Phoebe the Moonlight Dragon Read online

  Just then, the sandy soil around them began to move. Soon, hundreds of tiny lizard-like creatures began popping up through the sand. Each of the creatures glowed as if lit by a neon light. A purple egg balanced on each animal’s back.

  The creatures stared at the Night Dragons with amazed expressions on their tiny faces.

  “You are the biggest Newt Nurses I’ve ever seen!” one declared with a flick of its bright blue tongue. “And where are your eggs?”

  “I hope you haven’t lost them,” said another. “That’s all we need right now.”

  “We’re not Newt Nurses,” Phoebe said. “We’re Night Dragons. We’ve been sent by the Tree Queen to help. She says there’s been trouble here in the hatchery?”

  More newts, each with an egg carefully balanced on its back, padded over on their surprisingly big feet.

  “It’s true!” one cried. “It’s the Fire Moon. The Dreamlet eggs will only hatch when the conditions are just right. This moon is far too hot!”

  Phoebe exhaled, thinking hard. As her breath left her nostrils, it formed a pale cloud, shining like moonlight. The cloud hovered in the air, then sank down toward one of the eggs resting on the back of a newt.

  When it touched the egg, the cloud melted over it, covering it in a soft blue haze.

  “Look! The egg is hatching!” squeaked one of the newts. “Your roar must have cooled it to the perfect temperature.”

  The egg began to shiver and shake. There was a loud CRACK! The top part of the shell shattered and fell to the ground.

  Phoebe watched it closely. What was going to come out? As she stared, a tiny, soft, wormlike creature peered out and looked around. It had large blue eyes and stripy pink-and-purple fur.

  “Who would have thought that a worm could be so cute!” Stella said, clasping her paws.

  “I’m not a worm!” the Dreamlet said in a sweet singsong voice. “Can worms do this?”

  The little animal wiggled up to the edge of its shell and then, to everyone’s surprise, launched itself into the air!

  “Catch it!” Rosie cried in alarm. “It’ll fall!”

  But there was no need to worry. The Dreamlet did not fall. Instead, it began to wriggle through the air just like a normal worm does on land.

  Phoebe turned to her friends. “Maybe if we roar together, we can cool down all the eggs and help them hatch?” she suggested.

  She knew it sounded like a very strange suggestion. Surely a dragon’s roar would be hot? They definitely didn’t want scrambled eggs. But it seemed like a Night Dragon’s roar might be the opposite. Powerful, but cooling.

  “Fantastic idea!” said Stella as Rosie nodded enthusiastically.

  “Okay, then,” said Phoebe, filling her chest with air. “One, two, THREE!”

  Together, Phoebe, Rosie, and Stella roared as loudly as they could. A huge plume of smoke—purple and pink and blue and even a touch of yellow—swirled in the air above the hatchery. Then, slowly but surely, the smoke from their roars began to lower.

  The Newt Nurses all scurried around, arranging themselves so that they were below the cloud. Phoebe held her breath. Was this going to work?

  The roar cloud finally settled over the eggs, changing them from a shiny white to a pale blue.

  And then the eggs began to hatch! Phoebe decided it was a bit like waiting for corn to pop. At first one cracked, then another. But before long, the eggs were all cracking at once, in all directions!

  As the top of each egg opened, a little Dreamlet wiggled out. Soon the air above the Moon Lake was filled with little ribbons of wriggling pinks and purples.

  Suddenly, the newts began to stamp their large feet on the ground. Phoebe turned to her friends, eyebrows up. Were the newts upset about something? But they were smiling! This must be their way of clapping.

  “You did it, Night Dragons!” one of them called. “You saved—”

  The newt was cut short by a sudden flash of light. It was so blinding that for a moment Phoebe couldn’t see a thing. She blinked several times to clear the red light from her eyes.

  “What was that?” Stella asked, rubbing her eyes with her paws.

  Before anyone could answer, a cry went up from the Newt Nurses. “The babies! They’re GONE!”

  A moment ago, the air had been full of adorable and wriggly little Dreamlets. Now there was nothing there at all.

