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The SecreT of

The Snow

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,

downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced

into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by

any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter

invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For

information regarding permission, please contact Atlantyca S.p.A., Via

Leopardi 8, 20123 Milan, Italy; e-mail foreignrights@atlantyca.it, www.

atlantyca.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

e-ISBN 978-0-545-65902-4

Copyright © 2013 by Edizioni Piemme S.p.A., Corso Como 15, 20154

Milan, Italy.

International Rights © Atlantyca S.p.A.

English translation © 2014 by Atlantyca S.p.A.

GE

RONIMO STILTON and THEA STILTON names, characters, and

related indicia are copyright, trademark, and exclusive license of Atlantyca

S.p.A. All rights reserved. The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Based on an original idea by Elisabetta Dami.

www.geronimostilton.com

Pu

blished by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered

tr

ademarks of Scholastic Inc.

Stilton is the name of a famous English cheese. It is a registered trade-

mark of the Stilton Cheese Makers’ Association. For more information,

go

to www.stiltoncheese.com.

Text by Thea Stilton

Original title Il segreto delle Fate delle Nevi

Cover by Flavio Ferron

Illustrations by Giuseppe Facciotto, Danilo Barozzi, Chiara Balleello, and

Ba

rbara Pellizzari (design), and Alessandro Muscillo (color)

Graphics by Marta Lorini

Special thanks to Tracey West

Translated by Julia Heim

Interior design by Kay Petronio

First printing, September 2014

Thea Stilton and the Thea Sisters

Violet

Thea

Paulina

Colette

Nick

y

Pamela

The Land of Minwa is a fantasy land where magical creatures

live. They are based on creatures from Japanese myths and

Japanese folktales known as

mukashi banashi

. Some of their

names and abilities, however, are unique to this strange world.

the land of Minwa

Orochi:

This dragon has eight tails and

eight heads, and each head has an angry temper.

If Orochi is guarding a bridge, you must ask

permission before crossing.

The Snow Fairies:

They

live along the banks of the Frosty River.

Their breath can turn things into ice.

Tengu:

These mysterious, birdlike

creatures have red wings. They live in

the Forest of the Dancing Pines and are

expert potion makers.

Tanuki:

This mischievous creature can shape-

shift into almost anything. In Japan, its true form is

thought to be a raccoon-dog, a type of wild canine.

Kitsune:

These beautiful fairies

have long, foxlike tails. Each one

carries a mysterious golden sphere.

Kijimuna:

Experts at fishing and navigation,

these fairylike creatures are very unfriendly. It’s

best not to ride in their boats unless you have to.

Laughing Fairies:

They are full of

information about the Land of Minwa — but they

can’t stop laughing long enough to share it.

Umibozu:

This enormouse creature

resembles an octopus. Legend says that it tips

over boats that come close to it ... but it may

not be as mean as it looks.

Kappa:

These peaceful water creatures

have delicate skin and resemble turtles. They

know all about natural healing remedies.

Baku:

These creatures can visit the dreams of

those who live in the Land of Minwa. In this world,

the baku looks like a tiny, colorful elephant.

Merry Christmas!

“A little bit higher,” Colette instructed

Paulina, who was placing a sparkly glass star

on the big spruce tree at the entrance

to Mouseford Academy.

“Stop! Hang it right next to

that silver ball.”

Paulina smiled down at her.

“It’s perfect, Colette. You have such

an eye for these things.”

The festive atmosphere of Christmas

filled the air at the academy. The semester

was over, and students were happy and

excited for the holidays. They all pitched in,

stringing colored lights and decorations

through the halls.

The Thea Sisters had offered to decorate

1

It’s beautiful!

Merry Christmas!

the huge tree that stood at the academy

entrance. Each year, it was decorated in a

different theme.

This year’s theme was

snow

, and the five

friends thought it was perfect. The magical

silver and sparkling white colors were

enchanting, and reminded them of the

fantastic adventures they’d had together.

“I made an ornament for the tree,”

Violet

said shyly. She carefully opened a small box

that she held in her paws.

“Cheese niblets! It’s beautiful!”

Pamela exclaimed. “Did you really make this

yourself?”

Violet nodded and held up the

ornament — a blue glass

ball with a perfect replica of

Mouseford Academy nestled in

the snow inside it.

3

Merry Christmas!

Nicky looked stunned. “Where did you

learn to make things like that?”

“My grandfather taught me when I was

young,” Violet explained. “He would spend

hours making models of ships to put inside

bottles. So I thought to myself, why not try it

with a glass ball, and our school?”

“It’s fabumouse, Vi!” Colette exclaimed.

“It makes the tree even more beautiful.”

“Gee, snow. Could this year’s theme be

even more boring?” a familiar voice asked.

The friends turned to see Ruby Flashyfur

behind them. She loved to make trouble

for the Thea Sisters.

“Hi, Ruby,” Nicky said with a friendly

smile. “Would you like to help us decorate

the tree? We really have some beautiful

ornaments for it.”

Ruby shrugged. “Sorry, but I have

4

Merry Christmas!

something much better to do.”

She paused, waiting for someone to ask

her what it was. But the Thea Sisters

weren’t interested. They turned back to the

decorations.

“Well,” Ruby continued, sounding annoyed,

“I am getting ready to leave for the holidays.

I’m going to an exclusive ski resort in the

mountains.”

I’m going skiing . . .

Have fun!

Merry Christmas!

“Okay, well, have fun,” Colette replied

casually.

Ruby clenched her paws, turned around,

and walked away with her snout in the air.

The Thea Sisters looked at one another —

they knew Ruby well, and this was just like

her. Then they continued decorating the tree.

While the Thea Sisters were busy decorating

the great Christmas tree, I was busy planning

my next class on

adventure journalism

that I would teach at Mouseford Academy.

I am friends with Octavius de Mousus, the

academy’s headmaster, and he had invited

me to come to the school for the holiday

festivities

. In my free time, I could

work on a curriculum for the class.

There was so much I wanted to cover!

The desk in my office was covered with

papers, notes, and lessons plans. Then, from

somewhere under that mountain of paper,

came the sound of my cell phone ringing.

I dug under the papers and answered it.

A Surprise

Invitation

7

A Surprise Invitation

“Good morning, Thea.” I heard. “It’s Will

Mystery

from the Seven Roses Unit.”

“Will! It’s so great to hear from you. What’s

new?” I asked.

Will works at the Institute of

Incredible Stories

(I.I.S.), the

top secret organization that deals with

unsolved mysteries. He is the head of the

Seven Roses Unit, the most mysterious

Riiing! Riiing!

Hello, Thea!

Dear Thea,

The Thea Sisters have proven themselves to be an

important asset for our research into fantasy worlds.

Do you think they would be able to come to the I.I.S.

as soon as they have some time off from school? We

would like them to attend a course in the langua

-

ges of mythic lands. When they arrive, they will find

many surprises waiting for them!

Thanks for your help,

Will Mystery

S

e

v

e

n

R

o

s

e

s

U

n

i

t

A Surprise Invitation

department of the I.I.S.

“Did you get my letter?” he

asked me.

“I haven’t opened my

mail

yet,” I replied. “Hold on.”

I put down the phone and

looked through the

heap

of

envelopes on my desk. I saw it and

quickly

opened it.

M

ysteries

. . . B

eneath

the

i

ce

!

The I.I.S., the Institute of Incredible Stories, is a research center

dealing with unsolved mysteries. Its headquarters are in a hidden

location under the glaciers of Antarctica.

M

yths

and

L

egends

The Seven Roses Unit is the most

secret department of the I.I.S. This

branch studies fantasy worlds, which

are inhabited by characters from

myths and legends.

I.I.S.

The Institute of

Incredible Stories

t

he

P

ower

of

M

usic

A special glass elevator travels between the I.I.S. and the fantasy

worlds. Only Will Mystery can make it work, using special music.

sPeciaL MaPs

In the Hall of the Seven

Roses, there are living

maps of all of the fantasy

worlds. They change when

any land changes and show

when a land is in danger.

A Surprise Invitation

I picked up the phone. “Will? I just read it.

The Thea Sisters will be thrilled!”

“Excellent,” said Will. “They have helped

the I.I.S. solve two challenging mysteries

already. Do you think they will agree to come

this time as well?”

“I think so,” I said. “Their holiday break is

just beginning, so they don’t have any classes.

I will

rush

right off and tell them!”

Will told me the rest of the details as I

raced through the halls to find the five

friends. I couldn’t wait to give them the

wonderful news!

12

When I reached the Thea Sisters, they were

happily exchanging gifts in the room they

shared.

“Thea! We have a

present for you,”

Nicky said. “Come on in.”

“I have a gift for all of you as well,” I said.

“That is so nice of you, Thea,” said Paulina.

“It’s a gift that you can’t see, but I know

you’ll like it a lot,” I said with a

mysterious

smile.

The friends gathered around me, curious.

“I just spoke to Will Mystery,” I explained.

“He has invited you all back to the I.I.S.!”

“What is this about, Thea?” asked Colette.

“He wants you to take a course in the

The Best

Present Ever

13

Am I interrupting?

Thea! Come in!

The Best Present Ever

languages of

fantasy

lands,” I said.

“That is mousetastic news!” Pam cheered.

“When do we leave?” Nicky asked.

“You can leave today, if you’d like,” I

replied. “I just need to confirm with Will.”

“We’d love to!” they all said at once.

I grinned. “Perfect. Will said he could have

someone here for you in two hours.”

Paulina clapped her paws together. “What

a wonderful surprise this is! Just

imagine! We will learn how to communicate

with creatures from other worlds.”

“I wish I could go, too, but I’m

busy here,” I said. “But I’ll be

with you in spirit. Now, get

those bags packed!”

“How long will we be away?”

Colette asked. “I need to make

sure I don’t repeat any outfits.”

The Best Present Ever

“And I need to make sure I pack enough

cheese crackers,” added Pam.

“You’ll return in one week,” I replied.

Nicky picked up a PRESENT wrapped

in red paper and tied with a shiny gold

ribbon. “Then you have to open the

gift we got you right now!”

“You shouldn’t have!” I

exclaimed, and I was really

touched. It was

sweet

of my

students to remember me during the holidays.

I untied the ribbon, unwrapped the paper,

and found a beautiful

lilac

sweater inside.

“It’s marvemouse!” I exclaimed, hugging

them one by one.

“Try it on! Then we can see if Colette

guessed the right size,” Nicky urged.

“Of course I got it right,” Colette said. “I

know fashion.”

16

l’

m

so

lucky

to

have

students

like

those mouselets!

The Best Present Ever

I put on the sweater; it was really soft

and perfectly warm. “I love it! Thank

you!” I said.

Paulina nodded. “It looks really good on

you.”

“I will call Will Mystery and tell him

you’re coming,” I informed them. “Then I’ll

meet you at the heliport in two hours to say

good-bye.”

I left the room, and the sweater felt like a

nice warm hug.

Will Mystery had told me that he would send

an I.I.S. agent for the girls. The agent would

take them by helicopter out to the open

sea. There, they would connect with Will,

who would be waiting for them on a

submarine

. Then he would take them

to the secret location of the I.I.S.

Destination:

|

.

|

.S.

Destination:

|

.

|

.S.

It might sound like a lot of steps, but it was

necessary to keep the location of the I.I.S.

and the Seven Roses Unit a secret. If

word that fantasy worlds really existed

fell into the wrong paws, it could be

disastrous.

The Thea Sisters arrived at the heliport

packed and ready.

“Do you have your pendants?”

I asked them.

Destination:

|

.

|

.S.

In reply, they all showed me the rose-

shaped crystal pendants that

Will had given them. Each pendant

was like a personal I.D. card. It

contained information about each

mouse and allowed her access into

the Seven Roses Unit.

“Keep in touch over the week,” I requested.

“I’d love to hear how things are going.”

“Of course we will!”

Paulina

assured me.

The Thea Sisters said good-bye and

boarded the helicopter. It took off with a

rumble and flew into the blue sky above

Whale Island.

I waited until the helicopter disappeared

from view before I went back to my office. I

was

excited

for the five friends! I knew

they would all do well in the course, and

would probably have a lot of fun, too.

20

Destination:

|

.

|

.S.

I had no idea that they were in for much

more than a class — they were headed for

another adventure! It began when, after

flying across the ocean for an hour, the

helicopter descended toward a platform

on what looked like a large oil rig.

“Aren’t we meeting Will on the submarine?”

Colette asked the I.I.S. agent piloting the

helicopter.

He shrugged.. “All I know is that I’m

supposed to bring you here.”

The friends exchanged confused glances.

The Thea Sisters got out of the helicopter.

“I don’t see Will anywhere,” Paulina said,

looking around.

“There’s a door down there,” Colette said,

pointing to a building on the rig’s platform.

Pam started jogging toward it. “Let’s check

it out!”

The others followed her as the helicopter

took off behind them. They opened

the door and found themselves inside a

hallway with a map of the building

on the wall.

Paulina pointed to the

map

. “Look, there’s

the control room. Let’s head there. Maybe

we’ll find someone in charge.”

Emergency

Arrival

22

Let’s go!

Emergency Arrival

They followed the map and made their way

through the mazelike halls, swiftly

reaching the control room.

“May we come in?” Paulina asked, pushing

open the door.

But the room was empty, except for rows

of computers, monitors, and switches

on the wall.

Paulina eagerly looked around. “This is

amazing. From here we can control all of the

rig’s equipment, and check on the quarters

of the crew.”

“

What crew?

” Nicky complained. “There’s

nobody here!”

“Most important, Will Mystery isn’t here,”

Colette pointed out. “I really don’t understand

why that helicopter abandoned us in the

middle of the ocean.”

“It is very strange,” Pam agreed. “Last

24

Where is everybody?

time, Will met us on the submarine.”

Suddenly a metallic voice came

over the ship’s speakers.

“Welcome, Thea Sisters! My name is NR961

and I am the latest in computer technology,”

the voice said. “In the refrigerator there are

cold drinks for you.”

At those words, a door in the wall opened

to reveal a refrigerator full of bottled water,

fruit juices

, and salty and sweet snacks.

“Look! Cheese sticks!” Pam said happily.

25

Emergency Arrival

“The snacks look great, but I still don’t

understand why Will isn’t here,” Colette said.

“Maybe he is in charge of an

important

investigation, and can’t get away,” Paulina

suggested.

“Well, he could have texted us,” Colette

pointed out.

Then NR961 began speaking again.

“In the room on your left you will find

oxygen tanks, thermal suits, and a portal

with access to the sea. Your mission is to

reach the Seven Roses Unit by swimming

there. End of transmission.”

The Thea Sisters looked at one another,

perplexed.

Violet spoke up. “NR961, are you there?”

The computer didn’t answer. Then the

lights on the monitors turned off. A

worried silence hung in the air.

26

Cheese sticks!

Emergency Arrival

“Well, we don’t have much choice,” Nicky

concluded. “Let’s see what this is about.”

They headed into the next room, and found

wet suits and oxygen tanks waiting for

them, just as NR961 had said. It was

everything they would need for deep-sea

swimming

.

“But how will we

KNOW

where to swim?” Violet asked.

Paulina picked up a piece of

paper and a

compass

. “Here’s a

note that says to swim northeast.

We can use the compass to guide us.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Nicky. The Thea

Sisters donned their scuba gear

and exited the building.

The Thea Sisters swam underwater, past

strange-looking plants and COLORFUL

fish. They followed Paulina, who held the

compass in her paw.

Soon they came to a

rocky

wall.

Paulina suddenly had a terrible feeling. The

last time they had been to the I.I.S., Will

used a remote to open a door in the wall.

How would they get in now?

Then Nicky started waving her paw,

motioning for the others to follow her. They

swam around a corner and saw bright

light

pouring from a hole in the wall.

The Entrance

in the Rock

T

hey

had

found

The

enTrance

!

29

The Entrance in the Rock

Excited, the Thea Sisters swam through

the

crack

in the rock. They followed the

bright light to a landing. As they

emerged above the water, they saw Will

Mystery looking down at them!

“Welcome!” he called out. He helped

them as one by one they climbed the ladder

to the landing. Once they were out of their

scuba gear, he grinned at them.

“Excellent!” he said. “I knew that all of

you would

pass the test

with no trouble.”

“Test? What are you talking about?” Nicky

asked.

“Your underwater trip from the oil rig to

the entrance of the Seven Roses Unit was an

exercise,” Will replied. “We put all of our

agents through it.”

“Cheese niblets!” Pam exclaimed. “We

had no idea what was going on.”

31

The Entrance in the Rock

“It felt like you forgot about us,” Colette

said.

“Yet you didn’t give up or panic,” Will

pointed out. “That is precisely the point of

the test. We need rodents with special

gifts

to work in this department, and you

just proved that you have them.”

“What kind of gifts?” Colette asked.

“You need the ability to work as a

united team,” Will replied.

The Entrance in the Rock

Nicky nodded. “We are a good team,” she

said.

“And that’s not all,” Will said. “You also

have good intuition, you solve problems

quickly, and you remain calm in tough

situations. Those are all qualities we need at

the Institute of Incredible

Stories.”

The Thea Sisters exchanged happy glances.

Will Mystery led the Thea Sisters to the

Hall of the Seven Roses, the center

of the department. They sat

down at a big, round table.

In front of each of them

was a laptop.

“We’ll start with an introduction to the

course in

fantasy languages,” Will began.

“Then you can get settled in your quarters.

I’m sure —”

Suddenly, mysterious music began to

flow from the glass elevator in the middle of

the hall. The friends gasped. They knew that

the elevator was a way to travel between

the Seven Roses Unit and the fantasy worlds.

Who could be on it?

The doors to the elevator burst open,

A Strange Guest

34

A Strange Guest

revealing a passenger inside.

“It’s a . . . teapot?” Violet asked.

The girls stared at it for a moment, puzzled,

and then the teapot jumped up! It

spun around wildly.

“I think I understand,” Will said, slowly

stepping toward the elevator.

“Careful, Will!” Paulina cried out.

