The Time Fetch by Amy Herrick Page A

belt of yarn around her waist. She had long, gray hair, a long, horselike face, and most charming of all, only one nostril.
    Feenix tried to sit up, but bumped her head on top of the cage. “All right!” she said angrily. “Let me out of here.”
    The old lady grinned.
    “What is going on?” Feenix demanded. “What is this place?”
    “The place is neither here nor there.”
    “Let me out of this thing.” Feenix grabbed the sides of the cage and rattled the bars furiously.
    The old lady with one nostril paid no attention to her demand, but stood there with her head tipped to one side. Meanwhile, the other two rose and made their way over to the cage. They peered down at her with interest. Red Kerchief, the one who had met her at the door, smiled and licked at her greasy fingers. The third one, who was very round, with tiny little pig’s eyes and a soft, pudding face, smiled happily.
    Feenix rattled the cage again. “Let me out of here immediately.”
    “She’s a sparky one, isn’t she?” said Piggy Face.
    She came closer to the cage. Gingerly, she stuck out a hard, wrinkled old finger and prodded Feenix through the bars, then nodded to herself.
    “You crazy old prunes!” Feenix hollered. “Let me out immediately! My friends are right behind me. Do you have any idea what the penalty is for kidnapping? I don’t know if they’ll put you in jail or the loony bin, but either way they’ll take your candy away.”
    One Nostril laughed. “No, no. No need to worry. Your friends never even crossed over the wall. By now they will have forgotten all about you. And we have been waiting for you so patiently. You have the most intriguing smell. Are you not flattered that we chose you? How many get to see the inside of our happy little home?”
    “What are you talking about?” Feenix demanded angrily. “How could you have chosen me? And for what?”
    Red Kerchief had stopped licking her fingers. She leaned forward and said softly, “Do you think it was just random chance that brought you to us? Do you think it was just improbable good luck?”
    Something in these words reminded Feenix of Mr. Ross, but she was too angry to think about it. She rocked the cage furiously back and forth. “Let me out of here!”
    One Nostril licked her lips and stared down at her through the thick glasses. Then she said, “Hasn’t life been very dull? Have you not been seeking a great adventure?”
    Feenix stopped shaking the cage for a moment. She stared at her with a terrible sinking feeling.
    “You may call me Baba,” One Nostril said. “I am the oldest.”
    As far as Feenix was concerned, they all looked about three hundred years old. “Okay, Baba. This is not funny. I need to get home before my mother has a coronary. You need to let me out of here.”
    “All in good time, little mortal. If we let you out now you would never find your way. The paths would all bring you right back to us.”
    Feenix laughed angrily. “What kind of joke is this? Who are you? What is going on?”
    Baba smiled her pinched little smile again. “The stories told about us are countless. Surely your grandmother will have passed one or two on to you?”
    “Did the Parks Department give you permission to put this house here?”
    This made Baba laugh. “We are always here. It is just that at this time of year, the curtain between your side of the world and ours grows thin enough that some can see us.”
    Piggy Face leaned in closer now and sniffed. “I will open the cage, shall I?”
    Baba nodded slowly, staring at Feenix. “Yes. Let us get a closer look at her.” She lifted the latch on the cage and the door swung open by itself. Feenix climbed out stiffly. Then she stood up and stared at her captors. They were lined up in a row, peering at her, three old yentas bent and wrinkled like used candy bar wrappers.
    Feenix crossed the room in two strides. She reached the front door and grabbed the knob. The door was locked. The key, Feenix had little