Dave the Unicorn: Dance Party

by Pip Bird

  Mira was trying to squeeze Dave into his dancing jacket, but he wouldn’t stop wriggling. “Hold still, Dave!” she said. “Do you want another doughnut? Oh, you’ve already finished them.”

  Dave snorted and then looked pointedly out the window.

  Mira saw where he was looking. Darcy and Star were shoveling unicorn poop in the stable yard.

  Mira looked around her. Everywhere she turned, students and unicorns were creating a magical disco room. Sparkly decorations were going up on the walls while twinkly lights crisscrossed the ceiling. And the treats table was looking spectacular. Darcy would love it.

  Dave snuffled again and farted loudly.

  “Okay, okay!” said Mira, as she took off Dave’s dancing jacket. “I agree that Darcy is our friend and the dance won’t be nearly as fun without her.”

  Dave nodded and waggled his ears.

  Mira thought for a moment. She thought of dancing in the kitchen with Pickles and Rani. They’d had so much fun, even though it was just the three of them … WAIT A MINUTE! Mira had an idea. But she needed the help of her friends.

  Mira quickly whispered in Dave’s ear, and Dave trotted over to Brave. He and Raheem were helping to set up the speakers for the DJ.

  Brave and Dave started snuffling at each other. Raheem came over to ask Mira what was going on. She explained that the unicorns were going to create a diversion.

  Raheem looked both confused and scared.

  Just then, Brave gave one of his thundering neighs, and when everyone turned to look at him, Dave kicked over a large speaker. This in turn banged into the treats table, knocking over a unicorn made from cream puffs that Jake and Pegasus had been creating for several hours.

  Miss Hind, who was overseeing the preparations, blew her whistle loudly and ran over to see what was going on, as cream puffs rolled all over the floor. Mira quickly ducked down and grabbed a handful of treats from the table and a spare string of sparkly lights.

  Jake went bright red and started stomping around and shouting, and while Miss Hind was calming him down, Mira whispered, “Now’s our chance!”

  She picked up Darcy’s and Star’s party outfits from the rail and yanked Raheem out of the hall, with Dave and Brave following closely behind. Mira noticed that Dave had several cream puffs skewered on his horn and was throwing them into the air and catching them in his mouth.

  “What now?” asked Raheem, as he stumbled down the hall after Mira.

  “We’re going to see Darcy,” said Mira.

  Raheem rolled his eyes and groaned. “Mira, Darcy is in detention and it’s all fine, and we’re preparing for the dance, and it’s all going to be nice and calm, with no more danger. Or excitement.”

  “No,” said Mira, marching them all off toward the stables. “We owe it to our friend to give her the very best dance party ever!”

  * * *

  “What are you doing here?” exclaimed Darcy. She and Star were looking at pictures on Darcy’s phone.

  “Darcy, you SHALL go to the dance!” said Mira dramatically.

  Darcy frowned. “I can’t go to the dance, Mira. I’ll get in so much trouble!”

  Mira grinned. “Aha! Well if Darcy can’t come to the dance, then WE’LL bring the dance to Darcy!”

  “Oh, okay!” said Darcy. She looked confused. “Actually, I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “We’re having our own dance. Just us!” cried Mira. “And the theme is Glitter Fever.”

  Darcy blinked in surprise.

  “We’ve brought all the stuff,” continued Mira, giving Darcy a slightly squashed cream puff. “There’s just one thing we need.”

  “A Chief Organizer,” said Raheem, handing Darcy a clipboard. “The best party planner ever.”

  Darcy stared at the clipboard, and then looked up at them. She frowned. Mira’s heart sank.

  “You guys…,” Darcy said slowly, “had better watch out. Because…”

  Darcy spun around in her chair and pointed her finger at Mira and Raheem. “GLITTER FEVER’S GONNA GET YOU!”

  “YAY!” said Mira, and Raheem grinned (but he also pulled his T-shirt up over his mouth, just in case glitter fever was something that could make you sick).

  Darcy turned back to Mira. “So where is our dance?”

