I hope you’re enjoying the long weekend.

It’s been a while, but it’s good to be back for a little seasonal special bedtime story.

We’re back with Princess Hanna today!

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If you enjoy today’s story (or would like to revisit the saga of Princess Hanna) you can check out all of the other Princess Hanna stories here:

The Full Princess Hanna Series

Now, once again, Happy Easter!

Please enjoy today’s special story.

Easter was always an exciting holiday in Courage Town. Since dragons lay eggs, they felt a very special connection to the holiday and liked to make a real day of it. Each year, the dragons enjoyed putting on a big fun festival with lots of food and events. The most important part of that festival — at least, according to Princess Hanna and all of the other young dragons — was the Easter egg hunt…

On Easter morning, Hanna awoke with a spark, eager for the egg hunt chocolate that awaited her. She left her room to find the rest of her family sitting around the dining table — a pot of porridge quietly bubbling over the fire.

“Happy Easter, everyone,” said Hanna.

Not stopping, she headed straight for the door.

“I’ll see you at the festival!” she added before anyone could reply.

“Aren’t you going to have some breakfast?” her mum asked.

“It’s Easter, mum,” said Hanna. “I need to save my appetite for chocolate! See you at the egg hunt!”

Before Hanna’s mum could reply, Hanna was already out the door.

Hanna took off into the air, climbing up above Courage Town. The town was covered in warm morning light. Action was slow as some of the dragons hung up banners and prepared for the Easter festival.

Hanna made her way to Carrie’s farmhouse. She flew up to Carrie’s window and tapped the glass with her claw.

It took a moment for Carrie to stir awake. She eventually waddled to the window with a yawn.

“Come on!” Hanna told her. “Get ready! We need to hurry.”

“Hurry?” asked Carrie. “Why?”

“They’re about to start hiding the chocolate eggs for the egg hunt,” said Hanna. “If we hurry, we might be able to see where they hide some of the eggs.”

“I don’t know,” said Carrie. “Isn’t that cheating?”

“Of course not!” said Hanna. “It’s just a really really smart idea.”

Carrie was still reluctant, feeling unsure as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“It’s probably our last year of doing the egg hunt before we get too old,” said Hanna, trying a softer touch approach. “Let’s enjoy it.”

Carrie caved. Just a quick look.

The two of them flew up to the tall belltower and looked down over the stirring town below. Now where were those chocolate eggs? Hanna and Carrie scanned the streets for any dragons that might be setting up the egg hunt.

“There!” said Hanna, suddenly breaking the quiet.

It was their school teacher Miss Stripes walking around the water fountain in the middle of town with two gigantic straw baskets of colourful eggs. She was carefully tucking the chocolate eggs into the little gaps in the cobblstone rocks that created the low wall of the fountain.

Hanna and Carrie watched on as Miss Stripes then left the town centre and walked down a narrow alley. She was continuing to hide eggs along the way. On store window sills, in post boxes, tucked into shrubs... Hanna and Carrie made a mental record of it all.

Miss Stripes walked a while longer until she reached the red barn where some of the horses stayed. She went in with her two baskets of eggs and was gone for five or so minutes. When she reappeared, the baskets were empty.

Hanna had a humungous grin.

“Jackpot.”

The morning ticked on and the festival got started. The town square quickly filled with life. There was music and hot cross buns (a special bread and butter sweet that dragons always ate at Easter) and the Easter hat parade was just about to start.

The Easter hat parade was a tradition where young dragons would create silly and brilliant decorative hats and show them off to everyone in the town square. Hanna and Carrie watched on from the side. They were too old for the parade now.

Hanna and Carrie impatiently waited for the start of the egg hunt directly after the parade. They could taste the chocolate already! Eventually, the parade wrapped up and a winner was chosen. And so it was time for the egg hunt!

All of the young dragons filled the town square while all of the older dragons stood back around the edge of it. Hanna and Carrie found themselves a spot near the front, angling towards the narrow alley that would take them to the red barn where the treasure trove of chocolate eggs had been hidden.

Miss Stripes took the megaphone and counted down to the start of the hunt.

“3… 2… 1!”

The older dragons cheered on as the littlies shot off in every direction. Hanna and Carrie charged ahead down the narrow street, plucking eggs along the way, quickly filling their baskets. One from a store window sill, one from a post box, one from a shrub.

They carried on to the red barn, briefly startling the horses inside. In the barn, there were eggs everywhere. Hanna and Carrie got straight to work piling them all up. Just like that, their baskets were overflowing.

The two of them climbed up a ladder in the barn to a little open overhanging attic with even more eggs. The little ledge overlooked the horses below.

Eventually, while Hanna and Carrie feasted on chocolate eggs, a slow stream of young dragon trickled into the barn. Hanna and Carrie watched on as the little ones searched the barn. Of course, they were finding nothing.

The young dragons’ baskets looked abyssmal compared to Hanna and Carrie’s baskets…

As time went on, Hanna and Carrie turned to each other with the exact same expression on both of their faces.

Without a word, they reached into their baskets for a big clawful of choccy eggs. It was time to make it rain!

It’s finale time!

A massive thank you to everyone who has supported this series. I’ve read some truly lovely words of support.

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Ginny stood by on the branch and waited while Bruce had a long conversation with the community leader of the fruit bats, Buffy. During that time, Ginny got some very confused looks from some of the bats who had been stirred awake by all of the ruckus.

Bruce was pleading with Buffy to get everyone to join his strawberry mission.

“There’s nothing here for us,” he told her. “We search and we search, but there’s just not enough food here.”

“I know,” said Buffy. “I know. But we’re bats, not ants. I’m a leader, not a queen. It’s not my decision.”

“They will do what you tell them to do,” said Bruce. “I know I would.”

“I will let them decide,” said Buffy.

“There’s something else too...” said Bruce.

It was afternoon now. The sun had softened and the bats were waking up for the night ahead. There had been enough time for the gossip and whispers to spread.

Sun setting, Buffy got all of the bats to cluster together.

“So,” said Buffy, “as some of you know, Bruce has found somewhere that we have all been dreaming of. Somewhere with enough food for all of us.”

The bats broke into chatter among themselves. Buffy had to settle them down.

“If you want to join us, we are going to go and visit Bruce’s oasis. This is our chance at starting anew. This is what we’ve been waiting for.”

The bats were thrilled and couldn’t contain their excitement.

“Calm down, calm down,” said Buffy. “There’s a bit more to it. You will notice Ginny standing here beside me on this branch. She’s not a wingless bat. She’s a guinea pig. She’s also the reason we even know about this new paradise.”

Ginny looked around at the community of bats who were all staring at her with different variations of the same puzzled expression.

“Hi,” she said, finding her voice. “My family and community live together in a shrub not too far from here. As you all know, life in this forest is hard. There is twice as much danger as there is food. And we all go to sleep with hungry bellies almost every night. You all have a chance to change that for us. We need your help.”

She explained the plan. The bats were good listeners. Buffy shared her own opinion too.

“It’s the least we can do.”

It turned out that hungry bats are fast and motivated movers.

Bruce’s community kicked into action and got themselves ready to migrate. Ginny was amazed.

Once it was time to go, Bruce and Ginny led the way.

It was quite a short flight compared to Bruce and Ginny’s recent giant voyages.

Rather than overwhelm the guinea pigs back home with a sudden flock of bats, Ginny and Bruce went ahead first while the others waited at a nearby tree.

The guinea pigs were thrilled to see Ginny safe and sound and quickly rushed her to the leader guinea pig, George.

“Ginny!” he said. “You’re ok! We’ve all been so worried. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m sorry, George,” said Ginny. “I just had to go.”

The other guinea pigs had gathered around.

“I found something while I was gone,” she said. “Well, we found something. A new home.”

Some of the guinea pigs began whispering amongst themselves.

“A new home for all of us,” Ginny added.

She turned towards the exit.

“I want to show you all something,” she said.

Ginny led them out of the shrub and nodded up towards the bats waiting in the tree above.

“They’re going to help us,” said Ginny. “They’re going to take us to a paradise where we will be able to eat all of the strawberries we can fit.”

The mention of strawberries excited the crowd.

Ginny looked back to the shrub.

“We can’t keep living like this,” she said. “Searching all day and finding nothing. Just look at our home. It’s dying.”

It was true. The shrub was losing its colour and the leaves were beginning to fall.

There was a long discussion among the guinea pigs. Even George turned to some of the other elders to deliberate.

Eventually, he called for everyone’s attention.

“All those in favour of leaving, say ‘aye’.”

There was a cheer of guinea pig squeeks.

“Aye!”

With everything decided, it was time to get to business. There was no time for mucking around. They were going to get this done tonight.

Introductions between guinea pigs and fruit bats were quickly made. Thankfully, the numbers added up perectly. Each guinea pig would have a bat to carry them, with a few extra bats at the side just in case.

It was take-off time.

With a full moon standing high in the clear dark sky, the flock of bats and guinea pigs took off from the forest floor and took to the air. Any other animals who saw them must have thought they were dreaming.

The flock flew low above trees as Bruce and Ginnny led the familiar journey.

They made good time, moving with the confidence and security of a flock on a mission.

Before dawn, they reached the strawberry paradise. They landed just outside of the world of weaving strawberry vines and then walked in altogether.

The forest had not seen so many smiles in a very long time. A spontaneous party erupted among the fruit bats and guinea pigs. Singing and dancing and a strawberry feast.

Ginny and Bruce stood together and watched the unfolding festivities.

“What now?” Ginny wondered aloud.

Bruce smiled. “I could go for some mango.”

Bruce and Ginny’s story is almost at a close (at least for now).

