The Emerald Princess Plays a Trick Read online

  “I remember.” Emily touched the flute and felt a tingle in her fingertips.

  “Are you ready?” Arden asked.

  “I think so.” Emily carefully raised the pipes to her lips. “Here goes.”

  The princess took a deep breath and blew the highest note possible.

  There was a flash of light, and a loud whirring sound filled the air.

  One second later, Emily found herself under a large mushroom. She was staring into the pink eyes of a little gray mouse.

  Princess Emily and the mouse were exactly the same size!

  “Shoo!” Emily shouted in the mouse’s face. “Get away from me.”

  The mouse twitched his whiskers several times, then bared his teeth.

  That made Emily very nervous. She grabbed a twig lying near the mushroom and waved it at the mouse.

  “Go back to your home or I’ll … I’ll bop you on the nose!” Emily cried.

  The mouse curled its lips, but after a few seconds it scampered away.

  “Phew!” Emily said, collapsing against the stem of the mushroom. “That was close.”

  Suddenly, a big white furry thing loomed in front of Emily’s face.

  “Yikes!” The princess instantly squeezed her eyes closed and covered her head. “It’s going to get me!”

  But all she felt was a gust of warm wind.

  Emily cracked one eye open, then tilted her head back. The white furry thing was Arden’s nose. And the warm wind was coming from the unicorn’s nostrils!

  “Princess Emily?” Arden’s voice boomed in Emily’s ears. “Are you all right?”

  Emily covered her ears and shouted back, “I’m fine, but it’s a little scary to be so small. Even the tiniest mouse could hurt me.”

  “Why don’t you let me pick you up with my teeth and carry you to Nana’s front door?” Arden suggested.

  Emily looked at the unicorn’s huge ivory teeth and gulped. One mistake and Arden could nip her in two!

  “Don’t worry,” Arden whispered. “I’ll be very, very careful. I’ll only bite your dress.”

  Emily knew she had to trust her friend. “All right, Arden.” She turned her back so the unicorn could grab hold of her skirt. “Lift me up!”

  Arden carefully bit down on the emerald-green dress. Then she gently lifted the princess into the air.

  “Whee!” Emily giggled, watching the ground zoom away from her. “I feel like I’m flying.”

  Arden walked ever so slowly up the stone steps to Nana Woodbine’s front door and set Emily down.

  “That was fun!” Emily laughed. “It was just like being at the tip-top of the tallest tree in the Greenwood.”

  “I’ll wait for you right here,” Arden told the princess.

  Emily saluted the unicorn, then knelt down and peered beneath Nana’s door. There was just enough room for her to squeeze under it.

  She crossed her fingers. “I just hope no one steps on me when I get inside.”

  Emily flattened herself against the top step and wiggled her way into Nana’s cottage. It was snug and warm and smelled of freshly baked bread.

  “Mmmmm! Delicious!” Emily murmured as she straightened up. She tried to find Staghorn, but a pair of huge, worn boots blocked her view of the room.

  Emily recognized the boots.

  “Why, it’s Fluke, the fisherman!” she said, stepping backward and looking up at the gray-bearded old man. “Word certainly travels fast!”

  Fluke tended the Greenwood’s brooks and streams. He and Staghorn were great friends. He must have run to Nana’s when he heard that Staghorn was hurt.

  “I’ll hide under the bed where Staghorn is resting!” Emily murmured, inching her way along the wall. “That way I can see and hear everything.”

  Fluke, Hazelnut, and Crosscut circled the bed. They were listening to Staghorn tell a story about his old days at the Jewel Palace.

  “Queen Gemma and King Regal always treated me like one of the family,” Staghorn was saying. “There was many a time that I pulled all four of the Jewel Princesses around that garden in their little rainbow-colored wagon.”

  Emily couldn’t help smiling. Those were fun times for her, too. She scurried under the bed, anxious to hear more.

  “It would break Regal’s heart if he heard how the Emerald Princess was treating the people of the Greenwood,” Staghorn said.

  “What!” Emily let out a gasp from her hiding spot behind the bed leg.