  “The dorm,” Mira said with a great big grin. “But first, we need to make an epic disco ball.”

  Darcy squealed with delight, and the three friends quickly set about gathering as much glitter and sparkle as they could find. Darcy had stashed away the small glitter boulder from earlier, and Star sorted as much glittery unicorn poop from their muck pile as possible. Mira got all the coveralls out of the laundry basket and shook the glitter dust off them. Raheem even went and got all the hand mirrors from the unicorn grooming store.

  “Okay, let’s make this into a disco ball!” said Mira.

  When they’d finished, Darcy wiped her hands on her pants, then wiped a tear from her eye. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “You are the best friends ever. And this is going to be the best DANCE ever!”

  “Even though it’s just us,” said Raheem.

  “Especially because it’s just us,” said Mira, as she gave each of her best friends a big hug.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Dave Does Disco!

  The lunch bell rang, and Mira nodded to her friends. “Quick! Before anyone sees us!” she said.

  Dave’s stomach rumbled.

  “Are you okay?” she asked him. Dave nodded. Today, friendship meant more than anything— even lunch.

  They worked as a team. Dave, Star, and Brave rolled the disco ball from the stableyard up into the Class Red dormitory. Mira and Raheem followed them with brooms, sweeping up the glittery, poopy trail they left behind them. Darcy supervised and gave instructions.

  They hid the disco ball behind one of the Class Red dorm curtains and ran down to the cafeteria.

  “Where did you guys go?” said Jake, as they sat down at the table with their trays. There were smears of chocolate on his face, and he looked a little frazzled.

  “Oh, we were just … around!” replied Mira, trying to look calm. She was still pretty sweaty and a bit stinky from creating the disco ball. “We were making … something. Actually, I really wanted your opinion on a recipe for croissants…”

  Mira knew that asking Jake for advice would distract him. Soon everyone was chatting about how excited they were for the dance (apart from Jake, who was still going on about croissants).

  The lunch bell rang again and there was a stampede of students and unicorns running to the dance. Whoops and cheers came from the hall, and then music started blaring out.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind missing it?” asked Darcy quietly.

  Mira gave her a huge hug. “Are you kidding?” she said cheerfully. “Let’s go and have our own dorm disco!”

  * * *

  Back in the Class Red dormitory, Raheem put on some music and moved all the bedside lamps to shine on the disco ball. He put the disco ball on a record player on a bedside table so it would spin and send sparkly light all over the walls. They all got changed into their party outfits, and Darcy had the idea of taking down one of the red curtains to make a red carpet. Then they took turns pretending to arrive in style with their unicorns.

  They were dancing around and singing at the top of their voices and didn’t hear the door bang. So they were quite surprised when they did hear the

  of Miss Hind’s whistle.

  “WHAT are you DOING in here?!” the PE teacher yelled at them.

  Mira noticed that Miss Hind wasn’t wearing her usual sportswear. Instead she was wearing a white, shiny party dress, and she’d even styled her hair in a swishy ponytail instead of a scraped-back bun.

  “You look lovely, Miss Hind!” said Darcy.

  Raheem sank down on the bed, his head in his hands. “I knew it! We’re in even more trouble. We’ll be banned from Unicorn School forever. Expelled! Sent to prison!”

  Miss
Hind pointed at them all in turn. “Darcy, YOU should be in detention. Mira, YOU should be at the dance, and Raheem, YOU should be in the lighting booth, and—WHAT IS THAT BEAUTIFUL THING?!”

  The three friends followed Miss Hind’s finger, which was now pointing at their disco ball.

  Darcy stepped in to defend her friends. “It’s a disco ball, Miss Hind. Again, this is all my fault. Mira and Raheem didn’t want me to feel left out, so they made me a dance party in the dorm. Please, let them go back to the dance. I’ll go back to detention. I’m sorry!”

  Mira was shocked to hear Darcy saying it was her fault, when the dorm disco had been Mira’s idea! She started to explain that to Miss Hind, but the teacher’s face was now doing funny things. Her eyebrows looked angry, her cheeks were bright red, and her mouth was trying really hard not to smile.

