Sophie Flufftail's Brave Plan

by Daisy Meadows

  “Too bright,” they moaned.

  “The sunshine’s horrible,” Woody said with a groan.

  Chilly grinned, flicking icicles from his tail.

  “Change the squirrels back to normal,” Jess demanded.

  “Won’t!” Chilly said, and stuck out his tongue. He beat his wings again.

  Instantly, an icy wind blew over the Shining House, and Chilly flew up into the sky, high above the treetops.

  As the dragon flew away, the Flufftails disappeared into the woods, still covering their eyes.

  “Wait!” Jess called. “Woody! Hazel! The poor Flufftails.” She sighed as she turned to Lily and Goldie.

  But Lily and Goldie were staring at the Shining House in dismay. The gleaming glass was covered with frost so thick they could barely see inside. The sunflowers were already drooping in the cold. Worst of all, no light was shining out into the forest.

  Goldie gave an upset sniffle.

  “Everything will be fine,” Jess promised. “We won’t give up until it is.”

  “I know you won’t,” said Goldie. Her whiskers lifted a little.

  There was a crackle from the bushes next to the Shining House.

  “Someone’s coming!” whispered Jess. “Careful, it might be Grizelda.”

  The girls held their breath. But instead of Grizelda, little Sophie Flufftail crept out from behind a bush. She was trembling and looked very upset.

  Lily knelt down. “It’s okay, Sophie,” she said. “The dragon’s gone.”

  Sophie ran to Lily, who scooped her up, stroking the little squirrel’s silky fur.

  “I hid behind the bush when the dragon came,” she told them. “Now my family all have a spell on them! I wish I’d come out and helped them.” She burst into tears.

  “There wasn’t anything you could have done,” Lily told her gently.

  Jess stroked the trembling squirrel. “Don’t worry, Sophie,” she said. “We’ll help your family.”

  “Really?” sniffed Sophie. She wiped her eyes with her tail.

  Goldie nodded. “Of course we will. Lily and Jess always help animals in trouble.”

  “Thank you!” cried Sophie. She wriggled down from Lily’s arms. “But first I’ve got to fix the Shining House.”

  She scampered over to it and rubbed the frosty glass with her tail. As soon as her bushy tail touched the glass, the frost started to fade. But even though she rubbed and rubbed, she only cleared a tiny patch of the glass.

  Sophie’s face fell. “I only have a little tail,” she said sadly. “I can’t polish it all on my own.”

  Everyone looked around the darkening forest anxiously. Without the Shining House, light was already fading away.

  Jess turned to Goldie. “We need to lift Chilly’s spell on the Flufftails so they can all fix the Shining House. We’ve got to find them!”

  “The spell has made them hate the sunshine,” Lily said, “so maybe they’ve gone somewhere dark and cold. Goldie, do you know anywhere like that?”

  Goldie shook her head.

  “Then we’ll just have to look for it,” Jess said determinedly.

  “We’ll search the whole forest if we have to!” agreed Lily.

  “Okay,” said Sophie. “Come on.” She bounded ahead but stopped suddenly, jumping back in fright. A big mound of earth had simply popped out of the ground, right in front of her.

  Another mound popped up nearby. Then another. And another!

  Jess scooped up Sophie and huddled together with Goldie and Lily. “What’s happening?” she whispered. “Is it more dragon magic?”

  “Stay back,” Jess said as another mound of earth appeared. “It could be Chilly, making more magic spells.”

  Pop! A fresh mound sprang up right by her foot. Suddenly, a face appeared in the middle of the mound! It was a mole, wearing round purple-framed eyeglasses.

  Goldie ran over, purring happily. “It’s okay! Those mounds are molehills, and that’s Lola Velvetnose!”

  “Phew,” said Lily with a grin.

  “Hello, Goldie!” Lola said, squinting up at them through her glasses. “Who’s that next to you? She smells like honey!”

  “This is Jess,” said Goldie, going closer so the little mole could see her clearly. “She’s a girl, and so is Lily.”

  Lola peered at Lily, then sniffed. “Mmm, you smell like strawberries,” she said.

  “You scared us, making all those molehills!” Lily laughed.

