The Star Bracelet

by Paula Harrison

  “There you are!” cried Delby. “You’re just a baby kangaroo. It must have been a trick of the light.”

  Lily swung round in horror. The bag at her side suddenly felt very light. Where was Fudge? Her heart dropped as she saw Delby picking the joey up from the grass. The little kangaroo struggled, her feet kicking in the air.

  Without stopping to think, Lily bravely stepped out of the shadows. “Let her go! I know you sneaked in here to damage more plants.”

  Delby shone his torch right into her eyes. “So it was you, Princess Lily … and you took a picture, didn’t you? That’s why there was a flash. Give me that camera and you can have this little kangaroo back safe and sound.” He smiled nastily and clutched the wriggling Fudge even tighter. “If you don’t, you’ll never see this animal again!”

  Lily swallowed. Delby was even meaner than she’d thought!

  There was the sound of running feet and Scarlett did a scissor jump over the nearest flowerbed. She landed on the other side and folded her arms. “You won’t get away with this! We all saw what you did.”

  Delby just laughed. “Is that so? What exactly are you going to do then?”

  “We’ll tell the queen about it!” said Zina, dashing to Lily’s side.

  “And we’ll make sure she knows that you flattened every flower you could find!” said Scarlett, and Zina nodded.

  Lily’s heart lifted. With the other Rescue Princesses to help, there was still a chance of getting Fudge back. Handing the bag to Scarlett, she whispered, “Keep him talking. I’m going to try some ninja moves!”

  Scarlett nodded. “Hey!” She waved the bag at Delby. “I’ve got the camera if you really want it.”

  Delby charged at Scarlett with Fudge clutched under his arm. Scarlett darted away, springing over a flowerbed and escaping easily.

  Lily slipped on her star bracelet. She felt a fluttering in her stomach. She only had one chance to get Fudge back so she would have to be very brave. Holding her breath she slipped through the shadows, determined not to let Delby get away.

  Lily chased after Lady Hamilton’s servant and the crystals on the star bracelet shimmered as she ran. Delby followed Scarlett halfway across the garden, then he stopped and bent over, wheezing.

  Lily drew the camera from her pocket again. Maybe she could surprise Delby with another flash of light, giving her time to take Fudge back. She felt the bracelet helping her, steadying her feet and filling her with energy. She got the camera ready but, as she sneaked closer, something rustled in the undergrowth.

  “What’s that?” Delby looked around wildly. “That’s it! I’ve had enough of all this.” He marched back up the path with Fudge still under his arm. The little joey squeaked and struggled, so the man shook her crossly.

  Lily’s cheeks grew hot. How dare he treat Fudge like that?

  Just as Delby marched past the trees, a huge wombat dashed in front of him. The man stepped sideways to avoid the creature but stumbled over a tree root and fell to his knees.

  Lily leapt forward, raised the camera and pressed the button.

  Snap! The camera light flashed and Delby put his hand over his eyes, letting Fudge slide to the ground.

  The little joey jumped up, squeaking. Lily scooped her up and ran. She kept on running – not looking back until she was inside the palace. Leaning against the kitchen table, she tried to get her breath back. Fudge nuzzled her shoulder.

  “Lily, are you all right?” Zina came running in after her. “You were so quick – getting hold of Fudge like that.”

  “Thanks!” gasped Lily. “Where’s Scarlett?”

  “I saw her sneaking after Lady Hamilton’s servant,” replied Zina.

  “She’s following him?” Lily’s eyes widened. “Then we should be able to see them from upstairs.” Holding Fudge tight, Lily raced up the steps to her room and pulled back her curtain.

  The moon shone brightly over the palace garden. It was easy to spot Delby lumbering towards the gate. A small figure slipped after him. Delby swung round a few times, but Scarlett hid so well that he didn’t see her.

  A door swung open along the corridor. “Girls, what are you doing? You should be in bed by now.” The queen came out of her room, wrapping a gold dressing gown around her. She frowned when she noticed Fudge. “Lily, why have you brought that animal in here?”

