Campsite

 

            The lake was peaceful, quiet, and surrounded by the vast forest. The perfect place to camp, Charlie thought. Byron picked a good spot.

            Of course I did, came Byron’s reply to Charlie’s mind. Go ahead and set up your tent. I’m starving and I’ll be back once I find a deer or something.

            Charlie smiled. Byron was always hungry. Working out the soreness from the day’s traveling, Charlie set up his small campsite. He started a fire and waited for Byron to come back with some food. The smell of the wood smoke made him realize how tired he was. He lay down in the soft grass and closed his eyes.

            The next thing he knew, Charlie was being kicked awake. “Hey, you!” a rough voice grumbled. “Tell us where your money is, and we’ll leave quietly.” Two dirty men watched Charlie as he shook himself awake. Both men had rusty pistols pointed right at Charlie’s heart.

            You might want to come back now, Charlie told Byron.

            Byron roared in reply.

            To the two men, Charlie said, “Okay, okay. Just give me a minute.” He started rummaging through his pack. “I don’t have much.” He pulled out a small coin purse and emptied it into one of the filthy men’s hands. Two silver coins fell out.

            The other man came up and shoved Charlie from the back. “That all you got? Where’s the rest?”

            Charlie looked at the two men calmly. “Yes, gentlemen, that’s all I have.”

            “Not good enough,” the same man said. He took Charlie’s pack from him and started dumping everything out. Charlie’s things were soon strewn all over the ground.

            The men were getting more and more angry as they kicked through all of Charlie’s belongings. Charlie just watched them patiently and said, “Byron’s coming.”

            The men ignored him. One of them found Charlie’s pocket watch and howled with glee as he showed it to his companion.

            “He’s almost here,” Charlie said, sounding a little bored.

            One of the men glanced at Charlie in disgust. “We can take care of both of you together. Don’t worry about that.”

            A roar announced the arrival of Byron. Now the men looked around nervously, trying to see where it had come from. Suddenly, Byron was there. Landing right in front of the two men, the great orange dragon roared in their faces, covering them with hot steam.

            The men screamed as they tried to escape. Before they got far, Byron was able to easily fly and land in front of them again. They turned to go back the way they came, but Charlie was there, his great sword held out in front of him.

            Realizing that they were trapped, the men immediately threw down their pistols and kneeled down to beg. “Please don’t hurt us!” they cried.

            Charlie locked his steely gaze onto their faces. “I’d like my things back, please.” He held out his hand and one of the men put his money and pocket watch into it. Looking up at Byron he thought, Now what should we do with them?

            Let me roast them. Steam came angrily out of Byron’s nose.

            That won’t be necessary. They’re scared enough.

            The two men cowered in front of Charlie, awaiting their fate.

            Aloud, Charlie said, “You’re lucky that we’re going to let you live.”

            Whimpering, one man said, “Oh thank you, kind sir.”

            Sneering, Charlie said, “Don’t thank me just yet. If I hear of any thieving from you two again, I won’t be so kind.” With a wave of his hand, his great sword vanished. “You can tell all your friends that Byron, the fire-breathing dragon, and Charles Coleman, head mage, will be patrolling this land.” Charlie’s plain travel clothes vanished, replaced with deep purple robes.

            The men, who had been whimpering before, now were crying out in terror. “We’ll spread your message, sir!” They cowered and shook in front of Charlie.

            “Now, get up and leave.” Charlie pointed to the woods, and the men tripped over one another as they took off into the trees.

Nice, Byron thought proudly.

            Thanks for your help, friend. Charlie patted Byron’s leg appreciatively. Did you bring anything to eat?

            Of course. He held up a hunk of deer meat and handed it to Charlie. This is yours. I’m going to get a few more. He launched himself into the air and flew off, looking for prey.

            Thanks. Charlie started to prepare the meat for cooking.

            If anyone else comes to bother you, you’ll have to wait until I’ve finished eating.

            Charlie smiled as he watched his friend disappear over a rise. He wasn’t worried. He and Byron would always look out for each other.

Practice

 

            Clunk! “Ow!” Rowena rubbed her head. She looked around to see what had hit her. A shoe sat next to her on the bench. “What the…?” Was that one of her sister’s shoes? But how did it get here in the library?

            As she sat pondering this question, something else hit her head with a clunk. “Oof!” That one hurt worse than the first one. She glanced at the object and knew immediately what it was.

            Rowena jumped up from her seat and ran to where the object had fallen. Gingerly, she picked it up and inspected it. Yes, this was definitely her sister’s crown. Only Stella could skillfully weave pink ribbons through anything, including her crown. But why was it here? Their father, the king, had said Stella would be living at the magical academy for a few years until she learned how to control her magic. Although Rowena really missed her, she knew it wasn’t time for her to be back yet.

            So, why was her crown here? Another whack sounded as the other of Stella’s shoes fell from the ceiling and landed on the floor. Rowena looked to see where it had come from, but there was nothing. The ceiling was low and smooth.

            A bracelet appeared up near the ceiling and fell with a thud onto a cushion. Rowena’s mouth gaped open in surprise. What was happening? Should she run and tell the staff or maybe even her father?

            Before she could decide, a pair of shoeless feet appeared and slowly descended down to the floor. As they lowered, the rest of the body was revealed and Rowena shouted, “Stella!” Her sister hovered a few inches above the floor and then abruptly fell the rest of the way.

            Quickly regaining her balance, Stella said, “Oh, good, you’re here! I hoped you would be in the library.”

            Rowena’s eyes were wide in shock. “What are you doing here?”

            “Practicing my teleportation magic.” Stella glanced around and saw her shoes on the floor. She ran to get them and put them on. “It took me a few tries to get it right.” She grabbed her crown out of Rowena’s hands. “Apparently, it’s easier to teleport your accessories than it is yourself. You haven’t seen my bracelet, have you?”

