Poppy Muddlepup's Daring Rescue Read online

  Jess, Lily, and the Muddlepups gazed in horror as the witch snapped her fingers and disappeared in an explosion of spitting yellow sparks.

  Mrs. Muddlepup ran to Lily, and together, they laid Patch down on a soft cushion of moss. His paws twitched and he made a little snuffling sound before starting to snore softly.

  “Wake up, Patch,” his mother urged, gently shaking him.

  Poppy lifted one of her brother’s ears and called, “Wakey, wakey!”

  Mr. Muddlepup fetched a hazelnut cracker and held it under the puppy’s nose. “It’s his favorite,” he explained.

  But Patch just kept snoring.

  “Let’s take him inside,” Lily said, and carried him indoors. Mrs. Muddlepup made a soft, cozy nest of blankets for her to lay him in.

  “We have to wake up Patch,” Jess said. “But we can’t let Grizelda have Garden Grove, either. If we’re going to stop her wicked plan, we have to work out a way to wake him up on our own.”

  “But how?” Lily wondered out loud. “What should we do?”

  “I wish Goldie was here!” Jess frowned.

  They were both thinking hard when Poppy tugged on Lily’s sleeve.

  “Ask Mrs. Taptree!” said the puppy. “She’s got books about everything in her library. Me and Patch borrow them all the time.”

  Lily and Jess grinned.

  “My dad says you can always find help in a book,” said Jess. “That’s a brilliant idea, Poppy!”

  Lily and Jess told Mr. and Mrs. Muddlepup where they were going. To their delight, Poppy insisted on coming, too. She led them on a long walk through the forest. At last, they reached the hollowed-out trunk of a chestnut tree. Inside, they could hear the tap-tap-tap of a woodpecker.

  “This is Mrs. Taptree’s library,” Poppy said.

  “I can’t believe that at home we were looking after some woodpeckers,” Lily murmured excitedly, “and now we’re about to talk to one!”

  From inside the hole in the tree, a high voice squawked, “Come in! Books for all in my library! Quick! Quick!”

  “How is there room for a library in there?” asked Jess. But she stepped into the hole, Lily and Poppy close behind her.

  The girls were amazed to see it was much larger inside than it looked from outside. They were in a room lined with bookshelves and packed with books. At one end, three ladders stood side by side.

  “Welcome!” said the voice. Mrs. Taptree the woodpecker fluttered down from the top shelf. “Hello, young Poppy. What kind of book are you three looking for today?”

  Poppy introduced the girls and they all explained about Patch.

  “Dear me, we must do something,” said Mrs. Taptree. “We’re sure to find an answer in one of my books. Let’s look.” She clapped her wings and said, “Ladders!”

  Instantly, the ladders magically slid along the bookshelves.

  “Wow!” said Jess.

  “Just say left or right, up or down, or even, ‘Find a book about bees’,” said Mrs. Taptree. “The ladders will take you where you want to go.”

  They began searching. Poppy examined the books along the bottom shelf, and the girls stepped onto the ladders.

  “Left!” said Lily, and slid to the plant section.

  “Magic books, please,” Jess called, grinning as her ladder whizzed along.

  Suddenly, two young woodpeckers burst in, wings flapping. “Mom! Quick! Quick! Can we have chestnut cake, please, can we?” said one. Then he saw Jess and Lily. “Ooh, what are those?”

  “They’re girls,” said Mrs. Taptree. “Lily and Jess, these are my chicks, Dig and Tipper. If you two go out to play while I help the girls find a book, I’ll give you some cake when we’ve finished. Off you go, chicks—quick, quick!”

  “All right, Mom,” said Dig, running out. But Tipper knocked over a pile of books as she flapped past.

  Lily stepped over to pick them up. “Hey, Jess!” she said, opening one. “This is about magic potions.” She flicked through it, then yelled, “I think I’ve found something! A recipe for Rise and Shine potion. It says, ‘Guaranteed to wake sleepers from even the deepest slumber.’ ”

  “Fantastic!” said Jess.

  Poppy’s soft brown eyes looked anxiously at the girls. “Can we use it to wake Patch?”

  Lily hugged her. “Of course. All we have to do is find the right ingredients!”

  “Now, what ingredients do we need?” asked Jess eagerly.

