The World Beyond the Door

  "Maybe they've found something good to drink," said Buttercup.

  "I think it sounds like they might be in trouble," Thistle said with alarm. "I'll check it out." He jumped off the table, and flew around the room leaving a trail of silver dust behind him. Landing on the counter next to the bag he called to them, "Spike? Mari?"

  Faintly he heard a chorus of "Inside the bowl. We're stuck."

  "Stuck?" he muttered. "How can they be stuck?" He ran across the counter towards the bowl. As he stepped in the flour, he began to slide. Pixie dust flew everywhere. He tried to catch his balance, but fell. Sliding in a sitting position, he came up hard against a metal mixing spoon. A shower of silver dust and flour settled down on him.

  Muttering he tried to get up, but his foot was glued to the spoon. Reaching down to pull his foot free, his hand became attached. Soon he was covered with sparkling flour, and stuck fast to the spoon.

  Spike called out, "Thistle, what are you doing? Are you going to help get us out of here?"

  Thistle said disgustedly, "I'll be there as soon as I get free from this spoon."

  Mari grimaced. "Some rescue," she muttered. Now they all three started calling for help.

  Briar, realizing something was wrong, flew slowly around the room looking for signs of danger. Flying high over the counter he saw Thistle on the spoon, and Spike and Mari in the bowl. He flew down towards Thistle.

  "Don't get too close," Thistle called.

  Briar pulled up and hovered. "What's wrong?" he asked.

  "We're stuck," Thistle said.

  "What do mean? What's holding you?"

  "Can't tell. But the more we try to get free, the more we can't move."

  "Okay, I'm going to go back and warn the others, and we'll figure out something. I'll be back"

  Briar returned to the table. They all gathered together to discuss the problem. Buckleberry was having difficulty following the conversation. He had eaten too much, and was not feeling well. The water tag song kept running around in his head. He tried to push it aside and listen to the others, but the words kept drumming in his thoughts.

  "You think it's magic that's holding them?"

  "It seems like the more they use their magic, the stronger the force holding them becomes."

  "It we can't use magic, how we will ever get them free?" wailed Della.

  Buttercup said, "First we have to figure out how to get them unstuck so we don't pull them out of their skin. Then we have to get them away without using magic."

  "Well, why aren't we stuck to the table or something else. Why only the bowl or the spoon?"

  Suddenly Buckleberry jumped up and sang,

  "When pixie dust with iron is mixed

  Those nearby are firmly fixed."

  They all looked at him startled.

  Briar said, "This isn't the time for party songs - we're trying to put together a rescue."

  "But the bowl and the spoon are metal - like iron," Buckleberry protested.

  "But that's just a song," Briar said.

  "No wait," Buttercup interrupted. "Maybe he's on to something." She sang:

  "And held in bonds - they cannot fly

  However hard that they might try."

  "In the game we throw water on the couples to separate them," Buckleberry said thoughtfully.

  Buttercup brightened and said, "Tell me now what do you think? Where does water get a drink? Maybe water is the key to getting them free."

  Briar looked doubtful, "I don't know?"

  "It's worth a try," Della said. "We have to do something before the giants come back."

  This thought made them all nervous, and they immediately started putting together a plan. Soon they were organized. All they had to do was wash away the pixie dust with water, pull them out of the bowl, and get far enough away from the metal so they could fly.

  Briar and Buckleberry flew over to the counter. Taking care not to get close to anything metal, they selected one of the small plastic measuring cups that were sitting on the counter. They chose the one that said ? on it.

  Grasping the handle they flew over to the dog's water dish and filled it. Della and Buttercup helped as they flew back to the counter. Water sloshed over the sides of the cup as they flew across the room. They hovered over Thistle who looked up and shouted, "What are you doing?"

  "Just a little shower," Briar called. There was much jostling as some tried to turn the cup one way and some the other. Water started splashing out and falling on Thistle.

  "Hey!" he yelled.

