PROLOGUE

    It all began when a mother cat named Smore had triplets. One was white speckled with light brown and dark brown, one was light brown speckled with white and dark brown, and the last one was dark brown speckled with white and light brown. She named the white one Marshmellow, she named the light brown one Gramcracker, and she named the dark brown one Chocolate. The dad’s name was Foxie, he was orange and white. They loved their kits. 

    A week later the kits went outside and played by the lake. They tumbled over each other and splashed in the water. Then Foxie caught fish. Smore and Foxie ate the fish, and the triplets drank Smore’s milk.

Chapter 1

Gramcracker’s Surprise

2 Months later
 

    Gramcracker followed his dad to a pile of wood. Then Foxie said, “Can you help me move this board?” “I’ll try,” said Gramcracker. He stepped forward and picked it up. “Dad, it’s not heavy,” said Gramcracker. “But it was too heavy for me,” said Foxie. “Maybe I have superpowers!” said Gramcracker excitedly. “Maybe,” said Foxie. “I do!” said Gramcracker, picking up a big rock. “You do!” said Foxie in surprise. Gramcracker ran to the cat cave to tell Chocolate, Marshmellow and his mom. Chocolate was happy for him but Marshmellow was jealous. 

“Why does he get powers and we don’t!?” said Marshmellow angrily. 
    Foxie went out and caught fish, then came in and said, “Who wants fish for lunch?” Everybody said “Yes!” and then they said, “Wait, fried fish!” “Hmm,” said Foxie. “I know of a big black rock we could grill the fish on. Gramcracker, can you move it?”  “Yes!” said Gramcracker. So, they went to the big black rock and Gramcracker went and picked it up, then took it to a sunny spot near the cat cave. “There,” he said, not exhausted at all. Then everybody put the fish on the rock and went into the cat cave and waited for one hour. Then they went out to the rock. Their fish was fried! They took their fish off the rock and ate it.

    The fish was good, but Gramcracker ate his in one bite. Then Gramcraker went out into the mountains to see what he could catch with his newly discovered powers.

Chapter 2

The Cave

     Chocolate helped her mom catch dinner and helped grill it. As they waited for Gramcracker to come home, they played a game. Finally, Gramcracker came in with a big grin on his face. “What?” asked Chocolate. “I killed a pack of wolves and a lynx!” said Gramcracker excitedly. “And I found an old bear cave and put the meat in it for a meat cave!” said Gramcracker. “Can we see it?” the sisters asked at once. “Yes, but we need to finish dinner first,” said Smore. “I already ate,” said Gramcracker. 

    After dinner they followed Gramcracker to the cave and went in. Inside meat was piled up into two piles. 

     The cave went back a long way. There was a room off to the side, and Gramcracker said, “Can this be my room?” “Why not?” said Foxie. “Yay!” said Gramcracker happily as he went into the room. After a long time, he came out and said, “Can we put up a sign that says barf room, and has a picture of a cat with x eyes and no mask and a cat with a mask and no x eyes?” “Why not?” said Foxie. And that is what they did.

Chapter 3

Coco’s Surprise

    Marshmellow walked through the cat cave looking for Gramcracker. Then she found him and said, “How do we know that you killed the animals, and it wasn’t a bear and that was not his cave and that he attacked you and that the scratches on your back are from that?” “Because of this,” said Gramcracker, and he unsheathed his claws. They were covered in blood. “OK,” said Mello. (That’s Marshmellow’s nickname) 
    Then she went to find Coco. (That’s Chocolate’s nickname) She found Coco in their den getting ready to swim. “Do you want to go swimming?” Coco asked.

“Sure,” she said. “I’ll go find Gram.” (That’s Gramcracker’s nickname) She found him and asked him if he wanted to swim, and he said yes! So, they went out to swim.    They swam for two hours and when it was time to get out, Coco spotted a butterfly and hopped after it. Then she pounced and didn’t come down! “Um Mello,” Coco yelled. “I not come down!” “What is happening?” said Mello. "I not come down!" Coco yelled again. “Well then get down!” Mello yelled back. "I can't!" Coco screamed. Gram saw what was happening. “Coco, you're flying!” he said. “I am?” said Coco. Then she flew around and came down, and she was dry! Then she puffed into a puffball. Coco went back into the lake and did the same thing over and over and over until Mello said, “Just lick yourself for goodness sake."

