Karen's Unicorn

  The author gratefully acknowledges

  Gabrielle Charbonnet

  for her help

  with this book.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1 Princess Karenna

  2 Andrew’s Bicycle

  3 Seth’s Problem

  4 The Circus Is Coming!

  5 Ms. Colman’s Surprising Announcement

  6 The Wishing Plan

  7 Circus DeMarco

  8 My Wishes

  9 Do Not Worry

  10 Some Wishes Come True

  11 Some Wishes Do Not Come True

  12 Wishing Again

  13 Little-House Circus

  14 Is Bob Real?

  15 What to Believe?

  16 Andrew’s Ride

  17 Where Are We?

  18 The Little Store

  19 The Three Musketeers

  20 The Last Wish

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Copyright

  Princess Karenna

  Just then Princess Rosamund heard a noise. She peered out from behind a tree. There in the clearing stood … a unicorn.

  A tingle went down my spine! It was a September afternoon. I was reading the greatest book ever: The Unicorn’s Magic. I love unicorns!

  Not long ago I saw a TV show called Do They Exist? It was all about creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster, The Abominable Snowman, dragons, mermaids, and unicorns. I am not sure about the others, but I know unicorns are real. No one has seen a unicorn for a long time, but that does not mean anything.

  Since then I have read all about unicorns. They are special, wonderful, magical animals. A unicorn is a lot like a horse, but right in the middle of its forehead is one horn.

  I turned over on my bed and plumped my pillows. I had been telling all my friends about unicorns. So far no one believed in them but me. That did not bother me.

  I had even told my two families about unicorns. (I will explain about my two families in a minute.) Everyone thought unicorns were interesting, but nobody thought they were real.

  Here are some unicorn facts:

  1) They are always pure white.

  2) They are hard to find. (They are very shy.)

  3) Their horns are magical. If you want to drink from a stream in the woods, and a unicorn comes along and puts its horn into the stream, then the water will be safe to drink. I am not making that up.

  4) If you see a unicorn, you can make a wish. Sometimes your wish will come true.

  5) You can make friends with them only if you are very, very good. They are picky.

  So you can see how magical and special they are. Reading about unicorns made me wish that I were Princess Karenna. (Usually I am very glad just to be me.) My name is Karen Brewer. I am seven years old. I am in Ms. Colman’s second-grade class at Stoney-brook Academy.

  If I were Princess Karenna, I would be gigundoly beautiful. I would wear long, fancy dresses. I would have my own castle in the woods. And I could go out in the woods and try to make friends with a unicorn. I would be very, very, very good.

  If I were Princess Karenna, I would sit quietly in the forest. Maybe I would sing a nice song. Then a unicorn would hear the song and come to meet me. I could pat him and he could rest his head in my lap. (I bet their horns are heavy.) Then I would be the only person in the world with her very own unicorn. I could make a daisy-chain necklace for the unicorn. And I could make wishes.

  Everyone would ask to see my unicorn, but I would keep him secret. Maybe someone would even write a book about me: Princess Karenna and Her Magical Secret Unicorn. And then I would be famous. But still I would not tell —

  Knock, knock.

  I jumped. “Who is it?” I called.

  The door opened. “It is me, Andrew,” said my little brother. “I need your help.”

  Andrew’s Bicycle

  “There is still daylight left before dinner-time,” said Andrew. “Could you please come help me with the bike?”

  I sighed and put a bookmark in my book. I took off my blue glasses and put on my pink glasses. (My blue glasses are just for reading.)

  I am a big sister, which means I help Andrew with many things. (I even taught him how to read.) Usually I like helping Andrew. It is important to be a good big sister. But lately Andrew wanted my help with riding a two-wheeled bicycle. And it was very hard on both of us.

  “Andrew,” I said. “You are only four years old, going on five. That is very young to ride a two-wheeler. No one I know rode a two-wheeler when they were four going on five.”

  “I can do it,” said Andrew. “I want to be like the big kids.”

  “I was six going on seven when I learned to ride a two-wheeler,” I said. “It is not easy.”

