11 LET’S FIND A CURE

Chapter eleven let's find a cure. I breathed a sigh of relief at having figured something out. "Let's get down to business. Which magical creatures should we ask about hiccup cures first?" I asked Pip. Pip blinked at me. "What?" I raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms. "Seriously, Zoey?" "What am I missing?" "Ummm, you're talking to a magical creature right now! Aren't you going to ask me?" Pip humphed. "Oh goodness—of course! I am so sorry. Pip,

how does your family cure hiccups?" I asked. "We drink a big cup of water all through a straw," Pip answered proudly. "You guys have straws?" I asked. "Of course we have straws." Pip frowned. "Why wouldn't we have straws?" I shrugged. "We have metal straws, but they're people-sized. They'd be too big for Wishy." Pip nodded. "Come with me." He marched with his giant feet out into the backyard, but kept a careful eye on Wishy to make sure he didn't get too close. He picked a dandelion, plucked the flower off, and handed me the stem. "Ta-da!" I held it, and then grinned at a memory. "Oh, of course they make perfect straws! In the summer we use dandelion stems to blow bubbles in the backyard. Thank you, Pip!" I reached down and gave him a high-five. Next, I went in the barn and found a little cap that would work as a small cup and filled it with water from the sink. Along the way I peered behind a stack of books where Sassafras was tucked away.

"Oh, buddy!" I reached down and ruffled his fur. "I think it's OK to come out now. We figured out how to make Pip stop changing. Plus you should see his new feet!" Sassafras popped his head up, sniffed a bit, and then hopped out and marched off like he'd never been scared in the first place. I giggled and followed him back over to Pip. We had Pip wait a good distance away, and then took the water and straw over and handed them to Wishy. "Pip's family hiccup cure is drinking a full glass of water through a straw, so let's try that first." We all watched as she carefully drank the full cup of water through the dandelion stem straw. Pip clasped his hands. "Did it work?"

A tear rolled down Wishy's cheek. "I don't think it—hic—worked." My Thinking Goggles got a little tight. "What am I missing?" I asked myself. I walked in a little circle. "Oh! Can you say something else, Wishy?" "What do you want—hic—me to say?" I grinned. "Did you hear that?" "Mrow!" said Sassafras. "Oh yeahhh!" said Pip. "She's hiccupping a little less, right?" I nodded. "I'll have to track this. I need to get my science journal!"