Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest Read Online Free

for her to stop singing and now he wondered if he was ever going to hear her sing again. He wondered if there was a song sad enough.
    Probably not, he thought.
    Probably not.

    Samuel had only been in Norway for thirty-six minutes but he was already sure that it was the worst country he had ever visited. What was the point of all the mountains and trees and water? Why live somewhere so cold you have to wear big coats and woolly hats? And what was with the words on the road signs?
    ENVEISKJØRING
    REKVERK MANGLER
    ALL STANS FORBUDT
    The names of the towns they were driving through were just as weird—
    LØKKEN VERK
    SKOGN
    KYRKSÆTERØRA
    The small town they were in now was called “Hell.” It even had a sign, written in English, that said WELCOME TO HELL .
    And what did Hell look like? The same as all the other villages they had been through.
    Bright-colored three-story houses and a fat gray church that clung to the gentle slope of a hill, with a short steeple that seemed scared to reach too high to the sky.
    â€œIn Norway, Hell is the word for prosperity,” explained Aunt Eda. “Do you know what prosperity means?”
    She looked at Martha and then in the rearview mirror at Samuel. Neither was about to tell her if they knew what prosperity meant or not.
    â€œIf you prosper at something, it means you are successful, like if you earn a lot of money people say you are prosperous,” Aunt Eda said. “And Norway is always called a very prosperous country. Everybody earns a nice amount of money. The postman earns nearly as much as the doctors and lawyers. It is a very equal society. In Norway, people don’t get too jealous of each other. We are a peaceful people. There is enough money and enough land to go around so efferyone is happy…That is what they say.”
    Samuel could see his aunt’s face in the mirror and noticed that her eyes were not showing the happiness she described. She doesn’t want us here, Samuel thought. That is why she has unhappy eyes. She probably hated Mum, really. And she probably hates us.
    He didn’t care about peace or rich postmen. He just wanted it to be the week before, when everything was normal.
    â€œHow far is it?” Samuel asked his aunt.
    They had gone past Hell now and they were somewhere else, without houses or a name.
    â€œOh, not too far now,” she told him. “But on the way we must stop and get some food at the grocer’s shop in FlÃ¥m. FlÃ¥m is the village nearest to my house. It is a lovely place.”
    The words were no comfort. Samuel had never felt farther away from home in his whole life. And it wasn’t just the two plane journeys or the long car ride or the weird scenery that was making him feel like this. It was the thought that even if he made the long car ride and two plane journeys back in the opposite direction, he would be no closer to home. He knew, ever since his parents died, that he would never feel at home again—even if he lived to be a hundred years old.
    â€œI have a dog,” Aunt Eda said. “A Norwegian elkhound. He is a werry good dog, if a little bit greedy. He is called Ibsen. I told you about him in the letter. He barks a lot but he is a big soft thing really. Do you like dogs?”
    â€œNo,” said Samuel.
    Martha said nothing.
    â€œOh well, I am sure you will like Ibsen.”
    The scenery suddenly disappeared, replaced by darkness on both sides of the road.
    â€œThis is a werry long tunnel,” explained Aunt Eda. “It is elefen kilometers, and goes right under the mountain.”
    Samuel looked at his sister. She used to be scared of tunnels, but her blank face showed no sign of fear.
    â€œYou are werry quiet,” Aunt Eda said, turning to Martha. “Why don’t you tell me about your hobbies? What games do you like to play?”
    The questions made Samuel cross. “She can’t answer you. She doesn’t…speak.”
    Aunt