They agree to spare him if he will act as a guide to help them escape. One night, Peter and Sir Tode meet Old Scabbs, a fellow thief who tries to steal food from them. They are trapped in the Just Deserts, a prison for thieves. One morning, they awake to find the Scop marooned in a vast desert with no trace of open sea. One day, they help an enormous dogfish named Frederick, who swears to repay the favor. Peter and Sir Tode board the Scop, a small ship, and set sail. Cake believes Peter to be the perfect candidate for the quest and gifts him the Fantastic Eyes, magical tools to aid him along the way. Cake reveals to Peter a note containing a mysterious rhyme, a plea for help from the Vanished Kingdom. Pound introduces them to Professor Cake, the owner of the island.

Peter reappears in churning lake filled with clinking bottles alongside Sir Tode, a knight transformed by a curse into a human/cat/horse hybrid. When he inserts them into his empty eye sockets, Peter vanishes. When Peter successfully opens the cart, he discovers a strange box with six strange objects-actually eyes (golden, onyx, and emerald). To test Peter, he leaves his heavily locked cart unattended. One day, Peter encounters a mysterious Haberdasher who is actually searching for a great thief.

Over time, Peter becomes the greatest thief in town, equally adept at picking locks and pockets. Peter Nimble, a blind orphan found floating in the sea and raised in a dodgy port town, learns the art of thievery from Mr. Ages 10 up.This study guide references the edition published by Amulet Books. At times the omniscient narrator can feel overly precious, but the fast-paced, episodic story, accompanied by Auxier's occasional pen-and-ink drawings, is inventive, unpredictable, and like its hero nimble. By definition, locks are designed to tell you what you can't do'). Peter and Sir Tode set sail unarmed, aside from their kind natures, faith that the eyes will guide them, and Peter's skill at picking locks ('He considered every lock to be a personal challenge. The professor provides Peter with a companion (Sir Tode, a half-cat, half-horse knight) and a mission: to solve a riddle and save the Vanished Kingdom from an evil king.

The first set transports him to a hidden island where the psychic Professor Cake awaits. Debut author Auxier spins a lively, magical adventure led by 10-year-old Peter Nimble, a blind orphan and 'the greatest thief who ever lived.' Peter has always had to fend for himself, and after five grueling years of working for a heartless beggarmonger and perfecting his burgling skills, he uncovers a box filled with three sets of stone eyes: gold, onyx, and emerald.

Peter nimble and his fantastic eyes