Wishful Thinking

Riddles and Risks

Something was wrong. As soon as Stephanie set foot on the other side, she peered through the trees and saw walls instead of forest. Sarah never mentioned that. But Stephanie figured anywhere was better than the Bog of Eternal Stench.

She moved away from the swamp and stepped inside the walls. The sun was setting again.

Meanwhile, Jareth was looking for her. He knew where the chute was supposed to end, so he was flying toward the Bog of Eternal Stench. He spotted Jeremy, who was answering the riddle of the two beings with shields that Sarah had named Alph and Ralph. He could see that section had been moved and that way no longer led to the castle.

Jareth flew over the Bog of Eternal Stench. There was no sign of Stephanie. He flew higher and saw that she was making her way through another section of walls. She had advanced farther than he expected on her own.

Stephanie had just reached a wall with a face. It seemed to be a dead end, but as it had a face, she figured there must be something special about it.

"Who are you?" Stephanie asked it.

The wall wore a sour expression. "You expect me to give my name, when you haven't told me yours?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Stephanie. And you?"

"I ain't got a name."

"Oh."

"And I don't want one, neither." The wall squinted at her. "I expect you want to pass."

"Does this way lead to the castle?"

"Who knows. You want to pass or not?"

"I guess I want to pass," Stephanie replied.

"Then you'll have to win a game of riddles," the wall said. The wall behind Stephanie folded to block her in. "If you lose, I'll dump you in an oubliette."

Stephanie wished the wall had mentioned that before she agreed. "Who's first, then?" she asked.

"I'm tall when I'm young, and short when I'm old. What am I?" the wall asked.

Stephanie thought about it. Several answers came to her, but she decided on, "A candle."

"Your turn," the wall said.

"What has to be broken before you can use it?" Stephanie asked.

The wall furrowed its brows. "An egg."

"Your turn," Stephanie said.

"What is full of holes but still holds water?"

"A sponge. What question can you never answer 'yes' to?"

The wall frowned, then said, "Are you asleep yet? What goes up but never comes down?"

"Your age. What can you keep after giving to someone?"

"Your word. A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn't get a single hair on his head wet. Why?"

"He was bald. What is always in front of you but can't be seen?"

"Air."

Stephanie smiled, and the wall's expression fell. "It's—"

"I get one more try," the wall said. "Germs."

"It's the future," Stephanie said.

If the wall had hands, it would have smacked its forehead. "D'oh! I can't believe I missed something so obvious. Fine, fine! You can pass." The wall opened, and Stephanie stepped through.