The wood lay before them, just miles of branches and leaves. Summer’s heart sank and she twisted her opal necklace. What were they going to do if they couldn’t find the little koala’s mother?
For Esther Mary Scourse
and her koalas, Koko and Koco
Princess Summer raced downstairs, her golden hair bouncing on her shoulders. She was so excited that her friends had come to visit! Jumping down the last two steps, she ran towards the door.
Summer’s mum, the Queen of Mirrania, came into the hallway. “Wait a minute, Summer! Where are you going?”
“I’m taking my friends to the woods to show them all the animals,” said Summer.
“What about your hair?” said the queen. “Have you brushed it?”
“I think I did.” Summer flicked back her hair. “I’m sure it looks all right anyway.”
The queen sighed. “Well, don’t forget that the photographer’s coming today.”
“I won’t. See you later!” Summer rushed out of the door.
The sun beat down on the walls and pointed towers of the palace. Straight ahead lay a neat garden full of bright flowers, with the wild forest just beyond.
Three princesses were waiting for Summer at the bottom of the palace steps. Maya was smiling shyly, her dark plait hanging over her shoulder. Lottie was practising cartwheels on the grass. Rosalind stood with her arms folded, tapping her foot impatiently.
Summer’s heart lifted as she ran towards them. She’d met the girls at Maya’s palace, in the kingdom of Lepari. They had climbed a steep mountain to rescue a snow leopard cub from terrible danger. It had been an amazing adventure!
Lottie and Rosalind had explained that they’d set up a secret club for rescuing animals and it was called the Rescue Princesses. She’d felt so happy when they’d asked her to join. She loved animals and always wanted to help them. Now she had friends who felt that way too!
Each Rescue Princess wore a ring with a magical jewel. The jewels let them call each other when they found an animal in trouble. Summer’s jewel was a beautiful purple amethyst. She touched it and smiled.
Lottie stopped cartwheeling and looked at Summer. The breeze ruffled her curly red hair. “We’re all ready, Summer! What did you want to show us?”
“Loads of things!” replied Summer. “There’s a whole wood full of animals and birds beyond that gate.” She pointed to an old wooden gate in the corner. “It was dark when you all arrived yesterday, so I couldn’t show it to you. But I know you’ll like it. We have amazing animals here in Mirrania. There are kangaroos, possums and koalas, and in the evening you can see bats flying around.”
“Awesome!” cried Lottie.
“Oh, I almost forgot! First of all, you have to meet Kanga.” Summer gazed round the garden, calling out. “Kanga? Where are you?”
A blue-and-yellow parrot flew down to the topmost step by the front door. He put his head to one side and looked at the girls.
“Oh yes! I remember you telling us you had a pet parrot,” said Rosalind, smoothing her short blonde hair. “But why do you call him Kanga? Isn’t that a better name for a kangaroo?”
Kanga opened his beak and gave a loud squawk. Then he bounced down the palace steps one by one. He looked so funny that the girls had to laugh.
“You see! That’s why I called him Kanga,” said Summer. “Sometimes he bounces along instead of flying.”
“He’s a parrot that acts like a kangaroo!” grinned Lottie. “I think I’m going to like this place!”
Kanga hopped a few more times, before spreading his wings and flying up to Summer’s shoulder. “Are you ready for an adventure, Kanga?” she asked him.
Kanga bobbed his head in reply.
The princesses followed Summer through the gate that led out into the wood. They stepped over tangled bushes and pushed their way through the trees. Their shoes scuffed up the reddish earth. High in the branches, birds were calling to each other. One flew past with a low swooping cry.
“It sounds so strange out here,” murmured Maya.
“It smells different too,” said Lottie. “It’s a fresh sort of smell – I really like it!”
Rosalind jumped as a furry animal with a bushy tail ran past. “Summer! What’s that?”
“It’s a brush-tailed possum,” Summer told her. “There’s a whole family of them living in here.”