  “Grrrr,” Miss Hind growled. “This is all extremely frustrating. Although NONE of you are where you should be, you have behaved in a way that promotes the Unicorn School values of friendship and loyalty. We will ALL discuss this with Madame Shetland. Follow me.”

  Miss Hind stomped off, then turned back. “And bring that glorious disco ball with you.”

  The three friends exchanged glances. What was going to happen next…?

  They picked up the disco ball and raced through the corridors to stand outside the hall. Mira could see the room did look truly spectacular and was full of their friends and the other Unicorn School students having fun. Miss Hind was waiting at the door with Madame Shetland. They both looked very stern, despite their glittering, glamorous party clothes. Miss Hind was still red in the face as she explained what a nice thing Mira and Raheem had done for their friend.

  Madame Shetland nodded and crossed her arms. “Darcy, you deserved your detention. But taking responsibility so that all your classmates could go to the dance was the right thing to do. Have you learned your lesson?”

  Darcy nodded.

  “And Mira and Raheem,” Madame Shetland continued. “You have taken a lot of risks these last few days, but it has been to help and support your friend.”

  Mira and Raheem nodded. Mira crossed her fingers behind her back.

  Madame Shetland finally smiled. “Therefore, you have definitely adhered to Unicorn School Rule 64: Being a Loyal Friend Overrides Other Behavior on Certain Occasions. And, as such … You shall ALL go to the dance!”

  “HOOORAAAAAY!” Mira and Darcy were yelling and high-fiving.

  Miss Hind tapped Raheem on the shoulder. “Hurry up, Raheem! They need you in the lighting booth. And set up that disco ball right away.”

  Raheem grinned and trotted off with Brave.

  When Mira and Darcy went into the hall, the whole of Class Red huddled around them, cheering loudly.

  By the time Mira and Darcy had finished hugging everyone, Raheem had set up the disco ball. Then he switched on the lights.

  The entire hall was lit with squillions of magical sparkles, as if the stars had come down from the sky and were shining just for the dance.

  Just then, “Glitter Fever’s Gonna Get You” came on the speakers, the crowd split, and Class Red ran onto the dance floor in two straight lines, children in front of unicorns.

  “My routine!” Darcy squeaked.

  Freya gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder and shouted over the music, “We’ve been practicing!” Then she ran to join Princess and her friends in the dance. As the lines parted, with each partner doing their very best jazz hands or hooves, Darcy launched herself right down the center, doing an endless spinning wheelie.

  Mira laughed and felt a nudge. Dave was holding out a hoof. She giggled again and curtsied to him. “Why, yes, I will have this dance, thank you!” They had to dodge Rani and Angelica, who were doing the most incredible series of spinning lifts right across the hall. They looked so cool that people in their path stopped dancing to applaud them. Mira had never seen her sister look happier. She gave her a big thumbs-up.

  Freya shimmied over to Mira and did a spin. She sniffed and made a funny face. Over the loud music, Freya shouted into Mira’s ear, “Does something smell weird?”

  A small clump of hay coated in glittery unicorn poop fell off the disco ball onto Princess, and Mira quickly shouted back, “Let’s go and get some punch!”

  They danced over to the treats table and helped themselves to some rainbow cake and chocolate-dipped marshmallows. Flo asked Darcy if she liked the party.

  “Well,” Darcy said thoughtfully, “Jake didn’t get the decorations exactly right, and the line dancing wasn’t really—OW!”

  Mira had poked Darcy in the ribs.

  Darcy cleared her throat. “I mean,” she said, “it’s totally perfect. Come on, let’s dance!”

  They all pranced back onto the dance floor in their pairs. Dave slipped on a bit of disco-ball poop and managed to do the partner slide with jazz hooves that he’d found so hard in rehearsal!

  Mira laughed and spun around her unicorn. It had been a very eventful few days at Unicorn School. But now she was disco dancing with Dave and all her best friends. It was …

  DAZZLING DANCE QUIZ

  How much have YOU remembered about Dave the Unicorn: Dance Party?

