Chapter 4

4 There were about a million other things that Rosie wanted to ask the Tree Queen before they went in search of the Dream Collectors. Like, what should they do if they came across the Fire Queen or her Fire Sparks? But there was no chance to ask anything more because the queen had turned back into tree form. It was hard to believe this tree, with its silvery

leaves and strong trunk, had looked like a person just moments ago. Rosie took the silver chain and draped it around her neck like a necklace. She turned to her friends. "Looks like we're on our own!" she said. "Are you Dragon Girls ready?" Stella nodded. "I am SO ready," she said. "We've totally got this," agreed Phoebe. She was the shyer, more nervous one of the group, but even she was bursting to go on an adventure! Together, the three friends stepped back through the protective force field. Outside the glade, the sky was just as pink and orange as it had been before. It was as if the forest was holding its breath, waiting for a night that might never arrive. "Right. Let's fly!" said Rosie, flapping her wings and rising into the air. Stella and Phoebe joined her. They weren't as good as Rosie at flying yet. They kept bumping into each other and laughing. But to Rosie, flying felt like something she was born to do.

"The Tree Queen said we should head to where the twilight colors are brightest," remembered Phoebe. "Where is that?" "Let's go up above the trees so we can see more," Rosie suggested. She led the way up through the treetops. It was the highest she'd ever flown! Down below, the Magic Forest stretched away in all directions. The setting sun glowed on the horizon, lighting up the trees in twilight tones. The leaves shone like they were made from liquid gold. "That's where we need to go," she said, pointing a wing toward the bright horizon. As she spoke, a thread from the silver ball Rosie wore began to uncoil. It stretched out toward the colorful spot where Rosie had pointed. She laughed in surprise. "The magic thread agrees!" she said. Rosie had daydreamed many times about flying with her friends. She had pictured them all

swooping and doing tumble turns together. But she had never really thought it would happen. "I feel like I should pinch myself," she called to Phoebe and Stella. "But now that I have these big claws, I guess that's probably not a great idea!" "True!" Stella laughed. "But hey, how about we try holding paws and flying?" The friends linked paws and flew together. It was tricky to fly this way, but it was fun. It was so fun that Rosie almost forgot that they were on a quest. Then she felt the ball of thread tugging down on the chain around her neck. Rosie looked. Down below, a patch of forest glowed more intensely pink and orange than anywhere else. Rosie knew that this was where they should go. "Get ready for landing," she called to the others. "I hope I do better than my first time," called Stella. "I ended upside down in a bush!"

"Remember to put your talons forward and your wings back," Rosie advised as the air whooshed past. She aimed for a small clearing in the trees. Her heart pounded with excitement. What were Dream Collectors, exactly? Rosie imagined huge beasts, with arms that scraped the sky with their massive claws. She just hoped they were friendly huge beasts! Gracefully, Rosie landed on the soft grass. Phoebe skidded to a stop beside her. "Watch out!" yelled Stella as she bounced clumsily along the ground. She tumbled a couple of times and then finally came to a stop just before a bush. "I didn't land in a tree this time!" She grinned, getting up and looking at the others. "That's a definite improvement." Suddenly, a chorus of small but firm voices rang through the air. "Stand by! Incoming daydream!" The surrounding trees began to shake and shiver. What was happening? Then Rosie spotted

little creatures with long tails and fluffy orange tufts on the tips of their ears, scurrying up and down the trunks of the trees. That's what was making them shake! Her friends had spotted the animals, too. "Are they squirrels?" wondered Phoebe. "Their tails are too long," Stella said. "We're Dream Collectors," squeaked one of them as it ran by with its nose pointed to the sky. "And we're really busy right now. A new batch of daydreams has just dropped." Rosie looked up. At first she couldn't see anything. But as she studied the sky, she could just make out what appeared to be bubbles. They were all different shapes and sizes, and they were drifting down toward them. The Dream Collectors scurried back and forth, moving into position. "Get ready to catch!" they called to one another. "Don't let them touch the ground or they will burst!"