Willa the Silver Glitter Dragon Read online

  “What are the ingredients?” Willa asked.

  The Tree Queen drew in a deep breath. It looked like it was a lot of effort for her to speak. And when she did, her voice was dry and crackly. “The first ingredient is a perfect egg from the Worrying Waterfall Bird,” said the Tree Queen. “Follow the river and you will find it.”

  Willa felt herself relax. An egg didn’t seem too complicated.

  “The second ingredient is a single tear from a sea-donkey,” the Tree Queen continued.

  Hmmm … now that was definitely trickier. What even was a sea-donkey? Willa supposed it was a bit like a seahorse. But how could you gather a tear underwater?

  The Tree Queen fell silent for a moment, like she needed to catch her breath. Willa didn’t want to rush her, but she also knew that they were running out of time.

  “And the third thing?” Willa asked politely.

  The Tree Queen sighed and swayed her branches from side to side. “I am not entirely sure,” she admitted. “My mind is not so clear today. It’s something from somewhere very deep. And it’s invisible.”

  “Invisible?” repeated Willa. She really hoped she’d misheard the Tree Queen. Finding something invisible was surely an impossible task!

  But the queen nodded, her wavy hair falling across her serious face. “Yes, invisible. But you will know it when you see it.”

  “Or don’t see it,” muttered Naomi.

  Willa could tell that Naomi was as puzzled as she was. Azmina was the only one who still looked confident. Willa was glad she was on the team.

  “Hold out your paw, Willa,” instructed the Tree Queen.

  Willa did as she asked, and the queen let the apple drop.

  As Willa caught the magical fruit, she felt nerves crash over her. “Um, last time Azmina took care of the apple.”

  “But this time the apple is silver,” replied the queen. “And you are the Silver Glitter Dragon. It’s your task to take care of it.”

  “Here, you’ll need this to carry the apple,” said Azmina kindly, taking off the soft bag she had worn on their last quest.

  Willa looked at the others dubiously. “Don’t you think Azmina should look after it again?” she said. “I might lose it or something.”

  She was thinking about the Shadow Sprites’ whispers. What if they were right?

  The Tree Queen smiled. “I believe in you, Willa. You should, too.”

  Willa really hoped the Tree Queen was right!

  The bag had looked golden when Azmina was wearing it. But as Willa put it on, it changed color until it blended with her silvery tones. Willa slipped the apple inside. The bulge of the apple almost completely disappeared. And the bag was so light, Willa couldn’t even tell she was wearing it. She wished her schoolbag worked the same way!

  Willa could see Naomi and Azmina watching her. She was nervous about being in charge of the apple, but she felt excited, too.

  Willa flapped her wings, sending silver glitter fluttering around her. “Okay, let’s go!” she called. “We’ll follow the river until we find the waterfall.”

  Together, the three Glitter Dragons rose through the shimmering air and up above the treetops, their glitter settling on the glade’s force field like twinkling snow.

  Clouds began to gather, and it soon started to rain. But Willa had always liked the rain.

  The big, silvery drops tinkled out strange melodies and kept her cool as they sped along.

  When Willa had first tried flying, she’d found it very hard. She kept crashing into things! Then she discovered that if she imagined she were swimming through the air, it was easier. She especially loved diving through the sky, adding fancy twists as she whooshed down. It was like jumping from the highest diving board at the pool.

  But the best part about flying, Willa decided, was that Naomi and Azmina were there with her. Azmina had started making up a silly song as she flew along.

  She had a really nice voice, rich and strong. Hearing her sing made Willa feel less worried about the quest ahead of them. Then Naomi joined in with the singing, too. Naomi was a terrible singer, but she didn’t care. She sang as loudly as she could until Azmina had to stop because she was laughing so hard.

  Willa grinned at her friends. It was good to be one of the Dragon Girls!

  But when Willa looked down, her good spirits dropped. Below them stretched the river, and it had even more gray swirls than before.

  Azmina and Naomi noticed the murky water, too. Azmina’s usually bright smile faded.

  Naomi stopped singing. “We’d better hurry!”

