23.2 — Fritter soon discovered that Janine was worth three times her salary. She kept the caves neat and swept up. She cooked such delicious meals that soon Fritter had to let out his belt a notch. She organized the treasury, supply room, and the blacksmith shop. The books were all dusted and shelved in alphabetical order in the library.
Janine helped clear out one of the adjacent empty caves, and together she and Fritter built pens for holding sheep during the winter. That way Jay would always have something tasty to eat. Janine kept the mice out of the pantry, and the toves from the main caves. She convinced the borogoves to nest somewhere besides right above the living room chimney, where their droppings made the fire sizzle and smell terrible.
Best of all, Janine was a very good storyteller, and Jay soon began to look forward to the time after supper, when the dishes were done and Janine could sit by the fire and tell Jay and Fritter stories.
Janine never expected to find happiness looking after a dragon and helping a gnome with housekeeping, but she discovered that she was indeed happy. Janine was especially glad the day that Mr. Dumfries brought her hound with him on the mail cart. Although she looked forward to the letters that came from Col and Bee, Janine was actually grateful that Mr. Dumfries was as slow as a snail and very nearsighted. The neighborhood was quiet, except for a few bandersnatches that had taken up residence in the cave by the road, and who tended to prey on unsuspecting travelers if they weren’t threatened regularly. It was a good life.
But their peace ended when word started getting around the kingdom that the dragon was keeping a beautiful maiden captive in his caves.
Carol Nicolas 