If you need to catch up at all, here’s the full series:

Chapter List

I’m going to try to get the final chapter out next week so there shouldn’t be too much of a wait for you.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy today’s penultimate chapter! 🐹🦇

Ginny and Bruce stayed among the strawberries for the next couple of days. They were like the emperors of the whole forest. More luxury would have been impossible.

The most important thing was that it gave Bruce a chance to heal up his wing. His recovery was quick — thanks in large part to having a perpetually full tummy of scrumptious strawberries.

They talked a lot about Bruce’s plan, working out the finer details. It was a big risk. It wasn’t going to be easy.

“What if they don’t want to come with us?” asked Bruce.

It was something that had been on Ginny’s mind too.

“We just need them to trust us,” she answered.

The morning of the big day eventually arrived and the time came for Bruce and Ginny to say goodbye to the strawberries (just for now).

Bruce was feeling springy and healed as they ate their last breakfast and finalised their route.

It was a beautiful, clear, blue sky day — perfect for an adventure.

Ginny and Bruce worked together to get into a comfortable position for take-off. They were more used to each other now. Flying together wasn’t the difficult clutch for dear life that it had been at first.

They set off but they kept low. They didn’t want a repeat of the eagle ordeal from earlier. This time they flew nice and close to the trees, with Ginny on sharp lookout so that they could easily duck under cover whenever they needed to.

They left the mountains and flew back towards the heart of the open forest where they had spent their whole lives. Bruce flew all morning without breaks, making excellent time. The gorging of strawberries had made him unstoppable.

Ginny didn’t have a clue how to navigate the world of the forest on this greater avian scale. She still couldn’t help but feel in awe.

Eventually, Bruce steered them towards a humungous oak tree that towered above the rest of the forest like a leaf-topped mountain.

“This is your home?” Ginny asked.

“It makes finding your way back a lot easier,” said Bruce. “Everyone will be asleep right now.”

Bruce ducked down under the canopy and into the shade of the giant oak tree. It was cool and dark beneath the massive tree. The branches were covered with sleeping bats, hanging like so many pieces of ripening fruit.

Bruce searched around the oak’s branches. There was a particular bat that he was looking for. Eventually, he found her, hanging upside down from her claws, fast asleep.

Bruce set Ginny down on the branch and then hung down beside the other fruit bat.

“Buffy,” he whispered, then a little louder: “Buffy!”

Buffy stirred awake.

“Bruce?” she said, waking up properly. “Where have you been?”

She then noticed the guinea pig standing nearby on the branch.

A look of befuddlement came over her face.

“Who are you?”

A bit of a delay but Story Whale is back with a new chapter! Ginny and Bruce have made it to paradise. Now they need to work out their next step.

If you need to catch up, here’s a link to the full series:

Chapter List

As always, thank you for reading and thank you for caring. See you for the next chapter.

Beneath the low canopy of the vines, Ginny and Bruce devoured their endless strawberry feast. Ginny plucked fresh shiny strawberries from the low vines and chomped them down, perfectly ripe and full of juice and flavour. Her mouth was red like a vampire’s.

As happy as Bruce was to be chowing down on strawberries, he was just as happy to have a chance to rest his wing. Finally, he could relax. While Ginny picked firm strawberries straight from the vine, Bruce went for the strawberries that had already fallen. The softer ones, the mushier ones, the stinkier ones. The ones that were rotting, they were the most delicious ones for Bruce.

They feasted and feasted until their bellies were full as full could be. Eventually, their movements slowed and they began to look like two lazy bears that had eaten a whole river of salmon just before hibernation. They had worked hard to get there. Their celebration was well-earned.

They lay down under the strawberry vines as night took over. Through the vines and dangling strawberries they gazed up at the moon and the stars in the sky above. They both agreed, this place would make quite a home.

For the first time in a very long time, Bruce and Ginny had the privilege of dozing off to sleep with full tummies and peaceful thoughts. Life was good.

They both had a long and tranquil sleep. Nestled in among the strawberries, they were too content for any nightmares of swooping eagles or gnashing foxes or the slow fear of hunger. They slept like babies and woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than they had been in years.

It was peaceful and shady and the earth was cool to touch.

“This is the greatest place on earth,” said Bruce.

“I think you might be right,” said Ginny.

Enjoying a rare slow morning, they had a leisurely chat over some strawberries.

At one point, Ginny gave Bruce a smile.

“Thanks for everything, Bruce,” she said. “I can’t believe you got us here. That eagle was…”

“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” said Bruce.

“You were very brave,” said Ginny. “And it was worth it. We’re going to help a lot of animals with these strawberries.”

“This place is like a dream,” said Bruce, looking around at the fruit around him.

“I need to get home and tell the other guinea pigs,” said Ginny. “This is going to change everyone’s lives.”

Bruce agreed.

“And you’ll need to tell the other fruit bats,” said Ginny. “There’s more than enough strawberries for everyone.”

“We’re going to be heroes,” said Bruce.

Ginny suddenly frowned.

“It’s going to be difficult to get everyone over here,” she said. “It’s a long journey. It will take days on foot. And the foxes… I don’t know how I’m going to convince everyone back home. You know how guinea pigs are.”

“I think I might know a way,” said Bruce.

I hope you’ve been enjoying the holiday season! Here’s to a happy new year ahead!

Also, a big thank you for all of the Story Whale support this year. Your kind messages mean the world! Feeling very fortunate to have any readers in this very VERY busy world of ours.

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Bruce found a low branch to land on and catch his breath. He and Ginny looked up towards the roof of trees above them. They were searching for any signs of the eagle, scanning for any little bit of movement.

The leaves above them swayed softly with the breeze, a twinkle of sunlight shining through.

The eagle was nowhere to be seen.

Both Bruce and Ginny’s hearts were still racing out of their chests. The rapid beat was the main thing that either of them could hear. Otherwise, the forest was quiet.

Despite the fear, Bruce was relieved to have a break from flying and carrying Ginny. His injured wing was aching. The chase had made everything so much sorer.

He was exhausted, physically and emotionally.

“That was incredible!” said Ginny, breaking the silence.

Bruce looked across to find a great big smile on Ginny’s face.

“My heart is like a drum!” she said. “Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum! I’ve never felt so alive!”

Bruce was in shock.

“You were fantastic!” said Ginny.

“Really?” said Bruce.

“Of course!” said Ginny. “That eagle was as fast as lightning and you whooped them!”

“Barely,” said Bruce.

“You’re too modest!” said Ginny.

Bruce blushed.

“We should keep moving,” he said. “That eagle might come back and find a way through the branches. How much further?”

“Not much further now,” said Ginny. “We’re almost at the mountain.”

Bruce braced his wing, ready for take-off. He picked Ginny up and they left the branch behind.

Bruce didn’t want to risk it up in the open sky. He kept low among the trees, weaving between branches. Better safe than sorry. He didn’t feel like playing tag with another eagle.

They carried on through the forest towards the not-so-far mountains in the distance. As they flew, they found themselves surrounded by a malnourished forest. Just like back home, food was in short supply here.

The afternoon settled in around them. Finally, they reached the base of the mountain.

“The strawberries should be close now,” said Ginny. “They should be very close.”

Bruce sniffed the air. Fruit bats have a keen sense of smell. Their noses are made for sniffing out sweet fruits.

At first, his nostrils weren’t catching anything of special interest. So on they went, searching the mountain. He then caught a wisp of it — of strawberries!

“I can smell them!” he said.

Bruce took a sudden sharp turn. Ginny had to hold on tight!

Bruce followed his nose through the mountain forest, eventually finding the treasure trove of strawberries that Ginny had spoken of.

They landed among the strawberries and took a moment to soak in what they were seeing. A forest of Rudolph-nosed strawberries all around them.

They could finally eat. And maybe, if everything went to plan, everyone back home could finally eat too.

I hope you’re all gearing up for a fun holiday season full of reading.

Now, it’s time for a new chapter!

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Bruce’s gaze lingered on the shadowy figure soaring through the sky. He recognised the silhouette, he just didn’t want to believe it. An eagle.

Eagles weren’t a bird that he often shared the sky with. Eagles were birds of prey. Hunters. Eagles owned the day and owls owned the night, and neither were a big problem for bats. Normally, as Bruce knew, eagles preferred to hunt for ground animals. Animals like rats and mice and worms. Animals like guinea pigs…

That eagle probably couldn’t believe their luck. A free fluffy meal right there in the sky waiting to be eaten.

Bruce held Ginny tight, still hoping that maybe, just maybe, the eagle hadn’t spotted her.

“Get ready,” Bruce told Ginny. “That’s not a parrot.”

“What is it?” she asked. “I can’t see well from here.”

“An eagle,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm so as to not panic her.

The bad news made Ginny’s ears red hot.

Anything but an eagle…

For the moment, Bruce didn’t want to change speed or direction and potentially draw any extra unwanted attention. He just tried to keep it steady and wait and see what unfolded next.

Bruce snuck another look at the nearby eagle. It seemed to just be cruising. Maybe they were going to get away with this…

“We might be ok,” said Bruce.

Ginny searched for a glimpse of the eagle, but, strangely, the eagle wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Bruce caught the movement just in time as the eagle came flying through the air. The eagle was charging in from the side. Bruce managed to lift up and pull Ginny out of the way as the eagle snapped its beak at nothing, missing Ginny by the length of fox’s nose.

Bruce made the quick decision to bolt to cover. He and Ginny were sitting ducks up there in the open sky. He held Ginny tight and began a nose drive through the air. He needed to get to the trees!

