A Huckleberry Valentine

Chapter 3: Minty Hits the Scene

As they all started on their journey, they saw lots of trees with gumdrops growing on them. Huck couldn't help but pick a couple of gumdrops. They were just one of his favorite kinds of candy. Huck then picked a blue one and popped it into his mouth. "Mmmmm...blueberry! That's one of my favorites!"

Just then, they all heard a loud cackle. Snag screamed, and jumped into Huck's arms.

"Heavens to horror! What was that?!" he cried, his fur fanning out as he shook all over.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, we better watch out for Larissa, the Lady of Licorice," Cinnamon said a bit nervously. "She's a nasty one."

"She uses her magic spells everywhere she goes to try to prevent us from enjoying the Land of Sugary Sweets!" Coco added. "She wants to turn all the sugar into sour and bitter stuff, and who needs that?"

"Yuck!" Huck cried. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she's jealous of King Jolly! And of course, she is a witch!"

"A WITCH!?" Snag screamed. "Ohhhh noooo..."

"Snaggle, don't get your fur coat all in a twist," Hokey said. "As a wolf, I have dealt with my fair share of witches. This one should be no problem either!"

Snag started to calm down, and sighed with relief. "I'm thankful that you guys are gonna be here for me!"

"Of course we are, Snag!" Huck said. "Best friends always stick together!"

"Now come on," Coco cried. "We mustn't dilly dally! First stop, Peppermint Road!"

As everyone followed the path, they soon reached Peppermint Road, where everything was made of...well, peppermint!

"Golly, this place reminds me of candy canes!" Huck beamed. "I love candy canes, especially during Christmastime!"

"Ah yes, a jolly good time of year for such a sweet," Snag said.

"Actually, candy canes are peppermint sticks," Cinnamon said with a giggle.

Huck chuckled back. "Huhuhuhuh...I knew that!"

"And just look at this fluffy white snow!" Hokey beamed. He reached down and grabbed a handful. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is the stuff they put on my favorite powdered donuts!"

"Of course, the snow here is made of powdered sugar!" Coco replied.

Huck then picked up some snow as well. "And look at how puffy it is!" he said. Then he took the snow and made it into a ball. Then he snuck up on Hokey, silently giggling.

"Ummm, Hokey, you better be careful!" Snag cried.

"For what?" Hokey replied.

Huck threw the snowball at Hokey, which hit him right on his side. Huck covered his mouth, and tried his hardest not to laugh.

"Oooh, Huck, you little sneak!" Hokey snickered. He grabbed another ball of sugary snow and lobbed it toward the blue dog. "Think fast!"

The snowball hit Huck on his belly as he ceased his hushed laughter and yelped with surprise.

"You think you're so clever, huh, Hokey?" Huck chuckled and tossed a snowball back at Hokey, but the wolf ducked and it hit Snag in the face instead.

"Egad!" the lion exclaimed. "That's some cold sugar!"

"Whoopsy daisy!" Huck giggled. Of course, he wasn't giggling when Snag threw a snowball right back at him. He dodged and it hit Cinnamon in the face instead!

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" he cried. Everyone else laughed loudly at how funny he looked. Cinnamon brushed the sugar snow from his face and giggled. "Well, if everyone wants to play it that way..." he picked up a small amount of snow and formed it into a ball. "SNOWBALL FIGHT!" he shouted.