            Rowena picked up the bracelet and gave it to Stella, along with a hug. “It’s so good to see you, sis!”

            The warm smile that Rowena knew so well lit up Stella’s face. “It’s good to see you, too. Why do you think I chose our library as a practice teleportation site?” She gave Rowena one more squeeze and stepped back. “Of course, that means that I have to go back now.”

            “Already?”

            “Yes. I’m sure they’ll tell me all the things I did wrong. But it was worth it to see you.”

            Tears filled Rowena’s eyes as she realized that her sister was leaving. “When will you come back?”

            A mischievous smile crossed Stella’s face, and she said, “As often as I practice teleportation, I’ll come see you.”

            Rowena rubbed her head thoughtfully. “Okay, but maybe don’t teleport right above the bench where I’m reading.” She grinned. “I don’t need any more bumps on my head.”

Witch's Cat

 

            Angela angrily kicked the gravel in front of her. It just wasn’t fair! She felt like she was more than ready, but Mom kept saying to just be patient. How much longer was she supposed to wait? Witches got their cats when they were around ten years old. Blowing out a breath of air in frustration, Angela couldn’t help thinking that maybe she wasn’t a witch. Maybe the witch gene sometimes skipped a generation. She was, after all, twelve years old. It was really rare for a witch to get her cat after she turned thirteen.

            This was probably the first time in her life that Angela actually dreaded her birthday. It had taken her longer and longer to walk home from school this past week. What if she never became a witch? Once a witch got her cat, she went off to Cassandra’s School for Witches. Angela longed to go there. She didn’t want to be stuck going to Clementine Middle School.

            Slowly, she walked by the gas station on the corner and turned down her street. With every step she took, she became more and more depressed. Her birthday was tomorrow! Maybe she should run away from home tonight. That way, she wouldn’t have to feel the shame of being the only girl in her family who didn’t have magical powers.

            Resigning herself to that thought, Angela walked up the front steps and let herself into the house. “I’m home,” she said softly. She threw her backpack on the floor and went to the kitchen to grab a snack.

            “Hey, sweetie!” Mom called from upstairs. “How was school?”

            “Fine,” Angela muttered. Grabbing an apple, she headed into the living room and flipped the TV on. She started browsing Netflix, looking for something to watch. She didn’t even notice Mom come in until she heard her shriek excitedly.

            “Congratulations, Angela!” Mom leaned down to give her a hug.

            “W-what?” Angela asked, confused.

            “What are you going to call him?” She pointed to the other side of the couch, and that’s when Angela noticed the black cat sitting there.

            Hardly daring to believe, Angela just sat there, frozen. Maybe it was her mother’s cat, Solomon. But no – Solomon just came in and settled himself next to Mom. Could it be? He stared into her eyes, and she felt the world fall away around her. Was that glitter on his fur? She reached her hand out to pet the cat, and he leaned into her hand and allowed her to touch him. A grin slowly spread over Angela’s face. “Is he mine?” The cat climbed into her lap and curled up contentedly.

            “Sure is.” Mom’s smile filled her whole face.

            Angela couldn’t believe it. Finally! She wouldn’t have to sneak out and run away tonight! She would be going to the witch’s school and see her two older sisters! She let out a happy little laugh.

            “So, do you have a name for him?”

            Angela had had a name picked out for years, but she suddenly realized that it wouldn’t fit this cat. She stared into his green eyes, thinking. Then, a name came to her. “Chesterfield?” she said, uncertainly.

            The cat blinked his eyes and purred, his whole body vibrating.

            “Yep. Chesterfield is his name.”

            “Congratulations, sweetie,” Mom said proudly. She took a deep, satisfied breath. “I have to admit that I was starting to get a little worried for you. You’re almost thirteen.”

            “I know, Mom. You weren’t the only one who was worried.” She ran her hand over Chesterfield’s back as he established himself further into her lap. Excitement threatened to overflow as she thought of the world of possibilities now open to her. For the first time in weeks, she was looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.

Guardian of the Forest

 

            Jazzy was just settling down to enjoy his afternoon nap when Clyde flew in and landed right in front of his nose.

            Jazzy was not in the mood to be bothered, so he blew a huff of air toward Clyde and said, “Be gone. I’m tired, and if you stay, you run the risk of becoming my next meal.”

            Unperturbed, Clyde flapped his wings as he settled them onto his back. “There’s something I think you’ll want to come and check out.”

            “What would that be?”

            “There’s been a new hatching of fire salamanders and they’re currently running amok.”

            Breathing in a huge yawn, Jazzy asked, “And why should I care about tiny baby salamanders? I’m not a babysitter.”

            “True, but they’ve wandered outside of their watery cave and are currently setting fire to the forest.”

            Jazzy groaned and stood up to stretch. “Shouldn’t there be someone watching them? Where are their parents?”

            Clyde shrugged. “Will you come?”

            “I suppose.” Jazzy leaped out of the tree to the forest floor. He knew he would have to go and take care of this situation, but sometimes he really wished he could just be a normal panther, not the Guardian of the Forest. “Lead the way, Clyde.”

            As soon as Clyde flew off, Jazzy followed him from the ground, keeping Clyde’s blue and yellow feathers in sight. He didn’t have to, of course. Macaws were exceptionally loud, and Jazzy had no problem following the sound of the screeches that Clyde made as he flew.

            Soon, they reached a clearing overlooking a large section of the woods, and Jazzy got his first view of the damage. He stared in shock at what looked like a war zone. Flames covered a large section of the woods – and they were spreading. “How long ago did you say the salamanders had escaped?”

            “Not too long. It must have been one of the larger nests that hatched.”

