'How to Leave Your Family' by Margaret O'Brien

Ingredients:

You will need

a level head

1 moon calendar

some ducks

1 pond

some bread, stale

1 dark night

1 farmyard

a blanket of snow

1 marmalade cat

2 owls, white

wings

Method:

First, it is essential to avoid weeping. Hatch your plan carefully and keep a level head. Timing is crucial. Lie to your sister when she notices you checking the moon calendar on the scullery wall. Spend some time by the pond observing the ducks and how they swim and then lift off to fly. Don’t be afraid to venture into the dark. Make some test runs. Take the bread you’ve been saving in your pillow. Although stale this will be your sustenance in the beginning. Be careful to avoid the snow covered farmyard, you don’t want to leave tracks. Likewise the muddy paths by the pond. Don’t talk to the marmalade cat as you pass through the kitchen, she cannot be trusted. But the two barn owls who keep watch in the eaves are your friends and wish you well. Spread your wings.