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  Contents

  Chapter 1: Fun with Friends

  Chapter 2: Sophie’s Dream House

  Chapter 3: Footsteps in the Forest

  Chapter 4: Butterfly Magic

  Chapter 5: The Design

  Chapter 6: Missing Mouse

  Chapter 7: A Few Clues

  Chapter 8: Walking in Circles

  Chapter 9: Winston’s Surprise

  Chapter 10: Go, Team!

  The Maple Festival Excerpt

  About Poppy Green and Jennifer A. Bell

  Fun with Friends

  “Wheeeeeeeeeeee!” Sophie squealed with delight. Her voice echoed off the curved wooden walls of the giant tunnel slide. Sophie slid through the darkness. The slide twisted to the right. Then it turned to the left. Sophie grasped the fern she was sitting on. The slide track spiraled around and down, down, down, until—

  Sophie came shooting out of the bottom end. Fwomp! She landed in a soft pile of green leaves.

  High above, on a birch branch, Sophie’s best friends cheered.

  “Whoo-hoo!” cried Hattie Frog.

  “Wow!” Owen Snake called out. “That’s a long way down!”

  Birch Tree Slide was a hollow, twisted branch. It leaned up against the trunk of a huge birch tree. To get to the top of the slide, Sophie, Hattie, and Owen had first climbed way up the tree using its knotholes. Sophie had been excited to go first.

  Hattie came down next. She disappeared into the tunnel. Sophie could hear her whooping all the way down. At the bottom, Hattie landed next to Sophie in the leaves. They both laughed.

  Sophie and Hattie had found Birch Tree Slide together when they were six years old. It felt like their secret place. Sophie had shown it to her brother, Winston. Hattie had shown it to her big sister, Lydie.

  Now they had brought Owen. He and his family had moved to Pine Needle Grove a while ago. But there were still lots of fun places Owen had never been.

  “Come on, Owen!” Sophie called up. “Your turn!”

  Owen didn’t look so sure. He stayed coiled up, not moving. He seemed to be measuring the slide in his head.

  “It’s so much fun!” Hattie shouted. “We promise!”

  Finally, Owen disappeared into the slide. Sophie could hear an “Aaaaaaaaah!” that sounded far away but grew louder and louder.

  And then—whoosh!—there was Owen, jetting out of the bottom of the slide. His face looked panicked as he flew through the air. But when he hit the leaf pile—

  Owen burst out laughing. “That is so fun!”

  “Isn’t it?!” Hattie cried.

  Sophie patted Owen on the back. “Told you we’d have fun this weekend. Didn’t we, Owen?”

  The three friends had decided on a project for the weekend: to take Owen to as many new places as possible.

  Just then, a blue butterfly fluttered out of the trees. It circled Owen’s head once, then flew on.

  “Wow, what kind of butterfly was that?” Owen asked.

  Hattie’s brow wrinkled. “Probably a blue morpho.”

  “That reminds me,” Sophie said with a gasp, “Owen hasn’t been to Butterfly Brook!”

  Hattie jumped up. “Oh yes!” she cried. “We have to take you there. It’s the prettiest spot. And lots of different kinds of butterflies live there!”

  “Sometimes,” Sophie said, “if you are very still, they will land in your hand.” Sophie glanced at Owen and quickly added, “Or on your head!”

  Owen laughed. “I want to see it! Why don’t we go tomorrow? Right after breakfast?”

  Sophie frowned. She had chores to do after breakfast. “You two go on together in the morning. I’ll do my chores fast and meet you there.”

  Sophie’s Dream House

  “Sorry I’m late!” Mrs. Mouse called. She had just stepped through the front door. “The bakery was so busy today!”

  Sophie, Winston, and their dad were already sitting down at the table for dinner. Mr. Mouse had made spaghetti squash and a kale salad.

  “I have something to add,” said Mrs. Mouse. She pulled a loaf of cranberry-nut bread from her bag. “Just out of the oven!”