            Sprinting away on his powerful legs, Jazzy called back, “Go and get Danielle. We’re going to need her help. And get the salamanders under control!” He couldn’t believe that this had happened. Why did those salamanders have to be so fast? Within minutes, he had reached the edge of the flames. The smoke billowed toward him, forcing him to take a step back. Sucking in a deep breath of clean air, he darted right into the flames. His fur immediately hardened into scales of ice, and he blew freezing air onto the hottest parts of the fire.

            The flames hissed and steamed as they went out. Jazzy moved among the fire and ashes, looking for the orange flicker of a live fire. He covered the area in so much frost and ice that it appeared to be the start of winter. The damaged area was so large that it took him more than an hour to finish his task. Finally, he sat down to catch his breath and study the blackened trees and foliage. He was so tired that he lay down and closed his eyes.

            Danielle found him curled up and asleep. She nudged him with her soft nose saying, “Jazzy, are you all right?”

            Jazzy slowly stirred and looked up into the kind deer’s face. “Yes, I’m fine.” Yawning, he gave a great shake and his ice scales turned back into spotted black fur once more. “I’m going to need your help with this part of the forest.” He gestured to the charred remains around him.

            Giving a little nod, Danielle immediately went up to the nearest burned tree, and touched her nose against it. Green radiated from her touch and moss and grass started growing. Flowers bloomed in front of Jazzy’s eyes. The forest would still need time to be fully restored, but Danielle would be able to give it a good start.

            Satisfied that she had everything under control, Jazzy said, “Thank you, Danielle. I’m off to find Clyde.” He bounded over a fallen log that was now covered in green grass and wildflowers. He had to find out what had happened to the baby fire salamanders. He had a few words to say to whoever had been in charge of tending the nests.

He thought longingly of his nap tree. Oh well, a forest guardian’s work was never done.

The Dark Forest

 

            The road swayed in front of Pierre as he wearily plodded along it. He was already completely exhausted, but the rain made it worse. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself. He needed to find a place to stay and get out of the rain. It was nearing sundown and he knew that it would only get colder.

            Shivering, he focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Suddenly the dirt road vanished, and he found himself standing on cobblestone. Looking up, he saw that he had reached the Abbey. Pierre let out a grateful sigh and hurried up to the main gate. He still had a long journey ahead of him, but he knew he would find shelter here tonight. The monks were always very generous.

            The monk that greeted him at the gate took one look at him and offered him a room. Nodding gratefully, Pierre followed the man as he led him through the Abbey. “You look dead on your feet, sir. Hopefully this room will be adequate for your needs.”

            Pierre didn’t have the strength to say anything. He removed his boots and collapsed onto the bed. He was asleep within minutes.

            The next morning, Pierre woke to the sound of birds chirping merrily outside the window. Feeling refreshed, he went to go find the monks to thank them for allowing him to stay there. He stepped into the hall and met a monk who appeared to have been waiting for him.

            “Good morning, sir! My name is Dom.” His face shone with happiness. “Would you care for some refreshment?”

            Dom’s happiness rubbed off on Pierre, and he felt his spirits lift. “Yes, thank you very much.” He followed the monk to a dining room where he ate a delicious breakfast of fruit and eggs.

            Dom seemed to wait patiently, but the moment Pierre was finished with his meal he asked, “Where have you journeyed from?”

            Pierre’s good mood vanished as he thought about the last few days. “I have travelled many days from my home to visit my brother. I’ve still got a ways to go, but it was a pleasure to rest here in your beautiful abbey.”

            Dom inclined his head in appreciation, but his face fell slightly when he realized that something was bothering Pierre. “Have you not had a pleasant journey?”

            Pierre shook his head. “It was well enough until I reached the crossroads just before the Dark Forest. There I was attacked by bandits and robbed. They knocked me out and left me there.” He rubbed the sore spot on his head. “When I woke up, I was only left with the clothes on my back. My horse and supplies were gone.”

            The monk’s eyebrows rose as Pierre told his story. “But the crossroads are at least two days’ walk from here. What did you do?”

            “I was determined to reach my brother’s house, and I knew that this Abbey was the closest place where I could get some help. But I had to go through the Dark Forest.”

            Dom hurriedly crossed himself. “That place isn’t fit for habitation. It’s the home of all kinds of wicked things.” He looked worriedly at Pierre.

            “Yes, I had heard stories, but it’s the quickest way here. I decided to just push through as fast as I could.” Pierre shivered. “I saw things in there that made me believe every story I’ve ever heard about it.”

            “What did you see?” Dom’s eyes widened in curiosity.

            Shivering, Pierre answered. “I was well enough traveling during the day, but the darkness brought out the wolves.”

            “Wolves?”

            “Yes, black wolves were circling around my small campsite all night. I was afraid to go to sleep, and I had to keep my fire high. I could see them, just watching me. They howled to each other all night, and I kept worrying that they would charge me. I swear I even saw one as big as a horse. When morning finally came, I set off as soon as I could. I ran most of the rest of the way here so I wouldn’t have to spend another night there.”

            Mouth wide in astonishment, Dom exclaimed, “Thank the stars above! Those wolves are what makes the Dark Forest so dangerous. They were studying you. If you had spent another night there, they would have attacked you. Not many people have seen the wolves and lived to tell the tale.”

            Hearing this, Pierre nodded solemnly. He thanked the monk for the Abbey’s hospitality and continued his journey. He now had enough supplies to reach his brother, and he couldn’t wait to tell him his story. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the danger that he had been in. He definitely wouldn’t be coming back this way. He would go around the Dark Forest even if it added days to his journey. It was worth it.

Lake Monster

 

            “Aah! Something touched me!” Cassie shouted as she swam frantically for the side of the boat.

            “Relax, Cassie,” Annie said, trying not to laugh. “It’s just a fish or something.”

            Cassie shivered. She always got nervous being in the lake. A swimsuit and life jacket offered no protection from anything that could attack her.