Will took another step closer, and the

teapot

hopped

back. Will reached out to

grab him, but the teapot spun around

quickly, escaping him. Will paused . . . and

then reached out suddenly, catching the

teapot by surprise.

“Got it!” Will exclaimed.

“How can a teapot move like that?” Violet

wondered.

Will didn’t answer. They watched, curious,

as he placed the teapot on the table. Then, to

35

A teapot?

A Strange Guest

their surprise, he began to tickle it!

The big teapot responded by jumping into

Will’s arms. Very slowly, it began to

change

shape, right in front of their eyes!

“Look! A tail!” Paulina exclaimed.

“And those are paws!” added Colette.

Pam’s eyes were wide. “Cheesecake! Now

the thing’s got ears!”

As they watched, the creature took on a

completely new form.

“It’s a raccoon!” Nicky cried.

“He looks like a raccoon, but he’s not,”

said Will. “He is actually a magical creature

called a

tanuki

. They are jokesters, and

love to play tricks. Tanuki can shapeshift

into almost any object or creature. To make

them turn back to their true form, you have

to tickle them.”

“So he turned into a teapot just to be

37

A Strange Guest

funny?” Violet asked. She couldn’t take her

eyes off the furry little creature with the

bushy tail.

“He might just be joking,” Will mused, “or

maybe he has a message for us.”

“Where does he come from?” asked

Colette.

“From the LAND OF MINWA,” Will

replied. “The creatures there are related to

Japanese

mythology and traditional

He comes from the Land of Minwa!

A Strange Guest

folktales known as mukashi banashi.”

“Japanese tales are fascinating,” said Violet.

Will nodded. “Many interesting creatures

live in the Land of Minwa,” he said. “Some

are basically harmless, like this tanuki. But

others are quite

dangerous

.”

Colette shuddered. “You mean, like

monsters

?”

“Yes, we believe there are some monsters

there,” Will answered. “But if you remember

from your adventures in the Land of Erin,

even beautiful creatures can be dangerous.”

“So how can we be sure that this cute little

guy is okay?” Pam asked, nodding to the

raccoon.

“According to the tales, tanuki are

mischievous but usually good-hearted,” said

Will.

“Ahem,” coughed the tanuki. “Excuse

39

A Strange Guest

me, but may I please say something?”

The Thea Sisters looked stunned. Only

Will didn’t look surprised.

“Why are you here?” he asked the raccoon.

“I got lost!” the tanuki responded.

Now Will did look surprised. The glass

elevator was difficult to locate unless you

were looking for it. Could the tanuki really

have just stumbled on it?

“So where am I?” the little creature asked.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you — this is a

secret

location,” Will responded

firmly. “But maybe we can help you if you

tell us what happened.”

The tanuki frowned at him. “How do I

know I can trust you?”

“We are here to help creatures from fantasy

A Strange Guest

lands,” Will replied.

“My name is Will Mystery,”

he went on. “And this is

Paulina

,

Violet

, Colette,

Pamela, and

Nick

y

.”

“Don’t be afraid,” said Violet

sweetly. “We just want to help.”

The tanuki relaxed. “I was running quickly,

to escape a snowstorm,” he began. “I

needed shelter, and I found that . . . thingy.”

He nodded behind him to the glass elevator.

“Then I arrived here,” he continued. “And

maybe it’s a good thing that I did. Strange

things have been happening where I live.”

“What kind of strange things?” Will asked.

The tanuki’s expression grew serious. “The

precious lotus flowers that grow in the

Land of Minwa are disappearing. It is a

terrible thing for all of us who live there!”

I got lost!

41

Will Mystery walked toward the Living Map

on the floor of the Hall of the Seven Roses.

“He is right!” Will exclaimed. “See? There

are two

shadows over the Land of Minwa.

That means that there is a danger threatening

the land. But there may be time to fix it.

“We’re with you!” Paulina replied quickly.

“We must go to the Land of Minwa with

the tanuki, and find out why the

lotus

flowers are disappearing,” Will said.

“Shouldn’t we tell Thea about this?” Violet

asked.

Will started typing into his phone. “I will

Danger in the

Land of Minwa!

thea sisters, a new

mission awaits us!

”

42

Look!

Danger in the Land of Minwa!

send Thea a coded message,” he said.

“Maybe she can join us.”

Then he nodded to the Thea Sisters.

“Now come with me!” he told them.

“There is something we must do before

we leave.”

He picked up the tanuki in his arms and

led the Thea Sisters out of the Hall of Roses

and into a long hallway. They followed him,

curious.

Will stopped in front of a closed door. He

took out his rose-shaped pendant

and slipped it into an opening carved into

the wall. The door opened into a dark room.

Will turned on the light, and the Thea

Sisters gasped when they saw what

was inside.

44

“Welcome to our accelerated learning

room!” Will said proudly.

The room looked like a scene from a

science fiction movie. Arranged in a circle

were strange-looking

pods

with thick

cords attached to them. Above each pod was

a computer monitor.

“What are those for?” Paulina asked.

“A student lies in the pod and puts on the

headphones,” Will explained. “A full

course of study is then transmitted into the

student’s brain.”

“So, we’ll learn everything about the Land

of Minwa instantly?” Pam asked.

“Not exactly,” Will explained. “Your brain

An Accelerated

Course

45

Wow!

What do

you think?

An Accelerated Course

will hold the information. But you won’t be

able to retrieve it unless you need it.”

Pam sighed. “It seemed too good to

be true.”

“But it is all we have time for now,” Will

said. “Long-term studying is the best way to

retain information, but we developed our

accelerated learning machine to

deal with emergencies like this. I’ll show you

how it works if one of you will volunteer.”

“I’ll do it!” Paulina offered eagerly.

The tanuki was dozing in Will’s arms,

and Will gently set him down. He instructed

Paulina to lie down in the pod and then

placed the headphones over her ears.

“Next, I will lower the cover of the pod,”

Will explained. “You will close your eyes,

and I will activate the commands to begin

the procedure. You’ll hear a few beeps, and

47

An Accelerated Course

then you’ll see flashes of light, even

though your eyes are closed.”

Paulina nodded. “Okay. I’m ready!”

Will closed the pod, and then quickly

started typing on a control

panel. Letters, numbers,

and images popped up

on the monitor above the pod,

scrolling with such speed that

they began to blur together.

After a few minutes, the monitor went

blank. The cover of the pod lifted open. The

Thea Sisters watched, holding their breath

until Paulina opened her eyes.

“That was fabumouse!” Paulina exclaimed,

taking off her headphones.

“What do you remember?” Colette asked.

“I’m . . . I’m not sure,” Paulina said.

“It doesn’t work that way,” Will explained.

48

An Accelerated Course

“The information will return to your mind

only if something triggers it.”

Nicky shook her head. “Unbelievable!”

“Now the rest of you can take the course,”

Will said.

Nicky

, Pam,

Violet

, and

Colette each climbed into a

pod

, and

Paulina and Will helped them put on their

headphones. When the four pods were

closed, Will typed into the control panel

and then turned to Paulina.

“We’re good to go,” he said. “I’m going to

pack some

equipment

for our trip.

You’re in charge until I get back.”

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Paulina

promised. She felt proud knowing that Will

trusted her.

When he returned, the four mice were out

of their pods.

“I can tell the information is in my brain

49

An Accelerated Course

somewhere,” Nicky said. “It’s

amazing

.”

“Except those headphones flattened my

fur!” Colette complained. Everyone laughed.

“Good. Now we just have to wait for Thea,”

Will said.

“And wake up our friend,” Nicky added,

glancing at the sleeping

tanuki

.

“He hibernates this time of year. The

emergency must have woken him,” Will

guessed. Then he carefully picked up the

raccoon, and they all returned to the

Hall of the Seven Roses.

While the Thea Sisters took their accelerated

learning course, I was finishing up work in

my office at Mouseford Academy.

“Last one!” I said, filing some papers into

a folder with satisfaction. All I had to do now

was prepare my presentation for the teachers’

meeting.

Then a sudden sound made me jump.

It was an alarm, coming from my laptop. I

knew what that noise meant:

I copied the text and pasted it into my

decoding program. Then I read the

secret message.

Coded Messages

l had a coded message from Will Mystery!

51

Coded Messages

There was no time to lose. I erased the

message and turned off my computer. Then I

raced to my room, changed into warm

winter clothes, and grabbed a big bag.

I went to the Thea Sisters’ room and found

everything I needed in their closets.

Then, on a hunch, I headed for the dock.

There I found the Rose of the Seas motorboat

waiting for me, like I always do when I leave

for an I.I.S. mission. An agent nodded hello

at me as I boarded, and then we took off

Dear Thea:

Meet us at the I.I.S. as soon as you can! The

Land of Minwa is in danger! We need to leave

immediately. We will wait for you at the glass

elevator.

Thanks,

Will

P.S. Please bring some heavy sweaters for the

Thea Sisters. It’s pretty cold down there.

52

Coded Messages

without a word.

After a short trip, the agent stopped the

boat in the middle of the sea. Soon, the

periscope of the I.I.S.

submarine

poked above

the water.

Minutes later I was on the sub, speeding

toward the I.I.S.’s secret headquarters. As

soon as I arrived I headed right for the Hall

of the Seven Roses. Will’s mysterious message

hadn’t told me much, and I was anxious to

learn what was happening in the LAND

OF MINWA.

As soon as I stepped into the hall, Will and

the Thea Sisters rushed over to me, talking

excitedly all at once. What a warm welcome!

“Glad you made it!” Will said, shaking

my paw.

“With your help, we can do this!” said

Colette.

53

Coded Messages

“I’m confused,” I told them. “Can you

explain what’s going on? First, though, here

are the clothes that Will asked for.”

I gave them the heavy bag of clothing.

Then I noticed a raccoon sleeping in a chair.

“Who is this little guy?” I asked.

“It’s a tanuki, a shape-changing creature,”

Will replied. “He’s from the Land of Minwa.”

“He said there is a great danger

threatening his world,” Nicky added.

You made it!

Coded Messages

“The lotus flowers that grow there

are disappearing, and no one knows why,”

said Violet, worried.

“The flowers are precious to the

inhabitants of the Land of Minwa,” Paulina

concluded. “We need to find out why they

are vanishing.”

I nodded. “Then there is no time to lose.

Let’s go!”

Will turned to the Thea Sisters. “Are you

ready?”

“Ready!” they replied in unison.

Will woke the tanuki, and we all went to

the glass elevator, the secret portal

between the fantasy worlds.

“Why don’t you open the door, Colette?”

Will asked.

Colette stepped forward, took the pendant

from around her neck, and said her name.

55

The door opened and we

all entered the elevator.

Will punched in the

destination on the control

panel and sweet music began

to play all around us.

“What instrument is

this?” Violet wondered.

“It sounds almost like a

guitar.”

“It’s called a shamisen.

It’s a Japanese three-

stringed instrument,”

Colette replied, and

then gasped. “It works!

The information just

popped into my head,

like you said it would,

Will.”

Coded Messages

“Unfortunately, you’ll only be able to

remember little bits of information at a

time,” Will said. “But as you can see, it comes

in handy.”

Then a

chorus of voices

joined

the music. It sang the same words over and

over without stopping.

Then the doors of the elevator opened,

revealing a bright white landscape that made

everyone squint.

We had arrived in the Land of Minwa!

How exciting!

It’s fantastic!

There’s so

much snow!

The Land of Minwa

When our eyes got used to the light, we

stared openmouthed at the beauty of the

scene in front of us. It was like we had been

absorbed into a book of Japanese folktales.

Snow-capped

mountains rose in the distance,

and in the valley below were villages of tiny

houses. Their pointy roofs looked like they

had been

sprinkled

with Parmesan cheese.

“Hey, where did the tanuki go?” Nicky

asked, breaking the silence.

We spun around. He wasn’t in the elevator,

and we couldn’t see him anywhere around

us. Then I noticed something in the

snow.

“Footprints,” I said, pointing.

Nicky looked at them carefully.

“See how the prints of the two back feet

are side by side? They could be rabbit

prints, not raccoon prints,” she said.

“But the tanuki couldn’t have vanished

into thin air,” Pam said, frustrated.

“Things aren’t always as they seem in these

fantasy worlds, Pam,” Will pointed out.

“Remember, the tanuki is a shape-shifting

prankster

, and now he is back in his own

world.”

“So should we be looking for a teapot?”

Violet asked, remembering how the tanuki had

first appeared to them.

Paulina’s eyes lit up. “Or maybe a rabbit!”

she cried, pointing to the footprints.

“Good thinking!”

Will said.

So, we followed

the

footprints

through the snow,

Look at those footprints!

The Land of Minwa

searching for the tanuki as a rabbit. As

untrustworthy as he was, that little animal

was our only guide in that unknown and

dazzling world.

Pam looked around the vast, snowy

landscape. “It’s too bad we don’t have a

map

,” she said. “Then maybe we’d have a

better idea of where we’re going.”

“Yes, a map would be useful in this

mysterious place,” Will agreed. “All we can

do is keep our eyes wide open.”

The rabbit’s tracks led us to a forest

with trees that looked like giant sticks of

cotton candy. Snow crystals that sparkled

in the sun covered all of the tree branches.

“The

tanuki

headed in there,” Will

said, pointing to the footprints. “Come on,

let’s go into the forest!”

63

Let’s go!

“I see a rabbit!” Paulina exclaimed, pointing

to the furry creature perched on a snow-

covered

rock ahead of us on the path. But

it didn’t look like an ordinary rabbit.

“It’s fuchsia!” Nicky cried.

“How fashionable!” Colette commented.

We all laughed, and Colette

cautiously

approached the animal.

“

tanuki

, is that you?”

she asked. We still weren’t

sure.

“Or am I a frog?” the

rabbit responded, and

it burst out laughing.

Then its

fur

The Tanuki’s

Riddles

The Tanuki’s Riddles

started to vanish and its skin

turned green. It turned into

a big frog right in front of

our eyes!

“What is going on?” Pam said.

The tanuki got quiet, and we hoped that it

wasn’t offended.

“We appreciate your fun-loving spirit, but

we need to figure out the mystery of the

lotus flowers,” I said diplomatically.

“Can you help us?”

“Oh, all right!” the tanuki said with a huff.

His skin started to change from green to

brown . . . then fur sprouted all over his

body. Two

pointy ears

popped up,

and then the tanuki was a raccoon again!

“Good work, Thea!” Colette whispered.

Will didn’t waste any time. “Can you tell

us where we are?” he asked the raccoon.

67

The Tanuki’s Riddles

“We are in the Sakura Forest,” the

tanuki replied.

“Sakura means ‘cherry blossom’ in

Japanese,” Will told us.

“Very good!” said the tanuki, his eyes

twinkling. “Now, here is a

prize

for you.”

He clapped his front paws together and

three red cherries appeared

in Will’s paw. Curious, Violet

walked to the nearest tree and shook

one of the branches. The snow

sprinkled off, revealing light pink

flowers growing on the branch.

“How can the tree bloom in winter?” she

wondered.

“Our magical cherry trees

bloom

all

year long,” replied the tanuki. “They are a

constant breath of springtime, and

they bring us much joy.”

68

The Tanuki’s Riddles

He sighed. “They are a great comfort,

especially now during these sad times.”

“If you are sad about the lotus flowers,

then help us figure out what is happening to

them,” Colette said.

The tanuki frowned. “That is very difficult,

because everyone is blaming everyone else!”

Will nodded. “I understand. Do you at

least know where we can find a map of this

land? That would be a big help.”

“There are no maps of the Land of Minwa,”

the raccoon replied, shaking his head.

“Well, I could try to draw one

as we go,” Paulina offered.

Will nodded. “That would

be a very useful thing to

have in our files,” he

said, handing her a

pen and paper.

The Tanuki’s Riddles

The tanuki produced a blue pen out of

nowhere. “Use this!”

“I’ve got one already,” Paulina said, starting

to draw with Will’s pen. But it didn’t work!

The tanuki waved the pen under her

snout. “Try this one! It writes for sure.”

Paulina took the pen from the raccoon’s

paws. It worked just fine. “Thanks!” she said.

The tanuki responded with a mysterious

smile.

“Can you at least tell us where we should

start looking?” Pam asked him.

He shrugged. “North? South? Here?

There?

That’s up to you.”

Pam looked at her friends, frustrated. The

tanuki wasn’t being very helpful. Then he

suddenly began speaking in rhyme.

“If a beginning is what suits you,

then I have ready a nice little clue!”

70

He began to blow on the cherry trees.

The

pink

petals

of the cherry blossoms

began to fall onto the snow.

We watched, enchanted, as the petals

formed words in front of our eyes.

To find the answers that you seek,

look for a rounded mountain peak.

Suspicious creatures you will meet,

but carry on; do not retreat.

Go where blue and yellow waters flow,

into the land of ice and snow.

The guilty ones you still must find.

They’re beautiful, but are they kind?

These young damsels may look nice,

but their pretty hearts are cold as ice.

These creatures boast incredible power;

perhaps they have taken the lotus flower.

The Tanuki’s Riddles

The Tanuki’s Riddles

“It’s a riddle!” Nicky exclaimed.

“What does it mean?” Pam asked.

“Wait, there’s another one!” Paulina cried,

as a new shower of petals began to fall.

They formed new words on top of the snow.

As we stared at the petals in disbelief, the

tanuki began to scamper away.

“Each of the riddles is DIFFERENT,”

In abysses is where he hides:

it’s the great and evil Lord of Tides.

Sovereign of all, he rules the land.

Oh, terrible things does he demand!

Nay, he simply cannot stand

anything that grows on land.

Do start your journey to the sea.

Exactly three fins are what you will see.

72

The Tanuki’s Riddles

Paulina said thoughtfully. “One says to look

for mountains, and the other says we’re

supposed to go to the sea. Which one is

right?”

The tanuki stopped and looked back at

Paulina.

“Of paths to follow, there are two

that will reveal the mystery to you.

One is salty, one is sweet,

but neither path leads to defeat.

Don’t ask me which way to tread.

Just open your eyes and look ahead!”

Then he ran off into the white snow.

We all looked at one another, confused.

