Gnomeo and Juliet

by Disney Book Group

  “Yes,” Gnomeo agreed. “Fighting to the death.”

  Juliet pointed at her hat and then at Gnomeo’s. “Don’t you see, we’re mortal enemies,” she said. “He’s a Blue…”

  “And she’s a Red,” Gnomeo finished.

  Featherstone looked bored. “And I’m pink,” he said with a shrug. Featherstone frankly didn’t care why these two gnomes were in his garden. He was just glad to see someone. He had been locked in the shed alone for twenty years!

  Featherstone looked sadly at the broken greenhouse windows and the scummy pond. He strode past Gnomeo and Juliet toward the old mower. He started to drag it across the overgrown grass.

  “She’s empty,” Gnomeo told Featherstone.

  “I’ve got gas in the shed,” Featherstone replied. “It’s in a can. Come on.”

  Gnomeo and Juliet beamed at each other. This was going to be awesome!

  Within minutes the trio had the mower gassed up and ready to go.

  “Let her rip,” Gnomeo told Juliet, inviting her to start the old mower. A wide smile crossed her face as she pulled the throttle and revved the engine. Then she took off!

  Juliet made some wild, sharp turns, almost flipping over, but she took each curve like a professional driver. After a few tricky, hair-raising moves around the old place, she screeched to a halt in front of Gnomeo and Featherstone.

  “Ta-da,” Juliet announced as she leaped from the mower and landed in front of Gnomeo. When he looked at her path, he saw that she had carved the initials G+J into the tall grass.

  “Fantastic penmanship,” Featherstone said, admiring it. “But we still have to do something about these weeds.”

  “They’re not weeds,” Juliet said. “They’re dandelion wishes. Go on. Make a wish and then blow on it.”

  “A weed by any other name…,” Featherstone replied sarcastically, before giving it a try. But his attempt at blowing on the dandelion didn’t quite work. “It’s kind of hard with a beak.”

  Then Featherstone tried one more time, and only one little white seed flew into the air. Featherstone sighed and walked away to be alone.

  Juliet and Gnomeo looked at each other shyly and started to talk. Juliet decided to explain why her father was so strict.

  “My dad’s a little overprotective,” Juliet admitted. In truth, driving the mower was the first unsafe thing she’d ever done—aside from sneaking around with Gnomeo.

  Gnomeo understood exactly what Juliet was talking about. “Well, my mom raised me to hate you guys,” he replied. “So it could never work. Could it?”

  “A Red and a Blue,” Juliet said sadly. “It just can’t be.”

  Meanwhile, Featherstone had been blowing dandelions successfully, and he wanted to make as many wishes as he could. “I wish we could all come back and do this tomorrow,” he said. “I promise that your secret is safe with me.”

  Juliet looked at Gnomeo. It was as if Featherstone had read her mind.

  “Should we?” Juliet asked Gnomeo.

  “I can do eleven-forty-five,” he said.

  “Not soon enough,” Juliet replied, giggling.

  Gnomeo took Juliet’s hand one last time, and then they parted.

  Gnomeo walked through the Blue garden gate happily. He couldn’t stop thinking about Juliet and their date. And he really couldn’t wait to see her again tomorrow!

  He was jarred out of his daydream when Shroom barreled into him. “Ooofff!” Gnomeo grunted.

  Shroom was usually excited when Gnomeo came home, but this time he was acting a little crazy. Why was Shroom so anxious to see him? Gnomeo looked around for clues. When he saw the yard, his face fell.

  Gnomeo spotted broken and cut pieces of wisteria branches everywhere. They were scattered all over the lawn.

  Gnomeo gathered his courage and looked toward the prized wisteria tree in its toilet bowl planter. He cringed. All that was left was a leafless bunch of broken sticks.

  “Oh no,” Gnomeo muttered. How could this have happened? He frantically looked around and finally saw his mother.

  “How did it come to this?” Lady Bluebury sobbed from across the lawn. She sat on the ground and hugged one of the broken wisteria branches to her chest. “She was thriving so well this year,” Lady Bluebury said sadly. “Struck down in full bloom!”

  Gnomeo ran to his mother. “Mom!” he cried.

  Lady Bluebury looked up at Gnomeo sternly. “Gnomeo! How could this have happened? Where were you?”

