text: > Describe the surroundings
  Grass sweeps up the hill like a brushfire, growing taller and thicker as it approaches the top where you brace yourself against the wind. You can see everything from up here: the forest, the village, even the fence where you first met the egg. The schoolhouse and its clock tower lie to the northwest.
  
  A crumbling brick well sits at the very top of the hill, almost hidden in a nest of grass. It's the simplest of designs--no cute roof, no crank, no rope or bucket--just a simple, brick cylinder in the ground. The cover, if it ever had one, is gone. From deep within the well's depths, you hear faint scratching noises interspersed with pathetic mewing.
  
  A wooden spinning wheel sits quietly nearby. Its bobbin holds some black yarn which is also tied to a pot.
  
  You can also see a wolf here.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a pot (which is open but empty and is tied to some yarn)
  a bent spoon
  a cracked porcelain dish
  a picnic basket (which is open but empty)
  
  The wolf grins at you as he twirls the toothpick in his mouth.
  
  > examine the bobbin
  The bobbin is a wooden spindle that collects the finished yarn or thread as it spins. This one currently holds a skein of black yarn. The bobbin and spinning wheel are at rest.
  
  The wolf loiters in the area, keeping an eye on you.
  
  > Tie the yarn to the bobbin
  You tie the loose end of the yarn to the bobbin.
  
  "Later," growls the wolf, waving a paw in your direction as he trots past.
  
  > put the pot in well
  You lower the pot into the well, letting the yarn slide through your fingers. In a few moments, you hear a faraway splash and an anxious meow. Then you feel a tug, and the yarn swings in your hands. The pot feels heavier now.
  
  > turn on the wheel
  Straining to pull its heavy load up from the bottom of the well, the spinning wheel creaks and groans with each rotation. You peer down into the darkness. There! What was that? Something moved! Something has hitched a ride in the pot!
  
  All of a sudden, you notice the yarn rubbing on the well's edge, fraying dangerously. You try to pull the yarn away from the sharp bricks, but it's too taut; there's no slack. After several tense minutes, the pot finally arrives at the top, and two wide green eyes peek out over the side. Just then, the frayed yarn breaks.
  
  A tiny gray and white kitten leaps for its life as the pot clatters back down the shaft. Front claws gripping the rim, back claws scrabbling furiously against the inside bricks, the kitten at last manages to pull itself up to the safety of the ledge. It sneezes twice in the bright sunshine before jumping into the grass at your feet.
  
  The spinning wheel, freed from the weight of the pot, begins to shake as it picks up speed. You reach over and flip the toggle switch off before the whole thing rattles itself to pieces. Purring, the kitten licks one paw and washes its face.
  
  A slight movement attracts your attention. It's that wolf again.
  
  The kitten arches its back and hisses at the wolf.
  
  > Pet kitty
  "Nice kitty." The kitten purrs.
  
  > Pet wolf
  "Don't touch the merchandise," warns the wolf.
  
  "Listen up," warns the wolf. "In case you forgot, I get blamed for everything around here. So watch it. I ain't takin' no rap for you."
  
  > Kiss kitty
  You give the kitten a great, big kiss and in return the kitten licks your nose with its sandpaper tongue.
  
  The wolf leans casually on one elbow and watches you, chewing on his toothpick.
  
  > eat kitty
  The kitten squirms away from you.
  
  > eat kitty
  "Nah," declines the wolf. "I don't eat nothing with claws sharper than mine."
  
  The wolf shifts the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.
  
  > roll over
  The kitten meows.
  
  "Listen up," warns the wolf. "In case you forgot, I get blamed for everything around here. So watch it. I ain't takin' no rap for you."
  
  > eat the wolf
  The kitten ignores you.
  
  The wolf leans casually on one elbow and watches you, chewing on his toothpick.
  
  > throw the kitty at the wolf
  (first taking the kitten)
  The kitten has its own ideas about that. It squirms and wriggles until you set it free again.
  
  The wolf exits, stage left.
  
  > go northwest
  Both the playground and its adjacent schoolhouse to the south lie vacant and deserted. The bare, hard-packed rectangle of earth, despite a few faint chalk marks, shows no evidence that children may have once played here--or might ever play here again.
  
  The lane ends its westward progress at the schoolhouse door. At the southern end of the school, a magnificent stone steeple towers above the village roofs. To see the clock from where you now stand, you must tilt your head back and point your chin at the sky. To the southeast, a gentle slope leads to a hilltop covered with wild grass.
  
  The kitten crouches low, wiggles its rear, and then pounces at nothing.
  
  > go west
  You can only go south, east, southeast or in.
  
  "Heads up!" shouts the wolf in your ear. "Ha, ha, made you look!"
  
  The kitten hisses at the wolf from behind your ankles.
  