  Soon Willa could hear falling water. It was getting louder and louder. And sure enough, when she looked up the river, she could see magnificent turquoise water spilling over the cliff and crashing onto the rocks below.

  “The waterfall!” yelled Willa. “The bird we’re looking for must live nearby.”

  “Nice work!” Azmina yelled back.

  Together, the Dragon Girls swooped down toward the waterfall. They hovered in front of the tumbling water, the bright drops spraying into the air. It was very loud!

  Willa was gazing at the sheets of falling water when she spotted something: “There’s a cave back there!” she called to the others. She’d always loved stories about secret caves hidden behind waterfalls. “Maybe that’s where the Worrying Waterfall Bird lives.”

  “How will we fly through all that water?” asked Naomi. “Won’t it crush us?”

  “I bet we can slip around the side of the waterfall. We’ll hardly even get wet,” said Willa.

  Azmina looked relieved. “I’m not wild about water—especially crashing, cold water! I like being warm and dry.”

  “We’ll go together,” decided Willa.

  She led the way to the side of the waterfall. Sure enough, the water arched out from the cliff, leaving just enough space for the dragons to get through.

  A curious light radiated from the cave.

  “The cave is glowing!” said Naomi in awe as they gathered on the other side.

  As they crept in, they soon found out why!

  Balanced on rocks around the cave were very big, very bright silver eggs. Some rested on ledges along the sides of the cave. Others were attached to the tree roots dangling from the roof. All the eggs twinkled like stars.

  “They’re so beautiful!” breathed Willa.

  “Do you think so? Really? You truly think they’re beautiful?” came a worried voice from the back of the cave. A large silver-feathered bird hurried toward them. “I sometimes think I lay the nicest eggs in the forest. But then I worry that’s rude to all the other birds.”

  The bird talked on and on. This was definitely the Worrying Waterfall Bird!

  When the bird finally stopped talking (just to take a breath), Willa jumped in. “Excuse me, but have you noticed that the waterfall is changing color?”

  The bird flung up her wings. This was a whole new topic to worry about. “Yes! It’s terrible! The water isn’t what it used to be. I was just telling—”

  “That’s why we’re here!” Willa interrupted as politely as she could. If she let this bird keep talking, they would never complete their quest. “It’s a problem throughout the Magic Forest,” she explained. “We Glitter Dragons are making a potion to fix it. But we need one of your eggs. Could you spare us one?”

  There were so many eggs in the cave, surely one fewer wouldn’t matter. But then again, would such a worrywart be willing to give one away?

  “Of course!” said the Worrying Waterfall Bird. The Dragon Girls exchanged relieved smiles. “Anything to help. Which one would you like?”

  Willa looked around. The Tree Queen had said the egg needed to be perfect. But all the eggs looked the same to her.

  “Maybe that one?” she asked, pointing to a nearby egg.

  The bird rushed over and wrapped her wings protectively around the egg. “Oh, not this one! It’s my favorite.”

  “How about this one?” suggested Azmina from the other side of the c
ave.

  The bird immediately rushed over there. “Not that one! It’s too pretty!”

  “This one, then?” asked Naomi, picking up an egg nearby.

  But the bird quickly snatched it out of Naomi’s paw.

  She couldn’t give up that one, or the next one, or indeed any egg that they suggested. They were all too wonderful to part with.

  “Well, which one can we have?” asked Naomi, exasperated.

  The bird looked at her precious eggs, thinking. Then she darted to the very back of the cave. She returned with an egg in her beak and placed it carefully at Willa’s feet. “This one.”

  It was much smaller than the other eggs. Instead of being silver all over, it was speckled with glittery dots. The Dragon Girls huddled together.

  “We can’t use it,” whispered Naomi. “The Tree Queen said the egg had to be perfect. This one obviously isn’t.”

  Azmina nodded. “We have to ask the bird to give us one of the others.”

  Willa picked up the egg. It fit exactly into her paw. The speckles sent silvery points of light across the cave’s wall.

  “This egg might not seem perfect to everyone,” declared Willa, “but it’s perfect to me. It’s not too big, and it sparkles like I do.”

