The Moon King Read Online Free Page A

on, Froggo. Spiderboy help you to help Santy-man.

CHAPTER 5
Ricky Helps
    ‘Why don’t you talk, my bird?’ Rosheen was doing her homework that evening at one end of the kitchen table, in a square of sunlight. Ricky sat at her side, watching the progress of her pen across the lined page. ‘Are you afraid?’
    Ricky shrugged.
    ‘Can you not find the words?’
    Ricky shrugged.
    ‘Do you forget how?’
    Ricky shrugged.
    ‘Cat got your tongue?’
    Ricky smiled, then shot his tongue out between pink lips and waggled it, to show it existed. Delightedly, Rosheen grabbed at it, but Ricky whisked it back into his mouth, safe behind his teeth, and she ended up with a handful of his face instead. She slapped each cheek playfully and went back to her work.
    Ricky sharpened a pencil for her, catching the black-sprinkled shavings in his hand and putting them in the bin when he had finished. Then he tidied her pencil case for her, turning everything out onto the table andscooping the used bus tickets, sweetwrappers, twisted shapes of chewing-gum foil and more pencil shavings into his cupped palm, and making another trip to the bin. Then he placed everything back carefully, the pens and pencils lining the bottom, rubber and sharpener tucked into corners.
    ‘Bdong, bdong, bdong,’ said the radio set solemnly. ‘Bdong, bdong, bdong.’ A mournful sound.
    ‘Six o’clock,’ said Rosheen, zipping up her pencil case and slapping her copybook shut. ‘Time to move upstairs. Mammy Kelly’ll be starting tea soon. Want to come?’
    Ricky clasped Froggo to him and shook his head.
    ‘Do you not like upstairs?’
    Ricky said nothing.
    ‘Is it the dark? We can put the light on if you like.’
    Ricky still said nothing.
    ‘You’re going to have to come upstairs some time, you know. You can’t sleep in the living room all the time.’
    Ricky looked away.
    ‘Want to lay the table then?’
    Ricky faltered.
    Rosheen understood. ‘Me and you, that’s two. Mammy Kelly and Tomo, that’s four. Fergal and Lauren, that’s six.’ Then she started to use her fingers. ‘Charlotte, Helen, Thomas, Emma, Seamus and Billy. How many’s that? Two? Can’t be two. Oh, yes, twelve. Can you do twelve?’
    Ricky looked doubtful.
    ‘Do you understand twelve?’
    He nodded.
    ‘OK, look, one at each end, and five down each side.’
    Ricky looked at the kitchen table. It was long, but it didn’t look long enough for that.
    ‘It’ll be all right,’ Rosheen assured him. ‘Some of the little ones are dead thin.’
    Then she raised her voice and called out: ‘Ricky is going to lay the table, Mammy Kelly.’ And she danced out of the bright, light, green-and-white kitchen, into the dusk of the hall and disappeared.
    There was a jingle of bracelets and a swish of skirts, and Mammy Kelly appeared in the doorway.
    ‘Knives and forks in the drawer in the middle there, Ricky. Plates on the dresser. Butter and sugar in that press over there and milk in the fridge. You’ll have to open two cartons of juice. In the fridge too. Glasses in that press up there. Can you reach? If you can’t there’s a climbing-stool behind the back door.’
    Ricky’s eyes whizzed around as she talked. Drawer. Dresser. Press. Fridge. Oh! Fridge. Press. Back door. He felt breathless at the thought of remembering it all. What if he made a mistake? What if he spilt something? What if he couldn’t find something? What if there weren’t enough dishes? What if he dropped one and broke it? Was there a belt? Or a cane? Spiderboy doesn’t like laying tables.
    ‘Fergal’s a vegetarian,’ Mammy Kelly said, openingthe cutlery drawer, so Ricky could see. ‘Do you know what that is?’
    Ricky was counting knives. There were enough.
    ‘He doesn’t eat meat. Only cheese and fruit and bread. He doesn’t like vegetables, which is a bit inconvenient for a vegetarian, isn’t it?’
    Ricky was counting forks. There were enough.
    ‘Dairy though, he eats that all right. Which is something,