Daisy Meadows - Bella Tabbypaw in Trouble

The fox cubs laughed so hard they fell over. “There’s no switch for glowworms!” giggled Ruby. “Watch!”

She put her mouth close to Jess’s lantern and whispered, “Wakey, wakey, little glowworms. Rise and shine! It’s glowtime!”

Instantly, there was a soft glimmer that grew brighter and brighter until the tunnel was filled with yellow light.

“Wow!” said Lily. She whispered to the glowworms in her lantern. “Wakey, wakey, rise and shine! It’s glowtime!” She laughed in delight as her lantern lit up, too. The tunnel wasn’t so scary now that she could see clearly.

They were about to set off again when a great gruff shout echoed down the tunnel.

“Boggits!” said Goldie, clutching at Jess and Lily. A moment later, there was a crashing sound and the whole tunnel seemed to shudder.

“It’s an earthquake!” Lily whispered fearfully.

There was another crash. She covered her ears to shut out the noise.

The lanterns went dark.

“Oh, no!” Jess said. “The noise must have frightened the glowworms. It’s too dark to go any farther without them.”

“Glowworms,” Lily whispered, “don’t be frightened. It’s just a noise and we won’t let it hurt you. Please wakey, wakey.”

There was the smallest beam of light.

“Please?” begged Lily. “Rise and shine?”

Rusty crept over. “Hey, wormies!” he whispered. “We’re desperate.”

There was a tiny glimmer, then another, then another. Soon the lantern was filled with glowing lights, and the girls could see again.

“What are the Boggits up to?” said Goldie. “I’m so worried about Bella! Rusty and Ruby, I know it’s scary, but please take us through the tunnels so we can look for her.”

Rusty and Ruby darted away.

As the others followed, Jess noticed that the light from the glowworms was casting huge shadows on the tunnel walls. What are they? she wondered with a flutter of fear. Then she realized! “The fox cubs’ shadows make them seem like giants!” she laughed.

Ruby and Rusty heard. They waved their paws and lashed their tails, making their shadows look like angry monsters!

The tunnel twisted and turned, then widened out. The friends found themselves at the opening of a vast cavern, with a thin, pale shaft of light filtering through a small hole in the roof.

In the middle were four grubby, hairy creatures, covered in fur of sickly yellow, washed-out blue, and dingy green.

Boggits!

“But where’s Bella?” whispered Goldie.

Lily and Jess peered around the cavern. When the Boggits had kidnapped Lucy Longwhiskers, they had locked her inside a cage. What had they done with Bella?

Then, to their surprise, Bella walked out from behind one of the Boggits, wearing her night goggles and backpack, whistling happily!

“At least Bella’s okay,” whispered Jess. “But why is she with the Boggits? And what are they doing down here?”

Lily asked the glowworms to switch off and the glow faded. They all hid beneath an overhanging rock so they could spy on the Boggits without being seen. They could make out lots of tall, thick stone pillars through the gloom that looked as if they were holding up the cavern roof.

“Those pillars are blocking the view,” whispered Lily. She jumped as a Boggit laughed.

“Haargh! Haargh!”

Rusty sniffed. “Pooh, those Boggits stink!”

“Like rotting cauliflowers,” Jess agreed in disgust. “Are they searching for jewels? Can you see what they’re up to, Goldie?”

“Yes,” said the cat. “Whiffy’s scratching herself, Reek is picking his nose, and Sniff and Pongo are carrying huge stones.”

Pongo’s voice echoed around the cavern. “Oy, kittycat,” he grunted to Bella. “Put goggles on and tell Boggits where cracks are in pillars.”

Bella stopped whistling. “All right,” she said. After a moment, she continued. “This one’s cracked.”

Pongo bashed the pillar hard with his stone.

“Hegga, hegga!” chuckled Sniff. “Kittycat can see cracks with goggles. Clever Sniff to think of bringing kittycat to tunnels.”

“Are we going to get some jewels now?” Bella was pointing upward. “You promised you’d help me find some jewels if I helped you with my night goggles.”

Jess glanced at the cave ceiling, where Bella was pointing. She gasped. “Look, Lily! Goldie, see there? On the cavern roof?”

“It’s glittering!” whispered Lily.

“Jewels!” breathed Goldie. “The roof is studded with them, just like the legend said!”

“Poor Bella,” whispered Lily. “She must have left Goldie’s grotto to go exploring and bumped into the Boggits. They’ve tricked her into helping them!”

“But why are the Boggits smashing the pillars?” Jess wondered.

Whiffy gave another pillar a bash. “Boggits are right under Toadstool Glade. When pillars fall, Toadstool Glade will crash down. Bang! Smash! All animals’ nasty cottages fall to bits! Grizelda be pleased!”

Jess, Lily, and Goldie clutched one another in horror!

“This is Grizelda’s most terrible plan yet!” gasped Lily. “All the animals’ homes will be destroyed. They’ll have to leave the forest and Grizelda will have it for herself!”

Goldie quickly explained what was happening to Ruby and Rusty. “To save Friendship Forest, we’ve got to stop the Boggits from smashing those pillars,” she said urgently.

Jess glanced at her lantern. “Lily,” she said, “remember how the glowworms’ light cast big shadows on the wall?”

Lily nodded.

“It’s given me an idea for scaring away the Boggits,” said Jess. “A shadow monster!”

“Brilliant!” said Lily. “But we can’t scare Bella.” She thought for a moment. “I know! Quiet, everyone!”

She picked up a stone and threw it as far as possible across the cavern. As she heard it land, the Boggits turned toward it. They’d heard it, too.

“What be that?” asked Whiffy.

“Boggits look,” said Pongo. “Come on.”

All four lumbered toward where the stone had landed.

In a flash, Lily darted out and scooped Bella up. The little kitten gave a happy squeak and started purring.

“Hi, Lily—” Bella started to say, but Lily hushed her.

She darted back behind the rock, where Jess and Goldie hugged Bella with relief.

“Thank goodness you’re safe!” said Goldie. She explained that the Boggits had tricked Bella into helping them with their plan.

Bella was horrified. “Knock the cottages down? Destroy Toadstool Glade?” she whispered. “I thought they were being nice. They can’t ruin the village!”

“You’re right,” said Jess. “And we need a brave little explorer to help stop them.”