  Lily’s heart sank. “We found her this morning when she fell out of her mother’s pouch. She’s only a baby.”

  “I can see that but why is she here inside the palace and why are you wearing those odd clothes?” Queen Caroline sat down on Lily’s bed and studied the girls’ faces.

  So Lily explained how Lady Hamilton’s driver had beeped his car horn and scared the mother kangaroo and the baby had fallen out of her pouch. She told her mum about the broken petals on the bottom of Delby’s shoes and how they’d been sure that destroying the royal garden was a plot to change the queen’s mind about the kangaroo sanctuary.

  “So we went outside to see if Lady Hamilton’s servant would come back.” Lily handed the camera to the queen. “And I got a picture of him.”

  Queen Caroline pressed a button to bring up the pictures. Delby was caught in the camera flash with his boot squashing the roses. The queen’s face darkened like a storm cloud. “Well! I talked very politely to Lady Hamilton about the kangaroo sanctuary and instead of being reasonable she goes behind my back and sends a servant to ruin my beautiful garden. This is very disappointing indeed!”

  Scarlett rushed in. “It’s OK! The man’s gone and—” She broke off, noticing the queen sitting on Lily’s bed.

  Queen Caroline stood up and gently stroked Fudge’s ears. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you earlier, Lily. You may keep the little kangaroo in here tonight but tomorrow Matt must take care of him.” She smiled. “Now, off to bed. You’ve all had enough excitement for one night!”

  “Your mum’s really nice,” said Zina after the queen had gone. “I’m glad she knows we’re telling the truth now.”

  “That man won’t sneak in here again,” said Scarlett, yawning. “He wouldn’t dare!”

  “And Fudge is safe,” said Lily. “That’s the most important thing of all!” She took the star bracelet out of her pocket and laid it on her bedside table. The pink crystals shone gently in the light. Lily smiled. Her ninja moves had improved so much – with a little magical help – that she hardly needed the bracelet any more.

  In the morning, the queen called the princesses down to breakfast. Lily left Fudge sleeping in the cloth bag and hurried downstairs, her stomach rumbling. Zina and Scarlett were waiting in the dining room.

  “After your adventures last night I thought you might be hungry.” The queen pointed to the dishes piled high with sausages, eggs and bacon. “So I asked Cook to make you a large breakfast.”

  A shiny black car slid up the drive. Lily paused halfway through spooning sausages on to her plate. Was that Lady Hamilton?

  “Now, please excuse me, as I have something important to attend to.” Queen Caroline swept out of the dining room.

  Lily watched as the car stopped at the front steps. Delby got out and hurried round the side to open Lady Hamilton’s door. “What are they here for?”

  Lady Hamilton marched up the palace steps with a snooty look on her face.

  Scarlett raised her eyebrows. “Lady Hamilton doesn’t look like she’s come to apologise.”

  Lily crept to the door. “I hope she doesn’t blame everything on the kangaroos again.”

  “She’d better not!” Scarlett set her knife and fork down and followed Lily to the door. Zina hurried after them and the three princesses tiptoed up to the parlour door and listened.

  “But, Sarah,” the queen was saying. “The princesses saw him in the garden. They even took a picture to show me what he was doing.”

  “I’m so sorry, Your Majesty!” said Delby. “I’ll do anything I can to put it right…”

  “Be quiet, Delby!” snapped Lady Hamilton. “The po
int is it could have been kangaroos and I knew I had to open your eyes to what might happen if you let the horrible beasts live close by.”

  “By ruining my garden!” The queen’s voice rose. “That’s not what a good friend should do.”

  “Why were the princesses running round the garden at night, anyway?” replied Lady Hamilton. “It sounds like they need some training in good manners and proper royal behaviour!”

  “Lily and her friends are brave and capable girls who care about animals,” snapped the queen. “They don’t need any training at all. You may leave now and don’t ever return here again.”

  The princesses jumped behind the dining-room door as Lady Hamilton swept from the room.

  “The queen really told her off!” Scarlett whispered gleefully.

  “And she called us brave!” said Zina.