“Well, that was

strange

!” Nicky

remarked.

73

The tanuki had put us to the test with his

riddles, but we were

determined

to

solve them. We started with the first riddle,

reading it over again carefully.

“So, first we need to find a mountain,”

Colette said. “And then we need to go where

blue and yellow waters flow. Hmm. Could

that be a river? Rivers have water that flows.”

“And we’ll meet some suspicious

creatures, but it doesn’t sound like they’re

the ones who are stealing the lotus flowers,”

Violet mused.

Paulina nodded. “Right. The riddle says

that the

guilty

ones are beautiful damsels.”

I frowned. “Maybe the tanuki is just trying

to confuse us.”

The Solution!

74

The Solution!

“Well, telling riddles is in his

nature,” Will reminded me. “But

I think there is truth in them.”

“And what about the beautiful

damsels? Have you heard of

them?” Colette asked.

Will shook his head. “No. We’ll

have to ask for information as we go.”

“But the riddles make it seem

like we shouldn’t trust anybody,”

Paulina pointed out.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” I said. “I

think we should start by finding the ‘rounded

mountain peak’ in the riddle.”

“That’s one way to do it,” Will said. “But

then there’s the second riddle.”

“It talks about a ruler who lives in the

sea,” said Paulina, “who can’t stand anything

that grows on land.”

The Solution!

Violet looked thoughtful. “Flowers grow

on land . . .”

“Yes! Like the lotus flower!” Nicky

cried. “So maybe this creature with the three

fins is the one who’s destroying them.”

“Great thinking, agents!” Will

complimented them. “Sounds like you’ve

solved the second riddle.”

The Solution!

“So does that mean we should go to the

ocean

, and not the mountains?” Colette

asked.

“That’s the problem,” I said, “because the

first riddle implies that the beautiful damsels

are the ones responsible for the vanishing

flowers. I think we need to split up so we

can explore both paths.”

The Solution!

I normally don’t like the idea of splitting

up on an adventure — especially in a

strange

land like this one. The Thea

Sisters didn’t look too happy with the idea,

either. Nobody said anything for a moment.

Then a cold wind started to blow. I

knew we would have to make a decision soon

and get moving, or we’d freeze in the

Sakura Forest!

78

Will shivered and looked at the clouds with

a worried expression. I decided to take

action.

“We need to hurry,” I said. “If all of the

lotus flowers vanish, this land could come

to real harm. We should split up and get

going.”

“Agreed,” said Will.

“But are you sure that’s

safe?” Violet asked.

“We’ll be okay,” Pam

said confidently. “Let’s

form two groups and

get out of here.”

“I have an idea,” Will

Adventure Comes

to a Crossroad

Here are our

two groups.

Adventure Comes to a Crossroad

said. “See the tracks that the tanuki left?

We’ll use those as a line of separation.

Whoever is on this side will come with me,

and everyone on the other side will go with

Thea.”

I looked down at the snow. The footprints

left by the tanuki divided us as evenly as

possible: Colette, Pam, and Paulina were on

Will’s side, and Nicky and Violet were with

me.

“Perfect!” I said.

“Then let’s choose where to go,” Will

continued. “I’ll take my group to the

mountain to search for the damsels.”

“And we can look for the sea,” I said.

“But which way is it?” Paulina asked.

Just then I remembered something the

tanuki had said: “Just open your eyes and

look ahead!”

81

Adventure Comes to a Crossroad

I looked in the direction the tanuki had

traveled, and that’s when I saw the tree. It

was smack in the middle of the path ahead of

us, and it had two big

branches

. They

were each pointing in a different direction,

kind of like a letter T.

“I think that tree is pointing to our two

different paths,” I said, motioning to it.

“But which way goes to the river and the

mountain, and which way goes to

the sea?” Violet asked.

Pam scanned the horizon. “I think I can

see the top of a mountain in the distance,

and the left tree branch is pointing that

way.”

“Are you sure it’s a mountain? The snow

could be creating a mirage,” Nicky

pointed out. “It’s like sand. It can make you

see things that don’t exist.”

82

But which do

we follow?

Two paths!

Adventure Comes to a Crossroad

“But it’s our only clue,” Will said. “So my

group will follow the left path.”

“And our group will follow the RIGHT

path, and hope it leads to the ocean,” I said.

“Where will we meet up?” Colette asked.

“Well, if we’re all successful in figuring

out this mystery, we’ll all end up in the

same place, won’t we?” I guessed.

Everyone nodded.

“Right!” “Right!” “Right!”

“Right!” “Right!”

Then we said good-bye and each group

went down its own path. It wasn’t easy

splitting up, but in our hearts we knew

we would find one another again.

84

Colette, Pam, and Paulina followed Will

down the path on the left. It led them to an

icy

plain. Their only point of reference was

the rounded mountain

peak

in the distance.

Will took the compass

out of his jacket pocket.

“It doesn’t work!” he

exclaimed.

Paulina frowned. “Something

must be

interfering.”

“We’ll just have to trust our

eyes, and the nature around us,” Colette

suggested.

They agreed that was a good plan, and they

marched on in the direction of the mountain.

in the Flap

of a Wing

85

In the Flap of a Wing

Pam shivered as an icy wind whipped across

the landscape. “Brrr! Even my fur has goose

bumps!” She brushed some snowflakes

off her jacket

They walked on, and the path led them to

a round, snow-covered quarry with rock

walls on both sides.

“It’s a canyon!” Paulina said, and her

voice bounced off the rock.

Colette looked around

cautiously

.

“Something about this place gives me a

funny feeling.”

“Then let’s keep walking until we

get to the other —” Will started to say, but

he stopped talking when he felt

something brush the top of his head. He

quickly

looked up, but all he saw

was a dark shadow that soared up into the

sky.

86

In the Flap of a Wing

“What was that?” asked Colette, jumping

a little.

“It kind of looked like a big bird,” suggested

Pam.

“It moved so fast that we couldn’t get

a good look at it,” Paulina observed.

They all stared at the sky, and something

swooped

down on them again. This

time, they saw they weren’t dealing with an

ordinary bird.

The creature flying at them had two ruby-

colored wings, but also two arms and legs.

It had a pointy nose instead of a beak,

and flowing white hair on its head.

The creature flew down and perched on a

snow-covered rock in front of Will and

the mouselets. Several others were nearby.

“Hello!” Will called out to them in a

friendly tone.

87

“Hello to you, stranger,” one of

the creatures replied in a sweet and

harmonious voice. “What brings you

to our land?”

“We are headed to the mountains to do

some research,” Will said.

Hello!

Colette, Pam, and Paulina

exchanged surprised glances, but

they didn’t say anything. It was

clear that Will didn’t know if he could

trust these creatures yet.

“My name is Kunihiko. We are the

tengu, and we will help you,” said the

Who are

you?

We are the

tengu!

In the Flap of a Wing

creature. A musical sound came from his

throat, and three other creatures swooped over.

Before Will and the others knew what was

happening, a tengu grabbed each one of

them and then took off in flight. Soon they

were soaring across the blue sky, with

no idea where they were headed, and totally

helpless in the hands of these

strange

creatures.

“Where are you taking us?” Will asked,

but none of the tengu answered him.

Pam was frightened. “Let me down, you

big bird!” she called up to the tengu carrying

her, but the creature just grinned down at

her.

Colette and Paulina didn’t try to

resist

.

They knew they had no choice but to trust

the tengu, and for some reason, they didn’t

feel any threat from them.

90

Where are you taking us?

In the Flap of a Wing

Once they relaxed, they were able to enjoy

the flight. They looked down as the beautiful

landscape of the Land of Minwa

unfolded beneath them.

They saw snowy plains, lush forests, and

tall mountains. Behind them sparkled the

silvery mirror of the sea where Nicky,

Violet, and I were headed.

The freezing air whipped by them

as they flew through the air, held by the

tengu. Pam was sure that the tengu would

drop them at any moment. But that’s not

what happened. The winged creatures firmly

held on to them until they reached a forest.

This didn’t look like the Sakura Forest —

it had very tall pine trees, and oddly, they

weren’t covered in snow.

Will was about to ask the tengu why there

was no snow on the branches, but then he

92

In the Flap of a Wing

saw the reason for himself. As they passed

over the tops of the trees, he saw the branches

flatten against the tree trunks, almost like an

umbrella closing. Then the trees spun

around, and the branches opened up again,

extending out like a ballerina’s tutu.

“I get it,” said Will. “The snow can’t settle

on the branches if they’re constantly moving!”

Then one of the tengu let out a long,

SHARP cry. The trees suddenly stopped

moving. The tengu descended down into the

stand of dense pines and carefully placed

Will and the Thea Sisters down on a

soft

layer of grass.

“Welcome to the Forest of the Dancing Pines,”

Kunihiko said.

Will, Pam, Colette, and Paulina looked

around in stunned silence.

93

The Secrets

of the Tengu

The Forest of the Dancing Pines was a

marvelous place.

A strong

scent

of pine filled the air.

The fresh and pungent aroma mixed with

the

earthy

smell of the rich soil on the

forest floor, giving energy to anyone

who breathed it in.

Then there were the trees. They towered

high above, and their large roots sank into

the soft and mossy ground that blanketed

the forest floor. Small, delicate flowers grew

at the base of the trees,

and brown pinecones

hung from the branches

like ornaments.

Pam looked up, and could see a few pieces

of blue sky poking through the pine

branches. Blades of light cut through the

trees, creating beautiful shadows on the

ground.

“Come with me,” said Kunihiko, and Will,

Pam, Colette, and Paulina followed him.

“This place really seems enchanted,”

Paulina commented.

“It’s more magical than a cheese factory,”

Pam agreed. “Which reminds me — we

haven’t eaten in a while.”

Colette gazed up at the trees. “They

aren’t moving.”

“They only dance when

someone approaches,”

The Secrets of the Tengu

Kunihiko explained. “It is a way to make the

forest IMPENETRABLE to everyone but us.”

Will kept silent. He kept wondering if these

tengu were the

“suspicious”

creatures in

the tanuki’s riddle.

“Where are you taking us?” he asked after

a while.

“You said you wanted to study this world,”

Kunihiko replied. “So we are opening our

home to you. Unless, of course, you have lied

to us, and are here for some other reason.”

He turned and stared at Will, his black

eyes gleaming.

“Of course not,” Will said quickly. “We are

happy to study your forest.”

They moved on in silence through the

trees. Then Pam stopped suddenly.

“Holey cheese! It’s beautiful!”

she cried.

96

It’s beautiful!

The Secrets of the Tengu

The trees opened up to a clearing in the

woods. Small houses were built right

into the trunks of the surrounding trees.

“This is the Winged Village, our

home,” Kunihiko said, pointing to the houses.

They watched, amazed, as the villagers

flew across the trees from house to house.

“The tree trunks are tall and slippery,

so our dwellings are safe from everyone who

can’t fly,” Kunihiko explained.

Pam sniffed the air. “What a nice smell.

It’s so sweet and gentle . . . but it’s intense,

too.”

Kunihiko nodded. “What you smell is the

aroma of an infusion,” he explained. “We

tengu know how to prepare very special

infusions and teas. Come, let us show you!”

Before they could react, Kunihiko picked

up Pam, and other tengu picked up Will,

98

W

h

a

t

a

n

i

c

e

s

m

e

l

l

!

The Secrets of the Tengu

Colette, and Paulina. They flew up and

deposited their guests on the balcony of one

of the houses.

There, they found a tengu who was

grinding up some

green sludge

in a clay

bowl — Paulina knew it was a mortar, a

vessel used for grinding up herbs.

“Hello, strangers! My name is Kanjiro,” he

said, stopping his work to greet them. Then

he noticed their curious looks.

“It’s tree sap,” he said, nodding

toward the sludge. “It is an important

ingredient in this infusion.”

Kanjiro reached for a teapot

and poured out a small, steaming

cup of the infusion for each of

them. “Taste it. It’s very good.”

They all tried it — even Will, who

was too tired and thirsty to be cautious.

99

Why are you here?

The Secrets of the Tengu

Soon, however, everyone began to feel

strange.

“Now you can tell us why you are really

here,” Kanjiro said.

“What do you mean?” Will asked.

“It’s the infusion,” he replied. “Everyone

who drinks it must

tell the truth

.”

“You tricked us!” Colette exclaimed.

The Secrets of the Tengu

“We don’t have bad intentions,” Kanjiro

said calmly. “We just want to know what you

are looking for. These are hard times here in

the Land of Minwa, and you can’t trust

anyone.”

“We are here for the lotus flowers,”

Will blurted out, thanks to the truth infusion.

Kanjiro and Kunihiko exchanged worried

glances.

“Not to steal them! We want to know why

they are disappearing,” Colette said quickly.

“We want to know, too,” said Kunihiko.

“The lotus flowers are very important to

us. It is because of them that we can fly.”

Will and the Thea Sisters looked amazed.

“It is a long story, but we

will share it with you if you like,” Kunihiko

said. “It began long ago. . . .”

101

Will, Pam, Colette, and Paulina listened

intently as Kunihiko told the story.

“Long ago, we tengu were able to

fly

without the help of the lotus flower,” he

began. “We were experts at making infusions

from plants and flowers, but we used them

for simpler things, such as healing.”

Some of the other

tengu flew down to

listen.

“May I join in?” asked one.

Kunihiko nodded. “Certainly, Naoki.”

Naoki cleared his throat. “Things were

simple — until some of us, jealous of the

food eaten by the other forest creatures,

became tired of our lifestyle.”

In Flight

Once More

102

In Flight Once More

“So,” Kunihiko interrupted, “the tengu

began to take food from other creatures.

One day, some tengu were caught robbing

cherries from a distracted tanuki.”

Naoki continued. “None of the tengu had

ever stolen anything before, nor had

they committed any crimes before that

moment. The High Council of Winged Ones

held a meeting and decided to imprison

the guilty ones in a cage until they had

repented for what they had done. Meanwhile,

the others who had tasted the stolen

food found that it had a tragic effect. Their

wings turned from

red

to pale and

they forgot how to fly.”

“What a sad story!” Pam remarked.

Kunihiko nodded. “Our lives changed

forever. We were forced to build stairs

to reach our houses, and cover them with a

103

In Flight Once More

blanket of leaves to camouflage them.”

“But how did you begin flying again?”

Colette asked.

“Thanks to the lotus flowers!” Kunihiko

replied. “One of our wise elders knew that

the flower had very special properties, and

he created an infusion to help us to fly.”

“So you can only fly if you drink the lotus

flower infusion?” Colette asked.

Kunihiko shook his

head. “The infusion

can’t do it all by itself!

In order for it to work,

we must believe in

ourselves and free our

hearts and minds.”

“That’s amazing,”

Colette said, her

blue eyes wide.

In Flight Once More

“But it’s true,” said Kunihiko. “You can’t

fly with wings alone. You need heart, too.”

“Unfortunately,” Naoki continued, “now

someone is destroying

the lotus flowers. We

have some saved up,

but soon we will run out and

won’t be able to fly anymore!”

“That’s terrible!” Paulina exclaimed.

“Maybe we can help you,” Colette said.

“You said that you must believe in yourself

with all your heart if you want to fly, right?”

“Exactly,” Kunihiko replied.

Colette suddenly looked very thoughtful.

“That sounds familiar, but I can’t quite

put my paw on it . . .”

“Maybe you’re thinking of something you

learned in the accelerated learning course,”

Violet suggested.

105

In Flight Once More

Colette’s eyes lit up. “That’s it! Thanks,

Vi!” She continued:

Everyone looked curiously at her.

“It’s an ancient poem,” Colette said, excited.

“It’s all coming back to me now. And I think

it holds the key to your problem! It’s called . . .

Kunihiko was astounded. “This poem is

from the history of our people. We thought

the verses were lost forever. How did you

know it?”

Colette smiled. “We have a few little

secrets of our own.”

Then she began to recite the poem.

The pines have a message for you to treasure,

to bring strength and courage beyond measure.

The lotus infusion is not what you need.

Use this method and you will succeed:

Lift your spirit and cleanse your heart,

then repeat this poem with zeal from the start.

Keeper of the mountains, winged creature,

bring back the feeling of your true nature.

The weight that you carry will fall away,

if you just let happiness rule the day.

Y

our faith must be steady, your heart be true,

to find the strength that lies within you.

Unfold your wings, and look to the sky,

and this magic spell will allow you to fly.

Oooh!

In Flight Once More

“Good job, Colette!” said Paulina. “Now

they just have to test it out.”

Pam frowned. “But Kunihiko and Naoki

have already had lotus infusion today, so

it wouldn’t be a true test,” she pointed out.

Kanjiro stood up. “I never drink the lotus

In Flight Once More

infusion,” he said. “I stay in the village to

protect it and study herbs, and have no

need to fly. I will test the poem.”

Kanjiro walked to the edge of the platform.

Everyone watched, breathless, as he

recited the poem. He flapped his wings once,

In Flight Once More

twice, three times, and then . .. began to

fly!

“I’m flying!” Kanjiro exclaimed as he

soared through the BLUE SKY. “And

without the help of the lotus flower!”

Inspired, the other tengu followed him.

They recited the verses and then leapt into

flight.

“Thank you, friends,” Kanjiro said, after

he landed next to Will, Colette, Pam, and

Paulina. “You have taught us something so

precious

. We must return the favor.”

110

“Thanks to you, we can fly again without

the lotus flower,” Kunihiko said with a bow.

Kanjiro continued, “Tell us about your

mission

and what we can do to assist.”

Will nodded. “We are trying to find out

why the lotus flower is disappearing.

We thought you might be responsible.”

“Of course not!” Kanjiro protested. “We

love the lotus flower, as you know.”

“But we do have an idea about who

might be doing it,” added Naoki.

Pam thought about the beautiful damsels

in the tanuki riddle. “Who?”

“They are fairies,” Naoki replied. “They

live not far from here, on the

snowy

A Clue that

Leads to Snow

111

A Clue that Leads to Snow

banks of the

Crystal river

.”

“A river? Does it have blue and yellow

water, by any chance?” Paulina asked,

remembering the riddle, too.

