CHAPTER 4

So Much to Talk About

Hiccup, hiccup.

Sasha kept sleeping.

Hiccup, hiccup.

What was that sound? She opened her eyes. She looked over at Kimani, who was fast asleep.

Hiccup, hiccup.

The sound came from under Sasha. How could that be?

The jar! Quickly, she snatched it from under the mattress and then carried it outside.

The beach was quiet, except for the waves lapping onto the shore. The jewels on the sand glimmered in the pale moonlight.

Sasha rested the jar on a large rock. She peered inside.

Hiccup, hiccup.

Collie looked upset. She had the hiccups.

“Holding my breath helps them go away,” said Sasha.

Collie waved a hand by her pointy ear. She couldn’t hear from inside the jar.

Sasha puffed out her cheeks with air. She motioned for Collie to do the same thing.

Collie took a deep breath. She held it.

Hiccup, hiccup.

That didn’t work. Sasha had another idea.

She raised her front hooves. She made a mean face, and her nostrils flared wide. “Ahhh!”

Collie hid her eyes in fright.

“Did I scare them away?” asked Sasha.

Hiccup, hiccup.

“I guess not.” Sasha watched Collie’s little body shake with each hiccup.

Then Sasha remembered how her mother placed drops of sweet morning dew under her tongue to chase away hiccups.

Dew dotted some nearby sea grass, but the only way to give it to Collie was to open the jar.

I’ll do it superfast, decided Sasha.

She unlatched the lid and quickly placed the drops under Collie’s tiny tongue. They waited together.

No more hiccups!

Her mother’s trick had worked.

“Thanks a bunch.” Collie’s words came out like a song.

“You’re welcome.” Sasha went to put the lid back on.

“Please, don’t leave me in here,” begged Collie. “I’m so lonely.”

“I can’t just let you out.”

“Can we just talk for a little bit?” Collie’s emerald eyes widened. “I’m so far from home and from my family.”

“Me, too. I miss my two sisters and my better-than-best friend, Wyatt.”

“I have a sister, too. She washes my hair with nectar.”

“My sister Poppy braids flowers into my mane and tail.”

“What kind of flowers?” asked Collie.

“Mostly daisies.”

Collie pointed to her dress. “Daisies are my favorite.”

Sasha and Collie had so much to talk about. They talked about their sisters and their parents. Collie’s mother was in charge of all the plant pixies.

“That makes you pixie royalty, like me.” Sasha touched her crown, resting nearby. “Why are you in a jar?”

“I got tangled in the mane of a flying horse.”

“What a strange place to be. What were you doing in someone’s mane?” asked Sasha.

“Making it beautiful. Plant pixies make the world more beautiful. We sprinkle pixie dust on plants so flowers bloom and vegetables grow. We turn brown fields green. My talent is braiding. I do French braids, fish tails, and diamond braids.”

“What’s a diamond braid?”

“I’ll show you. Help me get out of here, okay?”

Sasha hesitated.

“I won’t hurt you. I only want to braid your mane,” said Collie. “I’ve never stolen a feather. The other pixies think it’s funny, because my mom is in charge. They laugh at me.”

Sasha had been laughed at in school by the horses that didn’t fly. She and Collie were a lot alike.

She helped Collie out of the jar.