  > Go inside
  The abandoned schoolroom lacks not only pupils, but also books and pencils and chalk and paper and any other hint that someone might show up for school tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next. Rows of empty desks and chairs face the teacher's desk at the front of the room as if waiting expectantly for the day's lesson. The door to the north leads back out to the empty schoolyard. Stairs to the south lead up into darkness.
  
  You notice a familiar-looking wolf lurking in the vicinity.
  
  "Listen up," warns the wolf. "In case you forgot, I get blamed for everything around here. So watch it. I ain't takin' no rap for you."
  
  > Search desk
  Which do you mean, the teacher's desk or one of the student desks?
  
  > examine the teacher's desk
  As you might expect, the teacher's desk contains several drawers:
  
  The top right drawer, which is closed.
  The top left drawer, which is closed.
  The middle drawer, which is closed.
  The file drawer, which is closed.
  
  The wolf loiters in the area, keeping an eye on you.
  
  > open top right
  You open the top right drawer.
  
  > look in it
  The top right drawer is empty.
  
  > open top left
  You open the top left drawer.
  
  > look in it
  The top left drawer is empty.
  
  The wolf grins at you as he twirls the toothpick in his mouth.
  
  > open middle
  You open the middle drawer.
  
  > look in it
  The middle drawer is empty.
  
  "I'm blowin' this joint," the wolf explains as he shoves his way past you. "I got places to go, people to see, things to do."
  
  You scratch the kitten behind the ears.
  
  > open the file
  You open the file drawer.
  
  The kitten sits and watches you.
  
  > look in it
  The file drawer is empty.
  
  You scratch the kitten behind the ears.
  
  > go south
  Dimly lit stairs lead back down into the schoolroom. Before you, a heavy, solid door stands firmly closed.
  
  Faintly, through the closed door, you hear something ticking.
  
  The kitten suddenly darts between your legs and zigzags up the steps ahead of you. At that very instant, a tiny brown field mouse scurries across your path, barely escaping with its life when you accidently step on its tail. Chaos erupts. The terrified mouse races in circles, dodging feet and claws. The kitten spits and hisses and rears back on its hind legs, then lunges for the mouse. You hop on one foot, howling with pain, having twisted your ankle while trying to avoid the mouse. To top it all off, someone...or something...is pounding on the other side of the door at the top of the stairs.
  
  > look under the door
  You put one eye to the crack at the bottom of the door, but all you can see is a few inches of wood flooring.
  
  "Did you miss me?" barks the wolf. "I'm back."
  
  The kitten arches its back and hisses at the wolf.
  
  Someone...or something...is pounding on the door.
  
  The field mouse cowers in the corner.
  
  > put the spoon in the keyhole
  That doesn't seem to fit the lock.
  
  Someone...or something...is pounding on the door.
  
  "Listen up," warns the wolf. "In case you forgot, I get blamed for everything around here. So watch it. I ain't takin' no rap for you."
  
  The kitten crouches low, squirms, and then pounces for the mouse. The mouse, more experienced than the kitten at this sort of thing, leaps straight up into the air. The surprised kitten loses its balance and tumbles over backward.
  
  > ask the wolf about the toothpick
  The wolf snarls at you and chews on a toothpick.
  
  Someone...or something...is pounding on the door.
  
  Panting heavily, the mouse twitches its whiskers anxiously.
  
  > take the mouse
  As you reach for the mouse, it gives a terrified squeak and scurries in the opposite direction, out of your reach.
  
  Someone...or something...is pounding on the door.
  
  The wolf grins at you as he twirls the toothpick in his mouth.
  
  The mouse makes a desperate attempt to escape under the door to the south, but retreats when the kitten skids into the door first. Immediately, the mouse circles back toward the stairs, sees you and reverses direction again, angling diagonally across the landing and into the shadows.
  
  > take kitty
  You scoop the squirming kitten into your arms, where it struggles to free itself, its eyes riveted on the mouse below. The mouse, quick to recognize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, dashes under the door. With one last twisting backwards flip, the kitten launches itself from your embrace and lands on its feet, ready for battle.
  
  Without warning, a single deep, booming gong rocks the tower. Your hands fly up involuntarily to cover and protect your ears, and you drop everything you're carrying. The vibration of the tolling bell resonates through your chest, even after the audible tone fades. In the silence that follows, you hear the sound of running feet, first nearby, then receding, from the other side of the door.
  
  The kitten, ever curious, shoves one paw between the threshold and the door, groping blindly for the escaped mouse. A few swipes later, something metallic skitters across the floor and into the corner.
  
  Faintly, through the closed door, you hear something ticking.
  
  The wolf grins at you as he twirls the toothpick in his mouth.
  
  > get the key
  Taken.
  
