Дейзи Медоус - Chloe Slipperslide’s Secret

“Look,” Goldie called. “Paw prints!”

Everyone crowded around. There were two different sets of paw prints in the soft mud at the water’s edge.

Lily peered over Jess’s shoulder. “Those must be Snippit’s,” she said, looking at the bird prints. “He stole the scissors from Agatha’s shop, remember? I bet he’s stolen the spoons and the raft, too!”

“And those must be Chloe’s,” Jess groaned, looking at the other paw prints. “Now how will we get to those water lilies?”

Goldie’s ears suddenly pricked up. “What’s that noise?” she asked.

The girls listened carefully. “It’s quacking!” said Lily.

Around the river bend, a pretty blue-and-yellow barge appeared. A family of ducks stood on deck, waving.

“It’s the Featherbills!” cried Jess. “Thank goodness—we can ask them to help us!”

“Hello!” Mr. and Mrs. Featherbill and their eight ducklings quacked.

“Can you help us?” Jess called. “We need to get past the Rushing Rapids to save Chloe Slipperslide!”

“Certainly,” said Mrs. Featherbill. “We heard about poor Chloe. What a flapdoodle! Come aboard.”

“Good luck!” Silvia the swan called as the girls scrambled on board and the barge moved away from the bank. “We hope you help poor Chloe.”

“Thanks! We’ll look out for your raft and spoons!” yelled Lily.

“We need to get some rainbow water lilies,” Goldie explained to the Featherbill family.

“We’ll find them in no time,” said Mr. Featherbill. “Don’t you worry!”

Mr. and Mrs. Featherbill turned the tiller, steering the barge out into the center of the lake. Ahead, the water was dark blue and bubbling.

“The Rushing Rapids,” called Mrs. Featherbill. “Hold on, everybody!”

The girls and Goldie held onto the railing at the edge of the barge. Little Ellie Featherbill ran to cling to Jess’s ankle, and her seven brothers and sisters held onto Lily and Goldie. As they reached the rapids, the barge rocked backward and forward. The ducklings quacked with excitement.

“It’s like being on an amusement park ride!” said Lily.

Then the rocking stopped, and the barge was gliding through calm waters once more.

“Look!” cried Lulu Featherbill. “There, in the middle of those green lily pads!”

Jess and Lily craned to look. Rainbow-colored blooms shimmered on the surface of the huge round leaves.

“We found them!” cried Jess.

“We have to stop here,” said Mrs. Featherbill. “The barge can’t go any closer or we’ll damage the lily pads.”

Jess and Lily looked at each other in dismay.

“Don’t worry! We ducklings are so light we can walk on them,” said Ellie.

The ducklings jumped overboard and arranged themselves into a chain, holding one another’s wings, as they reached across the lily pads to the flowers in the middle.

“Hooray!” Jess cried as Ellie picked the first water lily and passed it from duckling to duckling until it reached the girls.

Lily gazed at the gorgeous flower.

The petals really were every color of the rainbow. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

Once they had enough flowers and the ducklings were safely back on board, Lily couldn’t resist tasting a petal. “It’s delicious!” she said. “Like fresh lettuce flavored with ripe blueberries! No wonder these are Chloe’s favorite.”

“They should be your favorite, too,” Ellie said, “because of your name.”

Lily smiled and stroked the duckling’s feathery head.

The ducks took the friends back through the Rushing Rapids to where they’d picked them up. Goldie and the girls thanked them for their help and waved good-bye.

“We’ve got Chloe’s favorite food,” Jess said happily. She looked down at the footprints they’d seen earlier. “Now we just have to find a way to get her necklace! Let’s follow these—hopefully they’ll lead us to Chloe.”

Lily and Goldie agreed, and they set off. Alongside the paw prints were some strange marks, as if something heavy had been dragged along.

“It must have been the swans’ raft!” said Lily. “But where were the Witchy Waste creatures taking it?”

“I think it might be to Toadstool Glade!” said Goldie. “Look, we’re almost there.”

As they entered the glade, they stopped and stared in astonishment. The pretty little cottages and the Toadstool Café were empty. But right in the middle was something huge, silvery, and messy, glittering in the sunlight.

“What is it?” gasped Goldie.

Jess moved closer. It was a huge pile of objects, all thrown on top of one another. “It’s an enormous nest,” she said, “but it’s not built of twigs—it’s made of all sorts of shiny things! Pots... and pans...”

“Silver spoons!” said Lily, pointing. “I bet they’re Silvia’s.”

“And the Whitewings’ raft!” Goldie cried. “I’ll bet everything here has been stolen!”

“Those naughty creatures,” said Jess, shaking her head.

They heard a scuffling sound and whirled around to see Chloe and the Witchy Waste animals entering the glade, each carrying shiny buttons, bowls, and buckles.

Hopper, Masha, and Peep hurried to the nest and stood guarding it while Snippit flew to the top. “Look what Chloe’s stolen!” he screeched.

“Heeheehee! I like making a lovely, shiny mess,” squawked Chloe.

Lily looked at Jess in dismay. “She sounds just like Snippit!” she said.

Jess nodded. “And look at her fur,” she said. Chloe’s fur wasn’t smooth and sleek anymore—it was sticking up in muddy tufts. “She’s just as dirty as Snippit now,” Jess said.

Goldie put her paws to her face. “We have to get her favorite necklace and break the spell!”

“I’ll do it!” said Jess. She crept up behind Chloe as quietly as she could, then dove for her. But the little otter wriggled free and raced away.

“Missed!” Jess groaned.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Lily. “Look, she’s not wearing her necklace anymore!”

“But now what?” said Goldie. “It could be anywhere!”

“Wait!” said Jess. “The necklace is shiny. I bet Chloe put it on the nest!”

Lily smiled in relief. “That means all we have to do is find it.”

Goldie pointed at Hopper, Masha, and Peep, who were still standing close to the nest. “But how are we ever going to get close enough to look?”

As Goldie and the girls were working out what to do, some of the Friendship Forest animals crept back into Toadstool Glade.

Mrs. Longwhiskers held Lily’s hand. “They took my frying pan,” she said.

“Hard luck!” cawed Snippit.

“I want my jewelry back!” said Agatha Glitterwing.