The Star Wolf Read online

  The best known magical creatures of the Whispering Forest were the star wolves. Hardly anyone had seen them up close, because they were shy animals and lived in the deepest, wildest part of the woods…

  For Kiki Rose

  Emma stepped out of the front door of her treetop house and breathed in the fresh forest air. The leaves on the branches glowed green and gold in the sunshine. A squirrel darted along a nearby branch with a nut in its paws.

  Emma smiled as she watched the little animal scamper to the ground and start burying the nut in the earth. A cold breeze ruffled her light-brown hair. She picked up her wicker basket and drew her dark-blue cloak tightly around her.

  “Bye, Mum! Bye, Dad!” she called. “I’m going to pick some fruit. I’ll be back later!”

  Holding on to the rail, she crossed a little bridge made from rope and wooden planks. Far below, the floor of the forest was decorated with the first fallen leaves of autumn.

  Emma loved walking through Tangleberry Rise. The whole village was made from wooden tree houses connected by little bridges. Her mum and dad ran a market stall in the middle of the village selling bread, cakes and pies. Emma liked helping with the stall, although she sometimes felt a little shy in front of all the customers. What she loved most of all was cooking delicious pies and cakes ready for the market.

  This morning she was going to gather jem berries to make some lovely pies. At sunset the Lantern Festival would begin. There would be music and dancing and games. Lots of people would want cakes and pies to eat!

  Emma skipped across the last bridge and climbed down a little wooden ladder to reach the ground, before following the main path out of the village. Out here, she could hear the sounds of the Whispering Forest more clearly: the squeaks of the mice, the drumming of deer hooves and the hammering of emerald woodpeckers in the trees. Beneath it all was the whispering of the wind in the leaves that gave the forest its name.

  Sometimes, if she was really lucky, Emma heard a golden songbird singing in the treetops. But the most amazing sound of all happened at nightfall when the star wolves sang.

  There were lots of magical animals in the Kingdom of Arramia, like storm dragons, unicorns, firebirds and cloud bears. The best-known magical creatures of the Whispering Forest were the star wolves. Hardly anyone had seen them up close, because they were shy animals and lived in the deepest, wildest part of the wood.

  Emma had only watched them in the distance, slipping in and out of the trees like silver-grey shadows. Each night their beautiful song drifted over the treetops and lulled her to sleep. Her mum had once explained how their music brought out the evening stars. Without them the night sky would be dark with no starlight at all.

  Skipping through the trees, Emma stopped here and there to pick the wild berries that grew by the side of the path. She was heading for the thickest part of the woods, where the red jem berries grew. She found a few strawberries and ate them. They tasted deliciously sweet. There was so much fruit growing here. She knew she’d find plenty to fill up her basket!

  She came to a clearing filled with meadow flowers and sat down underneath a huge red-and-white toadstool. Two planets hung together in the sky, one purple and the other green. Giant silverwing butterflies grazed on the flowers and the chirping of the forest birds filled the air.

  Emma started thinking about the Lantern Festival. She looked forward to it every year. There would be apple bobbing and games like pin the tail on the star wolf. A big bonfire would be lit in the clearing in the middle of the village and a band would play so that everyone could dance.

  Emma hurried on, reminding herself that she needed to gather plenty of fruit for the pies. A little further on she found the thicket of birch trees she was looking for. Jem berry bushes grew all around this part of the wood. Her fingers grew sticky as she picked the berries and put them in her basket. A little mouse scampered out of its hole in the root of a tree and gazed at her, whiskers twitching.

  “Here you are!” Emma placed a jem berry on the ground and smiled as the little animal gathered the fruit and scurried back into its hole.

  She was about to walk on when she heard a funny sound. It was a squeaky animal noise, but it was too loud to be a mouse or a rabbit.

  Stopping, she listened carefully.

  The squeaky sound came again. It went on for a few seconds and then broke off with a sob, as if the animal was crying.

