5 Pilwinkle

CHAPTER 5

Pilwinkle Lucas ordered a carriage and driver from the royal stables. Soon the children and Ruskin and Percy were off to the Stone Forest. Lucas and Clara played I Spy along the way. Bella rebraided her long blond hair. Clara glanced out the window from time to time to check their progress. Suddenly she leaned forward. "I see it!" she exclaimed. "The Stone Forest is on the other side of that river!" The early afternoon sun shone on a thick forest of stone pillars and arches that towered over the landscape.

"Wow!" exclaimed Lucas. "They look like the drippy sand castles we make at Mermaid's Cove." "Only life-size!" added Clara.

The carriage rumbled over the uneven ground. Bella stared at the spires uncertainly. "I'm not sure if my father would approve of this place," she said. "Are there wild animals?" "Not that I know of," Clara said. "But you never know." Bella's eyes grew wide.

"There are no wild animals," Lucas assured Bella. "But there doesn't seem to be anyone around either." The carriage stopped a short way from the towering pillars and arches. "Look again!" Clara said excitedly. The children looked carefully at the stone structures. Little faces peeked from the chinks and cracks in the stone.

"Gnomes!" Lucas cried. Clara smiled and waved at the gnomes. Some of them waved back. The children hopped out of the carriage.