“Yes! Do you know it?” Naoki asked.

“Let’s say that we do,” Colette answered

mysteriously. “What are the fairies called?”

“They are the Snow Fairies,” Kunihiko

replied. “But you need to be careful, because

they like to play tricks on strangers and

make the path disappear.”

“How will we recognize them?” asked

Paulina.

“They have very light skin, and long, blue

hair. They are very beautiful, and snow

crystals

decorate their clothing,” he

said. “But do not be fooled by their beautiful

appearance. They can be very

cruel

.”

“Their pretty hearts are as cold as ice,”

112

Be careful of the

Snow Fairies . . .

A Clue that Leads to Snow

Colette said, reciting a line from the riddle.

Kunihiko nodded. “So true.”

“But why would the Snow Fairies

want to destroy the lotus flowers?” Will asked.

“Out of

jealousy

,” the tengu replied.

“The flowers are always beautiful. But

everything the fairies touch turns to ice,

so they can’t enjoy the flowers.”

“How strange,” muttered Paulina.

Kunihiko bowed. “We hope this is helpful.

It’s the least we can do for you. You helped

us remember that true strength always comes

from the heart.”

Colette nodded. “We should all remember

to never lose faith in ourselves.”

“And if we do, the support of our friends

can help us find it!” Pam added.

Kunihiko smiled. “Quite right. And now,

the tengu have four more friends!”

114

Kunihiko and Naoki accompanied Will,

Colette, Pam, and Paulina to the edge of the

Forest of the Dancing Pines. Then they told

them how to reach the river.

“Go down this road until you find a

crossroad. Take the path on the right,”

explained Kunihiko.

“Thanks for everything!” said Pam.

“And thank you,” the tengu said. “Now we

can

fly like we used to.”

They all said good-bye and then Will and

the Thea Sisters headed down the road. They

walked on and on, but the sun didn’t seem

to move in the sky. And the

flat

, white

landscape didn’t seem to change, until . . .

The Bridge

in the Fog

115

The Bridge in the Fog

“Stop! Don’t take another step!” Will

yelled suddenly.

“Wha — aahhhh!” Colette screamed,

looking down at the edge of the cliff just

inches from her feet.

In front of them was a huge rift in the land,

with

steep

walls hundreds of feet deep. The

white fog that formed between the rocks

was the same color as the snow on their path.

“We were about to fall in!” Pam exclaimed.

“You saved us, Will,” Paulina said.

“Thanks!” Then she took out the map she

was drawing and added the rift to it.

“I just got lucky,” Will said modestly. “A

moment ago, I saw a breeze ripple

through the fog, and I saw that it wasn’t

snow.”

“Kunihiko didn’t mention this. He said we

would come to a crossroad, ”

116

The Bridge in the Fog

Colette remembered. “You don’t think he

was tricking us, do you?”

Will shook his head. “I don’t think so. He

seemed

genuinely

grateful that we

had helped him.”

“We might just have missed the crossroad

in all this snow,” Paulina pointed out.

“So what do we do now?” Colette asked.

“Maybe we should turn back and look

for a fork in the road,” Pam suggested. “It’s

not like we can go forward, anyway.”

“Let’s look around here first,” Will

suggested. “Stay close together, and watch

where you step.”

The Thea Sisters followed him, paying

careful attention as they walked along

the edge of the cliff.

“I don’t see any other paths,” Will said

with a frown.

117

Look out!

There’s a bridge

down there!

The Bridge in the Fog

Pam looked over the cliff’s edge. “Hey,

there’s a bridge down there!

” she exclaimed.

They followed her gaze. They could make

out the bridge, but all they could see was

the middle of it. It seemed to be suspended

in the fog.

They leaned over as far as they could, but

they still couldn’t see either end of the bridge.

Will took a rope out of his bag and tied

one end around his waist.

“I will go investigate the

bridge,” he said. “Please

hold this rope tightly. It

will support me if I fall.”

Colette, Pam, and Paulina felt like their

hearts

were in their throats as they watched

Will descend into the fog. Within seconds he

disappeared into the milky

cloud.

Below them, Will cautiously climbed

down the side of the cliff. Finally, his foot hit

a plank of

wood. He’d made it to the bridge!

Then a strong wind whipped up, and Will

heard a sound like a roar. He looked up to

see an enormouse dragon

with eight heads! Each pair of nostrils

breathed out fiery smoke. All sixteen

of its eyes were as red as flame.

Will slowly stepped backward until he

reached the cliff.

The Guardian

of the Bridge

120

Aaaaahh!

Excuse us . . .

The Guardian of the Bridge

“It’s

Orochi

,” he told the Thea Sisters. “A

dragon with eight heads and eight tails.”

The dragon opened its eight mouths,

breathing fiery flames that brushed

against the bridge in a huge roar.

The dragon’s eight mouths all thundered at

once.

“Please excuse us, but we have to cross this

bridge,” Will said politely.

Orochi laughed. “That’s not going

to happen!”

“But we must —

otherwise we will have

to turn back,” Colette

said bravely.

“That is your

problem. I am

The Guardian of the Bridge

the guardian of this bridge, and you do not

have permission to pass,” the dragon huffed.

“What a

nasty

dragon,” Pam muttered

under her breath.

Will took a step forward, but the dragon

aimed another burst of fire at him.

Will thought quickly. There had to be some

way to negotiate with this dragon. But how?

Then Colette blurted out, “We are on a

mission that will help your world! Please

let us pass!”

The dragon stretched one of his

heads toward her.

“Mission, you say? What kind of mission?”

Colette gulped nervously. She didn’t

want to make the dragon any angrier. But

there was no turning back now.

“We know that the lotus flowers are

123

The Guardian of the Bridge

disappearing from this world,” she

said. “We are trying to figure out who is

responsible so we can stop them.”

The dragon didn’t respond at first. Then

he said, “I don’t know anything about that. I

only know that this is my bridge and

you cannot pass!”

Everyone was thinking the same thing:

what a selfish dragon! But no one

dared to say it out loud.

“What do we do?” Paulina whispered to

the others.

“I have an idea!” Colette answered. Then

she turned to the dragon. “If you let us pass,

we will give you something in return.”

Orochi looked curious. “What will

you give me?”

“What do you want?” Colette asked.

The dragon thought for a moment. “There’s

124

too much silence

in the middle of

all this snow,” he

said finally. “I would like

someone to sing to me. Like

you, for example.”

In one swift move, the dragon grabbed

Colette in his claws and then tossed

her on top of one of his heads.

“Let her go!” Paulina screamed.

Will quickly began rummaging

through his bag.

“Sing me something! Come

on!

” Orochi urged Colette.

Colette had never been a

The Guardian of the Bridge

good singer, and she was nervous, but she

gave it her best shot.

“On top of a mountain, all covered with

cheese ...”

“You sound like a croaking frog,” the

dragon complained. “Can’t you do better?”

“It’s not easy to sing when you are the

prisoner of an eight-headed dragon, you

know,” Colette snapped.

That’s when Will found what he was

looking for. He aimed a flashlight

right at the light of the dragon’s eyes. The

creature was used to being in dark fog, and,

agitated, he shook his head and flew away.

Colette fell, and Will caught her.

Pam and Paulina climbed down to the

bridge. “Colette!” they cried, running to

their friend. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, except my new pants are wrinkled,”

126

Are you all right?

The Guardian of the Bridge

she complained. Then she called after

Orochi. “You really are very rude, you know!”

Then they all noticed something. The

dragon had stopped blowing smoke. The

fog disappeared, revealing a blue and yellow

river below!

Music Saves

“The Crystal River!” Colette cried, pointing

to the water running under the bridge. “It’s

the blue and yellow river from the riddle.

The tengu told us that this is where the Snow

Fairies live. And we found it!”

“We should cross the bridge now, before

Orochi

comes back,” Paulina said urgently.

But just as she said the words, the dragon

circled back and flew right toward them. All

eight heads looked angry.

Suddenly, a

sweet music

began to fill

the air. Everyone looked around, confused,

until they noticed a pink MP3 player connected

to a portable speaker on the bridge.

“That’s mine!” Colette yelled out, stunned.

“It must have fallen out of my bag when I fell

128

Music Saves

from the dragon, and the radio

turned on.”

The radio was playing a

very sweet and

beautiful tune.

“It’s the shamisen!”

Pam exclaimed. “The

music we heard in the

glass elevator.”

“But how is it possible that the radio works

here?” Colette asked.

“Yes, I don’t think there are any radio

stations in the Land of Minwa,” Paulina

added.

Will remained silent for a moment, then

wondered aloud, “What if Colette’s radio is

picking up a real Japanese radio station?”

“But how?” asked Colette.

“The fantasy worlds and real world

129

Music Saves

are connected, thanks to the power of

imagination, so there is a very real link

between them.”

“Thanks to music!” Paulina realized.

“It’s the same thing that allows us to travel in

the glass elevator.”

Suddenly, they all remembered the dragon.

But Orochi no longer looked angry. He was

peacefully listening to the music.

“Do you like this song?” Colette asked

Orochi, and the dragon nodded.

She picked up the MP3

player

and gave it to

him. “It’s for you, to

keep you company.”

“Are you serious?”

the dragon asked,

surprised.

“Yes,” said

Colette. “But only

if you promise,

in exchange,

Music Saves

that you will not scare anyone who comes

by here anymore.”

Everyone waited for the dragon’s response.

Would he be

angry

?

“That seems like a fair pact,” Orochi

replied. “If I have

music to keep me

company I will be in a much better mood,

with no reason to be

scary

anymore.

So now you may pass . . . unless there is

something else I can do for you.”

“Actually, there is,” Will said. “We are

coming from the Forest of the Dancing Pines

and we need to reach the blue and yellow

river at the bottom of this gorge.”

The dragon nodded. “That is very easy.

Once you cross the bridge, you will see a

path

that goes down to the river.”

Paulina took out the map she was making.

“I need to add the bridge, so we can find it

132

Music Saves

again if we ever come back,”

she said, drawing quickly.

Will looked over her

shoulder. “You are an

excellent

mapmaker,

Paulina. We can use

your skills in the Seven

Roses Unit.”

Paulina blushed.

“Thanks!” She was happy to be useful.

“Well, good-bye, dragon,” Colette

said. “And thank you for your help.”

They started to cross the bridge when

Orochi called loudly behind them.

“Wait!”

Their hearts stopped for a moment.

Everyone turned toward Orochi.

“I forgot to tell you,” he said. “When you

reach the river, you must be careful.

Music Saves

Often things are not what they seem . . . and

not everything can be seen with your

eyes.”

“What do you mean?” Paulina asked.

But the dragon didn’t answer. He just

stared at them with his intense

red

eyes

.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to tell us more, or

can’t,” Will speculated. He called out to

Orochi, “Thank you for warning us!”

The dragon’s eight heads all nodded.

“Be careful!”

Then Will, Colette, Pam, and Paulina left

the dragon, as the sweet

melody

of the

shamisen played behind them.

134

“This has been an amazing trip so far,”

Pam remarked as they headed down the

path to the river.

“Absolutely,” Colette agreed. “I can’t

believe I sat on the head of a

dragon

!”

“But we still don’t know

anything more about who is

stealing the lotus flowers,”

Paulina pointed out.

“It may very well be these Snow

Fairies. From all accounts, they’re

quite dangerous,” said Will.

He stopped and looked up at

the sky. “The sun is starting

to go down! We need to pick

up the pace.”

The Crystal River

The Crystal River

They walked quickly until they reached a

snowy valley. The layer of snow underfoot

was getting thicker and thicker as the path

got closer to the mountains.

Then they heard the sound of running

water, and the Crystal river was in

front of them.

“We’ll follow the riverbank to the

mountains,” Will said.

“Lead the way!” Pam said cheerfully.

As they followed the river, they could feel

a cold chill rising up from the water. The

surface was frozen in some parts, but the

current was still strong, making a sound

like leaves rustling in the wind.

“The pebbles on the bottom of the river

are yellow,” Paulina remarked. “Their

reflection in the blue water is what makes

the river blue and yellow.”

136

It’s the Crystal River!

The Crystal River

“It’s beautiful,” Will agreed. “But I’m

confused. Sometimes the river looks like it’s

curving, and sometimes it looks straight.”

“That’s funny, I noticed the same thing,”

Paulina said.

“Maybe we’re just tired,” Colette suggested.

Will frowned. “Let’s keep our eyes

open.”

They continued along the riverbank,

carefully watching each step they took. Then

something

strange

happened. The sound

of the running water suddenly stopped,

and when they looked, the river was gone!

“How is that possible?” Paulina asked.

“Maybe we strayed from it,” Colette

guessed.

“We couldn’t have,” Pam said. “We were

watching every step.”

“This must be the work of the Snow

138

Let’s try it!

The Crystal River

Fairies,” Will speculated. “Remember,

the tengu told us that they like to trick

strangers. Let’s try to find the river

again, and we’ll be more careful this time.”

They found the river again quickly, but

minutes later they got

off

track

and lost

it again.

“How can we keep getting lost when we’re

walking so close to the riverbank?” Pam

asked, frustrated.

“I suppose we could just

walk right in the river, but

it must be freezing,”

Will said.

The Crystal River

“I have an idea,” Paulina proposed. “What

did Orochi say? ‘Not everything can be seen

with your eyes.’ So maybe we should walk

with our eyes closed. We will know the way

by following the sound of the running water!”

“Good idea,” agreed Will.

“Let’s try it!” Pam said, and she began

walking with her eyes closed.

The others did the same. A few minutes

later, they opened their eyes, and they were

still next to the river’s path.

They hadn’t even strayed a bit!

“It works!” Colette exclaimed.

“Let’s keep going,” Will urged.

They closed their eyes and started walking

again — but this time, they couldn’t take a

single step forward.

Paulina tried to lift her foot, but she was

stuck

. She opened her eyes and almost

couldn’t believe what she saw.

She and her friends were imprisoned in

large blocks of ice!

“How dare you challenge us?” asked a

sharp and curious female voice.

Two mysterious creatures floated above

the riverbank. Each one was beautiful, with

skin as white as snow and hair as BLUE

as the water in the river. They had to be . . .

“They tricked us, just like the tengu said

they would,” said Colette.

“Free us!” Pam demanded.

The Snow Fairies

the Snow Fairies!

141

The Snow Fairies

“What are you doing here? This is our

river,” the Snow Fairies asked, speaking in

unison with chilling voices.

“Free us, and then we’ll explain why we’re

here,” Colette proposed.

The Snow Fairies burst out in icy laughs.

“You will stay here with us forever!” one

of them threatened.

“Why? We haven’t done anything to you!”

Paulina objected.

“We are the

guardians

of the Crystal

River, and we don’t let anyone pass,” the

other replied.

Will and the Thea Sisters exchanged

worried glances.

“Let us go! We are on a very important

mission,” Colette insisted.

Colette’s words seemed to interest the

Let us go!

The Snow Fairies

fairies, and one of them spoke.

“My name is Hikari,” she said, “and this is

my cousin,

Hikaru

. We have lived here on

the banks of the Crystal River ever since we

were born.”

“We have a mission, too: to protect the

snow

,” Hikaru interrupted. “It is a precious

resource, because the thick snow protects

the seeds that are planted in autumn

until they are ready to blossom in the spring.”

“But protecting the snow is a big job for

just the two of us,” Hikari added. “So when

someone passes through here, we imprison

them and force them to help us.”

“That’s not very nice!” Colette cried out

angrily. “You don’t get help by force! We

help out friends because we care about

them

.”

Hikaru lowered her eyes. “We . .. don’t

144

The Snow Fairies

have friends,” she said SADLY.

“Of course you don’t. You freeze

people!” Pam blurted out. Realizing how

that sounded, she tried again. “I mean, you

don’t give anyone a chance to get to know

you. If you hadn’t imprisoned us in this ice,

maybe we could have been friends.”

Hikaru and Hikari exchanged looks of

dismay

. Then they turned back to Pam,

Colette, and Paulina.

“Maybe you are right,” they both said

together, and at their words,

the blocks of ice melted.

Well, most of the blocks

melted — Will was still frozen!

“You are free!” said Hikari.

“Now we can be

friends

.”

“But you have to free Will,

too,” insisted Paulina.

Finally!

Free him!

The Snow Fairies

“But we are not interested in being his

friend,” said Hikaru. “Just you. He will stay

here with us forever and help

protect the snow.”

“No way! FREE HIM immediately!”

Pam cried.

“We will not,” the Snow Fairies said firmly.

Then Paulina flung her arms around

the block of ice holding Will.

The Snow Fairies

Everyone watched, astonished, as

the ice melted until Will was free!

The Snow Fairies were bewildered. “You

must be linked by true affection,” said

Hikaru.

“We ask for your forgiveness,” Hikari

added.

“The important thing is that we are free,”

said Will. “And now we can tell you why we

are here. We are investigating

the disappearance of the

lotus flowers. Many in

the Land of Minwa

think you are guilty.”

Hikari and Hikaru

burst out laughing.

“Us? Guilty?”

asked Hikari

between giggles.

Ha, ha, ha!

Ha, ha, ha!

The Snow Fairies

“What a silly thing for someone to think,”

said Hikaru. “We love the lotus flowers,

and would never destroy them.”

“Do you smell the delicious scent?”

Hikari asked them.

They all sniffed the air around them. A

sweet and delicate aroma filled their nostrils.

“It’s lovely,” Colette commented.

“It’s lotus flower,” Hikaru revealed. “It

is a rare and precious essence.”

“We get this scent from the

Ice Pixies,” Hikari explained,

holding up a small bottle of

rosy liquid. “It allows us to find the

way to our river even through storms

and blizzards.”

“Then who is

destroying

the lotus

flower, if you’re not doing it?” asked Will.

“You will find some creatures farther up at

148

The Snow Fairies

the mouth of the river. They are called the

kitsune

. They are the guilty ones!” Hikari

and Hikaru said in unison.

Then a cloud of snow crystals swirled

around Colette, Pam, Paulina, and Will,

embracing them in an icy-cold hug. They

heard two musical voices say “thank you.”

