Welcome to Wagmire Read online

  chapter 1

  Another Dragon

  Princess Itty stood on the highest perch in the royal climbing room. The floor was a long way down! But Itty wasn’t going to take one big jump. No, she was going to carefully plot a course and jump from one perch to another until she reached the ground. It was a new technique she had been practicing with her mom, the Queen of Lollyland. While Itty’s dad, the King, liked to take one big leap—and land with one big thump!—her mom preferred to work her way down by expertly jumping from one level to the next. It took a lot of skill, but it was the best and safest technique for a kitty with small paws like Itty.

  A flash of movement outside caught Itty’s attention. There was a dragon heading toward the palace! Actually, he was rolling toward the palace, because he was wearing roller skates.

  A dragon on roller skates could only mean one thing!

  Itty forgot all about being careful and leaped all the way down to the ground. She landed on the floor with a thump! She shook her paws and raced out of the climbing room.

  “Mom! Dad! An announcement dragon from Wagmire is here!” Itty yelled as she raced through the grand hallway.

  Her parents were already waiting at the palace doors.

  “I know it’s exciting, darling, but please don’t run indoors. Or shout,” the Queen reminded her gently.

  “Sorry, Mom,” Itty replied. But from the smile on the Queen’s face, Itty knew her mom wasn’t upset. After all, it wasn’t every day that an announcement dragon showed up!

  chapter 2

  A Royal Invitation

  The palace doors swung open. Itty recognized the announcement dragon immediately—he had come to the palace before. The last time the royal family of Wagmire visited, it had taken Itty and the puppy prince, whose name was Pip, a while to like each other. But by the end of the visit they were great friends!

  “Did Prince Pip send you?” Itty asked.

  Instead of replying to Itty, the dragon unfurled the scroll he was holding, cleared his throat, and began to sing.

  The dragon took a deep bow and handed the scroll to the King.

  “Itty, what do you think?” her dad asked.

  “Oh!” Itty realized that the dragon was waiting for her to accept the invitation.

  “Can I go?” she asked her parents.

  “Of course,” her mom said with a smile. “If you’d like to, that is.”

  Would Itty like to visit Wagmire, see Prince Pip, and attend a fancy party?

  “Tell Prince Pip I’ll see him soon!” Itty exclaimed.

  * * *

  A few days later, Itty’s best friends came over to say goodbye and to help her pack.

  “Do you think you’ll need all those gowns?” Esme Butterfly asked. “You’re only going for two days!”

  “I think she needs more gowns!” Luna Unicorn exclaimed, popping her head out of Itty’s closet. “What if they wear gowns in Wagmire to take naps? And to eat breakfast? It might be very fancy there!”

  “Speaking of breakfast, what’s the food like in Wagmire?” Chipper Bunny asked.

  “I’m really not sure,” Itty admitted.

  “You’d better pack some snacks, just in case,” Chipper advised.

  Itty nodded. Her friends always had the best ideas.

  “Here you go, Itty!” Luna stumbled out of the closet, buried under a huge pile of gowns. “I think you should bring at least ten dresses for every day you’ll be there.”

  Itty giggled. Maybe her friends didn’t always have the best ideas.

  chapter 3

  Flying in Style

  A little while later, Itty was waiting on the grand lawn for her cloud to arrive. In Lollyland, everyone traveled by cloud.

  It arrived right on time. It was an extra large, super fluffy cloud. Itty hugged her friends and parents, and waved goodbye to the fairies who had come to see her off.

  “They’d better feed you well, Princess Itty! Or else!” shouted Garbanzo, the fairy who ran the royal kitchen.

  “See you in two days!” Itty called as she climbed onto the cloud.

  Itty settled in and moments later the cloud gently drifted up and away.

  As Itty made herself comfortable, she thought about the giant dog bed-copter Pip and his family had used for their voyage to Lollyland. There was a teeny part of her that wished clouds were more luxurious.

  But before Itty could even finish her thought, a squishy purple cat bed appeared on the seat next to her. A grooming station appeared on her other side. And then a dining table popped up right in front of her. The table was filled with all of Itty’s favorite snacks!

  “Now this is what I call traveling in style,” Itty said to herself.

  As she reached for a cupcake, Itty noticed that a telescope had also popped out. She peered into it. It gave her a view of the lands they were flying over! Itty saw a kingdom covered in brightly colored flowers, an island kingdom surrounded by turquoise-blue water, and one kingdom that appeared to be made entirely of cotton candy.

  I have to remember to tell Luna, Esme, and Chipper about these places, Itty thought.

  Itty was about to try out the grooming station when she felt a flutter in her tummy. The cloud had begun its descent. They must be over Wagmire! Itty rushed back to the telescope to catch her first glimpse of Prince Pip’s kingdom.

  chapter 4

  Welcome to Wagmire!

  Through the telescope, Itty saw a beautiful palace surrounded by a moat. There was a big lawn with statues and trees around it. Three smaller statues stood on a red carpet in the center of the lawn. Suddenly one of the statues began to move. Itty looked more closely. They weren’t statues after all—they were the royal family of Wagmire! The one jumping up and down and waving was Prince Pip.