            “Hey, girls!” Dad called from the boat. “I’m throwing the tube out.”

            Cassie heard the slap as the inflatable tube hit the water. She hurriedly swam over to it and climbed into one of the seats. She immediately felt safer, knowing that there wouldn’t be anything else brushing up against her legs.

            Annie climbed in beside Cassie, still smiling. “Still worried about the lake monster?”

            “No,” Cassie said untruthfully.

            Annie’s smile grew. “People disappear every year around the lake. Maybe old Nessie got ‘em.”

            “Stop!” Cassie cried. Her sister knew that Cassie had always been afraid of things in the water. She never wasted an opportunity to tease her about it.

            The two sisters got situated in the uncomfortable seats. Annie gave Dad a thumbs up, and they started to move.

            Cassie’s arms tensed as she held on for dear life. Dad did his best to throw the girls off their tube, but years of practice had allowed them to move with every twist and turn. The girls screamed and laughed as the tube moved and spun across the water. Finally, Cassie let go as Dad slowed down to do a sharper turn. She couldn’t hold on anymore. The muscles in her forearms burned, and she knew she would be sore tomorrow.

            The thrill of the ride had made her temporarily forget to worry about things in the water, but it came back full force when Cassie saw something huge rise out of the water, no more than twenty feet away. She froze in horror. Was that a head? She swore it was a glittering, scaly dragon’s head.

            Cassie tried to cry out, but her voice was stuck. The dragon head appeared to be eating something. Seaweed, maybe. Long fronds trailed from its mouth. Slowly, it turned its head and stopped with its eye focused right on Cassie.

            Cassie tried to backstroke further away from the monster, and then suddenly, the boat was there.

            “Did you get too tired, Cassie?” Dad asked as Cassie swam to the back of the boat and climbed up the stairs. Annie was still sitting in the tube.

            “Aren’t you going again, Cassie?” Annie called.

            Cassie tried to calm down her heart rate as she yelled back. “No, I think I’m done for today.”

            “Still scared of the lake monster?” Annie asked jokingly.

            “Yes,” Cassie said under her breath. She turned to look at the spot where she had seen the great head, but there was only lake water. She did not want to go back in there today. She had no desire to have a closer encounter with the lake monster.

Dragon Rider

 

Jen watched her younger brothers high above, performing loop-the-loops in the sky. Clay and Arnold were dragon riders, and they were showing off the things they had learned at the Academy. Filled with envy, Jen had always wanted to go, but it was impossible. Girls weren’t supposed to become dragon riders.

            While her brothers dived and glided on their dragons, Jen thought about what that would feel like. She just wanted to ride one once. She wondered what it would be like to be borne through the air with a dragon’s wings stretched out below her. Her thoughts were so caught up in the vision that she didn’t even notice when the demonstration finished. Mom tapped her on the shoulder and she snapped out of her reverie. “What?” She looked at Mom who looked a little irritated.

            “I need you to go to the market for me,” Mom said impatiently. “We’re out of flour and I wanted to bake a cake for the boys.”

            “Oh, yeah. Sure, Mom.” Clay and Arnold hadn’t been home for months, and Mom wanted to make things special. That was fine with Jen. Although she was only nineteen, people in town had already started to think of her as an old maid. Having her brothers home gave everyone something else to talk about for a while.

            A few minutes later, Jen was walking down the road with an empty pack toward the market in town. Visions of dragons and flying continued to swirl through her head. She had walked this path countless times and didn’t pay too much attention to her surroundings – until a deer bounded across the road right in front of her. It was so close that Jen could have touched its soft fur as it dashed by.

            That was when Jen noticed the smell – something was burning. Looking around, she saw smoke coming from the trees to her left. It wasn’t just a small stream of campfire smoke. Clouds of black smoke wafted through the trees.

            No wonder the deer had almost run into her. She knew she would need to go back and get help to put out the fire, but first she had to find exactly where the smoke was coming from.

            Stepping into the trees, smoke immediately filled her nostrils, and she put a handkerchief over her face so she could breathe. She couldn’t see any flames yet, but the smell of fire grew stronger as she stepped further into the forest.

            To her surprise, as she followed the smell of the fire the smoke started to dissipate. Soon, she no longer needed her handkerchief, but her curiosity grew. She kept going until she saw a flicker of orange up ahead. Jen was deep in the forest now, and she wondered who could have lit this fire. As she got closer, she realized that the fire was contained in a large ring of rocks, at least five feet across. There was no sign of anyone else around.

            Who had made this fire? Jen knew there was no danger from it now. She stood mesmerized by the orange and yellow of the flames. Suddenly, the fire went out. She gasped when she realized what the fire had been heating – a dragon egg! Only those chosen to be dragon riders had ever seen one before, but everyone knew what they were supposed to look like.

            Her heart pounding, Jen took a few hesitant steps toward the egg. As she approached, the egg rattled with a series of clicks and knocks. Curiously, she didn’t feel any residual heat from the fire as she crouched down right next to the egg. She studied its rough surface and the way it reflected the sunlight.

            Jen hesitated for just a moment with her hand over the egg. Wondering if this was a good idea, she touched it. It was surprisingly cool. She picked it up to get a better look when an almighty “CRACK!” rang out and a fracture appeared on the side of the egg. Hastily setting it back down, she watched, fascinated, as more cracks and fractures appeared on the egg.

            With one final “CRUNCH!”, the head of a dragon emerged and Jen found herself looking deep into its eyes. Feeling like she was watching herself from afar, she stretched out her hand to pet its glimmering blue scales.

            As soon as her hand touched the dragon’s head, she felt an invisible bond tethering the two of them together. In the dragon’s eyes, she saw that they were now inseparably connected. She instinctively knew that neither of them would survive without the other.

            She heard a voice inside her head whisper, Hello, Jen. My name is Artemis. I’ve been waiting for you.