  Gnomeo hung his head in shame. He had no excuse. The wisteria was ruined, and he had deserted his post in the garden. “I was—I was nowhere,” he mumbled.

  Lady Bluebury continued sobbing.

  “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll make it up to you,” Gnomeo promised.

  “How?” Lady Bluebury asked. “Redbrick and his hoodlums destroyed the most beautiful thing we Blues have. Your father and I planted her. We raised her from a seedling!”

  Lady Bluebury ran across the lawn, crying. A group of small stone bunnies followed her.

  Gnomeo didn’t know what to do. He had never seen his mother so heartbroken before. And it was all his fault.

  Benny held up a spray gun of weed killer. “Those blasted Reds! C’mon, Gnomeo, we’ll make them pay!” he shouted, ready for revenge.

  The crowd of Blues cheered. “Make ’em pay! Make ’em pay!” they chanted.

  Benny thrust the weed killer into Gnomeo’s hand. “Every last one of them!” Benny yelled, his fist raised into the air. It was a war cry.

  Gnomeo looked at the spray gun in his hand and then at the chanting Blues. It was obvious what they wanted him to do. But he wasn’t sure.

  “Every last one,” Gnomeo said, repeating Benny’s words. But as he said it, he was thinking only of Juliet.

  “My dad can really pick them,” Juliet said to Nanette. They were listening to Paris serenading Juliet with a song he had written. Juliet was not impressed.

  Nanette, on the other hand, had a dreamy look on her face. To her, Paris seemed like quite the catch!

  Paris looked up as he sang his song to see Nanette gazing lovingly at him. He had never noticed how beautiful she was. He turned and sang in Nanette’s direction this time. Love was certainly in the air!

  Juliet giggled as she realized what was happening between Paris and her friend. She knew just how Nanette was feeling. She picked up her orchid and sniffed it, thinking of Gnomeo.

  Then Juliet sensed movement across the garden. She looked up and spotted something tunneling underground by the fence. All of a sudden, Gnomeo popped out of the dirt.

  Little did she know what was being planned by the Blues. Gnomeo had burrowed his way under the fence and had emerged in the Red garden, with Benny right behind him. Gnomeo was determined to set things right with his mother. And if that meant seeking revenge on the Reds, then so be it, even if he wasn’t so sure about the plan.

  Gnomeo took in his surroundings. Tybalt was with his goons, but they were too far away to notice Gnomeo and Benny. Gnomeo eyed the nearby tulips and crawled toward them. He aimed the spray gun of weed killer at the flowers. It was now or never.

  Suddenly, Juliet sprang out in front of him—directly in his line of fire. Gnomeo jumped.

  He must be here to surprise me, Juliet thought. She smiled. But then she noticed the spray bottle aimed at the tulips. It didn’t take long for her to realize that this was not the kind of surprise she’d been hoping for. Her eyes darkened as she glared at Gnomeo. Then she stormed away silently.

  “Juliet—no, wait!” Gnomeo called after her. This wasn’t his idea. He didn’t even really want to do it.

  But Juliet had disappeared.

  A hippo lawn ornament spotted Gnome. “A Blue! A Blue!” it began to shout.

  Gnomeo shot back into the tunnel he had dug. Benny quickly followed, but not before Tybalt was able to catch a glimpse of him.

  Tybalt ran up to the fence and put his eye to a small hole. He quickly realized what the Blues had been up to and, looking
at Benny, said to himself, “Such a big hat for such a small brain.”

  He turned to Fawn and the goons, who were right behind him. “So, you boys fancy a little bit of fun?” He walked toward his mower. “Let’s take this baby out into the alley,” he said.

  As usual, Fawn was slow to catch on. “Then what are we going to do?” he asked.

  “We’re going to have a smashing good time!” Tybalt gave a sinister laugh. “Ah-hahaha!” He revved his mower, and the goons cheered.

  The Reds were ready to strike again.

  Later that afternoon, Gnomeo tracked down Juliet in Featherstone’s garden. He tried to explain himself, but Juliet wasn’t in the mood to listen.

  “Is that your big move on a second date? Wine them, dine them, and then spray them with weed killer?” she asked. She was still angry.

  “Well, you have to admit, it is original,” Gnomeo said sheepishly.

