Puffy Burns Down the House! .

- She noticed a book sitting on the windowsill. The book looked so innocent - but Trippy knew what it was.

- Little scared her brother, so Trippy stopped and turned to look at what had frightened him. There were only trees surrounding them - but that particular tree was shaped like a woman! The woman blinked. Skippy screamed.

- Janushi Raichura

T hey were back: Trippy, Skippy, the princess and prince of Sunshine Land, with books that took them to lands of magic - and Puffy, the baby dragon they had rescued on one of their adventures, ready to slay and avenge, in the mood for some serious action. Their plans were put on hold when Puffy, the baby dragon, caught a cold.

It was weird, wasn't it - a fire - breathing dragon catching a cold! Ironic, even. Hilarious to Skippy, concerning to Trippy.

The thing was that every time Puffy sneezed, fire escaped his mouth and burned whatever had the misfortune of being in the way. It was difficult as it was to hide a baby dragon - but with a baby dragon setting everything on fire? It was getting impossible!

Trippy had to hide the burned tablecloth, the toys, her favourite dress - because what would she say if a maid asked why they were burned?

Puffy sneezed again, and oof - there came a wave of fire that burned the sleeves of Trippy's dress to ash. Skippy began to laugh, skipping around, but his amusement was short - lived. Puffy sneezed yet again, and this time, the victim was Skippy's pants.

"Ahhh!" Skippy screamed, jumping on the spot, patting his pants furiously in order to put out the fire. It was Trippy's turn to laugh. In a moment of lost sense, Trippy tripped on one of Skippy's toys and fell into a pile of ash!

"Cinder - Trippy!" Skippy laughed, and Trippy got to her feet with a pout and went to fetch a cloth to clean herself up.

That was when she noticed a book sitting on the windowsill. The book looked so innocent - but Trippy knew what it was.

The Nymphs of Taela

The title was weird enough, and she knew she had to hide it before Skippy caught sight of it - but before she could even attempt to do so, Skippy appeared, carrying Puffy in the pan.

"Is that a book?" he asked, and snatched it away before Trippy could stop him.

He opened it - and they were pulled inside.

They were falling. And falling. And falling. Falling through endless green, with no sign of anything else.

"You're stupid!" Trippy cried as their fall seemed to go on forever.

"Maybe the task is to learn how to fly?" Skippy asked innocently.

Puffy sneezed, setting the green on fire - and finally, that seemed to stop the fall.

They landed on an enormous heap of leaves.

"Ouch," Skippy muttered, just out of habit, before jumping to his feet. He found Puffy buried beneath layers of leaves. Tenderly, he pulled him out and placed him on his feet.

"You okay, Puffy?"

Puffy let out a small puff of smoke in response.

Trippy got to her feet and caressed Puffy's head before smacking the back of Skippy's head.

"This is all your fault, you idiot!" she said, before smacking it again.

"Ow! I am your little brother - you shouldn't hit me!" Skippy cried.

Trippy hit him again.

"Let's just find out what we are here for and get back home."

Skippy followed her as she led them through the dense forest. The pan was lost in the fall, so Trippy had to carry Puffy in her bare hands over piles of leaves.

They walked carefully, trying not to slip in the bushy, muddy forest. The sights were beautiful - acres and acres of green, no animal or human in sight. Simple peace.

People spend their whole lives searching for peace without knowing what they are looking for, only to run from it when they attain it. Trippy had heard her mother say a million times how important peace was - but she had never felt it so deeply.

"Trippy, I think I saw something move!" Skippy whispered in fear.

Little scared her brother, so Trippy stopped and turned to look at what had frightened him. There were only trees surrounding them - but that particular tree was shaped like a woman!

The woman blinked.

Skippy screamed.

Suddenly, the branches of the trees around them began to move - and out came women who looked as though they were part of the trees themselves.

"Nymphs," Trippy muttered. Nymphs were spirits of nature; she had heard stories about them from Greek mythology. Seeing them standing there in front of her felt ethereal.

"Ahhhh," she realized Skippy hadn't stopped screaming.

"They're friendly," she told him.

"We heard that there was a sick little dragon," a nymph approached them with a bowl filled with a disgusting - looking liquid. "This is medicine."

Puffy made a face - but one lick of the liquid and his health was restored! He was back jumping on the spot.

They all began to laugh - and soon, they were pulled into a portal leading back to their room.

Puffy sneezed again, this time because of the ashes entering his nose - and the bed caught fire.

"Oops," said Trippy. 

They resumed laughing.