  Sophie’s nose twitched and she smiled. She loved having a mom who owned a bakery!

  “So what did I miss?” Mrs. Mouse asked.

  Mr. Mouse served her salad. “I was just telling Sophie and Winston all about my new project,” he said. “I’m going to design a house for a turtle family.”

  “Guess what the best part is, Mom!” Sophie said.

  But Winston couldn’t wait for her to guess. He blurted out the answer. “They want it to look like a turtle shell on the outside!”

  “Winston!” Sophie scolded. “I said for her to guess.”

  “Sorry,” Winston mumbled. “I couldn’t help it.”

  Mr. Mouse was an architect. He designed homes for animal families all over Silverlake Forest. Sophie loved to watch him do sketches at his drafting table. She thought she might like to design a house someday. Or maybe it would be even more fun to design a play house—or a fort! What would it be like, Sophie wondered. A little cottage with comfy chairs and reading nooks? A tree house with ladders to go up and slides to come down? Or maybe a breezy, floating boat-fort on a babbling brook? Which reminded her . . .

  “Hattie and I are taking Owen to Butterfly Brook tomorrow,” Sophie shared. “And I just decided: I think we should build a fort there!”

  It would be the perfect spot—a fort in the woods that no one would know about. Well, except for Sophie’s parents and Winston.

  After dinner, Sophie sat on the couch reading a book. Winston sat next to her, tying knots in a long reed. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Winston was trying to earn his knot-tying badge in Junior Forest Scouts.

  “Sophie,” said Winston, “can I come with you tomorrow to help build the fort?” He smiled up at her sweetly.

  Sophie frowned. She didn’t want to hurt Winston’s feelings. But he was only six. She worried that he would get in the way.

  “Sorry, Winston,” Sophie said gently. “But you’re too little. Building a fort is hard work.” Seeing Winston’s smile disappear, she added, “How about this? I’ll bring you to see the fort when we’re all done. Okay?”

  Winston looked down and nodded. He went on tying knot after knot without saying another word.

  Footsteps in the Forest

  Leaves crunched under Sophie’s feet. It was still early in the morning. But Sophie’s chores were done and she was already halfway to Butterfly Brook.

  She shifted her satchel to her other shoulder. Inside she had water and snacks and her painting supplies—some brushes and berries. Sophie always brought art supplies with her in case she saw something she just had to paint. She was already thinking about the scene she’d paint after they finished their fort today.

  Step by step, Sophie’s feet carried her closer to Butterfly Brook. She thought about the advice her dad had given her about building.

  “Try to use your strongest materials at the bottom of the structure,” Mr. Mouse had said the night before. “And don’t forget about windows! Light is important.”

  Sophie pictured a fort with a skylight—a big window in the ceiling. Could we make something like that? Or maybe a fort with hanging vines for walls, so you could walk right through them! Or an underground fort with tunnels. Or—

  “Ouch!” cried a little voice.

  Sophie stopped in her tracks. Who had said that?

  She looked all around and up into the trees. But Sophie didn’t see anyone. All she heard now was a cricket chirping.

  She shrugged and kept walking. Crunch, crunch, crunch went the leaves under her feet. She walked and walked. Then, between two of her steps, she thought she heard other footsteps beh
ind her.

  Sophie stopped. The other footsteps stopped too. She turned.

  There was no one there.

  Sophie’s fur pricked up on her back. There was no reason to fear other animals in Silverlake Forest. But Sophie did feel like someone was following her. Why would they be hiding?

  She walked on, faster this time. Faster and faster still. Then, suddenly, she whipped around.

  This time, she saw something. A flash of gray disappeared behind a tree trunk. Sophie stood still, staring in that direction. As she looked more closely, she could see it.

  A little mouse tail was sticking out from behind the tree.

  Sophie marched over. “Winston!” she said. “What are you doing here?”

