Merida squinted at the top of the falls, shielding her eyes from the blazing summer sun. There has to be a way to the top of the Fire Falls! she thought.

Suddenly, a cloud passed in front of the sun, casting a shadow over the waterfall. Then Merida saw it: the shimmery blue glow of a will-o’-the-wisp! Merida gasped and grabbed Young Macintosh’s arm as another wisp appeared, followed by another, and another.

“There!” Merida exclaimed. She pointed at the wisps that hovered in front of the Fire Falls. “Do you see them?”

“What—what are they?” Young Macintosh asked in astonishment.

“They’re will-o’-the-wisps,” Merida said, her face shining with hope. “They’ll lead us to our destiny!”

“I thought wisps were just in legends,” Young Macintosh said.

“No—they’re as real as you and I,” Merida replied. She watched the wisps flicker, one after another, until they almost reached the top of the falls. Then the cloud drifted away from the sun, and all the wisps disappeared at once.

“Wait!” Merida cried. “Don’t go! I don’t understand what you want us to do!”

But the wisps were gone.

“I know want they want,” Young Macintosh announced. “They’re telling us to return the emeralds!”

“But we already know that,” Merida said. “What we don’t know is how to get to the top of the Fire Falls.”

Merida scanned the slippery rocks. All the steely-gray stones looked the same, slick with the dark water from the falls.

“What is that?” Merida suddenly asked. She pointed toward the top of the Fire Falls, where the highest wisp had hovered. A small tree with a twisted trunk grew between two rocks.

Young Macintosh squinted up at the top of the falls. “That’s just a juniper tree,” he told Merida. “It must be strong to grow so high.”

Merida stared at the juniper tree, deep in thought. “We need another way to climb to the top of the falls,” she said thoughtfully. “If only we had a rope or something…”

Young Macintosh rummaged around in his pouch. “You mean, like this?” he asked, showing her a long coil of rope.

Merida’s eyes lit up as she lunged for the rope. “Yes! Give it here!” she cried.

But Young Macintosh held the rope over Merida’s head, just out of her reach. “Why? What do you want with it?” he asked.

“Just give it to me!” Merida exclaimed.

“Not until you tell me why you want it,” Young Macintosh retorted.

Merida could tell he wasn’t going to budge. “I’ll use my strongest arrow to shoot the rope between those two rocks—right by the roots of the juniper tree,” she explained. “Then we can climb up the rope instead of the rocks.”

“I have a better idea,” Young Macintosh said. “I’ll throw the rope so that it twists around the branches of the tree.”

Merida burst into laughter. “Oh, that’s a fine plan,” she said sarcastically. “You could never throw the rope that high!”

Young Macintosh narrowed his eyes. “Yes, I could,” he said stubbornly. “Watch me!”

Merida crossed her arms as she stepped aside. Young Macintosh reached back and threw the rope toward the juniper tree with all his might. Then he and Merida watched as the rope soared into the air. But it only made it halfway up the rocks before tumbling back to the ground. Young Macintosh’s face turned red with frustration as he threw the rope again and again. But it never reached the tree.

“Fine, then, do it your way!” Young Macintosh finally snapped, tossing the rope toward Merida.

“I will,” she shot back.

Merida pulled her strongest arrow out of her quiver. Then she tried to attach the rope to the arrow’s shaft. But the rope was so thick that she had trouble tying a firm knot.

“I’ll do it,” Young Macintosh spoke up.

“I don’t need any help!” Merida replied.

“The sailors taught me a new kind of knot on the voyage to DunBroch,” Young Macintosh insisted. “You’ll fare better with this knot—I know it.”

Merida hated to admit it, but her knots just weren’t secure enough. Without saying a word, she handed the rope and the arrow to Young Macintosh.

“Here, I’ll show you how to tie it,” Young Macintosh offered. “It might come in handy someday.”

“All right,” Merida said begrudgingly. She watched closely as Young Macintosh looped the rope around the arrow a few times before twisting and tying it into a strong knot.

“There!” Young Macintosh said proudly. “That will hold well.”

Merida tugged on the rope, but it didn’t budge. “That’s a fancy knot,” she said, impressed.

She carefully nocked the arrow against the bowstring. Merida knew that it wouldn’t be enough to have perfect aim. She’d also have to shoot so straight and true that the arrow would fly deep into the dirt and tightly wedge itself between the rocks.

As Merida raised her bow, the good-luck charms clicked together. She paused for just a moment to touch the thistle charm. Then Merida pulled back the bowstring, adjusted her aim, and—

Whoosh!

The arrow soared into the sky, trailing the long rope behind it like a tail. Just as Merida had hoped, the arrowhead burrowed into the strip of dirt between the rocks. The arrow’s shaft was almost entirely buried! As Young Macintosh started to cheer, Merida exhaled in relief. Then a huge grin spread across her face. Most people wouldn’t have been able to make such a difficult shot.

But Merida had done it!

Merida ran over to the rope, which dangled several feet above the ground. She leaped up to grab the rope and gave it a strong tug. The arrow stayed firmly wedged in place.

“Now let’s both try,” Young Macintosh said as he reached for the rope, too.

Merida held up a hand to stop him. “It will never hold both of us at the same time,” she said firmly. “I’ll climb up first.”

“I’m stronger, so I should go first,” Young Macintosh argued.

“That’s my best oak arrow; I know it can support me. But you weigh more than I do. What if the arrow broke before you reached the top?” replied Merida. “No, I’ll climb up first, and tie the rope to the juniper tree. That will surely be strong enough for you.”

“It’s going to be a treacherous climb, with the slick rocks,” Young Macintosh said. “Do you really think you’re up for it?”

“I know I am,” Merida replied.

Young Macintosh looked like he wanted to keep arguing. But he finally nodded and stepped aside so that Merida could begin her climb.

“Lasses first, then,” Young Macintosh said. “Wait, Merida—”

Merida watched as Young Macintosh opened his pouch and held it out to her. “Want to put your emerald in here?” he asked. “For safekeeping during the climb?”

Merida quickly shook her head. “It’s plenty safe in my own pouch,” she said.

“But your pouch isn’t even closed all the way,” Young Macintosh pointed out.

“That doesn’t matter,” Merida assured him. “The emerald is snug inside.”

Merida made sure that her quiver and bow were secure. Then she wrapped her arms around the rope and began to climb. She soon realized that Young Macintosh was right. The rocks were slippery as she stepped on them.

Inch by inch, Merida pulled herself up the rope. Her curls whipped in the wind from the rushing falls. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead and her arms were starting to ache, but still she climbed. Merida knew that she wouldn’t stop climbing until she reached the top.

The Fire Falls had never seemed so high as they did during that difficult climb. At last, Merida could see the crest.

“Almost there, now,” she yelled to Young Macintosh. Then, with one last tremendous pull, Merida hoisted herself onto the soft green grass that grew beyond the rocks. The palms of her hands stung from the roughness of the rope.

Merida rested for just a moment before she leaned over the edge of the cliff. She yanked her arrow out of mountainside and untied the rope. Then Merida looped the rope around the strongest juniper tree branch. She tied it firmly by using the knot Young Macintosh had shown her.

“Young Macintosh!” Merida called as she climbed over the edge. “You can come up now!”

The rope trembled as Young Macintosh started climbing. Merida held her breath. The ground seemed very far away. At last, Merida was relieved to see that Young Macintosh was getting close to the top.

“Oi!” she said. “You’re almost there. Just a little bit—”

Snap!

The rope suddenly broke under Young Macintosh’s weight. He started to fall!