From Ginny’s position, all she could see was the rapidly approaching green of the forest below. It almost felt like she was just straight falling.

As Bruce raced for cover, the eagle geared up to try and strike again.

The eagle soared through the air with its wings tucked in tight. The bird of prey dipped underneath Bruce and tried to snatch up Ginny with its bear-like claws.

Ginny reacted instantly and launched an attack of rapid kicks at the fearsome eagle. Bruce could barely keep hold of Ginny as she lunged her comparatively tiny claws at the eagle and fought with everything she had. The eagle clipped Ginny’s leg with a swipe but Ginny managed to land a solid kick square in the middle of the eagle’s beak.

The eagle let out a pained squawk and briefly backed off. It looked livid.

Bruce sped up. He was almost at the trees.

As the eagle began its next charge, Bruce just managed to make it to the tip top of the forest. He ducked and weaved as he dove down between branches. Behind him, the eagle’s broad wingspan didn’t have a chance.

The bird of prey let out a final furious squawk of anger and pulled up just short of the trees.

The shadows of the forest had become Bruce and Ginny’s protection.

They were safe… for now.

It’s time for a new chapter.

It’s a slightly short one today, but I’ll be back with the next chapter quick-smart around the middle of next week.

Anyway, I won’t waffle on too much today. Let’s just get to the story!

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Bruce and Ginny soared above the forest, fresh air rushing over them. As they made their way through the clear crisp sky, Ginny had never felt such a thrill. She was filled with awe. Her unstoppable grin stretched from ear to ear.

With that said, she felt a strange emotion as she looked down at the forest beneath her. She thought of all of the little animals down there beneath those trees. She thought of the lives they lived. She thought of the homes, the food, the danger. It was all there, and yet it was just one tiny piece of the puzzle. An endless puzzle.

She looked left and right and all she could see was forest. It all just went on and on. She had never really thought about it before, just how big this world of theirs was. How many other shrubs full of guinea pigs filled their forest?

While Ginny’s head was spinning about the vastness of the world, Bruce’s attention was drawn to more pressing matters. His wing was aching. It was red hot, like he was sitting too close to a fire.

“How much further?” he asked.

Ginny was lost in thought and didn’t hear a word.

“How much further?” he asked again.

“Oh, it’s not too far now,” she said. “It should be just near those mountains.”

Bruce looked ahead and gulped. Dig deep, he told himself. Keep pushing.

They continued on across the blue sky.

As they flew, Ginny noticed a strange shape of movement off in the distance. It almost looked like a moving rainbow. She looked a little closer. She realised it was a flock of birds and her heart suddenly dropped. Fear took over and she began to panic.

“Bruce, look out!” she said. “Over there, birds!”

Bruce checked them out. It was a small flock of green and red migrating parrots. He didn’t bat an eye.

“They’re just parrots,” he told Ginny calmly. “Don’t worry, they wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Ginny couldn’t help but still feel nervous. Like all guinea pigs, she was raised to fear birds more than any other critter on earth.

As the birds approached, she was able to get a better look at them. They were cruising together at a steady pace. As they passed, a few of the parrots looked to Ginny and Bruce and were completely and utterly puzzled by what they were seeing. Bruce couldn’t help but laugh.

The parrots carried on along their way and the sky was Bruce and Ginny’s once again, at least for a while.

Continuing forward, a new shadow appeared in the corner of Ginny’s eye.

“They left one of the parrots behind,” said Ginny.

Bruce looked over and this time it was his heart that dropped.

It’s that lovely time of year where things begin to get more festive and moods seemingly begin to lighten.

I want to say a big thank you for stopping by today, and a big thank you to everyone who has been liking posts. It’s a very sweet kindness that’s always appreciated.

Now for today’s new chapter!

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The days went by slowly as Bruce rested up among the guinea pigs. He learnt that they were a very busy and driven community. There was always a rotation of guinea pigs going out in the search of nearby food, although they almost always came back disappointed.

Clearly, the issue of food was not easing up.

Every day, Ginny would complain to Bruce that the guinea pigs needed to spread out further, to explore new areas, to leave their current patch of forest behind.

The food scraps for Bruce were dwindling also. Each time Ginny gave him some berries or morsels of fruit, he felt terrible. He felt like such a burden.

Nevertheless, the community of guinea pigs was incredibly kind to Bruce. At first, they were quite shy and most of them kept their distance from him. They hadn’t seen a bat up close before, and flying creatures were usually a terrifying sight for guinea pigs. But over time, he actually ended up making some new friends.

The morning eventually arrived when Bruce did his wake-up wing stretches and knew he was ready… or at least ready to give it a go.

He immediately found Ginny and told her, “It’s test time.”

She lit up with excitement.

The two of them left the shrub and found a patch of open forest.

Bruce stretched out his wings one last time before take-off.

“Are you sure?” asked Ginny.

Bruce nodded.

He leapt into the air and swung his wings towards the earth. The air briefly caught him and then he swung his wings again, catching some more wind and now properly leaving the ground behind and taking off.

Ginny hollered and cheered from down below, more relieved and thrilled than even Bruce.

Bruce flew up to a branch in a nearby tree and looked back down at Ginny with a great big grin. He didn’t want to ruin the moment, but the truth was, his wing was aching.

“Ready when you are!” he called down to Ginny. “When do we set off for this strawberry oasis?”

“How about now?” she replied.

Bruce flew back down to Ginny so that the two of them could speak properly.

“Do you need to tell anyone that you are going to set off?” Bruce asked.

“It’s ok,” said Ginny. “I’ve already told everyone. I had a good feeling about this test.”

Bruce turned to go back to the shrub.

“Well anyway, I think I should go and say thanks to everyone before we leave,” he said.

Ginny ran in front of him to block him.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “You can tell them when we get back. We should really get going.”

Bruce hesitated.

“It’s fine,” said Ginny. “Really.”

Bruce gave in. “If you say so.”

“Good,” said Ginny. “Now let’s do this. I’ve been thinking it over. If you get your claws under my armpits, I should be able to hold on to make it a bit easier for you.”

Bruce still had half-an-eye on the shrub. Leaving felt very sudden.

“Come on,” said Ginny excitedly. “Let’s go!”

The two of them got ready for take-off. It was a bit of an awkward position and Bruce was worried about injuring Ginny with his claws.

“Does that hurt?” he asked.

“Not at all,” said Ginny. “Now, go, go, go!”

Bruce did as he was told and took off into the air. At first, he kept very low to the ground, scared that he might drop Ginny.

Ginny, however, had a very different mindset.

“Higher!” she called out. “Fly higher!”

Gradually, cautiously, Bruce lifted higher into the air.

Ginny cackled like a kookaburra. It was the greatest moment of her life.

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The story of Bruce and Ginny continues!

If you need to catch up at all, here’s a link to the full series:

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It’s good to be back. I’m going to try and post a little more regularly now so that we can properly get this story back on the road again.

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Bruce was baffled as the entire community of guinea pigs scuttled around the edge of the shrub. Around and around they went, like a soaring bird with just one wing, looping in circles for eternity. The guinea pigs were a tornado of fuzz and fur.

They seemed to be enjoying it, as if this was what they did for fun. Bruce had never seen anything like it. A bat’s version of fun was generally just closing their eyes and soaking in some peace and quiet.

As the guinea pigs did their laps of town, Bruce was left to settle down to get some sleep. He looked around the little area that belonged to Ginny. Her square of space was a little bit different to those around it. She had some twigs to mark out the boundary and a little patch of plucked grass for a bed. The difference came in the assortment of strange bits and pieces that Ginny had around the room. They were like trinkets or bits of treasure. A couple of freshly picked colourful flowers; some seashells (even though they were seemingly nowhere near the sea); and a number of bright rocks and quartzes. She was quite the collector.

Bruce left Ginny’s place and looked around for somewhere he could lay down. Eventually, he found a little lot of unoccupied dirt. He quickly set himself up, lying down on his uninjured side. It felt strange to not be hanging upside for sleep like he usually would be, but he was too tired to let it bother him. He simply closed his eyes.

*

Through the rest of the day and through the whole of the night, Bruce slept like a baby. He hadn’t had a proper sleep in what felt like weeks. Back home, he had been constantly on the search for scraps of food. Rest hadn’t been his first priority; although he now knew just how much he had been needing it.

He opened his eyes to find a few gnarly berries on the ground beside him. He looked around, confused, and then he cautiously began to eat.

“Sorry, that’s all I could find,” said Ginny.

Bruce looked up. She’d seemingly appeared out of thin air.

“Thank you,” he said.

Ginny took a seat beside him.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

He briefly wiggled his injured wing.

“Better,” he said. “Much better.”

Ginny smiled. “That’s good news.”

It was mid-morning and the shrub was full of movement and action.

“I’ll hopefully get out of your hair very soon,” said Bruce.

“It’s ok,” said Ginny. “No rush. How long do you think you will need?”

“A few days, I’d say,” said Bruce.

Ginny nodded. Something was clearly on her mind.

“What’s up?” asked Bruce.

“Have you every heard of a strawberry, Bruce?”

“A what?” he said.

“A strawberry,” she said. “It’s a type of fruit.”

“No, I’ve never heard of it,” said Bruce.

“They’re meant to be quite good. Well, really, I’m underselling it there. They’re meant to be the greatest little bite of food on earth. Or at least that’s what I’ve heard.”

“Where do you find them?” asked Bruce.

“Well, that’s where it gets tricky. A butterfly named Borris told me about them. You know butterflies are very good with directions. The issue is that these strawberries are quite far away.”

“How far away?” Bruce asked.

Ginny hesitated. “Very far. Too far for me on my own.”

