The following day, everyone woke up to swarms of mosquitos. None knew where they had come from or why there were so many.  Marinette swatted as many of them as she could. She did not know it yet, but one had stuck its mouth on her left arm.

    Her arm now had an odd marking on it. It stung. "Ouch, my arm!" She cried out in pain.

    The goblin came running to check on her. He saw her arm and could see her face was turning rather pale. Something was wrong. 

    "Jane, get Marinette onto her mat immediately," He said.

     Jane did as he told her. She knew it must be serious with how worried he looked.  She saw Marinette cough, gasp for air, and turn even paler than before.

         "I am s-sorry," Marinette stuttered.

      Marinette started to shiver. Jane tucked some blankets around her. The goblin put a hand on her forehead and it felt hot.

         "Oh, no, I am afraid it is worse than I thought. Jane, you must make sure no more mosquitos get in here," He said.

        "What is the matter with my sister?" Jane asked.

        "She caught malaria from the mosquito," He said sadly. He felt it was far too cruel for him to have found her only to risk losing her now.

      The goblin put some netting up inside Marinette's hut, then some in Jane's hut, and in the hut for himself. He added some to the barn too.

        He saw that his hand which had turned normal before was now wrinkly and green again.  What could it mean? He put some twigs into a pot, added water, and cooked them. He put a small amount into a cup and brought it to Marinette. He held the cup to her lips. He watched as she swallowed some of it. He could only stand by and hope it helped her.

     He found some medicine and gave it to her. "Now, we must wait to see what happens," He said.

    "What if she dies?" Jane sobbed.

   "Jane, we must hope for the best. For that is all we can do now for her," The goblin replied. He lay on the ground beside the small mat she slept on. Soon he was asleep too.

       Jane sat on a small stool. She never asked where he got it. She whispered, "Marinette, come on stick with us, sister. You have to hang on, don't leave us. Don't leave him," She pleaded with her.

  The story continues in Chapter 14

  Until then,

bye-bye, 

little owlets!

Summer out!