            Flabbergasted, Jen forgot how to breathe for a moment. After she finally inhaled, she said, “Are you sure? I thought only boys were ever chosen.”

            Artemis’s voice sounded again inside Jen’s head. We dragons choose only the person who would best suit us. I have chosen you.

            Jen looked inside herself and saw that it was right. She and Artemis were meant to be together. She thought back to how she had been jealous of her brothers before. This is what she’d always wanted, right? She would finally know what it felt like to ride on the back of a dragon! Feeling a grin break out on her face, she said, “Okay, I’m ready.”

Raccoon

             “Mom, it looks like the raccoons came again last night.” Emma had just cleaned up the trash that had been strewn all over their lawn. “Our garbage cans were tipped over again.”

            Mom sighed. “Why do they have to come every night?”

            Emma shrugged. “We’re closest to the forest and right next to the creek. I bet it’s easy for them.” She got her backpack ready for school.

            “One day we’ll have to do something about it,” Mom said.

            As Emma left and started walking to school, she thought about the raccoons. She didn’t mind so much if they got into the garbage; it was the mess they made afterward. There had to be a way to trap them or something to get rid of them.

            She tried to think of how to catch a raccoon, but she couldn’t think of an easy way to do it. Maybe if I saw it, I could throw a box on it or something. She didn’t love this idea, but it was the best she could come up with. Today was Friday, so she could hold a stake-out tonight and wait for the raccoons to show up.

            School passed slowly for Emma. Now that she had a plan, she wanted to put it into action. Her mind was definitely not in class with her. Her teacher kept having to repeat things since Emma obviously wasn’t listening.

            As soon as Emma got home from school, she told Mom her plan. “It’s supposed to get a little chilly tonight.” Mom looked thoughtful. “Let’s set up the tent so you’ll be able to hear them, but you can still stay warm and get some sleep.”

            After dinner, Emma set up their little two-man tent on the grass close to the house. She made sure to situate it so that the door of the tent opened up to a view of their garbage cans, which were a few feet away. As soon as it got dark, Emma was in her tent with the door open, keeping watch.

            At first, Emma enjoyed waiting for the raccoons to appear. She felt like a spy on a mission. Mom had given her snacks, and she munched on them happily. A big cardboard box lay near at hand for when the garbage thieves appeared.

            Several hours passed, and Emma wasn’t having fun anymore. It must have been close to midnight, and she was tired. She snuggled into her sleeping bag as her eyes slowly closed.

            A loud “Clang!” sounded and Emma jerked awake. She was disoriented for a second, but she hurriedly grabbed the box when she heard another clang coming from the garbage cans. Trash was everywhere and the cans were on their side. Something moved among the spilled garbage. Moving as fast as she could, she threw the box over the dark shape.

            Yes! The box completely trapped the creature and Emma hurriedly sat on top of it to keep it from moving. Excited to finally catch it, she suddenly realized she didn’t know what to do next. Small yips and whines were coming from the box as it shifted under her. What was she going to do? She couldn’t stay here forever.

            Wondering what to do, she suddenly heard a loud bark come from inside the box. Do raccoons bark? The barking continued until Emma became convinced that it was a dog trapped inside. She’d had a dog until it died the year before. She missed it and felt bad for the dog now trapped in the box.

            Slowly standing up, Emma carefully lifted a corner of the box. A white paw shot out then disappeared, followed by a small yip. Soon a black nose on a white muzzle appeared and sniffed curiously at the opening. Now sure it was a dog, she lifted the box away, revealing a mangy white dog with big black patches on its back. “Oh, poor thing!” she cried.

            The dog jumped up to lick Emma’s face, and her heart melted. “Hey there, uh…boy.” She started petting him and he immediately rolled on his back for a belly rub. “So, you’re our garbage thief, huh?”

            The dog barked happily in answer. His fur was all matted and dirty, and Emma could see several ribs outlined on his side. He was obviously a stray. “I’ll take care of you, boy.”

            “That’s the raccoon?” a voice said sleepily.

            Emma wheeled around to see Mom in her pajamas, holding a flashlight. “It’s a stray dog, Mom,” she said as she continued to pet him. “Can we keep him, please?”

            “Ugh, I’m too tired to deal with this right now.” Mom rubbed her eyes. “It’s one in the morning. Just get him into the garage for now, and we’ll talk about it when I’m more awake. You should go to bed too. There’s no reason now for you to camp out here anymore.”

            As Emma stood up, the dog immediately jumped up to stand beside her. She walked into the garage, and he followed her without any hesitation. She found an old blanket and set it down for him. Mom immediately went back to bed, but Emma stayed with the dog for at least an hour, petting him and making sure he had food and water. The longer she stayed with him, the more attached she became.

            Soon, the night caught up with her and Emma felt her eyes beginning to close. She motioned for the dog to stay as she stood up to go to bed. “You stay here, Raccoon.”

            And so, Raccoon stayed. Emma always loved to tell the story about how Raccoon got his name and became part of the family.

 

The New Doctor

 

            Hospital waiting rooms were the worst. Brandy fidgeted while she watched the clock. Her appointment with the new doctor was supposed to start twenty minutes ago. Mom had gone down the hall to the vending machines to get them both a snack.

            Waiting for Mom to come back, Brandy hoped this new doctor would be able to help her. Her previous doctor hadn’t been able to do much for her illness, so he referred her to the specialist. The new doctor’s office was in the large downtown hospital.

            Now she sat in the waiting room, trying to calm her nerves. Where was Mom? The vending machines weren’t that far away. Suddenly, there was a crash from the hallway. “Mom?” Brandy called out. She got up and walked toward where the noise had come from. She looked down an awfully long hallway. (Much longer than it had appeared when she first arrived.)

