Rosie Gigglepip’s Lucky Escape

Chapter Five Searching for Spells

When they told Breezy their idea, the dragon shook her scaly head. “No one can stop Grizelda’s magic,” she said sadly. “We’re stuck here forever.”

“Well, we’re going to try,” Jess told her, pushing her windswept curls out of her face. “But first, will you do something for us? Can you free the Gigglepips from the tornado?”

Rosie’s little face peeked out from inside Lily’s cape. “Oh, yes!” she squeaked, clasping her paws together. “Please, Breezy!”

But Breezy shook her head sadly. “I only know how to start tornados,” she said. “Mommy hasn’t shown me how to stop them yet.”

Rosie’s whiskers drooped with disappointment.

“It’s okay,” Lily said, cuddling her close. “We’ll free them soon, I promise. Now, where can we find out about dragons and dragon magic?”

They all thought hard as the wind swirled around them. Then Rosie gave an excited squeak.

“I know!” said the little guinea pig. “Mrs. Taptree’s library!”

“Of course!” cried Jess. “Let’s go!”

They hurried through the raging storm, struggling over broken branches and weaving through great billowing clouds of fallen leaves. Only Breezy seemed to find the journey easy, zipping along above them. At last, Goldie stopped at a broad chestnut tree. Its branches were swaying wildly in the storm and it had a door in its trunk. “Here we are!”

Mrs. Taptree’s chicks, Dig and Tipper, were peering through the window. They waved excitedly and their mother opened the door.

“Come in out of the wind!” Mrs. Taptree cried. “Quick! Quick!” Then she caught sight of Breezy, and squawked, “No, no! You’ll blow away my books!”

“Breezy will wait outside, Mrs. Taptree,” said Goldie. She hurriedly explained to the Taptrees why they’d come. “Do you have any books on dragons?”

“Ladders?” said Mrs. Taptree, clapping her wings together. “Dragon books, please! Quick!”

The ladders glided along the shelves. Goldie and the girls collected some books and searched through the pages as fast as they could.

Mrs. Taptree closed a book. “This tells you how to clean dragons’ teeth,” she said. “That’s no good.”

“I’ve got How to Dance Like a Dragon,” said Lily.

“Mine’s about teaching dragons to swim,” Jess said.

Goldie shut her book. “This is about famous dragons and their daring deeds,” she said.

But Rosie gave another excited squeak. “Look!” she cried. “I’ve found a spell to summon dragons!”

Jess glanced outside at the wild storm.

“I think there are already too many dragons in Friendship Forest, Rosie. We don’t need any more!”

Rosie frowned thoughtfully. “No, wait,” she said. “Grizelda’s spell stops the dragons flying away from the forest... but maybe we could summon their mother to come and get them!”

Goldie’s green eyes gleamed. “That’s a wonderful idea! Oh, good job, Rosie!”

“And Breezy said her mom could stop the tornado, didn’t she?” added Lily. “So if we can do the spell, we can ask her to free the Gigglepips!”

Rosie gave a delighted squeak and clapped her paws together.

Jess studied the book. “Smoke Signal Summoning Spell,” she read. “To summon a dragon, you must send clouds of smoke up into the air. It’s important to follow a special pattern: Smoke... smoke smoke... smoke... smoke smoke...” She pulled out the little sketchbook and pencil she always kept in her pocket, and copied down the pattern.

“There’s just one problem,” Lily said. “Where can we get smoke in the middle of a storm? It’s too wet to make a fire.”

The little guinea pig squeaked again. “I know where to get smoke!”

“Where?” everyone cried.

Rosie smiled. “From the dragons, of course!”