Brigid Lucy and the Princess Tower (8 page)

Ympes—
danger rating—low

These tiny creatures can join themselves to, and become part of, other animals and plants. They often glue themselves to a bird’s feathers and fly all over the world as part of that bird. They can also melt into a tree and grow there, making the blossom on that part of the tree a different colour to the blossom on the rest of the tree. They also climb into a horse’s ears and take control of the horse, so it runs around the paddock, kicking and bucking and bolting, for no reason. Always check your horse’s ears for ympes before you go for a ride.

Magical swearwords

Wizz-bang-le-flab!

Oo-laa-coo-laa-stinky-pooh-laa!

Yukki-poo-la-drop-kick!

Holy-mog-olie!

Magical spell words

Spell-in-cous-cous!

Try-la-men-ia!

Wocca-woo!

Stru-ta-lu-ta!

Till-gäng-lig!

Acknowledgements

To the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre, for giving me a residency in their wonderful Hobart studio where, trying to blend in with this old world and beautiful city, my little imp got me into lots of delicious trouble. To Libby and Margrete, for generously inviting me to join their table, which led to our friendship and working relationship. And, most importantly, to my niece, Brigid Tony Izod, who inspired the character Brigid Lucy.