  Featherstone spotted them from across the garden and walked over. “Are you back already?” he asked, delighted to see them.

  Gnomeo and Juliet ignored him and continued to argue.

  “Juliet, be reasonable,” Gnomeo pleaded with her. “I didn’t have a choice after Incident Wisteria.”

  Featherstone looked worried. He hated it when two people in love fought. But Gnomeo and Juliet kept right on fighting.

  Featherstone tried one more time. “Come on, guys, can’t we just all laugh about this?”

  Juliet and Gnomeo looked at him sharply.

  “We’re in the middle of something—do you mind?” Gnomeo snapped.

  “You wouldn’t understand, all right?” Juliet added. “So just leave us alone.”

  Featherstone looked upset. He was only trying to help. “Oh. Sorry. Sometimes I get a little overexcited…especially having such great new friends,” he said. “I know I can be a bit much.” He sadly walked away.

  Gnomeo and Juliet looked at each other guiltily. Poor Featherstone. This wasn’t his fault.

  “Wait, Featherstone,” Gnomeo called after him. He hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings.

  “Come back! We’re sorry!” Juliet pleaded.

  But Featherstone wasn’t in the garden anymore.

  Gnomeo and Juliet went to the shed to find him. When they walked through the door, their mouths dropped open.

  Featherstone’s home was beautiful! One whole wall was decorated with pictures and memorabilia that Featherstone had collected over the years. Gnomeo and Juliet looked more closely and noticed one photograph in particular. It was worn around the edges and showed the same garden long ago, tidy and in full bloom. In the background stood two pink flamingos.

  Featherstone came up behind them. He looked at the picture and said, “I understand more than you think. I was in love once, too.”

  Looking off into the distance, Featherstone walked toward the greenhouse.

  Gnomeo and Juliet followed him.

  Featherstone told them about his past. Long ago, a young couple had lived in this house. They took care of the garden and were wonderfully in love. Featherstone was in love, too—with another pink flamingo the couple had planted on the lawn. It was such a happy time for them all. Featherstone thought it would last forever.

  But then the couple’s love simply died, and they decided to part ways. They sold their house and abandoned their garden. Featherstone’s girlfriend was packed away in a moving van. And Featherstone was locked in the shed. He had never seen his girlfriend again, though he thought about her every day.

  Featherstone sighed, heartbroken. He missed her now just as much as he had all those years ago.

  Gnomeo looked at Juliet. Suddenly, he felt scared. What if the same thing happened to him and Juliet? What if they never saw each other again? Gnomeo had to make sure that would never happen.

  Gnomeo clasped Juliet’s hands. “What if we never went back?” he suggested.

  Juliet frowned and said, “Never go back? But what about my dad and Nanette and the Red garden?” Juliet loved Gnomeo with all her heart. But could she really leave the rest of her world behind? She wasn’t sure.

  “See, the truth is, over there we’re enemies. But over here”—Gnomeo spread his arms wide—“we’re a matching pair.”

  He smiled at the thought of always being with Juliet.

  Juliet looked deep into Gnomeo’s eyes. She couldn’t imagine life without him.

  “Juliet,” Gnomeo said. “Will you stay here and build a garden with me?”

  “I would love to,” Juliet replied. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

  Featherstone beamed. He loved a happy ending!

  Gnomeo and Juliet leaned in to kiss. It was the perfect moment. But suddenly, they heard a loud noise.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Benny was slamming the greenhouse window with his fists. Benny looked horrified. His best friend was about to kiss a Red! “Gnomeo!” he shouted through the glass. “What are you doing?”

  Gnomeo stammered, “B-Benny, listen. I—I can explain.”

  But it was too late. Distraught, Benny had run away.

  Benny burst into the alleyway, out of breath. His head was spinning. What was Gnomeo thinking? Benny was so distracted that he wasn’t even looking where he was going. He ran smack into Tybalt and the goons.

  Tybalt sat on his mower with his arms crossed. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t little big-hat Benny,” he sneered. He revved his lawn mower’s engine.

  Uh-oh, Benny thought. He looked around for an escape route.

  “Mess with our garden, will ya?” Tybalt asked. His eyes narrowed. He had a shovel in his hand and began twirling it menacingly.

  Benny spied the open gate of the Blue garden only a few feet away. Could he make it in time?

