Stardust

When Tristran Thorn is eight years old, the Faerie market comes again to the meadow near Wall. Tristran is sent to stay with relatives, while his little sister, Louisa—who’s six months younger—gets to go. This bothers Tristran immensely. Not long after, a farm cat gives birth to three kittens. One is blue, with color-changing eyes. Tristran loves the cat, but one night, she escapes and bolts through the gap in the wall (the rules say nothing about keeping cats out). Tristran’s father, Dunstan, tries to tell Tristran that the cat will be happier “[w]ith her own kind.” His mother Daisy, as usual, says nothing. Louisa teases him mercilessly about this, his ears’ odd shape, and the strange things he sometimes says, such as that the clouds are sheep.

Tristran receives his education from Mrs. Cherry at the village school. He loves when the peddlers come to the village selling “penny dreadful” stories or song sheets. At 14, Tristran learns about sex, and the following year, he breaks his arm falling out of a tree when he tries to spy on Victoria Forester. By the time Tristran and Victoria are 17, she’s considered the most beautiful girl in Wall. Though Victoria insists on working as a pot-girl for Mr. Bromios, her mother, Bridget, forbids it, and her father, Thomas, backs Bridget up.

Every boy—and many older, married men—in Wall are in love with Victoria. One day, Victoria is sitting with Louisa and three other girls in the apple orchard. Louisa notes that even the old shop-owner Mr. Monday admires Victoria. Victoria notes that he’s ancient, at age 45, and another girl adds that he’s already been married. But another girl suggests that marrying a man who’s already been married might be nice: “someone else would have removed the rough edges,” and maybe he wouldn’t be so lusty. And further, the last girl notes, marrying Mr. Monday would mean getting to live in a big house and travel. The girls giggle.

Seventeen-year-old Tristran is neither a boy nor a man. He spends his time daydreaming, usually about leaving for America. On days when the wind blows from beyond the wall, though, Tristran daydreams of fantastical things like mermaids. Staring at the stars is the only thing that calms his mind. He helps Dunstan on the farm on the weekends and spends his days working at Monday and Brown’s, the village shop. Late in October, Victoria enters the shop with a list of supplies Bridget would like Mr. Monday to purchase on his next run to the city. He scans the list and tries to make conversation. Just then, a wind blows in from Faerie, and suddenly courageous, Tristran asks to walk Victoria home. She agrees.

Tristran walks with Victoria to her family’s farm. He asks to kiss her, and she refuses. At the top of a hill, they stop to look at Wall. Tristran takes her hand, and Victoria asks if Tristran saw the falling star. Tristran didn’t, and he continues to ask if Victoria will kiss him like she did when she was 15—or if she’ll marry him. Victoria is incredulous, but Tristran says she should marry him because he’ll travel the world and bring her back all manner of riches. He says he’ll bring her the fallen star if she’ll kiss and marry him. Victoria agrees: if Tristran brings her the star, she’ll kiss him and give him “[a]nything [he] desire[s].” She laughs as Tristran heads back down the hill.

Tristran runs home and ignores Daisy when she asks how he got so dirty and bedraggled. He announces to her and Dunstan that he’s leaving Wall and will be gone a long time. Seeing the look in Tristran’s eye, Dunstan sends Daisy to the other room and asks where Tristran is going. He knows, when Tristran says “East,” that he means through the wall. When Tristran assures his father he’s coming back, Dunstan tells Tristran to pack. He’ll walk him to the gap.

Tristran has no idea how Dunstan is going to get him past the guards. When they arrive at the gap, Harold Crutchbeck and Mr. Bromios are on duty. Dunstan chats with them for a bit, and then he asks the men if they know where Tristran came from. Mr. Bromios nods and Harold suggests it’s all rumor, but Dunstan says it’s true—and it’s time for Tristan to return. Tristran doesn’t understand any of this, but Dunstan slips something into his hand and tells him to go.

The night grows warmer as Tristran walks, and soon he notices the moon. It’s now full, where it was a crescent in Wall. Tristran stops to inspect the glass snowdrop that Dunstan gave him. Suddenly, Tristran realizes how silly this all is: he’s traveling in Faerie in search of a fallen star. He can still see Wall, and he knows that nobody will fault him for turning back. But he thinks of Victoria’s eyes and laughter. Putting the snowdrop in his buttonhole, Tristran enters Faerie, “too ignorant to be scared, too young to be awed.”