The Cloud Castle

INSIDE THE MAZE

"Let's try to hurry!" Ariette said.
   Will looked thoughtfully at the maze.
   "What's your FAVORITE COLOR?" he asked the others.
"Mine is PINK!" Colette replied immediately.
   "I like GREEN, the color of nature," Nicky replied.

"I like ORANGE," said Paulina. 
"It's so bright and happy." Ariette smiled.
"I like silver, the color of the clouds."
"And I like BLUE," added Will.

"We can only choose ONE color to start," the fairy reminded them.
"Then I'll try!" Colette said. "PINK is my color. It won't let me down."
   She took a step forward. "PINK!" she cried.
   The floor and the walls of the maze immediately turned Colette's favorite shade of bright pink.

   "WOW! AMAZING!" she exclaimed. "I need to paint the walls of my room this color."
   The others followed, trusting in her. They walked down a short hallway, which turned to the right. They walked down another hallway, and turned to the left.
   "Are we turning in circles?" Colette wondered.

"Let's go a little farther," suggested Ariette.
The halls of the maze kept twisting and turning as they walked.
   Finally, Nicky called out, "I see the THEATER! Colette chose the right color!"
   "I knew that PINK would stay true for me," Colette said with a grin.
   "I think the reason you SUCCEEDED is that you were so certain," Will said.
   Tall columns marked the theater entrance, and another RAINBOW arched overhead.

Will PUSHED on the door, but it wouldn't budge. "We must hurry, before the Color Pixies find us," Ariette said anxiously. They all tried the door, but it would not open.
   "What do we do now?" Nicky asked.
   Will turned to Ariette. "Is there ANOTHER way in?"
   "This is the only door I know of?" the fairy replied. "But let me fly and check." 

Ariette flew off and returned quickly, out of breathe.
   "I think I found something!" she said.
   She led them around to the back of the theater. There was no door-- only a group of NUMBERS painted on the wall.
   "What could that be?" Colette wondered.
   "I think it's a kind of puzzle," said Paulina, stepping up to closely examine the numbers. "It's CONNECT THE DOTS!"

She placed her paw on the number 1 and TRACED a line between that and number 2. Immediately, the imaginary line turned PINK.
   "Keep going!" Nicky urged.
   Colette glanced over her shoulder. "Are the COLOR PIXIES close?" she asked.
   "They must be," said Will, worried. "The moths would have AWAKENED them all by now."

"But they must still pass through the MAZE," Ariette reminded him. "So we have a bit of a head start."
   Will nodded. "That's good news."
   As they talked, Paulina worked as FAST as she could to connect the numbers.
   "It's taking shape," Nicky commented.
   "Hurry, Paulina!" Colette urged.
   They heard a flutter of wings overhead and looked up. The RAINBOW MOTHS had made it through the maze!
  

"The Color Pixies can't be far behind," Ariette said.
   Just then, Paulina CONNCETED the number 99 to 100.
   "Done!" she announced with satisfaction.
   Everyone admired the finished pircture: it was image of beautiful fairy!
   Then they heard creaking hinges.

"There must be a hidden door in the wall, and solving the puzzle has opned it!" Will realized.
   The door swung open.
   "Quickly now!" Ariette said, and they all hurried inside the COLOR THEATER.