Дейзи Медоус - Chloe Slipperslide’s Secret

“They’ve got my shiny pen!” said Mr. Silverback the badger.

“And we need that necklace,” Jess whispered to Lily.

She marched to the nest, but Snippit flew at her, snapping crossly. She quickly stepped back.

When Agatha flew toward the nest, Snippit jabbed at her with his beak.

“If we’re going to search for the necklace,” Lily said softly, “we have to make those Witchy Waste creatures leave the nest. And Chloe, too.”

Jess sighed. “Even if we manage to make them leave, there’s too much stuff to search through it all,” she said. “We’ll never find the necklace quickly enough.”

“What’s this?” said a familiar voice. “A nettle mest? I mean a metal nest?”

It was their friend Mr. Cleverfeather the owl.

“Hello!” cried Lily. “Maybe you can help us!”

“Goodness! Less and Jilly,” he said, getting his words muddled as usual. “I came to look for my telescope. I heard the thinny shings were here. I mean, shiny things.”

Jess told him what had happened, and why they needed to find Chloe’s necklace.

“Do you have an invention that might help?” Lily asked.

Mr. Cleverfeather put a wingtip to his forehead and frowned in thought. “I’ve just the thing!” he said. “Sack boon!” he cried, flying off. “I mean, back soon!”

The girls turned back to the nest to see Snippit hopping on top of it. “We need more!” he screeched. “It’s not big enough or messy enough yet!”

“That gives me an idea!” Lily whispered to Jess and Goldie. “Let’s pretend we know where there are lots of shiny things they could collect.”

“Okay,” whispered Jess. “Here goes.”

They moved closer to the nest, and Jess in a voice just loud enough for Snippit to hear, “It’s lucky the animals have hidden their best shiny things behind the flowering plum tree.”

“Yes,” Goldie replied loudly. “That’s right down by the river...”

Snippit gave a delighted squawk. “Silly humans!” he said. “Silly cat! Now we know where more shiny things are. Let’s get them!”

The Witchy Waste creatures hopped, flew, and scurried away, with Snippit in the lead. Chloe flapped her paws clumsily behind them.

Jess clapped her hands gleefully.

“It worked!” said Goldie. “Snippit isn’t as smart as Grizelda thought. Come on, let’s find Chloe’s necklace!”

The animals joined the girls as they clambered over the nest.

Jess and Lily poked and prodded as they searched, sending shiny things rattling, tumbling, and clanging to the ground.

“My pen!” cried Mr. Silverback.

“And my frying pan!” said Mrs. Longwhiskers.

Goldie and the girls kept searching. After a while, Lily pulled out a telescope.

“Mr. Cleverfeather will be pleased,” said Jess. “Here he comes!”

The owl flew down, carrying a little round object with lots of magnifying glasses stuck out of it.

“Lake a took at this,” he said. “I mean, take a look. I invented it when Clara Curlyshell the snail got lost. It’s my Shell Seeker.”

“That’s just what we need to find Chloe’s necklace!” said Jess. “And here’s your telescope, Mr. Cleverfeather.”

“You found it!” He beamed. “Dell won! I mean, well done!”

There were two horns sticking out of the top of the machine. Mr. Cleverfeather bent over and spoke into them. “Find silver shells!”

Fooff! With a burst of pink smoke, the Shell Seeker rose up and floated toward the nest. The magnifying glasses twitched this way and that, looking in all directions.

Suddenly, pink smoke puffed— fooff!— from the top of the Shell Seeker. The Shell Seeker dived downward, and then the girls heard clatters and rattles as it rummaged around inside the nest. Then there was another loud fooff! and it reappeared. An arm was sticking out of it—and it was waving Chloe’s necklace!

“Hooray!” cried Lily.

As the Shell Seeker returned, she reached up and got the necklace. Jess grabbed the machine and gave it to Mr. Cleverfeather.

“Janks, Thess,” he said. “I mean...”

She laughed. “We know what you mean.”

“We’ve got Chloe’s favorite food, and her necklace to show her favorite hobby,” said Lily. “Now we have to find out her secret and her favorite place. And I think I know how.”

Goldie gave a puzzled frown. “Even the other Slipperslides didn’t know,” she said. “How will we find out?”

“Do you remember how upset Violet Flippershell was when Snippit did his spell?” asked Lily. “That’s because she’s Chloe’s best friend. We can ask her about the things we need.”

Jess grinned. “And as Violet’s a turtle,” she said, “she’ll be easy to find—with the Shell Seeker!”

Mr. Cleverfeather balanced his invention on his wingtips. “Seek a green shell!” he told it.

As the Shell Seeker took off through the forest, Goldie and the girls dashed after it.

They ran through the trees. Soon, they could just make out screeches and squeals of rage from the Witchy Waste creatures, coming from the path to the river.

“They must have realized that we tricked them,” said Lily. “They sound really mad!”

The Shell Seeker led them back toward the Wide Lake. They left the trees behind and found themselves on a little beach, with soft, powdery sand and shallow pools surrounded by pearly rocks. The lake stretched out before them.

“This place is called Summer Sands,” Goldie told them.

The Shell Seeker lay still on the ground. “It’s stopped,” said Lily. “That must mean Violet’s nearby.”

“She is!” cried Jess. “Look, beneath that overhanging rock!”

The little turtle was sitting alone, staring sadly out across the lake.

“Violet!” Lily called.

The turtle turned. “Chloe?” she said excitedly. Then her face fell. “Oh, hello. I’m glad to see you all, but I really miss my friend.”

Lily lifted Violet up and hugged her. “We’ll find Chloe,” she said.

Jess picked up a pair of little yellow armbands, each marked with a C . “Are these Chloe’s?” she asked.

Violet’s head and legs disappeared into her shell. “Well...” she mumbled from inside.

Lily stroked her shell. “It’s okay. You can tell us,” she said.

Slowly, Violet came out again. “She’s the only Slipperslide who isn’t very good at swimming,” she said, “so I’ve been giving her lessons here. She’s using the armbands until she gets better at it.”

Lily grinned in delight. “And these lessons... are they a secret?”

When Violet nodded again, Jess popped a kiss on her tiny swimming cap. “Thanks to you, we have almost everything we need to break the spell!”