Bella Tabbypaw in Trouble

Chapter Three Footprints

The next morning, Lily woke first. When she saw the cave roof, she wondered where she was. Then she remembered.

Goldie’s grotto, she thought with a smile. I wonder if Bella’s awake yet.

She rolled over to see. But Bella wasn’t there.

Lily shook Jess and Goldie awake. “I can’t find Bella,” she told them.

“She’s probably burrowed under the covers,” said Goldie.

They searched among the quilts and blankets and called Bella’s name. But there was no sign of the little kitten.

Jess’s hands flew to her mouth. “She’s gone!” she cried.

Lily pointed to an empty hook. “Her backpack’s gone, too,” she exclaimed.

Lily went pale. “Remember the noises we heard last night? Maybe Bella woke up and heard them, too, and went to find out what was making them!”

Goldie’s whiskers twitched with worry. “Let’s hurry back to Toadstool Glade,” she said. “If Bella’s gone off exploring, someone might have seen her.”

She grabbed her scarf. Outside, they saw that it had rained heavily in the night. Raindrops sparkled on the leaves of the Blossom Briar.

“I hope poor Bella didn’t get soaked,” said Lily as they hurried after Goldie.

At Toadstool Glade, Goldie jumped on a log and called to all the animals. “Has anyone seen Bella Tabbypaw?”

“Not since yesterday,” said Mrs. Twinkletail the mouse.

Mrs. Longwhiskers nodded. “The last time we saw her was when she left for the sleepover.”

Goldie frowned thoughtfully. “Has anyone heard anything strange in the forest? Or seen anything odd? It might help us find out where Bella is.”

A duckling wearing red boots waddled forward. It was Ellie Featherbill! The girls had stopped Grizelda and her Boggits from ruining Willowtree River, where the Featherbills lived. Ellie’s seven brothers and sisters, also wearing brightly colored boots, waddled after her.

“We’ve just been playing in puddles,” Ellie said shyly. “My brother Stanley saw footprints in the mud. Big ones! Come and see!”

When Goldie and the girls reached the spot in the forest where the ducklings were playing, they found four sets of large footprints and one set of tiny paw prints.

They stared at one another in horror.

“There’s only one kind of creature that could have made those big prints,” said Goldie grimly. “Boggits!”

“Four Boggits and Bella,” said Lily in dismay. “Do you think they’ve kidnapped her, like they did to Lucy Longwhiskers?”

“I’m afraid it looks like it,” said Goldie.

“Come on,” said Jess. “We’ve got to get Bella back!”

They thanked the Featherbill ducklings for their help and set off to follow the prints through the forest. They were soon deep among the trees.

“Let’s hurry,” said Goldie, glancing up at the sky. “It looks like it’s going to rain again.”

Sure enough, moments later, fat raindrops began to fall.

“We’ll be soaking wet soon,” said Lily, shaking water from her bangs.

Jess stopped and pointed. “Oh, no—the rain’s washing the footprints away!”

To their dismay, the prints were disappearing before their eyes. They hurried on, now unsure if they were going the right way.

“Where can Bella be?” Lily wondered aloud. “She must be so scared.” She stopped to peer through the falling rain. “There aren’t so many trees here, are there? It’s almost as if we’re coming to—”

“The edge of Friendship Forest!” said Goldie in alarm. “I’ve never been this far before. Oh, girls, I’m so sorry. I don’t know where Bella is, and I don’t know where we are, either! This place smells horrible.”

Jess comforted the tearful cat while Lily took a look around. She pushed through straggly bushes and gasped as her foot sank into something squishy.

Before her was a vast, oozing pool of runny, yellow-brown mud. Bubbles rose to the surface and popped, sending up stinking greenish clouds of gas. It smelled like old drains.

“Help!” she cried. “My foot’s stuck in a swamp!”