  Lily read the recipe. “A tiny feather the color of sunlit leaves, some jewel water, and … oh, no, I can’t read the last thing. It’s smudged.” She looked up. “Now what? We don’t know the third ingredient!”

  Jess shrugged. “Let’s find the first two,” she said. “Maybe someone can help us work out what the missing one is.”

  “A tiny feather …” murmured Lily.

  “The color of sunlit leaves,” said Jess.

  Poppy’s ears perked up. “Like a hummingbird’s!” she cried. “They have teeny-tiny feathers, all the colors of the rainbow.”

  Lily dropped a kiss on the puppy’s head. “Clever Poppy!” she said. “But where will we find a hummingbird?”

  Mrs. Taptree flapped her wings. “Look for crimson bell flowers and you’ll find a hummingbird,” she said. “They can’t smell the marshmallow scent, but they adore the color—and the nectar.”

  Poppy darted to the door. “I’ll soon sniff out that marshmallow scent!” she cried.

  The girls thanked Mrs. Taptree, then hurried out of the library and after the puppy as she bounded through the forest, sniffing loudly.

  “Here!” Poppy cried, snuffling beneath a holly tree. “Oh, no, it’s only jellyberries.”

  “Jellyberries?” said Lily.

  “Mmm,” said Poppy. “You drop them in water and in seconds you have a bowl of yummy pink jelly.” She picked a few and put them in her bag. “Patch loves jelly,” she explained. She looked sad for a moment. “I’ll make it for him when he wakes up.” Then she sniffed again and dashed past a clump of nettles. She slid to a stop before a curtain of vines.

  “Yap! They’re here!” she called. “And they smell delicious!”

  Jess parted the vines, revealing a cluster of brilliant red flowers, nodding their bell-like heads. She put a finger to her lips. A tiny green-and-blue bird, scarcely longer than her little finger, darted in and out of the flower bells. Its wings flapped so fast they were a colorful blur.

  “Beautiful,” breathed Lily. “Um, hello? Miss Hummingbird?” she called softly.

  The bird dived beneath the flowers’ broad leaves anxiously.

  “We won’t hurt you,” said Jess. “Mrs. Taptree the woodpecker said you might be able to help us.”

  The leaves quivered.

  “Oh, dear, she’s nervous,” said Jess. “We’ll have to coax her out.” She looked at the red twisting twirl in Lily’s hair. “Mrs. Taptree said hummingbirds like red—maybe we can tempt her out with the flowers Poppy gave us?”

  Lily nodded. The girls held out their twisting twirls, while Poppy talked quietly. “Please come out,” she said. “Jess and Lily are girls. They’re good and kind.”

  A long pointed beak appeared, followed by bright little eyes. “Are you sure?” said the hummingbird in a high, sweet voice.

  “I’m sure,” said Poppy.

  The hummingbird darted out. “Hello. I’m Honey Needlenose,” she said shyly.

  “Hello, Honey,” said Lily. “We need your help to save Poppy’s brother.” She explained about the potion and the first ingredient. “So you see, if we don’t manage to wake him up ourselves, the Muddlepups will have to give up Garden Grove to that horrible witch.”

  “I’ll gladly give you a feather,” said Honey. “I just dropped one. There!” She dived down, picked up a shimmering green feather in her thin beak, and let it fall onto Lily’s hand.

  “Wow!” said Lily. “It’s so tiny! And it’s definitely the color of sunlit leaves.”

  “Thank you, Honey,” said Jess.
/>   “Thank you for the twisting twirls,” the hummingbird replied, and went back to gathering nectar.

  Lily gave the feather to Jess, who tucked it safely between the pages of the notebook she always kept in her pocket.

  “We’ve found the first ingredient!” said Lily, grinning.

  Poppy yapped happily and bounded around at the girls’ feet. “Hooray, hooray!” she cried. “We’re going to save Patch!”

  Jess picked up the little puppy and swung her into the air. “Yes, we will,” she said. “Thanks to your clever nose, we’re off to a fantastic start. Well done, Poppy! Now we just have to find the rest of the ingredients for the Rise and Shine potion.”

  “With Poppy’s nose on the case, I’m sure we’ll be waking Patch up in no time,” said Lily. “Come on, you two, let’s get searching!”

  The three friends set off back through the forest, determined to save Patch and Garden Grove.

