It probably just looks like a dusty old flute to Maggie and the shopkeeper… but I’m drawn to it.
My heart flutters as I reach out and gently pick it up.
I can feel the magic humming through it. If someone finds out it’s a magic tool, it’d be way beyond what I could afford.
Don’t go wild now!
“How much is it?” My voice comes out hoarse from nervousness.
“Well now, how much should I ask for?”
Ugh, I’m no good with this “make me an offer” kind of thing.
“A dusty flute like that? I wouldn’t take it even for five pennies!” Maggie jumps in, bold as ever. I’m so thankful to her.
“Oh no, that won’t do. A little drum goes for fifteen pennies, a tambourine for eight, and both bells and chimes are five pennies each!”
Maggie pauses, then breaks into a smile.
“I’ll take the small drums, tambourines, bells, and chimes! I’m planning to sell them in Lang Village for the summer festival. So how about a discount?”
Wow, they’re already talking shop like a pair of merchants!
I tug on Maggie’s sleeve and whisper, “Hey, do you even have the money?”
“I’ll use the money Father gave me for supplies!”
The shopkeeper smiles then, clearly realizing Maggie’s the daughter of Lang Village’s general store owner.
“If the kids in Carlton see us dancing with drums and tambourines at Lang Village’s festival, then you’ll probably sell even more drums at the harvest festival here!”
So, Lang’s summer festival is famous, but Carlton’s harvest festival is the big one.
Makes sense—Lang only has about a hundred people, while Carlton has over a thousand. Of course the festivals are on different scales.
Later, I’ll ask Maggie’s dad why the Lang summer festival is so well-known!
But while I was daydreaming, things at the counter were heating up.
“I’ll take two little drums, three tambourines, four sets of bells, and two chimes!”
Whaaat? That’s a lot!
I start worrying, but Maggie just grins.
“Zoe’s going to teach us how to dance and play the drums!”
“Wait, I don’t know the summer festival dance!” I only arrived in Lang at the end of autumn, remember?
“You’ll pick it up in no time. The dance is super simple!”
Hmm... is it really?
I ask, “But if it’s that simple, wouldn’t everyone already be able to dance while playing drums?”
The shopkeeper joins the talk with a little laugh.
“The dance might be simple, but dancing while drumming is hard. When the summer festival gets close, all the young men gather in groups to practice. They don’t want the girls laughing at them for being clumsy.”
Ah, so festivals really are about finding love!
“Huh? But if it’s just boys, you don’t need that many drums, do you?”
There aren’t that many young, unmarried boys around.
“Well, the little drums are heavy for girls. But tambourines, bells, and chimes? Those are perfect. Even married women can dance while tapping a tambourine, don’t you think?”
The shopkeeper’s eyes are sparkling. Businessfolk sure don’t miss a single opportunity.
“So then, Zoe’s flute? Six pennies sounds fair, doesn’t it?”
Whoa, Maggie wasn’t backing down!
“Ten, at least!”
The shopkeeper won’t budge either. I just watch silently from behind.
“Then let’s call it eight!”
The shopkeeper laughs heartily, and just like that, it’s settled.
Maggie’s instruments got priced too, but she has to run back to the Prancing Pony to get the money.
Left behind, I hand the shopkeeper eight copper pennies and claim the dusty flute.
I’m so tempted to start playing a tune right away!
But I manage to hold back. Besides, it’s so dusty I’ll need to clean it first.
Maggie returns with money from her father, so we bundle up the purchased instruments.
“I’ll ask Father to bring the cart around. Let’s load everything into a basket!”
“Oh right, we left the basket in the wood supply store.”
“No worries, Father will help load it all. Oh—wait, I forgot to buy candy!”
Maggie looks dejected, but the shopkeeper laughs and pulls out a jar of candy from behind the counter.
“Hooray!” Maggie cheers.
“Two candies for one penny.”
Gah, that’s expensive! But still... I want two as well.
Maggie bought eight.
“You’re buying that much?” I ask in surprise.
“They’re for the other kids back home.”
Sounds like village life comes with responsibilities too.
All the way home, I keep the dusty flute clutched tight in my hands.
There’s no lumber on the way back, so Maggie and I got plenty of room in the cart’s rear.
I lean back against the basket of secondhand clothes—it feels pretty comfy. Still bumpy, though.
“Oh yeah! Why is Lang’s summer festival so famous?” I’ve been dying to ask.
“Well, people don’t just come from Carlton. Folks from other villages gather too. There are tons of stalls and uh... Father? Why is it famous again?”
Maggie doesn’t really know either!
“Why? Why indeed... When there’s no rain in summer, the crops wither, so we hold the festival by the river in Lang Village.”
Wait—like a rain dance?
Neither Maggie nor I really got what her father meant.
Maggie presses, “I mean, sure, we know it’s held by the river, but if it rains too much, wouldn’t it flood? Why that spot?”
He just grumbles, “Ask your mother,” then zips his lips. He doesn’t know either!
“Maggie, ask your mom later and tell me, okay?”
We left Lang at dawn, but by the time we got back, it was evening. The days are getting longer now that it’s spring, but if it were still winter, it’d already be dark.
“Yeah, and then you’ll teach everyone how to dance while drumming!”
Well, that’s fine by me. I love singing and dancing anyway.
“Thanks for taking us all the way to Carlton, Maggie’s father!”
I grab my pack basket and jump down from the wagon in front of the general store, thank Maggie’s father, then head back into the deep woods of Schwarzwald.
Still holding tight to my dusty old flute, by the way!