Goldie and Lily rushed over to the stone hedgehogs.
“Maybe they just need waking up,” Lily said desperately.
Jess looked at Herbie. His black beady eyes were open wide, and his little nose was frozen in the air. “Herbie?” she called, but the hedgehog didn’t move.
“It’s no good,” Goldie said finally. “We can’t break dragon magic, remember? Dragons have to reverse their spells themselves.”
Jess was close to tears. “But we can’t leave them like this,” she said, “just four tiny hedgehog statues.”
Lily gasped. “Four!” she repeated. “There are only four of them.”
Goldie grasped Lily’s hands. “You’re right!” she said.
Jess was puzzled. “What do you mean?” Then she realized. “Of course—there should be five! Where is little Emily Prickleback?”
As they looked around, they heard a faint squeak. Then a little pile of leaves and petals started to uncurl, and a tiny, snuffly face peeked out.
“Emily!” cried Lily. “You had so many petals stuck on your prickles that Dusty didn’t spot you.”
She picked up the trembling creature, who snuggled into the crook of her elbow.
“What about my family?” Emily asked tearfully.
Jess stroked her cheek with a finger. “Don’t you worry,” she said softly. “We figured out how to get Chilly the ice dragon to reverse his magic. We’ll find out how to make Dusty end hers, too.”
Emily blinked back tears and clenched her little paws. “Mom and Dad say I’m good at figuring things out,” she said, “so I’ll help!”
Leaving the statues behind, they hurried back up the river, where they found the animals clustered near the starting line, still waiting for the river to speed up so the race could begin. The Featherbill family had started a water balloon fight and the ducklings were all waddling around, chasing one another with colorful water balloons. Ellie Featherbill squealed in delight as a balloon burst all over her fluffy feathers.
“Look,” Mrs. Featherbill cried. “The girls and Goldie are back!”
Goldie quickly explained what had happened. Everyone started chattering with worry.
Agatha Glitterwing the magpie put a comforting wing around Emily. “We can’t have the race now,” she said. “Not while the poor Pricklebacks are under a spell!”
Lily was staring at the river. Something about it didn’t look the same. “Does the river look shallower to you?” she asked Jess anxiously.
Emily raced to the riverside. “The waterwheel must be stopping. The river’s not just slowing down, it’s disappearing!”
Goldie’s whiskers quivered with worry. “We need to save Emily’s family so they can get it turning again. If we don’t, the river will turn as dry as bone, just like Dusty said in her spell!”
The Greenhops hopped up and down in a panic, croaking, “No Willowtree River? What will we do?”
“Oh, my!” squawked Agatha. “All the trees and flowers will die, and we’ll have nothing to drink!”
“We’ll have to leave Friendship Forest!” cried Mr. Silverback the badger.
“That’s exactly what Grizelda wants,” Jess said. “Did anyone notice which way Dusty went?”
“She was going to sunbathe,” said little Emily. “Maybe she went to the beach?”
Lily smiled at the hedgehog. “Great idea, Emily! Your brothers were right—you really are smart.”
Emily’s nose turned pink again.
“Coral Cove is close to here,” said Goldie. “It’s a little sandy beach where Willowtree River turns a corner. We just need to follow the river. Come on, let’s see if Dusty’s there!”
Emily rode in Jess’s pocket, being careful not to prick her with her spines, as the three friends set off.
“Good luck!” cried the Twinkletails.
“Take care,” called Mr. Silverback.
“Don’t worry!” Goldie shouted back. “We’ll save the Pricklebacks!”
Jess nodded. “After all, we’ve got a very smart hedgehog to help us...”
Chapter Five
Kingfishers in Trouble
The group of friends hurried past trees and bushes. Emily peeked out of Jess’s pocket, holding her tiara in place with one paw.
Soon the bushes got so thick that they couldn’t see the river at all. As they walked along, they heard a funny noise. “Chee-kee, chee-kee!”
“It must be a bird,” Lily said, thinking about the birds they sometimes helped at the wildlife hospital. “It sounds upset.”
They pushed through the thick bushes to the river. As they got closer, they heard more and more bird voices crying out. “Chee-kee! Chee-kee!” they squawked.
When they reached the river, everyone gasped. The water had almost completely disappeared, leaving only a muddy ditch behind. And stuck in the mud were five small birds! Their feathers were plastered with mud, leaves, and bits of twigs.
“It’s the Blueflash kingfisher family,” Goldie cried, running to them. “What happened?”
“Chee-kee! Chee-kee!” Mrs. Blueflash cheeped, ruffling her feathers with worry. “Oh, Goldie! We stopped for a dip on our way to the Rushy River Race, so our colors would look fresh and bright. But now our wings are covered in thick mud so we can’t fly!”
One of the little Blueflashes flapped his wings, but he couldn’t take off. “We’ll never get home again,” he said sadly. “It’s too far to hop.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll help you,” said Lily. “There must be a way we can clean your feathers.”
“Lily and Jess help any animals in need,” Goldie said comfortingly.
“But how?” Lily whispered anxiously. “There’s no water to wash them.”
“Oh!” squeaked Emily. “I know how—I have an idea!” She wriggled out of Jess’s pocket and hopped down onto the ground. “Come here,” Emily called to the Blueflash family. One by one the kingfishers hopped out of the ditch, looking bedraggled and sorry for themselves.
“Just copy me!” Emily showed them how to roll around on the ground just like hedgehogs. “The mud on your feathers has dried in the sunshine,” she explained, “so if you roll, it will rub off!”
“It’s a dust bath!” Jess giggled in delight.
The Blueflashes did as Emily said, and once they saw that her plan was working, they all cheered up.
The young Blueflashes giggled as they rolled. Soon their brilliant blue-and-orange feathers were clean. They fluffed them up, then the kingfishers flapped their wings and took off, whizzing back and forth in delight.
“They’re so fast that all I can see are blue flashes!” Lily said, laughing.
“Great job, Emily!” said Jess. “That was really smart.”
Goldie told Mr. and Mrs. Blueflash about the spell Dusty had put on the rest of the Prickleback family.
“The beach is still very far away,” Mrs. Blueflash told them. “But we’ll see if she’s there. We can be there and back in a flash.”
“Thank you!” Jess called.
The kingfisher family took off in a blur of color. Minutes later they were back, shaking their heads. “She’s not there,” Mrs. Blueflash told them.
“We’ll keep an eye out for her,” promised Mr. Blueflash. “We really need the river back.”
One of the youngsters fluttered past them. “I’m cold,” he said. “Let’s fly up higher, where the air is warmer!”
“Wait a minute! Could that be where Dusty is?” Lily wondered out loud. “She’s not at the beach, but could she be sunbathing high in the treetops?”