“Meow! Mee-owww!” replied Opal in wordless rage, swiping a surprisingly fast and sharp-clawed paw toward her enemy.

  “Dilah!” Ankel hissed from the storeroom. “There’s nothing here. Most of it isn’t even real gold,” he said.

  “This is definitely a trap,” agreed Tyrone with a low growl.

  Dilah’s heart sank at the realization—and all of this was his fault. His eagerness to believe they’d found the treasure had led him to trust Opal against his better instincts. He turned his attention to the hall. The two cats tussled and hissed, colliding with a small side table, which sent a vase crashing to the floor.

  If the cats’ mistress wasn’t awake yet, she would be now!

  “Quick!” said Dilah.

  The four friends hurried out of the storage room and into the hallway, flashes of white fluff and lean blue fur scuffling on the parquet floor farther down. Screeches pierced the air. The floor was strewn with tufts of fur, vase shards, and scattered fake pearls.

  Opal’s collar had broken. And if that had broken … Dilah scanned the floor desperately. They couldn’t leave without the moonstone!

  An upstairs light switched on, spilling a yellow glow into the living room, where the cats struggled on, oblivious. The friends heard footsteps padding along the upstairs hallway toward the stairs.

  And suddenly, Dilah spied it: The moonstone was on the floor, half-hidden under the flowers from the vase. He quietly snatched it up, then motioned to his friends that it was time to leave—fast! They bolted past the fighting cats, out of the villa, onto the veranda, and into the blessed darkness of the garden.

  Dilah glanced over his shoulder, back toward the brightness of the living room. He couldn’t see Opal, but the human mistress had gathered the gray-blue cat into her arms and was kissing it softly on the head.

  “Come on,” said Ankel. “We need to go. I don’t want to deal with Opal again.”

  “She tricked us,” Little Bean agreed.

  “I shouldn’t have trusted her,” Dilah said as they started to descend the hill, wordlessly heading down toward the sea.

  “It’s not your fault,” Tyrone grumbled.

  Dilah wondered whether Opal was all right. She had tricked them, yes. But it sounded like she had simply wanted to win back the affections of the mistress she loved. He couldn’t help feeling a little bad for the cat. For all her airs and graces, she’d clearly fallen on hard times and was desperate for a way out.

  Dawn broke as the friends traipsed down to the sandy beach.

  “Should we rest awhile?” Tyrone suggested.

  But Dilah shook his head. “Ankel was right. We should get away from here—too many humans.” And cats, he added to himself.

  The damp sea air tousled their fur, and the cool waves, tinged crimson by the sunrise, washed the dirt and sand from their paws. Seagulls hovered in the sky, crying out in their clean bright voices. The moon hovered weak and low, but Dilah opened his leather parcel nonetheless, hoping to catch a glimpse of their direction before the day grew too bright. The moonstone glowed faintly. Once the spinning stopped, the beam pointed over the sea.

  Now they faced a new problem: How were they supposed to continue their journey on water?

  “Remember earlier—didn’t we see a harbor?” Ankel said. “I think there were some boats there …”

  “Of course!” Dilah was glad of his friend’s quick mind. “OK, let’s head over now. I think it was this way.”

  They walked along the beach as the sun rose, yawning with exhaustion, until they reached the harbor. The day had barely started, and everything was quiet. At last, it appeared fate was on their side.

  On the edge of a pier of yachts and luxury sailing boats, they found a worn-out dinghy, unattended and perfect for the four of them. Untying the ropes, they stole the boat and sailed out into the unknown water.

  Dilah and his friends had been sailing two whole days without food, the supplies of fresh water they’d found in the boat nearly exhausted. Now it was their second night on the water, but there was no chance of sleep tonight. Thick clouds rolled like a huge relief sculpture in the dark sky. The wind grew stronger and stronger, and the sea began to rage, the wind whipping the spray against the tiny sailboat.

  A storm was coming.

  The little dinghy was rocked violently on the churning waters. Ankel shouted over the howling wind for Tyrone to lower the sail.

  The four friends clung to the boat, rising and falling with the waves, utterly directionless. Dilah wondered if this was, at last, how his epic journey would end—so close to their destination. Lightning flashed and thunder crackled as pea-sized raindrops rattled onto the ocean’s surface.

