"Excuse me for a minute. I still believe we can work something out, but let me help these little ones first." With that, Miz Bella turned away from her conversation with Lilly to focus her full attention on the two young hobbits who were now tugging intently on her sleeve.
"And who might you be?" she asked.
"I'm Reggie, and this is my sister Daisy. We heard about your school, and we want to come hear all those dragon stories, please ma'am."
"You may call me Miz Bella, and I would be most happy to have you come. I do love dragon tales myself. But first you must ask your parents what they think. If your parents or you would like to come tomorrow morning to my chambers, you can help me fix up the schoolroom in the morning. Perhaps by the afternoon we can have a short session."
She looked impishly down at the children and asked, "Do you like riddles? I like them almost as much as dragon stories. Think about this riddle tonight and see what you think the answer is. You can ask your folks for help if it is too hard." Then Miz Bella recited:
Quote:
The beginning of eternity,
The end of time and space,
The beginning of every end,
And the end of every space..
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"If you can find the answer, you'll be on your way to learning to read."
With that, the little ones ran off, and Miz Bella directed her attention back to Lilly, noting, "I think we might come to a very agreeable arrangement. When you come down to the Inn to pick up Master Headstrong's laundry, I'll have a small bundle of my own. I'll need my own clothes washed but also the rags and such that we use to clean the slates at school. It would be a big help to me not to have to worry about such things in the evening, and I would gladly include Rory and Camille in the classroom in exchange for such a service. What think you?"