Ribbons, Riddles and a Giggling Lock
One sparkly morning, Louise and Unicorn trotted across the Sunny Meadow. Then Louise stopped. A bright pink ribbon was tied to a clover blossom! And dangling from the ribbon was a tiny rolled scroll. "Unicorn," Louise whispered, "I think somebody left us a secret."
The scroll said, "A treasure waits. Follow the trail." Louise had questions. Lots of them. "Is it shiny? Is it sweet? Where do we walk?" Unicorn did not answer with words. She pointed her nose straight at the leafy trees and swished her tail.
They tiptoed into the Whispering Willow Grove. Soft green vines tickled their ears. "Why are trees so hairy?" Louise asked. Unicorn sniffed and sniffed. Then she nudged a mossy rock. Silver sparkles were wrapped all around it, twinkling like tiny stars.
Under the rock hid a second scroll. Louise unrolled it slowly. "Follow the berry sweet scent where the pink stones glow." Louise scrunched her nose. "Berry? Sweet? Pink stones? Unicorn, do you smell strawberries?" Unicorn sniffed so hard her mane puffed up. Yes, she did!
They followed their noses to the Glittering Garden Patch. Shiny pink stones glowed all along the path. And between two strawberry bushes sat a big wooden treasure chest with a golden lock. "How do we open it?" Louise wondered. "Does it have a key? Does it like questions?"
Louise leaned close to the treasure chest and whispered her very best question. "What is the sweetest thing inside?" The lid popped open so fast that Louise fell back onto her bottom. Unicorn blinked. The chest had liked her question!
Inside sat two crowns made of strawberries, with pink ribbons trailing down. "One for me, and one for you!" Louise set the bigger crown right on Unicorn's head, just behind her horn. Unicorn held very still and looked extremely royal.
They danced round and round the garden in the warm sunshine. Louise twirled. Unicorn twirled. Then Unicorn tipped her head down, and gobbled up her whole crown in one big bite. "Unicorn! That was your crown, not your lunch!" Louise laughed so hard she fell into the strawberry bushes.
