The Plant Pixies Read online

  Sasha crossed her eyes to see her. “I’m glad they didn’t find you.”

  “You’re a good friend to keep my secret.”

  Sasha grinned. She liked being Collie’s friend.

  “I never knew that your feathers were more powerful than theirs.” Collie swung her tiny legs. “You know, if I got your feathers, the other pixies would stop laughing at me. I’d be a hero. It’s so easy, too. I mean, I’m standing right on top of the Lost Princess!”

  Sasha’s heart began to thump. What have I done? she thought.

  Would Collie take her feathers?

  “You need to go back inside the jar,” said Sasha.

  “No, I’m not leaving!” said Collie.

  “You have to. I don’t want you to take my feathers,” said Sasha.

  “Oh, snapdragon!” Collie giggled. “I was only joking. I won’t really do it.”

  Sasha didn’t know if she could trust her new friend.

  “You need to get off now!” Sasha shook her head.

  Collie grabbed onto Sasha’s forelock. She held tight.

  Sasha shook harder and harder.

  Collie got scared. Vines shot from her wrists. They circled Sasha’s ears.

  Oh, no! thought Sasha. I have to do something—fast.

  Ah-choo!

  Sasha let out a huge sneeze, spraying Collie with snot.

  The vines shrunk away. Collie lost her grip. She slid down Sasha’s nose as if it were a waterslide.

  Collie landed with a splat! on the ground. Sneeze-snot dripped from her shimmering green hair. “Gross! That wasn’t nice.”

  Sasha mopped up the sneeze with her tail. “I’m sorry, Collie.”

  “You’ll never believe this!” Kimani hurried into the cave.

  “Hide!” Sasha nudged Collie under a blanket.

  “The pixie ran away,” said Kimani. “Her empty jar was found on the beach. Do you think she used magic to escape?”

  Sasha took a deep breath. It was time to tell Kimani about Collie.

  CHAPTER 6

  Pixie Talk

  Before Sasha could begin her story, the birds outside began to screech loudly.

  “It’s the bird alarm! Let’s go see.” Kimani pushed Sasha toward the cave entrance.

  Sasha looked down at the blanket. Would Collie be here when she got back?

  Xanthos and Sapphire waited over on the beach as Kimani and Sasha walked outside. Mercury and Crimson hurried toward them.

  “The grass in the meadow turned brown,” said Mercury.

  “And the flowers died,” said Crimson.

  Nobody knew why this had happened.

  “The flying horses will have nothing to eat,” said Mercury. Like all horses, the flying horses ate grass and wildflowers.

  “We must find new green fields,” said Xanthos. The four horses flew away.

  “The plant pixies stopped spreading their pixie dust,” Sasha told Kimani. “That’s why the grass turned brown and the flowers won’t bloom. They use pixie dust to make things grow and make the world beautiful.”

  “How do you know?” asked Kimani.

  “I learned about the pixie dust from Collie,” Sasha answered.

  “You talked to her?” Kimani’s eyes bulged with surprise.

  “Yes. Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “No flying horse has ever spoken to a plant pixie before. We don’t speak the same language as they do. Their language makes no sense to us.”

  “It makes sense to me,” said Sasha.

  “That’s amazing.” Kimani shook her head with wonder.

  “You should meet Collie,” offered Sasha.

  “Meet her?” Kimani sounded scared. “Isn’t she dangerous? Won’t she hurt us?”

  “Not at all. She’s very nice,” said Sasha. “I hope she’s still here.”

  Sasha led Kimani back inside the cave.

  “Oh! Who did this?” cried Kimani.

  Her cave was now sparkling clean. The blankets were folded. The pillows were stacked. The straw had been stuffed back into the mattresses. Kimani’s hair ribbons were braided into streamers. The air smelled like lilacs.

  Did Collie do this? wondered Sasha. She knew Collie loved to braid.

  “Collie?” Sasha looked for her. “Kimani wants to meet you. Are you here?”

