Emily Prickleback's Clever Idea Read online

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map of Friendship Forest

  Epigraph

  CHAPTER ONE: Gold in the Mist

  CHAPTER TWO: The Waterwheel

  CHAPTER THREE: Unwelcome Visitors

  CHAPTER FOUR: A Threat to Willowtree River

  CHAPTER FIVE: Kingfishers in Trouble

  CHAPTER SIX: A Cleverfeather Invention!

  CHAPTER SEVEN: Attack!

  CHAPTER EIGHT: The Rushy River Race

  Sneak Peek

  Puzzle Fun!

  Lily and Jess’s Animal Facts

  Copyright

  Lily Hart put the box she was carrying gently down on the table. “This is my favorite part,” she said, tucking her short, dark hair behind her ears.

  Her best friend, Jess Forester, stood next to her. It was an early Saturday morning, and the misty air was making her blond hair even curlier than usual. “It’s one of the best things about Helping Paw,” she said. “Sending animals home when they’re better!”

  Lily nodded. She felt so lucky that her parents ran the Helping Paw Wildlife Hospital in a barn near their house. She and Jess both adored animals and helped out there whenever they could. She carefully opened the box and smiled at the cute little hedgehog curled up inside. The hedgehog’s leg had been hurt, so its owner had brought it to Helping Paw. Now that its leg was better, it was time for the hedgehog to go home.

  Lily picked up the hedgehog and brought it over to its owner.

  “Oh, Snicklefritz, I missed you!” the young woman said. “Thanks, girls!” She cuddled the hedgehog closely and then went over to talk with Mr. Hart.

  As Jess watched, something else caught her eye … a flash of gold.

  “Look, Lily!” she exclaimed. “Did you see that?”

  “What?” asked Lily.

  Jess peered through the mist. “I’m sure I saw golden fur,” she said.

  Lily felt a shiver of excitement. “Do you think it’s Goldie?”

  Goldie was a beautiful green-eyed cat, and the girls’ special friend. She had taken them on lots of adventures in Friendship Forest, a magical world where the most amazing thing happened—all the animals talked!

  “Yes, there she is!” cried Lily. Both girls ran to the tall clump of rushes that grew beside Brightley Stream. They stroked the golden cat while she purred happily, rubbing against their legs.

  “I wish you could talk in our world, Goldie,” said Lily. “I wonder if Friendship Forest needs help again!”

  A horrible witch called Grizelda wanted to drive the animals out of the forest so she could have it all to herself. Friendship Forest was full of beautiful trees and flowers, with the animals’ beautiful homes dotted among them. Grizelda wanted to turn it into a dark, gloomy place that only a witch would like. The girls and Goldie had managed to stop her evil plans so far, but now Grizelda had new magical helpers—dragons!

  With a swish of her tail, Goldie bounded toward the stepping stones and crossed into Brightley Meadow.

  Lily and Jess followed her to the lifeless oak tree that stood in the middle of the misty meadow. They knew what was going to happen next!

  As Goldie reached the tree, it was suddenly bathed in sunlight. Leaves sprang from the branches and bright-yellow flowers blossomed in the grass below. Butterflies and bees appeared from nowhere and beautiful birdsong echoed all around.

  “It’s so exciting when the tree comes to life,” Jess squealed, as letters appeared, carved into the broad trunk. Jess and Lily held hands and read them together. “Friendship Forest!”

  As they spoke, a little door with a leaf-shaped handle appeared in the trunk. Jess opened it and Goldie darted into the golden glow that shone inside.

  The girls followed her through the door and into the shimmering light. They felt a tingly feeling all over. Lily squeezed Jess’s arm happily, knowing that the tingle meant they were shrinking, just a little bit.

  As the golden glow faded, the girls found themselves in a beautiful clearing surrounded by tall trees. Tiny cottages nestled among tree roots, and the warm air was filled with the scent of flowers. They were back in Friendship Forest! And in front of them, standing up with a golden scarf around her neck, was Goldie.

  “Hello, girls,” she said.

  “Finally we can talk to you!” cried Lily, as both girls hugged her.

