A Series of Unfortunate Events

Book 3- The Wide Window

The Baudelaire orphans are faced yet again with a new challenge, and Count Olaf has devised yet another plan to get hold of the Baudelaire fortune. After their unfortunate experience with the now dead Uncle Monty, the orphans are sent to live with their Aunt Josephine by the enourmous Lake Lachrymose. Mr Poe, the banker in charge of the Baudelaire fortune, brings them to Josephine Anwhistle's house, which sits precariously atop a hill overlooking the lake. She is kind to the orphans, but is terrified of absolutely everything, from cooking to estate agents. On a trip to the grocery store, they bump into a sailor who claims to be called Captain Sham. But the Baudelaires regognise him instantly as Count Olaf. They try to explain this to Aunt Josephine, but she doesn't believe them because of Captain Sham's charming personality. The next day, they find the library window smashed, and Aunt Josephine is nowhere to be found. They find a note that she left before she jumped out of the window, which states that after her death, Captain Sham will be the new Baudelaire guardian. But Klaus notices several grammar mistakes, which Aunt Josephine (being a huge fan of grammar) would never make. The siblings come to the conclusion that it must be a fake written by Count Olaf, and try to convince Mr Poe. But when Mr Poe compares it with Josephine's handwriting, it appears to have been written by her. They all go to a resturant, The Anxious Clown, to discuss the terms of adoption with Captain Sham. The children need to buy more time, so each sneak peppermints into their mouths. They are all allergic to peppermints, so Mr Poe tells them to go and lie down at Aunt Josephine's house. They study the note some more, and Klaus manages to use the grammar mistakes to work out a secret message- CURDLED CAVE. But suddenly, a hurricane hits and sends the house toppling down into the lake. The children escape and run down to the pier, hoping to catch a ferry to Curdled Cave. The ferry service is closed, but they decide to steal one of Captain Sham's boats, and do so by almost getting caught by one of Olaf's comrades. They sail safely to the cave, and find Josephine waiting inside. After a lot of persuasion, she agrees to go back with them across the lake to prove she isn't dead. But the boat gets suddenly attacked by lachrymose leeches, who almost manage to destroy the boat (and people on board). But another boat comes to their rescue, and they climb aboard just in time, only to find that the driver of the boat is Captain Sham. He pushes Josephine overboard, and then sails back to the pier. The children desperately try to explain the situation to Mr Poe, but he of course does not believe them. But Sunny, having four extremely sharp teeth, bites off Captain Sham's false peg-leg, revealing Count Olaf's signature eye tattoo underneath.

Unfortunately, he manages to escape before Mr Poe can catch him, and the orphans must be sent to live with a new guardian.