  The front door banged and the princesses crept back into the hallway. Lily caught a glimpse of Delby kneeling before the queen through a crack in the parlour door.

  “You can get up now, Delby,” said the queen. “And if you really are sorry and you mean what you say about putting things right, then I have lots of gardening for you to do.”

  Lily, Scarlett and Zina added a note to their posters, saying that the cake sale would begin at 12 o’clock. Then they dashed to the kitchen to add more decorations to the cakes, like coloured sprinkles and icing swirls. Fudge woke up and explored the kitchen, getting into the cupboards and knocking over the saucepans.

  Scarlett wrote down the prices of the cakes, muffins and brownies on some special gold labels. Then Lily and Zina loaded the cakes on to silver trays and took them out into the garden. Cook set up two wooden tables just inside the palace gates and Lily covered each one with a lacy white tablecloth. By the time they’d finished arranging the cakes and the labels, a small crowd had begun to gather.

  “I’d like to buy four brownies, please,” said a dad with a small boy. “We’ll take them home and have them after dinner.”

  “Here you are!” Lily put the brownies in a paper bag and handed them over, smiling. Then she took the money and gave the man his change.

  The next customer asked for butterfly cakes and the next wanted blueberry muffins. Soon all the princesses were handing out cakes and taking money as more and more people came by.

  Lily carried Fudge for a while to make sure she didn’t get lost in the crowd. Lots of people came to meet the little joey and said what a good idea it was to raise money for a kangaroo sanctuary.

  A man in a baseball cap was the last person in the queue. “Wow, these look delicious! I’m lucky there are any cakes left at all.”

  “Matt, you’re back!” cried Lily, recognising him under the cap. “We’ve raised so much money for the kangaroo sanctuary … and look at the joey we rescued.”

  “Thank you for doing all this, Princess Lily.” Matt tickled the kangaroo under her chin. “And what’s this little one called?”

  “Fudge!” said the girls altogether.

  The next day, Matt drove the princesses to the place where he was building his kangaroo sanctuary. Queen Caroline came with them so all the princesses squeezed into the back with Fudge.

  Matt parked by a wooden gate. At the top of an overgrown path stood a big old house with a large stable beside it.

  “It still needs a lot more work – especially the stables,” said Matt, holding open the creaky gate. “But now we have the money from the cake sale, I think I can mend the stable roof and get everything ready for the kangaroos.”

  “It sounds as if you have it all planned out.” The queen turned to Lily. “Why don’t you and your friends get some fresh air while Matt shows me the house and stables.”

  Lily nodded. “I think Fudge would like to get out and explore.” She was about to take the joey out of the bag but Scarlett pulled her across the field.

  “I can see a stream!” shouted Scarlett as she ran.

  The air buzzed with insects and a pink-nosed, big-eared possum stared down at them from the top of a tree.

  “Stop, Scarlett!” gasped Lily. “I can’t run any more and I don’t want to drop Fudge.”

  They stopped by the tiny, sparkling stream and Scarlett took off her shoes to paddle. Lily lifted Fudge out of the cloth bag and set her gently down on the grass. The kangaroo looked around. Her eyes brightened and she did a baby hop.

  “Come on, Fudge!” coaxed Lily. “Try doing a bigger jump.”

  Fudge flexed her legs but her feet didn’t leave the ground at all.

  “She’s not used to jumping high,” said Zina.

  “But she’s a kangaroo,” Lily pointed out. “She must be able to do it!”

  Fudge twitched her ears and squeaked eagerly.

  “Fudge – jump!” said Lily softly. “You can do it!”

  Scarlett waded out of the stream. “Maybe we should show her what to do. Fudge, watch this…” She leapt into the air.

  Lily joined in with a really high leap. “Like this Fudge … jump!”

  Zina started bouncing too. “You can do it, Fudge!”

  Fudge watched them, wide-eyed. Then she bent her legs and did a bigger hop.

  “That’s it!” Lily jumped even higher in excitement. “Well done, Fudge. Try another one.”

