Caleb shifted his weight to glance again at the large clock at the end of the room. The adults (Roger) had agreed (told Caleb) that he could wait to tell the tale until both Sara and Mary were here to hear what had happened. The kindly skeleton seemed to recognize that the child had no desire to repeat the information more times than necessary. Caleb, however, had not counted upon how awkward it would be to sit and wait for the woman to arrive.

On the floor by the empty fireplace, Jake did his best to distract his little sister from her tears. She sat clutching a dolly made of rags, the body soaked with tears. Jake gave her his brightest smile. "Come on, Lala, it'll be okay. I can take care of you and mama now. I'll start selling peat moss in the town, and maybe the fletcher will take me as an apprentice. You know I'm good at finding you pretty feathers, I bet I could find some real good ones for his arrows, and he'll teach me all about making them!"

Skyla hiccuped through her tears, refusing to smile. Jake frowned a moment as he mulled over his options. He brightened as a new thought flashed through his mind. "Well what if we sing a song? I'll teach you one my friends and I sing, but you can't tell mama 'bout it 'cause it's a naughty song."

This got both Roger and Skyla's attention. Roger had an expression that looked as if he intended to be arching a long gone eyebrow. "Jake..."

Jake ignored the warning and continued forward anyway, launching into a song that Caleb recognized. "The sunny yellow cat is sitting on the stoop,
The pretty little birdy just escaped the coop,
The silly little monkey is flinging all his,
Poof there goes my coin sack, while I was out with Jack,
We spent it on the lady with the really nice,
Rack your minds for answers all you dear romancers,
So I can safely woo the king's new and pretty,
Dancing makes you oh so merry even if tunes you can not carry,
I know cause my dear wife said so and she is oh so very scary, 
I mean I love my wife I've loved her all my life,
Someone get me out of here I think she's got a knife!"

Skyla managed a small watery giggle.

Caleb frowned. "Wait, you got that last verse wrong."

"No I didn't!" Jake protested indignantly.

"Did to!" Caleb sat up, starting the song over again. The last verse he looked pointedly at Jake as he finished it up, "I know cause my mama told me that it was so,
She told me on mountains, she told me high and low,
And now that I have told you, you can't say you don't know!"

Jake frowned. "It doesn't go like that."

"Does to!"

The boys were still arguing when a familiar barking interrupted their conversation. "Ribbon!" Jake and Skyla bolted for the door.

Caleb bolted after them, an eager smile on his face. "Rainbow!" He scrambled into the yard, then froze. An unfamiliar, stern looking woman stood in the front yard, her arms crossed as she surveyed the tear stained children. Caleb's stomach dropped into his stomach hard. One here. One to arrive.