Master Aldric had been a wizard for sixty-three years. He had never, in all that time, lost his spell book.
Until Tuesday.
He searched everywhere. Under the tower stairs. Behind the cauldron. In his second-best hat. In his first-best hat. Under the cat, who resented being lifted.
The book was gone.
Meanwhile, things kept needing to be done.
The miller's flooded basement needed draining. Without the spell book, Aldric borrowed a pump from the blacksmith and helped operate it himself. It took three hours and he got very wet.
The farmer's stuck cart needed moving. Without the spell, Aldric organised six people and a rope. They got it free in twenty minutes and everyone felt excellent about it.
The mayor's lost cat needed finding. Without the locating spell, Aldric asked around town. The butcher's boy had seen it. Problem solved in four minutes.
At the end of the week, Aldric found the spell book. It was inside the bread bin. He didn't remember putting it there.
He sat with it in his hands and thought about the week.
Then he put it back in the bread bin, just for a little while longer.