The Sable Quean

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

 

 

PHILOMEL BOOKS
A division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
Published by The Penguin Group.
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Text copyright © 2010 by The Redwall Abbey Company, LTD.

Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Sean Rubin.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form
without permission in writing from the publisher, Philomel Books, a division of Penguin
Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. Philomel Books, Reg.
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Published simultaneously in Canada.
Text set in Palatino.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
Jacques, Brian. The Sable Quean [sic] / Brian Jacques ; illustrated by Sean Rubin.
p. cm.—(Redwall) Summary: The courageous Redwall creatures band together as
Vilaya, the evil Sable Quean, and her horde of vermin attempt to make off with the young
animals of the Abbey. [1. Animals—Fiction. 2. Kidnapping—Fiction. 3. Fantasy.] I. Elliot,
David, 1952- ill. II. Title. PZ7.J15317Sab 2009 [Fic]—dc22 2009002653

eISBN : 978-1-101-16321-4

One day when our hearts were young,
we went roving with right good will,
side by side two comrades
to find what lay o’er the hill.
Our spirits never wearied then,
in those high old times gone by.
What friends we made, what perils we faced,
together you and I.
Now eyes grow dim, and paws feel stiff,
even vittles don’t taste the same.
You wake one day, with your whiskers grey,
what price then, medals an’ fame?
Alas, all we have are memories,
to take out, dust off, and share.
But, oh, my friend, the pride we feel,
just to know that we were there!
We travelled an’ fought an’ feasted,
we triumphed, we marched and songs were sung,
we faced death, saw life and adventure!
One day when our hearts were young.

 

The Ballad of Colonel Meliton Gubthorpe
Digglethwaite (Retired)

BOOK ONE

Travel Is An Adventure!

1

Wreathing slowly through the foliage of a white willow, smoke spiralled into the warm summer noon. Below on the riverbank, two rats and a burly stoat squatted around the fire, roasting roots and wild turnips on sharpened sticks. Scraping away ashes and burnt soil, the stoat inspected his half-raw turnip. He spat sourly into the fire.

“Wot sorta vittles is this fer a warrior? Stinkin’ roots an’ turnips ’ard as rocks!”

One of the rats remarked hopefully, “If’n ye don’t fancy it, then I’ll eat it for ye.”

Baring his snaggled teeth, the stoat whipped forth a dagger. “Put a paw near my vittles an’ I’ll gut yer!”

The other rat nibbled at a ramson root, wincing with disgust. He was in agreement with the stoat. “Aye mate, meat’s wot we need, a brace o’ plump woodpigeons, or even a fish. I like fishes.”

The stoat flung his turnip into the fire, scowling. “We don’t have ter put up wid this muck. I thought we was Ravagers, not scavengers. Any’ow, wot are we supposed t’be doin’, that’s wot I’d like t’know?”

The first rat retrieved the turnip from the hot ashes, wiping it off on his tattered sleeve. “Zwilt the Shade sez Sable Quean wants woodlanders, young uns. So we’ve got t’stay hid in the area an’ capture any we sees. That’s our orders, mate.”

Testing the edge of his blade on a grimy paw, the stoat grinned wickedly. “Young uns would make good meat. Just let me git me paws on a fat dormouse or a chubby liddle squirrel. I’d let Zwilt ’ave the bones to give to the Sable Quean!”

The smaller of the two rats looked fearful. “You’d do that? I wouldn’t like t’be you if Zwilt found out.”

The burly stoat tossed his dagger into the air, catching it skilfully. “So, wot if’n he did, eh? Lissen, I ain’t scared of Zwilt, or ’is Sable Quean. They don’t bother me!”

The larger rat whispered nervously, “Be careful wot ye say. They don’t call ’im Zwilt the Shade for nothin’—some say ’e’s magic!”

The stoat scoffed. “Rubbish! Wot sort o’ magic, eh?”

The rat took swift glances up and down the bank. “Nobeast sees Zwilt, unless ’e wants ’em to. They say ’e can come an’ go secretly, just as ’e pleases.”

The big stoat shook his head pityingly. “Yer a right ole frogwife if’n ye believe that. Shade or no Shade, Zwilt’s just a beast like any other. Y’see this dagger o’ mine? Well, one good stab of it’d make Zwilt vanish forever!”