When the cloud dissipated, the Snow

Fairies were gone, hidden somewhere in the

landscape of silent white snow.

149

Will, Colette, Pam, and Paulina began

walking through the snow once more,

following the river’s course. The chilly air

whipped against their faces, and the gloomy

songs of owls accompanied their steps.

But the landscape around them was

enchanting, and the snow crystals on the

branches of the pines created a beautiful

sunset light show.

“Do we have a long way to go?” Pam asked.

“I could go for some pizza about now.”

“Well, we still haven’t reached the rounded

peak in the riddle,” Will replied. “To find

the answers that you seek, look for a rounded

mountain peak.”

“We may be close,” said Paulina, pointing.

The Kitsune

150

“Look at the shape of that

mountain!”

The path in front of

them became very steep,

and it led to a mountain

topped with a natural

platform shaped like a

perfect circle.

“You’re right! Let’s

go,” Will said. He

attached his rope to

the

vertical

rock wall

in front of them so

that they could climb

up the mountain.

When they reached

the top, they found

themselves at the

source of the blue

The Kitsune

and yellow river.

“How beautiful!” said Pam, and they watched

the flowing water in silence for a moment.

“You know, I’ve been wondering,” said

Paulina thoughtfully. “The riddle says that

the guilty ones might be beautiful damsels.

Was it talking about the Snow Fairies?”

“Or maybe the

kitsune

,” Colette guessed.

“Whatever they are.”

From the corner of his eye, Will saw

something move behind a rock. As he

approached, it ran off in a flash.

“Did you see something?” Paulina asked.

“I think I saw a

fox

,” he reported.

“Oh, no,” said an unfamiliar female voice.

“It was me that you saw!”

At that moment a very beautiful and

elegant creature appeared before them.

She held a golden sphere in her hands, and a

152

It was me you saw!

Hello!

The Kitsune

soft

fox

tail

waved behind her.

“Hello,” said Will.

“Hello,” replied the creature. “My name is

Setsuko, and I’m a

kitsune

. What brings

you to these parts?”

“We are researching a very precious

flower,” Will said directly.

“You mean this, I imagine,” said Setsuko,

pulling a lotus flower from her hair.

Colette nodded. “We heard

that someone is destroying

them.”

“YES, I have heard that,

too,” Setsuko said.

“Do you know who it is?” Will asked.

Setsuko’s eyes widened. “I am just a

kitsune,” she said innocently.

Pam groaned impatiently. “Can’t you just

tell us what you know?” she asked. “Some

154

The Kitsune

inhabitants of the Land of Minwa think that

you kitsune are

destroying

the lotus

flowers.”

“I have heard the rumors,” Setsuko replied

with an injured sniff. “Many say that we

kitsune

poison

the pond water where the

flowers grow. But we would never do that!”

“Why not?” asked Colette.

“Lotus flowers are very special, even if

they grow out of

mud

,” explained Setsuko.

“They remind us that it doesn’t matter what

our condition is. EVERYONE can make

something beautiful and be helpful to others.

Lotus flowers remind us of this, and they

give us courage.”

Everyone nodded thoughtfully. The kitsune

had not seemed very helpful at first, but she

was revealing herself to be

intelligent

and

sensitive

.

155

The Kitsune

Pam was still suspicious of the creature.

She noticed that Setsuko seemed to be

holding the golden sphere in her hand

protectively. Was she hiding something?

“What do you have in your hands?” she

asked in her direct way.

Surprised by the question, the kitsune

jumped a little. She took a step

backward but tripped, and the sphere

tumbled out of her hands.

The sphere rolled right to Will’s feet,

and he picked it up.

Setsuko looked at Will strangely.

“You have obtained the

sphere of my

power

. Now

I am forced to help you!”

“What do you mean?”

Paulina asked.

The Kitsune

“I think I know,” said Will. “The sphere

that the kitsune carry with them is

enchanted, because they keep some of

their powers inside it. Whoever gains control

of the sphere can force the kitsune to

help him.”

“Then let’s ask Setsuko if she knows who

is destroying the lotus flowers,” said Paulina.

“I cannot lie to you,” Setsuko told Will. “I

am not destroying the flowers, but I know

who is

.”

Everyone waited, breathless, for her to

reveal the answer.

“It is Isonade, Lord of the Tides!”

“Isonade?” A look of recognition flashed

in Colette’s eyes, and she asked Paulina for a

pen and paper.

“It’s the second riddle,” Colette cried as

she wrote it out on the paper. “See, starting

157

The Kitsune

with the second line, the first letter of each

line spells out ‘Isonade’!”

Pam shook her head. “So we came all this

way, only to be sent to the sea—”

“Where

Nicky

,

Violet

, and Thea are!”

finished Paulina. “But how do we get there

from here?”

Will turned to Setsuko. “Can you please

help us find the sea?”

She nodded. “Come with me!”

I

n

abysses

Is

where

he

hIdes

:

I

t

’

s

the

great

and

evIl

l

ord

of

t

Ides

.

s

overeIgn

of

all

,

he

rules

the

land

.

o

h

,

terrIble

thIngs

does

he

demand

!

n

ay

,

he

sImply

cannot

stand

a

nythIng

that

grows

on

land

.

d

o

start

your

journey

to

the

sea

.

e

xactly

three

fIns

are

what

you

wIll

see

.

158

The Kitsune

So they followed Setsuko back down the

mountain. She led them to a valley, to an

offshoot of the Crystal River. They soon

reached a jetty where a small wooden boat

was docked.

“Board the boat, and keep heading

downriver until you reach the sea,” she

instructed. “But be careful.”

“Good-bye,” Will said as he handed back

the sphere, “and thank you!”

“Good-bye, and good luck!” the kitsune

said with a

smile

, and she kept waving

until the boat disappeared from view.

Be careful!

Good-bye!

Danger Lurking

While Will, Colette, Pam, and Paulina were

off in the mountains, Nicky, Violet,

and I had headed down the path that we

hoped would lead to the sea. We walked

and walked, but all we could see was snow.

“Are we going the right way?”

Violet asked, worried.

“I hope so,” I replied.

Before long, though, the snow got

thinner and the air felt warmer.

Danger Lurking

Nicky took off her jacket. “We must be

getting closer. See? There’s a bunch of

reeds

down there. They grow near water.”

We walked toward the reeds, and soon our

boots got stuck in a thick

layer of mud

.

Nicky pulled aside the reeds to reveal a quiet,

dark pond. The surface of the water didn’t

move at all.

Suddenly Violet gasped. “Look

over there!”

Nicky and I turned to see where

Violet was pointing, and I couldn’t

believe my eyes. Three

strange

Danger Lurking

creatures were dozing under a big tree!

They looked like turtles with short, stocky

flippers

and heads topped with tufts of

shaggy hair.

“Let’s not wake them,” I whispered.

Danger Lurking

We started to walk away, but I soon

realized that my feet were stuck in the mud.

Nicky and Violet were in the same situation.

“What’s happening?” Violet yelled. She

tried to move again, but only sank deeper.

“

It’s quicksand!

” Nicky cried. “Don’t

move or you’ll sink!”

I tried to stay calm. If we didn’t find

a way out of that quicksand soon,

we would be in big trouble!

“Take a deep breath,” I instructed

Nicky and Violet. “We’ll get out of this.”

The voice behind us would have made us

jump if we weren’t stuck in mud. I turned

my head around to see that one of the strange

turtle creatures was standing behind

us. I could see now that he was about half

my height, and because of his

webbed

flippers

he had no trouble

moving through the quicksand.

Two more turtle creatures

appeared behind him.

“Hello, my name is Takumi,”

the first creature said. “And these

The Mysterious

Kappa

The Mysterious Kappa

are my friends, Taiki and Daisuke. We are

KAPPA and are happy to have you here.

Would you like to visit our reed grove?”

“Yes, but would you mind pulling us out of

here first?” asked Violet, who had sunk

into the sand up to her waist.

“Oh, of course!” Takumi cried.

The three kappa came closer, walking on

top of the

mud

with their flippers. They

grabbed us by the paws and

pulled

us

out of the quicksand in just a few seconds.

“Thank you!” I said, with a sigh of relief.

“You’re welcome,” Takumi replied. “You’ve

never been here before, have you?”

We shook our heads.

“I imagined as much,” said the kappa. “No

one who had been here would dare venture

into the

Devouring Sands Pond

!”

So that’s what that terrible place was

165

Aaand . . . lift!

The Mysterious Kappa

called! I promised myself that I would tell

Paulina so that she could mark it on her map.

“What brings you here?” Taiki asked.

“We are on a mission,” I replied.

The kappa looked at me with curiosity.

“What kind of mission?” asked Takumi.

Daisuke interrupted him. “Excuse me,

Takumi, but they should wash the

mud

off themselves.”

Takumi nodded and turned to us. “You

must clean yourselves off! The mud from

The Mysterious Kappa

the Devouring Sands not only

dries

your

skin in an instant —”

“But it penetrates your soul and makes you

extremely sad!” Taiki finished.

I nodded. “Frankly, it’s not a very nice

feeling. Where can we

wash

ourselves off?”

“On the other side of the pond. There’s no

mud

over there,” Takumi answered.

Violet took a step, but stopped, wincing.

“Ouch!”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“My knee hurts,” she replied. “I must have

twisted it when I was trying to get out of

the mud.”

Taiki put an arm around her waist. “Come,

I’ll help you,” he said.

We followed them to a flat rock on the

other side of the pond, and Violet sat down.

We all washed off the

mud

and immediately

167

The Mysterious Kappa

felt better. Then Daisuke approached,

holding out a small jar.

“This ointment will ease the pain,” he

said. “Show me where it hurts.”

“Here,” Violet said, pointing to a spot

on her knee.

Daisuke opened the jar and spread the

emerald-green ointment on Violet’s knee.

“It’s made from emerald grass, which helps

ease inflammation and pain,” he explained.

“Just wait a few minutes before you stand.”

Then Nicky got our attention. “lotus

flowers!” she cried, pointing to the pond.

All done!

The Mysterious Kappa

As soon as she said it, the kappa quickly

sprang into action, tying us up in

green branches.

“So, you are here to steal our flowers!”

Takumi accused.

“No, you don’t understand!” Nicky

protested as she tried to free herself. “We

don’t want to take the flowers. We want to

find whoever is taking them and

stop

them!”

“The lotus flowers are very important to

us. We use them to make

ointments

like this one,” Taiki said, showing us a jar

full of blue liquid.

“What is it used for?” I asked.

“It is essential lotus flower oil, and it

protects our delicate skin from the sun,”

Daisuke explained.

“But someone is

destroying

the lotus

flowers, and we barely have any left,” Takumi

169

The Mysterious Kappa

added. “We can’t leave our pond anymore,

because we cannot live for very long outside

the water without the protection of the

ointment. The air and the sun dry up our skin.”

“So we started cultivating our own lotus

flowers in our pond,” Taiki continued. “But

the flowers that we grow don’t have the same

power as the ones that

grow

naturally.”

“So you are not responsible for their

disappearance,” Nicky concluded.

Takumi shook his head. “Oh, no! For that,

you need to look to the sea.”

“And who should we look

for when we get there?”

I asked.

The Mysterious Kappa

“

Umibozu

,” Takumi answered. “He is the

guilty one, for sure! He is a heartless monster,

and all the creatures in the ocean fear him.”

Taiki and Daisuke began to untie us.

“We believe we can trust you,” Takumi

said.

“Thank you,” said Nicky. “Now can you

tell us how to get to the ocean?”

“Just keep heading east,” Daisuke said,

nodding in the direction. “But be careful . . .”

Violet stood up. “My knee is healed!

Thank you all for your help.”

“We are happy to help, and hope you solve

the mystery of the lotus flowers,” said Daisuke.

Then we said good-bye, and headed once

more toward the sea.

171

Violet, Nicky, and I walked for a while, and

soon came to a forest of tall trees. They

had big, flat leaves that made them look

like mushroom caps. A

salty

smell filled the air. We were

near the ocean!

“We are on the right

path!” I said, excited.

“Hooray!”

Nicky cheered.

“I wonder where

the others are.”

“Do you think they found that

blue and yellow river that was in

the

riddle?” Violet asked.

“I am sure they are on the

The Sea!

The Sea!

right

path

,” I said confidently. “And if

Paulina is working on her map, it will be

very helpful for us to understand the

geography of this place in the future.”

Then Violet noticed something. “Those

trees up ahead are bending forward. That

means . . .”

She ran off to look, and we followed her to

the edge of a cliff with a beautiful view.

“Now we need to find Umibozu,” Violet

said. “Something tells me that won’t be

easy

.”

“A boat would be helpful,” Nicky suggested.

I looked over the edge of the cliff. “There

are a few

boats

docked down there,” I

reported. “But it’s a steep climb down.”

Then I noticed something. “There’s a

path

,” I said, pointing. “Let’s go!”

173

We need a boat!

Careful!

We slowly made our way down

the steep cliff, grabbing

the rocky sides so we

wouldn’t fall.

The sandy ground

was slippery under our

feet, but the path was

fairly short. When it

came to an end, the

beach was still several

feet below us. We

would have to

jump

down.

The Sea!

“I’ll go first!” Nicky offered.

I knew that she could do it. Nicky is very

agile and an expert climber.

She grabbed a rock that jutted from the

end of the path, and then she looked for

other holds until she was forced to let go.

She landed on her feet on the soft, white

sand.

Violet approached the edge and looked

down.

“I can’t! It’s too high up!”

“Do what I did! Grab on to the rocks,”

Nicky urged. “And don’t worry. I’m down

here.”

Violet grabbed on to a rock and then

jumped. She kicked up a cloud of sand as

she landed next to Nicky, who helped her up.

“Thanks, Nicky!” she said as soon as she

was in the arms of her friend.

177

Thanks, Nicky!

The Sea!

“That’s what friends are for!” Nicky replied,

smiling

.

I jumped down next, and a

wind

whipped up around the three of us as we

walked toward the bay.

We walked along the bay until we reached

the BOATS that I had seen from the cliff.

There were about ten of them docked at

a small port. Nearby, we saw homes

built on

stilts

high above the big

rocks at the base of the cliff.

The wind got stronger,

and we hugged our

jackets more tightly to us as

we examined the boats.

“There’s nobody around. That’s strange,”

Violet said.

“Maybe because of the strong wind,” Nicky

said with a shiver.

Suddenly, I heard voices.

They were coming from behind a big rock.

The Kijimuna

179

The Kijimuna

I cautiously moved toward the voices,

followed by Nicky and Violet. Behind the

rock were two creatures with thick red

hair and pointy ears. One was thin and one

was chubby.

“What do you want?” the skinny one

snapped. He didn’t look happy to see us.

I noticed that they were making a

fishing net. The skinny one was

holding the part that was already made, and

the chubby one was holding a shuttle with

string attached.

“We are looking for a boat to rent,” I

replied.

“There are none. We only have fishing

boats here,” the chubby one said even more

sharply.

“Would you be willing to take us anyway?”

Nicky asked, stepping forward.

180

The Kijimuna

The two creatures looked at each other

and sneered.

“The ocean is serious. It isn’t for strange

creatures like you,” said the skinny one.

“Oh, no?” asked Violet, exasperated.

“Then who is it for?”

The chubby one shook his head. “You all

are certainly very stubborn.”

Please help us!

The Kijimuna

“We are doing important research,” I said.

“Please help us.”

“And where would you like to go?”

Actually, we weren’t sure. But if we told

them that we were looking for

Umibozu

,

they might not have helped us.

“I think we are in the village of kijimuna,”

I whispered to Nicky and Violet. “They are

similar to goblins and fairies. They are expert

fishermen and they like to play pranks.”

Then I turned to the two creatures. “We

would like to go to the open sea.”

“You are lucky, because we are leaving

soon to go fishing,” the chubby one said with

a huff. “So you can come with us. But I

will warn you, you must obey us once you

are on the boat. Going out to sea is not a

joke

!”

“Thank you so much!” I said warmly.

182

The Kijimuna

But the creatures still did not seem to be

warming up to us.

The kijimuna kept working on their net,

and we waited in silence, not wanting to

annoy them. Finally, the skinny one looked

up.

“The sea has calmed down a bit,” he said.

“This is a good time to go. Follow us.”

We followed them to the port, walking

Thank you!

The Kijimuna

past the stilt houses, where a curious

face peeked out of the window to look at us.

Then we headed down the dock and

climbed into a boat stocked with fishing

nets

and empty

crates

. The

kijimuna motioned for us to sit on a wooden

trunk, and we obeyed.

“Don’t get up unless we tell you to, do you

understand?” the chubby one ordered as he

climbed in with us.

“We won’t,” I promised.

The other kijimuna put a second boat in

the water, climbed aboard, and then began

rowing vigorously. A moment later we

headed out toward the open sea.

184

We had been floating in the middle of the

sea for a while when I noticed that the sky

was getting darker.

“It’s almost evening,” I said to Nicky and

Violet.

“Soon we won’t be able to see anything,”

Violet said. Then she lowered her voice to a

whisper. “How will we find

Umibozu

?”

“Maybe he will find us,” I replied, but I

wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

The two kijimuna were busy fishing. They

had lowered their net into the water and

watched the colorful buoys bobbing on

top of the water.

“Now!” the chubby one cried suddenly,

and he pulled the net out of the water.

Among the Waves

186

Among the Waves

“Oh no!” he exclaimed, frowning. “It’s

empty!”

“How is that possible?” asked the skinny

one. “Something strange —”

Before he could finish, we felt something

smack into the boat, rocking it.

“A giant wave! Hold on!” cried the

chubby kijimuna.

We quickly grabbed the sides of the boat,

and seconds later, it was hit with another

HUGE BLOW.

How is that possible?

It’s empty!

Among the Waves

The two kijimuna exchanged glances.

“Let’s get out of here, and fast!” said the

skinny one.

“Why?” I asked. “What’s happening?”

“It’s

Umibozu

! The monster of the

sea!”

“He capsizes fishermen’s boats,” said

the chubby one. “We must flee!”