  Faintly, through the closed door, you hear something ticking.
  
  The wolf yawns widely enough for you to count all his teeth.
  
  > unlock the door with it
  You unlock the clock tower door and open it.
  
  "Don't mind me; I was just leaving," mentions the wolf over his shoulder as he skulks out of sight.
  
  Loud clicks and whirring noises are coming from inside the room to the south.
  
  > Go south
  Dim, greenish light from above reflects off an assortment of large brass gears mounted flat against a stone wall on the far side of the room. Taut cables run upward through a network of pulleys, vanishing into the gloom more than twenty feet above your head. The entire mechanism turns and meshes in a slow, rhythmic, hypnotic clockwork dance.
  
  The kitten follows you wherever you go.
  
  As your eyes adjust to the room's dim light, you notice a shadowy figure standing to one side.
  
  > examine the figure
  You squint, peering through the shadows. "Mom?"
  
  It's your mother! What's she doing here?
  
  The kitten meows for attention.
  
  Your mother gathers you inside the circle of her arms and hugs until you can hardly breathe. Then she picks you up and twirls you around, skimming your feet over the floor as she whirls. She laughs out loud. "You found me!" When she puts you down again, you feel a little dizzy.
  
  > examine the Mother
  It's your mother! What's she doing here?
  
  "I don't think I've told you much about my new job, have I?" asks your mother cheerfully. "I was nervous at the interview, but when I told Mr. Dumpty about you, he said my experience as your mother qualified me for any challenge I might face as Mother Loose."
  
  > ask the mom about the kitty
  "I suppose it followed you here all by itself?" your mother asks, smiling.
  
  "I decided my first task as Mother Loose would be to fix this old clock," explains your mother, resting her hand on one of the cables. "It hasn't worked in years. You can't imagine how I felt when that heavy door locked behind me, especially since summer vacation had started and no one knew I was up here. Good thing I brought my lunch with me."
  
  > examine the clock
  The heavy brass gears, now tarnished with age, vary in size: the smallest would allow you to spread-eagle yourself across its surface, hands and feet at opposite edges; the largest spans three times that diameter. Sinewy cables as thick as your thumb disappear overhead after running through pulleys fastened with huge iron bolts to the walls and floor.
  
  "The key must have jammed the clockworks," your mother says. "When the mouse ran up the clock, it jarred the key loose, and that's what started these gears working again. I'll bet you could hear those bells all the way to the forest."
  
  > No
  "Pardon?" asks your mother.
  
  Sighing deeply, your mother gazes at you without saying a word. Uh, oh. You know that look. Trouble. She crooks her finger at you to come closer, and you step forward unwillingly, eyes focused on the floor.
  
  Putting one arm around your shoulders, she asks, "What am I going to do with you?" She squats down, brushing your hair away from your face and leaning close to whisper in your ear, "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
  
  Find out what? Your mind gallops along the course of the day, trying to remember, trying to think, trying to figure out what kind of trouble you're in now.
  
  Your mother stands up again and looks down at you from very far away. "Before we leave, tell me the truth: did you eat from a dirty spoon you picked up off the ground, attack the egg, break into the cottage, steal a spinning wheel and neglect to return Mary's ladder?"
  
  > No
  "Your mother raises an eyebrow. "On our way home today, I think we might discuss the difference between real life and fantasy." The slightest of smiles tugs at her face. "Your understanding of the subject seems a trifle vague."
  
  How does she do that? How on earth could she possibly know what you did or didn't do while she was locked inside the clock tower? How, how, how does she always find out? You'd give anything to know her secret, but she won't tell.
  
  > Yes
  Crime may not pay, but honesty carries its own price tag, as you discovered long ago. You prepare yourself for the unpleasant consequences of telling the truth: first, of course, comes the inevitable parental lecture. Then, your apology, complete with a Promise To Do Better Next Time. With any luck at all, you might reduce your sentence with a Sincere Yet Cheerful Attitude, although if you attempt this too soon you could end up in deeper trouble for Not Taking Things Seriously.
  
  You brace yourself, ready to face the music. To your utter amazement, you hear your mother say, "Thank you for telling me the truth. I expect you had other things on your mind at the time."
  
  How does she do that? How on earth could she possibly know what you did or didn't do while she was locked inside the clock tower? How, how, how does she always find out? You'd give anything to know her secret, but she won't tell.
  
  > look
  "Yo, mamma!" The wolf pokes his head around the door. "Got a minute? Ain't none of my business, but you got trouble brewin'. There's a baby stuck in a treetop out here. When the wind blows, the cradle rocks like a rubber duckie on the high seas. If that bough breaks, the cradle will fall and--whammo!--down will come baby, cradle and the whole shebang, y'know what I mean?"
  
  > Lounge
  Please give one of the answers above.