  “That bright flash must have been the Fire Sparks,” Phoebe said.

  Stella nodded. “We have to find them! They can’t have gotten far.”

  Rosie agreed. “But which direction did they go? I didn’t see a thing!”

  Phoebe scanned the area. Where had the Fire Sparks taken them? Even with her powerful eyesight, Phoebe couldn’t see any sign of the Dreamlets. It was as though they’d disappeared into thin air.

  Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Phoebe spotted something moving near where the cliffs met the lake. She flapped her wings and leapt over toward the spot.

  There, snagged in the long grass, was a single pink-and-purple Dreamlet.

  Phoebe untangled the wriggly little thing and held it carefully in her paw. Stella and Rosie bounded over to her side, followed by a swarm of very anxious Newt Nurses.

  “If we have no Dreamlets, then none of the forest creatures will be able to dream,” one of the Newt Nurses muttered to the others. “And if they can’t dream, they will start to get sick.”

  Phoebe raised the Dreamlet to her face. She felt huge compared with the tiny creature, so she tried to speak very softly.

  “Where did the others go?” she asked gently.

  The Dreamlet gazed at Phoebe for a moment. Then it leapt from her paw and into the air. It began wriggling over to the cliff face.

  “Is it trying to escape? Maybe it’s scared of us?” Rosie said.

  Phoebe shook her head. “I think it’s trying to show us something. Look!” Phoebe pointed to a hole in the rock face near where the Dreamlet was wriggling. It looked like the mouth of a cave.

  Phoebe flew over and peered inside. It was very deep and very dark. Then she saw something that made her gasp. “Something is glowing down there! It HAS to be the Fire Sparks!” she shouted to the others. Stella and Rosie flew to join her.

  Phoebe would never normally climb into a deep, dark hole without knowing what was down there. She was not that sort of daredevil. But being a Night Dragon made her feel so capable, especially when she had Stella and Rosie with her.

  “Be careful!” called the newts. “The ground below this place is ancient and holds all kinds of powerful magic. Strange things happen down there. Watch out.”

  Phoebe felt a shiver travel up her long, curved spine. But this did not change her mind. She turned to her friends.

  “Ready?” she asked.

  Stella and Rosie answered in one voice. “Let’s go!”

  Phoebe tucked her wings around her torso and squeezed through the gap. It was dark, but once inside, she could see that the cave was wide enough for her to fly. She spread her wings and began to soar down the passage. Luckily, she could hear Rosie and Stella just behind her. That stopped her from feeling afraid.

  They flew along a tunnel that sloped downward. The occasional tree root broke through the rocky sides, and sometimes a drip of water fell on Phoebe’s wings as they beat in the dank underground air.

  We’re directly below the Moon Lake! Phoebe realized.

  As Phoebe turned a bend, the tunnel widened and she found herself in a huge open space. She landed softly, and her friends did the same. Phoebe could hear rushing water but could not quite make out where the sound was coming from.

  She gave a quick roar. The glowing light from her roar spread out, illuminating the space in beautiful cool blues.

  What Phoebe saw made her gasp. They were in an underground garden, filled with the strangest flowers and plants she had ever seen. It was both creepy and beautiful. These must be night plants, thought Phoebe, ones that thrive away from the light.

  Most surprising of all was the river flowing through the garden. This was clearly no ordinary river. The water was a mass of different colors. Shade of purple, blue, orange, green, and pink twisted and twirled around one another as the water rushed along.

  “Look!” Stella shouted.

  There, on the other side of the river, were the Dreamlets! When they spotted the Night Dragons, the creatures whizzed around in big, happy loops.

  But Phoebe noticed something strange. Every time a Dreamlet flew to the river’s edge, they would leap back as though something had stung them.

  “I wonder why they don’t just fly over to us?” Rosie mused.

  “Maybe they’re scared?” Stella suggested.

  Phoebe heard a familiar voice in her ear. DasherGirl was back! “They can’t fly across,” she said, settling by Phoebe’s side. “There is an electrical current reaching from the surface of the water all the way to the roof of the cave. It forms an invisible barrier. It’s impossible to cross the river unless you are surrounded by Fire Sparks. They are the only creatures in the forest who can get through.”