  Giant waves beat against the boat, surging over the sides. The four friends were quickly drenched from head to toe, and completely helpless as they clung close to one another and the groaning boat. The dark sea would swallow them up, Dilah thought, their dreams and hopes along with their lives. Everything felt so small now in the face of nature’s fury.

  Lightning sizzled in the sky. In the split-second flash, through the wind and rain, Dilah glimpsed a strange silhouette … a huge black fox towering motionlessly above the waves. Dilah frowned through the deluge, certain he’d been mistaken. But then more lightning flashed—and Dilah gasped. An island with a craggy fox-shaped mountain stood outlined against the storm! Hope rose up in his heart.

  “Can you see that island?” Dilah shouted to his friends. The little boat was half-filled with water. Soon they were going to sink. “We’ll have to swim!”

  “But I can’t swim through these big waves!” Ankel yelled, his face a rictus of fear.

  “It’s our only chance! The boat won’t last much longer.”

  “What about Little Bean? He can’t swim at all!” Ankel said.

  “I’ll help him—you two take care of yourselves!” Tyrone called out. Lightning exploded behind him, lighting up the sky, and there was a peal of thunder.

  “All right,” Ankel called, visibly steeling himself. “See you on the island!”

  A giant wave gathered force nearby. It was now or never.

  “JUMP!” Dilah’s voice shot through the storm like a bullet. The four friends took deep breaths, then leapt into the bottomless sea, Little Bean clinging to Tyrone’s fur. Behind them, their poor little boat smashed to pieces as the huge wave tumbled down on top of it.

  Dilah dived down under the wave until his lungs burned. He felt as though every cell in his body was battling against the cold water—as if, bit by bit, the sea was draining away his heat and life like a hungry beast. He rose up for air and—to his relief—noticed his friends bobbing up and down nearby, struggling toward the fox-shaped island.

  Ankel led the way, Dilah following close behind. Glancing back, he saw Tyrone fighting to keep afloat with Little Bean clinging to his neck. Little Bean’s eyes were wide with fear, his long ears stuck to his back.

  The sea heaved, sunk down, and Dilah glanced up, his own eyes wide too. A large wave towered over the friends, and as it crashed down, Dilah felt himself tumbling over and over in the spray, unsure which way was up. When he finally found the surface, gulping for air, Tyrone was nearby, frantically searching the water. Dilah’s worst fear had come to pass: Little Bean had lost his grip on the panda.

  “I can’t find him!” Tyrone roared in frustration.

  A bolt of lightning lit the ocean, and they saw a tiny shape struggling on the water’s surface.

  “I see him!” Dilah shouted. He had to get Little Bean safely ashore before the next wave! He swam over, pushing against the current, and grabbed Little Bean at the nape of his neck. The rabbit hung limp in his mouth and felt impossibly heavy as Dilah urged his exhausted body to swim toward the island.

  “Dilah!”

  Help was at hand. Tyrone swam near, gently removed Little Bean from Dilah’s grip, and hoisted the rabbit onto his back. He swam on toward the shore, leaving Dilah to follow. But Dilah’s energy was drained. He tried to keep up, but he couldn’t. As he watched Tyrone swim farther and farther away, toward the island, Dilah felt his limbs grow numb, his vision blurring.

  Yet another large wave bulged in the water nearby. This time, Dilah was too weak to take a deep breath in preparation. Before he knew it, the wave was crashing over him, and he was sinking into the ink-dark water. He had no air, no sense of direction. As he opened his mouth instinctively, water gurgled into his lungs.

  The moonstone. He felt the crush of failure even as his vision started to fade. After everything he’d been through, everything he’d put his friends through … everything was lost. And the moonstone … If only he’d managed to pass it on to one of his friends, they could have continued the quest without him.

  As his consciousness faded, Dilah sensed a dark something rushing toward him at breakneck speed, striking him like a football and pushing him upward …

  Dilah felt as if he’d been dreaming for a long time … What had happened in his dreams? Suddenly, he couldn’t remember. Dilah felt soft ground under his body and warm sun on his fur. He smelled the salty air, heard the cries of seagulls. Was this a dream too? He slowly opened his eyes. A familiar shape poked through the glare of the sunlight.

