Chapter 5

That afternoon, Maggie sat under a tree near the stable to work on her journal. Turning to a fresh page in the section about flying pigs, she wrote:

When she was finished writing, Maggie drew some pictures of the piglets and their mother. She was sitting back, rereading what she’d just written, when she heard a small child crying. Maggie set down the journal and her pencil as she stood up and looked around. The crying sounded as if it was coming from the woods.

‘Help me!’ wailed a child’s voice. Maggie thought it sounded like Maeve, one of her youngest stepsisters.

Maggie ran into the forest. ‘Maeve, is that you?’ she called. ‘I’m coming!’

‘I’m over here!’ the child cried from deeper in the forest.

Maggie hurried as fast as she could. She climbed over fallen logs and ducked under low branches. ‘Where are you now?’ she called. There was no answer. ‘Is anyone there?’

A twig snapped somewhere in the forest. A big owl hooted. No one responded to Maggie’s call.

Worried, Maggie looked everywhere. She searched behind trees, but some nasty squirrels threw nuts at her. She peered into prickly bushes that scratched her arms and face. Getting down on her hands and knees, she looked in a small cave, where a snake raised its head and hissed. Finally, Maggie gave up and went back to the tree where she’d left her journal. Her pencil was there, but her journal was gone.

Maggie was sure she’d left it beside the tree. She knew she hadn’t taken it into the woods! Looking carefully, Maggie searched all around the tree, even under the arching roots. The journal wasn’t there, either.

‘Maybe a raccoon carried it into the tree,’ she said, peering at the branches. Grabbing hold of the lowest branch, she pulled herself up and started to look. She inspected every branch and twig, startling a finch in her nest. When she peeked into a big hole in the trunk, two baby owls blinked at her from the depths. She even climbed to the top of the tree and surveyed the ground nearby. The journal wasn’t anywhere in sight.

Maggie was more upset than ever when she scrambled out of the tree. Her journal was definitely gone! Unable to figure out what had happened, she went to the cottage to see Bob. He was sitting at the kitchen table with Nora. They both looked up when Maggie walked in.

‘My journal is gone,’ she told them, close to tears. ‘I’ve looked everywhere!’

‘Where did you have it last?’ asked Nora.

‘I was sitting under the old oak writing about the piglets when I heard a child crying in the woods. I went to see if I could help, but there wasn’t anyone there. When I went back to get my journal, it was gone. I know I left it at the bottom of the tree!’

‘A crying child, you say?’ said Bob. ‘The only small children who live around here are in the castle, and they don’t come out to play in the forest by themselves. Did it sound like anyone you know?’

Maggie nodded. ‘I thought it sounded like my little stepsister, Maeve.’

‘I see,’ said Bob. ‘I know it’s upsetting to lose something you treasure, but in this case I’m sure it will show up in a few days. If it doesn’t, I have a good idea where to start looking.’

‘Do you think Peter took it?’ Maggie asked.

Bob nodded. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised.’