The Secret of the Haunted Forest

Hurry up, you guys! Sophie called out to her friends. She pedaled her bike faster, the tassels on her handlebars flapping in the wind.

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Behind her, Max and Lucy tried to keep up, their own bikes wobbling down the leaf-strewn path. It was Halloween night, and the three friends were on an adventure.

Earlier that evening, after trick-or-treating around their neighborhood dressed as a witch, vampire, and ghost, the children had overheard some bigger kids talking about a haunted forest on the outskirts of town. Legend had it that every Halloween, an enchanted portal opened there at midnight, leading to a magical world.

"I bet that's just a story," Max had said, adjusting his plastic vampire fangs. But Lucy's eyes had gone wide.

"Maybe it's real! We should go check it out."

The friends snuck away from the Halloween party and pedaled hard on their bikes. The path through the woods was dark and spooky, lit only by the full moon above. Sophie led the way, her witch's hat nearly blowing off in the wind.

"Do you really think there's a portal?" Max asked nervously. He looked around at the spindly trees that seemed to be reaching toward them.

"It's just up ahead!" Sophie called back. She skidded to a stop where the path ended abruptly. Before them loomed an archway made of twisted branches and vines. The inside glowed with a strange, colorful light.

Lucy gasped. "You were right, Sophie! The portal..."

The three kids stared open-mouthed into the doorway. "What do you think is on the other side?" Max whispered.

"This must be magic!" Sophie declared mischievously, a daring grin spreading across her face. Seizing the handlebars tightly, she boldly cycled into the radiant archway until the supernatural brilliance swallowed her whole.

Max and Lucy looked at each other anxiously. "We can't let her go alone," Lucy said.

Gripping their handlebars, they rode together into the portal. A rushing sensation enveloped them, colors streaming past in a blur. When their vision cleared, they gasped again.

"Whoa..." said Max.

They were in a dark forest like before, but everything sparkled as if drenched in glitter. Mushrooms in psychedelic colors sprouted up everywhere. And fluttering around were...

"Fairies!" cried Lucy. Dozens of tiny winged creatures zipped around the children's heads. They reminded Lucy of fireflies, if fireflies were people.

The fairies chattered excitedly at the arrival of the kids. A few tried landing on their shoulders or nestling in their hair.

"Wow, this is unbelievable!" exclaimed Sophie with delight, giggling as a sapphire-hued fairy dangled upside-down from the tip of her witch's hat.

"Welcome, welcome!" trilled a loud but squeaky voice. The kids turned to see a fairy with a flower-petal dress and dandelion-puff hair smiling at them. She bowed gracefully in midair.

"I am Queen Lily, monarch of the Fairy Glen," proclaimed the regal winged creature, "We seldom receive visits from ones as large as yourselves!"

Sophie stepped forward. "I'm Sophie, Your Majesty! These are my friends, Max and Lucy. We came through a magic portal in our world."

"How thrilling!" said the Queen. "We must show you around!"

The fairies flitted through the trees ahead, beckoning eagerly. Parking their bikes against a glittery mushroom, the children followed the glowing cloud.

Queen Lily gave them a tour of the enchanted forest. There was a rainbow with actual pots of gold at the end, a crystal-clear brook lined with pink rocks, and a grove of trees with trunks like candy canes. Everywhere they looked was something magical.

"Watch this!" said the Queen. She waved her wand and a shower of glitter rained down on them. Max, Lucy and Sophie laughed with delight.

The fairies showed them their tiny village of mushroom houses. They treated the kids to a feast of flower nectar, berry pudding and twig crackers. Finally, the Queen had the fairies put on a show, dancing and blowing bubbles into amazing shapes.

As the final bubble burst into the air, Queen Lily zipped over to them and said regretfully, "Although we've had tremendous fun together, the bewitching hour of midnight nears in your land. I'm afraid the gateway between our realms cannot linger open much longer."

"Aww, do we have to go?" asked Sophie. The others looked disappointed too. This had been the best Halloween adventure ever.

The Queen smiled kindly. "All magic has its time. But you're welcome to visit us again next year!"

The kids grinned. "We will!" promised Lucy.

The fairies escorted them back through the forest to where the glowing portal entrance lay. "Thank you for everything!" Sophie told the Queen. She curtsied in her witch's costume.

"Farewell, big folk!" the fairies cried, waving their wands. "Happy Halloween!"

With a last goodbye, the three kids walked back through the portal. When their vision cleared, they were back in the ordinary woods. But looking up, they could still see the twinkling lights of fairies dancing in the sky above the trees.

Their bikes bumped along as they headed home under the moonlight.

"That was the best Halloween ever," said Max dreamily.

"I can't wait until next year!" said Lucy.

Sophie just smiled, thinking of the magic they had found. And of the adventures yet to come.