  It was midafternoon in Friendship Forest. Lily Hart and Jess Forester were sitting on a fallen tree trunk, deep in thought. Poppy Muddlepup the puppy was flopped beside them on a heap of crisp, dry beech leaves. The three friends had already collected the tiny feather they needed for the Rise and Shine potion that would wake Poppy’s twin brother Patch from his magical sleep. But they still needed to find some jewel water—and they didn’t even know what the third ingredient was.

  They only had until sunset to succeed. Otherwise, Grizelda the witch would take over Garden Grove from the Muddlepup family, and use the magical flowers there to make nasty potions.

  “We’ve been hunting for jewel water forever,” said Jess, “but it’s no use. I don’t even know what it’s supposed to be!”

  Poppy’s ears drooped sadly.

  Lily frowned. “Come on. It’s got to be here somewhere. We’ve seen jewels once before in Friendship Forest, haven’t we? I think we saw some during our adventure with Bella Tabbypaw.”

  Poppy’s ears pricked up. “Where? What happened?” she asked.

  Lily explained that Grizelda’s smelly helpers, the Boggits, had taken Bella to a cavern beneath Toadstool Glade. When Lily, Jess, and Goldie had followed them, they had seen jewels in the roof.

  “But Lily,” said Jess, “there wasn’t any water in the cavern. I don’t see how there could be any jewel water there.”

  Poppy’s ears drooped again.

  “But if there are jewels in the cavern under Toadstool Glade,” Lily said slowly, “maybe there are jewels somewhere around the glade itself, too. There are little streams all over the forest, aren’t there?”

  “So maybe jewel water comes from a stream that has jewels lying inside it,” finished Jess, her eyes shining. “Yes, it’s worth a try. Let’s go!”

  They hurried off toward Toadstool Glade, Poppy trotting beside them.

  “We should move as quietly as possible,” Jess said as they drew near, “so we can listen for running water.”

  She led the way along a narrow path. On either side, tall trees loomed over nut bushes and clumps of curly ferns.

  “Stop!” Poppy whispered suddenly. “I heard a voice.” Her ears were pricked up, listening. “Someone’s singing.”

  Lily and Jess cautiously rounded a large shrub and almost bumped into a girl about their age. She had a sweet, smiling face and wore a pink flowery dress and strappy pink sandals. She had long wavy red hair.

  “Um, hello!” said Jess, shocked. She glanced at Lily. Goldie had told them that they were the only humans who visited Friendship Forest!

  “Hello,” said the girl. “You look nice. And what a dear little doggie.” She bent to pat Poppy. “Oh, you cute little puppy!”

  Poppy glanced up at Jess and Lily. She seemed unsure, so Jess said, “Don’t be shy.”

  The puppy’s tail gave a small wag.

  Lily asked the girl, “Excuse me, but—are you human? Like us? We didn’t think anyone else came here.”

  “Mmm,” said the girl. “I live not far away.” She waved her arm vaguely. “I’m visiting the pretty forest, too.”

  “I’m Jess, and this is Lily,” said Jess. “And this is Poppy Muddlepup, our friend. What’s your name?”

  “Oh, um, my name’s … Gretchen,” said the girl. “Gretchen, that’s it.” She moved closer. “I couldn’t help overhearing you say you’re looking for jewel water.”

  “Oh?” said Lily eagerly. “Do you know where some is?”

  “Yes,” said Gretchen. “I’ll take you there. On the way you can tell me why you want it. Come on!”

  Jess and Lily looked at each other, thrilled. They were going to have everything they needed to break Grizelda’s spell in no time!

  “That’s great, Gretchen, thanks,” said Lily. “It was lucky we bumped into you!”

  “Yes, it was, wasn’t it?” said Gretchen. She looked very pleased, too.

  Poppy bounced around impatiently. “Let’s go!” she said.

  Gretchen skipped ahead and the others followed. Everyone was feeling much more cheerful. Now there were four of them working to save Patch!

  As they hurried along, Lily explained about the witch’s spell.

  “We have to make the Rise and Shine potion, and give it to Patch before sunset,” said Jess, “otherwise the poor little thing will sleep forever.”

  “Oh, that’s so sad,” said Gretchen, stopping for a moment.

  “We’ve already got one ingredient,” said Poppy happily.

