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right,” said the witch, smiling faintly and patting Lois on the head. “Ethel is who she is. I can’t change that.”
    â€œWhat if we went to the park?” said Sadie. “We could try the picnic table by the fountain. I bet we’d have better luck.”
    â€œOf course, dear. Would you mind fetching the binoculars? They’re in my bag. Put this away for me while you’re at it.” Ms. M heldout the life list. “That’s enough note-taking for one day.”
    Hwhapwhapwhapwhapwhap!
    Bob and Lois flung themselves upward, rose over the garage, and kept going. In no time at all they turned from big dots to small dots to smaller dots, finally disappearing altogether.
    Poof.
    â€œWow, pigeons are fast,” Sadie said, staring at the spot in the sky where they had just been.
    â€œChampion flyers,” Ms. M agreed.
    â€œI hope I see them again.”
    â€œOh, you will,” Ms. M said gaily. “They’re on their way to the park. They’re meeting Karen there for lunch.”

Chapter 11
    For Sale
    O nce again they saw a lot of birds.
    Once again they heard a lot of birds.
    Once again not one of those birds was Ethel.
    â€œI never knew watching and listening could be so tiring,” Sadie said. She and Ms. M both wobbled a bit as they left the park, taking the winding path by the tennis courts. “It’s a good kind of tired,” she added.
    â€œExhausting and exhilarating at the same time,” Ms. M agreed. “Like traveling.”
    As they ambled along, Sadie thought about how the park really was like another country to her now, full of many languages and exotic inhabitants. In a way, she didn’t even mind that they hadn’t found Ethel. She and Ms. M could go “traveling” again tomorrow, and maybe the next day and the day after that.
    When they reached the backyard, Sadie said, “I wish I could invite you to come inside—”

    The witch interrupted. “I know, dear. It’s all right. I enjoy my own company.”
    â€œI’ll be out later to say good night.”
    â€œI look forward to it.”
    Sadie watched Ms. M until she was safely at the playhouse. The witch paused and tipped her pointy hat. Sadie giggled and slipped into the kitchen.
    â€œIs that you, Sadie?” her mother called from upstairs. “Dad ran to the store. I’ll be down in a minute.”
    Sadie sat at the table, munching a granola bar and thinking more about Ethel. What would they do if they did find her? Would Ms. M know the right spell to change her back? She tried to imagine two witches living in the playhouse. Wait until Jess and Maya saw that!
    Then she tried to picture herself with Jess, Maya, Ms. M, and Ethel. They’d all be together, doing . . . what? Bird-watching? Sweeping out the gutters? Making soup?
    Her father entered the kitchen through the back door, clutching a bag from Paper Warehouse. He hung his keys on the orange hook on the wall and smiled at her. “Tough day at the slide and the merry-go-round, sleepyhead?”
    Just then her mother thumped in with a big cardboard box. “So much junk in the attic!” She dropped the box onto the table across from Sadie. “I wish we could get rid of it all, but we’ll start here and see what they have room for.”
    â€œYour labels, madam,” her father saidgallantly, handing over the bag.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Sadie asked. She got up to pour herself a glass of chocolate milk.
    â€œThe Kepplers are having a yard sale tomorrow, and they said we could add a few things. You don’t want these anymore, do you?”
    Sadie peered down at the dolls with soiled faces, the unopened paint-by-number kit, the squashed board games that she and her parents used to play for hours. The game Sorry! just looked, well, sorry. And the patient in Operation had never fully regained consciousness, not since Mom had accidentally vacuumed up his