Rosie Gigglepip’s Lucky Escape

Chapter Two The Terrible Storm

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky. Immediately, a thunderclap boomed around them, making Lily and Jess jump.

“All the animals must be so scared!” cried Lily. “The storm could blow away their houses!”

Goldie nodded, her whiskers quivering with worry. She reached behind them into a hollow in the tree’s roots and pulled out three hooded capes, made of laurel leaves and magnolia petals stitched together.

“I left them here when I went through the tree to fetch you,” Goldie shouted over the storm’s roar. “They’ll protect us from the wind and rain!”

The girls wrapped themselves in the capes thankfully.

“Did Grizelda cause this storm, Goldie?” asked Jess.

“I think so,” the cat said. “Remember what she made the other dragons do?”

The girls could hardly forget. Grizelda had made Chilly the ice dragon stop the Flufftail squirrel family from looking after the Shining House, which made the forest sunny. It had quickly become cold and gloomy. Then the Prickleback hedgehog family were turned to stone by Dusty, the sand dragon, so they couldn’t keep the river flowing properly with their waterwheel. Next, Smudge the shadow dragon had turned the Fuzzybrush fox family into shadows, so they couldn’t dance to make the stars come out.

“Grizelda’s still got one dragon left,” Jess said with a groan. “Breezy the storm dragon!”

“I think Grizelda’s sent her to the Whirligig,” said Goldie.

“What’s the Whirligig?” asked Lily.

“It’s a magical windmill,” Goldie explained. “The Gigglepip guinea pig family live there. They turn the sails of the windmill at exactly the right speed to send a lovely, gentle breeze through Friendship Forest.”

A gust of wind howled as it swept around them, tugging at their capes.

“That wasn’t a gentle breeze!” Lily cried. “Something must have happened to the Gigglepips!”

“Let’s go and find out!” yelled Jess.

They hurried through the forest. The little cottages in Toadstool Glade had their doors and windows tightly shut. Chestnuts were stuffed into chimney tops to stop the rain getting in.

The Longwhiskers rabbit family, who ran the Toadstool Café, were getting soaked as they moved tables, chairs, and sunshades indoors. Through the windows, the girls spotted their friends Emily Prickleback the hedgehog and Lola Velvetnose the mole sheltering inside.

A mouse ran across the glade, clutching a tiny umbrella made of ivy leaves.

“Look! There’s little Molly Twinkletail!” cried Lily.

Suddenly, the wind caught the umbrella and whisked the tiny mouse into the air.

“Help!” Molly squealed.

Jess darted across Toadstool Glade. She caught Molly gently. The little mouse sat quivering in her hand. Jess kissed her tiny damp head and lifted her to the front door of the Twinkletails’ cottage, high up on a tree branch.

“You’re safe now, Molly,” she said. “Make sure your family stays inside until this awful storm is over.”

“Thank you, Jess! I will!” cried Molly, as her dad opened the door. She ran inside to a chorus of squeaks and squeals.

“Poor Molly,” said Goldie, when Jess ran back to her and Lily. Her tail twitched anxiously. “We’d better hurry. If the storm keeps going, the littlest animals will be swept away, just like Molly was!”

As the girls struggled through a big cloud of leaves being swirled around by the wind, Goldie gasped.

Ahead was a horribly familiar sight. A yellow-green orb was floating through the storm toward them!

“Oh, no!” cried Jess and Lily together.

With a cra-ack, the orb burst in a shower of smelly yellow sparks that hissed as raindrops hit them. In its place stood Grizelda the witch!