Amelia Fang and the Half-Moon Holiday. Laura Ellen Anderson

Styx with Grimpapa would pay off!’ he called out.

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      They giggled as they passed Tangine. Pumpy’s end of the bed-boat was, rather tellingly, much further down in the water. They gradually overtook Rainbow Ranger after Rainbow Ranger. As Florence was whizzing through the water just ahead, Amelia had a brilliant idea.

      ‘Hey Florence!’ she yelled, slowing down a little, with Grimaldi following suit. ‘If me, you and Grimaldi tie, then maybe we’ll all get the bonus badge!’

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      ‘OOOH, GOOD FINKING AMELIA!’

      said Florence. The three friends rowed side

      by side and made for Sugarplum Island.

      They were SO close now! Then . . .

      BOMP !

      Something knocked the side of Amelia’s boat sending her wobbling off course. She shrieked as the little stripy boat span out of control.

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      ‘Oops! Sorry! Didn’t see you there,’ Frankie said, smirking, and raced off in her spiky boat, overtaking Grimaldi and Florence who had slowed down to check their friend was okay.

      ‘WANT ME TO GO SIT ON FRANKIE?’ shouted Florence.

      ‘You guys just keep going, and I’ll meet you at the island!’ Amelia replied, waving them forward. ‘You still have a chance to beat Frankie! Go, go, go!’

      She didn’t mind being left behind just as long as Frankie didn’t win.

      Florence saluted, then she and Grimaldi raced on ahead to try and catch Frankie, as more and more Rainbow Rangers began to overtake Amelia’s boat.

      Suddenly, Amelia felt something damp on

      her bottom. When she looked down, water was oozing into her boat.

      ‘Oh, no,’ Amelia gasped. One of the spikes on Frankie’s boat had made a big hole in the side of Amelia’s little stripy one. Squashy bounced into the growing puddle of water and tried to lick it up.

      ‘It’s okay, Squashy,’ said Amelia, picking the pumpkin up and hugging him to her chest. ‘I’m going to shout for help, then Ricky and Graham can come and rescue us.’

      But just as Amelia was about to flag down the two unicorns, she felt a strong wind blowing back the hair from her face.

      Her boat was moving.

      CHAPTER 4

      THE ISLAND IS

      YOUR PLATE

      ‘How is this happening?’ Amelia murmured, hugging Squashy tighter.

      The little boat was heading straight for the

      shore of Sugarplum Island, overtaking all of her fellow Rainbow Rangers, and Amelia wasn’t doing a thing!

      Amelia peered warily over the side of the boat, feeling slightly nervous about what she might see. Ricky and Graham had warned

      them about odd things lurking beneath

      the water – perhaps they were right!

      To Amelia’s surprise, she couldn’t see anything but her reflection and the bubbles created from the speed at which the boat was

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      moving. But then Amelia thought she could hear something, a faint humming sound. She looked around, but everyone was too far behind her now for it to be any of her fellow Rainbow Rangers.

      ‘Do you hear that, Squashy?’ asked Amelia. She thought that she was even beginning to make out a tune. Squashy certainly seemed to be waggling his stalk from side to side in time with something . . .

      But, before she knew what was happening, the boat ploughed itself up on to the sandy shore and Amelia could hear the tune no more. Amelia looked back at the water breathlessly, feeling utterly confused about what had just happened.

      One by one the other Rainbow Rangers began to pull up on to the shore next to her including a red-faced Frankie Steinburg. ‘You CHEATED!’ she snapped, storming up to

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