The little possum poked its pink nose out of the middle of a bush and its whiskers quivered. Rosalind bent down to look. “I like him. He’s cute,” she decided.
“I know an animal that’s even cuter,” said Summer. “Come and see!”
With Kanga still riding on her shoulder, she went over to a tall tree with a pale trunk and blue-grey leaves. “See that furry, grey animal halfway up? That’s a mother koala with her baby on her back. We call the baby a joey.”
At the sound of Summer’s voice, the baby koala turned its head and looked down at the girls with big black eyes.
“He’s gorgeous!” cried Maya. “Look at his beautiful fur and fluffy ears!”
Rosalind folded her arms. “I still like the possum best.”
“I’ve always wanted to see a koala,” said Lottie. “I didn’t know they carried their babies on their backs like that.”
“They only do that once the joey’s old enough to live outside his mother’s pouch.” Summer saw their puzzled faces and added, “The pouch is like a furry pocket on her tummy.”
“Is the baby koala all right?” said Maya suddenly. “I thought I saw him drop one arm, as if he was going to let go.”
Summer looked up, shading her eyes. “Don’t worry. He’ll be used to riding on his mother’s back.”
As they watched, the mother koala pulled a bunch of leaves off the tree and began eating them. Then a rumbling noise started up in the distance. It quickly grew into the deafening growl of a motorbike. Kanga ruffled his feathers and looked alarmed as the sound came closer. Then suddenly it stopped.
Summer frowned. “That sounds like a motorbike. I wonder who it is.”
“I want to find more koalas.” Lottie ran to the next tree. “They’re my new favourite animal!”
“Why don’t we go further into the woods—” began Summer, but she broke off as she heard her mum’s voice. “Oh no! My mum’s calling me. I bet the sound of the motorbike was the photographer arriving. Now I have to go and have my photo taken.” She pulled a face.
“What’s wrong?” said Rosalind. “Don’t you like having your picture taken?”
“I don’t usually mind,” replied Summer. “But this isn’t a normal photo. It’s something much worse! In our kingdom, every prince or princess has a special picture taken after their tenth birthday. Everyone in the kingdom sees it and it even gets shown on TV!”
Just then, the Queen of Mirrania appeared at the edge of the trees. Her face was pink and her crown had slipped sideways on her neat hair. “Summer, why are you taking so long? Bill Fleck has arrived and he’s setting up his camera right now.”
Kanga gave a loud squawk and flew away to the top of the highest tree.
Summer sighed. “I’ve got to go,” she told the other princesses. “Stay here and watch the animals if you like. You can still have fun even if I can’t!”
Summer reluctantly followed her mum into the palace drawing room. Dark-red sofas stood at one side of the room and velvet curtains hung at the windows.
The photographer, who had a bristly moustache and a smart bow tie, had already set up the camera on its stand. He was busily polishing the camera lens with a small yellow cloth.
“My dear princess!” The photographer bowed low and his yellow cloth swept the floor. “I’m Bill Fleck and I’m absolutely delighted to meet you. It’s like a dream come true!”
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br /> “Er … thanks.” Summer curtsied back. She hoped he would take the photo really quickly. Then she could go back outside with her friends. “Where shall I go? Over here by the sofa?”
“Just a moment, Summer.” The queen hurried forwards. “We need to organise this carefully. After all, this is a very important photo.”
“Yes, that’s right!” Bill nodded. “It’s your tenth birthday picture. So it’ll be shown to the whole kingdom and hung in the Royal Picture Gallery.”
Summer sighed. “Yes, I know! But—”
“So you have to look absolutely perfect,” her mum broke in. “I’ve prepared some things that will help.” She bustled over to a wooden chest and pulled the lid open.
Summer’s mouth dropped open as her mum took out a red robe with a white furry lining and a chunky gold crown. “Do you really want me to wear those?”
The queen smiled. “You’ll look wonderful! But first of all you need to pop upstairs and put this on.” She took down a dress that had been hanging on the back of the door. It had orange and lime-green stripes all over it, even across the sleeves. Worst of all, it had lacy frills around the huge skirt.
