Read Online Ozette's Destiny by Judy Pierce - Free Book Online

this. Not good at all,” he chattered nervously. “I was going to call out to him, but some weird feeling made me keep my beak clamped shut.”
    This was even more worrisome. Ozette knew this was a major accomplishment for a magpie since they often talked before they thought.
    McDougal ruffled his feathers and tilted his head.
    “Lead the way and show us where you saw him,” Ozette said.
    The forlorn band headed out once again, following the flight path of the black bird.
    McDougal led them to the willow grove. Ozette sniffed the calm spring air and wrinkled her nose. What was that awful smell?
    Suddenly, Ariel called out from underneath a large weeping willow tree. “Here’s the bag of stones! Oliver was here!”
    McDougal flew over the area while the others searched the ground relentlessly. A confused Cassady was running in circles, still carrying Oliver’s boxers but no longer able to smell Oliver’s scent due to the overpowering stench.
    Ozette was heartsick. “I may never see Oliver again. Never taste his baking, see his beautiful smile, or go rafting with him,” Ozette sobbed, her tears falling onto Ariel’s wings.
    Ozette sniffed again. The strange smell seemed stronger now. Phew!
    “What is THAT?” she cried out, standing on her tiptoes and pointing a paw at a flock of blue jays slowly descending to the ground.
    She squinted. They were carrying something. As the flock flew lower, the acrid smell grew. Ozette pinched her nose shut as her eyes grew wide in disbelief! The blue jays had tiny clothespins on their beaks to block the smell! And what was that they were carrying?
    She gasped. Whatever it was, it was wearing a pair of blue-and-white-striped boxer shorts. She strained to get a closer look. As the birds drifted to the ground, the smell intensified. The circle of friends drew back, but Ozette stepped closer for a better look. Her furry jaw dropped open in disbelief as the blue jays gently lowered a very dirty, disheveled and familiar-looking elf to the ground.
    “Oliver!” Ozette cried.
    “Ozette!” Oliver called, holding his arms out for a hug.
    Ozette backed up as a wave of the horrible smell wafted closer to her. “You stay right there, Oliver. You smell like a cross between an underground sewer and a rotting swamp,” Ozette said, wrinkling her nose. “With maybe some wet groundhog mixed in.”
    Oliver looked hurt, so Ozette added, “We’ll move upwind and you can tell us what happened. We’ve been so worried!”
    “Well, I was walking home from Sydney’s when I saw something unusual dart across the road. And you know how adventurous I am,” he said, proudly sticking out his elfin chest. “I just had to find out what it was.”
    The no-nonsense Ariel rolled her eyes. “Foolhardy is more like it,” she muttered.
    “It was furry and white,” Oliver said, ignoring Ariel. “I thought it might be another white squirrel, and I wanted to surprise you with a new friend for the Spring Fling. I was running after it when I fell down into a hole,” Oliver said, shuddering.
    Ozette clicked her tongue in sympathy.
    “And that’s how I found out it wasn’t a cute white squirrel,” Oliver continued. “It was an albino skunk and I had fallen smack down into its lair! He ran out the other side, but not before giving me a good spray in return for his troubles. My tunic was drenched, so I threw it away. By the way, if you didn’t know this fact, albino skunk spray smells about a hundred times worse than regular skunk spray.”
    Ozette nodded in agreement and waved her paw in front of her face to dissipate the odor.
    “Then I took a wrong turn in its tunnel and got stuck. I yelled for hours, but no one came. Except the skunk, to give me one final spray,” Oliver said, wiping a tear from his eye with the back of a grimy hand and sniffing miserably.
    “Tell us how you escaped,” Ariel said, impatiently. She was happy Oliver was back, but miffed about the worry he had caused. And besides, she