The Goblin and a Family Tree: Tales from the Forest of the Hooting Owl, #6

By Juliet Boyd

Sprout's final adventure is about to begin and it's his most important one yet.

 

When there's a mission to be undertaken, you can be sure Sprout's at the front of the queue for a spot on the team, especially when the aim is to find the place where all those banished by hare dares have been sent. He has a very good reason for wanting to go. He needs to find out what happened to his pa.

 

It turns out that it's quite a long journey and involves running, magic, flying, danger and more magic. There's even a point at which Sprout is put in charge of a train. That's enough to tire the most energy-full goblin.

 

But will the intrepid travellers find what they came for? Sprout's counting on it. His ma's counting on it. Because, if they succeed, it's possible that Sprout's family could be complete again.

 

Find out the answers to this, and many other questions, by purchasing your copy of The Goblin and a Family Tree today.

 

The Goblin and a Family Tree is a fantasy tale aimed at children aged 8-12.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Juliet Boyd
• Release date: Jun 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393435624

Juliet Boyd

Juliet lives in Somerset in the south-west of England. She used to work in administration, but now writes full-time. Her main writing interests are fantasy, science fiction, weird fiction, horror and flash fiction. Details of her work are available on her website.

Book preview

THe GoBLiN aND a FaMiLY TRee

TaLeS FRoM THe FoReST oF THe HooTiNG oWL

BooK SiX

Copyright © 2019 Juliet Boyd,

including interior illustrations.

All rights reserved.

Second Edition: 2020.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and situations portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Any reference to an actual event, product or location is used in an entirely fictitious manner.

For endings, both happy and sad.

Hi, Sproutlings.

Do you like tales where everything is tied up nicely in a bundle at the end? Really? That’s good, because this, being the final tale in this series, does, indeed, do that. It brings together everything you have learned about the forest and about Sprout’s life and adds them up into a nice tidy sum. Sorry. I brought maths into the equation. Sprout wouldn’t like that. Long Tooth might, though, and, as always, his scribblings can be found at the end of this book.

Where do all the banished people go? That is the question that needs to be answered. Do they simply disappear in a puff of smoke, never to be seen again? Do they exist in a parallel universe, one that cannot be accessed without a special spell? Are they kept in banishment jail, in some dark, forbidden place? Who knows? No one for sure. But it’s possible that some people are about to find out. Who do you reckon is going on this journey? Who will be the ones to discover the truth?

Have you made up your mind? All right. Turn over the page and — I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before — run!

a STiCKY SiTuaTioN

Sprout was out in front, as they jogged purposefully through the forest. That was because he had the best experience for choosing and choosing was very important when it came to forest paths. The most important choosing was the level of danger you were prepared to experience on your journey, which Sprout had set at marginally below middling. This was because Wizard was behind him and she wasn’t as well equipped for dealing with the many forest dangers as he was. That wouldn’t happen until her spelling was all sorted.

Above them, Th’Queue and Sun Light fluttered along. Every so often, one of them would glide on the breeze and weave from side to side, as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Th’Queue took the sky lead, as it had been her who had found the place that was their destination. So, Sprout was only the ground lead.

The place they were heading for was where all those who had been banished by the hares had been sent. At least, that was what they hoped. At present, it was just a strange place to be investigated.

They knew it was more than a full day’s travel, even at the pace they were going, and they all believed they needed to get there in soonest time. Word had got out around the forest about certain things to do with spells and witches — things they’d been hoping to keep as far back from anyone noticing as possible. How it had got out, they didn’t know — it could’ve been a talking vine, or a gossiping grasshopper, who’d got wind of the news, or something else entirely — and the population of the forest was getting vocal with the faeries about their doings, which was always a dangerous thing. Faeries didn’t take kindly to being shouted at (or riddled).

Wizard, panting slightly, said, It’s at times like these I almost wish I was still a dog.

Sprout turned and jogged backwards for a few steps, his memory archives taking over from his forward sight. But then you wouldn’t be able to have interesting conversations with me. He grinned.

I can barely have any conversation when I’m running. To prove this point, she stopped, bent over, with her hands on her legs, and said, I need a rest.

Sprout frowned. They’d only been going a short time and this seemed a lot too early to be stopping. Th’Queue. Sun Light, he called out, and their flying companions swooped down. Wizard needs to rest.

Th’Queue took up residence on a branch above them and Sun Light buzzed around their heads, changing her appearance with every turn, as if she couldn’t decide