Emily Prickleback's Clever Idea Read online

  “Oh, my!” squawked Agatha. “All the trees and flowers will die, and we’ll have nothing to drink!”

  “We’ll have to leave Friendship Forest!” cried Mr. Silverback the badger.

  “That’s exactly what Grizelda wants,” Jess said. “Did anyone notice which way Dusty went?”

  “She was going to sunbathe,” said little Emily. “Maybe she went to the beach?”

  Lily smiled at the hedgehog. “Great idea, Emily! Your brothers were right—you really are smart.”

  Emily’s nose turned pink again.

  “Coral Cove is close to here,” said Goldie. “It’s a little sandy beach where Willowtree River turns a corner. We just need to follow the river. Come on, let’s see if Dusty’s there!”

  Emily rode in Jess’s pocket, being careful not to prick her with her spines, as the three friends set off.

  “Good luck!” cried the Twinkletails.

  “Take care,” called Mr. Silverback.

  “Don’t worry!” Goldie shouted back. “We’ll save the Pricklebacks!”

  Jess nodded. “After all, we’ve got a very smart hedgehog to help us …”

  The group of friends hurried past trees and bushes. Emily peeked out of Jess’s pocket, holding her tiara in place with one paw.

  Soon the bushes got so thick that they couldn’t see the river at all. As they walked along, they heard a funny noise. “Chee-kee, chee-kee!”

  “It must be a bird,” Lily said, thinking about the birds they sometimes helped at the wildlife hospital. “It sounds upset.”

  They pushed through the thick bushes to the river. As they got closer, they heard more and more bird voices crying out. “Chee-kee! Chee-kee!” they squawked.

  When they reached the river, everyone gasped. The water had almost completely disappeared, leaving only a muddy ditch behind. And stuck in the mud were five small birds! Their feathers were plastered with mud, leaves, and bits of twigs.

  “It’s the Blueflash kingfisher family,” Goldie cried, running to them. “What happened?”

  “Chee-kee! Chee-kee!” Mrs. Blueflash cheeped, ruffling her feathers with worry. “Oh, Goldie! We stopped for a dip on our way to the Rushy River Race, so our colors would look fresh and bright. But now our wings are covered in thick mud so we can’t fly!”

  One of the little Blueflashes flapped his wings, but he couldn’t take off. “We’ll never get home again,” he said sadly. “It’s too far to hop.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll help you,” said Lily. “There must be a way we can clean your feathers.”

  “Lily and Jess help any animals in need,” Goldie said comfortingly.

  “But how?” Lily whispered anxiously. “There’s no water to wash them.”

  “Oh!” squeaked Emily. “I know how—I have an idea!” She wriggled out of Jess’s pocket and hopped down onto the ground. “Come here,” Emily called to the Blueflash family. One by one the kingfishers hopped out of the ditch, looking bedraggled and sorry for themselves.

  “Just copy me!” Emily showed them how to roll around on the ground just like hedgehogs. “The mud on your feathers has dried in the sunshine,” she explained, “so if you roll, it will rub off!”

  “It’s a dust bath!” Jess giggled in delight.

  The Blueflashes did as Emily said, and once they saw that her plan was working, they all cheered up.

  The young Blueflashes giggled as they rolled. Soon their brilliant blue-and-orange feathers were clean. They fluffed them up, then the kingfishers flapped their wings and took off, whizzing back and forth in delight.

  “They’re so fast that all I can see are blue flashes!” Lily said, laughing.

  “Great job, Emily!” said Jess. “That was really smart.”

  Goldie told Mr. and Mrs. Blueflash about the spell Dusty had put on the rest of the Prickleback family.

  “The beach is still very far away,” Mrs. Blueflash told them. “But we’ll see if she’s there. We can be there and back in a flash.”

  “Thank you!” Jess called.

  The kingfisher family took off in a blur of color. Minutes later they were back, shaking their heads. “She’s not there,” Mrs. Blueflash told them.

  “We’ll keep an eye out for her,” promised Mr. Blueflash. “We really need the river back.”

  One of the youngsters fluttered past them. “I’m cold,” he said. “Let’s fly up higher, where the air is warmer!”