  Phoebe frowned. This was so annoying. They had come so far! The Fire Sparks were always trying to get the better of them. It was starting to make Phoebe feel angry, even though it usually took a lot to upset her.

  She took a deep breath, remembering that the Tree Queen had warned them that feeling grumpy only fed the Fire Sparks. “Is there any way over there?” she asked DasherGirl.

  “Yes, but you won’t like it. The only way is underwater,” explained the elk, shaking her antlers in a way that made it clear she did not like this option, either.

  Phoebe looked at the surging river. She knew how to swim as a normal girl. But what was it like swimming as a Dragon Girl? And in water like this?


  “You and the other Night Dragons will be strong enough to swim through the current,” said DasherGirl. “But this is the Dream River. Its water can send you to sleep. Once you are in the water, you must swim as fast as you can to the other side. And you must try not to get any water in your eyes or mouth.”

  Phoebe looked at the Dreamlets, wriggling in the air on the other side of the Dream River. She turned to DasherGirl.

  “What happens if you get the water in your eyes or mouth?” she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

  “The dreams might be too strong,” DasherGirl explained softly. “They could overpower you.”

  Phoebe was used to having vivid dreams. Crossing was going to be dangerous. But if anyone could do it, it was Phoebe the Moonlight Dragon.

  Slowly, Phoebe slipped into the surging river, with DasherGirl riding on her shoulder. Phoebe took a deep breath and began to swim. The water felt surprisingly warm. Even though the current was strong, Phoebe found that it wasn’t too difficult to swim across. The tricky part was making sure none of the water got into her eyes or mouth.

  She heard a splash as her friends jumped into the water behind her.

  “Am I imagining it, or is the river getting wider?” Stella asked, swimming up alongside Phoebe.

  It didn’t make sense, but the river looked much bigger now that they were in it.

  “It’s got such a sweet smell,” Rosie commented. “It reminds me of Dad’s hot chocolate before bed.” She yawned. “It’s making me sleepy, actually.”

  “Don’t fall asleep!” called Phoebe, remembering DasherGirl’s warning. “Come on, let’s get to the other side as quickly as possible.”

  But they had swum only a few more strokes when flickering orange-and-yellow shapes rose up out of the water. DasherGirl shook her hooves in panic.

  “The river is on fire!” Stella gasped. “Do we turn back?”

  “Wait,” said Phoebe. She slowly moved closer to the flames, noticing that the water did not get hotter as she did so. “They’re not real flames,” she called to her friends. “I think they’re like a dream. One we can all see.”

  When she said this, the flames disappeared.

  The Night Dragons continued to swim, but Phoebe could feel her heart pounding. DasherGirl quivered by her ear. Phoebe wasn’t surprised. This was scary!

  The water in front of her began to bubble. Slowly, slowly, the head of a huge alligator emerged out of the water. The alligator had fiery eyes. When it opened its mouth, Phoebe saw two rows of gleaming sharp teeth.

  “It’s just another dream,” Phoebe yelled out, even though her voice cracked with fear. “A bad one. Just ignore it and keep going.”

  The alligator was not happy to be called a dream. It reared up one last time, snapping at the air with its powerful jaws as it sank back down into the water and disappeared.

  “Well done!” cooed DasherGirl.

  The other bank was close now, but the sweet chocolate scent of the river was getting stronger. The smell made it so hard for Phoebe to keep her eyes open. Maybe she could shut them just for a moment?

  Turning to look behind her, Phoebe saw that her friends were struggling, too. Seeing their drooping eyelids helped wake her up.

  “We’re almost there!” she called to Rosie and Stella.

  As she spoke, the water began to churn again. Phoebe’s stomach dropped. Another dream was surely coming. What would it be this time? She wondered what could be scarier than a fire or an enormous alligator.

  She was surprised when a huge bed rose up out of the river. What was scary about a soft, puffy bed?

  “Oh, that looks so comfy,” Stella sighed.

  A fluffy sheep jumped out of the water on one side of the bed. It soared through the air, bleating, and splashed back down into the river. A moment later another sheep made the same leap. Then another.