  CHAPTER 7

  Keeping Up with the Pillywiggins

  “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” Collie stepped out from behind a big pillow and greeted Kimani.

  “I didn’t hear words, just squeaks,” Kimani told Sasha. “What did she say?”

  “She said hello.” Sasha turned to Collie. “Did you clean up?”

  “Plant pixies love to tidy up. I made the cave beautiful because you let me out of the jar.” Collie smiled warmly. “I didn’t want your friend to be sad.”

  Sasha smiled. Collie was a good friend.

  Kimani twirled her tail with excitement. “Sasha! I think we found your royal power.”

  “We did?” asked Sasha.

  “You’re the only one in Crystal Cove who speaks the pixie language. I bet you can understand elves and fairies, too. That’s your power!”

  Sasha had hoped for a more exciting power. “What good is talking to plant pixies?”

  “You can ask them things.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “You can ask them things like why they’re stealing our feathers,” said Kimani.

  “It’s because they want to fly,” Sasha explained.

  “But why?” asked Kimani. “We have no idea.”

  Sasha blinked. How strange! The plant pixies were the enemies of the flying horses, but they had never spoken to one another.

  “Collie, why do the plant pixies want to fly?” asked Sasha.

  “Flying is cool as a cucumber!” She clapped her hands in delight. “At least, I think it is. I’ve never done it.”

  “That’s the whole reason?”

  “No.” Collie grew serious. “The pillywiggins are the reason.”

  Sasha was confused. “What’s a pillywiggin?”

  “Pillywiggins are smaller than pixies. They sleep inside tulips. They wear acorn caps and have butterfly wings. They fly from flower to flower and drink nectar out of tiny straws.”

  “That’s so sweet,” said Sasha.

  “Not to a hungry pixie. We must climb the stems to reach the flowers. Have you ever tried that? It’s really hard! By the time we get there, the pillywiggins have slurped up all the nectar,” said Collie.

  “Is that why the plant pixies take our feathers? So they can fly from flower to flower like the pillywiggins?” guessed Sasha.

  “Yes, exactly!” said Collie.

  “The flying horses and the plant pixies don’t need to fight. We can find a way for the plant pixies to fly—just not with horse feathers,” Sasha told Kimani. “Let’s go on a wing hunt.”

  “I’m going, too. Coming up, buttercup!” Collie scampered up Sasha’s leg. She hid inside her mane.

  They both flew off in search of wings.

  CHAPTER 8

  Wing Hunt

  They flew above the beach. Sasha felt Collie’s little hands braiding her mane.

  Kimani pointed. “The peacock down there is standing by . . . a large pile of feathers!”

  They flew down.

  “Are those feathers yours?” asked Kimani.

  “I’d say so.” The peacock puffed out his chest. “Every year, I shed my old feathers and grow new ones.”

  “Can we take them?” asked Sasha.

  The peacock nodded. “Sure! Out with the old and in with the new!”

  After the peacock strutted away, Collie climbed out. She inserted two peacock feathers into her silver harness. She pulled a tiny cord, and the feathers began to flap.

  Collie flew off the ground. It was working!

  She hovered for a minute, but she couldn’t fly higher than Sasha’s knees.

  “They don’t have enough flying power,” said Collie.r />
  “A peacock’s feathers are about beauty and not about flying,” said Sasha.

  At that moment, a toucan flew by. His shiny black feathers were perfect for flying.

  Kimani waved him over to join them. She asked if they could pluck some of his feathers.

  “No way!” said the toucan.

  “That’s okay,” Sasha told Kimani. “We need feathers for all the plant pixies. He’d be bald if he gave us that many.”

  They searched up and down the beach. There were no feathers to give the plant pixies to be found.

  Soon, it was lunchtime.

  A platter waited in front of Kimani’s cave. Usually, it was piled high with wildflowers, sweet grass, and fruit. Today, it held only gray mushrooms.

  Kimani wrinkled her nose. “I guess the plant pixies still haven’t sprinkled their pixie dust. This is all we have to eat. Yuck.”