  Hazelnut fluttered onto the quilt and squeaked, “Just yesterday the princess nearly scared the stuffing out of the palace cook. Mrs. Dumpling’s hands shook so much she completely ruined the cake she’d spent three hours decorating.”

  Emily winced. This was terrible. She had no idea Mrs. Dumpling was so upset.

  Nana Woodbine sat on the edge of the bed. “I know this mercury vine tastes terrible,” she told Staghorn, nodding at the wooden spoon in her hand. “But I want you to swallow it before you tell any more stories.”

  “Give it to Princess Emily!” Fluke joked. “It would serve her right.”

  The group burst into laughter.

  Emily could feel her cheeks turn a bright red. Her friends were making fun of her!

  “I’ll bet the princess has played a trick on everyone in the Greenwood!” Fluke declared. “She’s played at least three on me.”

  “And this is the worst part,” Hazelnut added. “We all have to pretend her jokes are funny, just because she’s our princess!”

  Emily shook her head. “Oh no.”

  “I’m going to speak to King Regal about this,” Fluke said, slamming his fist in his hand. “When a princess starts hurting her own people, then it’s time for her to stop being a princess.”

  They think I’m the one who trapped Staghorn! Emily thought in alarm. Her chin began to quiver, and hot tears welled up in her eyes. I have to get out of here. I have to run.

  Emily stumbled out from under the bed and headed straight for the cottage door. She didn’t care if anyone saw her or even stepped on her.

  Arden was waiting for the princess when she rolled out from under Nana’s door.

  “Oh, Arden, I’m so ashamed,” Emily cried, burying her face in her hands. “You and Roxanne are right. No one has ever liked my tricks. They only pretended that they did. Now they’re all blaming me for Staghorn’s injury.”

  “But you had nothing to do with it,” Arden replied.

  “You know it and I know it, but how do we convince them?” Emily whimpered. “They think I’m a terrible princess.”

  “If only we knew who really set that trap,” Arden murmured. “Then you could straighten things out with Staghorn.”

  Emily’s green eyes grew wide. “That’s it! All I have to do is find out who did it!”

  “I’ll help you!” Arden declared.

  Emily smiled at Arden, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. “Thank you, my friend. I’ll be forever grateful.” Then she rose up to her full six-inch height. “We had better get to it. Time’s a-wasting.”

  Arden bowed. “Just tell me what to do, Princess.”

  Emily climbed down the stone steps of Nana’s cottage. “I want you to take a message to Princess Roxanne. She’s at Blue Lake. Ask her to join me as soon as possible.”

  “But where are you going?” Arden asked.

  Emily raced through the tall blades of grass, slashing at them with a twig. “Back to the scene of the crime,” she cried. “You’ll find me at the Twisted Vines!”

  Emily bent over to catch her breath. It had taken her two hours to run to the Twisted Vines.

  “If I weren’t so small, I would have been here ages ago!” she huffed, clutching her side. “Now I’m tired and very hungry.”

  She spied a blackberry bush on the path in front of her. Emily stood on tiptoe and reached for a big ripe berry. But something blocked her way.

  At first she thought it was just a spider’s web covered in leaves and twigs.

  Emily carefully poked at the web
. It was strong, like rope.

  “Wait a minute,” she murmured under her breath. “This isn’t a spider’s web, it’s a net! But what is it doing here?”

  Emily carefully lifted a blackberry leaf and peered through the netting. Underneath the net was a big wooden cage.

  “The trap is set!” a voice rasped above her.

  Emily spun around and nearly fainted. She was staring directly at the biggest feet she had ever seen. They were bony knobs with big tufts of fur on the toes and heels.

  Slowly, Emily raised her head. The feet belonged to two creatures in long black capes and hoods. She couldn’t see their faces, but she knew who they were.

  “Dreadlings!” she whispered. “I can’t let them see me!”

  Luckily, Emily was wearing green. She backed up against the leaves stuck to the netting, hoping to blend in.

  “This cage will hold one very stout dwarf and maybe a few of his fairy friends,” the other Dreadling said in a crackly voice.

  “That’s good,” the first one replied. “If we capture them two and three at a time, our plan will move much faster.”