  “Wait a minute! Could that be where Dusty is?” Lily wondered out loud. “She’s not at the beach, but could she be sunbathing high in the treetops?”

  Jess nodded. “It’s worth a try.”

  Goldie’s whiskers twitched. “But there are so many trees,” she pointed out. “How do we know where she’d be?”

  “Oh, I know!” said Emily. “She’d be up the tallest tree in the forest. That’s the Treasure Tree!”

  “Of course!” said Jess, remembering that they’d climbed the tree on one of their adventures. “Your family is lucky you’re so smart, Emily. We’ll track Dusty down in no time. Let’s go!”

  The Treasure Tree towered above them, its leaves shimmering in the sunlight. There were all sorts of colorful fruits and nuts growing along its branches. Normally, it was busy with animals gathering food, but today everyone was at the river and the Treasure Tree was deserted.

  Jess peered into the branches. Was Dusty up there somewhere, sunning herself on the highest branch? Magical vines hung around the trunk to help animals climb the tree safely. Jess ran to grab one but almost fell when she stubbed her foot on something hard.

  It was a grapefruit, but it was made of stone!

  “Dusty must have done this!” she cried, showing the others. “She’s definitely here!”

  “Goodness,” said a voice nearby. “A pone stair—I mean a stone pear! This isn’t right. Not right at all!”

  Jess grinned. She knew that voice. It was Mr. Cleverfeather the owl. Sure enough, when they looked behind the broad tree trunk, there he was with one of his inventions.

  “Goldie!” he cried. “And Less and Jilly—I mean, Jess and Lily. Oh, dear, I do get my words muddled. Are you picking fruit? Would you like to borrow my invention? It’s a ticking pool.”

  “A ticking pool?” said Emily, peeping out from Jess’s pocket.

  “He means a picking tool.” Lily giggled. She jumped back as a stone coconut hit the ground with a thump.

  Jess told Mr. Cleverfeather about Dusty. “So you see,” she finished, “we have to get her to take the spell off the other Pricklebacks. If we don’t, Willowtree River will be gone forever.”

  “There!” whispered Lily excitedly. “To the left of those bananas, above the coconuts. It’s Dusty’s tail!”

  Sure enough, there was a yellow tail swinging lazily back and forth.

  “Watch out!” cried Emily. “Pineapple!”

  They leaped aside as a stone pineapple smashed through the branches, hitting the ground with a thud and shattering into tiny pieces.

  There was a giggle from above. “Heeheehee!”

  “Dusty must think it’s funny to turn fruit to stone while she sunbathes,” Jess said angrily.

  “Look out!” said Goldie, dodging as a stone walnut fell from the tree.

  “Now that we’ve dotted Spusty—I mean, spotted Dusty,” said Mr. Cleverfeather, “we must think of a way to get her down.”

  “If we can’t,” Emily said anxiously, “we’ll never get her to reverse that spell.”

  They all thought hard.

  “If only Dusty knew how much fun water could be,” Lily said, thinking about the Rushy River Race and the lovely day they had planned.

  Emily looked thoughtful. “It’s like a puzzle,” she said. “There must be something we can do …” Suddenly, she gave an excited squeak. “I know! Do you remember what the Featherbills were doing while everyone was waiting for the race to start?”

  A grin spread over Jess’s face as she realized what Emily meant. “They were having a water
balloon fight!” she said.

  “Emily, that’s so smart!” said Lily. “Everyone loves water balloon fights.”

  “Even dragons?” Jess asked.

  “Let’s hope so,” Goldie said, crossing her paws tightly.

  Every inch of Mr. Cleverfeather’s inventing shed was crammed with tools and gadgets. Lily, Jess, Goldie, and Emily peered around curiously. Jess grinned as she looked at the plans for a Cake Creator, which were spread out on the wise old owl’s desk.

  “My next invention,” said Mr. Cleverfeather, sweeping the plans aside. “But that’s not what knee weed. I mean, we need.” He rummaged around. “Banana peeler for the parrots … no. Automatic ear wash for rabbits … no. Ah!” he cried. “Here we are.” He opened a large box.

  Jess and Lily peered into it. “Water balloons!” they cried.