“Oh” she said. She licked herself and it worked! 

    Just then Smore came out of the cat cave and saw Gram, Mello and Coco all looking stunned. “What’s going on?” asked Smore. “Coco can fly!” Gram said happily. “Come into the cat cave,” said Smore. So, they went in. As soon as they got in, Mello said, “Why do they get powers and I don’t?!” “Maybe it's just not time,” said Smore trying to calm Mello down, but it didn’t work; she just kept yelling.  

Chapter 4

Mello’s Surprise

    Gram was in the den when he heard yowling coming from outside. He jumped up and ran out of the cave. What he saw was terrifying. Five cats, streaked with mud, had Mello and Coco tied up! He ran at the nearest cat and slashed his claws across the cat's face. It yowled in pain. He bit down on the cat’s scruff and flung the cat sailing into the air. Then he heard a twittering from behind him. He spun around, and in Mello’s place, was a pure white bird. The bird flew away. Then a weight landed on his back. He rolled over on his back and the cat fell off. “Who’s next?” Gram snarled. The cats ran away.

    “What’s happening?” said a voice from behind them. “Foxie!” said Gram, recognizing his dad. But Foxie wasn’t listening; he just walked past him and stared at the vines that bound Coco. Then something green came out of his eyes, and the vines broke apart. “What was that?” Gram asked in astonishment. But Foxie ignored him again and said, “Where’s Mello?” “I don’t know,” answered Coco. “All I saw was a white bird and it flew to the cat cave.” “I did see a white bird on top of the cat cave,” said Foxie. “Let's go see.”

    So, they ran to the cat cave. Sure enough, there was a white bird on top of it. Foxie crouched and sprang up on top of the cat cave and nudged the bird off the cat cave. Coco caught it on her back, then carried it into the cat cave. She set it down in the den.

     The moment she set it down, it started flapping its wings energetically. “What?” Coco said to the bird. Gram could not see. “Let me see,” he said, as he pushed past Coco. “OK, you big fur ball!” she said exasperatedly. Gram got a look at it, then Coco stuck her nose close to the bird and sniffed. “Smells like her,” she said. Gram pushed past Coco again and stuck his nose close to the bird. It nipped him on the nose, “Ouch!” he said as he drew back. “But smells like her.” “Mello are you there?” said Foxie.

Chapter 5

The Forbidden Room

    The bird blinked at him, then vanished in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, there was Mello! “What’s happening?” said Smore as she came into the den. “Well…” began Foxie. “Mello and Coco were attacked by five cats and tied up. Then Gram attacked one…” “Gram attacked a cat!?” Smore interrupted. “Yes,” answered Foxie. “And then Mello turned into a bird and flew onto the cat cave…” “So that’s what the white bird on top of the cat cave was,” Smore interrupted again. “Then we ran to the cat cave, and I pushed her off and Coco caught her and took her inside. Then she turned into     Mello," finished Foxie.

    “Mello, do you know what that means?” Smore asked Mello. “No,” answered Mello. “It means you have superpowers!” said Coco and Gram together. Then a giant smile came on Mello’s face. “Yay!” she said excitedly. Foxie and Smore exchanged a look then nodded “We have something to show you three,” Smore said. “What is it!?” all three said at the same time. “Come with us,” said Smore. 

    So, they followed their parents to the back of the cat cave where there was a room that they were not allowed to go into. Smore and Foxie went right in, but they stopped at the entrance. Smore turned around and said, “Its OK, you can come in.” So, they went in. Inside, it was dark. Strange shapes leaned against other strange shapes; there were pedestals with sticks on them.

“What are these things?” Coco asked, pointing at one of the sticks. “Wands,” said Foxie, “See the blank spots on the pedestals? They fill with your name when you hold the wand with your power.” “See,” said Smore, taking three wands down and giving all of them a plain brown wand. The moment Smore gave them their wands, the blank spot on the pedestal filled with their name and something began to carve into the wand. For Mello it was a marshmallow, for Gram it was a graham cracker and for her it was a piece of chocolate. “Wow!” she said, amazed, “They're amazing!” “What are those other ones for?” Mello asked, pointing at the other wands.“We don’t know,” said Foxie. “Ok,” said Mello. So they went back to their den and went to sleep.