  Andrew looked very disappointed. “Pleeease?” he said. “I am all ready.” He was wearing his bicycle helmet, and elbow and knee guards. He looked like a hockey player.

  “Well, okay,” I said. “But I think it would be better to stick with your tricycle for awhile longer.”

  Andrew frowned. “Tricycles are for babies!” he said. “I am not a baby.”

  We went outside. It was almost autumn. Soon all the leaves would start turning colors. That is my favorite thing about fall.

  Andrew wheeled the bike out of our garage. It was my old bike. I am too big for it now. It was small and red, and had fat tires and some rust on the handlebars. It was too small for me, but it was still too big for Andrew.

  “Maybe Seth could put training wheels on this bike,” I said.

  “Training wheels are for babies!” said Andrew. “Like Emily Michelle.”

  Before I tell you who Emily Michelle is, I better explain about my two families. That way you will not be confused. Andrew and I were at the little house this month, with our little-house family. Next month we would be back at the big house, with our big-house family.

  A long time ago, Andrew and I used to live at the big house all the time, with Mommy, Daddy, and our cranky cat, Boo-Boo. Then Mommy and Daddy decided to get a divorce. So Andrew and I moved with Mommy to the little house.

  Pretty soon Mommy met Seth Engle, and they got married. So Seth is my stepfather. (He is gigundoly nice.) He has two pets — a cat, Rocky, and a dog, Midgie. They are the people and pets in my little-house family.

  Daddy also got married again, to Elizabeth. She already had four children. (She was married once before too.) David Michael is seven, like me. He goes to Stoneybrook Elementary. Kristy is thirteen. She is the best stepsister in the whole world. Sam and Charlie go to high school, because they are very old. Emily Michelle does not go to school at all. She is two and a half. (That is why Andrew said she was a baby.) Daddy and Elizabeth adopted Emily Michelle from a country called Vietnam. Finally, Nannie, who is Elizabeth’s mother, came to live at the big house to help take care of all the people and pets. Nannie is my stepgrandmother. Besides Boo-Boo, the other pets are David Michael’s gigundo puppy named Shannon and Andrew’s and my goldfish that stay at Daddy’s house. Plus we have two pets who travel back and forth with us: my pet rat, Emily Junior (I named her after Emily Michelle), and Bob, Andrew’s hermit crab. So that is my big-house family. The big house is always very exciting!

  Now Andrew and I stay at the little house for a month, and at the big house for a month. It is a good solution. Since Andrew and I have two of so many things (one at each house), I made up nicknames for us: I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. We have two houses, two cats, and two dogs. I even have two bicycles and Andrew has two tricycles (which he would not ride anymore). I even have two pairs of glasses, and two best friends, and two stuffed cats, and two pieces of Tickly, my special blanket. Most of the time it is fun to be a two-two.

&nb
sp; Now Andrew climbed onto my old red bike. “Okay, start pedaling,” I told Andrew. “It is easier to balance when you go faster.” (I do not know why that is, but it is true.)

  “I am trying,” said Andrew. His feet could hardly reach the pedals. I had to hold the bike up with both hands. I trotted down the sidewalk as he pedaled. But he still fell, even though I tried hard not to let him.

  By the time Mommy called us for dinner, I was tired and hot and dirty. Whew, I thought. It is a good thing I have only one little brother!

  Seth’s Problem

  “And I have a bruise on my shin and one on my shoulder,” said Andrew.

  “Hmm,” said Mommy. “Andrew, maybe you are just too young to ride a two-wheeler.” She scooped some potatoes onto his plate.

  “No, I am not,” said Andrew stubbornly. “My bruises do not hurt too much.”

  “Goody, fried chicken,” I said. “May I have a leg, please?”

  Mommy put a leg on my plate. Legs are very easy to eat. I picked mine up and took a bite.

  “Did someone feed Midgie?” asked Mommy.

  “I did,” I said. “One big scoop of kibble.”

  “Thank you, honey,” said Mommy.

