Ella Enchanted - By Gail Carson Levine Page 0,29

coming close and patting it.

SEEf said, "I want to be the one to kill it." He jerked me away from NiSSh.

"You're..." I began in Ogrese. It came out as a squeak.

SEEf bared his teeth. The points glistened. Saliva dripped from his lips.

I tried again. "You're not really hungry. You're full." My voice was raspy. More honey! More oil!

The ogres stared, as surprised as if a rock had spoken.

"I knew it was smart." NiSSh sounded proud of me.

"Too bad we're hungry." SEEf crouched. "It would have made a good pet." He held my leg, his portion, and lowered his head, his teeth inches from my thigh.

Honey and oil! "How can you eat me? You're too full to eat -- all of you are.

Your bellies are as heavy as sacks of melons."

SEEf stopped.

I went on. "You just had a wonderful meal of eight fat ladies. If you eat me too, you'll get sick. You want to go back to sleep, to sleep off your big meal."

SEEf let me go. I stepped away from him.

"You feel tired. The ground is so soft, so comfortable," I said.

NiSSh rubbed his eyes and stretched.

I continued, soothingly. "It's much too early to be awake. The day has barely begun, and it will be a lovely, lazy, sleepy day."

SEEf sat. His head rolled onto his chest.

"You can sleep and have delicious dreams. While you're sleeping, I'll find you another enormous meal, of piglets and people and elves and elephants and horses and..."

"No hornets," NiSSh muttered from a dream.

Sleep had claimed them. They had returned to their heap of the night, again grunting and snoring and groaning.

I almost laughed and broke the spell. Who was giving orders now?

15

I SOBERED quickly. What was I going to do with them? How could I arrive at Uaaxee's farm with eight ogres in tow?

My situation hadn't improved significantly. I was still alive, but not for long. I would have to sleep eventually. Then they'd awaken and remember their true hunger.

A twig snapped behind me. I turned and saw a vision: six knights carrying rope strode toward me, led by a tall young man.

Visions don't snap twigs. And the young man was Char!

He saluted me, but his eyes were on the ogres. Uncoiling a length of rope, he knelt over SEEf and began to bind his ankles.

The ogres slept soundly, but they were not unconscious. As soon as he felt the cord tighten, SEEf woke with a roar, which shrank to a purr when he saw Char.

"What an honor, your Highness. But why do you bind an ally?" He reached down and loosened the rope.

That was proper. Char shouldn't have been fettering his friend.

But Char pushed SEEf's hands aside and tightened the rope again. How could he be so cruel?

The knights had begun to bind the other ogres, who were also stirring.

SEEf tried again. "Prince, I would sacrifice my life for you, and you treat me so rudely."

Still, Char paid no attention. I watched stupidly while SEEf's feet lashed out.

Char reeled back, losing his grip on the rope. SEEf rose and kicked the tether away.

The knights hadn't made much progress with their binding either. Everywhere, they were doing battle. An ogre knelt over one fallen knight, about to sink teeth into his shoulder. The knight twisted away, gaining a few seconds, but the ogre was turning toward him.

Char regained his feet and drew his sword. He and SEEf faced each other warily. Char spoke to me, his voice oddly loud.

"Can you tame them again, Ella? If not, run and save yourself."

The question cleared my wits.

"SEEf, NiSSh, ogre friends," I called in Ogrese. "Why do you wish to destroy your benefactors? They have food for you, but they cannot give it to you until you do what they want."

The ogres stopped clawing and biting and pounding and lunging and kicking and looked at me trustfully.

"Would you like to know what the food is?" I asked.

"Please," SEEf said.

"The treat they have for you is a dozen baby giants only six months old."

They all smiled beatifically.

"But these friends can't bring the feast unless you let them tie and gag you.

When they bring out the infants, they'll remove your bindings. So seat yourselves and hold out your arms and legs. They will be gentle."

Only NiSSh remained standing, looking dazed.

"Sit," SEEf commanded.

NiSSh sat. The tying and gagging was completed quickly. Then the ogres were bound together, treatment that they endured cheerfully.

"Ella..." Char swept a deep bow. He'd grown taller. "How did you tame the ogres?" His voice was too