  “Sorry,” said Lola. “I’m investigating a strange new scent underground—a strong smell of chestnuts.”

  “Oh!” cried Sophie, looking out from behind Lily. “That must be my family. We love chestnuts.”

  Lola’s little pink nose went woffle woffle. “Yes,” she said. “You smell like chestnuts, too.”

  “Is my family really underground?” Sophie asked.

  “They must be,” said Lola. “Follow me, everyone. I’ll take you through one of my bigger tunnels.”

  She dug a hole wide enough for the girls, and they dropped down into a tunnel, followed by Goldie. Sophie cuddled into the crook of Lily’s arm, her tail curled around her little body as she held on tightly to her new friend.

  The tunnel was cool and smelled like freshly dug earth, but as Lily stepped inside, it got darker and darker. “Wait!” she called as Lola scrabbled ahead. “We can’t see!”

  “I’ll fix that,” said Lola. She dug upward, making a little hole that let in dim light and fresh air.

  Everyone followed her until she stopped at a corner. Woffle woffle went her little pink nose.

  “The chestnut smell is coming from somewhere nearby,” she said.

  They peered around the corner, and Sophie gave a little squeak.

  At the end of the tunnel was an underground cottage. Outside were several deck chairs. Mr. Silverback the badger, wearing his green vest, sat in one. And in the others were the Flufftails!

  “Hello there!” called Mr. Silverback in a rumbling voice. “Have you come to visit my underground garden, too?”

  “Mom! Dad!” cried Sophie. She scurried over to them as the girls and Goldie explained to Mr. Silverback what had happened.

  “Dear me,” he said, scratching his striped head. “No wonder they keep complaining about the light.”

  “We’re going to take you home,” Sophie told her family.

  “We can’t go home,” said Mr. Flufftail. “The sun’s shining. We don’t like sunshine.”

  And they refused to move.

  Sophie gave a little sob and Jess stroked her head comfortingly.

  Goldie looked at the girls in dismay. “If we can’t get the Flufftails to fix the Shining House, the forest will be dark and cold forever!”

  “Let’s go to the Toadstool Café to think,” Jess suggested.

  “Don’t worry, little Sophie,” said Mr. Silverback. “Your family will be safe here with me.”

  They thanked the badger and Sophie hugged each member of her family good-bye. Lola dug upward, making a hole big enough for everyone to climb out.

  As the girls reached the surface, they stared around in shock. The forest was so different from the sunny place they’d seen when they’d stepped through the Friendship Tree. Without the Shining House it was gloomy and gray and the air was damp and cold.

  “We have to fix this,” Goldie said miserably.

  “Can I come with you to the Toadstool Café?” asked Lola. “I don’t want to meet Chilly by myself.”

  “Of course,” said Lily, holding the mole’s soft paw comfortingly.

  They walked back to Toadstool Glade. The café was full of shivering rabbits and cold birds and mice with chattering teeth, but they all squeezed in to make room.

  “Everyone, take one of my play cots—I mean clay pots,” said a voice from somewhere in the middle of the room.

  Jess grinned. “I know who that is!”

  They made their way through the crowded café to where Mr. Cleverfeather was handing out red-brown pots to all th
e shivering little animals.

  “Hello,” he said when he saw Goldie and the girls. “Something’s long with the forest, and everyone’s sold—I mean, something’s wrong and everyone’s cold. So I invented these hotpots.” He passed some over to Lily, Jess, and Goldie.

  The round pots felt smooth and warm. Jess peeked under the lid of her hotpot and saw softly glowing embers. The girls, Goldie, and Sophie sat down and held the cozy pots. They felt even better when Mrs. Longwhiskers came over with a tray of hot blackberry tea and blossom buns.

  “Mmm,” Lily said as she enjoyed the buns’ gooey golden filling, which tasted like butterscotch.

  “Yummy!” Jess agreed. She looked around at the animals all huddled together. “All right, what are we going to do? We need to fix the Shining House and the Flufftails can’t help us.”

  All the animals leaned in to listen. “Maybe we could break Chilly’s magic somehow?” Lily thought out loud.

