Six or seven gray squirrels, a huge gray pig, and a couple of brown snakes waited on the platform. On the ground and the branches overhead sat a whole flock of black birds with a slight iridescent rainbow shine to their wings that reminded Kate of an oil slick.

She recognized the birds. They were sparrows—or no, not sparrows, starlings! That’s what they were. None of the creatures moved. They just sat there staring at her.

Then she realized that something else was different, too. None of them were holding tickets.

“So… hi,” Kate said.

The giant pig trotted forward and stood right in front of her. He really was unbelievably big, as tall as she was, and he looked much more fit somehow than your average pig. In fact, he seemed to be completely made out of muscle.

That’s not a pig at all, Kate thought. That must be a wild boar. She’d never seen one in real life. He had tiny eyes and a wet nose and huge upward-thrusting yellow tusks.

Kate cleared her throat. “Tickets, please.”

The boar just stood there in front of her. She tried again.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t ride the train without a ticket.”

“I don’t have a ticket,” the boar said in a deep voice.

“Well,” Kate said slowly, “I guess you can’t ride the train, then.”

“Then I guess we have a problem.”

Kate frowned. She wasn’t immediately warming to this boar.

“I am sorry to have to say this,” she said, “but it more seems like you have a problem.”

“You don’t sound very sorry,” chittered a squirrel.

So that’s how it’s going to be, Kate thought. She folded her arms with more firmness than she really felt.

“I really am sorry, but I don’t make the rules. If it’s that important, why don’t you just go and get tickets and come back? I’m sure we’ll be back here soon.”

That was a fib—she wasn’t sure at all—but she really wanted to bring this conversation to an end. She stepped back into the train and closed the doors.

But the doors didn’t close, because the boar stuck his huge head right in between them. He had large, furry ears and not the slightest trace of a neck.

“I don’t want a ticket,” he said. “I want to get on this train. Now be a good girl and open the door.”