  Then they all tipped the same way, and the water came pouring out. Thistle was soaked. The water flowed across the counter and mixed with flour and pixie dust. This messy mixture ran over the edge and dripped onto the floor.

  Thistle stood up indignantly, stamping his feet and shouting before he realized he was no longer a prisoner of the metal.

  "Don't use magic," called Buckleberry. "You're too close to the bowl."

  Thistle edged nervously away from the bowl and spoon. When he was far enough away that he thought it was safe, he jumped into the air and joined the others.

  They quickly returned to the dog dish for more water. The cup was only half full this time, but with Thistle's help they didn't slosh as much out on the way. Under his direction they were also much better at aiming. Soon the water was falling again. This time Mari and Spike were soaked. As the metal let go of the pixies they slid down the side of the bowl. They landed in the gooey batter at the bottom which was now mixed with water and pixie dust.

  "Ugh," said Mari. She stood up dripping and covered with slime.

  Thistle landed on top of the flour bag, and peered down at them. "Everyone okay?" he called.

  "Sure," Spike said. "Where did you get the water?"

  "There was a bowl on the floor next to the door."

  "Not the drinking water of that brute," Mari said disgustedly. "Yuck!"

  "Sorry. It's all we had to work with. We're going to lower a wooden spoon over the side. You can't use magic around metal. That's how you got trapped."

  Mari looked up to see the handle of a large wooden spoon sliding down the side of the bowl. It came down fast, and they just had time to jump out of the way. When the spoon hit the bottom, they were splashed again with the gooey mess. The end of the handle slid across the bottom of the bowl, and stuck in the batter on the other side.

  "Hey!" they yelled.

  "Sorry. Spoon was heavier than we thought. It got away from us."

  "Well be more careful. We almost got squashed."

  "Do you think you can climb up the spoon?"

  Mari looked doubtfully at the wooden handle. It was tilted at an angle so the climb would not be straight up. "Oh sure, no problem."

  Spike held his hands together, and nodded to her. She placed her delicate foot in his hands, and he gave her a boost. She began scrambling up the pole. Spike followed quickly behind.

  They had gotten about three-quarters of the way up when the bowl began to tip. Looking up Mari saw all the other pixies sitting in the round part of the spoon to create leverage to help tip the bowl.

  "You didn't tell me this part of the plan," she gasped.

  The bowl tipped over, and the spoon was tossed across the counter. Pixies were catapulted in all directions. The metal bowl rocked back and forth noisily on the counter for several seconds before crashing to the floor. The gooey mess was splattered all over everything.

  The spoon flipped over several times before hitting the floor, and rolling under a chair. Briar and Buttercup were thrown across the room landing on the rolls. Thistle and Della managed to catch themselves while they were hurtling through the air, and started flying.

  Spike and Mari were thrown into the flour bag. It tipped over, spilling flour across the counter and sending them sliding. Thistle and Della, hovering near the ceiling, turned just in time to see them slide over the edge, and fall into the trash container at the end of the counter.

&n
bsp; Then they heard the dog barking and the gate creak open. Thistle hissed, "Giants are coming back. To the trash container." Briar and Buttercup crawled out of the rolls and they all flew over to the trash. Spike and Mari were just struggling out.

  "Back in! Giants are at the door," and they shoved them back in, and dove in after them.

  Crouching in the trash bag they heard voices on the porch. The man was saying, "I don't remember leaving the door open?" There was a bang as the screen door slammed against the frame, followed by a gasp as they saw the room.

  CHAPTER 18 - DANGER IN THE DARK

  As Morley traveled along the well-known path, he heard a familiar oot-too-hoo hoo-hoo in the distance. He shivered hoping he wouldn't meet the owl tonight. He didn't have his flute with him, and he remembered his last encounter only too well.

  As the stars began to appear, he saw the Forester Constellation, and his thoughts turned to Kendra. His thoughts were turning to Kendra a lot lately.