  I smiled. If I were Princess Karenna, I bet I would be so good that a unicorn would come to me right away.

  “Seth, may I have the bread, please?” I asked politely.

  Seth had not said much since he had gotten home from work. He is a carpenter. He makes very beautiful furniture out of wood. He has his own workshop downtown.

  He cut off a bite of chicken and ate it. He did not look up.

  “Um, Seth?” I asked. “May I have the bread?”

  He did not seem to hear me. Mommy reached for the bread and passed it to me. Then she put her hand on Seth’s shoulder. He jumped.

  “Everything okay?” Mommy asked.

  “I am sorry,” said Seth. “I have something on my mind. Today my landlord told me that he wants to take over the whole building where my shop is. That means I cannot rent the space for my shop anymore. And that means I will not have any place to work in.”

  “Oh, dear,” said Mommy.

  “He is going to improve the building, then charge more rent,” said Seth.

  “And we cannot afford the higher rent?” asked Mommy.

  “No. I will need to find a new place for my shop,” replied Seth. “I need to move.”

  My eyebrows rose. Moving Seth’s shop would be a very, very, very hard job. He has about a million pieces of wood there. Plus tons of big machines.

  “I am worried about finding a new place,” said Seth. “I did not mean to ignore you, Karen.”

  “It is okay,” I said. “Do not worry about moving. We will all help you.”

  Andrew nodded and ate another green bean.

  “When will you have to move?” asked Mommy.

  “In about six weeks,” said Seth. “That is not very much time. I have been at this shop for ten years now. Tomorrow I will start looking for a new place to rent.”

  “Why don’t you move into our garage?” I said. “We can park the cars on the street.”

  Seth smiled. “I am afraid the garage is not big enough.”

  “You could ask the landlord to change his mind,” said Andrew.

  “I do not think that would work either,” said Seth. “But thank you for your suggestions. Mommy and I will have to talk about it and come up with a solution. Everything will work out for the best, I am sure.”

  The Circus Is Coming!

  When I am at the little house, Nancy Dawes and I ride the school bus together to Stoneybrook Academy. Nancy is one of my two best friends. She lives next door to the little house. Hannie Papadakis is my other best friend. She lives across the street and one house down from the big house. Nancy and Hannie and I call ourselves the Three Musketeers, because we always try to stick together. Through thick and thin.

  Today Nancy and I shared a seat and looked out the bus window.

  “Look at that maple tree!” said Nancy. “Its leaves are starting to change.”

  I nodded. “Soon it will be really and truly fall. Then we will have Halloween. Then Thanksgiving. Then Christmas. Hooray!” I love autumn. It is the start of all the holidays.

  “Well, soon I will have Rosh Hashanah,” said Nancy. Nancy’s family celebrates Jewish holidays. “Then Yom Kippur. Then Sukkot. Then Thanksgiving. Then Hanukkah. Yippee!”

  Our bus stopped at a stoplight. Suddenly, I grabbed Nancy’s arm. “Nancy!” I cried. “Look at that!”

  On a building at the corner were several posters. On one poster was a big picture of a clown. It said:

  I gasped. “A unicorn!” I said. “Do you see that? The circus is coming, and it has a real unicorn in it!”

  * * *

  At school on the playground everyone was talking about the circus.

  “My mom said we could go as soon as it opens,” said Omar Harris.

  “I want to go this weekend,” said Sara Ford.

  “I am sure I will go the first day,” said Pamela Harding.

  I looked at Nancy and rolled my eyes. Pamela Harding is my best enemy. She can be kind of snobby.

  “Did you see the signs for the circus?” cried Hannie, running to Nancy and me.

  “Let’s try to go together, the Three Musketeers,” said Nancy. “We will all ask our parents tonight.”

  “Yes,” I said. “I cannot wait to see a real, live unicorn. This is the greatest thing that has ever happened in Stoneybrook.”

  * * *

  After the bell rang, we went into our classroom. Ms. Colman, the best teacher in the whole world, was there.

  “Attention, class,” she said. “I think I can guess what you all are excited about.”

