“We’re as small as Hermia!” said Lily—then laughed. Her voice was as tinkly as the butterfly’s, too.
“Come in!” said Hermia. Now that they were tiny they could see her clearly. Her wings were like sails and covered in swirling patterns of pink, purple, and lilac.
They followed Hermia inside. The bowery seemed huge, with a high ceiling as tall as a cathedral, soft rose petals on the floor, and a sweet smell in the air. And everywhere the girls looked there were fluttering butterflies of every color of the rainbow! Sunlight glittered through windows covered with lacy spiderwebs and glinted off the butterflies’ shimmering wings as they flew around.
“Amazing!” breathed Jess.
“Hello, girls! Hello, Goldie!” said the butterflies, as Hermia led them to a pink pool in the ground.
“This is where we keep our sugarsap,” Hermia said. She showed them how to dip an empty seed pod into the pool, fill it with sugarsap, then pour it onto a large leaf and fold it into a parcel. Soon Goldie and the girls had made a huge pile of sugarsap parcels.
“I hope we’ve collected enough to free Amelia,” said Jess.
“Me, too,” said Hermia. She gave them a handful of sunshine-yellow flowers.
“These are growberry blossoms,” the butterfly said. “If you eat them when you get outside, you’ll return back to your normal size.”
“Thank you, Hermia!” said Lily and Jess together. The butterflies fluttered their wings in farewell as the girls and Goldie left. On the branch outside, they ate the growberry blossoms. Instantly, they quivered all over and, in no time, they were back to the size they’d been when they arrived in the forest.
“Let’s get back to the grotto,” said Goldie. “I just hope the sugarsap opens that horrible flower this time!”
At the grotto, the worried animals stood around the snapdragons. The one that held Amelia drooped heavily toward the ground.
“It’s all right, Amelia!” Jess called. “We’re going to save you!”
The kitten’s voice was muffled. “Please hurry,” they heard her say. “It’s really dark in here!”
Lily, Jess, and Goldie unwrapped the leaf parcels. Then the girls darted around the flowers, sprinkling the liquid over them as they dodged their snapping petals. When they’d finished, everyone waited. The girls held their breath.
Then the bouquet gave itself a great shake. The sugarsap droplets flew off.
There was a wail from inside the flower. “I’m dizzy!” mewed Amelia.
Finally, the bouquet was still—but the flower holding the kitten was still snapped firmly shut.
Lily and Jess groaned with dismay.
“The sugarsap didn’t work!” cried Mrs. Sparklepaw with a sob.
“We’re so sorry,” Lily said.
She glanced at Jess and Goldie. Their worried faces showed they were all thinking the same thing.
Would they ever be able to free Amelia?
Nobody knew what to do. The Sparklepaws huddled together, looking upset. Mr. Cleverfeather flapped his wings anxiously and the Twinkletail mouse family was in tears.
Then Jess gave a shout. She took the leftover shrinking violets from her pocket and held them up. “Hey, I know! We can use these!”
Lily was confused. “How will it help Amelia if we shrink?”
“We won’t eat them,” explained Jess. “We’ll feed them to the snapdragons. They’ll shrink until they’re too small to hold Amelia—and then they’ll have to drop her.”
“Let’s try it!” Lily cried.
Jess crept toward the bouquet, clutching the violets. As soon as she was within reach, the flowers snapped at her. She dodged them, not wanting to get trapped in a flower, too.
Lily shrieked as a flower lunged with its parrot-beak wide open, but Jess was too quick. She tossed the shrinking violets deep inside the flower’s mouth.
The flower clamped shut.
Everyone waited.
“Nothing’s happening!” Mrs. Sparklepaw wailed.
“Wait!” Goldie grabbed the girls’ hands. They watched anxiously as the flowers started to shudder and shake—and then shrink!
“It’s working!” Lily cried as the bouquet got smaller and smaller.
With a slurp, the flower opened, and out tumbled Amelia!
Lily darted forward to catch her, then Mrs. Sparklepaw rushed over to give Amelia a big squeeze.
Everyone cheered. “Hooray!”
The Sparklepaws hugged and kissed Amelia, then she wriggled free and bounded over to Goldie and the girls.