  Plan? Emily gulped.

  “These Greenwood folk will make good workers for Lord Bleak.”

  Emily’s hands flew to her face. These awful Dreadlings were planning to kidnap her people. She had to stop them!

  But how can I do that? Emily thought, looking down at herself. I’m just one person, and a tiny person at that.

  Keeping as close to the ground as possible, Emily bolted through the grass to a birch tree at the edge of the Twisted Vines. There she scurried up the trunk and hid in the crook of the first branch.

  Below her the Dreadlings had finished setting their trap.

  “I’ve got to warn my people!” Emily declared as she watched the caped figures hurry off to hide in the forest. “I need to find a shinnybin.”

  The fastest way to get a message to anyone who lived in the Greenwood was to use a shinnybin. They were sweet-faced creatures with extra-long arms and legs.

  A shinnybin could climb to the top of a tree in a matter of seconds. Once there, he or she used a system of clicks and knocks to spread the word through the forest.

  Emily, who still had her twig, carefully tapped on the bark of the birch tree. Two slow knocks, three quick, and a whistle. She was immediately answered by a rat-a-tat! a whistle, and a shriek of delight as a furry creature swung onto her limb.

  It was the shinnybin named Sorrel.

  She blinked several times at the tiny princess, but asked no questions.

  “At your service,” Sorrel finally said. “What can I do for you?”

  Emily wanted to tell Sorrel that two of Lord Bleak’s Dreadlings had set the trap to hurt Staghorn. But she was afraid Sorrel wouldn’t believe her.

  “Please deliver this message to my people,” Emily said. “The Twisted Vines are dangerous. Stay away! What happened to Staghorn could happen to you!”

  Sorrel flopped her long arm across her brow in a salute. “Got it! I’m on my way, Princess.”

  Suddenly, the shinnybin sprang to the next tree and shinnied to the top. Within seconds, Emily could hear the clicks and knocks of her message being sent across the treetops.

  Princess Emily was about to follow the Dreadlings to their hiding place when she heard a voice singing below her.

  “Me name is Fluke, and me game is fish,

  Ta-roll, ta-roddle, ta-rish!”

  “Fluke!” Emily gasped. “He’s headed right for the Dreadling trap!” She cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed, “Fluke! Look out!”

  Fluke stopped walking and scratched his ear. “Eh?”

  “Oh dear,” Emily murmured. “I’m too little for him to hear me.” She climbed down to the trunk of the tree until she was eye level with the fisherman.

  “Fluke, look at the tree! It’s me, Emily!”

  The old fisherman turned his head. When he saw the tiny princess, he leaped backward. “Hey, what’s going on here? Is that you, Princess?”

  Emily shouted as loudly as she could, “Yes, it’s me!”

  Fluke leaned his face toward her. “But how did you—?”

  Emily waved one hand. “Never mind about that! You’re in danger. Don’t go into the Twisted Vines.”

  A cloud covered the old man’s face. “Is this another one of your tricks?”

  “No!” Emily placed one hand on her heart. “I swear it!”

  Fluke narrowed his eyes. “I don’t believe you, Princess. I’m off to find an herb for Nana Woodbine. And I have to follow that path!”

  He pointed at where the cage was hidden.

  “No, please!” Emily cried. “It’s a trap!”

  “Sorry, Princess,” Fluke replied. Then he swung his pack over one shoulder and marched toward the cage.

  The princess didn’t hesitate. She hurled herself through the air, landing on Fluke’s shoulder.

  “I can’t let them catch you!” Emily declared as the fisherman neared the trap. “They’ll have to take me first!”

  With a great heave, Emily leaped off his shoulder and flung herself at the netting.

  Snap! The netting tightened around her.

  Thunk! Emily dropped into the cage.

  Whoosh! The cage, with Princess Emily trapped inside, was yanked up to the treetops!

  As Princess Emily swung back and forth in the treetops, Fluke looked up at her in dismay.

  “Are you all right?” he shouted.

  Emily pressed her face against the cage and called, “I’m a little bruised, but fine.”

