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CHAPTER ONE

‘It was just a normal night. 

Dark sky. 

Stars. 

Everything was just right … 

until this very night.

 

A little girl, called Scarlet was fast asleep.

Suddenly she woke right up.

She saw a flash of golden light.

She leapt out of bed 

and then crept slowly,

following the golden path 

she could see in front of her

leading her down the stairs

to the hall.

 

She let herself out through

the front door 

and went along her garden path,

down the the bottom of the road,

over the hill

and through a deep forest.

 

Now everyone knows 

a child should not go somewhere,

in the middle of the night, 

by themselves.

Well Scarlet BROKE that RULE.

 

Then the golden light was gone.

The path was gone.

‘Why would you take me here’, she wondered,

just to disappear?

 

As if in answer the golden light reappeared.

It led her to a place in the middle of the forest, 

where there was a book.

Then a light whisper in her ear came to her. 

It said;

‘Bring back the spirits’.

Scarlet wasn’t quite sure what to do.

 

Maybe the answer was in the book.

She would get the book and see what

‘Bring back the spirits’ could mean.

So she reached out for the book…’

 

BUT when she tried to pick it up,

her hand passed right through it!

Scarlet gasped. She threw pebble at it.

The book said ‘Ouch’,

but the pebble didn’t fall through the book.

 

Then suddenly the book disappeared.

The next day, she went back into the forest

and back to the same place she had seen the book.

There was no trace of it.

 

For the rest of the day,

all Scarlet could think about was the book.

 

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CHAPTER TWO

When she was about to get into bed that night,

Scarlet saw the light again

and she crept outside.

 

This time the light was even closer to her house,

but this time the light was red.

Scarlet knew this meant danger…

The book hissed,

‘Don’t touch me.’

It went flying down the path

and followed the golden light,

but then when Scarlet came out the door,

the golden light was not there anymore.

 

She tried to follow the path

where she last saw the golden light.

Then she came to a dead end.

There was no way in or out.

She tried and tried

but she couldn’t find a way out.

Scarlet felt herself being pulled.

 

Scarlet screamed.

A deep voice said;

‘How did you get here?

Come into the light.’

Scarlet saw a funny little goblin.

‘Come into my house,’ offered the goblin.

 

Scarlet followed the friendly  goblin

through a tiny door

into a little mushroom,

but it was so big inside with a big sitting room.

‘The kitchen is this way,’ said the goblin.

‘Wow’, thought Scarlet.

‘I thought this place was going to be miniature

and look how spacious it is.

 

‘You look thirsty’, said the goblin.

‘I am’, replied Scarlet.

‘Have something to drink’, said the goblin.

 

‘You look sad’, said the goblin.

‘I am,’ answered Scarlet.

‘This has got to cheer you up’, said the goblin,

‘I will tell you the secret of this place’.

 

Scarlet cheered up immediately,

‘Oh yes?’

‘You have been chosen’,

said the goblin,

‘to go on a mission.

Follow this path.

Bring back the spirits

and save the world’.

 

‘There’s been some mistake,’

protested Scarlet unhappily.

‘I am only eight’

‘Sorry I can’t help you’,

said the goblin apologetically,

‘YOU have been chosen’.

 

Photo Credit: Michael Huey via Compfight

 

CHAPTER THREE

Suddenly the goblin’s voice

seemed very far away

and his kitchen faded.

Scarlet found herself in the lonely forest again.

On the forest floor in front of her was the book.

But when Scarlet went to pick up the book

it floated.

 

Scarlet put her hand under the book.

As soon as that happened the book

came down into her hand.

Then it opened on the index page

and Scarlet looked up ‘spirits’.

 

Scarlet found the answer was right in front of her,

and knew what she had to do.

‘You have been chosen’, whispered the book.

 

Scarlet took the book tightly in her hand

and made for home.

 

But that voice had not done talking.

It said ‘Keep the book safe,

VERY VERY SAFE because the spirits are in the book’.

 

Suddenly Scarlet noticed there was no sound.

The birds had stopped singing.

Scarlet was scared.

She stepped forward

and she fell into a hole

that suddenly appeared in the ground.

Down,

down

down,

Scarlet was screaming at the very top of her voice.

She found herself in an underground cave.

She couldn’t see anything

as it was as dark as the black night sky.

Suddenly the moon seemed to appear

from behind a cloud

and Scarlet could see by its light.

 

A tree moved.

Its branches reached out

to grab Scarlet.

Scarlet moved quickly,

but she tripped over

a root of the tree

and fell to the ground.

 

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CHAPTER FOUR

In her dreams Scarlet saw the book in front of her.

When she reached out to touch it,

the floated up and lit up her face

like golden stars.

 

The book had a face on it and said;

‘He’s coming!’

 

Then it faded away and

a dark shadow appeared.

It was a WIZARD.

 

‘Get out of my forest or else’,

the wizard called.

 

‘Or else what?’ said Scarlet.

‘He will come’ answered the wizard.

‘Who?’ asked Scarlet.

‘Barnabus’, replied the Wizard.

 

Scarlet’s hand went right through the book.

Scarlet gasped.

The wizard was right beside her.

‘What are you doing with that?’

‘I was just looking … ‘

‘You should not be here,’ bellowed the wizard.

‘Now you will pay’.

 

Suddenly the wizard

magicked up some angry elves.

They had sharp swords.

But suddenly,

by magic another sword

was in Scarlet’s hand,  

but she was scared anyway.

Scarlet ran and ran…

and straight into another goblin.

 

Hello little girl, croaked the goblin. 

Come into my house,’ he said.

 

Scarlet followed the goblin through a little door

in the trunk of a narrow tree,

but it was so big inside.

‘This way,’ said the goblin.

‘Impressive’, thought Scarlet.

 

‘You look hungry’, growled the goblin.

‘I am’, said Scarlet.

‘Have something to eat’, said insisted goblin.

Scarlet had some tasty cake to eat

 

‘I have something I think you should know,’

the strange goblin crowed.

It is that I’m actually a Bad Goblin

and you have just eaten enchanted cake

that will send you to the Valley of Dreams

Oh and by the way

My name is Barnabus.’

‘Just as well this is only a dream’, thought Scarlet.

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 

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Scarlet woke up with a sore head.

The book that had caused all this trouble,

was beside her on the ground.

 

Scarlet opened the book slowly.

Spirits came flying out.

Fire,

Water

and Air

The first one warmed her,

but did not burn her.

The middle one sprayed her

with little drops of fresh water.

The last one blew Scarlet to the ground.

 

The book gave out an evil laugh

and said in a hoarse whisper,

‘You have to defeat all my spirits first.

Then you have to battle ME!

Scarlet sighed.

She was tired,

but Scarlet knew from looking up the index

how to manage the spirits

and get them to return to the book.

 

She also knew that the book

was not telling the truth.

It was powerless without

the spirits.

There would be no battle.

 

 

‘PLEASE’, she said to the spirits

‘PLEASE return to the book.’

 

The spirits of

Fire,

Water

and Air

returned to the book

and the book slammed shut,

angry because it knew

it had lost

and was now powerless.

 

‘Haven’t you forgotten something?’

a voice whispered.

‘Oh yes’ said Scarlet

‘THANK YOU!’.

 

After that everything was back to normal …

Until the next time.

 

Photo Credit: Avard Woolaver via Compfight

 

And THANK YOU too,

for reading our story.

 

2nd Class Room 6 collaborated to write this story.

We were inspired by a ‘story starter’ that Nicole wrote.

Nicole gave this story the interesting title

of ‘Scarlet’s Book’.