  Goldie glanced up as a long-legged stork wearing a flying helmet and carrying a tall cup made from bamboo appeared through the crowd. “Hello, Captain Ace,” she said. “Have you ever met a dragon on any of your long flights?”

  Captain Ace nodded. “I did once. Now that was a very interesting journey.”

  “Do you know anything about their magic?” asked Lily eagerly.

  “One thing I know is that you can’t lift a dragon’s spell,” said the captain. “You have to persuade the dragon to do it himself.”

  He dipped his beak into his tea as he strode away.

  “If he’s right,” said Lily, “we have to find Chilly.”

  “But where could he be?” Jess said.

  Sophie shivered. “An ice dragon would probably go somewhere really cold.”

  Lola wriggled. “Ooh! I know! The Winter Cave.”

  Goldie’s green eyes gleamed. “Lola, that sounds like exactly the right place! But where is it?”

  “It’s just beyond the Silver Spring,” said Lola. “I tunneled into it by mistake one day, and almost froze! I’m never going there again.”

  “That must be it!” exclaimed Jess. “Lola, you don’t have to come, but could you tell us how to find it?”

  “It’s very simple,” the mole said. “Instead of going through the maze to the Silver Spring, you go around it. Look for a glowing bush and the cave entrance is just beneath.”

  “A glowing bush?” Goldie said in surprise. “I’ve never heard of one of those in Friendship Forest.”

  “At least it’ll be easy to spot.” Jess shrugged. “Come on!”

  “I’ll go back and tell the Flufftails not to worry,” Lola volunteered.

  The girls, Goldie, and Sophie waved good-bye to Lola and their other friends, and set off. But as Lily passed the Friendship Tree, she cried, “Stop!” and ran to grab the coats they’d left there. “Even with the hotpots, it’s getting so cold that we might need these,” she explained.

  They put them on gladly.

  “Hey, turn around, Lily,” said Jess. She picked Sophie up and nestled her into Lily’s fur-lined hood. The little squirrel curled her tail round her toes.

  “Ooh, it’s so snuggly,” she said with a smile. “Thank you!”

  On they went, clutching the hotpots, which were still wonderfully warm. At last, they saw a light up ahead.

  “The glowing bush!” Lily laughed when she saw it.

  “Poor Lola couldn’t see—it isn’t the bush that’s glowing!” Jess giggled as she looked at the plant. It was covered with gorgeous fireflies, eating the leaves!

  “And here’s the entrance to the Winter Cave,” Goldie said, pulling aside the leaves.

  They’d only taken a few steps inside the cave when a rumbling noise echoed though the air. Lily, Jess, and Goldie stopped, and Sophie ducked even farther down into Lily’s hood.

  “What was that?” exclaimed Jess. “It sounded like horrible laughter.”

  “We have to keep going,” said Lily with a gulp. She took another step forward, then gasped. “Come and look!” she whispered.

  Jess and Goldie joined her. Sophie looked over Lily’s shoulder as they all peered into the mouth of the cave.

  “Wow!” said Lily.

  It was dark inside the cave, but the walls, roof, and floor shimmered with gleaming ice. Long icicles hung from the roof and the rocks on the ground glittered with frost.

  And in the middle, his tail over his eyes and his body shaking, was Chilly. But he wasn’t laughing … he was crying!

  Chilly whimpered again. With each cry, puffs of snow blew out of his mouth.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Jess asked.

  “We have to help him,” Lily said.

  “But what if he puts a spell on us, too?” said Goldie. “Then who will help the Flufftails and save Friendship Forest?”

  Chilly gave a huge rattling sniffle, then puffed out more snow.

  Lily and Jess looked at each other. Goldie was right. What were they going to do? Before they could move, Lily’s hood started wriggling. Sophie jumped out and darted down Lily’s back.

  “Sophie, no!” Jess whispered.

  But Sophie didn’t listen. “I hid before, but I’m not hiding anymore!” she chattered as she jumped down on the floor of the Winter Cave, then bravely scampered over to the dragon.

  “Take the spell off my family, you big meanie!” she shouted as she scurried right up to Chilly and stood in front of him.

  The crying stopped. The dragon’s eyes snapped open and he jumped onto his clawed feet. Chilly opened his mouth, as if he was about to roar …

  But to the girls’ surprise, the little dragon gave another whimper.