  The egg sparkled even brighter after she said that. The other two Dragon Girls nodded.

  “You’re right,” said Naomi. “Put like that, it is perfect.”

  The bird hopped over, looking as worried as ever. “It is a lovely egg, isn’t it? Perhaps I shouldn’t—”

  Willa quickly pulled out the magic apple. She wanted to get the egg in there before the bird changed her mind! But because she was in such a hurry, the egg slipped from her paw and fell into the apple and … cracked.

  “Nooo,” groaned Willa, closing her eyes. She couldn’t believe it. The very first ingredient and she’d already messed up!

  “Don’t worry, Willa,” said Azmina excitedly. “I think it was meant to break. Look!”

  Willa opened her eyes. A mist wafted up from the magic apple, filled with tiny shimmering stars. At the bottom of the apple lay a perfect silver egg yolk. The two halves of the eggshell quickly dissolved into a shiny powder. A moment later, the powder disappeared into the mixture inside the apple, too.

  Azmina was right. The egg was meant to break. They had completed the first step of the quest!

  “Okay! What’s the next ingredient?” asked Naomi.

  “A tear from a sea-donkey.” Willa shrugged. “Whatever that is.”

  “There’s a sea-donkey family that lives not far from here,” said the Worrying Waterfall Bird, stroking one of her eggs.

  “Great!” said Azmina, ready to get going.

  “But he might not be very helpful,” said the bird.

  “He doesn’t need to be helpful,” Naomi pointed out. “He just needs to cry.”

  “How do we find him?” Willa asked the bird, who was now scurrying around the cave, rearranging her eggs.

  “Oh, that’s easy,” she said. “Just slide down the waterfall.”

  Willa felt a shiver of excitement. Sliding down the waterfall sounded like a lot of fun. Naomi clearly felt the same way. “Let’s go!” she said, flapping her wings.

  But Azmina was frowning. “Are you okay?” Willa asked.

  Azmina nodded. “It’s just, I’m not great at holding my breath.”

  “That’s one thing even I wouldn’t worry about,” called the bird, dashing past with an egg under each wing. “Most dragons can breathe underwater for ages.”

  Naomi smiled at Azmina. “Hear that? If even a worry bird is telling you not to worry, you’ll be fine.”

  Azmina nodded, but she didn’t look completely convinced.

  Willa put a wing around her. “We’ll do it together, okay? We Glitter Dragons are a team.”

  Azmina nodded. “Thanks. And I guess I have flown into a volcano. Sliding down a waterfall can’t be more difficult than that, right?”

  “Exactly.” Willa grinned, really hoping that was true.

  Thanking the bird, the Glitter Dragons flew out of the cave and around to the front of the waterfall. It seemed even more powerful than before. Down below, the water churned fiercely.

  In the “normal” world, there was no way Willa would slide down that waterfall. Much too dangerous! But we are Glitter Dragons here in the Magic Forest, so everything is different, Willa reminded herself.

  She saw Azmina looking nervously at the raging water. “Let’s slide together,” Willa suggested.

  “Great idea,” said Naomi. “Azmina, you go in the middle.”

  They flew to the top of the waterfall.

  “On the count of three, let’s slide!” roared Willa over the noise of the water. “One, two, three … SLIDE!”

  Whooshing down the waterfall was like riding on the fastest, splashiest waterslide ever.

  “Whoo! This is fun!” yelled Azmina.

  Willa grinned. She was glad Azmina was enjoying it. “Get ready to dive!” she roared as they plummeted down. Together, the Dragon Girls took big breaths as they flipped around and dove nose-first into the river.

  Below the surface, the water had a delicate blue light to it. But right away Willa saw shadowy shapes moving like eels through the water. Wherever the shapes wriggled, the water turned a murky gray.

  Underwater, Willa could hear their whispering even more clearly than she had in the forest. You’ll never finish this quest. You don’t have what it takes.

  The words made Willa feel like she was losing her sparkle.

  “We have to hurry,” she said. Hang on, she could talk and breathe underwater! Willa had always dreamed of being a mermaid.