  Emma hooked her basket over her arm and pushed her way past some low branches. In the middle of a group of trees was a wooden box buried in a hollow and half covered by earth and leaves. There were thin spaces between the wooden slats and something was moving inside.

  As she stepped over a fallen branch, another box snapped shut right next to Emma’s foot. She hopped out of the way, her heart thumping. The box had only missed her toes by a whisker!

  Stepping more carefully, she crouched down by the first box and looked inside.

  A little star wolf with sad black eyes gazed back at her.

  Emma stared in surprise. “Hello! How did you get stuck in there?”

  A terrible thought popped into her head. Was this an accident or had someone left a trap for the poor animal? Had the box snapped shut on the poor star wolf, just as the other one had almost trapped her foot?

  The small star wolf let out a long whimper and scratched against the inside of the box.

  “You poor thing!” cried Emma. “No wonder you’re so upset.”

  The creature stopped scratching and howled sadly.

  “Here!” Emma took a jem berry out of her basket and put it through a gap in the wooden slats. “Maybe this will cheer you up!”

  The little wolf gulped down the berry and then sniffed Emma’s fingers as if hoping for more.

  “Now, there must be a way to get you out.” Emma put down her basket and knelt beside the box. She pulled at the lid but it wouldn’t open. At last she found a catch in one corner and tugged at it.

  The catch sprang open. With a bark of delight, the little wolf jumped out of the box and right into Emma’s arms.

  She laughed, amazed at how light he felt. “You’re so small! You must be a pup.”

  The little wolf barked again and licked her cheek. Emma ruffled his ears. He was so cute, with deep black eyes and a thick silvery coat. On his forehead was a pale star shape that would gleam when night fell. Every star wolf had this marking and Emma thought it was beautiful. “How could anyone want to trap you? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  The pup sat on his haunches and licked the small pink pads in the middle of his paws.

  Emma was about to take another look at the wooden box when she heard voices. Her mind whirled. What if the box belonged to these people? What if they were angry that she’d opened it?

  Quickly, Emma picked up the wolf pup and her basket and hid on the other side of the thicket.

  A man and a woman dressed in smart brown uniforms came through the trees and stopped next to the boxes.

  “We haven’t caught a single thing!” said the woman angrily. “No swift hares and no star wolves either. You didn’t set the traps properly!”

  “That shows you know nothing!” snapped the man. “We did catch something. Look, this one’s been opened from the outside.” He pointed to the box Emma had undone.

  The woman leaned down to look. “Lord Hector’s going to be furious. He wants a magical animal caught today and he wants a star wolf most of all.”

  Emma’s heart sank and she clasped the wolf pup tighter. She was right. These people had set the traps on purpose. Someone had told them to do it – someone who wanted to catch magical animals.

  Well, they couldn’t have this little star wolf. She was going to get him to safety as fast as she could!

  Emma hugged t
he little star wolf tightly. She knew her best chance of saving him was to creep away without the trappers seeing her. They were still examining the wooden boxes. This was her chance!

  “Don’t make a sound, OK?” she whispered to the pup.

  The little wolf stopped wriggling and pricked up his ears.

  Slowly, Emma tiptoed away from the thicket. She trod lightly, careful not to step on any twigs that would crack or leaves that could rustle. The trappers were still talking. To her left she could see the main path leading through the trees.

  Emma took another step. Her cloak caught on a bramble and made a loud ripping sound.

  She froze.

  Her heart thumped. Had the trappers heard the noise?

  “Who’s there?” yelled the man in the brown uniform. “You’d better come out right now!”

  Emma kept absolutely still. The trappers stared around. Then they began searching the undergrowth and looking behind trees.

  Hurriedly, Emma tugged her cloak free, leaving a scrap of dark-blue cloth stuck on a thorn. Holding the wolf pup tight, she raced towards the main path.

  “Hey! Come back!” yelled the woman.

  “Stop, thief !” bellowed the man.

  Emma ran fast, her heart pounding. The main path was straight ahead, but the man raced round the side of the thicket to cut her off.

