“I guess our fun’s over,” said Peep. “I loved playing with Olivia Nibblesqueak when she was under my spell.”
“It was great playing with Chloe Slipperslide,” squawked Snippit.
“And I miss Evie Scruffypup,” squeaked Masha.
Hopper looked sadly at Grace. “I’m going to miss playing with Grace, too,” she said. “I know what will cheer us up. Let’s go home to the Witchy Waste, where it’s nice and messy!”
Snippit gave a happy squawk, and jumped in one of the slime puddles. It splashed over Masha and Peep, who squeaked with delight.
Lily couldn’t help smiling as she, Jess, and Goldie watched the Witchy Waste creatures play. “They’re not bad, are they?” she said. “They just really love being messy. No wonder Grizelda thought they would ruin the forest.”
Jess nodded. “We ought to teach that horrible witch a lesson,” she said. “And I’ve got an idea how!”
Chapter Seven
A Tower Makeover
The girls, Goldie, and the Witchy Waste creatures watched from a clump of bushes as Grizelda’s yellow-green orb floated away from her tower.
“Phew, she’s gone!” said Goldie, and they all crawled out of their hiding place.
Jess gazed up at the gloomy tower. “We’ll need a lot of help to make an enormous MESS,” she said.
“We’ll help!” said Masha.
“And I’ll go and get some more helpers!” said Goldie, darting away into the trees.
Jess explained the plan to the Witchy Waste creatures. “We’re going to make Grizelda’s dreary gray tower a nice, bright, colorful mess!”
The Witchy Waste creatures squeaked, squawked, and croaked with excitement.
Lily laughed. “Everyone start gathering flowers! We want to cover the whole tower in pretty petals!”
“Pretty?” Hopper made a face.
“I mean messy!” Lily said with a grin. The Witchy Waste creatures nodded.
They’d made a huge heap of flowers around the bottom of the tower when Goldie returned with Olivia Nibblesqueak the hamster, Chloe Slipperslide the otter, and Evie Scruffypup. “The butterflies are coming, too,” she said.
Peep hugged Olivia with his wings, while Masha squeaked delightedly when she saw Evie. “Hi, Chloe,” squawked Snippit, and the otter threw her paws around his feathery neck. Grace, Olivia, and Evie wove flower garlands. As each one was finished, Peep and Snippit flew up to drape it between the tower windows.
Masha and Chloe swept petals over the path with their long tails, while Hopper used her slime to stick colorful flowers to the tower’s grimy windows.
Goldie dragged out a couple of old cauldrons, and Jess and Lily filled them with flowers, right to the top.
Snippit pecked the words HOME SWEET HOME into a piece of bark, and hung it up over Grizelda’s creepy-looking door.
Just then, a colorful cloud of butterflies fluttered high up above the roof, arranging themselves into a beautiful, shimmering rainbow.
Everyone stood back to admire the colorful tower. “It looks fantastic!” said Jess. “What a pretty mess!”
Goldie nudged her nervously. “Look!”
The familiar yellow-green orb was floating toward them.
“Grizelda!” cried Grace. She ran to hide behind the girls.
The orb exploded into spitting yellow sparks, and Grizelda appeared. She stared in horror at the beautiful heaps of flowers that lay all around her tower. Her face turned purple with anger.
“My tower!” she shrieked. “It’s ruined!”
“See, it’s not nice when people change your home,” Jess told her.
“It’s your doing!” she screamed at them. “You meddlesome, interfering humans!” She turned to glare at the Witchy Waste creatures. “And why haven’t you ruined the forest like I told you? You’re as much use as cracked cauldrons!”
She stamped in rage and stretched her bony hands toward them.
“Oh, no!” Lily gasped. “Quick, we have to distract her!”
“How?” said Jess.
“Grace!” Lily whispered. “Sing!”
The little lamb’s voice wobbled at first but as she sang, it grew stronger. The sweet sound rang out:
“Everyone sing!” cried Grace, and they all—except Grizelda—joined in the chorus.
Grizelda clapped her hands over her ears. “Stop that dreadful racket!” she shrieked, glaring at the Witchy Waste creatures. “You’ll never get another magic spell from me. Ever!”
The witch stormed into her tower. As the door slammed behind her, the HOME SWEET HOME sign fell down with a crash.
“Hooray!” everyone cheered.
“That was fun!” squawked Snippit.
“I don’t think Grizelda will ask you to do her horrible spells again now,” said Goldie, smiling happily.
When Grace and the other the forest animals had hurried away to prepare for the concert, Goldie turned to the girls. “Let’s take the Witchy Waste creatures home,” she suggested.
Jess held Peep’s and Snippit’s wingtips, and Goldie held Masha’s paw. Hopper wiped the slime off her foot on a pile of flowers and took Lily’s hand.
They walked along the water’s edge to the Witchy Waste. It was in a terrible state, with old boxes, apple cores, rags, and all kinds of rubbish everywhere.
The girls stared.
“That’s the biggest mess I’ve ever seen,” gasped Lily.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” said Snippit proudly.
“We’re sorry for causing trouble,” said Masha the rat.
“When we said we’d help Grizelda, we didn’t realize how mean she was,” added Peep the bat.
“That’s right,” croaked Hopper. “We felt sorry for the forest animals living somewhere so tidy. We thought they’d love some mess.”
Lily smiled. “Everything’s fine now,” she said, “but we have to go. We’ll come and visit you, though!”
The creatures hugged Goldie and the girls, then clambered over the rubbish into the Witchy Waste.
“We’d better go, too,” Lily said hurriedly as they all waved goodbye.
“Oh, yes,” said Jess with a grin.
“We’ve got somewhere excting to be...”
“Let’s hurry to Harmony Hall,” Goldie agreed. “It’s almost concert time!”
Chapter Eight
Secret Singers
“Wow!” said Lily. “Harmony Hall is packed!”
Queenie Bumblebuzz flew over to them. “I’ve saved you some seats,” she said, and led Goldie, the girls, and the Woollyhop family to the front row. Jess and Lily slid down onto the grass so the Twinkletail mouse family behind them would be able to see.
Mr. and Mrs. Longwhiskers the rabbits were handing out blackberry and honey ice creams, and Hamish was giving cozy blankets to the animals sitting on the grass. He gave an extra fluffy blue one to the girls.