Prilla and the Butterfly Lie Read Online Free PDF Page A

closed her eyes, and made a quick wish. “Please let me find the butterflies,” she said.
    She opened her eyes and looked around. Nothing. If only wishes came true that easily! But they don’t—not even in Pixie Hollow.
    She starting walking again, looking in all the usual places that a butterfly might choose to hide in. She looked in knotholes in trees, under dead leaves, in between rocks. Then she spied a flash of color from the corner of her eye.
    Prilla ran forward and peeked into the tall grass. There sat a butterfly. It was the tiny silvery yellow creature that she had chased earlier.
    Prilla smiled widely. She felt incredible relief.
    The butterfly opened and closed its wings slowly. It was so close that Prilla could see every colorful scale on its wings. It was so close that she could reach out and…
    Her movement startled the butterfly.
    It took off, then landed a couple of inches away.
    Prilla sighed in frustration. But then she was surprised to see the butterfly turn around. She quietly crept up to it. But the butterfly wouldn’t stay put. It flew a short distance, then landed, flew a short distance, then landed, over and over again.
    They went on like this for quite a while, Prilla following closely. Once, she lost sight of the butterfly. Her heart sank, and her eyes started to fill with tears. But then it reappeared right in front of her. It was almost as if the butterfly had been looking for her.
    Suddenly, the butterfly flew away into a thicket. Prilla ran up and parted the leaves. She hadn’t lost it after all this, had she?
    To her surprise, she had discovered a small clearing. And there were the butterflies—all fifty of them!
    Prilla grinned. Take it slowly this time, she told herself. Try not to make any sudden movements that will startle them. Everything is going to be all right.
    Just then, Prilla felt a tickle in her nose. Oh, no! I can’t sneeze now, she thought. That will scare them away again! She wrinkled her nose to make the itch go away. She held her nose, but nothing worked. What was wrong with her?
    Then she noticed the leaves on the bushes around her. She was standing right in the middle of a patch of sneezewort!
    Ah-ah-ah-CHOO! Prilla sneezed so hard, she nearly knocked herself over. Ah-choo, ah-choo, ah-choo!
    Finally, her sneezing fit ended. Prilla was not surprised to find that she had scared the entire butterfly herd away— again. She backed away from the sneeze-wort patch. Noisily, she blew her nose into a leafkerchief.
    Prilla shook her head. What bad luck she was having!

P RILLA’S STOMACH RUMBLED . She had been searching for the butterflies for quite a while, and she was awfully hungry. It was time to eat her breakfast.
    Spotting a table-sized toadstool, Prilla landed next to it. She began to unpack the food that Dulcie had given her that morning. She was pleased to find two strawberry muffins, a clay thermos full of hot tea with honey and lemon, and a cobweb napkin. Prilla sprinkled some fairy dust on a smooth, round stone. She floated it over to the toadstool table for a comfortable place to sit.
    Just as she was about to take a seat, a breeze blew her napkin off the toadstool. She bent to pick it up.
    Prilla straightened, poured herself a steaming cup of tea, and—
    “Hey!” she said. “Where did my other muffin go?”
    Had she accidentally knocked it off the toadstool? She knelt down to look for it. But the missing strawberry muffin was nowhere to be found.
    She stood and reached for her remaining muffin. But it was gone, too!
    Prilla was puzzled. This was too odd. Pixie Hollow was a place of magic and whimsy. Strange things happened every day. But strawberry muffins didn’t sprout legs and walk away. There had to be an explanation.
    But try as she might, Prilla couldn’t come up with one. S he poured herself a cup of tea. Then she settled down on the stone and took a sip. Her stomach rumbled again.
    Looking around, Prilla spied a raspberry bush nearby. “I’ll