“Thanks for rescuing me!” she said. As she hugged them, the girls could feel her purring.
“You were a very brave kitten,” said Lily, stroking Amelia’s soft white fur.
“Everything’s all right now,” Jess said happily. “The party can begin!”
But Lily gave a shout, pointing to a gap in the trees.
A familiar yellow-green orb of light was hurtling toward them!
“Quick, into my grotto!” Goldie shouted, but it was too late.
The orb burst in a shower of smelly green sparks. When they cleared, there stood Grizelda, wearing her usual purple tunic, skinny black pants, and high-heeled boots.
“Go away, Grizelda!” cried Jess. “We’ve had enough of your evil spells!”
The witch’s face was red with rage, and her green hair swished around like tangled snakes.
“You’ve stopped me this time, cat!” she shrieked. “But you won’t interfere with my plans again! Ever!”
She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a burst of vile-smelling green sparks.
Lily and Jess turned to Goldie.
“Don’t worry,” said Lily. “If Grizelda comes back, we’ll be ready for her.”
“Whatever happens,” said Jess. “Now, it’s your birthday, and we’re not going to let that awful witch spoil your party!”
“No way!” Amelia added bravely.
Mrs. Sparklepaw knelt to hug her kitten again. “Are you sure you don’t want to go home, Amelia?” she asked.
But Amelia shook her head. “I love parties, Mom! I want to stay!”
Goldie smiled at the little kitten. “I’ll go inside and start the Dreamy Creamy Ice Machine!”
When she’d gone in, Jess pulled out the little sketchbook and pencil she always carried in her pocket. “Lily,” she whispered. “We don’t have a present, but at least we can make Goldie a card.”
Amelia collected flower petals to decorate the card, and Lily found some tiny glossy red seeds that she stuck to the card with dabs of sticky pine sap.
They went inside to give the card to Goldie, but the ice cream machine stood silent in the empty cave. Goldie was nowhere to be seen.
“Goldie?” Jess called.
“Maybe she took ice cream out to the others,” said Amelia. “I’ll look.” She scampered away.
“Goldie?” Jess called again.
Amelia came back in, shaking her head. “She’s not outside, and no one’s seen her,” she said. Her whiskers twitched with worry. “Where could she be?”
Lily gave a cry of horror. “Oh, no,” she said. “Remember what Grizelda said—that Goldie wouldn’t stop her plans again? I think she’s taken her!”
Amelia gave a frightened mew. “Poor Goldie!”
Jess clenched her fists. “Whatever Grizelda’s done with Goldie, we’ll find out somehow. We won’t let that witch cat-nap our friend!”
CHAPTER ONE: Where’s Goldie?
CHAPTER TWO: Amelia’s Flower
CHAPTER THREE: Grizelda’s Gobbler
CHAPTER FOUR: Tricking the Witch
CHAPTER FIVE: Rescue
Lily and Jess sat in despair on Goldie’s sofa, with Amelia Sparklepaw the kitten snuggled between them.
Grizelda the witch had already spoiled Goldie’s birthday party with one horrible surprise. But now she had done something even worse. She’d cat-napped Goldie!
All the guests were still outside in the sunshine, enjoying the p
arty food. They had no idea that the witch was up to her terrible tricks again.
Lily sighed. “Grizelda told us Goldie would never interfere with her plans ever again,” she said. “Where could she have taken her?”
“I keep hoping Goldie’s playing touch-a-tail, like I do with my brothers,” said Amelia sadly. “That would mean she’s just hiding. But she’s really gone.”
Jess took Amelia’s soft little paw. “Come on, let’s tell the others what happened.”
When the animals heard the news, they all gasped in shock.
“Poor Goldie!” squeaked Molly Twinkletail tearfully.
“She must be so scared,” cried Lucy Longwhiskers, her whiskers drooping.
The butterflies talked worriedly together in tinkling voices, twirling their parasol leaves as they flew.
“And Goldie was so brave helping to get Amelia back,” sniffled Mrs. Sparklepaw.
Mr. Cleverfeather hooted mournfully. “It’s a dad bay,” he said. “I mean, a bad day. Where could Goldie be?”
