Hazel Mendwell can mend broken things. When she touches shattered porcelain, cracked wood, or torn fabric with care and intention, her hands glow with soft golden light and the fractures seal themselves. Not always perfectly—some breaks are too old or too deep—but enough. Enough to make things whole again.

In her cozy workshop with her raven companion Bramble, Hazel spends her days restoring treasures others thought were lost: music boxes with new keys, teapots with handles restored, wooden birds carefully glued back together. She has a tender heart and a gift for healing, and people trust her because she's earned that trust through years of gentle care.

When a stranger arrives with a shattered music box that belonged to someone they loved, Hazel sees only their exhaustion, their longing, their apparent gratitude. She agrees to restore it—a three-day project requiring delicate work and healing herbs that flow downstream during the river's mysterious reversal.

But as Hazel works on the intricate mechanism, she hears the melody it plays. Beautiful and haunting, it twists and turns in unexpected directions. Beneath its beauty lies a pattern—almost like a warning, or a code. When she hums it for old Tom the baker, his face goes pale.

His sister sang that melody. Before she was taken by someone she trusted fifteen years ago. She'd changed their mother's lullaby, adding something to it—a message, in case she was ever in trouble. A way to let her family know if someone was trying to hurt her.

Now Hazel faces a terrible realization: the stranger lied. They claim to be staying at the inn, but no one there has seen them. The music box wasn't brought for healing—it was bait. A trap to draw out anyone who might recognize the melody and know what it means.

With Bramble's fierce protection and her own growing understanding that something doesn't fit, Hazel must make a choice: give the stranger what they came for and hope for the best, or trust her doubt and protect the people she loves—even when it means seeing danger in someone who seemed so grateful.

Perfect for ages 9-12

This story explores:

• The difference between being kind and being naive
• Recognizing manipulation even when it looks like genuine gratitude
• Trusting your instincts when something feels wrong
• The courage it takes to question people who seem vulnerable
• Understanding that protecting others sometimes means being suspicious
• Balancing a tender heart with wisdom and caution
• How cleverness and observation can be forms of bravery

A thoughtful, suspenseful mystery about a girl learning that her gift for healing broken things includes knowing when something can't—or shouldn't—be fixed. That sometimes the most important restoration is protecting what isn't broken yet. And that having a kind heart doesn't mean ignoring the warning signs when someone isn't who they claim to be.

Runtime: 16:58

Part of the Fables Adventures collection - stories for young listeners learning to balance openness with wisdom, trust with observation, and understanding that being brave sometimes means acting on your doubts instead of pushing them away.

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