  A few moments later Itty’s cloud came to a gentle stop at the end of the red carpet. As Itty climbed out, Pip came running over.

  “Welcome to Wagmire!” the King and Queen called as Pip pulled Itty in for a big hug.

  “Thank you for having me as your guest,” Itty replied politely, just the way she had practiced with her mom.

  Itty looked up at the palace. Its sides stretched as far as her eyes could see, and when she tilted her head all the way back, she still couldn’t see the tippy top of it.

  “Your palace is humongous!” Itty exclaimed.

  “For the next few days, this is your home,” the Queen replied. “Pip, would you like to give Princess Itty the tour?”

  “Oh, I have a present for you from my parents,” Itty said shyly. She presented a shiny gold gift bag to the Queen. She knew what was inside—beautiful collar necklaces made from the finest silk and gems in Lollyland. Itty had promised her mom she would give the Queen the gift right away. Her mom would be so happy she had remembered!

  “Oh, how wonderful,” the Queen exclaimed as the King tried peeking inside the bag.

  “Come on, Itty, I’ll show you around,” Pip said.

  “Pip, I have one question for you,” Itty said as they headed toward the palace entrance. “Does your palace go all the way up to the clouds?”

  chapter 5

  Pip’s Palace

  “Let’s start the tour in the most delicious place in the palace,” Pip said once they were inside. “The royal kitchen!”

  The royal kitchen was as bustling as the one at Itty’s home, but with one big difference—the royal cooks were little green trolls!

  “Who’s this, Prince Pip?”

  A chubby troll had waddled over to Itty and Pip.

  “This is Princess Itty,” Pip said. “Itty, this is Gnocchi, head of the royal kitchen.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Itty said. She had never met a troll before.

  Gnocchi smiled very warmly. “Welcome
to Wagmire, Princess Itty. We can’t wait for you to taste our cooking.”

  “Thank you,” Itty said politely. “Where are the kitchen fairies?” Itty whispered as she and Pip walked away.

  “The best cooks in Wagmire are trolls,” Pip said with a shrug. “Actually, trolls are pretty much good at everything. Kind of like the fairies in Lollyland!”

  Next Pip showed Itty his fetch room. It had machines that shot tennis balls for Pip and his parents to fetch. And part of the floor was made of dirt. The fetch room reminded Itty of her climbing room. She preferred climbing to fetch, but she played with Pip for a little while. He was her host, after all.

  “And this is my room,” Pip said later in the tour.

  “Your room is awesome!” Itty exclaimed. Pip’s bed was a huge, fuzzy dog bed. He had two treat dispensers—one with bones in it and one that had chewy bacon-flavored treats. Pip offered Itty one of each, but she wrinkled her nose.

  “Don’t worry, Itty. There are kitty treats in your room,” Pip assured her.

  “Thanks! And what’s in there?” Itty asked, pointing to a big wooden box.

  “That’s my toy chest,” Pip explained. “It’s filled with chew toys and pull toys.”

  “You chew your toys?!” Itty exclaimed. “Pip, don’t they get ruined?”

  “Yes, but the sewing trolls fix my toys whenever they need to.”

  Just then, the friends heard a loud bell ringing.

  It was dinnertime! And from the grumble in Itty’s stomach, she knew she was hungry.

  chapter 6

  Itty’s First Dragon Ride

  The next morning Pip knocked on Itty’s door.

  “Ready to go exploring?” he asked.

  “I’ll meet you downstairs!” Itty called from inside her closet.

  A palace troll had neatly hung up all Itty’s clothes—every one of the twenty gowns Luna had packed. As she pawed through the perfect rows of dresses, Itty thought about the delicious meal they had eaten last night. Pip was right—trolls were good at everything!

  She chose a simple dress that would be comfortable for exploring, got dressed quickly, and headed downstairs. After breakfast Itty and Pip went outside.

  “I’ll hail our dragon,” Pip said.

  “What for?” Itty asked.

  “To ride!” Pip replied. “That’s how we get around in Wagmire!”

  “Um…” Itty wasn’t sure what to say. “What about your dog bed-copter?”

  Pip smiled as a golden dragon swooped down and landed in front of them. “Don’t worry, it’s fun! I promise!”

  Itty took a deep breath. The dragon looked friendly. Itty’s tummy fluttered nervously, but she wanted to give it a try.

  “Okay, let’s do this!” she said.

  As the dragon flew up, up, and away, Itty felt her worries fly away too.

  “You’re right!” she exclaimed. “This is so much fun!”

  “I told you!” Pip shouted.

  Every now and then the dragon would swoop down so Pip could point out a special location to Itty, like his school, the busy town, and Treat Trove, which was Wagmire’s version of Goodie Grove.

  “Are there syrup trolls there instead of syrup fairies?” Itty asked.

  “Yes,” Pip replied. “You’re an expert on Wagmire already!”