  Mr. Cleverfeather chuckled. “Ah, these aren’t ordinary balloons,” he said. “They’re Hi-Soak Balloons, just like the ones the Featherbills were using. I invented them so we could all have water fights on hot days. What fun!”

  “Perfect,” said Goldie. “Hopefully, Dusty will think it’s fun, too.”

  Mr. Cleverfeather passed Jess a full watering can. Lily held a red balloon steady while Jess filled it. Then she knotted it and batted it into the air with her hand.

  “Catch, Emily!” she said.

  The little hedgehog tried to catch it, but she missed, and it landed on her prickly head and burst.

  Pop!

  It showered her with water.

  Splosh!

  Emily fell backward in surprise, giggling so much that her tiara fell off.

  Jess helped Emily to her feet. “But how will we fill up the balloons?” she wondered. “The river’s gone.”

  “There’s just enough water in the watering can to fill these ones,” said Lily.

  “And if our plan works, we’ll get the river back soon!”

  While Mr. Cleverfeather, Jess, and Goldie filled as many balloons as they could, Lily used her skirt to pat Emily dry, then popped her back in Jess’s pocket.

  “Just one more thing,” said Lily, “how can we throw them at Dusty? She’s much too high up.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Goldie. “I’m sure our bird friends will help us make a very soggy delivery—of Hi-Soak Balloons!”

  Captain Ace flew above the treetops, towing his beautiful patchwork hot air balloon through the sky behind him.

  Lily, Jess, and Goldie were inside the basket hanging beneath the balloon, with a huge pile of filled water balloons at their feet. Emily perched on the side of the basket, with Lily’s arm around her to stop her from falling off.

  Captain Ace pulled on a rope.

  Puff! Puff! Puff!

  Bubbles streamed up into the balloon. Then they burst, filling it with hot air.

  Lily looked to the left and waved to Mrs. Taptree the woodpecker and her chicks, Dig and Tipper, who were flying alongside.

  They gave muffled chirps. “Quick! Quick!”

  Jess waved to the Blueflash family, who called, “Chee-kee! Chee-kee!” Their voices were muffled, too, because each bird had a bunch of water balloons dangling from its beak. Even tiny Jenny Littlefeather the wren was carrying one. Her wings beat twice as fast as the other birds’ as she struggled to keep up.

  Lily tightened her arm around Emily and said to Jess, “Aren’t we lucky to have so many wonderful friends?”

  Jess nodded happily. “Look!” she cried, as they drew near the Treasure Tree. “There’s Dusty!”

  The dragon was lying on her back on the highest branch, her eyes closed and her wings outspread.

  “Captain Ace,” whispered Goldie, “can we go a little closer?”

  The stork nodded.

  They drifted along in silence. The birds flew as quietly as they could, and Lily and Jess held their breath. If Dusty saw them before they could convince her to play, she could turn them to stone, too, and they’d drop out of the sky!

  Suddenly, the shadow of the hot air balloon fell on the dragon … and she opened her eyes.

  “Oh, no,” gasped Jess. “She’s seen us!”

  Scrambling to her feet, Dusty let out a huge roar. “Raaargh!”

  “Look out, Ace!” yelled Lily.

  Ace flapped his wings hard, yanking the hot air balloon away from Dusty’s roar. Lily and Jess could feel the blast of her hot breath just missing the basket. The balloon rocked from side to side, sending the girls and Goldie toppling backward in the basket.

  “Hold on, Emily!” yelled Lily.

  The little hedgehog was clinging onto the edge. But as the basket swayed, her paws slipped—and she fell over the side!

  “Emily!” Lily cried.

  Lily and Jess leaned out, expecting to see the little hedgehog crashing through the branches below.

  Instead, a terrified little face looked up at them from the edge of the basket. Two paws clung tightly to a knotted rope.

  Jess leaned over and scooped up Emily. “You’re safe now,” she said, cuddling her closely. Emily’s prickles were standing on end with fright, but Jess didn’t mind being spiked. “Are you all right, Emily?”

  “I’m okay,” Emily said, shakily.

  The balloon drifted back toward the dragon, just out of reach of her hot, sandy breath.

  “Dusty!” called Goldie. “We’ve come to ask you something—”

  “Pah!” interrupted the dragon. “Go away! Can’t you see I’m busy sunning my pretty scales?” She lay down to sunbathe again.