  Winston was crouched down behind the tree. He stood up and smiled sheepishly at Sophie.

  “You followed me?” Sophie asked her brother.

  Winston nodded. “I wanted to come and help build the fort,” he said. “Can I? Pleeeease?”

  Sophie sighed. “Do Mom or Dad know where you are?” she asked. “You can’t just run off without telling them.”

  Winston nodded again. “Right after you left, I told them I was going with you. I ran to catch up.” He looked down at the ground. “But I knew if you saw me, you’d tell me to go home.”

  Just then, Sophie noticed a scrape on Winston’s knee.

  Winston saw Sophie looking. “I tripped over a tree root,” he explained.

  Ah-hah! thought Sophie. That was the “ouch” she’d heard.

  Sophie opened her bag. She took out her water canteen and a handkerchief. She wet the handkerchief and used it to gently clean Winston’s scrape.

  “Winston,” she said, “I told you. You’re too little to help us. You need to go home and take care of your knee.” She handed the handkerchief to Winston. “Here. You can take this with you.”

  Winston started to argue. “But I—”

  “No buts!” Sophie said, putting on her best big-sister voice. “I told you not to come along. But you did anyway and now look. You need to go home, Winston.”

  Winston’s shoulders fell. He kicked at some leaves. “You never let me go anywhere with you,” Winston said as he shuffled away.

  Sophie put her hands on her hips. “That’s not true!” she called.

  But Winston didn’t answer.

  Butterfly Magic

  Sophie turned and stomped toward Butterfly Brook. Sometimes Winston was so frustrating!

  How is he supposed to help us? He’s already hurt. What if he got even more hurt? I’m just looking out for him.

  Still, Sophie felt bad. She knew there was another reason she didn’t want Winston to come.

  We’d spend more time looking after Winston than we would building. That wouldn’t make any sense at all!

  She walked and walked, but Sophie couldn’t shake it. She kept thinking of the sad look on Winston’s face.

  I do let him come with me places, Sophie thought. Just not everywhere. Besides, he’s six. I’m eight!

  At Butterfly Brook, Sophie met up with Hattie and Owen.

  “You were right,” said Owen, looking around. “This is amazing!”

  Sophie’s frustration with Winston faded as she looked around too. She had been here so many times. But it still felt magical to her. The water in the narrow brook skipped down the rocks. On either side of the brook, evergreen trees grew in the dappled sunshine. The trees’ long lower branches arched down toward the ground. They created little hideaways underneath.

  Sophie and Hattie led Owen to one of the hideaways. They peeked in. Dozens of butterflies fluttered in the small space. There were bright yellow ones, orange ones, and blue ones, too.

  “Blue morphos!” Owen whispered, pointing them out.

  “Right!” whispered Hattie. “There are tons of different kinds of butterflies here. They seem to like hiding out here under the branches.”

  The three friends watched the butterflies for a little while. Then they stepped out from under the branches.

  Sophie rubbed her hands together. “So, I have an idea!” she said. “What do you say we build a fort—right here at Butterfly Brook?” Sophie told Hattie and Owen about the house her dad was designing for the turtle family. “It really got me . . . inspired!” Sophie said dreamily.

  “I’m in!” said Owen.

  Hattie nodded. “Let’s do it!”

  “All right!” said Sophie, clapping with excitement. “I’ve been thinking about how we can build it.”

  Hattie laughed and gave Sophie a friendly squeeze. “Why am I not surprised?” she said.

  The Design

  They didn’t waste any time. They scanned the area for building materials. They found lots of pine boughs on the ground.

  “Maybe good for the roof!” Owen suggested.

  They found plenty of rocks—large and small—on the bank of the brook.

  “We could use these for the foundation,” said Hattie.

  “Great!” said Sophie. “My dad did say to use the strongest materials at the bottom.” Sophie stood and looked around. “But what we really need for the structure of the walls are a few sturdy sticks.”

