Дейзи Медоус - Ruby Fuzzybrush’s Star Dance

“Hee hee!” Smudge giggled. He flapped his wings and took off. There was a sound of snapping branches as he crashed through the trees on his way back up into the night sky.

Beside Jess, Ruby stared in horror at the place where her family had been. “Mom! Dad! Rusty! They disappeared!” she cried. “Where are they?”

“I don’t know,” said Jess, looking around desperately.

“Oh, no!” cried Lily. “The stars are disappearing, too!”

“The moonstone!” Ruby wailed. “The stars are fading because Smudge has the moonstone and we didn’t finish the dance!” The little fox cub sniffled miserably. Then her eyes widened. “What’s that?”

Lily and Jess looked, and groaned.

A familiar yellow-green orb was flying toward them. With a cra-ack! it exploded in a huge shower of nasty-smelling, yellow-green sparks and Grizelda appeared. Her long green hair snaked around her thin, bony face.

“Grizelda!” said Jess. “What did Smudge do to the Fuzzybrushes? Tell him to bring them back right now!”

The witch threw back her cloak, revealing her shiny purple tunic and pants, and her pointy-toed boots.

“Ha haaa!” she cackled. “No more starlight! The nighttime animals will get lost and fall down holes and bump into things, because they won’t be able to see. Then they’ll have to leave the forest! Ha ha haaa!”

The girls glared at her. Ruby hid behind Jess’s legs.

“That’s not all,” Grizelda said gleefully. “No more starlight means no more Friendship Tree.”

“What?” gasped Lily.

“Without starlight, the silver leaves will fall from the Friendship Tree,” Goldie explained. “And without its leaves, it will lose its magic.”

The girls were horrified.

“But doesn’t that mean...” Jess began.

Goldie nodded sadly. “You wouldn’t be able to come back to Friendship Forest ever again.”

Grizelda gave a wicked laugh. “You interfering girls had better go home before the last leaf on the Friendship Tree falls,” she said scornfully, “or you’ll be stuck here forever!”

Lily and Jess glanced at each other. The thought of never seeing their animal friends again was awful, but so was never being able to go home.

“Oh, Goldie,” said Lily with a sob. “We have to go! We couldn’t leave our families.”

“Yes, go!” sneered Grizelda. “Go away! No more meddling in my plans. Ha haaa!”

She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a burst of smelly yellow sparks.

“I can’t imagine never coming to Friendship Forest again,” Lily said. Tears filled her eyes. “We’d miss you so much!”

Jess put an arm around Lily. She felt like crying, too. “How long do you think we have before the Friendship Tree loses its magic?” she asked.

Goldie looked up at the fading stars. “The last leaf will fall when the last star fades from the sky,” she said grimly.

Jess and Lily looked up.

“We have to try to stop Grizelda’s plan,” said Jess determinedly. “If only we could get the Fuzzybrushes and the moonstone back... they could dance and bring out the stars again. Then we can stay here.”

“Where should we start looking?” Lily asked Goldie.

But the cat was staring at the lighthouse. Her green eyes had narrowed and her tail twitched thoughtfully.

“What is it, Goldie?” asked Lily. “Have you seen something?”

Goldie pointed at the lighthouse wall. “Look at those funny shadows,” she said. “I can’t see what’s casting them.”

Ruby gave a squeal. “One of them’s waving!” she cried.

They peered closer.

“Each shadow has two pointy ears,” said Lily.

“And a bushy tail,” Jess added. “Oh my goodness, they’re—”

“Foxes!” cried Goldie. “Smudge turned the Fuzzybrushes into shadows!”

Ruby ran over to the lighthouse and tried to hug one of the shadow foxes, but she couldn’t.

Lily put her arm around Ruby and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll make Smudge reverse his magic and give us the moonstone. You’ll get your family back.”

Ruby wiped her eyes with her tail. “And then we’ll bring out the stars again,” she said firmly.

Jess tickled the cub’s fluffy ears. “You’re a very brave little fox,” she said.

Goldie had been thinking. “I wonder,” she said, “if any of the nighttime animals are in Toadstool Glade. Maybe someone saw where Smudge went.”

“We have to hurry,” Lily said. As she stared up at the sky, one star blinked out, then another.

The forest was so much quieter than when all the animals were awake. A few of the little cottages they passed still had lights on in the windows, but most of them were dark.

“Look!” Lily pointed to the Toadstool Café. A light was shining from the window. Lily, Jess, Goldie, and Ruby rushed over to peek inside. Lucy Longwhiskers the rabbit and her dad waved to them from the window, then came out to see them. Lucy was wearing spotty pink pajamas and fluffy rabbit slippers.

“Lucy couldn’t sleep, so I was just making her some hot chocolate,” Mr. Longwhiskers explained. “Would you like some, too?”

“I’m afraid we don’t have time,” said Goldie. She quickly explained what had happened.

The rabbits were shocked.

“Poor you,” Lucy said, hugging Ruby. “You must be so worried.”

“I am,” said the fox cub. “We have to find Smudge. Have you seen him?”

The rabbits sadly shook their heads. But then Mr. Longwhiskers hopped up and down excitedly. “You could go to the Midnight Market,” he suggested.

“What’s the Midnight Market?” asked Jess curiously.

“I know!” Ruby scampered off. “I’ll tell you on the way!”

“Thank you!” the girls and Goldie called to the Longwhiskers as they raced after Ruby.

“The Midnight Market is where all the nighttime animals buy things,” Goldie explained. “I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before!”

“Rusty and I always buy star cookies at the market,” said Ruby as they passed the Friendship Tree. “We could get some for him. Star cookies are his favorite treat,” she added sadly.

Goldie hugged her. “That’s a great idea,” she said.

As they passed the Friendship Tree, Lily caught sight of a silver pile on the ground. “What’s that?” she wondered out loud.

Goldie gave a gasp. “Leaves!”

Lily and Jess glanced at each other in dismay. The Friendship Tree’s lower branches were already drooping, and the silver leaves were fading to a pale, ghostly gray. As they watched, another one fluttered down to the ground.

Lily shuddered. “Come on,” she said bravely. “We have to hurry! If we don’t find that dragon soon, the Friendship Tree will lose its magic forever!”