Terry Pratchett: Wintersmith

"An' this one is a lot harder than Abker, right?" he said, when he'd done the circuit. "That one was easy! An' a very predictable plot. Whoever writted that book didna stretch himself, in ma opinion."

"You mean The ABC?" said Billy Bigchin.

"Aye." Rob Anybody jumped up and down and punched the air a few times. "Got somethin' a wee bit tougher?"

The gonnagle looked at the stack of battered books the Feegles had, in various ways, collected.

"Somethin' I can get ma teeth intae," Rob added. "A big book."

"Well, this one's called Principles of Modern Accountancy," said Billy doubtfully.

"An' is that a big heroic book to read?" said Rob, running on the spot.

"Aye. Probably, but—"

Rob Anybody held up a hand for silence and looked across at Jeannie, who had a crowd of little Feegles surrounding her. She was smiling at him, and his sons were staring at their father in silent astonishment. One day, Rob thought, they'll be able to walk up to even the longest words and give them a good kicking. Not even commas and those tricksie semicolonses will stop them!

He had to be a hero.

"Ah'm feelin' guid about this readin'," said Rob Anybody. "Bring it on!"

And he read Principles of Modern Accountancy all morning, but just to make it interesting, he put lots of dragons in it.

T he Morris dance…

…is traditionally danced on May 1, to welcome in the summer. Its history is a bit confused, possibly because it's often danced near pubs, but it is now the English folk dance. The dancers usually wear white, and have bells sewn on their clothes. It is danced by both men and women, and is certainly now danced in the United States too.

I know this because I saw the Dark Morris danced in a bookshop in Chicago some years ago.

I'd invented the Dark Morris for another book called Reaper Man (at least I think I invented it), and a Morris team (officially known as a side) turned up in all black, just for me. They danced it in silence and perfect time, without the music and bells of the "summer" dance.

It was beautifully done. But it was also a bit creepy. So it might not be a good idea to try it at home….

TERRY PRATCHETT is one of the world's most popular writers. His first short story was published when he was 13, and his first book was published when he was 23. Mr. Pratchett's novels have been translated into over two dozen languages, and have sold more than 45 million copies. He received Britain's highest honor for a children's book, the Carnegie Medal, for THE AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RODENTS.

Mr. Pratchett has one grown daughter and lives in England with his wife and several cats.

www.terrypratchettbooks.com

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The Carpet People

The Dark Side of the Sun

Strata

THE BROMELIAD TRILOGY:

Truckers

Diggers

Wings

THE JOHNNY MAXWELL TRILOGY:

Only You Can Save Mankind

Johnny and the Dead

Johnny and the Bomb

The Unadulterated Cat (illustrated by Gray Jolliffe)

Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman)

The Color of Magic

The Light Fantastic

Equal Rites

Mort

Sourcery

Wyrd Sisters

Pyramids

Guards! Guards!

Eric

Moving Pictures

Reaper Man

Witches Abroad

Small Gods

Lords and Ladies

Men at Arms

Soul Music

Feet of Clay

Interesting Times

Maskerade

Hogfather

Jingo

The Last Continent

Carpe Jugulum

The Fifth Elephant

The Truth

Thief of Time

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

Night Watch

The Wee Free Men

Monstrous Regiment

A Hat Full of Sky

Going Postal

Thud!

Where's My Cow? (illustrated by Melvyn Grant)

The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable (illustrated by Paul Kidby)

The Art of Discworld (illustrated by Paul Kidby)

Jacket art © 2006 by Bill Mayer

Jacket design by Christopher Stengel

Wintersmith Copyright © 2006 by Terry and Lyn Pratchett All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Microsoft Reader September 2006 ISBN 0-06-128578-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pratchett, Terry. Wintersmith / Terry Pratchett.—1st ed. p. cm. Summary: When witch-in-training Tiffany Aching accidentally interrupts the Dance of the Seasons and awakens the interest of the elemental spirit of Winter, she requires the help of the six-inch-high, sword-wielding, sheep-stealing Wee Free Men to put the seasons aright.

ISBN-10: 0-06-089031-2 (trade)—ISBN-13: 978-0-06-089031-5 (trade)

ISBN-10: 0-06-089032-0 (lib. bdg.)—ISBN-13: 978-0-06-089032-2 (lib. bdg.)

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