  “I think it’s time to try our plan,” whispered Lily. She called, “Dusty! Do you want to find out how much fun water can be?”

  Dusty gave a growl. “Getting wet is NOT fun! My scales are only pretty when they’re shining in the sun!” she snarled angrily. She beat her wings and took off, flying toward them, her mouth open.

  “She’s going to get us!” yelled Jess. “Quick, everyone … Fire!”

  Lily and Jess grabbed balloons in both hands and threw them at the dragon. Splat! Splosh!

  “Raaaaargh!” roared Dusty, flapping around as the water drenched her yellow scales. “Raaaargh! I’m all wet!”

  “Join in, Dusty!” Jess called, ducking as a water balloon sped over her head. “Missed me!” she laughed.

  The birds carefully swooped down and put a pile of water balloons next to Dusty.

  Dusty picked up a wobbly water balloon in her claws. Lily and Jess held their breath. Had it worked, or had they made the yellow dragon even angrier?

  Splosh! Splat! Splosh! Water balloons were flying everywhere.

  One of the balloons burst over Dusty’s head. Without thinking, the dragon threw the balloon at one of the woodpecker chicks, who burst out laughing as the water hit his feathers.

  “Raaaa … heeheehee!” Dusty said, her roar becoming a giggle. Her scaly yellow face was surprised. “That feels funny!”

  “It’s working!” cried Goldie. “Dusty! Are you having fun?”

  “Heeheehee!” chuckled the dragon, throwing a balloon at Goldie. Goldie giggled as it burst on her tail.

  Dusty flew up into the sky, dodging and diving and throwing water balloons everywhere. Finally, the dripping dragon landed back on the highest branch of the Treasure Tree. “More! More!” she cried.

  Lily looked around. But everyone had used up all their balloons.

  “We’ve run out of balloons, Dusty,” Lily called. “And we can’t fill up any more because the river is all dried up.”

  Dusty looked upset. “But I want to keep on playing,” she grumbled, her tail drooping.

  “So do we,” Jess told her. “But we need the river back first. Will you lift your spell from the Pricklebacks so they can make it flow again?”

  Dusty flew around in a loop-the-loop. “Yes,” she agreed, “I will! Then we can play again!”

  There was a chorus of happy cheeps, chirps, and squawks from the birds. Captain Ace did a loop-the-loop, and the girls, Emily, and Goldie gave a big cheer.

 
“Hooray!” cried Emily, her eyes shining. “We did it!”

  Captain Ace towed his hot air balloon, with its happy passengers, back to the waterwheel. Dusty flew beside them, giggling as water droplets shimmered on her scales. “My scales look even prettier,” she boasted. “The water makes them sparkle even more than the sunshine!”

  The balloon drifted over the muddy ditch where the river should have been.

  Captain Ace looked back. “Prepare for landing,” he mumbled, with the rope still in his beak.

  A few moments later, they were down. The birds landed next to the waterwheel and the girls, Goldie, and Emily climbed out of the basket. Dusty skidded to a stop beside them.

  Emily ran to her family and hugged the cold little stone figures. “You’ll be back to normal soon,” she said. “I promise!”

  “Dusty’s going to reverse the spell now,” said Goldie. “Stand back, Emily!”

  Dusty stood in front of the stone hedgehogs and chanted:

  “Dragon wings stop Dusty’s spell,

  Getting wet is great.

  Make hedgehogs be themselves again,

  And put the river straight.”

  The Pricklebacks started to turn from gray into their usual colors. They looked around in surprise.

  Harry rubbed dust from his eyes. “What a weird dream I had,” he said.

  “Me, too,” said Herbie.

  “The dragon!” shouted Mrs. Prickleback when she saw Dusty. “Where’s Emily?”

  “I’m here!” Emily cried, as Jess set her down. She ran to hug and kiss her family. “You were made of stone!” Emily said, and she told her family everything that had happened.

  “We couldn’t have saved you without Emily,” added Jess. “She’s so clever!”

  Emily’s nose turned extra pink as her family hugged her again.

  Mr. Prickleback gasped. He pointed at the muddy ditch where Willowtree River was supposed to be flowing. “Oh, my prickles!” he cried. “The river is gone!”