Beneath the Stone Forest

by Jordan Quinn

  Ruskin scampered to the edge of the tower and squawked.

  “Excuse me, Pilwinkle,” Lucas said. Then he rushed to his dragon’s side. “What is it, Ruskin?”

  Clara and Pilwinkle joined them. They heard barking down below.

  Yip! Yap! Yip! Yap!

  “It sounds like Percy!” said Lucas.

  They all carefully peeked over the edge of the tower.

  “That’s because it is Percy!” Clara cried.

  They watched as Percy chased a squirrel and Bella stumbled after them. She tripped over her gown with every step.

  “Percy, come back here!” Bella shouted.

  But Percy bounded farther away. The squirrel jumped into a tunnel, and Percy scampered in after it.

  “No!” shrieked Bella. She cupped her hand over her mouth.

  She tottered toward the entrance to the tunnel.

  “Help!” she cried. “Someone help me save Percy!”

  “Uh-oh,” Pilwinkle said. “The princess and her dog could get lost. We need to find them right away.”

  Pilwinkle raced toward the stairs.

  “Right behind you!” Lucas cried.

  Ruskin scampered after Lucas.

  Oh no! thought Clara as she ran after them. I hope nothing bad happens to Bella and Percy!

  Pilwinkle whistled at the bottom of the stone stairs. “Lumbiddle! Wayrich! Dalfoodle!” he shouted to his nearby fellow gnomes. “We need your help! The princess and her little white dog have entered the underground without a guide.”

  The three gnomes rushed toward Pilwinkle.

  “Lumbiddle, grab the torches!” Pilwinkle directed.

  He quickly got several torches from a wooden box and passed them around.

  “This way!” Pilwinkle shouted.

  Underground

  * * *

  * * *

  Everyone followed Pilwinkle into the tunnel. Lumbiddle lit the torches one by one as they entered. The tunnel opened into a wide chamber and a busy marketplace. Gnomes sat on stone benches and at tables in front of the market. Four tunnels went off in different directions from the main chamber.

  Suddenly, Bella came running toward them. “I can’t find Percy!” she cried.

  “Don’t worry,” said Lucas, putting his arm around her. “We’ll find him.”

  “Let’s split up,” Pilwinkle said. “Children and Ruskin, come with me. Everyone else take a separate tunnel. We’ll meet back here.”

  Pilwinkle lead the way down a stone staircase.

  “Percy!” they called. “Here, Percy! Come on, boy!”

  The tunnel opened into a wide cavern. Jagged crystals covered the walls and ceiling like thousands of ice swords and icicles. The crystals shimmered in the torchlight.

  They walked along a stone path in the middle of the cavern.

  “It looks like a magical crystal palace!” exclaimed Clara.

  Lucas and Bella turned around in a circle. The crystals swirled in a rainbow of color. Pilwinkle stayed focused.

  “Percy!” he called. “Come on, little puppy!”

  Everyone listened for Percy’s bark, but all they heard was a waterfall up ahead. Bella sniffled and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.

  The children followed Pilwinkle across a long, beautiful bridge. The waterfall thundered below them, and the tall walls around them sparkled with gemstones.

  Ruskin sniffed the trail like a bloodhound as they trekked along. He snorted in frustration. He didn’t smell a trace of Percy.

  Then they entered another underground cavern. Pilwinkle called it the Den of Diamonds. Thousands of diamonds dotted the sides and the top of the cavern, twinkling like stars at night. The children waved their torches in search of Percy. The light made the diamonds shine more brightly. Clara wanted to lie down and gaze at the starry gems, but they had no time to lose.

  “Percy!” she called. “Percy, where are you?”

  Bella stared into the pool of water and began to cry. “What if my dog is lost forever?”

  Pilwinkle hurried over to Bella and put his arm around her. “Come now, Princess,” he said gently. “You must be strong for Percy. He needs you to find him.”

  Bella leaned on Pilwinkle. Her feet hurt from running in her good shoes, and her head hurt from crying. She no longer cared about his grubby hands and nails. Instead, she felt comforted by his kind words.