“We can’t go!” cried Nicky. “He is the one

we have come to see!”

We can’t!

Let’s get out of here!

Among the Waves

The chubby one looked at us in disbelief.

“You are here for Umibozu? You don’t know

what you are saying! He is a dangerous

beast!”

“It is very important for us to talk to him,”

Violet insisted.

“Oh, yeah? Then you will wait here for

him alone!”

He jumped into his partner’s boat and they

rowed off in a hurry, leaving us on that

little boat in the middle of the sea with only

an oil lamp. Alone!

189

alone!

alone!

alone!

alone!

Let’s go back to shore!

We were alone in the middle of the sea. We

didn’t know if Umibozu would attack

our boat again, or if we would be able to

defend it if he did.

Violet looked at the sun dipping into the

horizon.

“It will be

dark

soon,” she said anxiously.

I was worried, too. The situation was

getting complicated. Approaching Umibozu

in the darkness could be dangerous.

“Let’s go back to shore,” I suggested. “We

will find another way to reach Umibozu.”

“Good idea,” Nicky agreed. She started to

row the boat when, suddenly, another

blow shook us! It was much stronger than

The Monster

of the Sea

191

The Monster of the Sea

the last one.

“What could that be?” Violet asked.

All three of us had the same thought:

Umibozu!

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Nicky asked.

“I believe it is, yes,” I answered. “He is

trying to tip over the boat!”

“Soon he will succeed!” Violet added.

Something smacked the boat again, and a

Cut it out!

The Monster of the Sea

wave of water poured over the side. Violet

stood up impatiently.

“If it’s you, Umibozu, stop hitting us!” she

yelled. “We have come here to see you. We

have to tell you something important!”

Nicky and I stared at Violet, admiring her

courage. Then we waited for the monster’s

reaction. Seconds later, an enormouse

dark and shiny sphere emerged out of the

choppy sea. Violet stared at it, openmouthed,

as the sphere swam toward us.

We had no idea what was coming toward

us until a long tentacle poked out of the

water. Then we knew: Umibozu was an

The tentacle whipped the air above the

boat and landed on Violet’s shoulders. She

froze.

What was

Umibozu

going to do?

193

Umibozu!

We came

here for

you!

The Monster of the Sea

Nicky and I jumped to our feet, ready to

ward off an attack. But that wasn’t necessary.

“Who are you and what do you want?” the

monster asked in a

deep voice

. We were

scared, but the tentacle slipped off Violet’s

shoulders and disappeared back in the water.

“Umibozu, is that you? We were looking

for you,” I said.

“It is I. But were you really looking for

me?” He sounded surprised.

Maybe he doesn’t

receive visitors often,

I thought.

“Yes, we are here to

talk

to you,” Nicky

called out.

The monster seemed

pleased to hear that.

“Nobody ever wants to talk

The Monster of the Sea

to me. Nobody even wants to come close.”

“Maybe because you scare everyone,”

Violet pointed out.

“But I wasn’t always so

ferocious

,”

Umibozu responded. “I became this way!”

I exchanged surprised glances with

Nicky and Violet.

“What do you mean?” I asked, curious.

“Everyone got this idea that I am dangerous

and cruel just because I am so big,” he

explained.

He really was gigantic!

I nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“Everyone avoids me, and many try to

attack me!” the monster said sadly. “I

got tired of everyone treating me like a

ferocious beast, so I decided to become

one. Why be nice to others if they aren’t nice

to me?”

197

The Monster of the Sea

“That doesn’t make sense,” Violet argued.

“What counts isn’t how others treat you, but

how you treat them. A kind gesture spreads

goodness throughout the world.”

“While a bad act always has consequences!”

Nicky added.

I agreed. “The worse you behave, the worse

the situation gets!”

Umibozu was silent for a moment.

“You are right,” he said. “Although I still

don’t know why you are here.”

“We are researching the disappearance

of the lotus flowers,” I explained.

“I know who’s doing it!” the octopus

exclaimed. “It’s Isonade, the blue shark !”

“But why would he take the flowers?”

Violet asked.

“Because he is jealous,” Umibozu replied.

“He can’t stand that such beautiful flowers

198

The Monster of the Sea

only grow in fresh water.”

“So he destroys them?” I asked.

“Not on purpose,” he answered. “He asked

some

salmon

to travel

upstream and take the lotus

flowers from the ponds and

bring them to the sea. But

then the salt in the water

destroyed them.”

I nodded. “So how can we

find Isonade?”

“He lives in the Blue Cave. If you want, I

can take you to him.”

“Thank you,” I said. “You are very helpful!”

The great beast actually smiled at us.

Then he wrapped one of his powerful

tentacles around our boat, picked us up, and

swam

toward the coast. I wondered if

Isonade would be as nice to us. . . .

199

four passengers onboard!

With Umibozu’s help, Nicky, Violet, and I

were speeding over the dark waters of the

sea. We could see the shore in the

distance. Then we saw something else in the

faint evening light . . .

“Another boat!” Nicky yelled.

“I see it, too!” Violet exclaimed. “Maybe

the kijimuna felt bad about leaving us and

came back to find us.”

So we asked Umibozu to bring us toward

the boat. As we got closer, we could see . . .

Nicky peered into the

darkness

.

“I can’t see what they look like.”

The boat was heading toward us, too.

Finally I could make out the shape of a

A Nice Surprise!

200

Hello!

A Nice Surprise!

rowboat, and I recognized the silhouettes of

the rowers.

“WILL!” I shouted. “Pam!

Paulina!

Colette!”

They all waved in greeting. We had found

each other! How wonderful!

“Umibozu, could you please put us down?”

Violet asked.

He gently lowered our boat to the surface

of the calm sea.

“Isonade’s

cave

is just in front of you,”

he said, pointing with one of his tentacles.

“You have been so kind to us,” I said.

“Thank you, Umibozu!”

“You’re welcome,” he replied. “I hope you

are able to solve the problem and save the

lotus flowers. Good-bye!”

Then he submerged himself in a whirlwind

of waves.

202

A Nice Surprise!

I held up the lamp onboard the boat to

get a better view of the rowboat in front of

us. Nicky rowed forcefully and we headed

toward them.

“Thea!” I could hear Will calling.

Finally, we reached them. Our boats were

close enough together that we could reach

out and hold our friends’ paws. How

wonderful

it was to see them and know that they were

all right! Finding them was even happier

because it was a surprise. At least for us,

anyway.

“We were looking for you,” Will

said.

“How did you get all the way out here?”

Pam asked.

“We had some help,” I replied. “We would

still be in the middle of the ocean if it wasn’t

for

Umibozu

!”

203

We’re here!

We were looking for you!

A Nice Surprise!

Colette’s eyes widened. “Umi-who?” she

asked.

“Umibozu,” Nicky explained. “He’s a

scary-looking giant octopus, but he’s

very nice.”

Nicky, Violet, and I told our friends about

our adventures with the kappa, the

kijimuna, and Umibozu. Will and the others

told us about their journey so far. While we

talked, Paulina got out her pen and started

adding the names and details of our adventure

to her map.

“So, Umibozu says that Isonade is the one

destroying the lotus flowers,” I

concluded.

“Isonade! That’s who we’re looking for,

too,” Paulina said. “We discovered that the

tanuki’s second riddle is about him. The

first letter of each line forms his name.”

205

A Nice Surprise!

“So now we just need to find him,” Will

concluded.

“Umibozu told us he was a great blue

shark

,” I said.

“And according to the riddle, he should

have three fins,” added Violet.

Nicky nodded. “Umibozu says he lives

right there, in the

Blue

Cave

,” she

said, pointing to the shore.

“Let’s go!” Will urged.

I began to row the boat, leading the way.

Nicky and Violet took turns holding the

lamp. The others followed behind us.

My mind filled with questions as I rowed.

Would we find Isonade in the cave? Would

we be able to save the lotus flowers?

Or were we rowing right into danger?

206

We glided across the sea until we reached

the Blue Cave. The cave’s rock walls were an

intense blue color, and the sparkling water

created incredible

tricks of light on the

walls, like shimmering rainbows.

Right after we entered, we noticed a dark

shadow moving in the water beneath us. It

moved quickly, like a

black cloud in a

stormy sky. Then three dark fins cut the

surface of the water.

“Aaaahh!” Violet screamed, grabbing

on to Nicky.

“What was that?” Pam asked.

We stopped rowing and waited quietly in

the peaceful

darkness

.

Isonade, Lord

of the Tides

207

Ooh!

What a marvel!

Aaahh!

“Isonade?” Colette called out.

The fins reappeared a moment later, closer

to the boat than they were before. They were

blue, just like the rocks of the cave.

“Be ready,” Will advised us, grabbing on to

an oar. “In case he attacks.”

“Who dares to enter my cave?”

thundered

a voice from beneath the water.

“My name is Will Mystery. We are here on

an important investigation,” Will said bravely.

“Are you Isonade, Lord of the Tides?”

“Of course I am! I am Isonade, Guardian

Isonade, Lord of the Tides

of the Depths. No one may disturb me!”

“What a nasty attitude!” Colette remarked.

Angered by the comment, Isonade

smacked their boat with his tail, sending it

skidding across the water.

“Don’t provoke him!” Violet urged.

Will rowed the boat back to ours. Colette

crossed her arms, but she remained silent.

We needed to act fast, before Isonade

lashed out again. “Why are you destroying

the lotus flowers?” I asked. But the three fins

disappeared under the surface.

“Isonade?” Will called out.

“Why don’t you answer?” Paulina asked.

“Are you

ashamed

of what you have done?”

“I know nothing about the lotus

flowers,” the shark replied.

“So you haven’t been stealing them?” I

asked again.

211

A strange silence surrounded us. Suddenly

Isonade

sprang

from the water into the

air and over our boats, and then splashed

back into the dark depths.

As he flew over us, we realized how large

and powerful he was. He had three

tails as well as three fins.

The water churned beneath us, rocking

our boats.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I do not like

to be wrongly accused,” Isonade boomed. “I

did take some flowers because they were

very beautiful, and I was jealous that my

worst enemy was enjoying them. But when I

Isonade, Lord of the Tides

saw that they wouldn’t survive in the sea, I

didn’t steal them anymore. That is the truth!”

“Who is this enemy of yours?” Will asked.

“Namazu!” Isonade responded.

“Tell us a little more about him, please,”

urged Will.

“He is a giant catfish who lives in the

Swamp of Lost Dreams, surrounded by

beautiful lotus flowers,” the shark said.

“Once, Namazu and I were friends, and we

lived in harmony on the borders of the

freshwater and the salt water. But one day he

changed. He became more and more

nervous, and would get angry easily.”

“Why did that happen?” Colette asked.

“I never found out,” Isonade replied. “But

I know that his

fury

can still be felt.”

“How is that?” Will asked.

“With earthquakes. They are mostly

214

Isonade, Lord of the Tides

felt in the southern region. They also say that

he devours hundreds and hundreds of

pounds of lotus flowers out of anger.”

“What a senseless act,” I interrupted.

“Lotus flowers are precious for all the

inhabitants of the Land of Minwa.”

“Rage can make you do senseless things,”

Isonade said. “In the end, your anger ends

up hurting you more than others. But I am

afraid that he hasn’t understood that yet.”

I nodded. “That is very true. You are a

wise creature.”

“Would you like to know why I have three

fins and three tails?” Isonade asked.

“Why?” asked Colette.

“They are a symbol of

balance

,” the

shark replied. “It is the middle path where

two enemies come together.”

At that moment, a school of

VIBRANTLY

215

Isonade, Lord of the Tides

COLORED

fish surrounded Isonade. The

water sparkled and projected a rainbow

of color on the rocky walls. So that’s where

the colorful lights were coming from!

“Now I must leave you,” the shark said.

“Your mission is a just and courageous one.

I wish you good luck!”

Then he sank back down into the dark

water.

“Please, Isonade, tell us how to reach the

swamp!” Will called after him.

There was no answer from the dark sea.

Then, seconds later, Isonade’s three tails

poked out of the water.

Smack! The huge tails hit the water

violently, and a

tall wave

sprang up. It picked

up both boats and carried us out of the cave

and into the dark night.

216

Hang on!

Heeeeeelp!

The ocean waves must have lulled us all to

sleep. I woke up to the sound of Colette’s

voice.

“It’s so cold!” she complained.

I touched my jacket and realized that it

was soaked. Shivering, I looked around.

Isonade’s wave must have pushed us all the

way to the coast. We had floated into some

sort of

swamp

, and the sun had already

risen. The others were starting to wake up.

“What happened?” Pam asked.

“The CURRENT must have brought

us here,” I replied.

“Maybe this is the swamp where Namazu

lives,” Nicky guessed.

Someone Is

Spying On Us

218

Where are we?

Someone Is Spying On Us

We pulled the boats to dry land. Then

Paulina lit a fire and everyone gathered

around to dry off and collect our thoughts.

“Isonade never told us where exactly

to find Namazu,” Colette pointed out.

Suddenly, Nicky jumped to her feet. “I

heard a noise!” she exclaimed.

Someone Is Spying On Us

“Maybe it’s an animal,” guessed Will.

“The light of the fire may have attracted it.”

“Let’s go check it out,” Nicky said.

Will followed her while the rest of us stayed

by the fire and waited. They reappeared

a little while later, followed by a sort of tiny

elephant with soft, striped fur on its legs.

I heard a noise!

Someone Is Spying On Us

“Here is who was making noise. He was

hiding in those bushes, spying on us,” Will

reported.

“It’s a baku!” exclaimed Violet. “It’s one

of the things I remember from

the ACCELERATED learning

course.”

“I remember it, too,” Paulina

added. “Baku eat people’s

nightmares

to make sure

they have happy dreams.”

“I see you are well informed,” interrupted

the baku. “Can I ask who you are?”

“First tell us why you were spying,”

replied Colette.

“I saw the fire and I was curious,” the little

elephant admitted.

He didn’t seem dangerous, so I asked him,

“Do you know a place called the Swamp

222

Someone Is Spying On Us

of Lost Dreams?”

The baku looked surprised. “Why do you

want to go there?” he asked.

“Because we are looking for Namazu and

we know he lives there,” said Will.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the little

elephant replied.

“Why not?” asked Colette.

“Well, he’s not in a good mood these

days . . .”

At that, we heard a loud rumble and the

ground began to shake. The tremor

lasted a few seconds but it wasn’t very strong.

“See! I told you he wasn’t in a good mood.”

The baku looked

scared

now.

“How is it possible that a catfish can

cause an earthquake?” asked Colette.

“Namazu is very large. When he hits the

rocks of the Swamp of Lost Dreams, the

223

Someone Is Spying On Us

vibrations spread throughout all the

corners of our world,” the baku explained.

“You need to take us to him!” I urged. “It’s

for the good of your world. We want to bring

peace back to the land of minwa.”

The baku looked thoughtful. Finally, he

nodded. “I believe that you are telling the

truth. I will take you to Namazu.”

Then he trotted off, and we followed him.

224

By now the morning sun had lit up the

sky.

Will, the Thea Sisters, and I followed the

baku through the damp grass to the Swamp

of Lost Dreams. The fresh morning breeze

caressed our faces and tangled our

fur, but it was a comfort after a night spent

in the middle of the sea.

We walked through a stretch of land that

passed through great

marshes

surrounded

by swamp reeds. Aquatic plants with shiny

leaves grew out of the water.

The baku had not said a single word since

we had left. He seemed worried, and I

thought he might be afraid of Namazu.

The Swamp of

Lost Dreams

225

I hope we find Namazu!

Me, too!

The Swamp of Lost Dreams

Then the baku signaled with his trunk for

us to follow him into the THICK of the

swamp. The vegetation became denser and

the plants were tangled up in one another.

“Does Namazu live here?” I asked our

guide.

He nodded.

“And why is he angry?” Will asked.

“Maybe you should ask him yourselves,”

the baku replied. Then he stopped in front of

a large pool of dark water.

“Namazu, you have visitors!” he called out.

He quickly ran off and hid behind a bush.

Then the water on top of the pool began to

ripple. An enormouse head emerged from

the water. Two ferocious golden eyes

looked at us curiously. We knew exactly who

we were looking at.

We had found Namazu!

228

Why are you here?

Only Namazu’s head was sticking out of the

murky swamp water. He looked at us

threateningly.

“Why are you here?” he asked in a sad

voice.

Will took a step forward. “Namazu, you

sound troubled,” he said kindly.

The catfish looked surprised. I guessed

that nobody had ever asked him how he felt

before. He rose up until half of his enormouse

body was out of the water.

“There’s a

hole

in your head!” Paulina

exclaimed. We were all stunned.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” I asked.

“It is a sad story,” said Namazu.

“Please tell us!” I urged.

Namazu’s Stone

230

Namazu’s Stone

“One time, a large

stone filled this space

that is now empty,”

Namazu explained.

“It was a marvelous

blue quartz!

Someone stole it from

me, and I want my stone back!”

“Who could do a thing like that?” Paulina

asked.

“Someone who does not care about me at

all, because I will die soon without the rock,”

Namazu replied sadly.

“Why is the stone so important?” Violet

asked.

“It has great powers,” answered

the big fish. “It bestows long life and serenity

of spirit. I won’t live for much longer if I

don’t get it back.”

231

Namazu’s Stone

Then he roared angrily, opening his mouth

wide. That’s when Colette noticed something.

“Look! A petal!” she cried, pointing to

his mouth.

“And it’s from a lotus flower!” added

Violet.

“So it’s true. Isonade was right — you are

the reason they are disappearing,” I

said accusingly.

“So what if I am?” Namazu asked.

“You need to stop destroying the flowers,”

Colette said. “Don’t you understand how

important they are for your world?”

“I do,” replied Namazu. “But the lotus

flowers allow me to live without the stone.

I discovered that if I eat them, I am able to

stay alive

. But the more I eat them, the

more I need, or they stop working. Soon

there won’t be any more left, and I will die!”

232

Namazu’s Stone

With that, the big catfish slipped under the

swampy

water.