  Just then, Gnomeo and Shroom ran into the alleyway. Gnomeo took in the scene.

  “Benny!” he called.

  Tybalt swung his shovel in the air. Swish! He sliced it straight through the top of Benny’s hat.

  “No!” Gnomeo cried.

  Benny fell backward. He felt the area where his hat used to be. It was gone. “Oh no!” he cried helplessly.

  “Oh, that felt good,” Tybalt said.

  Gnomeo’s face darkened. He couldn’t let Tybalt get away with this. “Tybalt!” Gnomeo thundered.

  Tybalt gunned his mower’s engine and drove straight toward Gnomeo.

  A snarling Gnomeo grabbed a nearby pipe and jumped onto the moving mower.

  Juliet ran out of the garden and saw Gnomeo and Tybalt sparring. “No!” she cried.

  As the mower sped down the alleyway, Gnomeo and Tybalt crashed their weapons together. Clash! Clash! Clang! Clang!

  Gnomeo easily sent Tybalt’s shovel flying.

  “You wouldn’t attack an unarmed gnome, would you?” Tybalt asked.

  Gnomeo knew he could destroy Tybalt right then and there. But he was too honorable to keep fighting with a weapon when his opponent was unarmed. He flung his pipe away and put up his fists.

  But Tybalt wasn’t one to fight fair. He pushed a lever on his mower. The mower shuddered, making Gnomeo lose his balance.

  “Sucker!” Tybalt taunted.

  Still off balance, Gnomeo was leaning precariously over the side of the mower. Tybalt pushed Gnomeo’s head dangerously close to the ground. Gnomeo had nowhere to go! He looked up for a split second and realized they were speeding toward big trouble.

  “Tybalt! The wall!” he yelled.

  “You think I’m going to fall for that old trick?

  Ha!” Tybalt called over the roar of the mower.

  Gnomeo shoved Tybalt away from him just in time. He dove off the mower, landing safely on a patch of grass.

  Tybalt looked up. His face dropped when he realized he was about to crash.

  The lawn mower smashed into the wall. When the dust cleared, everyone could see that Tybalt had crumbled into a million pieces.

  Inside both gardens, Lord Redbrick and Lady Bluebury heard a terrible sound.

  “What was
that?” Lord Redbrick asked.

  “What’s happened?” asked Lady Bluebury.

  They rushed through their back gates. A crowd of Reds and Blues poured into the alley to see what the commotion was about.

  Fawn and the goons had circled Gnomeo. Gnomeo had destroyed their leader, and now they were going to crush him. “Smash him back!” one of the goons yelled.

  Juliet ran in front of Gnomeo, protecting him. “No!” she cried.

  Lord Redbrick held up his arms to quiet the crowd. “What is the meaning of all this constipation?” he asked.

  “Gnomeo smashed Tybalt—” the goons began.

  “No! He didn’t do it!” Juliet interrupted. She wasn’t going to let Gnomeo take the blame for something he hadn’t done.

  Lord Redbrick looked confused. Why was Juliet protecting a Blue? He turned to his daughter. “Juliet?” he asked.

  Lady Bluebury cocked her head. “Gnomeo?” she questioned.

  But the goons didn’t care about explanations. They were hungry for revenge. “A gnome for a gnome!” they shouted, pelting Gnomeo with pebbles and rubble.

  “Run, Gnomeo, run!” Juliet called.

  Gnomeo took off down the alley, toward the street. A gang of angry Reds followed him.

  Lady Bluebury ran after the mob. “Stop! Stop that!” she shouted.

  A crowd of Blues burst into the alleyway and chased after the Reds. This was all-out war!

  Gnomeo reached the end of the alley. The street beyond only led to the dangerous outside world. He was trapped. The angry mob closed in on him. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited.

  Then someone came jogging down the street. The gnomes were forced to freeze. The human jogger turned down the alley, but when she saw all the gnomes, she slowed down. “Creepy,” she muttered as she took a different route—but not before she had accidentally knocked Gnomeo into the road.

  A speeding car raced down the street. Its tire clipped Gnomeo, sending him flying into the intersection.

  Juliet ran toward him, but Lord Redbrick grabbed her. “What are you doing?” he demanded.

  “I love him!” cried Juliet.