by Chloe Ryder
Princess Honey was singing next to Stardust, tapping the ground in time to the music with a sparkly pink hoof. She was very pretty, with a shiny, strawberry chestnut coat, but she couldn’t quite reach the higher notes, and her voice kept squeaking.
“You sound like a rusty stable door,” Stardust said, laughing at her.
Honey hung her head.
“Hi, Stardust. Hi, Honey,” Pippa whispered, squeezing between them. “What’s going on?”
“We’re rehearsing for the Royal Concert,” Stardust replied. “We always hold it on Midsummer Day, to give thanks for Chevalia and the magical horseshoes. But Honey won’t be allowed to sing if she keeps on making that racket.” She playfully nudged her older sister.
Honey’s brown eyes filled with tears. “You’re so mean!” she said. Pushing past Stardust, she trotted out of the courtyard.
“There isn’t going to be a concert if we don’t find the horseshoes,” said Pippa. “But before we start searching for them, you’d better find Honey and say sorry for hurting her feelings.” Stardust was surprised. “I was only teasing. I didn’t mean to upset her–I forgot how much she wanted to sing the solo.”
Stardust was anxious to make it up to her sister, so together they sneaked out of the Royal Courtyard.
Once outside, she whinnied to Pippa, “Get on my back.” Pippa jumped onto Stardust’s snowy white back, and they cantered off to look for Honey.
Copyright
Text copyright © 2013 by Awesome Media and Entertainment Ltd Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Miles All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by anyinformation storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First published in Great Britain in June 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Published in the United States of America in August 2014 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books www.bloomsbury.com
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ryder, Chloe.
The special secret / Chloe Ryder.pages cm. —(Princess ponies ; 3)
Summary: On Harvest Day, Pippa and her princess pony friend Stardusthead to the Grasslands to help—and to search for the remaining missinghorseshoes needed to save the enchanted island of Chevalia.
ISBN 978-1-61963-237-0 (paperback) •ISBN 978-1-61963-238-7 (e-book)
[1. Ponies—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. Princesses—Fiction.4. Harvest festivals—Fiction.] I.Title.
PZ7.R95898Sp 2014 [Fic]— dc23 2013048653
eISBN: 978-1-61963-238-7
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
All papers used by Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc., are natural, recyclable productsmade from wood grown in well-managed forests.The manufacturing processesconform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.