  “Who’s there?” he asked, his scaly legs trembling. “Are you a monster?”

  Sophie looked shocked. “No, it’s me, Sophie Flufftail,” she told him. “And my friends. Why did you think we were monsters, Chilly?”

  Chilly trembled. “Anything could be hiding in the dark.”

  “Chilly’s scared of the dark!” Lily gasped. “That’s why he was crying!”

  “Of course!” said Jess. “The forest is colder and darker without the Shining House. Chilly likes how cold it is, but he doesn’t like the darkness!”

  Goldie’s green eyes gleamed. “Smart Sophie for talking to him! We’d never have realized otherwise.”

  Lily glanced down at the hotpot in her hand. It had given her an idea. She lifted the lid, and a warm light shone out, making the icicles on the roof glitter like chandeliers.

  Chilly gazed up, his eyes wide. “Oooh,” he breathed happily.

  Lily held the hotpot out to him. “You can have it if you want,” she told him, “as long as you do something for us.”

  Chilly reached a scaly paw toward the hotpot. Then he leaped back. “Hot!” he roared angrily, blowing a puff of snow over them all.

  Lily glanced anxiously at Jess and Goldie. What should they do now? Sophie scampered over and they all gathered on one side of the cave.

  “If only the hotpot wasn’t hot,” Goldie sighed.

  “We need one of Mr. Cleverfeather’s glowworm lanterns,” said Jess, thinking back on one of their other adventures. “They made light but they weren’t too warm.”

  “Oh, I know!” cried Sophie. “There were fireflies outside. Maybe they’d light the cave for Chilly?”

  Goldie ran outside as fast as her paws could take her.

  “Chilly, we think we can make the Winter Cave nice and light,” Jess said. “But we want you to do something in return. Will you take your spell off Sophie’s family?”

  “Can’t,” said Chilly.

  “But why not?” Jess asked.

  The little dragon shrugged sadly.

  Jess remembered how bossy Grizelda was to the dragons when they first saw them in Brightley Meadow.

  “Is it because of Grizelda?” she asked.

  Chilly nodded his scaly blue head.

  “You don’t have to do what she says,” Jess went on.

  Chilly looked puzzled. �
�Don’t I?”

  “No,” said Lily, catching on to what Jess was thinking. “Dragons don’t take orders from witches!”

  Chilly roared again, sending more snow fluttering around the cave. “I’m going to lift my spell whether she likes it or not! Pffffftttt!” He blew a huge raspberry.

  Brave Sophie raced over to Chilly and gave him a hug. “Thank you!” she said.

  The girls cheered. “Now we just need Goldie to get the fireflies to agree to help,” Lily said.

  “I don’t think we need to worry about that,” Jess smiled. “Look!”

  Goldie rushed back into the cave, followed by a gorgeous fluttering cloud of golden fireflies.

  “You must promise not to hurt the fireflies, Chilly,” Goldie told him sternly.

  Chilly looked around happily. “Lovely light.” He blew out a breath, which sparkled with frost. Then he stared shyly at Sophie and the girls. “Thank you.”

  Lily smiled at the little dragon. Thanks to Sophie, they’d found out that he wasn’t so bad after all. “You’re welcome, Chilly. Now let’s break that spell!”

  Lola, the Flufftails, and Mr. Silverback gasped with surprise when the dragon peered down the hole into the underground garden.

  “Chilly’s going to lift the spell so you’ll love the sunshine again,” Lily told the squirrels.

  Chilly beat his wings and chanted,

  “Dragon wings stop Chilly’s spell

  Grizelda’s had her fun

  Make squirrels be themselves again

  And love the golden sun.”

  Instantly, the young Flufftails started squealing. “It’s so dark!” squeaked Woody.

  “Where are we?” asked Dasha.

  “You’ve been under a spell that made you hate the sunshine,” said Jess.

  “We have to get back home to the Shining House!” said Mr. Flufftail. “Come along, children, quickly!”

  Lola and Mr. Silverback helped them climb out of the tunnel, and Sophie quickly told her family the whole story. The Flufftails thanked everyone.