Bruce immediately knew what she was getting at.

“So you would like a lift?” asked Bruce.

“It will be an adventure!” claimed Ginny with a big grin.

With the spooky season coming to an end, I thought I would share my Halloween special from last year.

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This comes from the Princess Hanna series, which you can check out here (but you don’t need to go back through the series to enjoy this one):

Princess Hanna

Now, have the best Halloween! 🎃

Princess Hanna and Carrie sat at the dining table in the middle of the Scale City home where they were staying, each with a bowl of porridge in front of them. Carrie was sleepily yawning as she looked out the window at the brilliantly blue sky above. She was eager to get out there and go for a lovely morning fly.

Across from Carrie, Hanna was wide awake and intently focused. She was scribbling down notes in her notebook as she chomped down her porridge. She was writing out a training plan for the days ahead. Seeing George practising the day before had lit a fire in her. She was focused and driven.

As Carrie looked out at the sky, Michael suddenly appeared in the window, strangely covered in green paint for some reason. He was pulling a funny face, like he was sleeping with his eyes open. He was also holding out his arms in front of him, letting his hands dangle.

“Braaaains!” he said, his voice flat and deep.

Hanna and Carrie were totally confused.

“What happened?” asked Carrie. “Did you fall into a cauldron of goo?”

Michael ignored her. He came in through the window and landed down. He walked slowly towards Hanna and Carrie, swaying from side to side, still holding out his arms in front of him.

“Braaaaaaaains!” he said again.

Michael saw that they were still baffled.

He broke character and stood up normally.

“I’m a zombie,” he said, his normal voice back. “Can’t you tell?”

They were still lost.

“What’s a zombie?” Carrie asked.

“You’re kidding,” he said, shocked. “A zombie. Like in those old fairytales. I eat brains and scare dragons.”

“So you’ve covered yourself in green paint to look like this zombie thing?” said Hanna. “Why?”

“Do you two have any idea what day it is today?” said Michael.

Hanna and Carrie shook their heads.

“It’s Halloween!”

“What’s Halloween?” Carrie asked.

Michael’s jaw dropped in shock.

“You don’t know what Halloween is?”

“I’ve never heard of it,” said Carrie.

Michael’s voice was bursting with passion.

“Halloween is awesome! It’s a special spooky holiday where everyone dresses up as monsters and scary stuff. There’s parties and special markets and trick or treating!”

“What’s trick or treating?” Carrie asked.

“Trick or treating is the best! You go from door to door and ask trick or treat. If they pick treat, they give you candy. And they always pick treat.”

“What if they pick trick?”

“Then you give them a trick!” said Michael with a wicked smile.

Carrie eyes were wide with excitement.

“And all of Scale City gets into Halloween,” he went on. “Everyone dresses up and sets up spooky decorations. There’s the markets with all sorts of special food. There’s scary music in the plaza. In Cobblestone Alley there’s even a haunted house!”

“A haunted house?” Carrie wondered. “What’s that?”

Michael’s smile became bigger than ever. “I won’t spoil it. You’ll see.”

He was turning back towards the window, ready to get going, thinking Hanna and Carrie were too.

“First off,” he said. “We need to get you two some costumes.”

Carrie jumped up, but Hanna remained seated.

“I have to train today,” said Hanna.

Carrie looked distraught.

“Come on, let’s do it,” said Carrie. “Pleeeease, Hanna!”

“There’s a lot I need to do today,” said Hanna.

Hanna’s dad, the king, was just taking a seat with his newspaper.

“Go on, Hanna,” he said. “Go have fun. You can train tomorrow.”

“But I need to prepare,” said Hanna.

“And you can prepare tomorrow,” he said. “Experiences matter. Go try out this Halloween thing. If it’s really fun, maybe you could bring it back home to Courage Town.”

Hanna was still hesitating. “But what about Uncle James?” she said.

“He will absolutely understand,” said the king.

Hanna thought it over for a last moment then turned to Michael.

“Ok, I’m in.”

Carrie and Michael were elated.

Now for the costumes. Michael thought about it for a moment and then he had an idea. It was go time.

*

Michael led the way to the part of the city with lots of stalls. The whole city seemed to be getting into the Halloween spirit. All sorts of decorations were getting set up in the streets. Pumpkins with scary carved faces, skeletons made of painted tree branches, all sorts of strange but spooky sculptures made of different bits and pieces. Although it didn’t seem like any of the other dragons were dressed in costumes just yet.

“I may have put on my costume a little bit early,” said Michael shyly at one point.

They eventually made it to a general store that sold a broad range of different essentials. Michael went straight for the barrel full of toilet paper. He filled his arms with rolls of toilet paper and asked Hanna and Carrie to do the same. Confused, they cautiously went along with it.

Once they bought the toilet paper, Michael took them to a quiet alley and asked, “Which one of you wants to be a mummy?”

“What’s a mummy?” Carrie asked.

“It’s an old ancient type of monster,” he said. “Dragons dress up as them for Halloween all the time, I promise. If we wrap you up in toilet paper you’ll look just like one.”

“No way I’m doing that,” said Hanna.

Surprisingly, Carrie jumped straight in.

“I’ll do it,” she said.

Michael and Hanna ran circles around Carrie as they wrapped her up from head to toe in toilet paper, just leaving her nose, mouth and wings free.

When the job was done, Carrie asked, “How do I look?”

“You look amazing!” said Michael.

Hanna was howling with laughter.

“Ok,” said Michael, turning to Hanna. “Now we need to find something for you.”

Carrie had a troublemaker’s smile. “I’ve got an idea.”

There was Carrie in her new toilet paper mummy costume and Michael in his green paint zombie costume. Next was Hanna.

“So dragons dress up as things that are scary for Halloween, right?” Carrie asked Michael.

“Yep, the spookier the better,” said Michael.

“My idea for Hanna works then!” said Carrie. “A scarecrow!”

“You’re kidding…” said Hanna.

Michael was confused.

“What’s a scarecrow?”

“You use scarecrows to scare away birds from a farm,” said Carrie. “It’s like a dragon that you make out of straw and put out in the middle of your crops. The birds are terrified of them.”

“And so am I,” said Hanna.

“I love it!” said Michael. “How do we do it?”

“First thing we need is a straw hat,” said Carrie.

They went back to Michael’s house and his dad fortunately had a broad-brimmed straw hat that would work perfectly. Next on the list was the hay… and lots of it.

Michael had an aunty who ran a farm just outside of Scale City. They quickly made their way there, Michael and Carrie buzzing with excitement. Hanna, not so much… the Halloween spirit not quite grabbing her just yet.

Flying out of the city to the farm, it was a hot sunny day. Loose little bits of the toilet paper covering Carrie flip-flapped in the wind as she flew.

They made it to Michael’s auntie’s farm. It was a nice farm with a family of cows and horses chewing grass in the paddock. Michael led the way straight to the barn.

They opened the barn and went inside. There was the big pile of hay they needed. Except there was an issue…

“How are we going to get the hay to stick to Hanna?” Michael asked.

Michael and Carrie thought it over. Hanna, however, would have been more than happy for the plan to fail anyway.

“Honey!” said Carrie suddenly. “Do you have any honey?”

Michael lit up. He ran into the house and looked through the pantry for some honey. He found a jar of it and rushed back to the barn.

Michael handed the jar of honey to Hanna who just looked at it.

“Yuck!” said Hanna. “No way!”

Carrie pulled a sad puppy dog face.

“Please, Hanna,” she said.

Hanna rolled her eyes. She instantly knew she was going to cave.

Carrie and Michael had to fight hard to hold back their laughter as Hanna poured the jar of honey over her own head. There were tears of joy in Carrie’s eyes. Hanna wasn’t looking quite as happy. She looked like a very upset dragon.

Once Hanna was properly covered from head to toe in honey, it was time for the next step. She put down the jar of honey and turned to face the pile of hay. She took a big breath and then she jumped into the hay. She rolled around and burrowed her way into the hay like a squirrel in a pile of leaves. Hanna was the type of dragon who believed in the old saying, if you’re going to do something then you had better properly go for it. And she was sure going for it, burrowing deep. As she rolled around, her tail or foot would occasionally pop out from the hay.

Finally, the squirming stopped and Hanna’s head popped out from the pile of hay like a gopher popping up its head from a burrow. She looked like the saddest scarecrow in the whole world.

Now Michael and Carrie were really being tested, having to do everything in their power to keep from laughing.

Carrie stepped forward with the straw hat and placed it on Hanna’s head. Hanna really looked the part now. Carrie’s idea had worked perfectly.

A big frown on Hanna’s face, Carrie and Michael couldn’t hold it in any longer and finally burst out cackling. Even Hanna saw the funny side as a little half-smile slipped through her frown.

“Well look at you three!”

It was Michael’s auntie who had just walked into the barn.

“You all look fantastic!” she said.

“This is my auntie Mary,” said Michael. “Auntie Mary, this is Hanna and Carrie.”

“I love your costumes,” she said.

She then noticed the empty jar of honey on the ground.

“Is that my honey?”

*

It was still a while until the sun began to set and the true Halloween festivities kicked off.

It turned out that Michael’s auntie Mary had a pumpkin patch on her farm. She told the three young dragons that they could take a pumpkin each for carving.

Michael, Hanna and Carrie went straight to the pumpkin patch and picked out their pumpkins. They then took their pumpkins and sat down in the farm paddock with the cows and the horses.

Michael showed Hanna and Carrie how to scoop out the middle of the pumpkin. The cows were hanging around nearby for the scraps.

Using their claws, they started to carve their pumpkins into faces.

