Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure by Disney Digital Books Page B

and sputtered as his boat began to sink lower and lower.
    Tink hoped Terence could stay above water long enough to see what a masterpiece of engineering her boat was. Talk about fully loaded—this baby had options galore. “And now for the hydro-drive,” she shouted.
    Tink pulled another lever made of a twig.
    THWACK! THWACK!
    Wings made of bark unfolded from the sides of the boat, and skis popped out of the bottom.
    Tink loosened the rubber band, and the paddle wheel began to spin like a fan. Her gourd boat went faster than she had dreamed possible.
    Maybe a little too fast.
    A bug came flying toward Tink’s face. She ducked just in time. The bug flew past her, but when she turned, she saw it fly right into Terence’s mouth. “Arghghghgh!” he cried as he spit the bug out.
    Tink whipped her head around to face forward again. Her eyes widened. Oh, no! The boat was approaching the other side of the river!
    KERACK! KERACK!
    The skis snapped off as the gourd went skidding up the bank, gaining even more speed.
    “Yeeeeowww!” Tinker Bell yelled.
    But the boat kept going … going … going … heading straight for a tree!
    Tinker Bell closed her eyes and waited for the crash.
    But instead of crashing, the boat kept moving, buzzing its way up the tree’s trunk until, slowly but surely, it ground to a halt in the uppermost branches.
    Tink opened her eyes. She couldn’t believe it. This was amazing! Astounding! A miracle! Not only was she still alive, but the boat was in one piece. A little tinkering, a little fixing, and everything would be just fine.
    Well, everything would have been fine … if it just hadn’t been for that darned gravity thing.
    CREEEEEAK!
    The weight of the boat was too much for the slender branches on which it was perched.
    Uh-oh!
    The last thing Tink saw was the amazed stare of a red-headed woodpecker as she tumbled past him. “Aiiiiiiiiieeeeee!” she shrieked.

    Terence had seen the whole thing. He paddled his leaf kayak to the other side of the river and jumped out, hurrying toward the tree Tink had crashed into. “Tink? Tink!” he shouted.
    He found her lying on the ground surrounded by broken pieces of gourd, her shattered paddle wheel, and scattered twigs.
    “Are you okay?” He gingerly helped her up.
    “I’m good,” she said, struggling to her feet. “But I guess your delivery guys are going to have to wait a little longer.”
    Tink sounded very calm and professional. Terence was relieved. He knew she often had a tough time controlling her temper.
    Terence studied what was left of the boat. “Wow, Tink. I’m impressed. Usually when one of your inventions doesn’t work out, you overreact. And that’s putting it mildly. But you’re taking this pretty well. I really admire your self-control.”
    That was when Terence turned and saw that Tink wasn’t taking it well at all. She was actually doing a very dramatic rage dance, making angry faces and kicking her feet behind his back.
    Terence sighed. “Never mind.”
    “I DROVE IT INTO A TREE!” Tinker Bell exploded, unable to contain herself any longer. “Jingles! I can’t believe the boat broke. I made it for you.”
    Tinker Bell sat on the ground, folded her arms over her chest, and pouted.
    Terence sat down with his back to hers. He hated for Tink to be unhappy. “It just needs a little tinkering. Who do I know who’s a good tinkerer? Let’s see. Bobble’s a good tinkerer. Fairy Mary’s got a lot of experience. Hey, how about Clank?”
    Tinker Bell’s sense of humor kicked in and she began to laugh.
    Before either one could say another word, a blast from a reed kazoo split the air. Only one kind of fairy used a kazoo like that. The summoning fairies were Queen Clarion’s helpers. When they showed up, it meant the queen had an urgent need to speak with someone. Alarmed, Terence and Tink looked to the sky and saw Queen Clarion’s head summoning fairy, Viola, approaching at top speed. She looked like a fairy on a mission.