Em's Sparkle Falls Adventure

There once was a young girl named Em. Em was not like most of the other children at her school. She was quiet, very sensitive, and always got told off for daydreaming in class

Em didn't have many friends, so she would often spend playtime sitting on a bench with only her never-ending, racing thoughts to keep her company.

The other children noticed that Em was different and picked on her for it. Even some of the teachers treated her unkindly.

One day, the bullying got so bad that when Em got home from school, she cried herself to sleep, repeating the same sentence over and over again- how she wished she was just like the other children.

That night, as Em slowly drifted further into a deep sleep, she found herself in the most beautiful forest she had ever seen.

The glistening stream sparkled under the warm sunshine that was shining brightly in the crystal-blue sky. The leaves of the timeless trees and the freshly blooming flower petals waved gently in the wind, and the choir of birds singing sweet melodies above her made Em feel peaceful. She was so excited to explore this forest of treasures.

Em skipped towards the bushes, where the berries glowed like indigo jewels. She reached out to pick one, but just as it touched her lips, the bushes started moving and she heard a voice that startled her, and the blueberry fell to the ground.

'Hey Em, do you know where my acorns are? I've lost them again!' said a voice that sounded like it was coming from inside the bushes.

With her hands starting to tremble and her heart pounding with fear, she ran as fast as she could away from the blueberry bushes.

Where was the voice coming from, she thought, and how does it know my name?

'Stooooooooop!!!' shouted the very high-pitched, squeaky voice from behind her.

She halted abruptly and froze.

'Woah, you're fast!' said the squirrel, trying hard to catch his breath.

Em turned around and jumped back in surprise.

'Ahhhhhh!!!' she exclaimed.

'Nice to see you too, Queen Em,' said the squirrel, sarcastically.

'You... you can talk?!'

'Well, yeah!' said the squirrel.

'How do you know my name?' Em said.

'You're our Queen Em of Sparkle Falls. Everyone knows your name.'

'What?' She frowned, confused as to how she could be the Queen of this wonderful place.

'Ugh, I don't have time for this! You haven't been here for so long that you've forgotten all about us! I have so much to do! I don't have any room left in my schedule to take you to Fairy Faye! What am I going to do?!' the squirrel shouted, pacing up and down the grass anxiously.

With a mischievous squawk, a magpie swooped down and snatched the squirrel's shiny pen out of his hand.

'Hey!' screamed the squirrel. 'Maggie! Give that back!!!'

'Catch me if you can, Sam!' laughed Maggie cheekily, as she flew off into the distance.

'Ugh, I don't have time for this! The party is this evening and I still haven't found my acorns to make my blueberry and acorn muffins, and now Maggie has flown off with my special pen! How am I supposed to get anything done without ticking off my schedule? I'll forget what task I'm on!' said the squirrel, tears rolling down his face.

'Hey, it's okay,' said Em, running over to comfort the squirrel.

'No, it's not!' he cried. 'I'm always forgetting things. I need to tick off my schedule to keep myself on track!'

'Okay, let me help you find it then,' Em said.

'Oh, thank you, Queen Em!' the squirrel exclaimed. 'That would be so helpful if you could help me find Maggie and get my special pen back! I'm Sam, by the way.'

The two set off to find Maggie.