Mystery for Megan (9 page)

When Megan reached the kitchen, Whiskers had already disappeared. Megan wondered what the mice did when they weren’t reminding her and Freya where to be. She imagined
them in their little mouse houses, sitting around a small table playing cards . . . well, her mum was always telling her to use her imagination!

It had stopped raining, so Megan ran into the garden. The grass was still covered in beautiful, golden buttercups. As she reached the end of the wall, Freya arrived at exactly the same time.
They both jumped and let out a scream.

‘Oh, Megan,’ laughed Freya. ‘You frightened the life out of me.’

‘You frightened the life out of
me
,’ laughed Megan.

‘Shall we go to the treehouse for a bit?’ Freya suggested. ‘Then we can come back here. Mum and Granny are trying out a new flapjack recipe.’

‘Ooh, yum,’ said Megan, licking her lips.

Suddenly, Freya gasped. She was looking down at her wrist. ‘It’s gone,’ Freya said.

‘What’s gone?’ asked Megan.

‘My friendship bracelet,’ said Freya, her eyes filling with tears.

‘You had it on this afternoon. I remember seeing it,’ said Megan, trying to cheer her friend up.

‘I went for a walk with Granny after dinner,’ said Freya, ‘but I’m sure I had it on then.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Megan. ‘Let’s look for it now.’

The girls held hands tightly, keeping their eyes to the ground as they searched Freya’s garden for her lost bracelet. But they couldn’t find it anywhere. They reached the stream and
the little bridge, but still there was no sign of the bracelet.

‘Oh, where is it?’ said Freya. ‘I just know it’s lost. I just know it.’

‘Don’t worry, Freya, we’ll find it,’ said Megan, trying her best to reassure her friend. ‘Just try to remember where you walked with Granny.’

‘Well, we followed the stream, then went to the wood,’ said Freya.

‘Then let’s do that,’ suggested Megan. ‘Come on.’

‘But it looks quite dark,’ said Freya. ‘It looks like it might rain again.’

‘It’ll be OK,’ said Megan. ‘We’ll be quick. Come on.’

So the girls crossed the little bridge – which Megan’s dad had mended – and followed the path of the stream through the field, searching all the time for the bracelet. But they
couldn’t see it. Every now and again, the girls looked up and noticed the sky getting darker and darker.

‘Trust me to choose green and purple,’ moaned Freya. ‘It’s not going to be easy to find in this grass, is it?’

‘Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s here somewhere,’ said Megan. She really hoped it was.

When they got to the edge of the wood, they weren’t sure where to go.

‘Where did you go with Granny from here, Freya?’ Megan asked.

‘Just over there a bit, I think,’ said Freya. ‘Granny saw a flower she liked, so we went to have a closer look.’

‘Come on, then,’ said Megan. ‘It’ll be OK.’ She squeezed Freya’s hand tightly to reassure her.

The girls walked into the wood and followed a narrow path for a while.

‘Can you see the flower?’ Megan asked.

‘No, I can’t,’ said Freya. ‘It was blue, like a star. I think maybe it was over there,’ she said, pointing to an area of dense woodland.

The girls left the path and walked amongst the trees, trying to keep their eyes open for both the flower and Freya’s lost bracelet.

‘Oh, that might be it,’ Freya said, spotting a small blue flower.

The girls headed towards it, all the time searching the ground too. But when they reached the flower, Freya wasn’t sure.

‘I don’t know if it’s the same one,’ she said. And then she started to cry. ‘Oh, I know my bracelet’s gone,’ she sobbed. ‘And you made it for me
and it was my favourite thing in the world.’

‘Please don’t cry,’ said Megan, starting to feel as if she might cry too. ‘I can always make you another one.’ But they both knew that it wouldn’t be the
same.

‘Let’s just look a bit more.’

The girls walked further into the wood as they spotted more blue flowers here and there. After a while, one tree began to look just like another, and as the sky got darker and darker, it became
harder and harder to see. No matter how much they looked, they couldn’t see the bracelet anywhere.

Suddenly, Megan stopped. ‘Freya, where are we?’ she asked.

The girls both looked. All around them were trees. There was no sign of the fence or the stream. And it was dark, with hardly any light coming through the trees.

‘Oh!’ said Freya. ‘I’ve no idea where we are, but we can’t have walked far.’

Megan reached for Freya’s hand. She began to feel worried.

‘I think we’ve walked further than we meant to,’ she said. ‘We need to go home. Everyone’s going to be worried.’

‘I think it’s this way,’ said Freya, suddenly feeling a bit braver. ‘I’m sure this is right.’

They walked for a few steps, still holding hands. But it didn’t feel right.

‘This isn’t right,’ said Freya.

‘Oh no,’ said Megan and she felt her eyes fill with tears. She wasn’t only worried about being lost, she was worried about her mum and dad worrying.

Now it was Freya’s turn to reassure Megan.

‘It’s OK, Meggy,’ she said. ‘We’ll find a way out soon. Let’s try this way.’

So they turned and walked the other way. But they were still surrounded by trees. Soon they didn’t even know which direction they were facing and which way they had come.

They tried another direction, still holding hands tightly. But that didn’t feel right either!

