The princesses paused in the doorway, suddenly nervous about all the pairs of eyes that would be watching their dance routine.
“Queen Sofia?” A king in a blue turban bowed low. “Would you like me to find Lady Slyden and tell her we’re ready to begin? She seems to be missing again.”
Queen Sofia turned around, her lime-green hat quivering. “There’s no need,” she said firmly. “I found out some shocking news from my stableboy this morning. Lady Slyden has been unkind to the horses I lent her, and last night she tried to steal some of them. I’ve sent her a message telling her never to return to my palace, and she’s lucky that I haven’t had her arrested. How dare she behave so cruelly to my animals?”
The princesses beamed at one another.
“Peter must have told Queen Sofia all about Lady Slyden,” whispered Lottie. “Good for him!”
“Good morning, princesses!” boomed Queen Sofia, seeing them standing together. “I’d like you to begin the grand performance. What kind of dance have you chosen?”
“Hip-hop,” chorused the princesses.
“Hip-hop?” repeated Queen Sofia. “Excellent! I am quite in the mood for a little boogie.”
Hiding their giggles, the princesses took up their starting positions. The hall fell silent. Then the beat of the song began. The princesses remembered all their dance moves perfectly. At the end, the audience clapped and cheered, and the girls dropped graceful curtsies.
Their act was followed by tap dances, ballet dances, and the princes’ hornpipe. After the grand performance had finished, Lottie looked over at the door in the corner that led into the garden. She beckoned to the others and, while the grown-ups were still chatting, they slipped out of the door and raced across the lawn.
Lottie reached the gate first and climbed over it into the field.
“I wonder if the horses are tired after their adventure last night,” said Amina.
Just then, Twinkle came trotting out of the stable. She whinnied excitedly when she saw them and galloped around and around in circles.
“Stop, Twinkle! You’re making me dizzy,” laughed Rosalind.
Twinkle stopped galloping and nibbled Lottie’s hair.
“I think Twinkle’s trying to say thank you,” said Amina.
“You’re welcome, Twinkle.” Lottie rubbed the little foal’s velvety nose. “Now I can’t wait for our next rescue!”
“And we could find out more about the lost Book of Ninja that Ally talked about,” suggested Rosalind.
“Whatever we do, we’ll do it together.” Isabella held out her hand with its special ring.
“Together!” said the others, putting their hands on top of hers.
The jewels in their rings lit up for a moment, making the girls catch their breath.
Twinkle whinnied and lifted up her front leg, too.
“You’re joining in, Twinkle!” Lottie hugged her. “You really are the best foal in the world!”
Princess Isabella crept through the rain forest with a small monkey riding on her shoulder. Parrots squawked to one another in the treetops and water drops from the last rain shower glinted on the broad leaves.
Suddenly, she froze. A sharp banging shattered the peace of the forest, and the tree trunk trembled under her fingers.
After a few moments, the banging happened again. It was louder this time and was followed by a high-pitched grinding sound that made Isabella shudder. Petro leapt back onto her shoulder and put his hands over his ears.
She hurried toward the sound, searching for what it could be. At last she saw something through the trees. There was a group of men standing in the middle of a clearing.
Isabella frowned. What were they doing? Where had the clearing come from? She was sure there had been thick forest here before.
One of the men began to use a metal saw to cut a tree. The grinding noise grew louder as the saw bit into the trunk. The tree started to sway and, very slowly, it toppled over and crashed to the ground.
Text copyright © 2013 by Paula Harrison
Interior illustrations copyright © 2013 by Artful Doodlers
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd.
First printing, October 2013
Cover art by Sharon Tancredi
Cover design by Jeannine Riske
e-ISBN 978-0-545-50933-6
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Rescue Princesses #6: The Magic Rings Page 5
