Chapter 2

2 Slowly, Stella opened her eyes. She no longer felt like she was moving. Was she in the Magic Forest? It was dark, but Stella could see the outlines of trees. Long blades of grass swayed in a gentle breeze and the faint smell of tropical fruit wafted past. Stella smiled. She was definitely back in the Magic Forest! She looked down. It was so cool to

find herself transformed into a dragon. She was a deep purple and yellow, with stars on her wings. She would never tire of seeing her shining scales, strong limbs, and gleaming claws. But nothing was as awesome as her wings! Stella gave them a mighty flap, making the leaves on the nearby trees rustle and sending a ripple through the grass. She breathed in deeply and let out a roar. Stella relished the sound of it echoing through the forest. The darkness lit up with a purple-and-yellow glowing light, creating a little patch of starlight that soon faded. It was good to be back, but Stella had the feeling something was not quite right. Something was missing. She looked up at the sky and realized what was wrong. There were no stars! Sometimes the stars are hidden by clouds. And in the normal world, the lights of the city can make the stars hard to see. But the sky above the forest was completely clear. And there were no city lights to cause

problems here. "This is not good," Stella muttered to herself, looking down with a frown. In front of her was a small pool of crystal-clear water. Something in the water caught Stella's eye. A little golden starfish was lying on a rock. As Stella watched, it raised one of its five arms. It's waving at me! thought Stella in delight. Carefully, she reached her paw into the water. To her surprise, the starfish jumped right into it! As Stella gently pulled her paw out of the water, the little creature gave itself a quick shake, water flying in all directions. Then it floated up into the air and began to turn cartwheels! Stella blinked. A starfish with a funny little horn spinning in midair? This seemed like a very strange thing to see. But this is the Magic Forest, Stella reminded herself. She had seen plenty of weird and wonderful things here.

The golden starfish came to a stop in front of Stella, bobbing up and down in the air like it was floating in the ocean. Its friendly face was smiling. "Hi! I'm Stella," Stella said. She had no idea who this creature was, but she was always friendly when she met someone new. The starfish did another spin. "I know," he said in a surprisingly deep voice. "I'm LuckyStar, and I'm here to help you. Any questions?"

"So many!" Stella said. "Like, where have all the stars gone?" LuckyStar twirled in the opposite direction. "That's a very good question," he said. "Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer. The truth is, no one is sure where they are. One night recently, there was a big flash. It was like the sky was on fire! It dazzled us all. When we could see again, all the stars had disappeared." Stella frowned. "I bet it's the work of the Fire Queen," she muttered. Stella and her friends had already dealt with problems caused by the evil Fire Queen and her band of Fire Sparks. "You're probably right," LuckyStar said, nodding the top point of his star. "That's why the Tree Queen has called you and the other Night Dragons to the forest. Come on! She's waiting for us in the glade." Stella did not need to be asked twice. With a flap of her wings, she rose into the air. "Lead the

way, LuckyStar!" she called. The glowing star zipped off between the trees. He was very fast but easy to track in the dark, starless sky. "You are flying really well!" called LuckyStar as they wove in between the trees. "Thanks," said Stella. "I improve every time we come here. And on the first star I see each night, I've been wishing I'd get better at flying." LuckyStar's glow seemed to falter. "That's one of the biggest problems now that the stars have vanished," he said. "No one can make any wishes. And without things to wish for, no one in the forest has anything to look forward to." Stella loved making wishes. It would be awful if there were no stars to make them on! She was about to tell LuckyStar not to worry, because she and her friends would get the stars back, when she spotted something bright up in the leaves of a tree.