            Her breath stuck in her throat when she saw a large, powerful black panther bounding down the hall. Brandy yelped and turned to run. She ran blindly, without knowing or caring where. She just had to get away from the panther. She heard it crashing behind her and swore she could feel its hot breath on her neck.

            Chancing a look behind her, she ran faster when she saw that the panther was getting closer. Her illness had left her weak, but adrenaline helped her find speed. She hadn’t been able to run like this for at least a year.

            Brandy followed the long hallway in front of her. Strangely, it didn’t appear to have any other hallways or doors intersecting it. There was only one way to go – straight.

            She pushed her body faster and felt her heart hammering in her ears. There had to be somewhere to hide. Why weren’t there any doors off this hallway? She felt like she’d run at least a mile. How big was this hospital, anyway?

            Finally, the eternal hallway seemed to have an end. A closed door rushed up to greet her as she ran toward it. Praying that it wasn’t locked, Brandy turned the handle and threw herself inside, slamming the door shut behind her. She locked it and leaned against the door, listening for the panther.

            There was an enormous thud as it seemed the panther had run headlong into the door. Loud snarls and scrapes told Brandy that the panther was still trying to come through, but the locked door held fast. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and looked around at her hiding place.

            It was the strangest hospital room she had ever seen. The floor was made of tile near the door, but it merged into what could only be described as a forest floor. Dirt and roots had pushed up through the tiles, and trees were growing inside of the room. Brandy moved forward to get a better look and saw that there was a path through the undergrowth.

            She breathed in the smell of pine and earth before setting off down the path, feeling more and more like she had come outside somehow. What she thought had just been a small room, turned into something enormous. The further she walked, the more confused she became. How was this possible? Soon, trees surrounded her, and she could no longer see the walls. This inside forest was immense.

            She continued walking along the path, looking for anyone who would be able to help her. She knew she couldn’t go back the way she had come. She did not want to get close to that panther again.

            Soon she heard the sound of water running. The trees were starting to thin and bright sunlight shone down on her. When had she come outside? Suddenly, the path ended. A large, grassy field sprawled out before her, and a beautiful fountain stood in the middle of it. She walked up to it and admired the water shooting out of the top and traveling down several small waterfalls, before it was caught in the stone basin in front of her.

            This fountain had to be at least twenty feet tall. It was a few moments before she noticed the sign standing next to it. It said: “Come and drink of our cool, clear water and enjoy its many benefits! Only 25 cents!”

            Next to the sign was a small vending machine full of paper cups. Disappointment filled Brandy. She never carried any money with her. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and started walking again. Her right hand closed around something circular in her pocket. Pulling it out, she was amazed to discover a quarter!

            She happily inserted the quarter into the small machine, and a paper cup came out. Brandy held it under one of the waterfalls until it filled. She put the cup up to her lips and drank the water.

            It was the best water that she had ever tasted. Usually, water didn’t really have a taste, but this was amazing! She drank the entire cup full and felt the water move through her body all the way to her fingers and toes. She closed her eyes and savored the taste of the water still on her lips.

            Mom shook her shoulder. “Are you all right, Brandy?”

            Brandy’s eyes shot open and she was once again sitting in the waiting room. Mom was looking at her in concern with a chocolate bar in her hand. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Brandy said quickly.

Mom didn’t look quite convinced. “I’m sorry I was gone so long. I went over to the nurses’ station to see how much longer we would be waiting. They asked me which doctor we were seeing, and they said that there was no Dr. Fountain that worked anywhere in this hospital. I told them that we had been referred here by your other doctor, Dr. Youth, but they had never heard of him either.” Mom’s look of confusion was total. “So, now we have nothing to do here. I’ll have to find another doctor for you, apparently.” She held out the candy bar. “I got this for you anyway, so this won’t be a totally wasted trip. I’ve never seen this kind of candy before, and I thought you might like it.”

            Brandy took the candy bar without looking at it. She stood up and followed Mom out of the hospital to their car. Brandy was amazed at how good she felt. Normally, she would have had to stop and take breaks, but she felt full of energy. Walking was finally easy today. She still felt good when she got in the car. Then she looked down at the chocolate bar and smiled. She had never seen this kind either, but the events of the day almost made sense when she read the name of the candy: Fountain of Youth.

Sneaking Out

 

            Gwen thought she was going to die from the oppressiveness of the cave. She and her family had been stuck inside for a week because one of the humans had caught a glimpse of her and organized a dragon hunt.

            It didn’t matter how many times she told her parents that she was sorry. Dad was adamant about everyone staying in their magically sealed cave. As long as they stayed inside, no one would be able to find them.

            She rearranged her wings irritably. They had another week of hiding before Dad said that maybe they could go outside again. Gwen’s anger rose and steam came out of her nostrils. How could she wait that long? She needed to stretch her wings before they felt like petrified stone. She was so desperate to fly around outside that she decided she would sneak out tonight.

            As soon as Gwen made a plan to sneak out for a small flight, she felt her body relax. “Only a few more hours, and I’ll be out of here,” she whispered. She counted down the minutes until she would be free of this awful cave. Bedtime came slowly and Gwen couldn’t wait.

            A long time passed after lights out, but Gwen finally decided that it had been long enough since everyone had gone to sleep. Luckily, they each had their own little alcove to rest in, and Gwen’s was on the opposite side of the cave from her parents.

            After pretending to be asleep for at least an hour, she felt a little stiff. Just another thing that could be cured by flying, she thought. She slowly stirred from her alcove, and waited a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Without fire, the cave was dark, even for dragons who had excellent night vision.

            Gwen slowly moved toward the cave’s exit, staying as silent as possible. She was congratulating herself on doing such a good job when she stumbled over a large rock. A huge “crack” rang out which echoed through the still cave.

            She froze, hoping against hope that her parents wouldn’t be woken up by the noise. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her brother, Patrick’s voice. “Who’s there?” he called.

