Poppy and the Mane Mania (DreamWorks Trolls Chapter Book #1) Read online

  “Come on!” Poppy cried. “We’ve got to climb that tree!”

  The three Trolls ran as fast as they could to the base of the towering tree. They stood there, craning their necks, looking to the top.

  It was an awfully long way.

  DJ Suki jumped up and wrapped her arms around the trunk. She slowly slid right back down to the ground.

  “This isn’t going to be easy,” she said gloomily, plucking a splinter out of her rear end.

  Poppy pointed at the lowest branch. “Smidge! You can use your hair to lift me up there!”

  “If you believe it, I believe it!” Smidge said.

  Poppy jumped on top of Smidge’s hair. Using all her strength, the little Troll lifted her friend up to the branch.

  “You did it!” Poppy shouted down. “Now it’s DJ Suki’s turn!”

  Smidge quickly lifted DJ Suki up to the branch. Then Poppy and DJ Suki hauled Smidge up by her own hair. Once they were all on the branch, they could see that the branches above them were close together. Whipping their hair upward, they were able to lasso the higher branches and swing themselves up.

  As they reached the higher branches of the tree, the wind increased, making the trunk sway back and forth. “Hold on tight!” Poppy warned. “Wrap your hair all the way around each branch!”

  “I’m swinging up, so you’d better get this rescue started!” DJ Suki sang as she made her way. The others laughed.

  After climbing a few more branches, they saw it. The nest!

  But were Satin and Chenille inside? Or had they been fed to the bird’s hungry young babies?

  “Satin!” Poppy hissed as quietly as she could, not wanting to get the big bird’s attention. “Chenille! Are you in there?”

  “Yes!” the twins hissed back quietly. “Get us out of here!”

  Poppy, Smidge, and DJ Suki carefully sneaked up to the bottom of the big nest. Poppy had been right—it was made of twigs.

  “If we pull out some of these bottom twigs,” Poppy whispered, “maybe we can make an escape hole for the twins.”

  They started yanking out twigs, letting them drop to the forest floor far below. Soon they’d opened up a hole big enough for a Troll to crawl through (as long as the Troll wasn’t Biggie).

  “Satin! Chenille!” Poppy whispered. “This way! Come on out!”

  SQUAWK! The big bird stuck its long, sharp beak through the hole!

  Without thinking, Smidge bellowed at the bird in her deep voice, “GO! GO! GET OUT OF HERE! YOU GO AWAY! NOW!”

  At the same time, DJ Suki used two twigs to beat on the trunk of the tree. She drummed out a dance beat: THWACK, THWACK, THWACKATA, THWACKATA, THWACKATA, THWACK!

  Startled by the Trolls’ screaming and drumming, the bird rose from her nest and flew away! Satin and Chenille scrambled down through the hole and out of the nest, dropping to the branch their friends were standing on.

  “Thank you!” Satin exclaimed, hugging Poppy.

  “We knew you wouldn’t let us down!” Chenille added.

  “No, but now we have to get out of this tree before that bird comes back,” Poppy said, “and it’s a long way to the ground!”

  But by wrapping their hair around the next branch down and then swinging to land on the one below it, the Trolls made quick progress out of the tree.

  When they reached the lowest branch, Poppy jumped off and formed her hair into a staircase. She walked down the staircase to the ground, and the others followed. Soon all five of them were safely back on the floor of the forest.

  The only problem was they were lost.

  “How will we ever find Karma?” Smidge moaned, shaking her head.

  “We’ll find her!” Poppy promised. “Don’t worry! Come on, let’s go this way!” She walked confidently toward what seemed to be the lightest, brightest, friendliest part of the forest.

  Gradually, as they marched along, the trees in the forest started to give way to huge mushrooms that towered over the Trolls. But even though the mushrooms were gigantic, they were comforting. Trolls loved mushrooms. They used them as chairs, sofas, umbrellas, tents—and even dance floors, in a pinch.

  “Good ol’ mushrooms,” DJ Suki said, giving the trunk of a purple mushroom with sparkly gold stripes a friendly pat.

  SCREEEECH!

  The Trolls covered their ears. What was that?

