by West, Tracey
PICK YOUR PATH 7
by Tracey West
Grosset & Dunlap
An Imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
GROSSET & DUNLAP
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© 2012 Disney. All rights reserved. Used under license by Penguin Young Readers Group. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
ISBN 978-1-101-61038-1
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
PH's Great Puffle Search #7
“I’m so excited,” you say, pushing open the door to the Pet Shop. “I can’t believe I’m going to adopt my first puffle!”
“Puffles are awesome,” says your good friend Jet, a light blue penguin wearing a puffle T-shirt and red sneakers. “I just got my puffle, Fluffy, a few days ago, and already I feel like we’re best friends.”
Jet has been begging you to explore Club Penguin with him for the last two weeks, and you finally visited the island a few days ago. So far, you’ve been exploring all the different things there are to do. You’ve been playing games and meeting new friends—and everyone seems to have a puffle. Now you’re anxious to get one of your own.
“Wow,” you say, looking around. The Pet Shop is a bright and colorful place with lots of stuff going on. Large plastic tubes wind all around the shop, and you can see fuzzy puffles bouncing through them. There’s puffle furniture on display and shelves filled with what looks like puffle food.
But the most exciting thing in the shop is the little hut where the puffles hang out. Some of the puffles are happily playing on carpeted towers, while others are lounging in comfy puffle beds. You start counting all the different colors you see.
“Black, pink, white, red, orange, brown, yellow, blue, purple, and green,” you say. “Ten different colors! That’s ten different kinds of puffles to choose from.”
“They all have different personalities, too,” Jet explains, “and different talents. Like, Fluffy is a blue puffle, and it likes to play ball.”
“I like to play ball, too,” you say. “Maybe I should get a blue puffle.”
“But you also like to eat stuff, like orange puffles do,” Jet points out. “And you like to jump on trampolines, like a pink puffle. It’s kind of hard to decide.”
“So how did you do it?” you ask.
Jet points to a wood pedestal next to the puffle hut. There’s a thick purple book on it. “I read the Puffle Handbook.”
You waddle over to the book and start to read.
“What Is a Puffle?
Puffles are small, round, furry creatures. They make great pets! Most species are native to the wilds of Club Penguin, although some have been discovered elsewhere.”
The book has information about each type of puffle. There’s a lot of stuff to think about. When you close the book, you are more confused than before.
“I wish I could adopt all ten of them!” you say. “But that’s a lot of puffles to take care of. I should probably start with one and see how it goes.”
A penguin walks into the Pet Shop, and the other penguins there get excited and start to run toward her. She’s a light brown penguin with freckled cheeks and long brown hair. She’s wearing a bright purple vest with a light purple safari hat. There’s a turquoise backpack on her back and a whistle around her neck.
“Hey,” you say. “She looks familiar. Didn’t I just read something about her in The Club Penguin Times?”
Jet nods. “That’s PH. She’s, like, the biggest puffle expert on Club Penguin. She knows everything there is to know about puffles. You should talk to her.”
“I don’t know,” you reply. “She looks kind of busy.”
PH is talking in a cheerful voice to all the penguins gathered around her.
“PH, how do know what kind of food is best to feed your puffle?” a penguin is asking her.
“Well, you can never go wrong with some good old O’berries,” PH replies with a smile. “But if you’re not sure, just look at your puffle’s face when you try to feed it. If it smiles, that means it likes the food you’re giving it.”
“Thanks, PH!” the penguin replies.
“Happy to help, mate!” she says. “Now, I heard through the O’berry line that there’s trouble with the Puffle Launch game, and I came to check it out.”
“Go talk to her,” Jet urges you. “I hear she’s really friendly.”
You shyly approach PH. “Um, excuse me, PH?” you say.
She turns to you and smiles. “G’day! You look more curious than a brown puffle in a gadget shop. Do you have a question?”
“Actually, yes,” you say. “I want to adopt my first puffle, but they’re all so different that I can’t decide which one to get. I was wondering if maybe you could give me some tips on how to learn more about puffles. My friend Jet says you’re an expert.”
Behind you, Jet waves at her with a starstruck look on his face.
“I may be an expert, but I’m always learning new things about puffles,” PH says, waving back at Jet. “And there’s nothing I like better than yabbering on about puffles. I’ll be happy to help you, just as soon as I check out Puffle Launch.”