“Maybe Grizelda’s taken her to that terrible witchy tower of hers,” Lily suggested.
Everyone looked around in dismay. All except Amelia, who was staring at something on the ground, over where Grizelda had been standing. “Look,” she said. “One of the butterflies dropped their parasol leaf.”
“Ooh, yes,” said Jess. “Butterflies,” she called, “has anyone lost their parasol?”
“No,” they called in their tinkly voices.
Lily’s eyes shone. “Hey! If none of the butterflies dropped the leaf, maybe it fell from Grizelda’s clothes. It’s a clue!”
“You’re right!” cried Jess. “If we can find where it came from, maybe it’ll help us find Goldie. Hermia, where in the forest do parasol leaves grow?”
“We’ll show you,” cried the butterfly. “There’s only one parasol tree. Follow us!”
Hermia and her friends fluttered away in a rainbow swirl.
Lily and Jess started after them, but Amelia yelled, “I’m coming, too!”
Mrs. Sparklepaw held Amelia’s paw. “Stay here where you’re safe,” she said.
“Please, Mom,” Amelia begged. “Goldie helped rescue me, remember?”
“Jess and I will take care of her,” Lily said to Mrs. Sparklepaw. “We promise.”
“All right,” Mrs. Sparklepaw agreed.
Amelia scampered along beside Jess and Lily as they followed the butterflies. Behind them, the animals called, “Good luck!”
“Don’t worry,” Jess called, “we’ll be back soon—with Goldie, too!”
The butterflies swirled in a colorful, fluttering cloud through the forest.
“Almost there,” Hermia said.
Soon they reached the Treasure Tree. Its branches were covered in enough fruit, nuts, and berries for all the animals in the forest. The lower branches were heavy with golden pineapples. Nearby, the Paddlefoot beaver family was filling baskets with the spiky yellow fruit.
“Hello, Jess and Lily,” little Betsy Paddlefoot called. “We’re having pineapple pudding today.
Would you like to come and have some?”
“We’d love to, Betsy,” said Jess, “but we’re busy following a clue. It’s very important!”
The cloud of butterflies led them on through the trees. Finally, they reached an umbrella-shaped tree.
“The parasol tree!” Lily said excitedly.
The butterflies swirled around it so fast that they made a ribbon of color.
“Thank you, butterflies!” said Jess.
Hermia and her friends called good-bye and fluttered away.
Amelia bounded over to the tree, and the girls joined her to look up through the delicate branches.
“There’s no one there,” Jess said. “No Goldie, no Grizelda.”
Amelia’s whiskers drooped.
Jess stroked the kitten’s fluffy head. “We’ll keep looking,” she promised.
Lily glanced around and noticed something odd close by. “Look! There’s a strange bush,” she told the others.
“Let’s take a look,” said Jess.
“Be careful,” Lily said, picking Amelia up. She hugged the kitten close. “Something about it gives me the shivers.”
As they drew nearer, they saw it was a building made of thick, thorny branches twisted together.
“It’s like a huge upside-down nest,” Lily said curiously.
“A really awful nest,” added Jess excitedly. “It’s exactly the sort of place where Grizelda would hide Goldie!”
Lily nodded. “But how will we get inside? There’s no door.”
“If there’s a way in,” said Amelia, “I’ll find it.” She jumped to the ground then crouched low, wriggling forward stealthily on her belly.
The girls tiptoed after her around the outside of the strange building. Whenever Amelia found a space between the branches, she popped her head inside, then moved on to the next gap.
“What are you doing?” whispered Jess.
“I’m checking how wide the gaps are with my whiskers,” Amelia explained. She stopped. “Look! Here’s a nice big gap!”
Amelia started to scramble through. Lily and Jess crawled on all fours after the kitten, into the thick mesh of thorny branches. Plump, fuzzy-skinned fruit hung from them.
“They look delicious,” Jess said.
“Don’t touch them,” warned Amelia. “They—”
Just then, Lily’s sleeve caught on a thorn. She jerked back, knocking one of the fuzzy fruits to the ground.
Screeeeeeech!
