CHAPTER ONE
A Very Exciting Morning
The sun had just come out to play above Misty Wood. Golden light danced all over the fresh green leaves of the trees and warmed the beautiful flowers in the valleys and meadows. Everything was bursting with color.
In a cozy den under the Hawthorn Hedgerows, sparkling sunbeams nudged the mossy bed of Paddy the Pollen Puppy. Paddy was curled up in a furry ball, but he wasn't asleep. He'd been awake for ages. Today was his birthday, and he'd woken up early because he was so excited!
Paddy gazed around the den at his mom; his dad; and his sister, Pippa. Their floppy ears were lying over their front legs, and their eyes were shut tight.
"Uhhh ... hmmm," snored Paddy's dad, his fluffy tail twitching.
"Hmmm ... uhhh," snored his mom, her silky ears quivering.
Paddy sighed. "I wish they'd wake up," he said to himself.
He got up and padded in a circle on his cushion of moss. Around and around and around. Soon he felt dizzy, so he flopped down again. He wriggled onto his back and waved his white paws in the air. Then he rolled over and opened his glittery yellow wings. He longed to fly across the den and pounce on his mom's back, or give his sister's tail a playful tug. But he knew he shouldn't. They would be grumpy if he woke them up early.
Like all the other fairy animals in Misty Wood, Pollen Puppies had an important job to do. They had to flick pollen around the meadows with their tails so that the flowers could grow. It was very busy work, so they needed plenty of sleep.
Paddy decided to think about his birthday party while he waited for everyone to wake up.
It's going to be the best party EVER, he thought. There'll be hazelnut cake and elderflower juice and sticky chestnut buns, and we'll collect bubbles from Moonshine Pond and blow them all over the wood!
His tail began to wag at the very idea.
But, first of all, I'll have to open my presents. Paddy grinned, showing his velvety pink tongue. I wonder what Mom and Dad got for me this year....
He looked around the den. His present must be hidden somewhere. His mom, dad, and sister were all sleeping on comfy moss cushions just like his. Maybe they'd slipped his present underneath one of them? But no-then it would get squashed. It must be hidden somewhere else.
Paddy stretched his wings and hopped off his cushion. He checked the beautiful cobweb that hung above the entrance to the den. It had already been decorated with sparkling dewdrops by the Cobweb Kittens. But apart from the dewdrops glistening like jewels in the sun, the cobweb was empty. There was still no sign of Paddy's present.
"It must be here somewhere," Paddy muttered.
He put his shiny pink nose in the air and sniffed. But he couldn't smell anything apart from the sweet scent of flowers drifting down from the hedgerows.
He peered under the four red-and-white toadstools that the family sat on to eat their meals.
Nothing.
He nudged the pile of berries that he and Pippa played catch with.
Nothing there, either.
He peeped into the corner of the den where his dad liked to sit and chew sticks.
No. Not a thing!
Disappointed, Paddy wandered back over to his cushion. As he clambered onto it, he looked up. And there, wedged into the bush above his mom and dad and Pippa, was a very strange shape. Paddy stared at it. He was sure it hadn't been there before. His tail started wagging again.
It must be his present!
The mystery shape wasn't too big, and it wasn't too small. It wasn't exactly round, but it wasn't square, either. Paddy started panting with excitement, trying to work out what it could be. Maybe it was a soft, grassy brush to keep his fur and wings tidy. Or maybe it was a daisy-chain collar to wear on special occasions-like birthday parties. Or, best of all, maybe it was a bone-a big, fat, juicy bone that he could sit and chew on for weeks!
Paddy was so excited he wanted to jump up and down. He was so excited he wanted to bounce all around. He was so excited he wanted to spread his shimmering wings and buzz about like a Misty Wood bee. He just couldn't lie on his bed a moment longer. Paddy did a forward roll off his cushion and landed near his mom and dad. Maybe if he got a little bit closer to the shape, he'd be able to sniff it ... and then he might be able to guess what it was.
But the shape was hard to reach. It was sitting in the arch of a hawthorn branch that curved right over his mom and dad's bed. If he was going to get any closer to it, he'd have to climb up the branch, just a little bit....
Paddy placed one paw on the bottom of the branch. Then he hooked another paw a little higher.
CREEEEEAAAAK went the branch.
Oh no! thought Paddy.
But his mom and dad stayed asleep.
Paddy placed one of his front paws even higher still.
CREEEEEAAAAK went the branch.
Oh no! thought Paddy.
But his mom and dad still stayed asleep.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Paddy climbed even higher. Soon he'd be able to sniff the mysterious shape and find out what it was.
CREEEEEAAAAK went the branch.
Oh no! thought Paddy.
CRACK went the branch as it gave way.
Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! thought Paddy as his paws slipped. He was so shocked he didn't even have time to flap his wings. Instead, he tumbled down and landed with a bump-right on top of his mom and dad!
Text copyright © 2013 by Hothouse Fiction Ltd.
Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Kirsteen Harris Jones
