CHAPTER 7 – THE MAGICAL FOREST

Snafu, Michaelah, and Koji finally reached the Magical Forest after walking for a long time. When they entered the forest Michaelah looked around and everything looked so normal.

"This place doesn't look magical at all," she said.

"Well, you just have to wait and see, Michaelah. Things aren't always as they seem," said Snafu.

Michaelah did not really understand, but she kept an open mind. The three of them made their way further inside to where Snafu's fellow dwarves were working very hard.

"These are the JollyLoggers," introduced Snafu.

They were all busy picking fruits off the trees. But it was a lot harder than it sounds. Some of the trees let them pick their fruits, but the other trees. Oh, the other trees were not so easy going. Some of the trees waved their branches in the air at the dwarves to keep them from taking their fruits.

"You see there are good trees and bad trees," explained Snafu, "The only difference between the good trees and the bad trees, besides the fact that the bad trees want to hurt you, are the fruits."

"I don't understand," said Michaelah.

"Well, the good trees give us magical fruits that make you smaller when you eat them. And the bad trees give us magical fruits that make you much much bigger when you eat them," explained Snafu.

"Have you ever been able to get the bad trees' fruits?" asked Koji the panda.

"We have tried, but it is very hard. We mostly just collect the good trees' fruits and sell them at markets," answered Snafu.

"Is that what you do, sell things at the market?" asked Michaelah.

"Yes, we are farmers. We make a living off of what we grow and gather. You see Michaelah, we JollyLoggers live by a simple code...

♪ 'It is very important that you find your way,

Do something with life to seize the day.

As long as you find the right thing to do,

Everything you wish for will come to you.

And when all your world does come together,

Well, that makes life worth living.

To cast out the darkness away forever,

A way you shall find as long as you're willing.’ ♪

.. I hope you remember that Michaelah," explained Snafu.

"Some people say that us JollyLoggers have been eating the good trees' fruits for so long which is why we are so small," said one of the dwarves, he was leaning on the branch of a good tree.

"So why don't you just eat the fruits that make you big?" asked Michaelah.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Because now we are too small to get the bad trees' fruits," answered Snafu.

"How unfortunate," Michaelah thought.

Meanwhile, Koji the panda was wrestling with one of the bad trees.

Michaelah screamed out, "Koji, be careful! You might get hurt!"

But before Koji could get down, the tree flung him off and threw him to the ground. Michaelah ran over to Koji,

"Are you okay?" she said.

"I think so," said Koji as he held three fruits in his paws.

"You got fruit! Let me try!" Michaelah gobbled down the magical fruit as Koji put the other two pieces away. "It tastes like strawberries!" right after she said that she began to grow bigger and bigger. Michaelah grew so big that her head was popping out of the top of the forest.

"My god!" said an old man who was walking into the forest, "That girl is enormous!"

She was so big that the old man looked like an ant to her. Michaelah got scared and began to panic. She could not move with all the trees around. Michaelah felt trapped as if she was in a hamster cage. Koji acted quickly. He grabbed some fruit from the nice tree, climbed all the way up the tallest tree, and screamed out, "Michaelah eat these!"

Koji tossed the fruit up to Michae1ah and she caught them in her giant hand. She looked down at the fruits, which looked like crumbs to her. She threw them in her mouth and swallowed them. They were so tiny that she did not even notice swallowing them. A couple of seconds later she shrank down to normal size.

Enough time had passed by while Michaelah to return to normal size for the old man to walk up to Michaelah, Koji, Snafu, and the rest of the JollyLoggers.

"Hello," he said, "I am Alabastar the Wise."

Michaelah said on behalf of everyone, "Hi! I am Michaelah; this is Koji the panda, Snafu the dwarf, and the JollyLoggers."

Alabastar then said, "Nice to meet you all, I was just coming to the Magical Forest to gather some fruits for my potions."

Michaelah asked Alabastar, "What are potions?"

And Alabastar answered, "I'm glad you asked my dear girl, you see I am not just an ordinary man, I am a wizard! And I know how to do magic. Potions are magical drinks. Would you like to see a magic trick?"

Everyone clapped their hands and shook their heads.

Alabastar the Wizard looked around in his robe trying to find his wand. He mumbled to himself, "Where did I put that blasted thing? Nevertheless!"

He picked up a twig from the ground and pointed it at one of the bad trees. And then he sang a spell, "harrumph... a little hocus and a tad of pocus ... show this wiz's got style and make this mean tree smile!"

Then an electric light shot out of the twig and into the mean tree.

The mean tree shook and twisted around like he was in pain. All of a sudden, the sky opened up and the sun shined down on the tree's face. When Michaelah looked at the mean tree's face, he was no longer frowning. With the sun on its face, the mean tree was smiling! Michaelah couldn’t believe it. She walked up to the tree and rubbed its cheek with her hand.

"Ah, that feels great. I am so happy to- well, be happy!" said the tree that was once mean but now under the wizard's spell.

Then the tree handed a couple of fruits over to Michaelah and she brought them to the wizard. "Thank you, my girl. Now, tell me what are you and Koji doing in a forest full of busy dwarves and emotional trees?"

"We are lost and trying to find our way home. Can you help us?" explained Michaelah.

"Well. if it is a matter of can I help you rather than will I help you then I don't know, but if it were rather the will other than the can then I most certainly say

that I will."

Michaelah looked at Koji and Koji shrugged his shoulders in confusion.

Michaelah replied, "I don't understand what you just said."

The wizard laughed to himself and then said, "I am sorry. I have the tendency to ramble on. You know talk too much. Sometimes even talk nonsense."

"But you have yet to answer our question, Mr. Wizard," interrupted Michaelah.

"Please, call me Alabaster. And yes, I will help you find your way home."

Michaelah and Koji said good-bye to Snafu, and rest of the JollyLoggers, and left with Alabaster the Wise. They went to the wizard’s house, and hopefully this time they would finally figure out a way to get home.