  A few minutes later they were flying over snowcapped mountains when the dragon began to descend. Itty saw a sparkling lake surrounded by a lush green forest. Then she noticed two small figures waving to them.

  Pip waved back.

  Itty wondered who she was about to meet.

  chapter 7

  Pip’s Best Friends

  As their dragon landed softly on the grass, a hedgehog and a mouse rushed over.

  “Itty, meet my best friends,” Pip said. “Wally Hedgehog and Scout Mouse.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Princess Itty,” Wally said shyly.

  “Please call me Itty—” Itty began. Before she could finish, Scout bolted forward and gave Itty a big hug.

  “Itty, I feel like we’re best friends already!” Scout squealed. “Pip told us so much about you! We’re so excited to meet you! Do you like Wagmire? Do you like being a princess? What’s your favorite color? Do you have best friends? Wait, of course you do! What are their names?”

  “Scout gets excited easily,” Pip whispered.

  Itty giggled. “I love it here,” she began, counting off on her paw as she answered all Scout’s questions. “Being a princess is super fun. Tie between pink and yellow. I have three best friends and their names are Luna, Chipper, and Esme.”

  Itty paused. “But now I have a question. Where are we?”

  “This,” Pip said, spreading out his arms, “is Magic Mountain Lake.”

  “The best place in Wagmire,” Wally added.

  “Wow,” Itty said as she looked around. She had never seen any place quite like this.

  “There’s something very special that we want to show you,” Pip said, and they walked into the forest.

  Finally, they reached a clearing in the woods. A tall tree stood in the center of the clearing. A wooden ladder was propped against it.

  “Look up,” Pip said.

  Itty squinted up through the branches to the top of the tree. “Is that…” She climbed a few rungs of the ladder to get a better look. “Is that a tree house?”

  “It’s our top secret clubhouse!” Pip said proudly.

  Itty had never seen a clubhouse, let alone a top secret one.

  “Can I see it?” she asked.

  “No way, Itty!” Scout shouted. Before Itty could react, Scout burst out laughing. “Of course, you can see it! Let’s go!”

  chapter 8

  Top Secret Means Top Secret!

  Itty scrambled up the ladder quickly. She couldn’t wait to see the clubhouse! She got there before the others.

  “Wow, you’re a really good climber,” Wally huffed as she joined Itty. “Do they teach you that at your princess school?”

  “I don’t go to princess school,” Itty explained. “I guess I’m a good climber because I’m a cat!”

  A few minutes later Pip and Scout joined them.

  “Do you like our top secret clubhouse?” Scout asked excitedly.

  Itty looked around. There were magic beanbag chairs to sit in, a table covered with yummy-looking snacks, piles of books and toys, and a big window at the front of the clubhouse had a perfect view of the mountains in the distance.

  Itty realized that Scout was holding her breath while she waited for Itty to reply. “I think it’s wonderful!” she said quickly.

  “Yay!” Scout danced around and then gave Itty another hug.

  “You definitely have to meet my friend Luna,” Itty said with a smile.

  “Does anyone want some snacks?” Pip asked.

  Itty, Scout, and Wally all said “I do!” at the exact same time.

  Pip passed around a bowl of cheddar popcorn. Everyone was happily munching away when suddenly they heard a loud crash!

  “Wh-what was that?” Wally asked.

  Pip’s puppy ears twitched. “I think it came from over there,” he said, pointing to the clubhouse entrance.

  The friends raced over and looked down. They gasped. “The ladder fell!” exclaimed Wally.

  “How are we going to get down?!” Scout cried.

  “Maybe someone can come rescue us?” Itty said.

  But Pip shook his head. “No one knows where our clubhouse is. It’s top secret, remember?”

  chapter 9

  Kitty with a Plan

  As Itty stared down at the ground, a plan began to form in her mind. The branches were like the perches in her climbing room. She could plot a careful course and carry one friend down, and together they could put the ladder back.

  Itty explained her idea.

  “I’d start with that branch,” she pointed to a branch that was under the clubhouse. “Then I’d leap to that branch below. Then there would be a really big jump
, but I know I could make it,” she finished, pointing to a branch near the bottom. “From there, I can jump to the ground.”

  “That sounds hard,” Scout said.

  “I’m a good climber,” Itty replied. “I’ve been practicing getting down from the highest beams in my climbing room. I’m pretty sure I can do this.”

  “If Itty’s sure, then I am too,” Pip cheered. “I’ll go with you!”

  “Um…” Itty was glad that Pip believed in her, but he was too big for her to carry.

  “I think I need to take Wally or Scout with me since they are smaller.…”

  But Wally and Scout looked pretty scared. Itty wondered if they would agree.

  “I’ll do it,” Wally said.

  “No, I’ll do it,” Scout said. “I’m the smallest one.”

  Itty smiled. Her new friends believed in her.

  Scout climbed onto Itty’s back. “Hold on tight,” Itty said.

  Then she leaped, landing expertly on the branch below.

  “You okay back there?” she asked Scout.