  Sasha took a bite. “These are drier than sand.”

  Kimani gave a whinny. Two hummingbirds appeared. They asked what they could do.

  “A spritz of sweetness, please,” she told them.

  The hummingbirds drizzled nectar on the mushrooms with their long, skinny beaks.

  Sasha took another bite. “So much tastier!”

  “The hummingbirds are the best. They help the flying horses in every way,” said Kimani.

  “In . . . every . . . way?” Sasha repeated slowly. “I’ve got it!”

  Sasha whispered her new idea into Kimani’s ear. She’d had many ideas today, but her new idea was better than all of them!

  Sasha and Kimani spoke to the hummingbirds. Then Sasha called Collie to come out.

  Collie quickly licked the extra nectar off the platter. “Delicious!”

  “We have to try this before anyone sees you,” said Sasha. “Climb on top of a hummingbird.”

  “Poppin’ poppies, that’s crazy!” Collie crossed her little arms across her chest.

  “The hummingbirds fly. You want to fly. They are small. You are small, too. It’s the perfect pair.”

  “I don’t like pears,” said Collie.

  “Not that kind of pear. A duo. A team,” explained Sasha. “You can ride on her back.”

  Collie climbed on. She wrapped her silver harness around the hummingbird’s neck, making a bridle and reins.

  “Let’s do this,” Collie said, holding on tight. “Up, up, and away!”

  The hummingbird beat her wings. She rose into the air—bringing Collie to the nearest flower. She hovered there, as Collie stepped off the tiny floating creature and onto the petals. Collie took a big drink of nectar. Then she scampered back onto the hummingbird.

  “That was awesome!” cried Collie.

  Sasha and Kimani cheered.

  “Here’s the deal,” said Sasha. “The hummingbirds will give the plant pixies rides to the flowers. They are faster than pillywiggins, so you’ll get a lot of nectar. If they do this, the plant pixies must agree to never take another feather from a flying horse.”

  “I’ll go tell my mother this plan and ask what she thinks,” said Collie. “Root for me!”

  CHAPTER 9

  Make Like a Tree and Leave

  Sasha and Kimani searched the sky. “Don’t worry, she’ll be back.”

  Sasha had been saying this all afternoon. Now the sun was starting to set, and Collie and the hummingbird still hadn’t come back. Were they lost? Had Collie’s mom hated her idea?

  Xanthos and Sapphire galloped onto the beach toward them.

  “You shouldn’t be out here. It’s not safe,” said Sapphire.

  “Tell them about the plant pixie,” Kimani urged Sasha.

  “What plant pixie?” asked Xanthos.

  “The one in the jar.” Sasha told them everything. She explained about her royal power to understand pixie language. She told them about pillywiggins and hummingbird rides. She told them about her new friend, Collie.

  “It won’t work.” Sapphire shook her head. “Flying horses and plant pixies can’t be friends.”

  “Oh yes, they can!” Collie swooped down out of the sky on the back of the hummingbird. She held the reins with one hand and waved to Sasha with the other.

  “You’re here!” Sasha was so happy to see her.

  “My mother loves the hummingbird idea. You have a deal. We will leave your horse feathers alone forever.” Collie grinned. “Guess what, Sasha? I’m a hero. All the pixies cheered for me!”

  Sasha cheered for her, too.

  “What’s she saying?” asked Sapphire.

  “The pixie problem is over. The flying horses are safe!” cried Sasha.

  Now everyone cheered.

  Mercury and Crimson galloped over as Major Bill joined them. “The fields are green again! The flowers are blooming!”

  “The plant pixies did that,” Collie told Sasha. “We stopped the goats from somersaulting, too.”

  Sasha raised a hoof. Collie slapped her a high-five.

  Kimani called over all the hummingbirds. The plant pixies were now gathered together, waiting in the meadow. Each plant pixie would pick a hummingbird to be his or her partner.

  “Can I be partners with you?” Collie asked the hummingbird she’d been riding.

  “I’d like that,” replied the hummingbird. “My name is Lucia.”