She waddles over to an alcove on the other side of the shop that holds a large gray cannon with red trim. The cannon is aimed out the open window. You look up and notice an opening in the plastic tubing overhead that will allow puffles to drop into the cannon.
PH fiddles with the cannon for a few minutes and comes back out, wiping her flippers on a rag.
“Just needed a little O’berry grease,” she says. “Would you like me to show you how to play Puffle Launch? That’s an ace way to find out some of the things puffles can do. After that I’ve got to embark on an exciting expedition into the wilderness to study puffles in the wild. I’ve got a lead on some interesting puffle behavior.”
Playing Puffle Launch sounds like fun to you, but before you can answer, Jet whispers in your ear. “Ask if we can go on t
he expedition with her! That would be awesome.”
If you ask if you can go on the expedition with her, go here.
If you ask PH to show you how to play Puffle Launch, go here.
CONTINUED
Jet likes your idea. “That would be awesome if she would let us go on a secret EPF mission with her. Let’s see what she says!”
You and Jet hurry back down the path and quickly catch up with PH. She looks surprised to see you.
“We’d like to help,” you say. “If that’s okay.”
PH grins. “That’s an ace attitude, mates! Sure, you two can come along. But if things get dangerous, I’ll have to ask you to hang back and let me handle it.”
“Dangerous?” you ask nervously.
“It’s probably nothing,” PH says. “But if Herbert is involved, things can sometimes get a bit bonkers.”
“I think I’ve heard of Herbert,” Jet says. “He’s a polar bear, right?”
PH nods. “Ever since he came to the island, he’s made it his mission to take down the EPF,” she says. “He might not even be involved this time, but you never know. One of our Elite Puffles is missing. Its name is Chirp.”
“I didn’t know puffles could be part of the EPF,” you say.
“Sure they are, mates! Puffles are an important part of the EPF,” PH replies. “G says that Chirp was last seen at the Ski Lodge. That’s where we’re headed.”
When you get to the Ski Lodge, PH searches the surrounding snow.
“Beauty!” she cries. “Puffle tracks. Let’s follow them.”
The three of you follow the tracks across the snow and into the mountains of Club Penguin. The tracks lead right to what looks like the mouth of a cave that’s blocked with a big rock.
PH frowns thoughtfully. “Hmm. Did it get into the cave somehow?”
You kneel down and examine the rock. “There’s room under here for a puffle to squeeze through—but not a penguin.”
PH grins. “No worries!” She blows the whistle around her neck, and moments later, a purple puffle arrives.
“Pop, we need to move this boulder,” PH says.
“How can a tiny puffle move a big boulder?” Jet wonders out loud, and soon you all find out.
Pop produces a bubble wand and starts to blow a bubble. It gets bigger . . . and bigger . . . and bigger, until the ginormous bubble is larger than the boulder. It surrounds the rock and floats it up and out of the way.
“Awesome!” you and Jet say.
“Thanks, Pop,” PH says with a grin.
Pop hops away, and you, Jet, and PH enter the dark cave. You follow a tunnel that leads to a strange-looking metal doorway. There’s a control panel with flashing shapes on the door, as well as a big red button.
If you press the button, go here
If you decide to figure out the code on the dial, go here
CONTINUED
“Let’s keep following the tracks,” you say. “I have a feeling they’re going to lead to something interesting.”
“You’re right,” PH says, looking up at the sun. “The snow is melting quickly. We’d better follow the tracks while we can.”
You all continue on the trail, following the tracks until you come to a large, leafy tree.
Jet looks up. “The puffle might have climbed the tree,” he guesses.
“Maybe not,” you say, pointing. “Look!”
There’s a hole in the dirt beneath the roots of the tree.
“Would you get a look at that?” PH says, kneeling down. “Maybe it’s some kind of underground habitat.”
“So where do we look next?” Jet asks.
If you decide to climb down the hole, go here.
If you climb up the tree, go here.
CONTINUED
You exit the cave and blow the whistle twice. Tweet! Tweet! The loud sound echoes off the mountains.
You and Jet anxiously scan the horizon, hoping it worked. Then you see a tiny pink ball of fluff bouncing across the snow to you.
“Over here!” you yell as the pink puffle gets closer. “PH is inside the cave! She fell into a hole! It’s some kind of trap!”
The pink puffle nods and hops past you, and you and Jet follow it into the cave. It examines the hole and then produces a lasso and begins to swing it expertly.
“Cool!” you say.