  The enormous mushroom reared back and gave another cry. SCREEEECH! The sound was echoed by the other mushrooms, and soon the air was filled with their deafening screeches!

  “WHAT KIND OF MUSHROOMS ARE THESE?” Satin shouted into Poppy’s ear.

  “I THINK THEY MUST BE SCREECHING MUSHROOMS!” Poppy yelled back.

  “I’VE NEVER HEARD OF SCREECHING MUSHROOMS!” Chenille called.

  “I NEVER WANT TO HEAR OF THEM AGAIN!” DJ Suki screamed.

  Covering an ear with one hand and beckoning with her other hand, Poppy urged the Trolls to follow her out of the Forest of Screeching Mushrooms. “FOLLOW ME!” she shouted. “WE’VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE WE LOSE OUR HEARING!”

  As they ran past the thick stems of the giant mushrooms, the screeching seemed to get louder and louder. SCREEECH! SCREEEECH! SCREEEEEEEEEECH!

  Finally, the Trolls left the last screeching mushroom behind. Exhausted and gasping, they collapsed onto soft, mossy mounds of dirt. They lay on the ground and cautiously took their hands off their ears. In the distance, they could hear the mushrooms’ screeching start to die down.

  “Smidge, do you remember coming upon those screeching mushrooms with Karma?” Poppy asked.

  “Nope,” Smidge said. “I think maybe I picked the wrong path!”

  “What were those mushrooms so upset about?” DJ Suki asked.

  “I guess they just REALLY—” Satin began.

  “—don’t like being patted!” Chenille finished.

  The Trolls sat up and looked around. Now they weren’t just lost. They were really, truly, hopelessly lost. “Which way should we go?” Satin asked.

  “Well…,” Poppy said, trying to decide which direction looked best.

  “May I help you?” a voice asked.

  “Who said that?” Poppy asked, looking around. All she saw was a small clump of dirt.

  Then the clump of dirt moved toward them, and the Trolls realized it had a face, two arms, and two legs.

  “Hi,” said the clump of dirt in a friendly voice, waving hello. “I’m Clay.”

  “Okay,” Satin said, “but what’s your name?”

  Clay winced. “Oh, I am so tired of that joke. Ever since the first day of Dirt School. Thanks so much, Mom and Dad, for naming me Clay.”

  “Sorry,” Satin said. “I wasn’t joking; I was just a little confused. So your name is Clay.”

  “Yes,” Clay said, nodding his clumpy head.

  Poppy walked right up to the strange little fellow and offered him her hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Clay! I’m Poppy, and this is Satin, Chenille, DJ Suki, and Smidge.”

  Clay shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too! We don’t see many Trolls around this part of the forest.” He leaned in and peered at their heads. “Especially with so many twigs in their hair.”

  “Speaking of Trolls,” Poppy said, plucking out a long twig and tossing it aside, “did you happen to see another Troll today? She has long green hair with sticks and flowers in it.”

  “On purpose,” Smidge added.

  “And she’s wearing a two-piece outfit,” said Satin.

  “Pale yellow, with a scalloped skirt,” said Chenille.

  “Cute material, and a nice design,” Satin explained.

  “Really cute,” Chenille agreed. “We made it. You see, we’ve loved fashion since we were just little Trolls, so we decided to become clothing designers, and—”

  “Have you seen her?” Poppy interrupted. “Her name’s Karma, and she’s missing.”

  Clay shook his head. “Nope. You’re the first Trolls I’ve seen in ages. I’m sorry. I wish I knew where your missing
friend is, but I haven’t seen her. Where did you last see her?”

  Smidge stepped forward. “It was in a field of tall, beautiful flowers. They smelled like spiced cupcakes, still warm from the oven.”

  “Do you have any idea where a field like that might be?” Poppy asked.

  The little guy made out of dirt thought hard. Then he slowly started to nod. “Yes,” he said. “Yes! I think I know the field you’re talking about. Right now it’s full of blooms. Beautiful flowers. Nice smell. Pretty colors.”

  Poppy was excited. “Could you please tell us the quickest way to get there?” she asked. “We’re awfully worried about our friend.”

  Clay turned and pointed. “Do you see that stream over there? The fastest way to get to the field is to float down that stream.”