  “Please forgive me, Princess!” the fisherman cried, clutching his hat to his chest. “I thought you were just playing another trick.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Fluke!” Princess Emily shouted down to the poor fisherman. “We don’t have time.”

  She knew the Dreadlings weren’t far away. If she and Fluke didn’t do something quickly, they both would be taken prisoner.

  “Cut me down!” She pointed at the rope tied to her cage. “Hurry!”

  Fluke reached for the knife on his belt and ran to the rope. It was wrapped around a big wooden stake in the ground.

  While Fluke sawed at the rope, Emily kept a lookout for Dreadlings. It was getting late, and the sky had turned a pinkish color, which made it harder to see.

  “Princess Emily!” Fluke called from below. “My knife can’t cut this rope! It’s too thick!”

  “Oh no!” Emily could see the Dreadlings making their way through the trees.

  “Forget about the rope,” she cried. “Hide yourself.”

  “But what about you?” Fluke asked.

  Emily looked up at the setting sun and began to think.

  If the Dreadlings walked slowly enough, she might be able to save Fluke and herself.

  “I have a plan,” she cried to Fluke. “Now go hide!”

  Fluke ducked into the bushes several yards from the trap while Emily stared at the sun. She held her breath, watching it slip slowly toward the horizon.

  “Only a few more minutes,” she whispered.

  Unfortunately, at that moment Emily heard more voices. Familiar voices. They were coming from the direction of the Babbling Brook.

  She ran to the other side of the cage. “Roxanne!” she cried. “And Arden!”

  They were heading straight for the Twisted Vines. And the Dreadlings!

  “Cousin! Stop!” Emily shouted at the Ruby Princess, but her tiny voice couldn’t be heard over the rush of the brook.

  Emily darted to the other side of the cage. The Dreadlings were moving more swiftly now.

  This was terrible! What if they captured Roxanne? Then Lord Bleak would have both the Emerald Princess and the Ruby Princess in his clutches!

  Emily felt for the pan flute at her waist as she looked back at the sun. “Hurry up and set!” she ordered.

  Crack! A twig snapped just below her. The first Dreadling had arrived at the trap.

  He looked up at the cage and cackl
ed. “Well, what have we here? It looks like we’ve caught ourselves a tiny …”

  His voice caught in his throat as he realized his prisoner wasn’t one of the fairy folk, but a real princess.

  “The Emerald Princess!” the other Dreadling cried when he arrived. “But how did she get so small?”

  Emily could feel her knees grow weak. They’d caught her, and soon they would catch her cousin. She looked back at the sun.

  “Lower the cage,” the first one ordered. “Let’s have a look at her.”

  The cage jerked toward the Dreadlings. But Emily never took her eyes off the sun.

  The cage hit the ground with a thud. Emily reached one shaking hand toward her flute.

  Arden and the Ruby Princess stepped out of the woods. “What have you done to my cousin?” Roxanne called.

  The two Dreadlings turned just as the sun disappeared below the horizon. “This is our lucky day!”

  But then Emily raised her flute to her lips … and blew!

  Bits of wood shot everywhere as Princess Emily burst out of the cage.

  In an instant, she turned from a six-inch princess into a giant as tall as a tree.

  The Dreadlings screamed in fright. They turned to run.

  “Not so fast!” Emily’s voice boomed.

  She grabbed the Dreadlings by their hoods and lifted them over Roxanne and Arden. They dangled high in the air.

  “Please don’t hurt us!” the first one begged.

  “I want you to leave my land, do you hear?” she roared.

  “Yes, Princess,” the second one cried. “Please just put us down.”

  Emily held them over a thornbush. “Promise me you’ll never come back.”

  “We promise!” the Dreadlings moaned.

  “And if I ever catch you in the Jewel Kingdom again,” she warned, lifting them higher in the air, “I’ll turn you into teeny-tiny bugs.”

  “No!” the Dreadlings howled.

  Emily dropped them beside the Babbling Brook. The Dreadlings leaped across the stream and fled without ever looking back.

  “Well, I guess we’ve seen the last of those two,” Emily declared to Arden and her cousin.