Chapter 6

Foxie Tells a Story
    Mello woke up and saw that Coco was awake and that Gram was still sleeping. So she said, “Wake up, you big fur ball,” but Gram snored on. So, she yelled, “Wake up!” Gram opened one eye. “Eh?” he said. “I said wake up!” Mello bellowed. “OK, OK, I’m up!” he said indignantly. They all went out and saw Foxie looking worried. “What?” she asked. “Nothing,” he said back. “Is it about me and Coco getting attacked yesterday?” she asked. “Maybe,” he said. “Just tell us,” said Coco and Gram, as they came up behind her. “OK, I’ll tell you,” said Foxie taking them into their den. “When I lived in the city…” he began. “You lived in the city!" Mello interrupted.

“Yes. I had to travel through the mountains, and I met a group of cats that lived behind a waterfall, and they were called The Tribe of Running Water, and they helped me. So I’m wondering why they attacked you,” he finished. “So, you know the cats that attacked us?” Mello asked. “Not the exact ones, but yes, kind of,” he answered. “Wow,” said Coco. “I want to visit them!” said Gram. “Sorry, we can’t,” said Foxie. “Aww, man,” said Gram, and he hung his head and started to walk out of the den when Foxie said, “We could go stargazing.” “Yes!” they all said together. “OK, that’s what we’ll do,” said Foxie.

Chapter 7

Stargazing

    That night, Gram and his family got ready to stargaze. Smore carried the snacks, and everyone else carried moss to sit on so it was comfortable. When they got there, they set the moss down and spread it out into little patches. Then they all sat down on the moss. Then Gram said, “How about we see who can find the first star? And whoever does gets to make a wish.” “OK,” said Coco. They all looked up at the stars, then Coco said, “I found it!” “Aww,” said Gram and Mello at the same time. “What do you wish?” Gram asked her. “Hmmm… I wish we would all live happily ever after!” Coco answered him. “Awe that was sweet Coco,” said Smore.

“Yes, it was,” said Foxie, and he touched his muzzle to Coco’s. “Look more stars!” said Mello pointing up at the stars. So they all looked up, and sure enough, stars glittered there. Then Gram said, “Can we have snacks now? I’m bored.” “Sure,” said Smore, looking amused. So, Gram walked over to the snacks, grabbed one and walked back and began munching. When they were done stargazing, they packed up and went back to the cat cave. Then he went to the den and fell asleep almost instantly.

Chapter 8

Coco’s Dream

    After stargazing, Foxie helped Coco into bed. Then she asked him if he could sing her favorite song, and he said, “Yes.” Then he began to sing.

“Dad, can you please sing it again?” she asked, once he was done. “OK,” he said. So, he sang it again. When he was done he said, “Good night, I love you.” “I love you too, Daddy,” she said back. Then she let sleep pull her down into dream land. 

    She opened her eyes and saw that she was in a forest dream. She was running but not away from anything. Then she skidded to a stop. She was right on the edge of a stone hollow. She looked down.

    Two cats sat in the middle of the hollow. They looked kind of like Foxie. They must be his parents, she thought. She jumped down to hear what they were talking about. She crept forward and listened as hard as she could. “What should we do?” Foxie’s mom asked. “I don’t know, the humans are taking all of our kits,” said Foxie’s dad. “I want to keep Foxie safe!” said Foxie’s mom. “I have an idea,” said Foxie’s dad. “What is it?!” Foxie’s mom asked urgently. “We could run away to this hollow and raise him here and when he's old enough we can send him away to the mountains and that’s where he’ll live,” said Foxie’s dad. “That might work,” said Foxie’s mom. “Then that’s what we’ll do,” said Foxie’s dad.

    Then the dream changed. She was still in the hollow, but this time a baby Foxie chased after a butterfly, just like she had when she found out that she could fly. But this time he didn’t fly. He caught the butterfly then ran to his mother and showed her the dead butterfly. She looked at him proudly, then he ran off again. And a worried look came across his mother’s face. Coco woke up and jumped out of bed. That dream meant something!

