Rani felt troubled. As she stared at the two branches of the river, she had the uneasy feeling she was forgetting something.

“I don’t know,” Lainey said. She was looking back and forth, too. “What if I pick the wrong way?”

“We’ll have to take that chance. Just guess,” Fawn said. The current was sweeping them toward the fork in the river. If they didn’t choose a path quickly, the river would choose it for them.

Lainey took a deep breath and pushed up her glasses. “Okay, um…right,” she said in a quavering voice. “No, left. Left!”

As Kate and Mia paddled to the left, a nervous prickle crept up Rani’s spine. She felt as if she was forgetting something important.

The river widened, then slowed to a crawl. They were passing through dense jungle now. Unlike the gentle forest around Pixie Hollow, the trees here were huge and close together. The air was hot. Rani longed to dive into the cool water.

“I could really go for a swim,” Kate said, echoing her thoughts.

“Me too.” Mia wiped her brow. She peered at the brown water. “Do you think it’s safe?”

“We could ask him,” Gabby said. She pointed to a tree branch jutting over the river. A large green iguana lay on it, basking in the sun. When Mia saw it, she shrieked.

“What’s wrong?” Fawn asked.

“I’m not very fond of lizards,” Mia said with a shudder.

As if he knew they were talking about him, the iguana raised his head. Suddenly, he slid off his branch and dropped into the water right next to the boat. Rani watched the tip of his scaly tail disappear below the surface.

“Well,” Fawn said, “I guess we know it’s safe to swim!”

Everyone stared at the bubbles where the iguana had disappeared. “That’s okay,” Kate said. “I think I’ve changed my mind.”

Before long, the river widened until the banks were no longer in sight. The water was sluggish and clogged with lily pads. Here and there, dead trees jutted up like the masts of wrecked ships. Giant cypress trees, festooned with moss, cast shadows across their path.

“Where are we?” Lainey asked.

“It looks like a swamp,” Kate said.

“It is a swamp,” Rani replied. She had suddenly remembered what was bothering her. One branch of the Wough River led to a dismal place called the Sunken Forest. And we’ve just found it, she thought.

A loud burrrrrup! made them all jump.

“What was that?” Mia whispered.

Two more croaks echoed through the swamp. “Frogs!” said Fawn. “Let’s find them. Maybe they’ve seen Sunny!”

Soon they came to another patch of lily pads. Four fat bullfrogs sat on top of them, silently watching the raft approach.

“Are you sure about this, Fawn?” Rani asked. She didn’t think the bullfrogs looked very friendly.

“Don’t worry. I talk to frogs all the time,” Fawn said.

They all watched as Fawn flew up to one of the frogs. She bugged her eyes, puffed out her cheeks, and croaked. Burrrrup!

But the frog didn’t reply. He sat still as a rock, gazing at Fawn with heavy-lidded eyes.

Fawn tried again. Burrrup! Burrrup!

Still the frog said nothing.

Fawn frowned. She turned and spoke to another frog, then a third one. They didn’t even blink.

“I don’t understand,” Fawn said, turning to her friends. “They won’t talk to me. I— Ahh!”

While her back was turned, the first frog’s tongue lashed out. Rani watched in horror as the frog leaped up and grabbed Fawn in his huge mouth.

“Fawn!” everyone screamed.

Fawn was hanging halfway out of the frog’s mouth. She looked outraged.

“Let me go, you bully!” she shouted, banging on his lip with her hands.

Burrrup! Burrrup! Burrrup! the other frogs croaked. Rani thought they sounded as if they were laughing.

Finally, the frog opened his mouth. Fawn fluttered to a safe distance, then shook her fist at him. “What’s the matter with you?” she shouted.

The frog gazed at her dully.

Fawn flew back to the boat. “Downriver frogs haven’t got any manners,” she said in disgust. “The bullfrogs in Pixie Hollow would never act that way!”

“Manners?” Rani said. “Fawn, he tried to eat you!”

“No, he didn’t,” Fawn replied. “If he’d wanted to eat me, he could have. He just wanted to give me a scare. I guess they don’t like strangers around here.”

“Meanies!” Gabby hollered at the frogs. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size!”

The frogs blinked. Suddenly, they leaped off their lily pads and disappeared into the water.

“Way to go, Gabby!” Kate said. “You really told them off.”

Fawn frowned. “That’s not it. I think something else scared them.”

They all looked around. The swamp was still and silent. And yet, Rani couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching them.

“Let’s get out of here,” Mia said. “This place gives me the creeps.”

The girls took up their paddles. But they began to paddle in opposite directions. “Not that way, Kate,” Mia said. “That’s the way we came.”

Kate looked confused. “Are you sure? I could have sworn we came the other way.”

“What do you think, Rani?” Mia asked.

“I…don’t know,” Rani said. The swamp looked the same in every direction.

“Look!” Lainey cried suddenly. “There, in the water!”

Rani saw nothing but lily pads. “What is it?” she asked.

“It looked like Sunny!”

“Are you sure?” asked Mia.

“No,” Lainey admitted. “But it was bright orange. It could have been him.”

“Let’s wait and see if he comes back,” Kate said.

They waited for several minutes. Through the cypress trees, Rani could see the sun sinking lower in the sky. They would need to find their way out of the swamp soon. Rani glanced at Fawn and knew she was thinking the same thing.

“Whatever it was, I don’t think it’s coming back,” Kate said finally.

“Just a little longer,” Lainey pleaded.

“It’ll be dark soon,” Fawn said. “We can’t wait.”

“But what if it was Sunny?” Lainey said. “Maybe he needs our help.”

Rani looked back at the murky water. She knew what she had to do.

“I’ll go underwater,” she said. “I’ll look for Sunny myself.”