harm, Peter. The only ones that I change, are the ones that sneak into my tents late at night. It’s their own fault, you must understand this above all else.”
“I had suspsected the rats you put on display were my friends. I wasn’t sure because there were only two of them though. They warned me that they were going to try to sneak in. I tried to stop them! I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them!” Tears began to fall and Mr. Snaggle put his arm around Peter.
“I don’t blame you, my boy. Not at all. The third boy is the reason that I am bringing it up. He is the one I would like you to transform.”
Peter pushed at Mr. Snaggle and jumped backwards. “No, I cannot! You can’t make me do that!” He yelled. If Snaggle was worried about him being heard, he didn’t show it. “I can’t do that to my own friend!”
Mr. Snaggle let him complain for some time until he was tired and sobbing on the floor. “I know it’s hard, Peter. It’s important though. I assure you, he will have no idea that it is you. You have my word.”
Peter’s mind raced. How was he supposed to do this? He was running out of time to stop Mr. Snaggle, he was running out of time to help his friends, he was running out of time to do anything at all! He felt like the walls were almost crushing around him now. Snaggle was just staring at him, waiting for a response. He slumped his shoulders. “Alright, I will try. It won’t kill him, right?”
Snaggle lit up with excitement. “Of course not, my boy, of course not! He will not be harmed in the least.” He wouldn’t be harmed? In what world was turning someone into an animal not the same as being harmed? Peter decided the arguments would not go over well if he said them out loud, so he just kept them to himself. “That is all for today, Peter. Why don’t you head on home. Tomorrow you can bring the book with you and we’ll talk about how to mix the right kind of concoction.”
The whole way home Peter knew it was now or never. When he got there he wasn’t surprised to find his parents were not even home. They’d been going out almost every night to some place or other. He thought it was to see a musical tonight. Sad and lonely, he made his way to his room. He pulled the old leather book from under his mattress and turned the page to the one he’d bookmarked with the monkey’s note.
He was pretty sure the page described how to turn animals back into humans again. Some parts of it he didn’t understand, but it was becoming more clear as he read through the old book every night. He was sure he could figure it out in a few more days. Then he flipped to another page toward the back, the page described something else he was close to figuring out. And that was the key to everything.
Tags: Fantasy, Mr. Snaggle's Oddities, podcast, Tuesday Night Stories
