06 Danger!

CHAPTER 6 DANGER! Tag gripped his dagger while Skyla held up her slingshot. "Who's there?" Blaze cried. The three friends looked around, trying to see who had called out to them to stop.

The branches in one of the strange twisted trees began to sway. The pastel-colored cotton-candy balls, which Tag had thought were flowers, suddenly dropped off the tree one by one. The fluffballs floated down to land at the friends' feet. Tag looked at the round, fluffy balls. They were creatures with large eyes. They didn't seem to have any arms, legs, feet, or wings. "SHHH!" the creatures said together.

"Why do we need to be quiet?" Tag whispered. The creatures stared at the shimmering blue stream with wide eyes. "Don't go near that!" they said. "Why not?" Skyla asked. "We're really thirsty and—" She froze as the stream began to move. The strange-looking water began to churn and bubble. Tag gulped and took a step back. Suddenly, hundreds of large fish with sharp snapping teeth jumped out of the water.

"Snappy fish!" the fluffy creatures yelled. They backed away, their eyes wide and their fur trembling. The shiny blue fish leaped in and out of the water, snapping their long, spiky teeth at the friends.

One of the fish flew out of the water and landed on the ground near the three friends. It snapped and wriggled toward them slowly, weaving its way through the tall pink grass. Then it grinned at them, showing off its very sharp fangs.

Tag held out his dagger. "Stay back!" he warned the fish. But another fish jumped out of the water, then another, wriggling closer. Skyla shot an acorn at one of them, but the acorn just bounced off its thick, rubbery skin. "What should we do?" Skyla asked Tag. Blaze stepped forward, her feathers bright. "SKRAAAAAAAA!" she cried. The snappy fish on land paused, then splashed back into the river, swimming away quickly. Tag sighed. "We need to be more careful," he told Skyla and Blaze. Skyla turned to the fluffy creatures. "Thank you," she said. "For warning us." The fluffy creatures smiled.