  “Old chap, you finally woke up!”

  As he blinked, the round white head came into focus. Grinning, his old pal Egg held out a large flipper to greet Dilah.

  “Egg!” Dilah cried, springing to his feet and clapping his paw against Egg’s palm. The two old friends smiled at each other, wordless with joy. The seal had helped Dilah discover how to use the moonstone, but they had parted ways soon after, as Egg had gone in search of his parents. Sitting on the sand behind Egg were Ankel, Tyrone, and Little Bean, smiling in the sunshine. The storm had passed, and everyone was safe. Dilah’s heart lifted.

  “You saved my life!” he said to Egg.

  “And you saved mine,” said Little Bean to Dilah.

  “So did I,” Tyrone pointed out.

  Ankel laughed. “I think we’re all even at this point, aren’t we?”

  Dilah’s heart felt as warm and bright as the sun.

  “If not for the stone on your chest, I wouldn’t have recognized you,” Egg said, smiling. “Old chap, you’ve grown so much that dragging you along behind me almost killed me!” He stuck out his tongue. Like Dilah, he was bigger than before, but no less playful.

  Dilah frowned. He’d been so happy to see his old friend that he’d forgotten to ask what on earth he was doing so far from home! “But Egg … what are you doing here?”

  “I came searching for you,” Egg said. “I decided to join you on your quest after all.”

  “Wow! But what about your parents? I thought you’d decided to go stay with them instead?”

  The smile on Egg’s face froze. “Sadly, by the time I reached home, my parents had already passed away.”

  “I’m so sorry …” Dilah reached out his paw and rested it on Egg’s flipper. “What—what happened?”

  “They were just old,” Egg said sadly. “I was sorry not to see them one last time. I was their only family. But they were surrounded by loving friends when they died. I think after that, I realized how important friends really are.” He smiled shyly at Dilah. “So, I came to find you.”

  Dilah smiled back. “Great! Welcome to our group! You’ve already met the others?”

  “We’ve made our introductions,” said Ankel.

  “But how did you find us?” Dilah asked Egg.

  “Remember, when you first started on your quest, I saw which way the moonstone pointed. I’ve never forgotten that direction. I can’t travel very quickly over land, of course, so I decided to swim around the land … You know, everything joins up eventually. I had a little help along the way. Sea animals are very smart. And mermaids can be helpful too …” Egg beamed. “The mermaid I met told me of this island—Fox Island. She thought it could be where the patron saint of white foxes hid his treasure … though I couldn’t possibly say why …” he joked as he gestured up at the huge fox-shaped mountain. The rock was deepest black—volcanic, Dilah guessed—and peppered with lush tropical vegetation. “Anyway, I’ve been hanging out here for a while, waiting for you.”

  “Fox Island … Strange that I never heard of it before,” Dilah mused. “Could this really be natural?” He gazed back up at the mountain. It really was like a large, spectacular stone statue. Dilah could clearly make out the fox’s head, two pointy ears, straight nose, limbs, and tail coiled up around its huge body. It perfectly resembled a giant fox lying in the middle of the island, staring at the sea. “I guess that’s where we have to go,” Dilah said.

  “Let’s hang out for a bit here,” Egg suggested. “The four of you nearly drowned! You could use some food and rest.”

  Egg swam into the shallow sea and showed off his fishing skills. Sometimes, he flitted across the bottom of the sea; sometimes, he leapt out of the water mischievously, stirring up a stream of crystal spray. Dilah and Ankel happily waited near shore to collect Egg’s catch. A few minutes later, a pile of silvery icefish landed on the beach. Fish fresh from the sea was Dilah’s favorite food. He hadn’t eaten it in more than a year. Finally, he could have a good meal! Meanwhile, Little Bean, the sole herbivore, foraged for food inland and returned with a hearty harvest of greens.

  They all lounged on the golden beach, munching their meals and chatting in the sun as they caught one another up on their adventures.

  “Wow—you’ve been through more in a year and a half than Grandpa Turtle has in his whole life!” Egg exclaimed, clapping his flippers, when Dilah had finished telling him about their adventures.

