A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 1 | Page 6

occasionally spat out water in which young
children played. They passed an enormous pile of dirt where the Royal
Gardens once stood. Before too long, Mr. Poe drove his car down a
narrow alley lined with houses made of pale brick and stopped halfway
down the block. “Here
we are,” Mr. Poe said, in a voice undoubtedly meant to be cheerful.
“Your new home.” The
Baudelaire children looked out and saw the prettiest house on the block.
The bricks had been cleaned very well, and through the wide and
open windows one could see an assortment of well-groomed plants.
Standing in the doorway, with her hand on the shiny brass doorknob,
was an older woman, smartly dressed, who was smiling at the
children. In one hand she carried a flowerpot. “Hello
there!” she called out. “You must be the children Count Olaf is adopting.”
Violet
opened the door of the automobile and got out to shake the woman's
hand. It felt firm and warm, and for the first time in a long while
Violet felt as if her life and the lives of her siblings might turn out
well after all. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, we are. I am Violet Baudelaire, and
this is my brother Klaus and my sister Sunny. And this is Mr. Poe, who
has been arranging things for us since the death of our parents.” “Yes,
I heard about the accident,” the woman said, as everyone said how
do you do. “I am Justice Strauss.” “That's
an unusual first name,” Klaus remarked. “It
is my title,” she explained, “not my first name. I serve as a judge on
the High Court.” “How
fascinating,” Violet said. “And are you married to Count Olaf?” “Goodness
me no,” Justice Strauss said. “I don't actually know him that well.
He is my nextdoor neighbor.”

The
children looked from the well-scrubbed house of Justice Strauss to the
dilapidated one next door. The bricks were stained with soot and grime.
There were only two small windows, which were closed with the shades
drawn even though it was a nice day. Rising above the windows was
a tall
and dirty tower that tilted slightly to the left. The front door needed
to be repainted, and carved in the middle of it was an image of
an eye. The entire building sagged to the side, like a crooked tooth. “Oh!”
said Sunny, and everyone knew what she meant. She meant, “What
a terrible place! I don't want to live there at all!” “Well,
it was nice to meet you,” Violet said to Justice Strauss. “Yes,”
said Justice Strauss, gesturing to her flowerpot. “Perhaps one day
you could come over and help me with my gardening.” “That
would be very pleasant,” Violet said, very sadly. It would, of course,
be very pleasant to help Justice Strauss with her gardening, but
Violet could not help thinking that it would be more pleasant to live in
Justice Strauss's house, instead of Count Olaf's. What kind of a man, Violet
wondered, would carve an image of an eye into his front door? Mr.
Poe tipped his hat to Justice Strauss, who smiled at the children and
disappeared into her lovely house. Klaus stepped forward and knocked
on Count Olaf's door, his knuckles rapping right in the