Inside the basket, Tinker Bell was nervous and excited. There was no turning back now. She was going to the Winter Woods!

Peering over the edge, she saw the border between autumn and winter rapidly approaching. It grew closer, and closer, and then…

Fwoom!

The moment they crossed over, a burst of cold air hit Tinker Bell hard. She shivered and opened her eyes. She was in winter!

The snowy owl flew on at top speed. Tinker Bell held tight and watched as a world of white whizzed past her. Winter was incredible! They dipped under a sparkling ice bridge and then pulled up high over a magnificent snowy valley. Tinker Bell’s breath came in short puffs of frosty air. It was like nothing she had ever seen or felt before. No stories about the Winter Woods could have prepared her for this.

“I made it,” she whispered to herself.

Up ahead, a handsome winter fairy flew over to greet her owl. Tinker Bell ducked down inside the basket, hiding.

“Welcome back,” the winter fairy said to the owl. “You ready for the drop-off?”

The owl gave a nervous hoot.

“Come on,” the winter fairy teased. “You did it yesterday. You’ll be fine.”

As Tinker Bell watched, the winter fairy flew ahead and spiraled down to a hilltop covered in snow. She realized that the owls were going to drop the baskets onto a long icy slide that would take them to a factory similar to the basket depot back in Tinkers’ Nook. Tink gulped. This was going to be a bumpy ride!

On the winter fairy’s signal, the owls swooped forward one by one and let go of their baskets. Tinker Bell’s basket lurched to one side as her owl got ready to release it. Tink was thrown against the edge, and she accidentally hit the snowflake release lever!

Instantly, the trapdoor at the bottom of her basket sprang open. Her satchel started to slide toward it. Quickly, Tinker Bell snatched it up. But the basket rocked to and fro. She started to roll toward the open trapdoor herself!

Tink grabbed the edge of the opening just before she would have fallen through, and with all her strength, pulled herself back up and closed the trapdoor. Whew!

But Tink wasn’t out of trouble yet. Her owl had been thrown off balance by her tumbling. Startled, he accidentally released the basket too soon. It careened out of control.

A winter fairy below spotted the renegade basket. “Look out!” he cried.

Tinker Bell’s basket slid down the chute and smashed into a pile of bins already loaded with snowflakes. Frosty crystals flew everywhere! As her basket rolled to a stop, Tinker Bell remained perfectly still. The winter fairies were scampering to clean up the mess. Thankfully, no one had spotted her. Tink quickly started to gather all the things that had fallen out of her satchel. But wait—something was missing.

Tinker Bell peeked around the rim of her basket. The wing book was lying out in the open!

Just then, a large shadow passed overhead. A massive snowy owl whooshed by, and a powerful-looking fairy wearing a cape leapt down to the ground.

“Lord Milori,” she heard the winter fairy in charge of the owls say. Tinker Bell gasped. That must be the Lord of Winter Fawn had told her about. The one who had made the rule that fairies couldn’t cross the border. Now Tink really needed to stay hidden!

“And what happened here?” the lord asked in a deep but quiet voice.

“Bit of a bumpy landing,” the winter fairy said, nodding to the young snowy owl. “It’s only his second drop-off.”

The owl gave the lord a sheepish grin.

“As long as the basket made it,” Lord Milori said, his voice kind, “I’d say he did just fine.” He looked around at the work the fairies were doing. “The snowflakes are looking quite beautiful.”

As the fairies were talking, Tinker Bell tried to reach the wing book with her foot. But it was too far away. She stretched just a little bit more…and accidentally knocked the book with her toe. It slid out of reach, and right into Lord Milori’s boot!

“Hmm,” Lord Milori said, picking up the book. “Now, that is odd.”

Tinker Bell smacked her hand against her head. This was a disaster!

Lord Milori studied the book carefully. After a long moment, he finally said, “It must have been left in the basket by accident.” He handed the book to the winter fairy in charge. “Return this to the Keeper.”

Tinker Bell breathed in sharply. The Keeper!

Lord Milori remained several minutes longer, admiring the work of the snowflake fairies. Then he mounted his owl and took off into the sky. Once he had left, the winter fairy picked up the book and headed out of the snowflake depot.

Tinker Bell watched him go. If he was off to see the Keeper, then there was only one thing to do. She was going to follow him!