Moonbean Market was nearly sleepy, but Mina was not. She stood on a warm cobblestone near the center fountain, her striped scarf tucked close, watching a silver pear cart wobble past two painted lanterns. The cart was little more than a wooden tray on squeaky wheels, but it was piled high with pears that shone like tiny moons. Mina loved the way they flashed in the orange-pink light. It felt like the market had made a secret parade just for her.
Then the cart gave a funny lurch and rolled away from its seller’s reach.
“Hey!” called Tavi, the lantern-tender, lifting his little apron as he hurried after it with his lantern hook. Pip, the teacup-tall mouse, bounced up on the fountain rim, brass abacus clacking fast. “That is not where pears go,” she said, peering at the wheels as if they had personally offended her.
The cart bumped one stall, then another, and the crowd began to follow. Mina hurried along too, trying to stay close enough to feel part of it all. But the cart was clever. It slipped between a steam cart and a bench, then ducked behind a hanging curtain of rain-damp laundry like it wanted to hide.
Mina stopped with the others in a little knot of lantern light. She could see the silver pears through the cloth, shining faintly. If she moved now, she might catch up. If she called out, maybe grown-ups would help. If she stayed where she was, she might lose the chase entirely. The cart seemed to be asking a new question with every quiet little roll.
What happens next?
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