‘Oh, Freya, we’re completely lost,’ said Megan, feeling the tears start to fall. ‘What are we going to do?’

Megan felt more afraid than she could ever remember, and at that exact moment, something very unexpected happened.

Suddenly, Freya stopped walking. ‘Megan,’ she said. ‘Look.’

Standing a few metres away from them, his fur shining brightly, was a beautiful big, golden dog. Buttercup!

The girls stood silently as the golden dog walked slowly towards them. Megan and Freya looked at each other in amazement. Soon Buttercup was standing right in front of
them.

‘Buttercup,’ said Freya. ‘Is it really you?’

But she knew it was, and Megan knew too. Buttercup looked straight at Megan then.

‘He’s going to help us,’ said Megan, turning to Freya. ‘He’s going to help us get home. Oh, I’m so glad you’re here,’ she said to Buttercup,
suddenly feeling a whole lot better. ‘I thought we were lost forever.’

Buttercup looked steadily at Megan for a moment, and Megan understood what he was thinking, just as she’d understood Dorothy.

‘That’s what they’re here for,’ Megan said.

‘What do you mean?’ said Freya.

‘Buttercup, Dorothy and the mice,’ said Megan, a big smile lighting up her face. ‘They’re here to protect us.’

‘To protect us?’ said Freya. ‘Like when they helped Granny and Jonathon?’

‘Exactly!’ said Megan, nodding. And Buttercup seemed to nod too.

Buttercup turned around then, and stood between the two girls. Freya looked puzzled.

‘He wants to lead us out,’ said Megan. ‘He wants us to hold on to his coat.’

So the girls held on to Buttercup’s soft coat as he started to walk back through the wood. They didn’t know where they were going, but they just knew that Buttercup was leading them
to safety.

Before long, they were out in the open again. The sky was really dark and it was threatening to rain again, but Buttercup stopped and looked straight at Freya.

‘I think he wants us to wait here,’ said Freya.

The girls smiled at each other. Somehow, they both seemed to be able to understand him. Buttercup walked away from them, sniffing the ground. Then, he turned and walked back towards them.
Hanging from his mouth was Freya’s missing friendship bracelet.

‘My bracelet!’ gasped Freya. ‘Oh, thank you.’

Freya took the bracelet from Buttercup’s soft mouth and gave him an enormous hug. Then the girls walked on either side of Buttercup as he led them back through the field, and as they
walked, they stroked his soft, warm head.

It wasn’t long before the small bridge was in sight. Then Buttercup stopped, looking up at Megan.

‘I think he needs to leave now,’ Megan said to Freya.

‘Will we see you again?’ Freya asked, reaching out to stroke him.

Buttercup turned to Freya and nuzzled his nose in the palm of her hand.

‘I hope we do,’ said Megan.

‘Me too,’ said Freya.

Then Buttercup turned and moved towards the wood. Just at that moment, they felt the first drop of rain. The girls watched as Buttercup sped up, his golden coat blowing in the breeze. He stopped
at the edge of the wood and turned to look at them, then disappeared into the trees.

‘Come on, let’s go,’ said Freya. ‘Before we get soaked.’

She grabbed hold of Megan’s hand and they raced across the little bridge. Just as they reached the other side, they saw Freya’s mum come out of the house. She waved to them as they
ran up the garden.

‘I was looking for you,’ she called. ‘Where on earth did you get to?’

‘We went to look for this,’ said Freya, holding up her wrist with her friendship bracelet on.

‘Come on, quick,’ said Freya’s mum, grabbing the girls’ hands and running with them back into the house as the rain came down in big drops.

‘Do you want a flapjack?’ she asked them, as they stepped into the kitchen and out of the rain. ‘They’ve just come out of the oven.’

‘Ooh, yes please,’ said Freya. ‘I bet these are even yummier than Granny’s shortbread.’

Later, when Megan was tucked up in bed, she thought about what an amazing few days she’d had. Here she was, living in a big house
and
there was a big fluffy dog
too, just like in the game she used to play in her head. She could hardly believe the exciting things that had happened since she had moved to Buttercup House. And today, seeing Buttercup and him
helping them, had been wonderful.

Megan thought about how Buttercup had looked at her and how she had known then that the animals were protecting them. Suddenly, she realised something. Each of the animals was good at something.
The mice helped children remember, Dorothy stopped them from feeling lonely and warned them about hidden dangers, and Buttercup was good at finding things. After all, he’d found Freya’s
bracelet and helped them find their way out of the wood. Then she realised something else that Buttercup was good at. He was good at being kind and understanding. Megan felt as if she could ask his
help for anything and that he wouldn’t mind at all.

As she drifted off to sleep, Megan thought about the animals.
Our very own protectors,
she thought.

That night, it poured with rain. All day Sunday, Megan looked out for Dorothy, but there was no sign of her.
I bet she’s tucked up warm and dry,
thought Megan.
Then she thought about Buttercup and hoped he was nice and dry under the trees. She wondered if she should make him a coat, and imagined what colour it would be and how lovely he would look in it.
She could just picture him in a big black and white checked blanket coat, all soft and snugly and tied with a black ribbon.

On Monday, it rained all the way to school, and then it carried on raining. The headmaster put a
Wet Play
sign on the main door, which meant no playing outside at
lunch.