  “One sheep, two sheep, three sheep,” counted Rosie as she swam. She yawned even more loudly. “I’ll never understand why counting sheep makes me so sleepy.”

  When even DasherGirl started yawning, Phoebe understood why this dream was the scariest of all. If they fell asleep in the river, it would be extremely dangerous.

  Phoebe racked her brain. There must be something she could do. She grinned as an idea came to her.

  She began to sing at the top of her voice. And she sang not only very loudly, but as badly as she could, too.

  Don’t count SHEEEEEP!

  Don’t go to SLEEEEEEP!

  “Ow! That hurts my ears!” Stella grumbled.

  “Mine, too,” said Rosie. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m singing an anti-lullaby!” Phoebe yelled back. “This is not time for snoozing. It’s time for SWIMMING! Sing with me, you two.”

  Rosie, Stella, and even DasherGirl joined Phoebe in singing—loudly and badly—until they finally reached the far side of the river. The Night Dragons pulled themselves up onto the riverbank and lay there for a moment, breathing deeply and recovering from the difficult swim.

  The Dreamlets wriggled along the ground toward them, making funny little peeping noises and butting their tiny heads against one another.

  “They’re not flying anymore,” Rosie observed. “I wonder why.”

  Phoebe sat up and looked at the Dreamlets. As she watched, a few tried to leap into the air. But now none of them could get higher than an inch or two before they fell back down to the ground.

  “They’re too weak,” she said.

  DasherGirl nodded. “Dreamlets need the moonlight after they’ve been hatched. Otherwise they lose the strength to fly.”

  Phoebe stood up. “We’d better get them back across the river.”

  Stella shook her head. “We need a break,” she said. “A few minutes won’t make any difference. I’m exhausted.”

  Phoebe felt frustration flare inside her. The Dreamlets needed them. “We don’t have a few minutes, Stella!” Phoebe snapped.

  Stella frowned. “No need to be like that,” she said.

  “Hey! Stop it, you two,” said Rosie.

  Phoebe knew she shouldn’t have snapped. And she knew that Rosie just trying to help. But somehow that made everything worse. Her whole body buzzed with irritation.

  DasherGirl flew up to her ear. “Remember, the Fire Sparks feed off anger!” she warned.

  Phoebe’s heart sank as she remembered what the Tree Queen had said. She could already see tiny sparks of fire flittering in the darkness, heading their way.

  Before she dealt with the Fire Sparks, Phoebe had something just as important to do. She took a deep breath and turned to her friend. “Stella, I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me.” Instantly, everything seemed better.

  “I do; it’s those Fire Sparks,” Stella said kindly. “I’m sorry, too.”

  For the millionth time, Phoebe thanked her lucky stars she had such good friends.

  Now, what to do? There was no time to swim back across the river. Phoebe squeezed her eyes shut. There had to be a solution. She just needed to figure out what it was!

  Phoebe felt something tug at her neck. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the bundle of magic thread had begun to unravel and was pointing up toward the roof of the cave.

  DasherGirl began to fly in excited circles. “Of course! That thread is partly made from moonlight. It will always find the quickest way back to moonlight.”

  “There must be a gap in the rocks!” Phoebe cried.

  They scanned the rocks above them. Thanks to their powerful eyesight, the Night Dragons could see the roof of the cave quite clearly. Sure enough, there was a large crack up there.

  Phoebe had an idea. She grabbed hold of a section of magic thread, and with all her dragon strength, she flung it up high like a lasso. It soared through the air and disappeared through the gap.

  “Great throw,” Rosie said as a deep, groaning sound came from the roof.

  Small rocks and dirt began to tumble down.

  “Protect the Dreamlets!” Phoebe cried.

  The Night Dragons spread their wings across the little creatures.

  “It’s like an umbrella made of dragon wings!” Stella chuckled.

  Soon the rocks stopped falling. The Night Dragons lowered their wings and looked up. The crack in the rocks above was wider than before. Weirdly, the thread was also thicker and sturdier than it had been originally. It now looked more like rope.