The Great Unexpected

Naomi decides not to care why Finn went to Lizzie’s house. She will not go to Lizzie’s house to ask because she doesn’t want to seem interested. A while later, however, she takes off running to Lizzie’s house, but Lizzie isn’t home. Naomi wonders why people are making such a fuss over “Dangle Doodle” while no one mentions Finn. She decides she doesn’t care about this either.

Lizzie and Naomi meet Mrs. Mudkin and go to old man Canner’s house, but he is a bit rude and insists he doesn’t need help. Mrs. Mudkin says that they are going to help him for an hour, whether he likes it or not. Lizzie cleans the kitchen while Naomi reads to the old man. The hour passes quickly because Naomi gets caught up in the fairytales. When they leave, she asks if there is something Lizzie wants to tell her, but Lizzie has no idea what she’s talking about.

The girls are shocked to learn that they will visit another “unfortunate” person today, and they catch a glimpse of the “dapper Dangle Doodle man” (83) on the way. At one-armed Farley’s, the girls are surprised by all the nice things, and he says they belong to the boarding house owner. Naomi says that, long ago, Mr. Farley met a woman called Mary-Mary in Ravensworth. When he learned she was already married, he returned to Blackbird Tree and has lived in the boarding house ever since. He doesn’t want the girls’ help, he barks, and Naomi notices two iron birds, each about four inches tall. Mr. Farley finally says that they can help him by finding a way for him to meet the king of Ireland. Mrs. Mudkin declares him delusional and ushers the girls out. She reminds them to meet her again on Thursday, and Naomi confronts Lizzie about Finn going to her house last Sunday.

Naomi claims that Lizzie does not lie, that she, in fact, doesn’t know how to lie. Instead, Lizzie gets away with telling the sometimes harsh truth because she “numb[s] people with an avalanche of words” (89). Lizzie’s inability to lie can be reassuring, but it is also irritating because it makes it impossible to get away with lying in her presence. Lizzie reminds Naomi that she was at church on Sunday, and she was unaware Finn had come to her house. Though this deflates Naomi’s anger, she is still jealous, especially when Lizzie wonders why Finn wanted to visit her or if he visited anyone else.

Sybil is resting in the orchard with her dogs, thinking about how small lies and small truths both have consequences. She recalls telling her sister she’d never kissed a boy, then losing that sister’s trust when her lie was discovered. They’d both been “charmed” by the same boy, the “wicked” Paddy McCoul. Miss Pilpenny tells Sybil that Mr. Dingle will call in an hour to tell her about some “interesting complications” to his investigation. Sybil tells Miss Pilpenny that “Rook” is nearby, and, just then, a sleek black rook alights on Sybil’s arm. She speaks gently to the bird, and he hops into her lap. Miss Pilpenny wheels Sybil and Rook back to the house. After speaking with Mr. Dingle, Sybil is very happy, and she wants to celebrate.

Naomi spends the morning cleaning the barn. Finn arrives, and the sunlight behind him seems to give him a halo. He offers to help her, when, suddenly, Lizzie arrives, babbling away. Naomi wishes Lizzie would disappear from the earth, hates her in fact, when, just yesterday, she called Lizzie her best friend. Lizzie peppers Finn with questions about where he is going, if he is returning to “Crazy” Cora’s or Witch Wiggins’s, and if he likes it here. He doesn’t answer a single one. Finn leaves, and Lizzie departs, intending to catch up with him.

When she was little, Joe discouraged Naomi from getting too friendly with the chickens. She recalls watching him chop one chicken’s head off for dinner, and that memory is mixed up with the dog attack. As a result, Naomi doesn’t trust people or animals easily. Now, she wonders if Lizzie is truly her friend. She tells Nula of her confusion about Finn and Lizzie, and Nula says she’s heartsick. At Nula’s direction, Naomi drinks some tea with honey and goes outside. Naomi thinks of Finn again, and he appears. When she collapses in a heap, breathless from running, he kneels beside her and kisses her cheek.

The next day, on her way to meet Mrs. Mudkin, she replays her interaction with Finn. She asked again where he was from and why he was there, but he still wouldn’t answer. Naomi didn’t want to talk about herself, feeling her life is a story she can’t really tell yet. She told him about her parents, though, and he connected the dots about her damaged arm.

Naomi dreads Witch Wiggins and “Crazy” Cora but is also kind of excited to see inside their homes. She also has mixed feelings about Lizzie; Naomi is a little angry and kind of curious, and she wants Lizzie to understand that Finn is hers. Lizzie has laryngitis, however, so Mrs. Mudkin sends her home. Witch Wiggins declines assistance and closes the door in their faces. When they arrive at “Crazy” Cora’s house, she doesn’t want assistance. Relieved, Naomi heads home, but on the way, Naomi finds Joe lying in a heap on the side of the road. She fears a dog has attacked him, and Nula hears her crying, runs to him, and tells Naomi to get help.

Mr. Dingle telephones again, surprising Sybil and Miss Pilpenny, and he delivers some news that Sybil says puts a “wrinkle in things” (113).