Covered in green paint that was getting dryer by the second, Michael couldn’t help but start to feel itchy.

Wrapped up in toilet paper, Carrie was in a similar boat of building discomfort. She was starting to feel hot under all of those layers of toilet paper.

And Hanna was the most uncomfortable of all, covered in hay and honey, scratching and itching already.

Michael gave his pumpkin a giant grin. Carrie gave her pumpkin cheeky eyes. Hanna gave her pumpkin sharp shark teeth and a scary expression.

While they were on the farm, Michael’s auntie made them some pumpkin pie.

Eventually, as time went on, the sky became pumpkin-y too.

It was Halloween time.

🎃

Reporting live from Japan, it’s time for a new chapter!

This is the story of a hungry fruit bat and a hungry guinea pig.

If you’re new to the series, here’s a link to the full chapter list:

Full Series

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Now, please enjoy!

Bruce briefly paused as Ginny disappeared into the green shrub in front of them. He braced and then stepped forward into the wall of leaves.

Passing through the leafy doorway, the forest was transformed. The large shrub had been hollowed out like a giant homely sea shell, all of the unessential twigs and branches cleared out.

The sun glowed through the loose leaves above and covered everything in a warm pumkin orange.

There was a community of guinea pigs spread out across the very open home. On Bruce’s entry, however, they had all frozen in their tracks, now staring at him in quiet shock.

“Everyone, meet Bruce,” Ginny announced.

Bruce tried a smile, but they all remained as still as tree trunks, eyes big and wide like goldfish.

An older guinea pig with wrinkles on his face and streaks of grey fur stepped forward from the stillness and spoke directly to Ginny.

“Ginny, can I please speak with you in private?”

Ginny’s shoulders dropped like a grumpy child.

The two went together to a quieter part of the shrub, leaving Bruce to stand awkwardly alone in the open.

Gradually, movement cautiously resumed as the guinea pigs went about their chores and errands. They were still keeping their distance though, always with one eye on Bruce as they moved around him.

He tried to give a friendly smile, but they were too spooked.

Ginny walked away with the elder guinea pig to have their chat.

“He won’t need to stay for long, George,” pleaded Ginny. “It’s his wing.”

George looked back at the bat standing near the shrub’s entrance and saw him smiling at the passing guinea pigs, a look of embarassment in between each smile.

“Bats are big enough to swoop up guinea pigs,” said George. “What if he tells other bats where we are?”

“He won’t,” said Ginny.

“This is a forest full of hungry animals,” said George. “Now more than ever.”

“He saved me,” said Ginny. “That’s how he got the injury. We were attacked by a fox.”

“This is exactly why I tell you not to go too far from home on your own,” said George, fatherly frustration in his voice.

“I know,” said Ginny. “And I’m sorry. But who knows where I’d be right now if it wasn’t for him? Probably in a fox’s belly!”

She looked towards Bruce.

“He needs rest,” she said. “Some time to heal.”

The elder guinea pig looked at the silly young fruit bat with his injured wing dangling awkwardly by his side.

“Bring him here,” he said.

Ginny’s face lit up and she rushed over to Bruce.

She got to him and told him, “Come and meet George. You’re going to be allowed to stay.”

Bruce felt a sigh of relief. The two of them made their way over to George.

Geroge’s face warmed.

“My name’s George,” he said. “Thank you for helping Ginny. She’s good at finding trouble.”

“It was nothing,” said Bruce. “She saved me just as much as I saved her.”

“Well, thank you,” said George. “Now, we’ll be happy to have you for a while until you’re feeling up to flying. But I want you to know we only have so much food and we can’t bring attention to the shrub. It can’t be for too long.”

“Thank you,” said Bruce. “I will get going as soon as I can.”

George smiled once more.

At that moment, a bright whistle sounded out across the shrub. The elder guinea pig’s ears pricked up and his eyes went extra big.

“Time to run!” said George excitedly. “Ginny will help you get settled in.”

Just like that, George turned away and ran.

Similar action was going on all over the shrub.

The guinea pigs were all running around the edge of the shrub. They weren’t chasing anything. They weren’t running from anything. They were just doing laps.

Bruce looked back to Ginny to ask her one of the many questions on his mind. Except she was gone too, running the same lap as all of the other guinea pigs.

Chapter eight is here!

Sorry for the delay on this one. I’ve just started a new job and life has been a bit busy!

If you need to catch up, here’s a link to the series chapter list:

Chapter List

As always, thanks for stopping by.

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Now, please do enjoy today’s new chapter!

Ginny and Bruce were on high alert as they plopped down to the forest floor. Foxes could be tricky creatures. For all Bruce and Ginny knew, the foxes could be waiting just around the corner.

Not moving, they scanned the area around them. The forest was very still. Their nerves were on edge.

Still, at least for now, it looked like the coast was clear.

Satisfied, they set off, Ginny leading the way. Bruce moved at a slow and unsteady pace. He limped awkwardly on, his little bat legs hating every step. It didn’t feel right being down there on the forest floor among the dirt and fallen leaves. Everything around him was so giant; it felt like he was surrounded at every moment.

He belonged in the air, or on a high branch where he could look over things, or somewhere up near the ceiling of a dark cave where he could dangle and relax. Down on the forest floor, he just felt way too… amongst it.

Ginny seemed to sense Bruce’s unease.

“It’s not too far,” Ginny assured him.

He tried a smile. She didn’t believe him.

They continued on through the forest. They felt more settled as time went on. The foxes had seemingly moved on to bigger, better, and, most importantly, different things. Still, when it came to life in the forest, you just never know what (or who) might lie behind the next tree.

The morning ticked on. The forest was warming up. The high-pitched twirpy daytime birds chirped on and gossiped about this and that. Tiny-but-massive colonies of ants went about their small-but-big business, fetching food and building cities. And then, every now and then, like a random breeze, an unseen critter could be heard scampering across some nearby crunchy fallen leaves, startling poor Ginny and Bruce.

Still, for the most part, things weren’t all that bad. In fact, it was a good chance for Ginny and Bruce to better get to know each other.

“How did you end up on your own at that mango tree anyway?” asked Ginny. “I thought bats lived in groups? At dusk, I always see great big flocks of you guys up in the sky, cruising like storm clouds.”

“Desperation, I guess,” said Bruce. “We have been having trouble finding food lately. When we spread out, we can cover more ground.”

“It seems like everyone has been struggling of late,” said Ginny.

Frowning, Bruce nodded in agreement.

“Where do you normally live?” asked Ginny.

“We have a cave near the bottom of that mountain,” said Bruce, gesturing off into the distance.

“That’s a long flight,” said Ginny. “We need to get you rested up.”

Saying that, Ginny now spotted her home just ahead of them.

Her walk changed and she started to make an effort to step on the leaves rather than the dirt.

“Avoid the dirt if you can,” she told Bruce. “Stepping on the leaves helps to hide our tracks.”

Bruce did as instructed, still unsure what it was they were moving towards.

In front of them there was a large and dense shrub. The leaves were dark green and lush.

“Here we are,” said Ginny.

Ginny walked up to a particular spot in the shrub where the leaves were loose. She stepped forward into the green and the shrub gently ate her up.

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Before we get to today’s story, I wanted to have a quick chat about an important topic for the newsletter. The future!

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Click here for chapter list!

Now, back to the stories, here’s today’s chapter!

The night ticked on quietly. The nocturnal creatures of the forest went about their foraging business. Leaves rustled with the occasional landing of a bat. Branches swayed as possums played tag, screeching at each other in that special way that only possums do — when you can’t tell if they’re best friends or arch enemies.

Bruce’s wing was aching so badly that it was giving him a headache. It didn’t take long for his eyes to fall shut on him and give him some relief.

Down below, for a good long while, the two foxes continued to circle like vultures, every so often yowling out in frustration.

After what felt like a very long night, the sun finally stepped in to take over for its shift.

The nighttime animals searched for some sleepy shade and the daytime animals stepped out into the light.

Bruce woke up as an unfortunate ray of bright light snuck through the canopy above and shined on his face. A most unpleasant way for a bat to wake up, he rolled aside to find some shade for his eyes.

Unfortunately, his injury was sticking around. His wing still ached.

He was out of schedule with his normal sleep routine now. He felt heavy and slow and just wanted somewhere dark to lie down.

He looked around and Ginny was gone. He wasn’t too shocked. In his mind, it was fair enough for her to have left. He hadn’t had any expectations.

At least the foxes were gone too.

As Bruce properly woke up, he tried to come up with a plan. It sure didn’t feel like he had many options.

Thinking things over, a fleshy chunk of mango skin was suddenly plopped down in front of him.

Bruce looked up. Ginny was back.

“Dig in,” said Ginny.

Bruce didn’t hesitate. He immediately started chomping down the mango.

“How are you feeling?” asked Ginny.

Bruce spoke with a very full mouth. “Better now.”

“And your wing?” she asked.

The excitement faded in his voice.

“Sore,” he said. “Very sore.”

“Can you fly yet?” she asked.

“Not for a while, I don’t think,” said Bruce.

Ginny looked down at the drop below.

“Would you be able to glide down to the forest floor?” she asked him.

Bruce was finishing up his mango.

“I think so,” he said.

“If you want, you can come back to our village,” said Ginny. “It’s not far from here. It’s somewhere you can stay while you rest up.”

Bruce was hesitant. He didn’t want to be a burden.

“You can’t stay here,” Ginny continued. “There are snakes in these trees.”

Bruce knew she was right.

His voice was soft. “Thank you.”

Following their different routes, they both made the trip down to the forest floor. Bruce glided down in small sailing circles until he reached the ground. His wing stung and it was a choppy little descent, but he made it.