Summer stared at it in horror. She couldn’t imagine wearing anything yuckier. “But I won’t be able to walk in that! And I won’t look like me any more!”
“Don’t be silly!” said her mum, handing her the dress. “Of course you’ll still look like you. Go and put it on, please.”
Summer took the dress and trailed out of the room. She passed her dad in the hallway and the king’s eyebrows rose when he saw the frilly dress.
“Are you getting ready for the photo?” he asked.
Summer nodded. “Mum wants the picture taken right now.”
“I see.” The king frowned a little. “I think I’ll go and see what your mum has in mind.”
Summer dragged herself up the stairs to her bedroom. She changed into the awful dress and looked at herself in the mirror. The thought of the whole kingdom seeing her like this made her stomach turn over. The top of the dress was too tight and the skirt tangled around her ankles. The frills were horribly itchy, scratching her legs in a really annoying way.
She had much nicer dresses, which were short and easy to run and climb in. Why couldn’t she wear one of those?
To cheer herself up, she got out the small green jewellery box which had her favourite opal necklace inside. At least she would put on one thing that she liked!
But before she could get out the necklace, there was a knock at the door. Summer swallowed. That would be her mum wanting her to hurry up.
The door opened and Lottie bounded in. “We’ve come to find you! Your mum said you were changing into something special for the … oh!” She stopped short as she noticed Summer’s dress and then snorted with laughter.
“I know! It’s horrible, isn’t it?” said Summer. “I look like a frilly fruit salad.”
“It does look a bit like a fruit,” Lottie said, chuckling. “I think it’s all the green and orange.”
Rosalind and Maya followed Lottie inside and they all stared at Summer’s dress.
“That is really disgusting!” said Rosalind.
“Did you tell your mum that you don’t like it?” asked Maya.
“I tried to,” said Summer gloomily.
Just then, the Queen of Mirrania came in. “Oh, you look lovely, Summer! That dress really suits you!” She paused. “But I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news. Mr Fleck’s discovered that his camera broke on the journey and he needs to get it mended. So he can’t take your photo till tomorrow. What a shame!”
Summer smiled. “Oh, that’s OK! I don’t mind!” She quickly pulled off the frilly dress, tossed it on to the bed and put her other clothes back on again.
The queen frowned. “What’s the matter? Aren’t you pleased with the dress I gave you?”
“Well, um …” Summer hesitated. “It’s just that I’d like to wear something more like this.” She pointed at the simple red outfit she was wearing.
“Oh no, that would never do! You don’t look royal enough. This photo is much too important for ordinary clothes.” Her mum picked up the orange-and-green dress and hung it carefully inside Summer’s wardrobe, smiling as she smoothed the frills. “I’ll put this in here ready for tomorrow.”
When her mum left, Summer sat down on her bed and sighed.
“We’ll help you wear what you want in the photo!” said Lottie firmly. “We just need to think of a plan.”
“We could use ninja moves, just like we’ve done in our other Rescue Princess adventures,” suggested Rosalind. “We could sneak outside with the frilly dress and hide it under a bush.”
Summer managed a smile. “It’s nice of you to help but I don’t think we should.”
Maya picked up the small green jewellery box that Summer had got out earlier. She opened it and took out the necklace inside. “Wow! This is beautiful!”
A round jewel filled with many colours hung on the end of a gold chain. Red, blue and green shone deep inside the heart of the gem, with specks of bright gold and dark purple.
“It’s lovely, isn’t it?” said Summer. “It’s called an opal.”
“It looks just like a rainbow!” said Lottie.
“That’s what I call it – my Rainbow Opal,” said Summer. “The best jewel-smiths in our kingdom made the necklace for me when I was born. Opals are a special jewel in Mirrania. Some people say that they were made when a rainbow touched the earth.”
“It’s so pretty!” Maya handed the necklace to Summer, who fastened it safely round her neck.
There was a tap on the window and a flash of bright wings, followed by a squawk.
