CHAPTER 8

Wing Hunt

They flew above the beach. Sasha felt Collie’s little hands braiding her mane.

Kimani pointed. “The peacock down there is standing by . . . a large pile of feathers!”

They flew down.

“Are those feathers yours?” asked Kimani.

“I’d say so.” The peacock puffed out his chest. “Every year, I shed my old feathers and grow new ones.”

“Can we take them?” asked Sasha.

The peacock nodded. “Sure! Out with the old and in with the new!”

After the peacock strutted away, Collie climbed out. She inserted two peacock feathers into her silver harness. She pulled a tiny cord, and the feathers began to flap.

Collie flew off the ground. It was working!

She hovered for a minute, but she couldn’t fly higher than Sasha’s knees.

“They don’t have enough flying power,” said Collie.

“A peacock’s feathers are about beauty and not about flying,” said Sasha.

At that moment, a toucan flew by. His shiny black feathers were perfect for flying.

Kimani waved him over to join them. She asked if they could pluck some of his feathers.

“No way!” said the toucan.

“That’s okay,” Sasha told Kimani. “We need feathers for all the plant pixies. He’d be bald if he gave us that many.”

They searched up and down the beach. There were no feathers to give the plant pixies to be found.

Soon, it was lunchtime.

A platter waited in front of Kimani’s cave. Usually, it was piled high with wildflowers, sweet grass, and fruit. Today, it held only gray mushrooms.

Kimani wrinkled her nose. “I guess the plant pixies still haven’t sprinkled their pixie dust. This is all we have to eat. Yuck.”

Sasha took a bite. “These are drier than sand.”

Kimani gave a whinny. Two hummingbirds appeared. They asked what they could do.

“A spritz of sweetness, please,” she told them.

The hummingbirds drizzled nectar on the mushrooms with their long, skinny beaks.

Sasha took another bite. “So much tastier!”

“The hummingbirds are the best. They help the flying horses in every way,” said Kimani.

“In . . . every . . . way?” Sasha repeated slowly. “I’ve got it!”

Sasha whispered her new idea into Kimani’s ear. She’d had many ideas today, but her new idea was better than all of them!

Sasha and Kimani spoke to the hummingbirds. Then Sasha called Collie to come out.

Collie quickly licked the extra nectar off the platter. “Delicious!”

“We have to try this before anyone sees you,” said Sasha. “Climb on top of a hummingbird.”

“Poppin’ poppies, that’s crazy!” Collie crossed her little arms across her chest.

“The hummingbirds fly. You want to fly. They are small. You are small, too. It’s the perfect pair.”

“I don’t like pears,” said Collie.

“Not that kind of pear. A duo. A team,” explained Sasha. “You can ride on her back.”

Collie climbed on. She wrapped her silver harness around the hummingbird’s neck, making a bridle and reins.

“Let’s do this,” Collie said, holding on tight. “Up, up, and away!”

The hummingbird beat her wings. She rose into the air—bringing Collie to the nearest flower. She hovered there, as Collie stepped off the tiny floating creature and onto the petals. Collie took a big drink of nectar. Then she scampered back onto the hummingbird.

“That was awesome!” cried Collie.

Sasha and Kimani cheered.

“Here’s the deal,” said Sasha. “The hummingbirds will give the plant pixies rides to the flowers. They are faster than pillywiggins, so you’ll get a lot of nectar. If they do this, the plant pixies must agree to never take another feather from a flying horse.”

“I’ll go tell my mother this plan and ask what she thinks,” said Collie. “Root for me!”