Emily Prickleback’s Clever Idea

Chapter Eight The Rushy River Race

Captain Ace towed his hot air balloon, with its happy passengers, back to the waterwheel. Dusty flew beside them, giggling as water droplets shimmered on her scales. “My scales look even prettier,” she boasted. “The water makes them sparkle even more than the sunshine!”

The balloon drifted over the muddy ditch where the river should have been.

Captain Ace looked back. “Prepare for landing,” he mumbled, with the rope still in his beak.

A few moments later, they were down. The birds landed next to the waterwheel and the girls, Goldie, and Emily climbed out of the basket. Dusty skidded to a stop beside them.

Emily ran to her family and hugged the cold little stone figures. “You’ll be back to normal soon,” she said. “I promise!”

“Dusty’s going to reverse the spell now,” said Goldie. “Stand back, Emily!”

Dusty stood in front of the stone hedgehogs and chanted:

“Dragon wings stop Dusty’s spell,

Getting wet is great.

Make hedgehogs be themselves again,

And put the river straight.”

The Pricklebacks started to turn from gray into their usual colors. They looked around in surprise.

Harry rubbed dust from his eyes. “What a weird dream I had,” he said.

“Me, too,” said Herbie.

“The dragon!” shouted Mrs. Prickleback when she saw Dusty. “Where’s Emily?”

“I’m here!” Emily cried, as Jess set her down. She ran to hug and kiss her family. “You were made of stone!” Emily said, and she told her family everything that had happened.

“We couldn’t have saved you without Emily,” added Jess. “She’s so clever!”

Emily’s nose turned extra pink as her family hugged her again.

Mr. Prickleback gasped. He pointed at the muddy ditch where Willowtree River was supposed to be flowing. “Oh, my prickles!” he cried. “The river is gone!”

Mrs. Prickleback began hurrying toward the waterwheel. “The waterwheel has stopped! We have to get it turning again. Hurry, everyone!”

The whole hedgehog family scrambled into their little wheels.

“Ready, team?” asked Mr. Prickleback.

“Ready!” they cried.

“CURL!” Mr. Prickleback shouted.

The Pricklebacks curled up and began rolling. The waterwheel groaned, then it started to turn. Immediately, a trickle of water flowed through the riverbed. Lily and Jess gasped in delight as the trickle grew bigger and bigger, the water swirling along until Willowtree River was back to normal. All the watching animals cheered as the Pricklebacks came out of the waterwheel and had a family hug.

“I’m c-c-c-cold,” said a voice.

The girls turned to see Dusty. She was shivering.

“It looks like you need to get dry again after the water fight,” said Jess.

Mrs. Prickleback hurried inside and came out with towels for them all. But the dragon was still shivering miserably.

“I-I-I-I’m going to s-s-s-s-sunbathe,” she said, her teeth chattering.

“Dusty can’t go back to the Treasure Tree,” Goldie whispered in alarm. “What if she turns more fruit into stone?”

“What about Coral Cove?” Lily said. “Wouldn’t that be a nice place for Dusty to sunbathe, away from all the animals?”

“We know the perfect place for you to sunbathe, Dusty,” Jess told her.

Dusty gave a little smile.

“It’s by the river, so you can play in the water and then get dry again whenever you like,” Jess continued.

“We can have another water balloon fight tomorrow!” Emily suggested. “And you can have some of my petals to decorate your scales.”

“If you promise not to cause any more trouble,” Goldie said firmly.

Dusty’s smile turned into a wide grin. She whizzed around them in a happy circle. “I promise! Heeheehee! I’m going to have so much fun!”

They told Dusty where Coral Cove was. She flapped away, giggling.

“I’m glad she’s happy,” said Lily.

Just then they heard an excited squeal from nearby. All the other creatures were happy, too—with the river back to normal, the race could finally begin!

Jess and Lily jumped up and down as all the boats raced down the river as fast as they could. The Pricklebacks had turned the waterwheel so much that the river was gushing and rushing. As they cheered, two boats inched ahead of the others. Everyone shouted loudly for their favorite team.

“Go, go, Greenhops!”

“Faster, faster, Flippershells!”

It was going to be a close finish. The Greenhops’ lily pad and the Paddlefoots’ canoe were neck and neck as they sped toward the finish line.

Everyone turned to look at the judges excitedly. The swans whispered to one another and everyone in the crowd held their breath.

“Tie!” called Silvia Whitewing. “I declare you both winners!”

With the race over, all the animals spread out blankets and unpacked their picnics. Everyone was excited, and plenty of food-swapping went on. Mrs. Twinkletail had brought enough hazelnut chips for half the animals in the forest!

All too soon it was time for the girls to leave. “Thank you!” the animals called as they said good-bye. Emily gave them a special hug before rolling off to play with her brothers.

Goldie took Jess and Lily to the Friendship Tree. She touched the trunk with her paw, and the magical door appeared.

“Thank you for helping us again,” she said. “Grizelda has two more dragons, though. She’s bound to think up another wicked plan soon.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be ready,” said Lily.

“Just come and get us,” Jess added. “We can’t wait to see you again, Goldie!”

They hugged their friend good-bye and stepped into the golden light that shimmered inside the tree. As the glow faded, they found themselves back in Brightley Meadow. As usual, no time at all had passed while they were in Friendship Forest and it was still a misty morning. They had a whole day of fun at Helping Paw to come!

“What a wonderful adventure!” cried Lily as they held hands and ran back toward the wildlife hospital.

They slowed down as they reached the barn.

The woman with the hedgehog was walking to her car.

“She must be so glad to have her pet back!” Jess said.

“I bet he’s just as clever as another little hedgehog we know!” Lily said. “I can’t wait to see Emily Prickleback and her family again!”

“Me, either!” said Jess.

The End