Ebony and Tenebrous were aghast.Â
âDid you hear what those fairies gave her? Beauty, grace and willingness to please? Bastâs tits, thatâs a terrible thing to do to a kitten.â
Ten got up on her hind legs. âNever trust a flying thing that gives you a mouthful of glitter when you catch it. Come on, Eb, letâs give her our gifts.â
âLike half a shrew? I tried giving her that, her dam shouted at me.â
âQuite right too,â said Ten wisely, âitâs got be at least four weeks before she can manage the skulls. Thatâll be my gift then. May you always be able to manage skulls. Big ones, small ones, beaky ones, mousey ones, any sort of skull.â
Ebony copied her sisterâs pose. âAnd may you always catch the flying things. Then youâll never be hungry, and thatâs much better than fairy wishes.â
***
Thirty years later, Alba was everyoneâs favourite keeper at the zoo. Not only could she cure her colleaguesâ headaches just by telling their skulls to give over, but she was the only person theyâd ever know who could work alone in the emu enclosureâŠ