The puffle throws the lasso down the hole. You and Jet run to help it. You grab on to the end of the rope, steadying it. Then you feel a tug on the other end.
A few seconds later, PH emerges from the hole, carrying a yellow puffle in her backpack.
“Thanks, Loop!” she tells the pink puffle. Then she smiles at you and Jet. “Beauty of a rescue, mates. It was smart to use the whistle.”
“Is that Chirp?” you ask, nodding at the yellow puffle.
“Sure is,” PH says. “Chirp spotted Herbert outside the Ski Village and it followed him to the cave. But she fell into his trap, just like I did. Now, let’s get back to HQ and write up a report.”
You and Jet have never been inside EPF headquarters, and you’re amazed by all the blinking machines and secret agents waddling around. A blue penguin in a lab coat and glasses approaches you.
“PH has told me about your work in the field,” G says. “I am happy to give you each a medal.”
You look at the medal, which is shaped like a puffle.
“Awesome!” you say. “Now all I need is a real puffle!”
THE END
CONTINUED
You aim for the green balloon, and the red puffle bounces up, then bounces again, a little higher . . . and a little higher . . . you did it! The puffle goes through the flaming hoop.
“That was ace!” PH congratulates you. “You’re a real natural at this.”
“Thanks!” you say, feeling proud.
“So, I was thinking,” PH says. “You’ll probably learn better if we go find some puffles doing the things they like to do. Which would you like to see first? We can check out some yellow puffles at the Stage, or go see some white puffles at the Iceberg.”
If you choose white puffles at the Iceberg, go here.
If you choose yellow puffles at the Stage, go here
CONTINUED
You decide to keep quiet about the green puffle, just in case it was a leaf after all. You hurry to catch up to PH and Jet.
Suddenly you hear a ringing, and PH takes a black phone out of her jacket pocket.
“Yes, G?” she asks. “Um-hum. Um-hum. Yes, I see. I’ll be right there.”
PH shuts off the phone and turns to you and Jet. “Sorry, mates, but I’ve got to run. EPF business.” She waddles back down the path before you can say anything.
“Maybe we should go with her and see if she needs help,” you suggest.
“Or we could try to impress her,” Jet says. “Let’s keep heading north and see if we can catch up with that mysterious herd of puffles.”
If you and Jet chase after her, go here
If you and Jet keep heading north, here
CONTINUED
You reach for one of the wires, a red one, and yank it out.
The chamber begins to vibrate, knocking you off your feet. The ceiling opens up and a steel cage drops down, protecting the machine.
“Another booby trap!” PH yells.
Before you can get up and run, the floor underneath opens up. You, Jet, PH, and Chirp go sliding down a metal chute at rocket speed. The chute twists and turns through a dark cavern, and then suddenly you’re blinded by sunlight as it spits you out into the snow.
Whomp! You hit the snow hard and glide across the open snowy field in front of you.
&nbs
p; “What happened?” you ask when you come to a stop.
“Herbert protected his machine with a booby trap,” PH explains. “And that chute seems to have deposited us far away from the cave. I’m not even sure where we are.”
You frown. “I’m sorry. We didn’t destroy the machine!”
PH smiles. “Don’t worry, mate. I know the coordinates of the cave, so we can get some more Agents on the case right away. And the important thing is, we saved Chirp!”
Chirp hops over to you, smiling. Then it begins to play a happy song on its flute. The song is so happy that you and Jet can’t help yourselves—you start to dance.
“This turned out to be a pretty cool adventure,” Jet says. “But you still need to adopt a puffle.”
“I know,” you say. “Let’s go back to the Pet Shop! I want to play with all of them before I decide.”
THE END
CONTINUED
“We may never get another chance to see this dance again,” you point out. “Maybe we should stay and watch.”
PH nods. “All right. But let’s duck behind this O’berry bush. I don’t want to disturb them.”
The three of you crouch behind the bush and watch the puffles dance. They’ve formed a circle, and they hop around the circle first to the right and then to the left. Then the puffles take turns hopping into the middle of the circle, one by one, as the other puffles circle them. You notice that the purple puffle in the group seems to be the best dancer.
PH records the scene with a video camera, whispering as she films. “It looks like a dance, but it might also be some kind of game,” she says. “Or are they telling a story? I need to check and see if any patterns form.”
The puffles all hop into the circle, and then all of them hop out again. That seems to be the end of the dance because the puffles all nod to one another and hop off in different directions.
