Eva Ibbotson - The Abominables

Father’s first words, however, were grave and sad.

“From the fact that I am here,” he said solemnly, “you will know that our beloved Lady Agatha has died. Her end was peaceful and she lies where she wished to lie in the cool earth of our—”

“No, she doesn’t,” squeaked Ambrose, while Father frowned at him reprovingly. “She doesn’t lie, she …”

But Father had stopped taking any notice of Ambrose. He was staring at the steps of the terrace that led down to the lawn.

Aggie had been inside the house when the helicopter arrived, preparing the yetis’ lunch. Now she came down the steps slowly, carrying a tray of drinks. Her long white cooking apron came to her ankles, her fair hair blew in the breeze, her gray eyes were intent on the brimming mugs.

Father had taken a few steps and then stopped. There was amazement in his wise old eyes, and a deep and shining joy.

“That’s how she looked when I carried her away from her tent,” he said. “Exactly like that!”

Almost unbearably moved, the dignified old yeti walked over to Aggie.

“You’ve come back to us, Lady Agatha,” he said, and bent his head and took the tray from her hands.

And Con and Ellen saw that the story that had begun a hundred years ago in the mountains of Tibet had ended, and that their work was done, and they got into the helicopter and flew away.

VA IBBOTSONwas an Austrian-born British novelist whose work has received great admiration and acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her novels include The Secret of Platform 13, Which Witch? The Great Ghost Rescue, Island of the Aunts, Dial-a-Ghost , and Journey to the River Sea , which won the Smarties Prize, was runner-up for the Guardian Prize, and appeared on the Carnegie, Whitbread, and Blue Peter shortlists. She died in 2010, in her home in Newcastle, England.

IONA ROBINSONis the author-illustrator of The 3-2-3 Detective Agency, The Useful Moose, Whale Shines , and What Animals Really Like , which received the 2012 Irma Black Award and was named by Bank Street as one of 2012’s Best Children’s Books of the Year. Her work has been honored by the Royal Academy of Arts and has been featured in many gallery shows. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.