  Fudge hopped again and again, getting higher and higher each time. At last she was bounding around the meadow, just like the princesses.

  “She’s getting the hang of it!” cried Lily.

  Fudge squeaked with happiness as she followed the leaping princesses across the grass. At last they all grew tired. Lily sat down to get her breath back and Fudge curled up in her lap.

  “This place will make a great kangaroo sanctuary,” said Scarlett.

  Lily stroked Fudge’s ears. “You must come and visit me again when it’s finished. Then you can see Fudge again too!”

  “Yes, please!” Zina’s eyes shone. “But first you must all come to my country, the Kingdom of Ramova. We have beautiful rainforests full of lizards, parrots, brightly coloured frogs and playful lemurs. I would like to show you everything!”

  Lily’s heart skipped. “I’d love to come to Ramova.”

  Zina smiled widely. “Next month there will be a carnival with costumes and music and dancing. I will ask my parents if you can both come and stay with us.”

  As Zina and Scarlett went on talking, Lily looked around and smiled happily. The sun shone warmly and parrots chattered in the trees. This place was going to be a happy home for all the lost kangaroos. She stroked Fudge’s fur as the little joey fell asleep with her head resting on Lily’s knee.

  Princess Amina tiptoed into the palace courtyard and peered out from behind a pillar, clutching her binoculars in one hand. Her long black hair hung loosely over her turquoise dress. On her arm she wore a bracelet with a golden-brown stone that shimmered as she moved.

  She looked around carefully. Rows of tables were laid out in the centre of the courtyard, ready for the banquet tonight. There was nobody here. If she was quick, maybe she could reach the garden without being seen! She cast one last look around before darting out of her hiding place and running across the courtyard. She’d nearly reached the other side when she ran straight into her cousin, Princess Rani, and tumbled to the ground.

  Rani, who was much older and taller, helped her up. “Hey!” she said, laughing. “What’s the hurry? Is there a wild animal chasing you?”

  “Oh, sorry, Rani! I didn’t see you!” gasped Amina.

  “Don’t worry, I’m all right!” said Rani. “But why are you in such a rush?”

  “I was looking out of the bedroom window with my binoculars and I’m sure I saw a tiger outside the palace wall!” explained Amina. “It was walking through the long grass beside the river. I was just going to take a closer look.” She held out her binoculars. “Oh, no!” She stopped and looked at them more closely.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Rani.

  “One of the lenses is broken. I must have knocked it against the ground wh
en I fell over.” She showed her cousin the crack in the glass on one side of the binoculars. Her heart sank. She used her binoculars nearly every day. They were so handy for seeing all the Kamalan wildlife.

  “What a shame!” said Rani sympathetically. “I know how much you love them. Come and show me the tiger – we can close one eye and look through the side that isn’t broken.”

  “All right then.” Amina turned towards the archway that led out to the garden.

  “Rani! Amina! Where are you?” A loud voice came from inside the palace.

  Amina froze. Her aunt, Queen Keshi, had been hurrying around the palace all morning. With the royal visitors due to arrive that day there was lots to do.

  “Mum wants us,” said Rani. “We’ll have to look for your tiger later.”

  “But he might have gone by then!” Amina looked longingly at the archway. If only she could get through before her aunt came along. She wanted to see the tiger so much!

  “You go, then,” said Rani. “Mum probably wants me to try on my wedding dress for the hundredth time! You should go and have some fun.”

  Amina grinned. Even though Rani was much older, she was a perfect cousin – kind and funny. Amina was so happy that she was going to be her bridesmaid the next day!

  “There you are!” Queen Keshi climbed down the steps to the courtyard, wearing a purple sari and a gold crown.

  “Rani, you must try on your wedding dress one more time. Amina, I have some jobs for you to do. The royal guests are already starting to arrive and I am determined that this shall be the best wedding ever held in the Kingdom of Kamala!”

  “But Aunt!” began Amina. “Could I go out into the garden first because—”

  Queen Keshi waved her hands. “Amina! There isn’t much time! We need to get the table decorations right and then we have to check that the guests’ rooms are ready.”