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you'll have to withdraw her from school. These people are just normal folks and they don't understand a child who can... can... well, who associates with dangerous animals. They think she's too strange to be around other children. At the very least they think her idea of being able to talk to animals could spread and endanger their children. They fear they might try to talk to a bear or a wolf like she does and get hurt, or even killed. And frankly, Mrs. Douglas, people are beginning to say that if she is that abnormal, then you must be, too."
    There was more but Samantha buried her face in her hands, then when that didn't work she put her hands over her ears. Now she did sit down, just as far from the closed door as she could get. She didn't want to listen to anything else. Just because she understood animals and talked to them, she and her mother were both thought to be demons of some sort. It was so terrible and so unfair.
    The tear marks on her cheeks were still there as her mother came back outside. Elaine Douglas' face was white and strained but for the first time since the incident with the wolverine she spoke gently to her daughter.
    "Come on, Sammie. Let's go home. We'll take care of this problem soon, I promise."
    ***
    That night after Samantha was in bed, Ronald and Elaine sat together discussing what they should do about their daughter's predicament.
    "The only real solution I see is to move away from here," Elaine said. "I know you like your job, and living here has been a good experience for all of us, but... these episodes with Sammie and her animals have pretty well spoiled our lives here. And we've both agreed we need to move so that Sammie can get a better education. She's a brilliant child despite her fixation about animals."
    "It's not Sammie's fault. It's the ones here who can't stand for anyone to be different."
    "I know, I know, but... her fault or not, I still think we ought to move just as soon as possible. Have you had any answers to your resumes that you think you'd like?"
    Ronald sighed. "Maybe. I want to check some more, though. And you're right. We should move. I just hate the thought of being run out of town, so to speak."
    "It's not really like that, Ron. You know we need to move anyway, to somewhere Sammie can have access to the internet and all the other advantages of life in the lower states. The school here has nothing for her anymore."
    "Is she that far ahead?"
    "You haven't been following her homework like I have. Most of the so-called curriculum is dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. She already knows most of what her classmates are studying just from how much she reads. She's way ahead of them in math, too. Did you see that book she ordered? It's a self-study course that takes her through second year High School algebra and she's been doing it on her own. And you know she read those old encyclopedias from cover to cover and she's almost through them again, but really studying and practically memorizing the interesting articles."
    "My gosh, I guess I haven't been paying enough attention to her school work. You seemed to have it handled so well I saw no need of doing anything and she never asked me for help."
    "It's darn little she asks me, either. Ron, I think she's much smarter than either one of us ever thought she was."
    "Okay, you've convinced me. I've turned down a few offers but I'll take just about anything now. I'll start looking again tomorrow, and in the meantime I guess we could home school her until we move."
    "Good. Try to find something as soon as you can."
    "Actually, I saw an opening for a teaching position down in Texas that's in my field. It was in one of my journals that came in the last mail run. I'll check into it and if it's no longer open I'll find something else. How does that sound?"
    "It sounds great to me. Let's go to bed now and we'll tell Sammie tomorrow.
    ***
    "We're moving as soon as the school year is over and maybe even before then. Until we do,