Hopper Croakington II and the Princely Present Read online

  “Oh, poor Daring!” his groupies cried as he stepped into the hall.

  “Fear not, ladies. My face will return to normal in a few days. Until then, we shall endure this hardship together.” And off he strode.

  Hardship? Hopper shook his head. He currently had a pimple on his chin, but no one was saying, “Oh, poor Hopper!”

  As he dressed in his shorts, vest, velvet blazer, and loafers, Hopper wondered if there was still time to run into the Village of Book End and buy something for Briar. The signed photo of Daring lay on the nightstand. Surely he could do better than that.

  Zzzzt.

  The dragonfly landed on Hopper’s sleeve. “There you are,” he said with a smile. “I’m so glad to see you.” The dragonfly wiggled its rump. Was it happy to see Hopper, too? “Remember how I said I needed a present for Briar? Would you help me?” The dragonfly nodded. It climbed up his sleeve and perched on Hopper’s shoulder.

  As quickly as he could, Hopper made his way out of the dormitory.

  Hopper always sat at the same table in the Castleteria. Sparrow was already seated, chowing down on a platter of thronecakes and maple syrup. Hopper grabbed a muffin and a banana and slid onto the bench next to him.

  The princesses were seated together, as usual. A colorful bouquet of balloons floated over Briar’s head. She was dozing, facedown, on the table. Hopper nervously tapped his feet. Would he be able to pull this off?

  “Dude, there’s a bug on your shoulder,” Sparrow said.

  “I know. It’s been hanging out with me.”

  “You mean, like a pet?”

  “I guess so.” He lowered his voice. “Anyway, it’s my birthday present for Briar.”

  “You’re going to give that to her?” Sparrow nearly choked on a bite of thronecake. “You can’t be serious? Briar thinks frogs are gross. And you’re going to give her a creepy-crawly insect? That’s even worse.”

  “But it’s not an ordinary insect.” Hopper looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then he tore a small corner from his paper napkin. He held it up to the dragonfly. “Fire,” Hopper said. The dragonfly opened its mouth, and the paper burst into flames. A tiny pile of ashes landed on the table.

  “Whoa!” Sparrow said. “Hexcellent! But what if it sets her hair on fire? Or what if it melts her crownglasses? She loves those things. I’ve never seen her without them.”

  Hopper was about to explain, when the giant mirror screen lit up. Headmaster Grimm’s face appeared. Briar woke up, and like everyone else, turned to watch the morning announcements. “Good morning, Ever After High students. I have three important announcements. Firstly, today’s forecast calls for a shower of rainbows, so if you find any pots of gold, please leave them for the leprechauns. Secondly, since many of you are at boarding school for the very first time, there will be a special lecture tonight in the Charmitorium on how to do your own laundry. And thirdly, let us wish an Ever After High happy birthday to Briar Beauty.”

  The Castleteria filled with applause. Ginger Breadhouse walked out of the kitchen, carrying a very tall cake. “One layer for each year of Briar’s life,” she announced as she set it on the table in front of Briar. Then she pressed birthday candles into the top. “Time to light the candles.” She pulled a match and a flint from her apron pocket.

  Hopper darted to his feet. This was it, the moment to strike!

  “Wait!” he called. Everyone turned to look at him, including Briar. “I h-h-ha-” Don’t blush. Don’t blush. “I have a present for you.”

  Then he whispered to the dragonfly, “Go on.” The dragonfly flew to the cake and, one by one, lit each candle with tiny fiery breaths. Everyone applauded again. Then a flurry of activity arose as the princesses whipped out their presents and crowded around Briar, blocking her from view.

  “Open mine! Open mine!”

  Had she noticed his gift? Hopper couldn’t be sure. With a sigh, he sank to the bench.

  “You tried,” Sparrow said. They watched as wrapping paper and ribbons piled onto the floor of the princess table.

  The dragonfly returned to Hopper’s shoulder. “Well, Briar may not care, but at least you have the coolest pet at Ever After High,” Sparrow said, trying to help Hopper feel better.

  Hopper hadn’t considered this. “Do I really have a pet?” He smiled. As he carefully patted the dragonfly’s head, it nodded its head. “Well, then, I’d better give you a name.”

  “How about Dude?” Sparrow suggested. “That’s a good name.”

  “Do you like Dude?” Hopper asked the little creature. It shook its head. “Hmmm. It’s part dragon, so maybe I try a popular dragon name.” Sparrow began to list all the dragon names he could think of. “Death-Horn. Firetongue. Night-Terror.” The bug continued to shake its head.

  “What about Drake?”

  Startled, Hopper looked up into Briar’s brown eyes. His heart nearly stopped beating.

  “If you’re looking for a dragon name, I’ve always liked Drake,” she told him. The dragonfly began to hop up and down, nodding its head.

  “Hey, looks like the little dude really likes that name,” Sparrow said. “Drake the dragonfly. That’s got a nice ring to it.”

  Hopper wanted to tell Briar that he also liked the name, but the words got stuck in his throat.

  “Thank you,” she said to him. “Sending Drake to light my birthday candles was a really spelltacular present.”

  She was thanking him?

  “Everyone always gives me the same stuff.” She held out a handful of gift cards. “But your present meant something. It was different and super-thoughtful.”

  “You’re—you’re—” He gulped. “You’re welcome.”

  Poof!

  As he landed on the table, on four suction-cup feet, Briar smiled at him, then went back to the princess table.

  And for Hopper Croakington II, Briar’s smile was a spelltacular present, too.

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  About the Author

  Suzanne Selfors feels like a Royal on some days and a Rebel on others. She’s written many books for kids, including the Smells Like Dog series and the Imaginary Veterinary series.

  She has two charming children and lives in a magical island kingdom, where she hopes it is her destiny to write stories forever after.

  Look for other digital original stories from Ever After High!

  Don’t miss all the Ever After High novels!

  Books by Suzanne Selfors:

  Next Top Villain

  Kiss and Spell

  A Semi-Charming Kind of Life (coming soon!)

  Books by Shannon Hale:

  The Storybook of Legends

  The Unfairest of Them All

  A Wonderlandiful World

  Once Upon a Time: A Story Collection

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Begin Reading

  About the Author

  Look for other digital original stories from Ever After High!

  Copyright

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2015 Mattel, Inc.

  Cover © 2015 Mattel, Inc.

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

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  First ebook edition: May 2015

  ISBN 978-0-316-28297-0

  E3