            “Shhh!” Gwen whispered frantically. “You’ll wake up Mom and Dad!”

            She heard Patrick yawn. “What are you doing, Gwen?”

            She debated telling Patrick her plan, but she knew he would tell on her if she didn’t. Patrick was a very protective older brother.

            “I need to get out of here and stretch my wings,” Gwen whispered to Patrick. “Don’t tell Mom and Dad, and I’ll let you come with me.”

            There was silence, and Gwen thought she had made a mistake by inviting Patrick. She had almost resigned herself to going back to bed when Patrick said, “Okay.”

            Her hopes rose as Patrick joined her. The cave’s exit wasn’t too far, but they had to navigate around several boulders and rocks strewn around the cave. Her heart leaped into her throat every time she or Patrick tripped over one of these. She knew they were making more noise than was wise, but the night sky was beckoning to her.

            Finally, Gwen and Patrick reached the cave’s exit. Gwen had never been so excited to see the twinkling stars in the velvet sky. She was just about to fly outside when she heard a most unwelcome sound.

            “Where do you think you two are going?” Mom said, appearing right next to Gwen.

            “Mom!” Gwen yelped. Quickly, she thought up an excuse. “We were just coming to look at the stars.”

            “Yeah, that’s right,” Patrick added.

            Mom’s eyebrow rose as she said, “Is that so?”

            With Mom’s eyes boring into hers, Gwen knew that she couldn’t fool her. She heaved a sigh and whined, “I’m so bored, Mom! I can’t sit here in this cave anymore!” She glanced over at Patrick. “This was all my idea. Patrick just wanted to come along.” Her shoulders sagged as she waited for Mom to dole out punishment.

            The punishment didn’t come. Mom smiled and said, “I feel the same way that you do, you know. I wanted to see if the dragon hunt was still on. Dad’s already outside, checking to see if the coast is clear.”

            Gwen flapped her wings happily at this news. “So, we can go outside?” Her voice rose in excitement.

            “Yes!” Patrick cried as Mom nodded her head.

            “Just wait for Dad to get back.” Mom eyed Gwen seriously. “Just so you know, there was no way you guys would have snuck out of here. You made a huge amount of noise as you stumbled around in the dark. Not to mention that our magic allows us to know when anything comes in or out of the cave.”

            Gwen hung her head sheepishly. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

            Dad appeared, landing just outside the cave. “Oh, good. Everyone’s here.” He smiled. “Who’s ready to go outside?”

            Joy flooded into Gwen as she shot out of the cave entrance into the night air. She took a deep breath of the free air as she beat her wings to pull herself higher into the sky. This was amazing! The week of being trapped in the cave melted away, and she felt alive.

            Her family joined her in the sky. She looked over at Mom and realized that she never had a chance of sneaking out of the cave. Dragons were very protective of their young, and Gwen was grateful. She felt safe when she was surrounded by her family. She just hoped they never had to endure another solid week of cave time.

Beautiful Gems

 

            Jay flew over his usual hunting ground. His friends said that he had enough food hidden away already, but Jay was always on the lookout for more. Who knew when the bird apocalypse would happen and all the food would disappear? You just never knew.

            Jay spread out his handsome blue wings and let out his scratchy call. As a proud blue jay, he showed off his colors as often as he could. Hold on, there was something interesting! He flew down closer to see what it was.

            There it was! It shone in the grass and sparkled as the sun’s rays hit it. Jay landed next to the shiny thing and pecked at it with his beak. It was hard and definitely not food. He wondered how it would look at home. It wasn’t very big and he could easily carry it. He stared at it, admiring its shiny green depths. It was so beautiful! Truly an amazing gem!

            Jay carefully held the emerald in his beak and flew back to his home with it. When he reached the shrub where he usually roosted, he gently set down his prize. Where should he put it? He tried several different places before finally deciding to wedge it in the crook of his favorite branch.

            Jay hopped back to admire its beauty and the way it gleamed when it caught the light. He felt deep satisfaction and turned to fly away again when something else glimmered in the grass. Was this another gem?

            It was! But this one was red and possibly even more lovely than the green one. Jay picked up the glowing ruby and set it next to the green emerald. After admiring how well the green and red looked together, he turned to leave, when – lo and behold – there was another gem! This one, however, was a blue sapphire. “Oh, good. Now I have a gem that’s the same color as me!” His excitement grew.

            Soon, a rainbow of gems glittered from his hiding place. The next time he went to place a gem (this one was a dazzling diamond), Jay realized that there was no more room. Where else could he put it? Aha! The places where he had food hidden would be perfect. He began taking the gems to his food caches and replacing the food with gems. Food wasn’t so important when you had a lot of it, right?

            “What are you doing? Why are you throwing away the food from your cache?” Barry asked Jay. Barry often followed Jay around, hoping for some easy food.

            “Isn’t it beautiful?” Jay asked, focused on the purple amethyst he had just placed in his cache. “I have to save it. You keep telling me that I have too much food anyway.”

            Barry glanced at the gem and said, “Hmm, it’s beautiful, but can I have your food?”

            “Yeah, sure,” Jay said easily. “I can always get more food, but no one else will have such an amazing collection of gems.”

            Barry ate Jay’s discarded food and then shrugged his wings at Jay’s odd behavior. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.” He shook his head and went off in search of more food.

            Most of Jay’s friends saw him that day, slowly emptying his food caches. They were only too happy to take the food that Jay so carelessly threw out. Finally, at the end of the day, Jay couldn’t find any more gems. He sighed in relief and realized that he was hungry. He went to his nearest food cache and was surprised to discover only gems inside it. “Huh,” Jay said softly. He couldn’t believe that he’d thrown everything out. Surely, he had saved some food in another hiding place.

One by one, Jay flew to each of the places where he had previously hidden food. Each one was full of nothing but gems. He became panicked when he realized that he was totally out of food.