Ginny took the branches route, weaving from branch to branch and tree to tree, fortunately never having to make any overly treacherous leaps.

They regrouped at the bottom of the tree and began their journey.

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We’re back. Time for Chapter Six.

If you’re new here, this is the story of a fruit bat named Bruce and a guinea pig named Ginny who are making their way through the longest night of their lives.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

The chapter list is getting long! I will make a new special tab for the series soon.

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Now, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week! Please do enjoy today’s chapter.

Unsurprisingly, going airborne well and truly snapped Ginny out of her temporary daze.

Waking up a few feet into the air (and climbing higher by the second) was a startling experience for a guinea pig to go through. It would be startling for most creatures really. Thankfully, though, Ginny was a quick and calm thinker — an extraordinarily helpful temperament combination.

Awake now, she steadied her mind before her body could react and panic.

Instinct told her she was in safe hands (well, safe claws).

Ginny looked down below at the frantically yapping fox who had intended her to be his dinner. If she had had the energy, she would have loved to stick out her tongue and call out a final, “Eat my dust!”

Bruce meanwhile was beginning to have some trouble. He had injured his wing in all of the mayhem and was now feeling a deep sting with every flap. He wasn’t going to be able to stay in the air much longer, especially considering the fluffy luggage he was carrying along with him. He needed to find somewhere to land. Urgently.

The pain was quickly getting worse. Frank spotted a half-decent branch and took his chance.

He plopped Ginny down as gently as he could and then staggered down for a clunky landing beside her.

Blessed to feel a firm surface beneath her feet, Ginny hopped up and rushed over to Bruce.

“Are you ok?” she asked, worry in her voice.

Bruce grimaced a smile. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

The yips and yaps could still be heard from the fox below.

Ginny looked down and saw the fox still loitering by the base of the tree, tail bristled, kicking up dirt like an angry bull. In that moment, another fox was entering the arena, joining the hunt. It were as if they somehow knew Ginny and Bruce were stuck where they were.

“How’s your head?” asked Bruce.

“My mind is still a little fuzzy,” said Ginny. “Like I’ve had too much honey.”

She checked Bruce for a closer look at his injury. He was trying to steady it, but his wing was trembling.

The night had fully settled in now. The birds had gone to sleep and the only sound left was that of the dreadful, howling taunts of the foxes below…

Safe-ish in their tree, Bruce and Ginny’s hearts finally settled.

“It’s Bruce, right?” asked Ginny.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Well, I owe you a thank you,” said Ginny.

“That’s ok,” said Bruce. “I owe you one as well.”

The foxes were still howling at the bottom of the tree.

“They sound hungry,” said Bruce.

“Too bad, too sad,” said Ginny. “Everyone in this forest is hungry.”

“Do you think foxes hold grudges?” asked Bruce.

“I know I hold grudges,” said Ginny, glaring down at them. “What do you think fox tastes like?”

“Not as nice as rotten mango,” said Bruce glumly.

There was a moment of pause.

“Are you ok to fly?” Ginny asked.

He moved his wing but instantly winced in pain.

“You would be able to sneak off that way,” said Bruce. “The branches would hold your weight.”

“I’ll stick around for now.”

I hope your week has been going swimmingly.

It’s time for a new chapter in our unnamed little series about a fruit bat named Bruce and a guinea pig named Ginny.

Here are some links for the chapters so far:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Now please do enjoy today’s new chapter.

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Teeth clenched shut on the fox’s big bristly tail, Ginny was holding on for dear life. Flinging from side to side, she was barely holding on.

The overwhelmed and panicked fox began chasing after his own tail, spinning and spinning and spinning in a tight little circle, like a tornado of fluff, never quite reaching the parasitic fur ball that had latched onto him like a irremovable bur.

Eventually, in the cyclonic chaos, Ginny’s grip faltered. And so she was gone. It were as if she was launched from a catapult. Through the air she went, Frank and Bruce watching on.

Finally, a tree trunk cut her flight short. Crunch!

As far as the furious fox knew, the fruit bat didn’t even exist anymore. Frank had eyes for only one — the darn ginger fur ball that had chomped into his tail.

It turns out that clonking head first into a tree trunk is more effective than any bedtime story. Lying flat on her back, Ginny was momentarily fast asleep.

Eager for his revenge, the fox closed in on her, nothing in his way.

Bruce had to act now. He leapt into the air and rapidly closed the gap between himself and the fox. He stretched out his wings as if he was going for a big hug and then latched onto the fox’s face, covering his eyes like a great big blindfold.

Once again, quite understandably if we’re being honest, the fox went into a frenzy and started bucking like an enraged bull.

The blinded fox rolled onto his back and squirmed like a worm. Bruce was getting hit against the ground, struggling to hold on.

For a moment Bruce’s hold slipped and the fox launched him away with a mighty flick of his head.

Frank had had enough. He just wanted to have his little guinea pig dinner and go to bed to lick his wounds.

As he closed in, Ginny was still in the process of waking up from her untimely slumber.

Watching what was unfolding, Bruce picked himself up off the ground. He took off with a sharp flap and flew low towards the action. He cut in front of the fox and grabbed Ginny by the scruff with his bottom claws.

Frank pounced while he still had a chance. If the forest had a slow motion switch for dramatic purposes, that switch would toggle right about now.

Frank launched through the air with his vampiric fangs sticking out. Moments from disaster, Bruce lifted Ginny clear.

The guinea pig was airborne.

Bruce climbed up into the air and away from the feverish fox below, holding on tight to his very precious guinea pig cargo. The fox was frantically jumping after them, chomping thin air.

Bruce and Ginny were in the clear…

I wish I could tell you I now have a fantastic new name for this series, but alas, I still don’t have anything. I suppose that’s the beauty of serialised fiction. This is truly a story still in progress!

In any case, we have Frank the fox joining the fray this chapter. 🦊

Here are some links to the rest of the series:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

If you’re new here, I hope you stick around!

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Now for today’s new chapter.

The fox silently entered the forest opening like a slick flick of flame being dropped off by a gentle breeze. His fur was pristine and remarkably healthy, catching a glisten from the moonlight.

Off to the side, he stood by invisibly while the fruit bat and the guinea pig bickered and babbled about who knows what.

Much like the critters before him, Frank the fox had also spent a long chunk of the day searching the forest for some morsel of food to feast on. Like them, he also had an empty stomach that was becoming increasingly frustrated with him as the day (and days) went on.

His meals that week had been meek and few and far between. The menu was as follows: Two wriggly worms he had picked out of a plot of dirt. An hour of licking a particularly slimy piece of mossy rock. A pawful of red berries that ended up giving him a tummy ache. And then, finally, the last bits of a leftover fish carcass he had found by a river.

As he now stood by watching the fruit bat and guinea pig under the moonlight, he felt his mouth begin to salivate.

Meanwhile, back with Bruce and Ginny, they seemed to just finally be sorting things out and settling down. Bruce was even talking about becoming friends.

It was then that the prowling fox made his move. He pounced from the shadows, going straight for Ginny (the tastier looking critter out of the two of them).

Fortunately, as a fruit bat, Bruce had fantastic hearing. He caught the imperceptible crunch of a leaf as the fox leapt forward and he immediately swung his head to the fox’s direction.

Bruce sprung to action and shoved Ginny out of the way. As she toppled backwards, there was a look of sheer shock and outrage on her little face.

With Bruce now standing in Ginny’s place, the leaping fox slammed into him instead. The frail fruit bat didn’t stand a chance. He was knocked straight back, flat on his back, far clear of his rotten mango platter.

Never mind the guinea pig, Frank gladly adapted and now eyed off the much more exposed fruit bat before him.

Bruce was dazed, his vision wobbly. He looked up as the fox approached, wanting but not able to spring back up. Stuck on the forest floor with a sharp-fanged fox was a fruit bat’s worst nightmare come to life.

Standing up and dusting herself off, Ginny took in the scene around her. She was quick to act (in life, Ginny was always quick to act).

With the fox moving in on the sprawled figure of Bruce on the ground, Ginny made an immediate sprint for his frizzy orange tail.

The fastest guinea pig the forest had ever seen, Ginny darted over and leapt into the air. She latched onto the fox’s tail and bit down with all her might. The fox’s yelp was wretched and ear-piercing.

Frank turned his attention to Ginny, spinning his head to see what had harmed him. Except the pain was ongoing. Ginny’s little fangs were in and she wasn’t letting go.

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Very happy to be back today with a new chapter in the newest little Story Whale series. It’s been a bigger break than I would have liked, but Bruce the fruit bat and Ginny the guinea pig are back!

Funnily enough, I don’t actually have a series title just yet, but I will get on to that shortly!

If you missed it, here’s a link back to chapter one:

Chapter One: A Fruit Bat Named Bruce

And here’s a link to chapter two:

Chapter Two: A Guinea Pig Named Ginny

If you’re new here, welcome! Please do feel free to subscribe to stay tuned (it’s freeeee!).

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Now, please enjoy! 😊

The tumbling black bat landed with a big plomp and a wet squish, smack bang on top of a particularly rotten piece of forest floor mango.

Ginny leapt back out of the way. She dug her little claws into the ground, set to pounce like a fierce tiger. Whatever this creature from the sky was, they had no idea who they were messing with.

Bruce, meanwhile, was in a very different stance. A quite upside down and back-to-front stance.

His head was buzzing. He’d never taken a fall like that before. He was dazed and a little shaky.

It took a moment, but he gradually realised he was okay. And then he realised he was covered in rotten mango. Both of these pieces of information were equally great news.