  “Would you mind getting out of the way?” asked a tired voice, pulling Willa out of her daydream. “I’m picking up my kids from school. You’ll make me late.”

  Willa turned to see a very strange-looking creature. It had tall, pointy ears, a horselike nose, and the curly tail and round stomach of a seahorse.

  “You’re a sea-donkey!” Willa gasped. “Just who we’re looking for! We’re on a quest, and we need your help.”

  “I don’t have time for quests,” the stressed-out little creature said, sighing. “The shadow water is confusing me. I keep getting lost! If I’m not at school when the bell rings, my kids will flip. Then the whole afternoon is a mess.”

  “We’re here to fix the water,” explained Willa. She had a brain wave. “I know, we could give you a lift!”

  The sea-donkey dad looked hopeful. “Really? That would save me! Like I always say to the kids, we sea-donkeys are smarter than seahorses. But between us, I admit we’re not as fast.”

  “Hop on my back!” said Willa.

  The sea-donkey promptly did so, smiling broadly. “This is great! The kids are going to be stoked when I turn up on a Glitter Dragon!”

  The sea-donkey dad pointed out the way and they all headed off. Willa found it easy to glide through the water, even with the sea-donkey on her back.

  The sea-donkey seemed much more relaxed now. He even started whistling as they sped along.

  “Uh, Willa?” muttered Naomi, swimming up beside her. “We kind of need the sea-donkey to be sad, not happy. We have to collect a tear, remember?”

  Willa had been thinking the same thing. But making the sea-donkey upset seemed mean, especially now that he was in such a good mood.

  “You know, there’s a mollusk at my kids’ school who’s going to college soon,” said the sea-donkey suddenly.

  “That’s nice,” said Willa, not sure why the sea-donkey was telling her this.

  “Yup, she got a scallop-ship!” said the sea-donkey, braying with laughter.

  Naomi groaned. “So it’s not just human dads who tell bad jokes?”

  “I think they’re funny,” Azmina chuckled. “And look! He’s nearly crying with laughter.”

  “Azmina, you’re a genius! I bet a happy tear will work even better than a sad one,” whispered Willa. “Quick, think of all t
he dad jokes you know.”

  “Hey, Mr. Sea-Donkey!” said Azmina. “What do you call a crayfish with a messy room?”

  The sea-donkey looked over at Azmina. “What?”

  “A slobster!” Azmina said, and the sea-donkey collapsed into fits of giggles on Willa’s back.

  “How did the oysters get to the hospital?” asked Naomi.

  “Ooh, I know this one!” chortled the sea-donkey. “In a clam-bulance.”

  Willa tried to think of a joke. The perfect one hit her. “What do you call a fish with no ‘eye’?”

  “I know! I know!” yelled the sea-donkey, slapping his side in mirth. “You call it a … you call it a—” He was laughing so hard he could hardly get the words out. “A FSSSSHHHH!”

  And then something very strange happened. As the sea-donkey roared with laughter, tiny, sparkling droplets began spouting from his eyes.

  “What’s happening?” gasped Naomi. “Is he okay?”

  A group of smaller sea donkeys swam over, each with a tiny shell schoolbag on their back. “Don’t worry. Dad always cries like that when he’s laughing really hard,” one of them said.

  “Those droplets are tears? Grab one!” Willa called to Azmina and Naomi. But the tears weren’t easy to catch. They kept sliding out of reach.

  “All that laughing has used up my air,” Azmina said. “I have to surface.”

  “Me too,” admitted Naomi, starting to swim up. “We’ll come back down in a minute, okay?”

  But Willa knew that would be too late. She had to catch a tear now! When a sparkling teardrop floated past, Willa opened her mouth and took a big mouthful of water. She had trapped the tiny tear in her mouth! Quickly, she began to swim up toward the surface behind Azmina and Naomi.

  “Bye, Dragon Girls!” called the sea-donkey, gathering his chattering kids around him. “Thanks for the lift. And good luck with your quest!”

  Willa kept her mouth firmly shut as she swam back up to the surface. She did not want to lose the precious sea-donkey tear she had trapped in there.