  He remembered the way she looked up at him with laughing eyes, hanging on his every word and making him feel clever and wise. The song they danced to was playing softly in his head. He could almost smell her perfume, and feel her soft hair against his face as they glided together across the dance floor.

  A rattling noise above him startled him out of his reverie. The breeze had picked up and was causing tree branches to rub against each other.

  He relaxed and started to smile, but then stiffened when he heard a scurrying noise in the underbrush behind him. As the breeze changed direction, a nasty, musty odor was evident.

  Alarmed, he quickened his pace. The sounds of pursuit became louder, and he began to run. Breathing hard he burst into a clearing. Knowing he could not run all the way back to the safety of the door, he turned to face whatever it was.

  CHAPTER 19 - UNEXPECTED

  The shadow from the Grandfather Tree stretched across the clearing. In the waning sunlight was a small brown rabbit. Its nose twitched as it sniffed the air. Hopping into the grass, it nibbled contentedly.

  A shadow passed overhead startling the rabbit. In terror it ran towards the tree and the small door that looked like a way of escape. Shoving its head through the opening, the small twigs holding the door were pushed aside. As it slipped through, the door swung shut behind it with a soft, barely audible, "click."

  The shadow overhead passed on into the dusk.

  CHAPTER 20 - FOX HUNT

 

  As Telah and Travis looked out between the tangled tree roots, they heard the rustling start again. A furry red animal with a fluffy tail emerged from the foliage. It stopped, raised its pointy nose, and sniffed the air trying to identify the scent. A faint musty odor drifted downwind to them on the air current. It snuffled the ground where they had been standing, then looked around. Its bright eyes were clever and terrifying.

  "We can't outrun it," Travis breathed softly.

  "Can we scare it off?" Telah asked

  Travis thought frantically. Anything like a stick or stone that was small enough for him to throw would not be enough to frighten the animal. What did they have in the backpack? The metal disk was too awkward, and he didn't think he could throw it far enough. The water bottle was empty, and was too lightweight. Then suddenly he remembered the door. "Do you have any more lyte beads?" he asked.

  She nodded and got one out of her pocket. Travis searched the area around them. He found a stick with a fork at the end, perfect for throwing something. The animal was stealthily moving towards them. Their scent was strange to the fox, but it was curious and hungry.

  She handed him the bead. He quickly broke the seal. As it started heating up, he dropped it into the crook at the end of the stick. With a deft movement he slung it arching towards the fox.

  It landed on the fox's shoulder and began to smolder in the fur. Yelping, it shook off the lyte bead, and ran away into the woods. When it yelped the children grabbed their bag. They ran, not looking back. The lyte bead fell in the pine needles, and a thin column of smoke began to rise from the forest floor.

  As they ran blindly away from the fox, to their surprise the wall of tangles suddenly loomed before them. In just a few moments they were under the tangles. They slowed to a walk and caught their breath. Following the winding path, they stopped just at the edge of the thorns and looked out into the clearing. The Grandfather Tree stood stretching up into the sky, but to their horror, the sticks holding the door were gone. The door was shut tight.

  CHAPTER 21 - OUT OF THE BAG

  Buckleberry trembled as he hid behind an old cookie jar in the shape of a fire hydrant. It was stored out of the way on top of the cupboards. The shelf was quite dusty, and now there were tiny footprints leading up to his hiding place. But they would not be noticed until the next time that the giants dusted.

  When the giants had first come into the kitchen, Buckleberry had been too slow to hide in the trash bag with the others. Instead he had dodged behind the salt and pepper shakers, and watched nervously between them. He spent the next half-hour darting from one hiding place to another as the giants moved around the room cleaning up the mess.

  A couple times he was almost caught when the dog spotted him and went into a frenzy of barking. The giants, thinking the dog was just being a nuisance, finally put him outside. While they were occupied with the dog, Buckleberry took the opportunity to fly to the top of the cupboard, where he now sat hiding, wondering how to help his friends.