Somehow, Bruce had found himself lying down on top of a perfectly foul open-splattered mango. In essence, he felt like the luckiest fruit bat in the world.

Without hesitation, he started feasting on the stinky stringy flesh and slurping up the pungent sludge.

Ginny watched on slightly mortified as this all unfolded. Flying creatures were fierce enemies of guinea pigs. Ginny had grown up hearing stories and warnings about swooping birds from the sky who could pluck up guinea pigs as if they were loose little feathers in a breeze. She had been raised to avoid big open spaces for that very reason and to always keep one eye skywards, just in case.

Eventually, finally, Bruce spotted Ginny. When he saw her, he froze, his heart racing from all of the sugar in the mangoes.

The two of them stared at each other for a long silent moment, neither moving an inch.

As the moment stretched on, Ginny’s instincts decided to take over.

Suddenly she leapt into action and struck like a snake, launching into the air, flying right at the mango-soaked fruit bat before her.

Bruce’s reflexes were slow and Ginny knocked him onto his back before he could so much as blink. Ginny was rapidly beating him with her paws like a prizefight boxer. Except in this case her boxing gloves may as well have been made of cotton candy.

Bruce lifted up his wing to shield himself. The strikes weren’t hurting him, but it was enough to make him feel very overwhelmed.

“Can you please stop that?” he asked finally, his voice polite.

Ginny kept going at him.

“I’m not trying to hurt you or anything,” Bruce pleaded. “I just want to eat this mango.”

Ginny wasn’t budging, instead continuing to whale on Bruce.

“We can share if you like?” Bruce added. “It’s a really good mango.”

Finally, Ginny stopped hitting him for a moment.

“You’re not going to fly off with me?” she asked hesitantly.

“Goodness no,” said Bruce.

“Promise?” Ginny insisted.

“I promise,” said Bruce.

Ginny got off from on top of him and took a step back, struggling to catch her breath.

“Why do you want to eat that anyway?” said Ginny. “It smells disgusting.”

“What? It smells amazing!” said Bruce.

With that Bruce took his chance and had another big bite of mango.

“My name’s Bruce by the way,” he said, speaking with his mouth full.

“I’m Ginny,” said Ginny.

She was looking up at the ripe mangoes still attached to the trees up above, shining now in the moonlight. She’d had a breakthrough.

“You know, I think we could actually work together,” she told Bruce.

Bruce wasn’t budging, still chomping down rotten mango like his life depended on it.

“Oh yeah?” he said, dribbling between bites. “If I’m being honest, I could use a new friend.”

In that moment their conversation was cut short by a rustle of leaves just behind them.

And so a new creature entered the fray…

It’s time for chapter two. 📚

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If you missed the first chapter, you can read it here:

Chapter One: A Fruit Bat Named Bruce

Without further ado!

Dear reader, when you think of a guinea pig, you will probably picture a cute fuzzy ball of fur relaxing in its decorated little home within a human house. They are probably munching on a stick of carrot or celery or a leaf of lettuce. They may even be going for a light jog on their hamster wheel (guinea pigs loathe that the wheel was named after hamsters instead of them). More likely than not, in reality, they would be fast asleep, snoring gently with a full belly.

Alas, this is not the way of life for all guinea pigs. Some don’t have a hamster wheel for them to run on. Instead, they have to run for real. Perhaps being chased. Perhaps the one chasing.

Ginny the guinea pig was one such guinea pig. No wheel to run on, no pre-chopped carrots for dinner, no decorated cage to keep her safe. She was a guinea pig of the wild. The world was her cage, the earth was her wheel.

It wasn’t all bad. For one, she didn’t even fully know what she was missing out on. There were rumours and stories of how some guinea pigs lived, but she had never seen any actual proof of it.

Plus, life wasn’t all bad. She had a good family. A big family. And she usually managed to scrounge up the food she needed to get by. Most of her family actually thought they had great lives. For them, their most important box was ticked: having a tight and caring community to be a part of. And that was exactly why Ginny couldn’t help but sometimes feel like an outsider.

Sure, Ginny loved her friends and family. But she also loved adventure. She loved exploring and trying new things. Unfortunately for her, most guinea pigs didn’t feel that way.

One unusual thing that Ginny did was going out foraging all on her own. While most guinea pigs foraged in packs, Ginny liked to venture alone. It was her chance to feel a little adventure and to get some space.

On this particular day in question, Ginny was sniffing around the forest floor for a much-needed bite to eat. She had been searching all afternoon and now it was starting to get dark. As was often the case, she wasn’t having much luck.

Drifting farther and farther from home, the moon now out, she finally found something that transformed her mood — a mango!

She approached the mango with slight caution, not wanting to get her hopes up too much. A big fruit like a mango was a rare treat for Ginny, and, usually, most forest floor fruit like that was rotten or nasty. But maybe, just maybe, today’s mango would be different.

She approached it with a sniff. Quickly, her shoulders dropped. Another rotten piece of fruit…

She looked up and saw the actual fresh mangoes high up above, still attached to the tree, taunting her. She would give anything to be able to get up there.

That’s when poor old Bruce the fruit bat came crashing through the air like a earth-bound shooting star…

It’s time for a new story!

I think this will be a fun one. It’s a little story about a fruit bat named Bruce.

Life is hard out there for a young fruit bat. Food can be tricky to track down. Sometimes you need a friend to help you out…

Find the full series here:

Full Series

Would love to know what you think! 😊

If you’re new here, subscribe for free to make sure you don’t miss the next chapter!

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Now, please do enjoy!

Although Bruce was still only a young fruit bat, he was now old enough to hunt for himself. Well, not hunt, but gather.

He would spend his nights searching the trees for fruit to feast on.

He was still quite new to the whole thing. He was still figuring things out. There was a lot of trial and error.

Apples were delicious when they were rotten, but they hurt his teeth when they were too fresh. When they were too fresh, they also tasted overly sour. Speaking of sour, he had gotten himself into trouble by biting into lemons on more than one occasion.

Passion fruit was a favourite, except their tough leathery shell was a nightmare to get through. The best fruit was mangoes. Oh, how Bruce loved mangoes. Soft, velvety, not too sweet, not too tart. Nothing beat a good mango. If Bruce had his way, he would be eating mangoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Sadly, though, life out in the wild wasn’t that simple. Finding fruit wasn’t always easy.

Bruce had some nights where he wouldn’t find anything to eat at all. He would search and search and search, but wouldn’t find a single bite-able thing.

He had other nights where he would find something but couldn’t get it off the tree. Those nights were terrible. His prize was right there, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

And then he had some nights where he would feast on something he shouldn’t be feasting on, biting into things that turned out to be foul or that gave him a nasty stomach ache. After all, there’s a lot of things that grow on trees out there in the world. It’s hard to know what’s good to eat and what isn’t. For that, you need experience. Something poor Bruce was sorely missing.

On one particular night, Bruce wasn’t having any luck at all. He was searching and searching and he wasn’t finding anything. His tummy was rumbling and he was feeling defeated.

The air was cold and tasteless and he hadn’t seen another fruit bat in ages. The usual spots hadn’t been any good and he was having to explore a new area of the forest.

That’s when he stumbled across a very familiar and magical smell… mangoes.

If he had been getting tired, he was wide awake again now.

His little nose twitched as he tried to track down the wonderful smell of the mangoes.

He flew down low to the trees and then ducked under the canopy, searching. Eventually, he saw it — the mango tree.

Tummy rumbling, Bruce flew straight for the tree. It was a big one, covered with bright yellow and orange mango spots.

Bruce landed on one of the branches and shuffled out lightly to the edge to check one of the mangoes.

He made it to the mango and picked at it with his teeth. The yellowish skin was tough and he couldn’t quite manage to puncture it.

Bruce hopped across to the next branch to check another mango. It was the same situation. Too tough, too young.

He tried to bite a little harder. His balance was shaky as he finally plunged his teeth into the mango flesh. The tart taste gave him a great big shiver and, in the same moment, he felt his grip slip.

Suddenly, he was plunging through the air.

Bruce landed on the forest floor with a hard thump. His whole body ached.

When he finally opened his eyes, he was greeted by a most strange sight…

A guinea pig.

Today’s post comes from the Story Whale library and takes us back to the dragon world of Princess Hanna and her fellow dragons of Courage Town. It’s a fun little two-parter from 2022 (how time flies!).

Important note: You don’t need to have read any of the other chapters for today’s story!

If you haven’t read any of the series before, the Princess Hanna series can be found in full here:

Princess Hanna

Happy reading!

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Every year the school in Courage Town would hold a baking competition.

Students would break up into pairs and there would be one chaotic weekend of frantic baking and frenzied selling. The smell of cupcakes and croissants would fill the air.

Hanna and Carrie had never entered the baking competition before, but this year they felt like they just might have a unique strategy to take home gold.

In the past, they had always been the quiet ones at school. They minded their own business and did their own thing. The hoopla of the baking competition was the exact type of thing they would have avoided.

A lot had changed since the last year’s baking competition though. Hanna was allowed to openly use her fire powers now. She was a lot stronger as well because of all of her recent training for the Fire Carnival. Carrie, on the other hand, had become a very strong flyer — the best in their grade.

They now felt confident that they could give the baking competition a good shot.

All of the entrants were gathered together on a Friday afternoon after school for the launch of the baking competition.

Hanna and Carrie looked around the twenty-or-so other contenders they would be up against. The two of them felt strangely confident, and not just for their chances in the competition but in general. Things had changed over the past months. They walked with their shoulders back. They answered questions in class that they normally would have just sat quietly for. They just felt… good. They were talking to other students more and getting invited to birthday parties that they previously would never have even heard about.