  “It’s wonderful to be back in the forest,” said Jess. “But is everything okay? Is Grizelda causing trouble?”

  Goldie shook her head. “Everything is fine! I brought you here so I could take you to see something special.”

  “Ooh, what?” asked Jess excitedly.

  “The Rushy River Race!” Goldie cried.

  “A boat race!” said Lily. “I can’t wait!”

  Goldie bent down to pick up a basket that was tucked in the roots of the Friendship Tree. “I’ve got another surprise for you!” she said with a smile. She opened the lid and the girls peeked inside.

  “Mmmm! Blossom buns and watercress sandwiches!” said Lily.

  “Cherry bread!” said Jess. “And bottles of strawberry soda—yum!”

  “Everyone who goes to the Rushy River Race takes a picnic to share with their friends,” Goldie said, shutting the lid.

  Lily and Jess grinned at each other. Going to Friendship Forest was always exciting, but coming for a race and a picnic sounded even better!

  “The race is at Willowtree River,” Goldie continued as they walked. “Do you remember our adventure there?”

  “Yes, that was when we rescued little Ellie Featherbill,” said Lily, smiling at the thought of the adorable duckling. Maybe they’d see her again today!

  As they wandered through Toadstool Glade, Molly Twinkletail the mouse waved to them from the Toadstool Café. “Hello!” she called from the window. The little mouse was sitting inside, eating toffee toast with her mole friend, Lola Velvetnose.

  “Hello, Molly!” said Jess and Lily.

  Lola’s little pink nose went woffle woffle as she sniffed to discover who Molly was talking to. “I smell honey,” she said, peering through her round purple-framed glasses. “It’s Jess!”

  Lily laughed. “Lola always says you smell like honey, Jess,” she said.

  Lola’s nose went woffle woffle again. “And that must be you, Lily,” she said. “You smell like strawberries.”

  “Thank you, Lola!” Lily said, laughing. “Are you coming to the Rushy River Race?”

  “As soon as we’ve finished our toffee toast,” said Molly. “I’m so excited!”

  Jess, Lily, and Goldie set off again, passing other animals on their way to the river. Some carried picnic baskets, some had blankets or umbrellas, and everyone was chattering happily.

  “What a beautiful day!” said Lily.

  “The Shining House makes sure it’s always sunny and warm here,” Jess remembered happily.

  “Thanks to you two,” added Goldie.

  The Shining House was cared for by the Flufftail squirrel family, who kept its magic working so that warm, bright sunlight always shone beneath the trees.

  But recently, Chilly, Grizelda’s ice dragon, had put a spell on the poor squirrels, and the magic stopped until Jess and Lily found a way to get the blue dragon to reverse his spell.

  Goldie pointed through a gap in the trees. “There’s Willowtree River!”

  So many animals were crowded at the riverside that the girls could only just see the water, twinkling like a jewel in the sunshine.

  “Look!” Goldie pointed her paw. The teams were getting ready by the starting line. The Featherbill duck family chatted beside their pretty blue-and-yellow barge. The Greenhop frog family had brought their widest lily pad, which
was the size of Jess’s kitchen table at home, and the Flippershell turtles were lining up, too, each wearing a cap of a different color of the rainbow. Even their rowboat was rainbow-colored!

  Jess waved to the Paddlefoot beaver family, who were sitting one behind the other in their orange canoe. On the banks all around, animals were laying out their picnics, and sitting at a judge’s table were three elegant swan sisters. Silvia Whitewing, the eldest, nodded gracefully to the girls when they waved.

  Then Goldie turned to Jess and Lily. “There’s one more thing to do before the race can begin. Come on!”

  Jess and Lily followed her downstream along the riverbank to a beautifully polished waterwheel. It turned slowly and steadily as its blades paddled through the water, making a lovely splish splish sound.

  In front of the waterwheel, a family of hedgehogs were rolling around on the leaves and flowers that littered the riverbank. They spiked the leaves with their prickles, then scurried to shake them off onto a pile, well away from the waterwheel.

  One of the smaller hedgehogs scurried over toward the girls.

  “It’s Harry Prickleback!” said Lily.