  “The circus!” I cried. (I forgot to raise my hand.) “The unicorn!”

  Ms. Colman smiled. She is gigundoly nice. She almost never yells. But sometimes she has to ask me to use my indoor voice or to simmer down.

  “We will talk about the circus after Terri takes attendance,” said Ms. Colman. Terri Barkan is a twin. Her sister, Tammy, is in our class too.

  Boo and bullfrogs, I thought. I love taking attendance. It is a very important job.

  When Terri was finished, Ms. Colman stood at the front of our classroom. “I know you have just found out about the circus. So I thought it would be interesting to talk about circuses for a few minutes before we start our regular work.”

  I raised my hand and waved it around. I sit in the very front row, where Ms. Colman can see me. My pretend husband, Ricky Torres, sits next to me. We are in the first row because we are glasses-wearers. Ms. Colman is a glasses-wearer too.

  “Yes, Karen?” said Ms. Colman.

  “There will be a real, live unicorn at the circus,” I said. “The posters said so!”

  From the row behind me, Bobby Gianelli (a sometimes bully) snorted. “It is not a real unicorn,” he said. “They do not exist. It is fake.”

  “The poster said real, live unicorn,” I pointed out. Sometimes boys think they know everything.

  Ms. Colman held up her hand for silence. “I want to talk about circuses in general,” she said. “Did you know circuses have been around for hundreds of years? They grew out of the tradition of traveling shows. Early circuses featured jugglers, acrobats, singers, and any unusual act people could think of. The circus would travel around the countryside, entertaining people. Instead of buying tickets, people would throw the performers coins or food or whatever they had. It is only recently that circuses have become organized, and had tents, and sold tickets.”

  “I saw a huge circus at Madison Square Garden in New York City,” said Jannie Gilbert. She is one of Pamela Harding’s best friends. “They had things going on in three rings, all at the same time. I saw performing dogs and horses and a man on a motorcycle riding on a tightrope.”

  “The circus in town now, the Circus De-Marco, is much smaller than that,” explained Ms. Colman. “They have only one tent. They ha
ve fewer acts. And they have no animal acts.”

  “Except the unicorn,” I pointed out.

  “There is no unicorn!” said Bobby.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “It says so right on the poster.”

  “Okay, class,” said Ms. Colman. “We will talk about the circus again another time. Now let’s take out our spelling books.”

  Ms. Colman’s Surprising Announcement

  “What are you going to wish for when you see the unicorn?” I asked Hannie and Nancy. It was Friday morning before school. I was sitting with them in the back row of Ms. Colman’s class. Before I got my glasses, the Three Musketeers all sat together.

  “Um, well …” said Hannie. She glanced at Nancy.

  “The thing is, Karen,” said Nancy, “I do not really believe in unicorns.”

  “Even though there is one on the circus poster?”

  “Yes,” said Hannie. “I asked my daddy, and he said unicorns are a nice story, but they do not really exist. He said the circus was just pretending to have a unicorn to make people happy. I am sorry.”

  “That is what my mommy said too,” added Nancy. “And I believe her.”

  “Hmm,” I said. “On television they said that no one had ever proved that unicorns do not exist.”

  Hannie shrugged.

  Just then Ms. Colman came in. I sat down at my own desk. After Natalie Springer took attendance, Ms. Colman said my four favorite words: “I have an announcement.”

  Hooray! I thought. I love Ms. Colman’s announcements. They add excitement to my day.

  “Our class will be going on a field trip next Tuesday,” Ms. Colman said. “To … the circus!”

  “Yes!” I cried, jumping up in my seat.

  “Karen, please simmer down,” said Ms. Colman.

  I sat down again and put my hand over my mouth so I would not yell anything. I was so excited. I had been asking Mommy about going to the circus, but she had not agreed yet.

  “Please have your parents sign these permission slips. Return them on Monday. In addition,” Ms. Colman went on, “you will have a special assignment to work on at the circus. You must find three things that could have been the same in a circus one hundred years ago, and three things that are different.”