by Julie Sykes
Lady gave a soft snort and nuzzled her leg.
“Now, tell me what’s been going on,” the teacher said.
The girls explained what had been happening – the angry animals, the sludgy pool, the river that had been disappearing because of rain seeds.
“Ariana got the rain seeds…” said Rosa.
“With a fishing net,” Matilda put in helpfully.
“And now the waterfall is flowing again,” said Freya, gesturing to the Verdant Falls. “Look!”
“Ariana was amazing,” said Violet.
“Well, well, well,” said Ms Rivers, shaking her head. “This is very worrying. I must tell Ms Nettles about it as soon as we get back.” Her face broke into a rare smile. “Well done, everyone. You’ve solved the mystery. The animals must have been leaving the woods because the pool was drying up. Now, hopefully all will be well again.”
“Though we need to find out who was responsible,” said Rosa.
“Indeed,” said Ms Rivers. “But now let’s leave the woodland animals in peace and go back to the school – I imagine you must all be very hungry. I think hot baths and a large supper are called for.”
“Ariana! Your hair!” Violet said suddenly. “You’ve bonded with Whisper!”
Ariana dipped her head and saw that one of her braids had turned the same pink and purple colours as Whisper’s mane. Happiness rushed through her and she ran to where Whisper was standing with the other unicorns. Flinging her arms around him, she gasped, “We’ve bonded, Whisper!”
Whisper nuzzled her neck. “I always knew we would.”
Ariana felt like she was going to burst with delight. Turning round, she saw all her friends beaming. My friends, she thought happily. All of them.
“I’m so glad you came to Unicorn Academy and we were paired together,” said Whisper, nudging her shoulder.
“Me too,” she said, laughing and hugging him again. “Now, let’s go back to school and have even more fun!”
COPYRIGHT
First published in the UK in 2019 by Nosy Crow Ltd
The Crow’s Nest, 14 Baden Place, Crosby Row
London, SE1 1YW, UK
Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd
Text copyright © Julie Sykes and Linda Chapman, 2019
Illustrations copyright © Lucy Truman, 2019
The right of Julie Sykes, Linda Chapman and Lucy Truman to be identified as the authors and illustrator respectively of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
A CIP catalogue record for this book will be available from the British Library.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Nosy Crow Ltd.
Printed and bound in the UK by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A
Papers used by Nosy Crow are made from wood grown in sustainable forests.
ISBN: 978 1 78800 456 5
eISBN: 978 1 78800 503 6
www.nosycrow.com