  Pilwinkle led Bella and the other children down another tunnel. They passed a gnome village with homes and stores—all lighted by torchlight and lanterns. They called for Percy all along the way. But still there was no answer. They began to circle back to the main chamber.

  Ruskin sniffed the ground more eagerly as they went. Then he squawked loudly.

  “What is it, boy?” cried Lucas. “Do you smell Percy?”

  Ruskin kept sniffing. Pilwinkle, Clara, and the princess joined him. Pilwinkle examined the ground.

  “Paw prints!” he cried.

  “I don’t see anything,” said Bella, searching the ground.

  “Me neither,” agreed Lucas and Clara together.

  “Gnomes have great eyesight,” said Pilwinkle. “Come on!”

  The children and Ruskin followed Pilwinkle. Then the passageway stopped abruptly.

  “Oh no!” wailed Bella. “A dead end!”

  Friends

  * * *

  * * *

  But Ruskin continued to sniff the wall in front of him. Then he stood on his hind legs and whined. Tucked on a ledge sat Percy, shaking from head to tail.

  Pilwinkle carefully scooped Percy into his arms and handed him to Bella.

  “Percy, you’re filthy!” she scolded as she rocked her dog like a baby. “But I’m so glad to see you!”

  Then Bella, with her own face smudged with dirt and tears, looked down at Pilwinkle. “I’m sorry I was mean to you,” she said softly.

  The gnome smiled and patted Bella on the back.

  “I now realize that every member of the kingdom is as important as a royal,” said Bella.

  “I’m glad I could help,” he said.

  “You helped me too!” Clara said. “You’ve shown me one of the most beautiful lands in Wrenly.”

  “And there’s still so much to see,” Pilwinkle said.

  “There is?” questioned Clara.

  Pilwinkle grinned. “You have yet to see the River of Rubies,” he said, stroking his beard. “There’s also the Emerald Oasis and the Fountain of Sapphires. We even have the Pearly Gates, a cavern filled with freshwater pearls.”

  After climbing out of the caverns, Clara crouched by a small stone stump. She could hardly take it all in. She wrote every detail on one of her animal hides. She listed the things she had seen and the things she would see another time. Then she sat down and finished her sketches of the Stone Forest.

  “I’ll bet you’ll get the highest mark in your class,” Bella said, watching over Clara’s shoulder.

  Clara stopped sketching and looked at Bella.

  “You know what?” said Clara, smiling. “I think I’m beginning to like you.”

  Bella blushed. “Thanks,” she said. “You’re not so bad either.”

  Lucas looked at the girls and smiled. Then Ruskin squawked in approval.

  The girls giggled.

  Pilwinkle looked toward the hills. “You should all get going. The sun is setting, and I’m sure your parents will want you home before dark.”

  Bella curtsied to Pilwinkle. “Thank you again,” said the princess. “You are a really great friend.”

  “Why, thank you, Bella,” said Pilwinkle with a bow. “You know, good friends are more precious than all the gemstones here.”

  The children said good-bye to Pilwinkle and walked toward the carriage. Bella carried Percy, and Ruskin scampered behind. They sat down in the carriage and looked at one another.

  “Oh no,” Lucas said.

  “What?” asked Bella.

  “Look at us!” said Lucas. “We’re a mess!”

  Smudges of
dirt covered their faces and good clothes.

  “It’s just a little dirt!” said Bella.

  Then they all burst out laughing.

  A Good Report

  * * *

  * * *

  Clara stood in front of her class. She was the last one to give her geography report.

  “Sometimes the most beautiful place on earth is right under your nose,” she began. “And I found that place. It’s a place I had passed many times—and maybe you have too—but I had never been inside.”

  Clara walked over to the map of Wrenly. “I visited the Stone Forest,” she continued. “It is located to the southeast of Mermaid’s Cove and overlooks Hobsgrove on one side. This enchanted city was built entirely by gnomes over hundreds of years.”

  Clara held up an animal hide to show her sketches of the Stone Forest.