  “Hello, Jess and Lily,” said Harry, as two more adorable little hedgehogs looked curiously at the girls. “This is my brother, Herbie. And this is our little sister, Emily.”

  Emily was wearing a pretty, sparkly tiara on her head. Lots of leaves and cotton-candy-scented petals were caught in her prickles. “Excuse me,” she said, touching Jess’s knee. “I like your curly yellow hair.”

  “Thanks,” said Jess. “I like your tiara!”

  “Emily won that in a competition,” Harry explained proudly. “She had to solve a lot of really hard puzzles.”

  Lily smiled at Emily. “You must be very smart,” she said.

  “Oh, yes,” said Mr. Prickleback proudly. “Our little Emily is really smart!”

  Emily’s nose blushed pink.

  “Your tiara looks so pretty with the petals on your prickles,” said Lily. “We should decorate our hair like that!”

  Emily giggled. “It’s not decoration,” she explained. “It’s work. We collect leaves and petals on our prickles so they don’t clog up the waterwheel.”

  Mrs. Prickleback bustled over to help get the leaves off Emily’s back. “The Willowtree River flows when we turn the waterwheel,” she explained. “We have to make sure it never stops, or the river will disappear.”

  “Only the Pricklebacks know how to turn the wheel,” Goldie said. “That’s why I’ve come to ask them a favor.”

  Mr. Prickleback grinned. “Anything for you, Goldie,” he said.

  “Will you make the river flow a little more quickly, please?” she asked. “We want to give the boats a flying start!”

  The younger hedgehogs squealed in delight.

  “Of course,” said their dad. “Everyone, take your places!”

  Lily and Jess grinned at each other happily. They couldn’t wait to see the Pricklebacks in action!

  Jess and Lily watched the hedgehogs waddle over to the waterwheel. Inside it were five smaller wheels. Each of the Pricklebacks climbed into one.

  “Ready, team?” asked Mr. Prickleback.

  “Ready!” they cried.

  “Then, one … and two … and … Ready! Steady! CURL!”

  The five hedgehogs immediately curled up into spiky balls. They rolled forward, each making their own wheel turn. The five little wheels each turned a cog that clicked and clanked, then fit together to turn the waterwheel. Suddenly, the water started to rush through it much faster than before.

  “Wow!” said Lily, as the hedgehogs rolled so quickly they became prickly blurs. “No wonder only the Pricklebacks can make the waterwheel work!”

  But as the girls watched the waterwheel in delight, Goldie gave a cry. “Oh, no! Girls, look!” she shouted.

  A familiar orb of yellow-green light was drifting through the trees, right toward them.

  “It’s Grizelda!” Jess called to the hedgehogs.

  Emily stopped rolling and uncurled. Her little paws flew to her mouth. “The witch!” she squealed.

  All the Pricklebacks stopped rolling. They jumped down from the waterwheel and huddled together, their spines quivering with worry.

  The orb burst in a shower of fiery yellow-green sparks. In its place stood a tall, bony woman with green hair swirling around her face like a bunch of snakes. She folded her arms and tapped the sharply pointed toe of one of her high-heeled boots.

  “CURL!” Mrs. Prickleback shouted. In a flash, all the hedgehogs rolled themselves into round, prickly balls.

  “Your spiky little friends are right to be afraid,” Grizelda sneered. “My next dragon is going to make all the animals leave this forest. Then it will be mine forever! Hahahaa!”

  Jess glanced at Lily. Her friend’s eyes were wide, but she could tell Lily was determined not to let the witch see that she was scared.

  “We’re ready for anything your dragon does!” Jess said bravely.

  “We’ll see about that!” screeched Grizelda. Then, with a snap of her fingers, she disappeared.

  Goldie slipped her paws into Jess’s and Lily’s hands. “What do you think this dragon will do?” she asked.

  They stood, backs together, watching and waiting. But the forest looked just as lovely as before.

  The Pricklebacks had just started to uncurl when there was a mighty roar from above.

  “Raaargh!”

  Circling in the air was Dusty, Grizelda’s yellow dragon!