  What’s the name of Mira and Rani’s cat? Pom Pom

  Poppy

  Pickles

  What’s the first super-special treat Mira brings Dave in this book? Jelly doughnut

  Chocolate

  Strawberry licorice

  What’s the theme of the Unicorn School Dance? Glitz and Glamour

  Gardens

  Glitter Fever

  Who is quest leader in this book? Flo

  Freya

  Jake

  Raheem insists Brave wear this when they go into the Crystal Maze Mine … Protective face mask

  High-visibility jacket

  Safety helmet

  What is School Rule 73? Always Be Kind to Your Unicorn

  Give Dave Plenty of Doughnuts

  Leave the Forest as You Find It

  Answers:

  Mostly As: Good effort but no prize this time!

  Mostly Bs: Not quite! Why not read the book again and then see how many questions you get right?

  Mostly Cs: Wow! You are the star of the show and the top of the class. Well done!

  UNICORN JOKES

  What did the mirror say to the unicorn?

  I see u-nicorn.

  Which unicorn always gets forgotten?

  The who-nicorn.

  Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance?

  Because he had no body to go with!

  What happened to the smallest unicorn?

  He grew-nicorn.

  What dance would a car do at the disco?

  A brake dance.

  Which unicorn is a ghost in disguise?

  The boooooo-nicorn!

  Dave and Mira’s adventures are just beginning! Escape Unicorn School with everyone’s favorite unicorn best friends in Dave the Unicorn: Field Trip!

  Read on for a sneak peek!

  CHAPTER ONE

  Tick Tock, Tick Tock

  Tick tock, tick tock, BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

  “Good morning, Rani!” said Mira, as her big sister opened her eyes.

  “GGAAAARRRRRGH!” Rani screamed. “Why are you in my face?!”

  Mira threw down the alarm clock and started jumping up and down on her sister’s bed. “We’ve got to get to Unicorn School! It’s MY FIELD TRIP TODAY!” Mira yelled. She was waving her signed permission slip in the air. “I’m almost ready! I just need to make my packed lunch.”

  “Get OFF!” Rani shoved Mira off the bed and stuck her head under the pillow.

  Mira jumped onto the floor, hopping from foot to foot. “What do you think I should have in my sandwiches, tuna or cheese?”

  “GO AWAY!” Rani flung a pillow at her little sister.

  “Okay, bye! See you downstairs!” Mira dodged the pillow and scooped up their cat, Pickles, for a cuddle on the way.

 
; Soon, she’d be cuddling Dave, her UBFF (Unicorn Best Friend Forever). He was the best unicorn in the world. Sure, he could be pretty grumpy. And he ALWAYS wanted to eat snacks or take a nap, and this often got them both in trouble. And he certainly wasn’t as glittery as some of the other unicorns. (He was much more farty.) BUT Dave was Mira’s UBFF and they always ended up having the most amazing adventures and TONS of fun.

  Unicorn School was Mira’s favorite place in the whole world. They went on quests around the Fearsome Forest, hung out with Darcy and Raheem and their unicorns, AND earned medals. She couldn’t wait to go back!

  * * *

  After Mira had made her sandwiches (she’d decided on cheese) and had some breakfast, it was time to get dressed.

  “I wish I could wear my kitticorn pajamas to school, Pickles,” Mira said, stroking the picture of the adorable kitticorn on her PJs. A kitticorn was a supercute baby cat that had a horn just like a unicorn. She’d found a book about them in the Unicorn School library and ever since then she’d been OBSESSED—drawing tons of pictures of them, keeping a list of her Top Ten Kitticorn Facts, and making her very own kitticorn toy out of cotton wool and a toilet paper roll (even though Rani said it looked more like a weird pig).

  Mira was longing to meet a kitticorn in real life, but they were VERY rare. She was planning to ask the Unicorn School teachers if they’d ever seen one. But first she had to get to Unicorn School!