            Jay moaned to himself. It was now almost completely dark and it would be hard to hunt for more food. Jay went to sleep still hungry next to his shiny gems.

            In the morning, Jay woke up, ready to look for food. He gazed at his gem collection and was startled to see only dull rocks where he had carefully placed the gems the day before. “What happened to my gems?” he cried.

            Clay, another blue jay who roosted in the shrub next to Jay’s, heard him and said, “What gems? Those are the rocks that you placed there yesterday.”

            Dismayed, Jay flew off to check his caches. Each one was full of rocks. Bitterness and disappointment threatened to overwhelm him, but he flew off to find some food. At least he would do what he could to fill his belly. He visited the berry patch and ate as many raspberries as he possibly could. He saved a few to take back to his cache and was about to take off when something caught his eye. It was a dazzling blue sapphire. Jay looked at it, thinking. Finally, he shook his head and said, “Not this time.” He left with the raspberries in his beak. He wasn’t going to fall for that trick again.

Dolphins!

 

            Daphne moved through the water effortlessly. She swam several laps around her enclosure in a matter of minutes. She couldn’t wait for the next show to start. As a dolphin at the zoo, she didn’t have a whole lot to do. She looked forward to showing off her tricks and skills. It wasn’t that she loved doing it, but at least she wouldn’t be bored.

            Daphne jumped out of the water and dove back down. That’s when she noticed something strange. She had lived here for the past five years, and Daphne knew every inch of her pool. She swam over to where the water seemed different. What was that? The water was shimmering. Swimming through it, she felt her skin tingling. She wanted to find the source of this strange, sparkly water – after all, she didn’t have anything else to do.

            The water started swirling as Daphne continued to search. Bubbles appeared and obscured her vision. The water churned as she spun around faster and faster. Soon she lost track of which way was up as white water surrounded her. She closed her eyes as she started to panic.

            Suddenly, Daphne realized she was no longer swirling. She opened her eyes and nearly swallowed a bunch of water. Dolphins! She hadn’t seen another dolphin for years. She used to share her pool with an older dolphin who had passed away two years ago. Since then, Daphne had been swimming alone. Joy swelled inside her as she saw that there were more than ten dolphins swimming around her, watching her.

            “Hello, friends!” Daphne said excitedly.

            Smiles appeared on every face, but no one spoke.

            “It’s so good to see you! One minute I was in my pool, and the next I’m here! Where am I exactly?”

            One of the dolphins swam up to her with a confident and regal air. All the other dolphins looked to her expectantly as she said, “We’ve summoned you here to let you know of our plan.”

            “What plan?”

            The dolphin smiled reassuringly and said, “You have lived in a pool all your life, correct?”

            “Yes, I’ve never been to the ocean. Is this it?” Daphne looked around excitedly.

            “This is the ocean, but unfortunately, we can’t keep you here for long.”

            “Wait, what?” The happiness inside Daphne started to dissipate.

            “While we don’t have enough magic for you to stay here, we would like to give you a gift.”

            “You mean I have to go back?” The ocean around her was so much bigger than her pool – there was so much to explore. Did she really have to go back?”

            “We can’t free you from your prison, but we can make it a little easier for you.” The dolphin gave Daphne a small smile. “Just remember that you are a noble creature.”

            Bubbles started to form around Daphne again, and the sparkly water was back. “But wait!” she cried frantically. “I don’t want to go back!” But it was no use. The bubbles swirled around her to the point where she couldn’t see anything again. She stopped struggling and gave in to the inevitable.

            Soon, the water slowed down and the bubbles dissipated. Daphne was back in her pool, in the enclosure she had always known. She sighed as she thought of the vast ocean and the other dolphins. She slowly swam the length of the pool, trying to push away the bitter feeling of being stuck back here.

            Daphne had swum the entire length of her pool when she realized something was different. Another dolphin was swimming right next to Daphne, watching her. “Hi,” said Daphne uncertainly. “I’m Daphne, what’s your name?”

            “My name is Gypsy,” the dolphin replied. “I’ve been sent to be your guide.”

            “My guide?” Now Daphne was confused. She didn’t need anyone to guide her in her own pool.

            “Queen Callie sent me to tell you about your new home,” Gypsy replied calmly.

            Daphne had so many questions, she didn’t know which one to ask first. She decided on, “Who is Queen Callie?”

            “You met her today. She’s the one who is organizing this for all the dolphins held in captivity.”

            “I met a Queen?” Daphne breathed softly.

            “Yes. She wanted to make everyone a little more comfortable. She’s given you an upgrade in your living conditions.”

            Daphne looked around, saying, “Nothing has changed. This is the same pool that I’ve lived my life in.”

            Gypsy gave Daphne a secret kind of smile and said, “Look again.”

            Slightly annoyed, Daphne turned around to survey her pool and saw that it was gone! The ocean stretched out in front of her. She took off like a shot and realized that it wasn’t exactly the ocean, but her pool was much deeper and larger than it had been before. She swam back to Gypsy and said, “How is this possible?”

            “Queen Callie wants every dolphin to live their best life. She’s magically expanded your pool, and the humans won’t even notice. To them, it will appear to be the same as it ever was. Also, you’ll be getting a new pool mate.”

            Daphne really perked up at this news. “Really? Who?”

            “Me,” Gypsy said. “I volunteered to come live with you when you visited Queen Callie earlier today. However, I had a few requests.” She swam to a side of the pool and Daphne saw something.

            “Toys!” she cried joyfully. There were enough toys here to keep Daphne busy for quite some time. She definitely wouldn’t be bored anymore.

            Queen Callie gazed at Daphne and Gypsy through her magic portal. She watched as they played and she felt the satisfaction of a job well done. Now she only had a few hundred more dolphins to visit. She smiled as she got back to work.