Chapter One
The Mysterious Travel Chest
I heard strange noises from the attic above me. I
gripped the railing to climb the stairs and forced
my feet to take the last few steps to enter my
grandma's dusty old attic. The late afternoon rain
pounded on the roof and the wind made a sound like
howling dogs. My heart thumped and knees wobbled
as a cold chill crawled up my back.
The floor creaked beneath me as I searched for a
light switch, but couldn't find it. A beam of light
flickered through the dusty oval attic window and
revealed scattered discarded objects from the past.
Spooky shadows danced throughout the room as cold
winds slipped through cracks in the walls and made
me shiver.
I was always curious about Grandma's attic in her
old plantation-style home in Covington, Georgia, but
never dared go up there. Darkness, spider webs and
the musty smell kept me away---until now. Grandma
said the noises we heard in the attic were probably
coming from a mama squirrel making a nest for her
babies. I had to see if there were baby squirrels hidden
in the attic. Besides, a girl eleven years old shouldn't
be afraid.
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Grandma and I stared at the letter.
"Do you know what you found?" she said. "You
found a lost fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm."
I shivered. "Oh, Grams, do you have them, too?"
"Have what, Julie?"
"Goose bumps." I showed her the blossomed little
red bumps on my arms.
She held up her arm as we looked.
"No goose bumps on yours." I shook my head.
She put one hand over her heart and sighed. "Oh,
but I have them here."
I put a hand over my heart and patted my chest.
"Goose bumps in here too."
We both giggled.
Grandma untied the string around the stack of
papers. "Well, let's read this lost fairy tale and see
why it meant so much to Cordelia." She adjusted her
glasses. She squinted and mumbled to herself as she
turned the pages.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's written in old German and much of the print
is faded. I'm afraid I can't read it to you now, Julie.
It's going to take time to figure this out."
"What? Wait? It's been lying in that old travel
chest for fifty years and you're telling me I have to
wait... You can't do that to me, Grams. Can't you at
least tell me what it's about?"
"Julie, you have no patience. It has only been a
short time since you found it---not fifty years. You
can wait."
"Can't you just tell me an eensy-weensy bit?"
"Well, let's see, Miss Julie-No-Patience." Grandma
sighed. Then she gave me a glance from the corner of
her eye and scrunched her mouth to one side. She
looked down at the stack of papers.
"The title is Princess Momalina. Let's see, what it's
about. There's a small village and a little girl named
Katrianna Jonatina Breosio." She turned the page. "I
think Princess Momalina is a doll, but I'm not sure."
Grandma rubbed her eyes. "That's all. My eyes are
tired. You'll have to be content for now, Julie. Let me
rest."
I knew it was time for me to scoot. I got up off
Grandma's bed and put both my hands over my heart.
"Katrianna Jonatina Breosio," I said as I waltzed
out the door. "Don't you just love the way that name
rolls off your tongue? Not like my name, Julie."
"Julie is a lovely name. I was there when your
mother and father named you and it was beautiful to
us," she said. "Now scoot."
Out the door I went.
In my bedroom that night, I made a promise to
Cordelia. I promised her I would get Princess Momalina
published. I didn't know how, but I would find a way.
