“My children were very naughty,” the dragon said, “but Jess, Lily, and Goldie understood that Grizelda made them behave like that. To say thank you, I have a gift for you all. Look!”
She breathed a long stream of sparks of every color imaginable, up into the darkening sky.
The animals watched, amazed, as the sparks formed into whirling, spinning, shooting patterns, filling the night with glittering, sparkling light.
“Wow!” said Jess.
“It’s the best firework display ever!” cried Lily.
When it was over, Saffire said, “Now I must take my little ones home.”
The young dragons clung to her, looking upset.
“But Grizelda’s spell means we can’t fly out of the forest,” said Smudge anxiously.
Saffire smiled. “Climb onto my back,” she said, stretching out her rainbow-colored wings. “No spell can stop me flying!”
Moments later, the dragon family soared into the sky, calling, “Bye, Lily and Jess! Bye, Goldie!”
Once they were out of sight, Lily sighed. “I guess it’s time for us to go home, too.”
She and Jess hugged Rosie, the Gigglepips, and all their other friends. Then, waving good-bye, they followed Goldie through the trees.
“The forest looks lovely again,” said Jess. The last raindrops were glittering like diamonds on a starflower bush.
“And look, the Friendship Tree’s golden leaves are as beautiful as ever,” said Lily, as they arrived.
Goldie took their hands in her paws. “The forest is safe thanks to you!”
Jess and Lily exchanged glances.
“Grizelda will probably come up with a horrible new plan,” said Lily.
“But we’ll be ready to stop her,” added Jess firmly.
Goldie smiled. “I know you will.”
She touched a paw to the tree trunk, and a door appeared.
The girls hugged her, then stepped inside, into the shimmering light.
When the golden glow disappeared, Jess and Lily found themselves back in Brightley Meadow.
“What an adventure!” said Jess, as they walked back to Helping Paw.
“It was amazing!” Lily said with a grin. They went into the barn and peeped into Coco’s hutch. The guinea pig was asleep in her nest of sweet-smelling hay. But there was something else there, too, nestling beside her.
“She had a baby!” whispered Lily.
Jess grinned. “So that’s why she wasn’t feeling right!”
The tiny creature was a little smaller than Lily’s hand, and had golden-brown fur. She blinked up at the girls.
“She’s so pretty!” said Lily.
Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Hart came into the barn, too.
“Mom! Dad!” said Lily. “Guess what? Coco had a baby!”
Mr. and Mrs. Hart just smiled.
Lily gasped. “You knew!”
“We wanted it to be a surprise,” said Mr. Hart, with a grin.
“Jess has her kitten, Pixie,” said Mrs. Hart, “so we thought it would be nice for you to have a pet, too. Would you like to keep the baby?” she asked. “And Coco, too, of course, if no one claims her.”
Lily hugged her parents. “Yes, please! Thank you!” she said happily.
Jess was thrilled for her. “What will you call the baby?”
Lily looked at the tiny creature. “Her fur’s lovely and golden,” she said, “so I think I’ll call her Honey—Honey Rose!”
Jess grinned. “Perfect!”
As Mr. and Mrs. Hart started cleaning out the other hutches, Coco woke up and nuzzled Honey.
Lily laughed. “She’s such a good mom, just like Saffire!”
“I hope Goldie visits us again soon,” Jess said.
“Me, too,” Lily agreed.
They shared a smile. They couldn’t wait for their next adventure in Friendship Forest!
The End
“Percy Littlepaw!” Olivia said. “That was your third bag! Never mind, you can share mine.” She turned to the girls and whispered, “Percy’s my best friend. He loves icing so much, I think he must be eating it all!”
Percy started scampering off with the icing, then gave a shout. “Look out!”
Splat!
The new sign above the door was smeared with splattered cake!
“Who did that?” wondered Olivia, turning around.
“Heeheehee!”
Jess looked around, but couldn’t see where the giggling came from, then …
Splat!
“Hey!” cried Percy as a cake hit him right in the face!
Percy wiped pink icing from his cheek and giggled as he licked his paw clean. But then the animals shrieked and scattered as more cakes zoomed over. Splat, splat, splat!
The flying cake covered everything with bits of sponge and icing.
Jess and Lily glanced at each other in amazement. Someone was throwing cakes! But who?
Text copyright © 2015 by Working Partners Limited
Illustrations © 2015 by Working Partners Limited
Series author: Daisy Meadows
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920, by arrangement with Working Partners Limited. Series created by Working Partners Limited, London.
SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. MAGIC ANIMAL FRIENDS is a trademark of Working Partners Limited.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing 2016
Cover design by Carol Ly
e-ISBN 978-0-545-90749-1
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Rosie Gigglepip's Lucky Escape Page 3