  Gretchen smiled. “That’s interesting, puppykins,” she said. “Very interesting indeed. Where is it?”

  “In Jess’s pocket,” said Poppy, dashing ahead impatiently. “Can we go on now?”

  Gretchen skipped ahead, singing, “I love the flowers, I love the bees, I love butterflies with dusty knees …”

  Lily and Jess grinned. “I think she loves the forest even more than we do,” Lily whispered to her best friend.

  “I wish she’d go faster,” said Poppy, as Gretchen stopped by a ring of thick bushes covered in pale blue blossoms. “Oh, no, she’s smelling more flowers now. We’ll never find that jewel water!”

  But then Gretchen beckoned to them. “Come on, everyone.” She pointed to the middle of the circle of bushes. “You’ll find what you want in there. Go on,” she said, “go on in.”

  “Thanks, Gretchen!” cried Jess, dashing into the center. Lily and Poppy followed, then all three stood, looking and listening for the sound of water.

  Jess turned to speak to Gretchen, who had stayed outside the flowery ring. Why isn’t she following us? she wondered.

  Lily was puzzled, too. “Gretchen, can you show—?” she began, then stopped as she realized Gretchen was speaking. No, not speaking—she was chanting!

  “Branches twist in thorny curls,

  Make a cage for nasty girls!”

  At once, the bushes sent out hundreds of thin, spidery branches that sprouted sharp thorns as long as sewing needles. The branches twisted, curled, and knotted until they were too dense to see through.

  In no time at all, Jess, Lily, and Poppy were surrounded by a thick, prickly cage!

  “We’re trapped!” cried Lily. “But why?”

  “Gretchen, what have you done?” asked Jess, horrified.

  The pretty face appeared above the spiky cage. Gretchen seemed to have grown taller. Then, to the girls’ horror, yellow-green sparks crackled around her. The wavy red hair turned green, and the pretty dress became a swirling black cloak.

  “It’s Grizelda!” cried Lily. “Gretchen was the witch in disguise. She tricked us!”

  Grizelda’s awful cackle echoed round the forest. “Haa haaa haaaa! You fools! You’re always visiting Toadstool Glade, so I knew that if I waited there you’d show up before long. And now you’ve told me exactly what you’re up to!”

  Jess and Lily stared at her in horror.

  The witch laughed again. “You won’t find the jewel water, and you’ll never find the Sunrise Berries. Even if you did, you’d never dare try to reach them. Haaa!”

&n
bsp; She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a shower of evil-smelling yellow sparks.

  Jess and Lily turned to comfort Poppy. The little puppy’s eyes were brimming with tears. “We can’t save Patch,” she whimpered, “and we’re trapped here. I’ll never see my family again.”

  Lily picked her up and pressed her cheek against Poppy’s. “Don’t you worry,” she said. “We’ve beaten Grizelda before and we’ll do it again. We’ll think of something,” she added. “Won’t we, Jess?”

  Her friend put on a big smile. “Of course we will,” she said.

  But the girls exchanged nervous glances. It looked like Grizelda really had beaten them this time.

  “I should have guessed there was something funny about Gretchen,” Lily said with a sigh. “Goldie always said we’re the only humans who can visit Friendship Forest. We should have been more careful.”

  Poppy put a paw into her hand. “It’s not your fault,” she said.

  “There is one good thing,” Jess realized suddenly. “Grizelda told us what the third ingredient is!”

  “Sunrise Berries,” said Lily. She glared at the thorny cage. “We could keep on searching, if we could just get out of here.”

  “But how?” Jess asked. “We don’t have scissors or—”

  “Ssh!” said Poppy. Her ears pricked up.

  “What can you hear?” asked Jess.

  “Rustling,” said Poppy. “Very close by.”

  Jess clenched her fists. “Not that witch again,” she muttered.

  “No,” said Poppy. “It sounds like paws pattering … and squeaks …” She listened again, head to one side. “Mice!” she cried. “Maybe they can help!”

  The girls leaped to their feet.

  “Hey!” called Jess.

  “Yap! Over here!” called Poppy.

  “Behind the thorny bushes!” shouted Lily. She lay down on the ground and peered beneath the branches. “It’s Molly Twinkletail!” she cried. “She must be on her way home from the Flower Festival.” Lily cupped her hands to her mouth. “Molly! Over here!”