  Panicking, Emma veered away from the path and into the thickest part of the forest. Crashing through bushes, she kept on running. She didn’t dare to look behind her.

  Footsteps thudded on the ground. The grownups were still chasing and they were getting close.

  The star wolf gave a tiny whine. Emma stopped, breathless. Wasn’t there anywhere she could hide? Or a tree she could climb? But she couldn’t see anything that would help her.

  The wolf pup whined louder this time.

  “Shh!” Emma stroked him quickly.

  “Hey, you!” shouted the man. “Who are you? Turn round and show your face.”

  “We know you’ve got our star wolf,” the woman snapped. “We can hear it howling.”

  Emma raced on without turning round. Her legs were aching and it was hard to catch her breath. She ran across a clearing. It felt scary to be out of the trees, with nothing to hide behind.

  A dark cloud floated overhead, blocking out the sunshine.

  “Hey! You’d better not—” The man’s yelling suddenly stopped.

  A strange noise filled the forest – a sort of whooshing sound – coming from the treetops.

  Reaching the other side of the clearing, Emma dodged behind a tree. The trappers had stopped chasing her. They were standing still, staring into the air.

  A gigantic green creature plummeted from the sky. Emma gasped. It was a dragon with huge webbed wings that stretched almost from one side of the clearing to the other. Landing with a thump that shook the ground, the leathery-skinned creature swung to face the trappers.

  A gust of wind made the trees bend and sway.

  The dragon let out a long, rumbling growl.

  The woman shrieked and ran away. The man bolted after her.

  Emma watched them from her hiding place. She was about to slip away into the forest when the dragon turned round and looked straight at her. It didn’t growl, just watched her with deep-amber eyes. A curl of smoke drifted from its nostrils.

  Something about the creature made Emma feel brave. She stepped out from behind the tree. “You saved me from those horrible trappers,” she said. “Thank you!”

  The dragon tilted its head to one side, as if wondering what she was saying.

  Emma nodded to show she was grateful.

  The dragon lifted its wings and gave a deep bow.

  Emma smiled and bowed too. Questions raced through her mind. Why was the dragon here? Had it meant to help her? She’d never met a dragon before. No dragons had ever lived in the Whispering Forest. She couldn’t help staring at the creature’s huge wings and spiny tail.

  A fair-haired girl burst into the clearing. She ran right up to the dragon and put a hand on his leathery side. “Windrunner!” she panted. “I didn’t think we were meeting here till tonight.”

  The dragon made a low growly noise, as if it was speaking.

  “Really! Where is she?” said the girl.

  The dragon nodded its head in Emma’s direction, before munching some leaves from the top of a nearby tree.

  The girl ran forward. “Hello, I’m Sophy! And this is Windrunner – he’s a storm dragon! What’s your name? And are you all right? Windrunner told me there were people chasing you.”

  Emma was too surprised to feel shy. Had this girl really just said that she’d spoken to the dragon? “Um, I’m fine, thank you,” she said at last. “My name’s Emma. So … can you really speak to the dragon?”

  “That’s right!” Sophy hesitated as if she was deciding whether to share a secret. Then she noticed the wolf pup, half hidden under Emma’s cloak. “Wow, is that a star wolf ? I’ve always wanted to meet one.” She reached out to tickle the little wolf under the chin.

  Emma nodded. “Yes, he’s a pup. I found him stuck in a trap near the birch thicket so I set him free. That’s why those people were chasing me. I just don’t understand why they trapped him.”

  “I might know why.” Sophy frowned. “You see, the queen has let her favourite knight, Sir Fitzroy, begin a mission to capture all magical animals. It started when a baby dragon crashed in the castle gardens. Now all magical creatures in the kingdom are in danger.”

  “That’s awful!” The star wolf wriggled so hard in Emma’s arms that she had to put him down.

  The little pup bounded into the meadow, sniffing at every leaf and flower. Then he gambolled right up to the dragon and licked his leathery foot. Windrunner stopped chewing the leaves and snorted in surprise.