I knew what we had to do next. “We have

to find Namazu’s rock to

save

him and

the lotus flowers.”

“How can we do that?” Collette asked.

“We don’t even know where to look.”

The baku came out of hiding. “Maybe I

can help.”

“Do you know who stole the magic

stone?” Will asked.

“I don’t know him,” the baku said, “but I

saw him and I stole his dream.”

“What?” Nicky asked.

“Well, you know that I can eat people’s

bad dreams so that they don’t remember

them when they wake up,” the baku explained,

and we nodded. “I can also steal all kinds of

dreams if I want to.”

233

Namazu’s Stone

“I could use you sometime,” Pam said.

“Especially the night before a

history

test

!”

We all laughed, and even the nervous little

baku smiled. “Well, I noticed the thief

sleeping near the water, waiting for

Namazu to emerge. I was curious, so I

traveled into his dream. It was so interesting

that I stayed inside it for a while. When I

awoke, the thief was gone — and so was

Namazu’s stone.”

“What was in the dream?” Pam asked.

“It was very

romantic

,” the baku

answered. “And it was a very unusual dream.

Most dreams are like

puzzles

, with bits

and pieces of things floating around. But his

dream told a very definite tale.”

“Please tell us!” Paulina urged.

So the baku began his story. . . .

234

On a crisp, clear morning at the end of summer,

a young wizard was resting in a clearing high

in the mountains. He lay on his back, looking

at the sky and the passing clouds overhead.

Suddenly, a dark shadow flew across the sun.

Shading his eyes, he saw it was a bird.

Was it a falcon? No, the color of its feathers

was too light.

Was it a seagull? No, a seagull couldn’t fly so

high.

While the wizard was thinking, the bird

swooped down and landed in a nearby bush.

The wizard jumped to his feet and walked to it,

but right before his eyes the bird transformed!

It turned into a beautiful girl with long, dark

hair and eyes the color of the sea.

The wizard knew she was some kind of

magical nymph.

“Are you hurt?” he asked the nymph.

She seemed frightened, and responded with

a trembling voice. “No . . . but where am I?”

“In the highlands of the Musk Mountains,”

the wizard replied in a gentle voice.

He helped her stand up. She was even more

beautiful up close, and he

knew she had come from

far away.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“I am a sea nymph, from the ocean,” she

replied.

The wizard was stunned. “How did you end

up here?”

The nymph looked down at her feet. “I

shouldn’t have done it. My father forbade

me from straying from our island. But every

day I gazed at the mountains in the distance.

They looked so majestic and mysterious, and I

wanted to explore them.”

He nodded. He, too, loved the beauty of the

mountains.

“So I transformed myself into a gull to come

here,” she said. “I shouldn’t have. My nature

forbids me from straying so far from the sea!”

“It’s the same for me,” the wizard replied. “I

would like to go to the sea, but if I leave this

land, my energy will fade.”

“So you understand me,” the nymph said,

and then her face turned pale. She felt very

weak and far from home, and her strength was

slowly giving out.

The wizard noticed this. “I will take you

home,” he said.

“But you can’t come all the way down to

the sea. You will hurt yourself !” the nymph

protested.

“I will manage,” the wizard replied, smiling.

“Having you next to me will give me strength!”

And without another word, he held out his

hand so that the nymph could lean on him,

and they began to descend into the valley.

As they moved on, the nymph slowly became

stronger while the wizard became more

enchanted with her. They talked and laughed

for hours, until the sun began to sink behind

the horizon, turning the sky pink.

During their trip, something wonderful

happened: They fell in love with each other!

Finally, they approached a bridge that led

from the slope of the mountain to the nymph’s

island.

The wizard took her hand. “We could build

a house on this bridge between your land and

mine, if you will marry me.”

“Oh, I will!” she cried, but then tears filled

her eyes. “But my father will never let me. He

wants me to always stay on the island.”

“I will talk to him,” the wizard promised.

“I will convince him that we belong together.”

She shook her head. “You don’t know my

father. He is a very severe man who never goes

back on his decisions.”

When they reached the bridge, her father

was waiting anxiously on the other side. She

ran to him and he greeted her joyfully.

“Father, this is the man who saved me,” she

said, leading him across the bridge to meet

the wizard. “He has asked for my hand in

marriage.”

“And who is he to do so?” her father asked,

furious. “Absolutely not! I will destroy this

bridge if you ever dare to see him again.”

The nymph gave the wizard one last, sad

look and left with her father. But the wizard

did not accept losing his love. He learned of a

rock that curbed the soul of whoever possessed

it, making their anger disappear: the rock of

Namazu the catfish.

Then he set his plan in motion: He would

steal the rock to calm the angry heart of the

nymph’s father, hoping that he would allow

them to be wed.

The baku finished telling the story of the

wizard and the young nymph.

“How

romantic!” Violet commented.

“That wizard must really like her a lot,”

Colette added.

“But he did a

terrible thing

, stealing

Namazu’s rock,” Paulina pointed out.

“Sometimes people have good intentions

when they do the wrong thing,” I said. “The

important thing is to fix it and

learn

from your mistakes.”

“That’s right,” Will agreed. “And now we

need to find this wizard. Do you know

his name?” he asked the baku.

The creature shook his head. “There were

The Bamboo

Forest

242

The Bamboo Forest

no names in the dream.”

“So what do we do?” Nicky asked.

“Well, we could go to the Musk Mountains,”

Pam said. “But how will we know where to

look?”

“There might be someone you can ask. But

getting an answer won’t be easy,” the baku

warned. “There are seven little fairies

who live in a tree who know a lot about

the Land of Minwa.”

“But why do you think they won’t help us?”

asked Will.

“Because they rarely ever do,” the

baku replied. “They

laugh

so much that

they often don’t even speak, or if they do,

they forget what they were saying.”

“Where is this tree?” Nicky asked.

“It’s in the Bamboo Forest, about an

hour’s walk east of here,” the little elephant

243

The Bamboo Forest

replied. He showed us a red ribbon.

“Look for red ribbons like this one tied to

the tree trunks as you walk. And make sure

you don’t stray from the path!”

We thanked the baku and set off. We

walked for almost an hour, leaving the sea

at our backs and climbing the hills until we

came to a stand of hundreds of thin, green

trunks that formed a thick forest.

We had reached the Bamboo Forest!

We stopped to observe and admire the tall,

slender

plants.

Take this ribbon!

The Bamboo Forest

“This reminds me of the forests near my

home back in China,” Violet said wistfully.

“Look, there are many paths through the

trees,” Nicky pointed out.

“And each path is marked by a different-

colored ribbon,” Paulina observed.

I held up the red ribbon. “It’s a good

thing the baku gave us this. Colette, can you

lead the way?”

“Sure,” Colette replied, taking the ribbon

from me.

So we cautiously made our way

through the Bamboo Forest, following the

red ribbons and being sure not to stray off

the path. It was like walking through a

labyrinth!

245

Are you hurt?

We slowly made our way through

the Bamboo Forest. The ribbons

were tied up high on the bamboo

stalks, and our

eyes were focused

on them as we walked.

“Aah!” Paulina

SHOUTED

suddenly, as

she tripped and

fell

forward

.

Will was

next to her

and caught

The Tree

of Fairies

The Tree of Fairies

her before she hit the ground.

“Did you hurt yourself?” he asked.

“No,” Paulina replied. “I was looking up at

the ribbons and tripped over a twig.

Thanks for catching me.”

“No problem,” Will said with a smile.

“I’m just glad you didn’t fall into another

path,” I said, remembering the baku’s

warning.

We continued walking without any other

incidents. The walk seemed much longer

than an hour, and soon we wondered if we

had somehow taken the

wrong path

. But we

were still following the ribbons . . .

Then a sharp little laugh interrupted our

thoughts. It was followed by a second laugh,

then a third, and then . . . many more! They

were faint and happy little voices, but they

got louder as we continued on the path. The

249

The Tree of Fairies

snow softened the sound of our footsteps.

Then the path came to a thick stand of

trees, and we pushed aside the branches.

What we saw left our mouths hanging open

in amazement.

A large Japanese maple stood majestically

in the middle of a clearing. Something

sparkled in the leaves, casting golden rings

of light around the branches. Then we heard

the laughter again, and it filled the air all

around us. We had found the

Tree of Fairies

!

As we got closer, we could see the tiny

creatures as they fluttered among the

branches. Violet stepped up to get a better

look at them.

The fairies had shiny hair and

sparkly

wings that constantly moved.

They appeared to be nice.

250

The Tree of Fairies

Violet thought she had an idea. Her

grandfather had taught her that those who

laugh a lot without reason often do it to get

attention. She held out her hand, gently

grazing one of the little fairy’s feet.

The fairy immediately stopped laughing

and looked at her. The other fairies

had the same reaction.

“Everyone comes here to

ask you something, but they

are never interested in you,

isn’t that right?” Violet

asked.

“Yes, that’s exactly

right!” the little

fairy replied.

We were

speechless.

?

Can we do

something for you?

The Tree of Fairies

Violet had managed to win over the fairies

with her sensitivity!

“We are also here to ask you something.

But first I want to know if you are happy or

if there is something we can do for you,”

Violet continued.

The fairies looked at one another. The one

who had spoken first said, “My name is

Reika and I am a fairy. My friends and I are

the guardians of the secrets of the Land

of Minwa. The roots of our tree cross

throughout this world and hear everything

that happens in our land.”

“That’s marvemouse!” I exclaimed.

“Yes!” Reika agreed. “We just have to sit

here on the branches, and we learn many

things.”

“But sometimes we would prefer NOT to

learn anything!” exclaimed a red-haired fairy

254

The Tree of Fairies

in a decisive voice. “Everybody asks us for

help when something is wrong. But then they

leave, and nobody ever comes back to thank

us or to say that they are

happy

because

of us.”

“That’s why we laugh so much,” interrupted

a brown-haired fairy. “So we can stay happy

and not think about all the creatures who

forget to say thank you.”

“But you have listened

to us,” Reika said. “You

asked us something

about ourselves, and

this has made us

happy! How can we

repay you?”

We told the fairies

about what the baku

had learned in the

255

The Tree of Fairies

dream about the wizard and the sea

nymph.

“You are looking for Orihime and

Hikoboshi!” exclaimed the red-haired fairy.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“The name of the sea nymph is Orihime,

and the wizard of the Musk Mountains is

Hikoboshi,” explained Reika. “He lives at

the edge of the Bamboo Forest. You must

follow the path of yellow ribbons to get

there. You will find a long staircase,

and Hikoboshi lives at the top. And remember

this: Watch out for those who only follow

their hearts!”

256

We said good-bye to the fairies of the trees.

As we walked through the Bamboo Forest

once more, its fresh

scent filled us with

peace. We followed the path of the

yellow ribbons to a chain of extraordinary

mountains.

The slope of one of the mountains rose up

in front of us, covered in a layer of snow

as fine as grated cheese. The weather had

improved, and it wasn’t as cold.

“Look!” Pam exclaimed. She pointed to

the top of the slope, where a house that

looked like a small castle rose up from the

rock.

A staircase ran up the mountainside.

The Wizard

Hikoboshi

257

The Wizard Hikoboshi

“It’s Hikoboshi’s house!” Colette cried.

“Let’s get closer!” Will urged.

We walked to the base of the stairs. A

golden bell hung from a wooden archway at

the bottom. I rang the bell, and a clear

tone filled the air.

A man appeared at the top of the

stairs and took a few steps down. He looked

young and strong, with dark brown eyes

and

long

blond hair. It had to be

Hikoboshi.

“Good day. We are looking for Hikoboshi

the wizard,” Will said politely.

“You have found him,” said Hikoboshi.

“What do you want?”

“We’d like to speak with you,” Will replied.

The wizard shook his head. “I don’t have

time. Go away!”

“He doesn’t trust us,” Colette whispered,

258

What do you want?

The Wizard Hikoboshi

and I knew she was right. He would never let

us up the stairs.

“We have come for the stone!” I called out.

“Namazu will die if he doesn’t get the stone

back soon. You must give it back to him!”

Hikoboshi avoided my eyes. “I don’t know

what you’re talking about.”

At this point I got angry. “I am sorry to tell

you this, Hikoboshi, but you are selfish!

Because of your action, the lotus flowers

are disappearing from the Land of Minwa.

You are putting your whole world in

danger

!”

Hikoboshi did not respond. He turned

around and went back into his house,

slamming the door behind him.

“We should try talking to ORiHime,”

Paulina suggested.

“But we don’t know where she lives,” Nicky

replied.

260

Colette’s eyes

sparkled

. “I

know! Let’s follow Hikoboshi. I bet

that he will go and visit her soon. If

he is truly in love, he won’t stay far

away from her.”

“Good idea,” Will agreed. “Let’s

hide

down here and wait until he

comes down.”

The Wizard Hikoboshi

So we hid behind some trees and waited.

“There he is!” Nicky exclaimed suddenly.

“Shhh! He can’t find out that we’re here,”

Colette hissed.

We stayed hidden from the wizard until

he started walking down the slope, and then

we followed him. He had a package in his

hand. He turned around a few times, almost

like he knew he was being followed,

but we kept our distance. If he had seen us,

our plan would have been

ruined

.

Soon he reached the sea, and we could

see a small island out in the water. It was

sprinkled with plain, well-built homes

surrounded by well-kept gardens. A

wooden

bridge

linked the island to the mainland.

“It’s the bridge from the baku’s story!” I

whispered.

262

For you!

Thank you, Hikoboshi!

Hikoboshi began to cross the bridge that

linked the land to Orihime’s island. On the

other side, we could see a woman running

across the bridge from the other side. The

two of them met halfway.

Orihime was just as graceful and

beautiful as I had pictured her. She took the

gift that Hikoboshi was carrying.

Sweet Orihime

Sweet Orihime

“My father is becoming more and more

kind,” she reported happily. “I think soon he

will consent to our marriage.”

Hikoboshi smiled. “Now go. We will meet

again very soon.”

After a tender hug, they each turned and

walked back to their own lands.

“Good. Now we must reach Orihime and

talk to her,” Will said as soon as Hikoboshi

had gone.

We followed the nymph to a one-story

house surrounded by a beautiful garden.

Orihime walked inside, leaving the door

open

, and we slowly approached the

stairs.

Inside, the nymph was seated on the floor

and seemed lost in far-off

thoughts

. When

she turned and saw us, she jumped with

surprise.

265

Sweet Orihime

She looked at us, confused. After all, we

were seven strangers standing in her garden. I

smiled at her. She hesitated for a

moment but then came to meet us.

“Hello,” I said. “Are you

Orihime?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“We are sorry to show up

like this, but we are here

on an

urgent matter

,” I

continued. “My

name is Thea

Stilton, and my

friends are Will,

Colette, Pam, Nicky,

Violet, and Paulina.”

Orihime frowned.

“What urgent

matter?”

Sweet Orihime

“It is about the

lotus flowers

,” I replied.

Orihime nodded sadly and then invited us

inside. She had us sit around a table, and I

noticed Hikoboshi’s package siting in the

center of it.

Pam sniffed the air — the package was

giving off a delicious scent. Her stomach

made a quiet grumbling noise that made

everyone smile.

“Would you like something to eat?”

Orihime asked sweetly. “You all seem very

tired.”

We gratefully accepted her invitation. I

couldn’t remember the last time we had

eaten. Orihime put a kettle of water on to

boil and then opened Hikoboshi’s package.

Inside was a basket of purple fruits similar

to blackberries.

“They are enchanted blackberries, a special

267

Sweet Orihime

fruit that can only be found on the Musk

Mountains. My boyfriend gave them to me

as a gift,” she explained, blushing a little.

“They are delicious. Please try some!”

As we enjoyed the exquisite fruit, Orihime

served us some aromatic tea. She explained

it was called amacha and

was made from fermented

hydrangea leaves. It was

wonderful!

After the tea we told her

the reason for our visit.

“The lotus flowers are disappearing from

the Land of Minwa,” I said. “But we know

how to stop them from becoming extinct.”

Orihime stood up and went to

the next room. She returned

with a clear bowl with

something floating in it.

268

It was a lotus flower!

Sweet Orihime

“Unfortunately, I know about the

disappearance of the flowers,” she said.

“This is the only one that I was able to save.

Do you know who is responsible?”

“His name is Namazu,” Paulina replied.

Orihime gasped. “The catfish that lives in

the Swamp of Lost Dreams! Why would he

do something so

horrible

?”

“Because someone stole something that he

needs to live, and if he wants to stay alive he

must keep eating all the lotus flowers,” Will

answered.

“What could be so precious?” the nymph

asked.

“It is a blue quartz,” I told her.

She brought her hands up to her face.

“That is the stone that Hikoboshi gave to my

father!”

269

Sweet Orihime

“Yes, that’s the one,” Colette said.

“I know it is a special stone,” Orihime

said. “My father has been very calm since

he’s had it, and he has almost changed his

mind about Hikoboshi!”

“Yes, the stone has a calming power over

whoever possesses it,” Violet explained.

“But Namazu can’t live very long without

the stone,” Nicky added. “If he doesn’t get

the quartz back soon, he’ll eat the flowers

until they are gone!”

“I understand,” Orihime said. “But I can’t

believe that Hikoboshi would do something

like that. How could he steal?”

“Because he loves you, and sometimes

when you’re really in love you can make

mistakes,” I said. “But I am sure that he will

understand.”

Orihime nodded. “The lotus flowers are

270

Sweet Orihime

almost extinct. We must not wait. The stone

must be given back to Namazu

immediately

.”

Without another word, she left the room

and soon returned with the stone. It was

bright and beautiful, and bigger than a

basketball. She gave it to me.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Now your father

will forbid you to

see Hikoboshi

again,” Colette said

sympathetically.

“The safety

of the Land of Minwa

is more important,”

Orihime said

sadly, but with

a determined look.

Here’s the stone!

Thank you!

We said good-bye to Orihime and left her

house. I handed the heavy stone to Will.

We knew there was no time to waste, so

we raced back through the Bamboo Forest.

First we followed the yellow path, and then

the red one.