At the Friday meeting for the baking competition, Mr Brooks announced the rules.

“All entrants will have the weekend to bake and sell baked goods. Whoever makes the most money wins.”

And then the race was on.

Hanna and Carrie took off into the air and flew to the general store. They rushed inside and bolted for the baking section. When they got there, though, they found that the shelf was almost completely empty. All they could grab was a single bag of flour.

They went to the counter to pay and Hanna asked the owner, “Where is all of your baking stuff?”

“Young dragons have been stocking up all week for the baking competition,” said the owner. “You guys should have stopped by earlier.”

Hanna and Carrie left the general store with their meagre supplies.

“What now?” asked Carrie.

“The castle!” said Hanna. “We’ll check the castle kitchen. There has to be something there for us.”

Off they went, flying across town to Princess Hanna’s family’s castle. They landed in the courtyard where two of Hanna’s brothers were chasing after each other playing tag.

Hanna and Carrie charged inside into the kitchen. They went through to the pantry room and gathered up what they could: some more flour, sugar, a few cartons of eggs, and a bag of cocoa powder.

“What’s the plan?” asked Carrie.

Hanna was deep in thought. Then it clicked.

“I have an idea!” she said. “It hasn’t rained lately, has it?”

“No,” said Carrie. “Not in ages.”

“Then follow me,” said Hanna.

Hanna took off and Carrie went after her.

Just outside of Courage Town there was a paddock with an old stone well. Hanna and Carrie landed just near the well and brought all of their ingredients and cooking equipment along with them. They also brought a metal chain which was going to be a key part of Hanna’s plan.

Once they were at the well they started working on their unique baking contraption. This was where Hanna’s big idea came into play.

They connected the metal chain to a baking pan and checked that they were able to lower it down into the well.

Then it was time to get mixing. They were going to make brownies and they were going to make a lot of them.

Hanna and Carrie got to work mixing their ingredients. They were working off a recipe that Carrie had gotten from one of her mums.

Hanna and Carrie picked brownies because they were quick and easy to make.

Once they had their mix finished, they started setting out the uncooked brownies on the tray attached to the metal chain. They then lowered the tray down into the well.

“Ready?” asked Hanna.

Carrie nodded and then stepped back to get out of the way.

Hanna let out a giant blast of fire into the well. This went on until the smell of brownies rose up into the air, soon followed by smoke and a slightly less pleasant smell of charcoal.

Hanna pulled up the metal chain to get the brownies. The tray was smoking and the brownies were black.

They set the tray down on the ground and both looked at the smouldering brownies, consternation on each of their faces. They let the brownies cool for a bit and then they split one in half to each try. The tester bite was a very cautious one.

Regrettably, the brownies tasted exactly how they looked.

But they were locked in now. They were committed to their plan.

“Ok,” said Hanna. “You fly to town and sell these brownies door-to-door. No one can fly as fast as you. You’ll leave everyone else in the dust. I’ll get started on the next batch of brownies. With our well and my fire we’re going to be able to churn out brownies twice the speed of whatever anyone else is making.”

“But what if they don’t like the brownies?” asked Carrie.

“Some of them will,” said Hanna. “And we’ll get better at it as we go along. Plus, we have numbers on our side. We’ll sell them cheap, but we’ll sell a lot of them. By the end of the weekend, we’ll be able to have a go at selling these brownies to every single dragon in town.”

Carrie was unsure, but she trusted Hanna. And so they went for it.

The weekend went by in a blur of chaotic baking and selling. Hanna would rush through tray after tray of brownies and Carrie would fly them over to town where she would bounce from house to house. Mostly, dragons turned back the brownies the second they saw them. But some of them bought them. And, after a while, the number of buyers began to add up.

They baked and sold brownies all Friday afternoon, all day on Saturday, and up until the baking competition finished at noon on Sunday.

Once it was time, everyone in the baking competition gathered together at the school and handed in their results. Then it was time for the announcement of the winner.

Hanna and Carrie stood together in the crowd, itching with nervousness. As far as they could tell, their strategy had worked. They had sold a heap of brownies. They were practically just waiting for their names to be called.

Mr Brooks then stepped forward to announce the winners.

“And the winners are…”

The day was upon them — launch day for the baking competition. Sally and Ali woke up at the break of dawn and got straight to work.

They had until the afternoon when the competition would begin. Except it wasn’t actually that simple because they still had to go to school. And for that reason, most of their work was already completed.

They had been planning and practising their menu for weeks. It was a game of trial and error, of working out what worked best and what flopped miserably.

Sally and Ali knew that a lot of the competitors would just bake the fastest and easiest thing possible. Sally and Ali wanted to do things a little differently. They wanted their baked goods to be the most delicious sweets their customers had ever eaten.

They both had a genuine passion for baking. They had been baking together since they were tiny little dragons with matching cupcake mittens their mum had sowed for them.

Like any siblings they argued with each other over a million little things every day — except for when they were baking. When they were baking, they were perfectly in sync.

Sally and Ali’s family didn’t have a lot of money so they would have to be smart if they wanted to bake the delicious sweets they had in mind.

They had been doing as many chores as they possibly could at home and they had also been helping the general store with delivering food to some of the elderly dragons in Courage Town. The owner of the general store, Vincent, would pay them in flour and sugar.

Sally and Ali also had a heap of preparing to do for their stall. They wanted their baking stall for the competition to be colourful and bright and inviting to customers.

They had the perfect spot for their stall, in the town square in the centre of Courage Town. They wouldn’t go door-to-door like everyone else. Instead, their customers would come to them. That way they could focus their attention on the actual baking itself.

So, on the morning of the competition, they got to work on their final preparations. Sally and Ali carried all of the bits and pieces of their stall and hurried to the town square to make sure they got a good spot. Of course, no one else was there when they got there and no one else showed up to set up a stall later on either. But it was better to be safe than sorry, and so they started setting up their stall in the empty town square. The air was icy cold, but Sally and Ali didn’t even notice it. They were in the zone — focused.

Once they had their beautiful stall set up, it was time to get their ingredients ready.

They had already stocked up on all of their dried goods, of course, like flour and sugar, but they still needed their fresh food. They could have bought stuff from the day before but they wanted their sweets to be as fresh as possible, and that meant buying their fruit as close as possible to the start of the competition.

Sally and Ali couldn’t fly on their own yet. They were too young. So they had to run.

They ran together to the very edge of town to the River family farm. The River family owned a massive farm where they grew a range of different fruits. Sally and Ali were going to buy a bunch of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries for their sweets. They had been in touch with the River family earlier to make sure that their berries would be ready for them once they got there.

Sure enough, they were greeted at the farm by a very sleepy Mr River.

“Good morning, Sally and Ali,” he said between yawns. “I have all of your berries ready.”

“Thank you, Mr River,” said Sally. “We will be back for more tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Mr River. “I’ll have some more ready then. Just make sure to save me a couple of pastries.”

Sally and Ali went to school and, of course, were far too nervous and excited to possibly concentrate on what they were learning.

Once the bell rang, they went with all of the other competitors to gather for the launch of the baking competition.

Mr Brooks kicked things off and then Sally and Ali watched as Princess Hanna and Carrie immediately took off into the air. Sally and Ali were briefly thrown off. Princess Hanna and Carrie were faster, stronger, older.

“Don’t worry about them,” said Sally finally. “We’ve got this. Time to bake.”

They then ran home to get started. They needed something that was fast to make for the Friday night so they went with chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.

The second they got home they switched on the oven and started preparing everything. It was a rapid, well-rehearsed stint of cupcake-making. Their house smelled incredible.

Sally and Ali then filled a cart and went to the town square. Their mum went with them to look after them, although she certainly wasn’t allowed to help them with anything.

That first night was a fantastic success. They sold every cupcake they had baked, and they would tell each customer, “Come back tomorrow and we’ll have way more stuff.” They even gave them little coupons for a discount on their next purchase.

Once they packed up the stall, they went home and got started on the range of berry tarts they would be baking the next morning. They then woke up on the Saturday at dawn and got straight back to work.

The Saturday went even better than the Friday, and the Sunday went better still! By the end of the weekend, many of their customers had already been to the stall many times before. They ended up using every single last berry, bit of flour, and grain of sugar they had. They were completely and utterly SOLD OUT.

When they gathered with the other competitors they couldn’t help but feel good. Still, though, they were uncertain. All weekend they had seen Carrie flying all over the place above them. Who knows how many sales they had made?

And then the waiting was over. Mr Brooks stepped forward to announce the winners.

“And the winners are…”

Sally and Ali held their breath.

“Sally and Ali!”

It took a second for it all to sink in. Sally and Ali had the biggest smiles ever. They had done it! They had won the baking competition.

Sally and Ali were lost in joy as the other competitors congratulated them.

They made their way to the front and Mr Brooks gave them each a little cupcake trophy.

Sally and Ali were over the moon.

Princess Hanna and Carrie ended up coming in second place. They were disappointed but they knew the best team had won.

After the ceremony, Hanna and Carrie congratulated Sally and Ali.

“You deserved to win,” said Carrie. “Everyone in town is talking about how good your cupcakes and tarts were.”

Sally and Ali were thrilled. They went home and showed their parents their cupcake trophies.

Later that night, Sally and Ali’s mum was woken by the smell of something sweet and delicious. She went to check on it and found Sally and Ali baking a cake in the kitchen.

“What on earth are you doing?” she asked.

“We’re getting ready for next year’s baking competition,” said Ali.

Thanks for reading!

Have a terrific weekend!