  They searched and searched. Almost all the sticks and branches on the ground were the bendy pine kind.

  Finally Owen called out, “What about these?”

  He had found two long sticks under some leaves.

  “I think they’re perfect!” Sophie said. “I wish there were more. But maybe we could make a lean-to.”

  “A what-to?” Owen asked.

  Sophie laughed. She walked over to an evergreen tree. “My dad taught me that a lean-to is usually a building that is made when two things lean against something else. So we could lean our two sticks against this trunk,” she said, patting the tree trunk.

  “Oh! I get it,” said Hattie. “The sticks would make our frame. And we can tie the pine boughs over the frame to make the walls!”

  “Yes!” Sophie and Owen cried together.

  They agreed on a plan. Hattie and Owen would gather as many pine boughs as they could. Meanwhile, Sophie would go find something they could use to tie them together. She knew where to find some reeds. She walked downstream to gather them.

  When Sophie got back, she had a bundle of reeds.

  “Let’s see if this will work!” Sophie said.

  Hattie held a bunch of pine boughs together. Sophie wrapped a reed around them. But when she tried to tie it, the knot slipped out.

  Sophie tried again. Again, the knot slipped.

  Hattie and Owen tried too. They tried double knots. They tried triple knots. But nothing worked.

  “These reeds are too slippery,” said Owen.

  All of a sudden, Sophie thought of someone: Winston! He was a Junior Forest Scout. He had been learning to make all kinds of knots. Sophie bet he could tie a knot in the reed that would stay tied.

  Plus, Sophie knew how much Winston wanted to build with them. He would be so excited to help out!

  Sophie told Hattie and Owen her idea. They agreed it was great, and Sophie scurried home to find Winston.

  She ran the whole way, smiling. She imagined what she’d say—“Winston, we need you!”—and she imagined the look on Winston’s face. Maybe he would even admit that Sophie did let him do stuff with her.

  Sophie was out of breath as she ran into their house in the roots of the big oak tree. “Winston!” she called out. “WIN-ston!”

  There was no answer. The house was silent. Sophie quickly checked upstairs. But she could tell right away, the house was empty.

  Where was everyone? Where was Winston?

  Missing Mouse

  Sophie spotted a note on the toadstool table.

  Sophie twirled her tail as she thought. Her dad must have left the note before Winston came back. Otherwise, it would say he and Winston were at the library.

  So when Winston got home, no one was here, thought Sophie. She looked down at her dad’s handwriting. And Winston can’t read cursive
.

  Where would Winston have gone?

  Probably to his favorite place, thought Sophie. The playground! It wasn’t far. Their parents let him go there on his own. One day the week before, Winston had run off to play there before he’d even had breakfast. Mom sure wasn’t happy about that! thought Sophie.

  Sophie scurried down the path toward town. Before the first bend, she ducked down a side trail. It twisted through some maple trees. Then it came out into a big clearing—the playground.

  Two of her rabbit friends from school were there. James, who was Winston’s age, was on the rope swing. His big brother, Ben, was on the monkey bars. It was a small playground, but there was also a seesaw, a climber, and a line of tree stumps that Winston liked to hop across.

  Sophie said hello. “Have you seen Winston?” she asked.

  Ben and James shook their heads. “No,” said James. “We’ve been here all morning. He hasn’t been here.”

  “Hmmmmm,” Sophie said. “Okay. Thanks.”

  Sophie paused to think about where to check next. Maybe by the stream near Hattie’s house? Tall reeds grew along the bank. Winston had been going there a lot to get reeds to practice tying knots.

  Sophie scurried over to the stream. But Winston wasn’t there, either.

  Sophie tossed a pebble into the stream. The water rippled out from the splash. Where else could Winston be? she thought. He wouldn’t have gone to the bakery to find Mom. It’s too far and he’s not allowed to go alone. And he doesn’t know Dad is at the library.