The girls covered their ears.
“I was just going to tell you,” Amelia said, “those are screechy peaches! Poppy and Patch Muddlepup brought them to a picnic once as a joke. Every time someone touched them, they screeched! It was really funny!”
“Grizelda must have put the screechy peaches here so she’d know if someone breaks in,” Jess realized.
The screech died away, and was replaced by another sound—the click, clack, click, clack, click of the witch’s high-heeled boots!
“Who’s there?” Grizelda’s voice bawled. Her footsteps came closer. “If someone’s in my workshop, they’ll be sorry.… ”
“Oh, no!” whispered Lily. “Grizelda’s going to see us!”
But Amelia touched the flower around her neck. “She won’t,” the kitten said. “We can use this!”
“But how can that help?” Jess whispered.
“It’s a hiding hollyhock,” Amelia explained quickly. “Tommy, Timmy, and I use them to hide whenever we play touch-a-tail. Now hold my paws!”
The frightened girls did as she said. Amelia jangled her flower. Immediately, their hands disappeared—then their arms!
Lily gasped. “We’re vanishing!”
“The hiding hollyhock makes us invisible,” Amelia whispered.
They froze as Grizelda came closer.
“Someone’s in my nice new workshop,” she muttered. “I can smell them.”
Jess and Lily gripped Amelia’s paws tightly as Grizelda’s bony nose poked through the mesh of branches. Their hearts were pounding. Would the flower’s magic work—or would the witch find them after all?
Jess and Lily held their breath as they waited. Grizelda pressed even closer against the branches—so close that the girls could have reached out and touched her! Her mean eyes darted all around as she searched.
“Humph,” Grizelda said finally. “Must have been a false alarm.”
She turned and, to Lily and Jess’s relief, her heels started click-clacking away as she walked down the hallway.
“She’s gone,” Amelia said shakily. As she spoke, Lily saw her whiskers reappearing.
“Amelia!” Lily gasped. “You’re becoming visible again.”
“‘Fast and strong, doesn’t last long,’” Amelia chanted. “That’s what Mom always says about hollyhock magic.”
Moments later, they were all completely visible. The girls and Amelia clambered the rest of the way in
to the workshop and emerged into a curving hallway, also made from woven branches. There were dark wooden doors lining the wall.
Amelia was clinging anxiously on to Jess’s leg. Jess knelt and pet the kitten’s fur. “Amelia,” she said gently. “Would you like to go back home?”
“No!” Amelia said firmly. “Not until we rescue Goldie!”
They went on together to the first door. Jess grasped the handle. “Goldie could be in here,” she said, opening it carefully. But the room was empty.
Lily opened the next one, but jumped back in fright when she saw big pots of snapdragons. She closed the door again quickly. Jess eased another door open just enough to allow her to peep in. She turned to the others, eyes wide, and put a finger to her lips. Silently, she mouthed, “Grizelda!”
Grizelda was crouched down with her back to them, muttering quietly. Bottles of murky-looking liquids and jars of weird objects stood on shelves, and a stack of rusty cauldrons tottered in the corner.
Jess closed the door silently and whispered to the others. “We’ve got to find out if Goldie is here. Amelia, can you make us invisible again?”
Amelia jangled her hiding hollyhock and took their hands in her paws. Once they were invisible, Lily opened the door and they crept inside. Both girls could feel their hearts racing as they stepped closer and closer to the witch.
They tiptoed around Grizelda and saw that she was muttering to the fluffy blue creature they’d seen outside Goldie’s grotto. He sat on the floor in front of Grizelda as she fed him with leaves and twigs. “There, Gobbler, you like those, don’t you?” she said. “I’m glad I found you wandering outside my tower. You’re exactly what I need to help me take over the forest!”
Gobbler swallowed and gazed up at her with his huge blue-green eyes. “Eeeep!” he squeaked. “Eep, eep, eeeeeeeep!”
“You want more to eat, don’t you?” said Grizelda as Gobbler munched greedily. Grizelda laughed. “You’ll soon have as much as you want!” She stood, holding a glass jar up to the light.
Amelia Sparklepaw's Party Problem Page 2