  “Not only are the arches and towers beautiful, but you can also climb up winding stairs inside and outside the structures. The views of Wrenly are amazing! Underneath the spires is a stunning underground world. There is more treasure in these tunnels than in all the fairy tales ever written.”

  Then Clara told the story of Princess Bella and her missing dog. She described Pilwinkle, the other gnomes, and the caverns of crystals and jewels. She showed her classmates the route they had taken through the tunnels and described what they had seen.

  “An entire world exists beneath the Stone Forest,” said Clara. “There are homes, stores, roads, bridges, and tumbling waterfalls. But the best part about the Stone Forest was the new friends I made.”

  Clara pulled out two more animal hides. One had a sketch of Pilwinkle, and the other one had a sketch of Princess Bella.

  “We will be friends forever,” said Clara, ending her report.

  Mistress Carson and the children clapped for Clara. Clara handed her animal hides to her teacher. Then the children ran outside for lunch and recess.

  Mistress Carson stayed behind and pulled out a needle and thread. She began to sew the children’s animal hides together.

  A few days later, Mistress Carson finished the tapestry. When sewn together, the pieces of hide formed a map of the kingdom. She hung it in the classroom for everyone to admire.

  Hear ye! Hear ye! Presenting the next book from The Kingdom of Wrenly! Here’s a sneak peek!

  A boy walked toward them. He had a picture of a lion on his jacket—the symbol of the Knight of Thornwood. The squire bowed before the prince.

  “Good morning, Your Highness,” he said. “My name is Gilbert. I’m Sir Hugh’s squire.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Gilbert,” said Lucas. “You must be very talented to serve Sir Hugh!”

  “Yes, what a great honor!” Clara added.

  Gilbert paid no attention to Clara. He kept his eyes on Lucas. “Sir Hugh is a great teacher. Would you like me to introduce you?”

  “Would I ever!” cried Lucas. “Sir Hugh is my all-time favorite hero.”

  “Mine too!” agreed Gilbert.

  “Ahem,” said Clara, trying to be part of the conversation. “Someday I hope to become a knight too!”

  This got Gilbert’s attention. He looked at her and laughed. Even Lucas looked surprised.

  “Girls can’t be knights!” declared Gilbert.

  “And why not?” questioned Clara, folding her arms.

  “Because all knights are boys!” argued Gilbert.

  “That doesn’t mean a girl can’t be one!” Clara shot back.

  “A girl knight?” said Gilbert. “Are you kidding?”

  “No!” Clara said firmly. “I can be whatever I want—so long as I work hard enough for it.”

  Gilbert raised his arms in the air. “Who is this girl?” he cried.

  JORDAN QUINN grew up in a fairy-tale castle in England. It had a spiral stone staircase, a moat, and a dungeon. As a child she liked to play hide-and-go-seek and ride her beloved horse, Prince Charming. When she wasn’t riding, she wrote stories about fairies, trolls, dragons, and wizards. Today, Jordan lives on a ranch in California with her husband, son, and a golden retriever named Sir Toots-a-Lot.

  ROBERT MCPHILLIPS has been involved in a wide variety of projects over the years—from illustrating greeting cards to animation. But he has always loved children’s books, and after many years he has turned his attention back to that. Robert makes his home in Wiltshire, England, with his wife, Sam.

  KingdomofWrenlyBooks.com

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  authors.simonandschuster.com/Robert-McPhillips

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  LITTLE SIMON

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  First Little Simon paperback edition December 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Jacket design by Laura Roode

  Jacket illustration copyright © 2014 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Also available in a Little Simon hardcover edition.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Quinn, Jordan.

  Beneath the Stone Forest / by Jordan Quinn ; illustrated by Robert McPhillips. — First edition.

  pages cm. — (The Kingdom of Wrenly ; 6)

  Summary: Clara invites Prince Lucas on her journey to map out the Stone Forest and visit the gnomes who live there.

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1391-6 (paperback) — ISBN 978-1-4814-1392-3 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-1393-0 (ebook)

  [1. Princes—Fiction. 2. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction.] I. McPhillips, Robert, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.Q31945Be 2014 [Fic]—dc23

  2014005189