Mystery for Megan

by Burlingham , Abi;

  Then Megan thought about the story she had written about Dorothy. She really wanted to tell Emily and Beth.

  I wrote a story at school about a mysterious black cat who ate shortbread. I used lots of describing words and my teacher really liked it.

  She wanted to tell them that Dorothy was a real cat who had come back because she had moved into Buttercup House – how exciting was that? But they would never believe her. Then she thought about Whiskers, those lovely brown mice . . . but she couldn’t tell Emily and Beth about them either. As for Buttercup . . . well, they would think she was completely crazy if she told them about the big golden dog.

  Megan realised then how amazing her new life was, and how the only person she could really share it all with was Freya, her special new friend! But she really wanted to tell Emily and Beth some things, so Megan wrote:

  The house has mice and needs a bit of fixing. But there is a massive garden and a treehouse, which Dad has already mended. I have put up a poster of a white horse in there and I have made friends with a girl called Freya who lives next door.

  I do miss you both and I miss our games of hide and seek and how we always used to hide behind Mr Biggins’s bins! Do you remember?

  Please write back.

  Love Megan xx

  And she put a little picture of a dog at the bottom, with WOOF in a bubble. Megan smiled to herself. She was pleased that she had got round to writing at last, even if some things had to be kept in the box, just as Granny said.

  She hoped they’d write back soon.

  Megan and Freya were so glad when Saturday came. They couldn’t wait to talk about Buttercup at the treehouse. But before they could reach the treehouse, the sky turned grey and rain started to come down in huge drops.

  ‘Ooh, we’re going to get soaked,’ said Freya.

  ‘Quick! Let’s get in the house,’ squealed Megan.

  The girls ran through the rain and into Buttercup House. They were so glad to be in the warm and dry.

  ‘Shall we play in my room?’ said Megan. ‘We could do some colouring and talk about Buttercup.’

  So for most of the morning they did just that! Megan had a big floor colouring that she hadn’t yet started. It was a picture of a woodland scene, with trees, birds, an owl and squirrels.

  ‘This picture’s all wrong,’ said Freya.

  ‘Why?’ said Megan, puzzled.

  ‘They’ve forgotten to put Buttercup in,’ replied Freya.

  The girls laughed.

  ‘We’ll just have to imagine him in the picture, then,’ said Megan.

  Freya kept touching her friendship bracelet and smiling. It reminded her of how much she loved sharing things with Megan.

  At lunch, Megan’s mum brought them sandwiches and crackers and grapes. Megan laid her quilt on the floor and they had an indoor picnic.

  ‘It’s a bedroom picnic,’ said Megan. ‘It’s called a bedroomnic.’

  ‘I’ve never heard of one of those before,’ said Freya, laughing.

  ‘That’s because I just invented it,’ said Megan.

  Then they did a big round animal jigsaw on the floor and talked about Buttercup.

  ‘I can’t believe he’s so old,’ said Megan.

  ‘I know,’ said Freya. ‘I wish we could see him properly. He looks so beautiful, but I bet he’s even more beautiful close up.’

  ‘I bet he is, and I bet his fur’s really soft,’ said Megan. ‘I wish we knew more about him.’

  ‘I do too,’ said Freya.

  ‘I know what we could do!’ said Megan. ‘Let’s write a list of all the things we’d like to know about him.’

  So the girls did some serious thinking and wrote a list of all the things they would like to know. They took it in turns, so that in the end the list looked kind of stripy – stripes of Megan’s handwriting and stripes of Freya’s!

  1)How does Buttercup know Dorothy?

  2)Does he come to help children?

  3)How many times has he come back?

  4)Where does he live?

  5)Does he know the mice?

  6)Has he ever tasted Granny’s shortbread?

  7)How old is he?

  By the time they had finished writing their list, it was late afternoon and their tummies were very rumbly, especially after writing the bit about Granny’s shortbread. Before Freya went home for dinner, they arranged to meet later on in the evening. They could go to their secret place and talk some more about the mice, Dorothy and Buttercup.

  After Freya had gone, Megan popped into her dad’s office and turned on the computer. There was a reply from Emily! Megan was so pleased. It said:

  Dear Megan,

  HIYA! Your treehouse sounds cooooooool! Not so sure about the mice though!!!

  Yes, we’re doing very interesting and exciting describing words at school – can’t you tell? I’m glad you made a new friend. Me and Beth were worried that you would be lonely.

  We miss you too. Hide and seek isn’t as good any more. Yes, we remember Mr Biggins’s bins. How could we forget? Pooey! What a pong!

  Email again soon.

  Emily xx

  Megan read the email over and over again. I must ask Dad if I can print it, she thought, then I can keep it in the special box I have for special things.

  Megan went downstairs for her dinner. Her mum had cooked crispy jacket potatoes with cheese and beans. They were delicious! When she had finished, Megan asked her dad if he could print off the email from Emily.

  ‘I want to keep it in my special box,’ she told him.

  While he was printing it for her, Megan did a bit more colouring in her room – there were still lots of white spaces which she and Freya hadn’t filled in and Megan completely forgot about meeting Freya.

  Suddenly, Megan felt a tickling sensation on her arm. She reached across and her fingers landed on a long tail! She very nearly screamed . . . but it was only Whiskers, and who would be afraid of a sweet little mouse?

  ‘What is it?’ Megan asked the mouse, but before it had time to show her, she suddenly remembered. She was supposed to be meeting Freya!

  Megan quickly put the top on her pen and raced downstairs, with Whiskers running ahead of her.

  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 be
st 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.

  ‘What are we going to do?’ Megan asked Freya.

  ‘We could go to Lego club,’ Freya suggested.

  Megan didn’t really want to, but what else were they going to do?