Author/Uploaded by Daniel Kraus
Contents Title Page Copyright Notice Dedication Epigraph Teeth and Claws Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Evidence Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapte...
Contents Title Page Copyright Notice Dedication Epigraph Teeth and Claws Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Evidence Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 The Mother Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Acknowledgments Also by Daniel Kraus Praise for The Teddies Saga About the Author Newsletter Sign-up Copyright Guide Cover Title Page Dedication Teeth and Claws 1 Acknowledgments Contents Copyright Pagebreaks of the print version Cover Page v vii ix xi xiii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 151 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 iv i vi Begin Reading Table of Contents About the Author Copyright Page Thank you for buying this Henry Holt and Company ebook. To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters. Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup For email updates on the author, click here. The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. This book is for my dad. I see stuffing in a big metal chest. I see stuffing inside a twisted plastic nest. I see stuffing piled along a cold gray floor. I see stuffing in a crowded brown drawer. TEETH AND CLAWS 1 Proto—it was still hard for Buddy to believe it. Proto: the first Furrington Teddy sewed by the Creator known as the Mother. Proto: the shrewd trickster hero in the teddy tales spun by Reginald. Proto: who persuaded the Mother to sew eight other teddies known as the Originals. Proto: whose story ended right here at Furrington Industries, where the Suit had corrupted the Mother’s formula for the best teddies in the world. After escaping the teddy village in the cellar, finding the factory above had been a shock. Finding Proto behind a dusty glass case had been an even bigger shock. Now that Proto was freed, Buddy could take a good look at him. Proto had the same pudgy teddy belly and stubby teddy limbs as Buddy and his friends. But the Suit had made a lot of changes to Furrington Teddies. For the first time, Buddy saw those changes plainly. And those changes hurt. Buddy and his friends’ plush was made of “Ryulexster,” a synthetic fabric. Proto, however, was made from the Mother’s cherished Softest Fabric in the World. Proto’s plush was blue, the same as Buddy’s, yet not at all the same—Buddy marveled at Proto’s glossy, velvety depths. Buddy and his friends had cheap plastic eyes prone to scratches. Take, for example, Pookie, the fork-legged red teddy who’d died leading their escape from the trashlands—she’d had a big white scratch through her left eye. Proto’s eyes, however, were the Mother’s original marble, as deep and mysterious as the starry skies Buddy had seen on the darkest of nights. “Proto, tell us about the Mother,” begged Reginald, the gray teddy. “No, tell us about the Originals,” said Sunny, the yellow teddy. “How do we stack up?” “I would like to hear more about this factory,” said Nothing, the white teddy. “I used to live beneath it, you know.” Buddy, the blue teddy, stepped forward like the leader he was. “All good questions,” he said. “But first … after all that time trapped inside a case … are you okay, Proto?” All about the teddies lay shards of glass from the display case they’d shattered to free Proto. The old teddy had fallen out straight on his muzzle like he’d forgotten how to walk. Sunny, always attuned to her Teddy Duty, had been the one to rush forward and help Proto to his feet. Proto was still relearning how to move. He lifted an arm. It squeaked and progressed stiffly. Finally, Proto’s paw reached his head. Buddy stood taller. Proto was going to salute the four courageous teddies who’d freed him! Instead, Proto combed back a patch of spiky plush. “You are speaking to Proto.” His voice was more musical than any teddy Buddy had heard, like a tiny orchestra inside his stuffing played every word. “The case wasn’t cozy-wozy, as I used to say of the Mother’s home. But I am fine. I am perfectly fine.” “You said you have so much to tell us,” Buddy reminded him.