  An image of the greedy, cunning old turtle sunbathing on an Arctic beach flashed through Dilah’s mind. He smiled fondly at the memory. He’d come so far since then!

  That afternoon, as he snoozed after eating, Dilah realized the reflection in the prophet’s spring had been Egg waiting in the sea. He should’ve figured that out earlier! And of course, Egg brought courage. Everything was coming together. Now that all five attributes of humanity had been assembled, it was time for Dilah to lead his companions toward their shared dream.

  The night sky unfurled its wings, and the full moon, wrapped in wisps of clouds, cast its silver light over Fox Island. Dilah solemnly opened his parcel on the beach, revealing the moonstone. The moonstone reacted differently this time: The golden crescent in the center emitted an intense glow and flickered on and off, on and off—like a heartbeat. Suddenly, with the brightest beam of light Dilah had seen emanating from the stone, it pointed toward the fox-shaped rock in the middle of the island. Just as Dilah had suspected.

  They set off immediately.

  The five friends were a few minutes up in the foothills, Egg pushing himself along on his belly, when Ankel glanced over his shoulder at the sea. “Look!” he hissed, and pointed to the vast moonlit bay. A small gray sailboat slowly beached on the shore, and several animals jumped off, one after another. To Dilah’s surprise, Opal was the first one out of the boat. As usual, she strutted like a peacock, swishing her magnificent fluffy tail.

  But Dilah’s surprise turned to horror when he saw who jumped onto the beach next; his white fur shone in the moonlight as he landed gingerly on his permanently injured leg.

  “Carl!” Dilah fumed as he watched several Arctic foxes and two fierce hyenas follow Carl ashore. “He’s still on our tail!”

  “How’s that possible? How did he get here?” Ankel asked, his eyes wide in disbelief.

  “Opal must’ve seen where we were headed,” Tyrone said flatly.

  Dilah felt awful. All of this was his fault! He shouldn’t have trusted the cat in the first place.

  “The terrain is complicated, it’s a slow climb,” Ankel reasoned. “We’ve got a head start, but”—he glanced at Egg, who was fast as a bullet in the sea but struggled on land—“our pace is a little slower. We must find the collar as quickly as possible!”

  “Ankel’s right. Let’s hurry!” Dilah said. The group picked up their pace as much as possible.

  They traveled through the night, trekking up toward the fox-shaped peak. As the sun rose, tinging the sky deep red, they neared the summit of the foothills and noticed a large lake resting in the stomach of the fox-shaped mountain, circled by the giant fox’s curved legs and high back … and it was floating, water spilling over its edges and into clouds of vapor, just like the waterfall in the enchanted forest.

  “How marvelous!” breathed Egg, his jaw dropping to the ground.

  He was right. It was a magical scene, and Dilah felt his breath catch. He felt too a mysterious force urging him onward, as if a great magnet were summoning him along the path.

  Dilah was about to start climbing farther when he heard a long, drawn-out cry.

  “Heeeeelp!”

  “Did you hear that?” Dilah asked Little Bean, who was sitting at his side. Little Bean frowned.

  “Somebody help me!” the voice yelled again.

  “I did that time!” said Little Bean. “Sounds like someone’s in trouble.”

  “But who on earth could be here?” Ankel puzzled. “All day we’ve heard nothing but seagulls. This island doesn’t seem inhabited.”

  “We better go have a look,” Dilah replied.

  The five friends sought out the source of the noise, venturing off the path.

  “Ouch, it hurts!” that mysterious voice yelped again—closer yet as they walked cautiously into the lush undergrowth. “Help!”

  The voice was coming from a dense bush a short distance away. They walked over and pulled back the branches. An old Arctic fox sat in the dirt. Dilah had never seen such an old fox. She had a pointed, crooked nose; a hunched back; and folds of drooping skin hanging around her neck. Nearly all her white fur was gone. Oddly, she had a pair of bloodred eyes, shining like two rubies.

  “Madam, what’s the matter?” Dilah asked politely.

  “My stomach hurts … Please, help me!” The fox hunched over, clearly in pain.

  “Where does it hurt? Show me.” Little Bean hopped forward to examine her.

 

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