Дейзи Медоус - Lucy Longwhiskers Gets Lost

“What’s the long tube for?” asked Lily, pointing to the contraption that Mr. Cleverfeather was holding.

“It’s my latest invention,” Mr. Cleverfeather said. “A beef lower. Er, I mean a leaf blower. Leaves get everywhere, you see, and mess up my inventions.” He squinted at Jess and Lily. “What sort of creatures are you?”

“Jess and Lily are young humans,” Goldie explained. “They’re clever and brave.”

“Most interesting,” said Mr. Cleverfeather. “But why are you here?”

Goldie told him about Lucy, the Boggits, and the Blossom Briar.

“Have you seen Lucy?” Lily asked.

“I’m afraid not,” said Mr. Cleverfeather.

Lily wasn’t surprised. He didn’t seem to have very good eyesight.

“You could try my telescope,” Mr. Cleverfeather suggested. “Maybe you can spot the runny babbit—er, bunny rabbit.” He opened the back door and led them onto a balcony.

Mr. Cleverfeather lifted a cover made of leaves stitched together, revealing a wooden telescope. Lily crouched down to look through it, scanning the forest in all directions. Suddenly, she caught sight of something moving at the top of a chestnut tree.

“It’s Lucy!” she yelled. “But she’s in a cage. Her ears are droopy and she looks so sad.”

Jess and Goldie gasped as they took turns looking through the telescope at the little rabbit.

Faintly, Lucy’s voice floated toward them. “Help! Please, someone help me!”

“She’s really scared!” Goldie cried.

Jess clenched her fists. “Let’s get her out of there, right now!”

“But she’s so high up in that tree,” Lily said despairingly. “We’ll never reach her!”

“Ahem. There is a way,” said a voice.

“Mr. Cleverfeather!” said Jess, turning to see the owl standing behind them.

“You can use my pea-shoot laugh,” Mr. Cleverfeather explained. “I mean, my secret path. Ta-da!” He swished back a curtain of willow fronds, revealing a wooden path covered in vines that snaked through the treetops.

“A walkway!” cried Lily.

“It helps me get around,” said Mr. Cleverfeather. “My old wings aren’t what they used to be.”

Thanking Mr. Cleverfeather, Goldie, Jess, and Lily ran off along the walkway, grabbing the wooden railings to keep their balance. Soon they were close enough to see Lucy huddled in a cage made from sticks and rope.

“Help!” Lucy whimpered.

“We’re here, Lucy!” Goldie called. “We’ll get you out!”

When she saw them, Lucy’s ears perked up. “Goldie and the girls! Hooray!” she shouted, hopping around on her tiny paws.

When they reached the cage, Jess tugged at the ropes that held the bars together—but they wouldn’t budge. Lily and Goldie tried, too, but the ropes remained firmly tied.

Lucy’s ears drooped back down. In a trembling voice, she asked, “Will I have to stay here forever?”

“Of course not!” said Lily. “We’re going to save you.” But she gave Jess and Goldie a worried look. How could they free the little bunny?

Goldie was examining the knots that held the ropes in place. “Pongo tied these really tightly. We need something to loosen them...”

Jess felt a fizz of excitement as an idea came to her. She took her pencil out of her shorts pocket and worked the tip into the bunched-up knot.

Goldie’s green eyes gleamed as the knot fell apart. “Great job, Jess!”

Jess took one end of the rope, Lily the other, and together they undid the cage. The sticks came apart and Lucy bounded out onto the walkway.

“You rescued me!” she cried, her white tail bobbing as she hopped around their feet. “Thank you, Goldie! Thank you, girls!”

Lily kneeled down to pick Lucy up. She curled up in the crook of Lily’s arm, her whiskers twitching happily.

They hurried back to Mr. Cleverfeather’s tree, where the owl gave a delighted squawk. “Young Lucy! I’m so happy to see you wit and fell—er, fit and well.”

Goldie’s tail drooped. “We’ve rescued Lucy,” she said, “but how can we stop the Boggits before they completely destroy the Blossom Briar?”

Jess gave a cry of excitement. “I have an idea! Mr. Cleverfeather, can we borrow your leaf blower?”

Hiding behind a bush next to Goldie’s grotto, Jess got the leaf blower ready. A horrible smell filled the air, like filthy pond water mixed with stinky sneakers and moldy cheese. Through the bush’s leaves, they could see the Boggits stomping around the Blossom Briar. Many of its flowers had been ripped down and lay trampled around the clearing.

Lucy trembled in Lily’s lap and folded her ears over her eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Lily whispered. “We’ll keep you safe.”

Sniff’s dirty, multicolored fur bounced as she clambered onto Whiffy’s back so she could reach more flowers. She tore down a red one, yelling, “This be good Boggit fun!”

Reek jumped up and gripped a branch of the Blossom Briar that was covered in yellow flowers. With a creak, it snapped under his weight. “Haargh! Haargh!” Reek laughed. He threw the branch into the clearing, where Pongo jumped up and down on it, crushing the petals.

Goldie’s eyes flashed. “I think we’ve seen enough,” she whispered. “Hurry, Jess!”

Jess pressed the leaf blower’s button.

Buzzzz!

SWOOOSH!

A gust of air blew, sending trampled petals into a rainbow-colored whirlwind spinning around the Boggits.

“Uggy! Uggy!” Pongo cried.

“Nasty flowers in my fur!” shrieked Sniff. “Get them off!”

Reek yelled in panic. “Beastly petals in my pants!”

“Pooh! I smell like flowers!” Whiffy roared, brushing off blossoms. “Disgusting! Boggits must get out of here!”

Lily, Jess, and Goldie giggled. Even Lucy peeped out when Jess gave another quick blast, making the Boggits shriek.

“What’s happening?” Lucy asked.

“The Boggits like dirt and nasty smells,” Lily whispered, “so if we smother them with pretty flowers, they’ll go away.”

Buzzzz!

The shrieks and yells grew louder.

“Boggits, back to Grizelda’s tower!” Pongo bellowed. “Bath in mud pool will take nasty flower smells away.”

The horrible creatures thundered off into the trees.

“Hooray!” yelled Jess and Lily. Goldie reached up and grabbed their hands, spinning them around in delight, while Lucy hopped beside them, her tiny white tail bouncing.

Then Jess noticed that a familiar orb of yellow-green light was zipping through the trees toward them...

Goldie’s fur stood on end. “Grizelda!”