Chapter 4

4 "Goodbye, Treasure Dragons!" called the Tree Queen as she started turning back into a tree. "The birds tell me that Shadow Sprites were just sighted at Hoppy Hill. I suggest you start there." Mei flapped her wings. "Great! Where's Hoppy H—"

But it was too late. The Tree Queen's wavy hair had turned back into leaves, her long arms into solid branches. Her wise face disappeared, and they were standing in front of a lovely but entirely normal-looking tree. The Dragon Girls glanced at one another. Did that really just happen? Together, they rose into the air and pushed through the glade's force field. Quinn and Aisha almost crashed into each other but, chuckling, they managed to avoid disaster. Watching her friends laugh at themselves made Mei feel better about her own troubles learning to fly. "The more we do it, the better we'll become," she said, as much to herself as to Aisha and Quinn. "So which way to Hoppy Hill, do you think?" asked Quinn as they hovered above the trees. It was the million-dollar question. Just then, Mei saw a flash of movement. Something small, furry, and very cute leapt from a branch and landed on her shoulder.

"Squeaklet!" Mei sighed. "You're here!" "I am never far away," the little creature replied. "I'll show you the way to Hoppy Hill." Soon the Treasure Dragons were soaring through the bright blue sky. Mei grinned. She knew that they had a huge task ahead of them, but it was so exciting to be here! The Magic Forest unrolled like a gorgeous carpet beneath them, rich with colors and patterns.

Quinn flew up beside her. "Have you seen the trees?" she asked. "Some of them have blue leaves!" Looking down, Mei saw that Quinn was right. "This is a magic forest," Aisha pointed out, flying up on the other side. "Maybe blue leaves are normal here?" "There are some blue trees in the forest," Squeaklet confirmed. "They are called Sky Trees. But they don't grow here. The trees below are normally green." "It must be because of the missing Forest Book!" Mei said. "I wonder if other things are going wrong, too?" As she spoke, a flock of birds flew past them. They were flying upside down! The Treasure Dragon Girls exchanged a worried look. The Tree Queen had said that without The Forest Book safely in the vault, the plants and creatures would start forgetting how to behave. Was that happening to these birds?

"There's Hoppy Hill," Squeaklet called. Up ahead was a hill blanketed in flowers and dotted with tiny alpine houses. Each hut had a sweet thatched roof made from bound-together straw. "Time to land, Dragon Girls," Squeaklet called from his position on Mei's shoulder. "This is so fun!" roared Aisha as they zoomed toward the hillside.

"The best!" Mei roared back. "Umm, does anyone know how to land on the side of a hill?" asked Quinn. Mei didn't have time to answer. The hill was coming up fast! She stuck out her paws, skidded, and did three messy somersaults before coming to a stop against a tree. Mei had learned from acting that if you do something wrong onstage, you make it look like you did it on purpose. So she leapt to her paws and stood proud. She looked around for Squeaklet. She was pleased to see him safely perched on the branch of a nearby tree. He waved a paw at her, then disappeared into the foliage. Mei didn't mind. She knew he'd be back if she needed him. Aisha and Quinn were lying in a tangled heap of shiny wings, claws, and tails. Mei burst out laughing. "It's all very well for you to laugh," said a cross voice. "But how would you like it if three huge dragons nearly wiped out your village?"