The stork nodded.
They drifted along in silence. The birds flew as quietly as they could, and Lily and Jess held their breath. If Dusty saw them before they could convince her to play, she could turn them to stone, too, and they’d drop out of the sky!
Suddenly, the shadow of the hot air balloon fell on the dragon... and she opened her eyes.
“Oh, no,” gasped Jess. “She’s seen us!”
Scrambling to her feet, Dusty let out a huge roar. “Raaargh!”
“Look out, Ace!” yelled Lily.
Ace flapped his wings hard, yanking the hot air balloon away from Dusty’s roar. Lily and Jess could feel the blast of her hot breath just missing the basket. The balloon rocked from side to side, sending the girls and Goldie toppling backward in the basket.
“Hold on, Emily!” yelled Lily.
The little hedgehog was clinging onto the edge. But as the basket swayed, her paws slipped—and she fell over the side!
“Emily!” Lily cried.
Lily and Jess leaned out, expecting to see the little hedgehog crashing through the branches below.
Instead, a terrified little face looked up at them from the edge of the basket. Two paws clung tightly to a knotted rope.
Jess leaned over and scooped up Emily. “You’re safe now,” she said, cuddling her closely. Emily’s prickles were standing on end with fright, but Jess didn’t mind being spiked. “Are you all right, Emily?”
“I’m okay,” Emily said, shakily.
The balloon drifted back toward the dragon, just out of reach of her hot, sandy breath.
“Dusty!” called Goldie. “We’ve come to ask you something—”
“Pah!” interrupted the dragon. “Go away! Can’t you see I’m busy sunning my pretty scales?” She lay down to sunbathe again.
“I think it’s time to try our plan,” whispered Lily. She called, “Dusty! Do you want to find out how much fun water can be?”
Dusty gave a growl. “Getting wet is NOT fun! My scales are only pretty when they’re shining in the sun!” she snarled angrily. She beat her wings and took off, flying toward them, her mouth open.
“She’s going to get us!” yelled Jess. “Quick, everyone... Fire!”
Lily and Jess grabbed balloons in both hands and threw them at the dragon. Splat! Splosh!
“Raaaaargh!” roared Dusty, flapping around as the water drenched her yellow scales. “Raaaargh! I’m all wet!”
“Join in, Dusty!” Jess called, ducking as a water balloon sped over her head. “Missed me!” she laughed.
The birds carefully swooped down and put a pile of water balloons next to Dusty.
Dusty picked up a wobbly water balloon in her claws. Lily and Jess held their breath. Had it worked, or had they made the yellow dragon even angrier?
Splosh! Splat! Splosh! Water balloons were flying everywhere.
One of the balloons burst over Dusty’s head. Without thinking, the dragon threw the balloon at one of the woodpecker chicks, who burst out laughing as the water hit his feathers.
“Raaaa... heeheehee!” Dusty said, her roar becoming a giggle. Her scaly yellow face was surprised. “That feels funny!”
“It’s working!” cried Goldie. “Dusty! Are you having fun?”
“Heeheehee!” chuckled the dragon, throwing a balloon at Goldie. Goldie giggled as it burst on her tail.
Dusty flew up into the sky, dodging and diving and throwing water balloons everywhere. Finally, the dripping dragon landed back on the highest branch of the Treasure Tree. “More! More!” she cried.
Lily looked around. But everyone had used up all their balloons.
“We’ve run out of balloons, Dusty,” Lily called. “And we can’t fill up any more because the river is all dried up.”
Dusty looked upset. “But I want to keep on playing,” she grumbled, her tail drooping.
“So do we,” Jess told her. “But we need the river back first. Will you lift your spell from the Pricklebacks so they can make it flow again?”
Dusty flew around in a loop-the-loop. “Yes,” she agreed, “I will! Then we can play again!”
There was a chorus of happy cheeps, chirps, and squawks from the birds. Captain Ace did a loop-the-loop, and the girls, Emily, and Goldie gave a big cheer.
“Hooray!” cried Emily, her eyes shining. “We did it!”
Chapter Eight
The Rushy River Race
Captain Ace towed his hot air balloon, with its happy passengers, back to the waterwheel. Dusty flew beside them, giggling as water droplets shimmered on her scales. “My scales look even prettier,” she boasted. “The water makes them sparkle even more than the sunshine!”
The balloon drifted over the muddy ditch where the river should have been.
Captain Ace looked back. “Prepare for landing,” he mumbled, with the rope still in his beak.
A few moments later, they were down. The birds landed next to the waterwheel and the girls, Goldie, and Emily climbed out of the basket. Dusty skidded to a stop beside them.
Emily ran to her family and hugged the cold little stone figures. “You’ll be back to normal soon,” she said. “I promise!”
“Dusty’s going to reverse the spell now,” said Goldie. “Stand back, Emily!”
Dusty stood in front of the stone hedgehogs and chanted:
“Dragon wings stop Dusty’s spell,
Getting wet is great.
Make hedgehogs be themselves again,
And put the river straight.”
The Pricklebacks started to turn from gray into their usual colors. They looked around in surprise.
Harry rubbed dust from his eyes. “What a weird dream I had,” he said.
“Me, too,” said Herbie.
“The dragon!” shouted Mrs. Prickleback when she saw Dusty. “Where’s Emily?”
“I’m here!” Emily cried, as Jess set her down. She ran to hug and kiss her family. “You were made of stone!” Emily said, and she told her family everything that had happened.
“We couldn’t have saved you without Emily,” added Jess. “She’s so clever!”
Emily’s nose turned extra pink as her family hugged her again.
Mr. Prickleback gasped. He pointed at the muddy ditch where Willowtree River was supposed to be flowing. “Oh, my prickles!” he cried. “The river is gone!”
Mrs. Prickleback began hurrying toward the waterwheel. “The waterwheel has stopped! We have to get it turning again. Hurry, everyone!”
The whole hedgehog family scrambled into their little wheels.
“Ready, team?” asked Mr. Prickleback.
“Ready!” they cried.
“CURL!” Mr. Prickleback shouted.
The Pricklebacks curled up and began rolling. The waterwheel groaned, then it started to turn. Immediately, a trickle of water flowed through the riverbed. Lily and Jess gasped in delight as the trickle grew bigger and bigger, the water swirling along until Willowtree River was back to normal. All the watching animals cheered as the Pricklebacks came out of the waterwheel and had a family hug.
“I’m c-c-c-cold,” said a voice.
The girls turned to see Dusty. She was shivering.
“It looks like you need to get dry again after the water fight,” said Jess.
Mrs. Prickleback hurried inside and came out with towels for them all. But the dragon was still shivering miserably.
“I-I-I-I’m going to s-s-s-s-sunbathe,” she said, her teeth chattering.