  Emma giggled. “He’s adorable! But I have to get him back to the wolf pack. He doesn’t belong on his own.”

  “I’d like to help you if you’ll let me!” said Sophy eagerly. “And you can tell me about the star wolves and the other forest creatures. I’ve never been in a forest before today!”

  “Of course you can help!” Emma smiled. Somehow she didn’t feel shy with Sophy at all. “Welcome to Whispering Forest!”

  The two girls set off into the wood, waving to the dragon, who flew away to look for the star wolf pack from the air. While they searched among the trees, Emma told Sophy all about the emerald woodpeckers, swift hares and silverwing butterflies that lived in the forest. When they got hungry they ate all the fruit that Emma had collected. The wolf pup yawned, so Emma put him into the empty basket where he curled up on his side and fell fast asleep.

  Sophy told Emma all about her life as a maid at the royal castle and how she’d become a secret rescuer of magical animals when a baby dragon crash-landed in the castle garden.

  Emma listened to Sophy’s tales of meeting other girls who loved magical creatures. She was astonished at how cleverly they’d helped the unicorns and firebirds. It all sounded amazing – especially the part about flying around on the back of a dragon!

  “So I came here to find out if the magical animals of the forest are safe,” finished Sophy. “I’m lucky to have Windrunner to carry me.”

  Emma wondered how Sophy could speak to Windrunner the dragon. She was just about to ask when Sophy started telling her about flying over the ocean and what it felt like to glide through a cloud. Sophy chattered on and Emma’s eyes grew wider and wider as she listened to it all.

  At last they grew tired and returned to the clearing. Emma stroked the wolf pup gently. She loved the softness of his silvery fur and how his ears twitched as he slept. “We should have found the wolf pack by now,” she said worriedly. “I hope the trappers didn’t scare them away.”

  “Maybe Windrunner’s seen them from the air,” said Sophy.

  But when the big storm dragon landed in the clearing again, there was no good news.

  Emma listened to the dragon’s deep growling and wondere
d how Sophy could possibly understand what it meant.

  “Windrunner says he can’t help us very much,” Sophy told her. “The trees grow so thickly that he can’t see anything when he flies over the treetops. The star wolves could be anywhere!”

  “And we won’t hear them until they begin their song tonight,” said Emma thoughtfully.

  Sophy hugged the dragon. “Thank you for trying, Windrunner. I’m going to stay and help Emma. I’ll meet you here at midday tomorrow.”

  The dragon bowed to the girls, before stretching his massive wings. Wind whooshed around the clearing as he soared into the air. The swirling breeze made the girls’ hair flutter.

  Emma jumped up. “We can’t stay here! Those trappers could be back any minute. Come to my house in Tangleberry Rise and we’ll hide the pup there till this evening.”

  “Great idea!” Sophy beamed. “I can’t wait till tonight. I’ve always dreamed of hearing the star wolves sing!”

  They followed the forest path that led to Tangleberry Rise. Emma took the sleeping wolf pup out of the basket and carried him, showing Sophy which berries to collect. “If we pick enough, I’ll make us a fruit pie. I love cooking! My family have a market stall where we sell bread and cakes and lots of other things.”

  “Mm!” Sophy nodded, her mouth full of berries. “These are delicious.”

  At last the basket was full and Emma pushed aside the leaves at the edge of the village. “This is Tangleberry Rise.” She pointed to the cluster of wooden houses nestled among the branches. Ladders led up into the treetops and little bridges hung between the tree trunks, making a pathway that linked the village together.

  Sophy gasped. “A whole treetop village! You’re so lucky to live here!”

  Emma pointed to a row of red and blue flags strung between the trees. “Look, they’ve put up garlands for the Lantern Festival. It’s going to be great fun! There’ll be games and lots of dancing!” She beckoned Sophy to the nearest ladder. The girls climbed up and crossed the wooden bridges until they reached Emma’s house.