Summer ran to the window and opened it carefully. “Hello, Kanga! Do you want us to come outside and play with you again?”
Kanga nudged Summer’s hand fondly and squawked again.
“I think that means yes,” said Lottie, grinning.
The four girls raced down the stairs and went straight outside. Summer’s rainbow necklace bounced as she ran. By the time they reached the gate that led to the wood, they were pink-cheeked and out of breath. Kanga, who had flown alongside them as they ran, landed on Summer’s shoulder and folded his wings.
Summer closed the gate and breathed in the fresh forest smell. There were insects buzzing and swooping bird calls in the treetops. The four girls went straight to the tree where they’d seen the koalas earlier.
“I can’t see the koalas any more,” said Rosalind, staring at the tree with blue-grey leaves. “I wonder where they went.”
“They probably climbed down and went up a different tree,” said Summer. “I bet they’re not far away.”
They checked the trees nearby but there was no sign of the koalas anywhere. Then a bush rustled near Rosalind’s foot. “Oh, look!” she said. “There’s the possum again.”
A grey furry ear poked out from among the leaves.
Summer’s eyes widened. “That’s not a possum. That’s the baby koala!”
The bush shook again and the baby koala looked out at them with frightened eyes.
“Is he there by himself?” said Lottie in surprise.
Rosalind knelt down and reached out her hand, but the little koala shrank back. “I think so. I can’t see his mother.”
“Do you think something bad has happened?” Maya twisted her plait worriedly.
“I don’t know,” said Summer, “but he shouldn’t be apart from his mum. He’s much too young.”
Lottie’s green eyes lit up. “It’ll be fine! He’s got us – the Rescue Princesses – to help him! We can find his mum right away.” Her tiara slipped sideways on her red curls and she grabbed it before it fell off. “Maya, why don’t you stay with the baby while the rest of us look for the mother?”
“We’ll have to hurry,” Summer told them. “My mum could call us in for lunch at any minute.”
Maya crouched down and spoke soothingly to the baby, while the others spread out to searc
h for the mother koala. Kanga flew from tree to tree as if he was helping them.
Summer pushed back her golden hair and scanned the tree tops. It was really unusual to see a little koala without its mum. She couldn’t help thinking that there must be a reason. Had the koalas been scared by the noisy motorbike earlier? Maybe it had frightened them so much they’d wanted to hide.
“I can’t see anything grey and furry in any of these trees,” called Rosalind.
“I think I can see something,” said Lottie.
Summer ran over and peered up at a dark lump near the top of a tree, almost hidden by leaves. “I’m not sure that’s a koala. I’ll go up and look.” She swung herself easily on to a low branch and then pulled herself up the tree.
“Don’t get too close and scare it,” called Lottie.
Rosalind tutted. “Lottie! I’m sure she knows what to do!”
Summer held tight to the trunk as the wind swept through the branches, making the tree sway. “I can see it now. It’s just part of the tree trunk and not an animal at all.” She climbed down again.
In the distance they heard the queen calling. “Girls! It’s lunchtime!”
“But what about the baby koala?” said Maya. “We can’t just leave him here.”
The princesses gathered round the bush where the joey was hiding. He peered out at them, before sneezing quietly.
“Bless you!” cried Lottie. “Even his sneezes are cute!”
“I think we should take him with us,” said Rosalind. “Then after lunch we’ll search for his mum again.”
“Let me pick him up,” said Summer. “A wildlife expert once taught me how to hold a koala properly. I’ll show you.”
She tucked her rainbow opal necklace out of the way. Then she carefully leaned over the bush and picked up the little koala. She held him close to her shoulder and his soft furry ears tickled her chin. “Don’t worry, little joey,” she told him. “We’ll take care of you.”
Kanga flew down to a nearby tree and watched the princesses curiously. Then the girls heard the queen calling again. They hurried back towards the palace, leaving Kanga pecking at some fruit that he’d found dangling from a branch.
The Rainbow Opal Page 1