  The Pricklebacks seemed to be too frightened to move as the dragon gave a rasping giggle. “Heeheeheeheehee! I’m going to make it lovely and dry,” she said. “Friendship Forest will be like a desert!”

  Jess was horrified. “You can’t do that!” she yelled. “What about the animals?”

  “Heeheehee! Who cares about them?” said Dusty. “My yellow scales will look so pretty in the sun!”

  Suddenly, she swooped lower.

  “Oh, no,” cried Jess, “she’s heading for the Pricklebacks!”

  “Run!” shouted Lily.

  “Hide!” yelled Goldie and Jess together.

  But the Pricklebacks didn’t move. They shook with fright, their spines quivering.

  Dusty flew toward them. She gave another sandy roar and chanted:

  “Magic make these hedgehogs change

  So they all turn to stone.

  Then the river will flow no more,

  But be as dry as bone.”

  Lily, Jess, and Goldie watched in horror as the hedgehogs’ brown prickles turned gray. Finally, their trembling paws turned gray and were still.

  Jess ran to pick up Harry. His spines were cold and hard, and he didn’t feel like a real hedgehog at all. She clutched him to her and turned to Lily and Goldie. Her face was pale.

  “Oh, no!” she gasped. “The poor Pricklebacks. Grizelda’s dragon has turned them to stone!”

  With a grinding noise, the waterwheel slowed to a stop.

  The yellow dragon flew away, giggling to herself. “Heeheehee! Now the forest will be dry and lovely, just right for sunbathing!”

  Goldie and Lily rushed over to the stone hedgehogs.

  “Maybe they just need waking up,” Lily said desperately.

  Jess looked at Herbie. His black beady eyes were open wide, and his little nose was frozen in the air. “Herbie?” she called, but the hedgehog didn’t move.

  “It’s no good,” Goldie said finally. “We can’t break dragon magic, remember? Dragons have to reverse their spells themselves.”

  Jess was close to tears. “But we can’t leave them like this,” she said, “just four tiny hedgehog statues.”

  Lily gasped. “Four!” she repeated. “There are only four of them.”

  Goldie grasped Lily’s hands. “You’re right!” she said.

  Jess was puzzled. “What do you mean?” Then she realized. “Of course—there should be five! Where is little Emily Prickleback?”

  As th
ey looked around, they heard a faint squeak. Then a little pile of leaves and petals started to uncurl, and a tiny, snuffly face peeked out.

  “Emily!” cried Lily. “You had so many petals stuck on your prickles that Dusty didn’t spot you.”

  She picked up the trembling creature, who snuggled into the crook of her elbow.

  “What about my family?” Emily asked tearfully.

  Jess stroked her cheek with a finger. “Don’t you worry,” she said softly. “We figured out how to get Chilly the ice dragon to reverse his magic. We’ll find out how to make Dusty end hers, too.”

  Emily blinked back tears and clenched her little paws. “Mom and Dad say I’m good at figuring things out,” she said, “so I’ll help!”

  Leaving the statues behind, they hurried back up the river, where they found the animals clustered near the starting line, still waiting for the river to speed up so the race could begin. The Featherbill family had started a water balloon fight and the ducklings were all waddling around, chasing one another with colorful water balloons. Ellie Featherbill squealed in delight as a balloon burst all over her fluffy feathers.

  “Look,” Mrs. Featherbill cried. “The girls and Goldie are back!”

  Goldie quickly explained what had happened. Everyone started chattering with worry.

  Agatha Glitterwing the magpie put a comforting wing around Emily. “We can’t have the race now,” she said. “Not while the poor Pricklebacks are under a spell!”

  Lily was staring at the river. Something about it didn’t look the same. “Does the river look shallower to you?” she asked Jess anxiously.

  Emily raced to the riverside. “The waterwheel must be stopping. The river’s not just slowing down, it’s disappearing!”

  Goldie’s whiskers quivered with worry. “We need to save Emily’s family so they can get it turning again. If we don’t, the river will turn as dry as bone, just like Dusty said in her spell!”

  The Greenhops hopped up and down in a panic, croaking, “No Willowtree River? What will we do?”