12 A New Day

12 A New Day Queek. A little croak came from the cage on the floor. “ Teddy! " cried Annie. “ We almost forgot you! " said Jack. Queek, Teddy croaked again. “ Let me change him back, " Annie said to Jack. “ Okay, but let me get out of the way first, ” said Jack. He handed Annie the hazel twig. Then he quickly stepped over to the window.

Annie moved closer to Teddy's cage. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Then she waved the wand over the cage and said: “ O hazel twig from hazel tree! Make him Teddy! Set him free! " There was a mighty roar, a blast of heat, and a blaze of light! Then the cage was gone, and Teddy was a boy again, sitting on the floor. “ Yay! " said Annie. “ Nicely done, " said Teddy. “ Thanks. " “ Welcome back! ” said Jack. He and Annie helped Teddy stand up. Teddy shook his arms and legs. “ Ahhh! 'Tis good to be human again! " he said. “ And now we must help the duke's family. Where's the diamond?" “ We lost it! ” said Annie. “ Yeah, I had it in my beak, ” said Jack. “ But I must have dropped it when Annie changed us back into ourselves. ” “ Don't worry, ” said Teddy, “ it must be here somewhere. "

The three of them got on their hands and knees and started crawling around the floor of the nursery. There was no sign of the diamond. Suddenly Jack heard Teddy gasp. “ Oh, my, ” Teddy whispered. “ Look. ” He was staring at the corner. The Diamond of Destiny was rising from the basket of wool by the spinning wheel. “ The ghost girl must have hidden it when the Raven King came! ” whispered Annie. The diamond moved slowly toward Jack and stopped in front of him. Jack held out his hand, and the diamond settled into his palm. “ Thank you, " Jack said to the ghost girl. “ I'll put it back in its place now. ” Carefully holding the diamond, Jack crossed the room. Annie pulled the tapestry aside, and Jack opened the golden door of the cabinet. He looked one last time at the shining stone. “ I really felt brave when I was carrying this diamond, ” he said softly.

“ Jack, ” said Annie, “ you were pretty brave just now without it. ” “ Indeed you were, " said Teddy. Jack smiled. He carefully put the Diamond of Destiny back in its place and closed the golden door. Then Annie covered the cabinet once more with the tapestry.

The air in the nursery grew warmer. A girl began to take shape beside Teddy. She wore a white nightgown. She had dark curly hair. She was about Teddy's age. At the chess table, two boys took shape, too. They looked just alike. They were twins about Annie's age. At first the children were a bit pale and cloudy. Slowly they grew more and more visible, until they were solid and rosy-cheeked. At the same time, a large brown dog became visible by the door. He barked and ran to the girl. “ Oliver! " she cried. She hugged him. Then she looked at Jack, Annie, and Teddy. She gave them a big smile. “ Hello, " she said. “ Hi! ” said Annie. “ Are the three of you the only people in this castle?”

“ Oh, no, everyone else is here, too, " the girl said, “ but they were all asleep when the Raven King stole the diamond. We were supposed to be asleep, too. But sometimes we like to sneak out of bed and play. We were playing hide-and-seek when I found the secret door behind the tapes- try. I wanted to see the diamond better, so I put it on the window ledge to catch the moonlight. Then Tom and Henry started to play chess-" She pointed to the boys.