Lily was about to reply when she heard a grunt. “What was that?” she asked. “It came from behind that starflower bush.”
Jess went to look, but didn’t see anyone. “That’s strange,” she said.
Soon they arrived at the Toadstool Café. The tables and umbrellas that dotted around outside were too small for the girls, so they sat on the mossy ground instead. As Bella ran around exploring the glade, Goldie came over to talk to the girls.
“Jess, Lily,” she said quietly. “Remember that grunt we heard, from behind the starflower bush?”
They nodded.
“Earlier today,” Goldie continued, “the Tabbypaws and I heard strange sounds in the forest, rather like that grunt.”
Jess frowned. “Could it have been the Boggits?”
The Boggits were the mean, filthy helpers of Grizelda the witch. She’d promised the Boggits a dirty, muddy new home if they helped her get rid of all the animals in Friendship Forest.
Before Goldie could reply, there was a loud crash from inside the café. She ran inside, while Jess and Lily kneeled to peer through the doorway.
Mr. and Mrs. Longwhiskers, the owners of the café, were scratching their ears and staring at a heap of saucepans on the floor.
“What happened?” Mrs. Longwhiskers wondered aloud. “They were on the draining board by the window a second ago.”
The cat’s ears twitched thoughtfully as she came back outside to join the girls. “Something strange is going on in Friendship Forest,” Goldie said. “I wonder what.”
An hour later, Goldie, Bella, and the girls arrived at Goldie’s grotto. It was a cave in another beautiful clearing. Beside the cave grew the Blossom Briar, a tall bush with colorful flowers as big as footballs. The girls knew that the Blossom Briar was connected to every flower in Friendship Forest. As long as it was healthy, the flowers would bloom, too.
Goldie opened the red front door that had a window the shape of a letter G, and they all went inside. On the mossy floor was a comfy bed, a squishy armchair, a table, and a fat, round footstool.
They ate pumpkin and pine nut soup with wild garlic bread, then curled up on the floor in a nest of quilts, blankets, and piles of soft cushions. Bella put her night goggles into her backpack and hung it on a hook, then clambered onto Jess’s lap.
“It’s so cozy and comfortable,” said Jess, stroking the kitten.
Bella started to purr. “Tell me stories about the human world!” she said.
Lily told Bella all about the wildlife hospital. When she finished, Bella said, “More!” so Jess told tales about school and the funny things their teacher said.
“More! More!” said Bella.
“I know,” said Goldie, “I’ll tell you the legend of Friendship Forest.”
“What’s a legend?” asked Bella.
“A very old story,” said Goldie, “but we don’t know if it’s really true.”
“Ooh!” said Bella.
So Goldie began. “Deep beneath Friendship Forest are many long-lost tunnels …”
“Wow!” said Bella, eyes wide. “Who lives there?”
“Nobody knows,” said Goldie. “The legend tells that the tunnels are filled with wonderful jewels, some as small as apple seeds, and some as big as a kitten!”
“I’d love to explore the tunnels and find some jewels,” said Bella dreamily. She yawned and wriggled into a tighter ball. In a moment, she was asleep.
Goldie giggled. “I’ll finish that legend another time.”
Jess carefully lifted Bella out of her lap and onto a quilt. Her paws twitched. “I think she’s dreaming,” Jess whispered with a grin.
The girls and Goldie snuggled down, too. They were just drifting off when they heard a rough, gruff sound outside.
“Hegga hegga!” it went.
Jess and Lily sat bolt upright. What was that?
Goldie’s ears pricked. “Girls,” she whispered. “I think something’s outside!”
Jess leaped up and ran outside, followed by Lily and Goldie. She spotted a shadowy shape among the trees.
“Over there!” Jess pointed, but the shadow had gone.
They went back inside, and Goldie made mugs of hot honey-milk.
Bella snuffled softly. She hadn’t heard a thing.
“That was strange,” Lily murmured as they settled back among the blankets. She stroked the sleeping kitten anxiously. “I hope Grizelda and her Boggits aren’t back in the forest.” Her mind whirring, Lily drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
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.”