  Xanthos took one of the medals that hung around Major Bill’s neck and put it around Sasha’s neck. “Sasha’s royal power and smart thinking saved the flying horses. We can now fly anywhere we want.”

  “I’m flying home to Verdant Valley,” Sasha said, turning to Collie. “Do you want to meet my sisters?”

  “Yes!” said Collie. “Let’s make like a tree and leave.”

  “Can I come, too?” asked Kimani.

  “I want all my friends with me.” Sasha flapped her wings and soared through the clouds.

  Kimani flew next to her.

  Collie leaped onto Lucia, and they took to the air. The plant pixie flew alongside the two flying horses.

  “Wait! Stop!” Sapphire zoomed up to them. “You need to go to the Royal Island of Flying Horses.”

  “Where is the island?” Sasha had never heard of it before.

  “Under the clouds, around the rainbow, and over the sea,” said Sapphire.

  “But why? What’s there?” asked Sasha.

  “Someone special is waiting there for you,” said Sapphire.

  Read on for a sneak peek from the sixth book in the Tales of Sasha series!

  CHAPTER 1

  Lucky Charm

  “I’m not going,” said Sasha. Her words echoed across the sky.

  The yellow flying horse stopped talking. The purple flying horse stopped laughing. The green flying horse stopped singing. They all flew closer to Sasha.

  Sapphire circled Sasha. Her blue coat gleamed in the sun, and she frowned. “What?”

  Sasha flapped her wings quickly to hover in place. She was nervous. Sapphire ruled the flying horses. No one ever refused her orders.

  Until now.

  “I’m not going to the Royal Island,” Sasha said, trying to make her voice sound strong, even though her knees wobbled. “I can’t.”

  Sapphire’s bright blue eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

  “I miss my family,” Sasha said with a gulp. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen them.”

  Sapphire’s frown went away. Her voice softened. “We’re your family, too. Your flying family.”

  “You’re our Lost Princess,” added Sasha’s friend Kimani. She flew up beside her. “We need you.”

  Sasha’s head was spinning. So much had happened so fast.

  Only a little while ago, she was living in Verdant Valley with her parents and two sisters. She had known she was different than the other horses, but she couldn’t figure out how. Then one day, wings popped out of her back. She could fly!

  Sasha was a flying horse.

  Soon she learned that other flying horses lived in Crystal Cove. Sasha traveled to meet them. She discovered she was th
eir Lost Princess! They had left her with a family of regular horses when she was a baby. They had wanted to keep their princess safe from the plant pixies.

  Now the plant pixies and the flying horses were friends thanks to Sasha. She’d fixed everything with her special Lost Princess powers. Sapphire wanted Sasha to go to the Royal Island to meet someone important. She wouldn’t tell Sasha who it was yet.

  Sasha was curious, but . . . the island was far away out in the sea.

  Sasha missed her family in Verdant Valley. She missed her friends. She missed the green fields and even her lessons at school.

  Sasha wanted to help the flying horses. She also wanted to give her mom a big nuzzle.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Sasha said to Sapphire. “I have two families now.”

  “The more family, the more love.” Sapphire looked to the sky. “The best time to fly to the island is when a rainbow fills the sky. The sun will shine today and tomorrow. Then the rain and the rainbow will come. You can go to Verdant Valley before going to the island.”

  “Thank you!” cried Sasha. She promised Sapphire she’d go to the island as soon as the rainbow appeared.

  “I can’t believe she’s letting you go.” Kimani looked shocked. Sapphire never changed her mind.

  “We’re so lucky Sasha came back to us.” Sapphire untied a long, thin, black velvet ribbon with a small gold star attached to it from around her tail.

  “What is that?” asked Sasha.

  “A lucky star,” Sapphire said, tying it to Sasha’s gray tail.

  “Oh, I want a lucky star, too,” cried Kimani.

  “This star brings luck only when worn by a royal horse, like Sasha,” said Sapphire.

  “Why do I need luck?” asked Sasha.