Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE Clutching a length of sparkly silver ribbons in one hand and a grooming box in the other, Sophia joined Rainbow in his stable. The unicorn whickered in delight. "Are the ribbons for me? Are you going to plait them in my mane and tail?" "I am," said Sophia, stroking Rainbow's neck. "But first I'm going to groom you. You've got sky berry juice on your face." Sophia hung the ribbons in Rainbow's stable but before she could reach for a brush a scream rang out. "Aaargh! Help! There's a gross frog with

bulgy eyes in my grooming kit." Valentina! Sophia recognised her shrill voice at once. "And there's one in mine!" "Mine too! Ugh! Yuck!" Sophia went to her door. There was chaos in

the stables. Valentina had clambered into a hay manger for safety, where she was fending off three other girls who were trying to climb up too. The floor was covered with frogs, with knobbly blue skin and huge orange eyes. "Don't hurt them! Everyone, stand still," said Ava, rushing past Sophia with a bucket half-filled with water. Kneeling down, she began carefully putting the frogs into it. Sophia went to help. There was a large frog in her own grooming kit and she scooped it up in her hands then went in search of a bucket too. When the last frog had been rescued, the boys sauntered in, led by Billy. Sophia guessed at once from his amused expression that he'd been behind the prank. "Boys!" said Ava crossly, and strode towards Billy. She didn't even reach his shoulder but she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "That was really mean of you. The poor frogs! You shouldn't treat animals that

way." Sophia blinked in surprise. Ava was so gentle and sweet but she clearly had a temper too. "I hate it when people are unkind to animals!" Ava continued. "I won't let it happen!" Billy lifted his hands. "Whoa! OK, we're sorry. We won't do it again." "You'd better not!" said Ava, fixing him with a glare that was worthy of Ms Nettles. "Where did you find these frogs?" "In a pond in the woods—" Billy broke off as Ms Rosemary came up behind them. "What's going on here?" asked the teacher. The boys shuffled their feet uneasily. "Nothing, Ms Rosemary," said Ava, holding the bucket behind her back. Sophia was glad Ava hadn't told Ms Rosemary that the boys had been responsible. As annoying as the prank had been, the frogs

hadn't been hurt. Sophia had a feeling that the boys would think twice about playing a trick like that again– especially when Ava was around! At lunchtime, instead of going to the refectory, Sophia, Rainbow, Ava and Star sneaked away to the woods. Sophia and Ava each carried a bucket of frogs. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Ava. "The woods are out of bounds and I've heard they're really dangerous." "We won't need to go far," said Sophia. "Billy said they'd only just started exploring the woods for a dare when they found the frogs." "Be careful, everyone," said Star. "There are dangerous creatures in here." Rainbow snorted. "I wonder if we'll meet any!" The four of them entered the woods. The

thick canopy of leaves overhead blocked out the sunlight and the air felt cold as they rode down a path that twisted its way round thorny bushes and ancient tree trunks. Sophia shivered and wrapped her hands in Rainbow's thick mane to keep them warm. The woods did feel scary and dangerous. She glanced at the shadows, wondering what might be hiding there. Rainbow pushed through some brambles as the path narrowed. Sophia looked into the bucket to check the frogs were OK and frowned. "Weird. The water in this bucket has changed! It was dusty and dirty before but now it's totally clear. Has yours changed too?" she asked Ava. Ava checked. "Yes!" she said in surprise. "It must be something to do with the frogs," said Star. Ava looked thoughtful. "It could be. Maybe there's some magic in them."