The Raven and the Reindeer

by T. Kingfisher

It is hard to see a story when you are standing in the middle of it.

(Kay had told her once that she wasn’t much like other girls.

“It is possible that I am going to die,” she said. She wanted to feel badly about this, but her nose was running in the cold and it was hard to concentrate on her own death when she felt as if she might drown in snot.

Old women can be wise, but young women have to be princesses.”

“Everybody should eat somebody once,” said Nan. “Changes your mind about a lot of things. Aaha!”

“Are you a witch?” asked Janna. “No,” said the old woman, “I’m a Lutheran.

“This is why you don’t mate with your nestmates,” said Mousebones pragmatically. “It’s always ‘Oh, yes, and remember the time you ate that cricket that I was supposed to get?’ for the rest of your life.” He paused, and then added, “Well, that and the inbreeding.”

“Will you come home with me?” asked Gerta plaintively. “I suppose I have to. Otherwise you’ll be home for five minutes and something terribly bizarre will happen to you and when I see you again, you’ll have befriended three chickens and a whale.”