Chapter 9

Mello and the Monster Path

    Mello and Gram were eating breakfast when Coco came out of the den looking worried. “What is it?” Gram asked. “What’s the matter, Coco?” asked their mom. “Nothing,” said Coco with a shrug. But Mello knew something had made Coco worried.               Mello decided that she would go explore a part of the mountains that she had never seen before, but not too far from the cat cave. She set out. After about ten minutes, she got thirsty. Then she heard the river, so she followed the sound and came to the river. She crouched and drank some. Then she heard a growl from behind her. Quickly, she spun around, a mountain lion stood there!

    She jumped across the river and ran as fast as she could, the mountain lion always just a tail length behind her. Then she skidded to a stop on the edge of something hard and black. Then something roared past, something shiny with huge black paws. Then she heard the mountain lion roar and jump for her, but she was too quick. She dodged and ran all the way back to the lake and plunged in. She heard the mountain lion run past. She got out of the lake and ran into the cat cave, relieved that she had made it home safely.

Chapter 10

The Cave of Clear Water

    Coco and Gram were playing a game when Mello ran into the cat cave dripping wet. “What happened to exploring?” Gram asked, hiding a smile. “I…was exploring…then a mountain lion…chased me…to…something hard and…black and a monster…was running on it…then I… ran…to the lake…and here I am,” Mello said, breathlessly. “Take a deep breath, it’ll help,” Smore said soothingly. “I want to go exploring!” Gram whined. “You can go, but give your sister a break,” said Smore, gently running her tail across Mello’s back. 

    So, they waited until Mello was ready, then they set out. After a few minutes they heard the river. 

They followed the sound until they reached the bank of the river. The water was crystal clear. “Let’s follow it and see what we find,” said Coco. “Sure,” Gram said. So, they followed the river to a cave. “Should we go inside?” asked Gram. “I think it’s safe,” Coco answered. So, they cautiously stepped into the cave. Inside, it was safe. The river went through the cave. As they walked to the river, their paws slid into the paw-prints of cats who had once walked there. “What is this place?” Gram asked. “I think it’s the cave Mom tells us about, remember the ones about Thunderstorm?” Mello answered him. (Thunderstorm was an old cat that their mom told them about sometimes.) “Maybe,” said Coco. “What’s this?” said Gram, pointing at a corner of the cave covered in vines. “I don’t know,” Mello answered. 

“Well then, let’s find out,” said Coco. And then she stuck her head into the tangle of vines. Inside, the ground was not stone; it was sand. There was a crack in the wall. She stuck her paw back in the crack and felt something. She pulled it out. It was a rock, but it was shaped weird. It was shaped like half a circle. “Go wash it off in the river,” Mello said to her. “OK,” she answered. So, she went to the river to clean it off.

Chapter 11

The Paw in The Wall

    Once Coco was done cleaning off the piece, Mello said, “So, what does this mean?” “I don’t know,” Coco answered, “But I have a guess.” “What is it?” Mello asked her. “Well,” Coco began, “do you remember the last story about Thunderstorm?” “No,” Mello said. “It was about how he said that he was going to make something, and then split it in half and hide the two pieces in separate caves,” Coco finished. “So why did he make the pieces?” Mello asked. “I don’t know, but it was for something important,” Coco answered. “Is there anything else back in the crack?” Mello asked. “Let me check,” Coco said. She stuck her paw back in the crack.

“I think I found something!” she said, her voice muffled by the vines. “So get it!” Mello said back. Then, Coco popped back out with something in her paw. “What is it?” Mello asked. “I think it’s a map,” Coco answered. “So unwrap it!” Mello yelled impatiently. “OK!” said Coco indignantly. 

    So, Mello watched as Coco carefully untied the red string that tied the map together and unraveled it. The map had a picture of the cave they were in, then a line from that to a picture of what looked like a waterfall with a cave behind it, then a line from that to another cave. “The map says, 'Once you have the first piece, travel to the Tribe of Running Water. Go a short way further, then you have the second piece, after which you must travel back to the Cave of Clear Water. There you will know what to do.'” Coco read.