We were exhausted when we finally

reached the Swamp of Lost Dreams. The

baku couldn’t believe his eyes.

“You did it!” the little elephant cheered.

“Call Namazu, quickly!” Will urged.

“Umm . . . Namazu?” the baku called out

shyly.

The catfish slowly emerged from the

muddy water. His once shiny skin was

dull

,

and his eyes looked red.

A Long Dash

272

A Long Dash

“What do you want? Get out of here! Leave

me be!” he said crossly. Then he sank back

into the dark water.

“He’s not feeling well,” the baku explained.

“Has he eaten more flowers?” Violet asked.

The baku nodded. “Yes, he devoured every

one he could find. But he always needs

more!”

Will didn’t wait for his return. He clutched

the stone to his chest and

jumped

into

the swamp, trying not to think about the

A Long Dash

cold. When he reached Namazu, he put the

stone back into the hole in the catfish’s head.

On shore, we all waited anxiously for Will

to reappear. We had faith in him, but he was

doing something very dangerous!

Finally, some air bubbles appeared on the

surface and Will’s snout

poked

out of the

water.

We couldn’t tell right away if he had

succeeded. But then Namazu jumped high in

the air, and we saw the stone in place.

“Well done!” we cried, applauding. The

big catfish leapt out of the water again,

scooping up Will on his back, and brought

him to shore. We helped our friend out of

the water.

“Are you cold?” Paulina asked, offering

him her scarf so he could dry off.

“Yes, but the important thing is that the

274

Bravo!

A Long Dash

stone was returned to its rightful place, and

that Namazu gets better,” Will replied.

“Thank you for helping me,” Namazu said.

“Now you won’t eat lotus flowers

anymore, right?” Paulina asked.

“Thanks to you, it is no longer necessary,”

Namazu confirmed.

We all breathed a sigh of relief. The

precious flowers were safe now. But we still

had something to sort out. What would

happen to Orihime and Hikoboshi?

Namazu suddenly looked angry. “I want to

know who stole my stone!”

We told him, trying to explain the reason

for the terrible act that Hikoboshi had

committed.

Namazu listened carefully.

“He put his world in danger for a nymph!”

he said with contempt.

276

Good job!

A Long Dash

“But love is the most beautiful feeling

there is,” responded Paulina. “Maybe you

don’t understand because you have never

loved anyone.”

Those words struck the catfish like

arrows and penetrated his hardened heart.

He looked sad.

“Oh, but you are wrong,” he said. “I have

loved before. Thank you for reminding me

what it feels like.”

“Good job, Paulina,” Will

whispered. “You have a big

heart, and you have softened

the heart of this great

beast

.”

Colette stepped closer to

Namazu. “Would you like to

share your story with us?

Who did you love?”

277

A Long Dash

“She was a beautiful catfish like me,”

Namazu began, “but our love was

forbidden

,

too. One day she disappeared and I never

saw her again.”

“What a sad story!” Violet said.

“I am sorry if I reminded you of bad

memories,” Paulina said sincerely.

Namazu shook his large head. “No. On the

contrary, you have reminded me how

beautiful and important love is. So the

couple will have to separate now?”

I nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. Without the

stone, the heart of Orihime’s father

will become hard again, and he will forbid

their love.”

Namazu was silent for a few seconds.

Then he called out, “Baku? Take the stone

from my head, please.”

We watched, puzzled, as the baku obeyed.

278

A Long Dash

“Now break it in half, and give one half

to me and one half to our friends,” he ordered.

We were squeakless.

“Half of the stone is for the nymph’s father,”

Namazu explained. “This way,

Orihime

can find happiness.”

“That is so kind of you!” Paulina said,

speaking for all of us.

“Will the stone work even if it is cut in

half?” Violet asked. “And most important,

will you be all right?”

“Yes, I will,” Namazu replied. “Maybe I

won’t live as long, but it will help someone

else live a better life.”

Then he

plunged

into the

swamp and disappeared.

279

The Thea Sisters, Will, and I were thrilled.

Orihime would be so happy to get the stone

back and fulfill her dream!

“Do you think that half the stone

will be enough to work on Orihime’s

father?” Pam asked, as we walked

back to the nymph’s house.

“I think so,” Colette replied. “And he will

be even more convinced when he sees

how happy his daughter is.”

“Thea, what do you think?” Violet asked.

“I’m sure that everything will work out for

the best,” I said confidently. “I will talk to

Orihime’s father if I have to. The love

between Orihime and Hikoboshi is strong

enough to bring two worlds together. It

Happy Ending

280

Happy Ending

should be defended at all costs!”

It was late afternoon when we reached

Orihime’s island. We found her with her

father, standing on the bridge.

Orihime greeted us. “There you are! Were

you successful with your mission?”

“Who are these intruders?” her father asked

crossly. “We don’t need any strangers around

here. Especially not that wizard, Hikoboshi.”

“Wow, he is really

angry

without the

stone,” Colette whispered.

Will approached him. “We are friends of

your daughter, and we’ve come to give this

back to you.” Then he handed him the

stone. “My quartz!” the nymph’s father

exclaimed. “How did you get it? Why is there

only half of it?”

Orihime’s eyes widened, and I turned to her.

“Namazu, the real owner of the stone,

281

Happy Ending

kept half for himself. He would like you to

have the other half so that you can realize

your dreams.”

“Namazu? Dreams? What are you saying?”

Orihime’s father asked, confused.

“Orihime, the time has come to tell your

father the

truth

,” said a voice behind us.

We turned to see Hikoboshi standing there!

“You?” the nymph’s father exclaimed.

“I know that you don’t want me to marry

your daughter,” the wizard said boldly.

“That is why I gave you the stone, to soften

you and change your mind. But the stone

was not mine to take!”

Saying that, he took the quartz from the

hands of Orihime’s father and flung it

over the side of the bridge.

“What are you doing?” Orihime’s father

yelled.

282

I was wrong!

Happy Ending

“I was wrong, and I ask everyone’s

forgiveness,” Hikoboshi said humbly. “When

you give me permission to marry your

daughter it will be because you respect me,

and not because of the stone’s power.”

Taken by surprise, we all stood there in

silence.

Then Hikoboshi continued. “My feelings

You?

Happy Ending

for you, Orihime, are

strong

and

sincere

. If it takes years for your father

to understand that, I will wait!”

The nymph’s eyes sparkled with happiness.

She looked at her father, who turned to

Hikoboshi.

“You have shown courage,” he said.

“And most important, honesty. So I will give

you a chance. But if you let me down, you

have to

forget

my daughter forever.”

Hikoboshi bowed respectfully to Orihime’s

father, and we could see that his eyes were

filled with happy tears. Then he turned to

Orihime and grasped her hands.

“I pledge my eternal love to you,” he said.

“I have never heard you speak this way

before,” Orihime remarked. “You seem like

someone else!”

“I feel different,” Hikoboshi told her. “I

284

Happy Ending

never should have stolen that stone from

Namazu. Even if it had worked, our

relationship would have been built on a

lie

.

And good things can only come from truth.”

Then he turned to us. “I owe you all a great

deal. You reminded me of what really

matters

, and you offered your help to me

with no thought for yourselves. Thank you!”

“It was a pleasure to help you,” I replied.

“Love, justice, and honesty are important

to all of us,” Colette added.

“And we love stories with happy

endings,” Paulina concluded, smiling.

“We owe a lot to Namazu and his

generosity,” I pointed out. “Hikoboshi stole

the thing that was most precious to him, and

when it was returned, he gave half of it up!”

Hikoboshi nodded. “It’s true; he has set a

very powerful example for all of us. This

285

Happy Ending

evening I will return to ask his forgiveness,

but first I will get the other

half

of the stone

that I threw away and bring it back to him.”

“The important thing is that everything

ended well,” Violet said.

The wizard grasped Orihime’s hands

once more. “Tomorrow I will begin to build

a new home for us here, on the bridge

between our worlds!”

Then he said good-bye and walked away.

Orihime was beaming with happiness.

She turned to us. “We would like to thank

you for your help, and it’s almost dinnertime.

Won’t you stay and eat with us?”

Pam’s stomach growled just hearing it,

and we laughed.

“That’s a definite yes!” I said.

286

Thank you for

the dinner!

What a good sleep!

“I slept so well!” Colette exclaimed as she

woke up and stretched.

The night before, she had eyed the futon

with suspicion. The traditional Japanese

mattress was placed on the floor.

“I’m used to my Triple-Thick Extra Comfort

Paulina’s Map

Paulina’s Map

Beauty Sleep mattress,” she had said. But she

had been surprised at how comfortable the

futon was.

We were all grateful for the hospitality of

Orihime and her father. But it was time for

us to return home. Paulina opened the map

that she had drawn during the trip and laid

it out on a table. She had

marked

all the

places we had been to on the map.

I congratulated her. “This is great work!”

Will invited Orihime and her father to look

at it. “Can you tell us if anything’s missing,

and help us complete it?”

“Of course,” they replied.

We spent about an hour going over the

map, perfecting the specifics of the geography

of the Land of Minwa with their help.

“This will be very useful to the Institute

of Incredible Stories,” Will said, pleased.

289

Paulina’s Map

That remark made our hosts curious, and

they asked us about who we were and where

we had come from. We answered without

getting into details about the Seven Roses

Unit. That had to remain a secret.

“You seem to be from a very strange place,

but we are grateful that you came here to

help us,” Orihime said.

“And I will lend you a boat, so that you

can more quickly reach the plain that you

arrived on when you came here,” her father

added.

“Thank you so much,” I said. “We will

miss you.”

“It’s a shame that we can’t stay for your

wedding,” Colette said sadly.

“You will be with us in spirit,” Orihime

promised,

smiling

sweetly.

And then it was time for us to go home.

290

Good-bye!

Paulina’s Map

We all said our good-byes.

“Come back and visit us!” Orihime

called out, as we climbed into the boat.

Then we rowed away from our new friends.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

Map of the Land of Minwa

SAKURA FOREST

THe FOREST OF THE

DANCING PINES

DEVOURING SANDS

PonD

The BriDge in the Fog

The SPiritS’ CliFF

The Blue Cave

The SwamP oF LoSt

DreamS

The CryStal River

The RounDeD Peak

The BamBoo ForeSt

The MuSk MountainS

The ISlanD oF Sea

NymPhS

7

9

10

12

11

We rowed the boat back to the end of the

island where the glass elevator had

landed. We docked the boat and then climbed

out into a forest of pines.

“We should be

close enough to the

plains,” Will said. “Let’s form a circle and

close our eyes.”

We obeyed, and Will began to sing a

song

to call the elevator. When he finished, we

opened our eyes.

Then we heard muffled laughter coming

from behind us.

A Surprising

Return

N

othiNg

happeNed

!

W

e

Were

all

still

there

.

294

Hee, hee, hee!

A Surprising Return

We turned and saw an

old man

with a

long beard that nearly touched the ground.

He seemed very amused about something,

and he came toward us, chuckling to himself.

“Why are you laughing?” Colette asked.

“You don’t think you can leave this

land the same way you got here, do you?” he

asked.

His voice had something familiar about it,

but I couldn’t figure out why.

The old man stopped a

few steps away from us

and looked at us,

scratching his

bald head.

“What do

you mean?” I

asked him.

A Surprising Return

“There is still something you must

learn

before you leave this world,” the old man

explained. “That is why you cannot leave.”

“Do you mean that the land of

minwa is hiding the elevator from us?”

Colette asked, surprised.

“Something like that,” the old man replied.

“And what is it that we need to learn?”

Paulina asked.

“To find things with your

heart

instead of your eyes,” he answered, looking

down at Paulina’s map. Then he gestured for

us to follow him.

We walked through the trees out onto a

vast, snowy plain. The gray winter sky

seemed to blend into the horizon.

“Many poems have been written about

the lotus flower through the centuries,” the

old man continued. “There is one, however,

296

Hello, friends!

A Surprising Return

that explains how to grasp its purest essence.”

“And how do you do that?” asked Violet.

“By losing yourself in its

scent

and beauty,”

he replied. “Sometimes, only by losing

yourself is it possible to find your way.”

Pam looked doubtful. “So we need to get

lost?”

The sage nodded. “Exactly! That’s how I

found you: by getting lost. And that is how

you solved the mystery of the lotus

flowers. Thank you!”

Then his long beard began to shrink, his

clothing sagged to the ground,

and the face of one of our

friends popped out from

under the fabric: the

tanuki

! “Hello,

friends!” he greeted us.

“You tricked us

297

A Surprising Return

again!” Pam exclaimed.

We all burst out laughing.

“Thank you for all you have done for our

land,” the tanuki said, smiling.

“If there are other

problems

, you know

how to find us,” Will offered.

“But we still don’t know how to get home,”

Colette pointed out.

“Can we trust the

advice

you’ve given

us?” Nicky asked.

“Of course!” the tanuki replied. “From the

first to the last word. And now if you’ll

excuse me, I must go to

sleep

. I should

have been hibernating all this time, but with

everything happening . . .”

He had fallen asleep right on the spot! Will

picked him up, took him back to the woods,

298

and put him carefully inside a

hollow tree to protect him

from the snow.

“Sleep well, friend,” Paulina whispered.

We all looked at him and felt a great sense

of peace — the same peace that could now

be felt all across the land of minwa .

We left the woods,

and then, holding

paws, began to

walk across the plain

with our eyes closed.

We needed to “lose

ourselves,” just as the

tanuki had advised.

And then, something

happened.

We were walking with our eyes closed when

suddenly I heard the faint sound of water

lapping against the shore.

I opened my eyes. “Look!”

We were on the edge of a beautiful, clear

lake. There was no more snow on the ground.

The sun lit up the water, turning it into a

shining mirror that reflected the majestic,

snow-capped mountain across the lake.

“Mount Fuji!” Violet exclaimed.

“That’s right,” Will confirmed. “No other

mountain in the world looks like it. So this

means —”

“That we’re in

Japan

!” Paulina concluded.

“What an enchanting landscape!” Colette

exclaimed. “And it’s in our world.”

Good-bye!

300

Mount Fuji!

Good-bye!

“Yes, and it’s not any less fantastic than

the Land of Minwa,” said Violet.

“Do you know what this means?” Will

asked.

“I know!” Pam cried. “We found the

secret passage between the real

Japan and the Land of Minwa.”

“Will, do you think it works the same way

on this side?” Nicky asked. “Can we reach

the land of minwa by losing ourselves

on the shore of this lake?”

“I think so,” he replied. “In addition to the

glass elevator, there is a secret passage to

each fantasy world that can be found only by

following your imagination . . . and I would

say that we just found it!”

“I should mark this on the map,” Paulina

said.

“Good thinking, Paulina,” Will said, and

302

Good-bye!

she beamed at the compliment.

“This was an incredible experience,” Violet

remarked.

“And one that I trust you will never tell

anyone,” Will said. “Remember, all of the

missions

of the Seven Roses Unit are top

secret!”

Colette grabbed the rose pendant she wore

around her neck. It sparkled in the

sun. “You can trust us!” she

assured him.

“And now it’s time to go,” I

interrupted. “Mouseford awaits!”

“Oh, that’s right!” Pam cried. “We

need to get back in time for the big

holiday party. There’s always such

good food there. Cheese crackers,

cheese dip, fried cheese,

cheesecake . . .”

303

Good-bye!

“Now you’re making me hungry,” Nicky

said.

“Me, too,” Colette agreed.

“We’re not far from the city,” Will said.

“We can find taxis there to take us to

the airport. I’ve got to head back to the

I.I.S.”

We left the lake and found our taxis easily.

Will climbed into his and started to wave

good-bye, but then Paulina suddenly

remembered something.

“Wait, Will!” she called out. “The map!”

She ran toward the taxi, waving her map

of the Land of Minwa. Then she ducked into

the open window and handed it to Will.

“I totally forgot,” Will said. “How

scatterbrained

of me.”

Then he unfolded the paper, and his eyes

widened in surprise. He hopped out of the

304

The map!

Good-bye!

cab and showed it to us, and we all gasped in

shock.

The map was blank!

“Are you sure it’s the right paper?” Violet

asked.

“I’m sure,” Paulina said. “I took very good

care of it.”

Will shook his head. “I think the map got

erased somehow.”

305

Good-bye!

“But how?” Violet asked.

“Maybe some kind of magic?” Will guessed.

“The pen!” Paulina cried out. “The pen

that the tanuki gave me. Remember? He

insisted that I use it.”

“So it was another one of his pranks,”

Paulina realized, disappointed.

Colette nodded. “We could read the map

when we were in the land of minwa,

but once we came to the real world, it

disappeared.”

“We must draw it again, before we forget,”

Will said. “And I can’t do it alone. I will need

all your

help

. How would you like to

come back to the I.I.S. after your party?”

“Well, we don’t have a choice, do we?” I

said, my eyes twinkling. “Of course we’ll go

back.”

The Thea sisters cheered.

306

Good-bye!

“Then this isn’t really good-bye,” Will said

with a grin. “It’s just ‘see you soon.’”

We gathered together for a big group

hug

,

and then Will got back into his taxi. We

waved as the driver took off.

“This is so exciting!” Paulina said.

“Another trip to the I.I.S. Who knows what

kind of adventure it will lead to?”

“We don’t — which is what makes it so

fun!” Colette responded.

I had to agree. We climbed into a taxi and

headed to the airport. We had a huge

celebration to go to at home, and

then a trip to the Institute of Incredible

Stories to look forward to.

“Hooray!”

“Hooray

!”

“H

ooray!”

“Hooray!”

“Hooray

!”

Don’t miss any

of my fabumouse

special editions!

There’s a mystery in the

land of the lotus flowers!

www.scholastic.com/geronimostilton

www.geronimostilton.com

Thea Stilton and the Thea Sisters

are called

to help an enchanted land! It’s a world linked to the

legends of Japan, and it is in danger. The realm’s

special lotus flowers are disappearing, and no one

knows why!

The mouselets set off on a quest to solve this

mystery. They must discover the secret of the lotus

flowers — but can they trust the strange magical

creatures that they meet on their way? It’s a

fabumouse adventure!