Daisy Meadows - Molly Twinkletail Runs Away

Jess gasped. “Oh, no!”

As the orb got closer, all the animals stopped what they were doing to watch. When it had reached the center of the meadow, there was a cra-ack and a shower of green sparks. When the sparks cleared, the girls saw a tall woman in a shiny purple tunic and tight black pants. She had cold, dark eyes and a thin, bony nose.

“Stay back!” Goldie warned everyone. “Grizelda the witch is here!” All the animals squeaked in fear.

Grizelda squashed some yellow flowers with the pointy toe of her high-heeled boot. “Well, well.” She sneered. “It’s the cat and her interfering humans.”

“Go away, Grizelda!” Jess shouted. “Go back to your tower and leave Friendship Forest alone!”

Grizelda pointed a finger at Woody’s pile of apples, and they disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. With gasps and shouts, the forest animals shrank away from her. Some of them huddled together in groups, with big ones shielding the little ones. Some were crying, and others ran to hide behind the stalls.

“The poor animals,” whispered Lily. “It’s the first time they’ve seen Grizelda. They’re so frightened!”

Grizelda’s eyes glittered. “Having a nice time at your little fair, are you?” she screeched. “You should be more careful. I’ve seen your Treasure Tree, with its silly fruit and nuts. While you’re here enjoying yourselves, my Boggits are destroying it. Soon you won’t have anything to eat!”

The animals gasped with horror. Lily, Jess, and Goldie looked at one another in dismay. They’d met the Boggits—Grizelda’s filthy, horrible helpers—once before.

“Ha-ha!” shrieked Grizelda. “You’ll all have to leave Friendship Forest and I’ll make it lovely and gloomy and move here instead!”

The animals whimpered with fright.

Jess stepped forward. “Grizelda,” she said bravely, “we stopped you before and we’ll stop you again!”

The witch glared down her pointed nose. “Think again, humans. This time there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

She snapped her fingers. With a flash and a shower of sparks, Grizelda disappeared.

Jess turned to Lily. “We need to get to the Treasure Tree and stop those Boggits!” she cried.

Just then, the girls heard a voice say, “Excuse me!”

They looked around. The whole Twinkletail family was clustered around their ankles!

Goldie frowned. “Where’s Molly?” she asked the mice.

“That’s what we came to tell you all! We don’t know!” cried Mrs. Twinkletail, wringing her tiny paws. “We haven’t seen her all afternoon. I’m so worried about her. It’s not safe with Grizelda and the Boggits around.”

Lily thought hard. What was happening when she saw Molly scurry off? Woody had been saying that he didn’t have any small apples...

“Oh, no!” she cried. “I think Molly’s gone to the Treasure Tree to collect apples for Woody.”

Jess groaned. “But that’s where the Boggits are!”

The Twinkletail family squeaked with panic.

“What if the Boggits snatch her?” said Mrs. Twinkletail, her whiskers quivering. “Oh, dear, oh, dear! My poor little Molly!”

Jess and Lily looked anxiously at Goldie. She nodded as if she could tell what they were thinking.

“We’ll find Molly, Mrs. Twinkletail,” Goldie said. “We’ll bring her home safely, I promise!”

Goldie took hold of the girls’ hands and led them across Sunshine Meadow.

“I know a way to get to the Treasure Tree in no time,” she said. “Come with me!”

On the other side of the meadow, they found a tall stork wearing a flying helmet with a badge that read ACE AIR TRAVEL.

“It’s Captain Ace!” said Lily. “We met him the last time we came to Friendship Forest.”

Goldie quickly explained the situation to Ace. “Will you give us a ride to the Treasure Tree, Captain?”

“Ace Air Travel at your service,” said the stork, saluting. “Follow me!”

They hurried to a small grassy clearing. In the middle were two wooden benches.

Lily grinned. “This must be Ace Air Travel’s departure lounge,” she said.

The stork gave a small cough. “Ahem. Look up, please, young misses...”

Floating above the trees was a brightly colored patchwork hot-air balloon.

“Wow!” said Jess. “Are we flying in that?”

Goldie grinned. “We are.”

Ace untied a rope from a peg in the ground and pulled. Down came the balloon’s basket, low enough for the girls and Goldie to climb in.

Ace pulled a cord that dangled down into the basket. Whoosh! A stream of bubbles shot up into the open mouth of the balloon.

“It runs on bubble power,” Ace explained. “Mr. Cleverfeather invented it for me. Ready for takeoff?”

“Yes!” the girls and Goldie cried.

The stork saluted again. “Knots away!” he called, untying a second rope and freeing the balloon. The basket bounced gently, then drifted upward.

Ace’s great wings rose and fell lazily as he flew alongside the balloon with the rope in his beak. Goldie and the girls looked down over the treetops. It was like a sea of green, yellow, and gold.

“Look, we’re just passing Sparkly Falls,” said Goldie, pointing to a beautiful waterfall.

Jess looked down at the flash of sparkling blue amid the greenery. “I wish I had time to sketch it! Oh, isn’t Friendship Forest beautiful?”

With a tilt of his wings, Ace changed the balloon’s direction. Ahead was an enormous tree that towered above the rest of the forest.

“And there’s the Treasure Tree!” said Goldie. “I wonder if Molly’s gotten there yet?”

Lily’s eye was caught by a glimpse of sickly yellow among the Treasure Tree’s branches. It looked like dirty, mud-stained fur, and she’d seen it before... “Boggits!” she cried.

“Poor Molly might already be down there,” said Lily. “If she’s run into the Boggits, she’ll be so scared.”

As they got closer to the Treasure Tree, the girls saw that it was much taller than all the other trees, and its leaves shimmered in the sunshine. Different kinds of fruit and nuts covered its branches. There were apples and oranges, raspberries and strawberries, spiky pineapples and plump peaches. Nuts hung among the fruit in shiny clusters.

“Wow,” said Jess with a gasp. “It’s amazing!”

“And the Boggits are ruining it,” Goldie said grimly. “Look!” She pointed to where two of the Boggits had climbed onto one of the lower branches. One of them was ripping off fruit and throwing it onto the ground while another Boggit was yanking on a higher branch. It snapped off with a crack. The Boggit used the broken branch to whack more fruit from the tree.

“Oh, no,” said Lily in dismay. “The more damage they do, the less food there will be for all the animals. We’ve got to stop those Boggits!”