The Thief and the Beanstalk (Further Tales Adventures) Read Online Free

said the man. “And I want you to turn around and look at me. If you run, I’ll just snatch you up again, so there’s no point to it, is there? Do you understand me?” Nick nodded, and the man released his grip. Nick turned to face the stranger who called himself Finch.
    Finch looked Nick over from head to toe, and he seemed to approve of what he saw. “Oh, you’ll do, won’t you? Can’t weigh more than four stone, can you? Got twigs for arms—is there any strength in them?”
    “What … what do you want from me?” Nick said, panting. He rubbed the arm that Finch had seized. Five bruises, one for each finger, had blossomed there.
    Finch painted a broad, friendly smile on his face. “Just a little favor, that’s all. Tell me your name.”
    “Nick.”
    “Nick. A fine name. Is this your farm? Is this where you live?”
    Nick shook his head.
    “So what are you doing here, then? Are your mother and father around?”
    Again, Nick shook his head.
    “What about friends? Any friends around here?”
    Another shake.
    “That’s a shame. But you know what, Nick? I could be your friend. My name’s Finch. I’ve been looking for a kid just like you. And here you are, in the first place I looked. That makes me think it was meant to be. You see, I need a favor that only a little fellow like you can do. A big fellow wouldn’t do for this job.”
    Finch flashed his smile again, but Nick’s fear grew nonetheless. Finch seemed to sense that his charm wasn’t working, and his eyes narrowed.
    “Think about it, Nick. You need me, too. I know you do. See, I understand everything about you, though I never met you before this moment.
    “You lost your family somehow. Did they abandonyou? No, it was the plague, wasn’t it?” Nick felt his entire body go rigid and wished he’d been able to control himself better, because Finch’s eyes narrowed further and his smile spread a little wider.
    “Thought so,” Finch said. “The villagers probably burned down your house, without bothering to bury the dead. Then you were on your own, and there was nobody to take care of you. Maybe you asked passersby if they could give you a place to sleep, a place to come home to. But nobody ever did. Who needs a lost child like you in times like these, and a plague orphan at that? They had their own problems, their own mouths to feed. So they turned you away. The best they would do was toss you a scrap of bread. And you’d watch as the family hurried away, not looking back. And you were jealous of those children, with their full bellies and their clean faces and their little toys.”
    Nick clenched his teeth and pressed his lips together.
I won’t let you see my face,
he thought, and he turned his back on Finch. But Finch stepped closer and whispered over his shoulder. “So you went on begging for food, wandering around, searching for a place to call home. Did a little stealing, too, didn’t you? Anything to survive. And now look at you, scavenging in an old vegetable garden like an animal. But think about it, Nick: Winter will follow. And what will you do when there’s no food to scrounge—you, with yourcheeks sunken in and all your ribs showing already? How do you keep warm when the nights are cold enough to freeze spit, and you’ve got no coat to wear, no blanket to wrap around you, no fire to cozy up to?”
    Nick’s head bent low. His knobby shoulders were trembling.
    “Nick, I was that way once too. Shunned. Hungry. Hunted. I figured I had a choice to make. And I chose to fight back, survive any way I could. You understand? I’ve done some wrong along the way. But the world did me a load of wrong first, and maybe I’m just paying the world back in kind.”
    Nick wiped his cheeks with his sleeve, and turned to look Finch angrily in the eye. Finch leaned over a little, putting his face closer to Nick’s.
    “Come with me, lad. I’ve got friends who were all just like you once. We live in a forest over that ridge. You can join us.