Free Goblins on the Prowl by Bruce Coville Page A

They tripped him and he fell, roaring in anger.
    Bwoonhiwda was spinning in a circle. She moved so fast her braids flew out to the sides. With those cannon­balls tied into the ends, it was worth a goblin’s life to try to get past them. In fact, I spotted two goblins she had knocked out lying motionless on the ground nearby. But I also saw another goblin dangling in a tree, about to drop onto her head.
    Little Herky clung to a goblin’s neck, yelping in rage as a second goblin tried to pull him away.
    That was when the bear came charging into the clearing. He reared up on his hind legs, stretched out his forelegs, and unleashed the most terrifying roar I had ever heard. Then he pulled one of the goblins off Igor’s legs and flung it so far I couldn’t see where it landed. He lunged for another.
    Yelping in terror, the remaining goblins fled into the darkness, leaving behind the two near Bwoon­hiwda, who were either dead or unconscious.
    Igor stopped midbop. He looked at his bear, then at the real bear, then at his own bear again. “Uh-oh,” he said.
    Bwoonhiwda stopped spinning.
    Herky, who had leaped away from the goblin he had been riding, hung upside down from a tree branch.
    Werdolphus floated close to the bear, studying his face.
    â€œDo you mind?” growled the bear.
    Werdolphus floated backward in alarm.
    Clearly, my earlier guess about Mervyn, that animals could see ghosts, had been right.
    Turning to me, the bear said, “The squirrels told me you needed help.”
    I made an awkward bow. “We did indeed. My thanks to you for coming to our aid.”
    â€œHow could I not, when you wear that collar?”
    I felt myself blush and wondered if I should confess that I wasn’t supposed to have it. I decided to keep my mouth shut.
    As long as I wasn’t talking, I wasn’t lying.
    The others took a step closer.
    â€œFauna talk to bear?” asked Igor.
    It would have been stupid, not to mention dangerous, to lie and say I wasn’t. So I simply nodded.
    Bwoonhiwda thumped the base of her spear on the ground. “Pwease say to this hewoic beah that Bwoonhiwda, agent of the Queen of the Fowest of Wondah, thanks him.”
    I was surprised. Given the way she had been spin­ning, I would have thought she would be dizzy, even throw­ing up. But she looked as if nothing had happened.
    When I repeated her words to the bear, he bowed to her, then turned to me and said, “Tell the warrior woman that my uncle was a close friend of the queen’s, and I am glad to be of service.”
    I translated. The bear smiled, which was somewhat terrifying, given the size of his teeth. “If you have no more need of my services, I will be going.”
    â€œWait! Have you . . . have you seen any sign of a giant toad leaping through the woods?”
    â€œA what ?”
    I sighed and made a quick explanation.
    â€œAh! No, I didn’t see it, but that does explain the thumping and crashing I heard a while back.”
    With that, he dropped to all fours and trotted away.
    I looked and saw that the two goblins were gonetoo. I wondered if they had woken and sneaked away or if their friends had carried them off.
    When the bear was out of sight, Igor said, “Fauna know how to talk to bears?”
    It was either tell the truth or ignore him, and I didn’t think I could get away with that. So I said, “It’s this collar, Igor. I got it from Granny Pinchbottom.”
    He clutched his bear and looked around nervously, as if Granny might be behind any tree. “Fauna brave” was all he said.
    We resumed our search.

    About the time the sun was rising, I noticed we were stepping around patches of ice. I looked ahead, then groaned.
    â€œWhat’s wong?” Bwoonhiwda asked.
    â€œWe’ve reached Bogfester Swamp. It goes on for miles.”
    The others gathered beside me. We could see the place where the toad had launched a hop that had