     “Ummm, but we don’t know what to do,” Mello said confused. “Well then, we should find out what to do,” Coco said. Gram had been looking at the wall for a very long time. “What’s this?” he said, pointing at the wall. “What’s what?” Coco asked him. “It looks like a paw,” he answered her, “But I think it’s got something to do with the piece.”

Chapter 12

Telling Smore and Foxie

    Gram looked more closely at the paw in the wall and saw something that looked like an eye. “Look at this; what is it?” he asked Coco. “I don’t know,” she said. “Coco, can you wash the wall off right there?” Mello asked. “Sure,” she answered. So, she went to the river and dunked her paw into the water, then she washed the wall off right where Mello had said. Gram watched as Coco cleaned off the wall. When she was done, he saw a cat who had one front paw on a rock. The paw that he had first seen was on the cat’s back. A little while later he said, “I think we should go back to the cat cave.” So here they were, walking back to the cat cave.

    The moment they stepped inside, Smore rushed over and said, “Are you OK?! Are you hurt?! Oh, thank goodness you came back!” “We’re OK mom!” Gram said, exasperatedly, trying to pull away from her hug. But she pulled him back in. “We have something to tell you,” said Mello, nervously. “What is it, my darling?” said Smore. “We found the Cave of Clear Water,” said Mello. “WHAT?!”  

Chapter 13

The Mission

    Coco stepped back from her mom. “H-how! How did you find the Cave of Clear Water?!” Smore asked. “Well,” Coco began, “you know we were exploring, so when we were exploring, we found the cave. So, we went in. Inside we found the piece that Thunderstorm made. Then we found a paw in the wall. Then we came home.” "OK, then you should go find the second piece,” said Smore. “Go where?” said a voice from behind them. The cat who had spoken was Foxie. “To go find the second piece that Thunderstorm made,” said Smore. “You found the first piece! Then you should go,” said Foxie. “So, we have permission; now, what are we going to bring?” Mello asked.

“Well, you don’t need food, but you do need herbs, just in case you get sick or hurt or anything,” said Smore. “And we’ll need something to carry the piece and the map in,” said Mello. “I have an animal skin that you could use as a sack,” said Foxie. “OK, but where do we get herbs? And why don’t we need food?” Coco asked. “Well, you can get herbs from me. And the reason you don’t need food is because you can catch your own food,” said Smore. “See, the herbs are over there,” she said, pointing to a pile of what looked like green mush, but they were not green mush; they were bundles of herbs wrapped in leaves. 

    Once they had everything, Foxie and Smore said their goodbyes, then they set out on their long journey. Coco looked back at their mom and dad in the doorway, waving goodbye. Then she turned back to the path in front of her and set off.

Chapter 14

Coco Climbs a Tree

    They had been walking for a long time when Gram said, “I think we should set up camp for the night; it’s getting late.” “OK,” said Mello, with a yawn. “I think this is a good spot,” Gram said, pointing at a hollow in the ground, “Coco, will you go climb that tree over there to find a good spot to hunt?” “OK,” she said, walking over to the tree that Gram had pointed at. “OK, you can do this Coco; remember what Foxie showed you,” she whispered to herself. She put her front paws on the tree and dug her claws in, then she hoisted her back paws up, and dug her back claws in.

    Then she began to climb, passing branch after branch after branch until she saw a branch that she could get above the canopy on. She hoisted herself onto the branch and pushed her head through the canopy. Once her head broke through the leaves, she saw the mountains with the sun setting behind them; she saw the cat cave; she saw Smore and Foxie sitting by the lake, probably catching dinner; she saw the rest of Big Tree Forest; then she spotted a good place to hunt. So, she climbed down, sad that she couldn’t look at the beautiful scene some more. “I found a good place to hunt,” she said. “Oh, goody I’m starving,” said Gram. “Ung, I’m too tired to hunt,” said Mello from beneath a bramble bush.

“OK, have fun sleeping you big fur-ball,” Gram said, hiding a smile. They set out on their small hunting party. She saw a mouse and crept forward and pounced; she bit down hard on the mouse's neck. The warm scent of mouse filled her nose, and she bit back the urge to eat the mouse right away. They returned with a rabbit, two mice and one squirrel. “Good catch today,” mumbled Mello. “Shanks,” said Coco with her mouth full.