  “That’s great!” Poppy cheered. “Can you come with us and show us the way?”

  Clay looked nervous. He shook his head rapidly from side to side. “N-n-no!” he stammered. “I couldn’t do that! No!”

  “Why not?” DJ Suki asked curiously.

  “Because,” he explained, looking a little embarrassed, “I never travel on water. I might fall in. When I fall into water, I become…muddy. And I do not like to be muddy! I just…go all to pieces!”

  Clay was clearly upset at the thought of falling into a stream. Poppy touched his arm softly to reassure him. “That’s okay,” she said. “You don’t have to come. We’re very grateful for the information you’ve given us! You’ve been terrific!”

  “I have?” Clay said, brightening. He stood up straight. “Thank you! Come with me—I’ll show you some good leaves for building boats! I mean, I assume they’re good for building boats. I’ve never built one myself.” He paused. “Boats.” He shuddered.

  “Thank you!” Poppy said. “Lead on!”

  Clay led the way to the stream. Before they reached the water, he showed the Trolls a plant with big, shiny green leaves. “These are perfect for making boats, I’m told. They’re strong, but they float and keep the water out.”

  DJ Suki climbed up the plant, shinnied out to the end of a stem, and put her full weight on it until a leaf in front of her touched the ground. Smidge used her great strength to pluck the leaf off the stem. SPROING! The stem sprang up and whipped back and forth with DJ Suki holding on for dear life.

  “WHOOOAH!” she cried.

  Working together, the Trolls picked enough leaves to make two boats.

  “But how will we put the leaves together?” Poppy asked.

  “I know!” Satin said. “We’ll SEW them together!”

  “Great idea!” Chenille said. “I always carry a couple of needles with me, just in case.” She pulled out her handy portable sewing kit. “What’ll we use for thread?”

  The Trolls were stumped for a second. Then Clay shyly suggested, “Your hair?” Since he didn’t have much experience with Trolls, he wasn’t sure if the suggestion would offend them. But their hair looked strong—perfect for lashing some leaves together to make two small boats.

  “Great!” Poppy said. “Smidge, is it all right if we use your hair? It’s the longest and strongest.”

  “Be my guest,” Smidge said in her deep voice. She plucked several long blue hairs from her head and handed them to Satin and Chenille. They threaded the hairs through the eyes of their needles and swiftly sewed the shiny green leaves together. Soon they had two boats for the five Trolls to float in.

  As they carried their boats to the water, Clay said, “When the stream splits in two, make sure you go to the right. That way will take you to the flower field. The other way won’t!”

  “Got it!” Poppy said. “Go to the right!”

  “How are we going to steer our boats?” DJ Suki asked.

  “Good question,” Poppy said. “I think we need to make oars.”

  The Trolls looked around for the right material. Smidge spotted a tree with the kind of bark they needed—curved and strong, but not so strong that they couldn’t snap it into Troll-sized oars. They broke off some bark and adjusted the pieces.

  With Clay at a safe distance, they found a good spot along the stream to launch their boats. Poppy and the twins climbed into one boat, while DJ Suki and Smidge got in the other. They pushed off from the bank and were quickly swept downstream by the flowing water. As they steered with their oars, they called to Clay, “Thank you! Thank you so much for all your help!”

  “You’re welcome!” he called, cupping his dirt hands around his dirt mouth. “And remember: KEEP TO THE RIGHT!”

  The water was moving fast, so the Trolls made great time.

  “Whoo-hoo!” Poppy said. “This sure beats walking!”

  As they skimmed along in their leaf boats, the Trolls enjoyed the spray of water and the rush of air blowing their hair back.

  “Sweet!” DJ Suki shouted.

  But then they noticed that the water was starting to flow faster. And faster, and faster…

  WHOOSH! The Trolls’ little boats were suddenly zooming through white-water rapids! As they bounced up and down, water splashed into their boats. Using their paddles, they worked hard to keep from capsizing.

  “Now I know why Clay never got into this stream!” Satin shouted over the roar of the rapids.

  “He never went into ANY stream!” Chenille yelled. “He had no idea what this would be like!”

  “Try to steer toward the calmest part of the water!” Poppy called out to her boatmates.