  The pixies in the bag were busy dodging debris from the cleanup that came flying down from above. They could hear the sweep of the broom across the floor, and then they were showered with debris as the dustpan was emptied. There was the sound of running water and the rattling of dishes. Soggy paper towels covered with batter and bits of dough dropped down through the opening, much to their disgust.

  Occasionally one of them would not dodge quickly enough, and a small trail of pixie dust mixed with flour would float up out of the bag. Before long they were all covered with flour, dust, and wet batter, and thoroughly miserable.

  Suddenly the entire bag began to shake and shift as it was lifted out of the basket. The light at the top was cut off as the opening was tied shut. Buckleberry watched with dismay as the bag was carried swiftly across the room. It swayed back and forth dizzyingly as it was carried out the back door. Both giants were occupied with taking out the bag.

  Buckleberry was anxious to know what would happen to his friends. He flew over to the windowsill. Looking through the glass, he saw the bag dumped abruptly on the back porch.

  Inside, the pixies were thrown against the sides, landing on the soggy paper towels. Flour floated up in a cloud, causing them all to sneeze and cough.

  The giants did not notice these small noises, but the dog barked excitedly and pawed at the bag with his front paws. His sharp nails punctured the bag in several places. The man took the dog to the other end of the porch, and filled his dish with fresh water. The woman picked up the bag and walked to a metal trash can. Lifting the lid she called out to her husband, "The can is full." She pushed down hard on the bags inside the can. "Should I try to squeeze it in?"

  Watching the woman try to compact the bags filled Buckleberry with great fear. Even if his friends were not crushed, he would never be able to get them out of a metal can. Realizing he had to do something, he recklessly flew towards the door.

  The man called back, "No, I already packed the last bag in tight. Just set it next to the can. The trash pickup is tomorrow morning. I'll put them out by the road after dinner."

  The woman dropped the bag next to the can, and turned back to the house. "Okay," she answered. "Don't forget to sprinkle pepper on the bag so the birds and stray cats don't get into it overnight."

  Just as Buckleberry reached the door, the woman opened it. The sun was just setting outside, and there were shadows across the porch. He flew past her nose. Startled she gasped and waved her hand, just missing him. He flew into the tree, and landed on
a branch.

  "Bugs are out," she called, and the giants went inside taking the dog with them.

  As soon as the lights came on inside the house, Buckleberry flew over to the bag. He could hear his friends moving about inside. Finding one of the holes the dog had made, he put both hands on either side of the opening and pulled. Not much happened. Putting one foot on either side, he clumsily pulled, and pried, until he had made the hole larger. Putting his head through, he tried to call out, but was overcome with a fit of coughing.

  "What was that?" Buttercup sputtered. "Is that beast back?"

  "Sounds more like a pixie choking on too many pastries," said Spike as he sneezed several times.

  Buckleberry pulled his head out, and cleared his throat. Taking a deep breath he thrust his head inside again and called, "Hey you! Over here."

  Soon they were all crawling and scrambling through the ooze and mess to Buckleberry. He helped each of them through the opening. Once outside, they checked to make sure everyone was there and safe. They were a sorry looking group. Even Buckleberry was covered with icing and dirt.

  Della moaned softly, "I can't possibly fly with my wings in this condition."

  Buckleberry grinned. "Come with me." He led them to the dog's dish, which was full of fresh cold water, and they all jumped in. After much splashing about, they were a lot cleaner, and their spirits were much improved. They sat on the porch railing for a couple of minutes to dry off. Spreading their wings, they shook sparkling drops of water into the air.

  Hearing the door open behind them, they all quickly flew off towards the woods. The giants saw them flying off together and the man said, "What a lot of dragonflies we've had this year."

  CHAPTER 22 - TOOTH OR TALON

  Morley looked around the clearing, trying to find something to use for defense. He spotted a stick that was sharp where it had been broken off. He picked it up weighing it in his hand. Into the clearing came a dark furry creature with a pointed nose and long naked tail.