  “What calm part?” Chenille asked. “It all looks wild to me!”

  As they struggled to keep their boats upright in the churning water, DJ Suki and Smidge were swept ahead of Poppy, Satin, and Chenille. With only two Trolls in it—one of them very small—DJ Suki and Smidge’s boat was much lighter than Poppy, Satin, and Chenille’s.

  “Stay together!” Poppy called to Smidge and DJ Suki. “We’ve got to stay together!”

  “But how?” Satin asked. “We forgot to put brakes on our boats!”

  Poppy and the twins watched helplessly as DJ Suki and Smidge’s boat swiftly approached the split Clay had told them about. To their dismay, the boat was swept to the left! It passed the split and zoomed down the left channel!

  “But that dirt guy said to go to the right!” Chenille shouted.

  “I don’t think they had any choice,” Poppy said. “The current is too strong. They just got carried off to the left. Which means we’ve gotta go to the left, too! We can’t abandon our friends!”

  All three Trolls pushed their oars into the water, steering their boat to the left. But it wasn’t really necessary. The water was pulling them straight toward the left channel of the stream anyway. When they reached the split, they were nowhere near the right channel.

  “So much for our quick and easy path to the flower field!” Satin said. “Maybe we should have asked the dirt guy what this way leads to!”

  Poppy craned her neck to peer around the spray of white water coming off their bow. “Can you see Smidge and DJ Suki’s boat?” she asked the twins.

  “There!” Chenille cried, pointing. “I saw them just for a second, before the stream bent. They’re not too far ahead of us!”

  “Then let’s try to catch up,” Poppy said. “Paddle!”

  The three Trolls paddled as hard as they could. Even though the water was still moving fast, their paddling made a difference. They sped up, and before too long, Poppy shouted, “We’re catching up!”

  “WATCH OUT FOR THAT BOULDER!” Satin and Chenille screamed.

  Poppy had been so intent on spotting Smidge and DJ Suki that she didn’t notice a big rock rising out of the water right in front of them.

  The three Trolls dove for the left side of the boat, leaning as far as they could without tipping it over. They swerved left, just barely missing the rock. The leaf boat scraped against the rock’s rough surface, but it didn’t tear, and the stitches made with Smidge’s hair held—for the moment.

  “Whew!” Poppy gasped. “That was WAY too close!”

&n
bsp; In the front boat, Smidge and DJ Suki had been glancing back to search for the other boat whenever they could take their eyes off the rough water. They were worried that Poppy and the twins hadn’t followed them when they were swept into the left channel of the raging stream.

  “There they are!” Smidge bellowed. “They almost hit the same rock we almost hit!”

  “POPPY! SATIN! CHENILLE!” DJ Suki yelled. “CATCH UP TO US! WE’LL TRY TO SLOW DOWN!”

  The boats didn’t have brakes, so the Trolls used the oars to paddle against the force of the stream. Finally, Poppy’s boat caught up, and the two boats were side by side again.

  “I’m so glad to see you!” Poppy cried.

  “Sorry we went the wrong way,” DJ Suki said. “The current was too strong.”

  “I know,” Poppy said. “It was too strong for us, too. But the important thing is that we’re back together, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Actually, there is,” Satin and Chenille said, pointing.

  Farther downstream, they heard the roar of crashing water that could only mean…

  “A waterfall!” Satin shouted.

  “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” Chenille screamed.

  “Oh, no we’re not!” Poppy said confidently. “Paddle! Paddle as hard as you can! We’ve got to get to the shore before we reach that waterfall!”

  The five Trolls paddled like mad, steering their boats toward the left bank. The water was still moving quickly, sweeping toward the waterfall. They could hear the roar of the falls, and they saw a thick mist rising from the churning rapids far below.

  In fact, it was so misty that their hair was soaked and drooping over their faces. They had to keep pushing it out of their eyes so they could see where they were going.

  “Lean left!” Poppy said. “That’ll help steer the boats!”

  DJ Suki leaned so far to the left, she almost fell into the water! Smidge whipped her wet hair around her friend’s waist and yanked. Lucky for DJ Suki, Smidge was strong enough to pull her back into the boat.