The Swamp Boggles (6 page)

D
eep in the Shadow Woods stood King Ug, the leader of the Ink Cap Goblins. His ivy crown rested wonkily on his dome-shaped head and his white flaky skin was covered with black blotches. He was talking to two squat figures in the shadows.

“Well? Do you think you can get one?” he demanded.

“Yessss,” one of the figures hissed, waving four of its eight legs. “We shall find a shadow gem, no matter what.”

“Those idiot Swamp Boggles said the same thing,” snorted King Ug. “They failed me. Numskulls!”

There was the sound of snapping jaws. “Ah, but we shall not fail you. We know how important it is that we shadow creatures all serve you, King Ug – you are the Keeper of the Key!”

King Ug smiled proudly. The key to the gate hung round his chest, and he reached up and touched it, feeling the empty space where a shadow gem needed to go. “How will you manage to get into the town unseen?” he demanded.

There was the sound of leg joints cracking. “We have many spiessss with many eyessss,” said one of the figures. A line of tiny spiders marched past on the ground. “They will search the humans' town and find a gem for us, and when they do we shall fetch it and bring it here. Nothing shall stop usss!”

“Excellent!” chortled King Ug. He adjusted his crown. “I can see it was extremely clever of me to call on the Spider Gnomes for help. When you succeed, the gem will be mine and I shall finally open the gate.” His small black eyes gleamed as he imagined the fun that millions of shadow creatures would have, wreaking havoc in the human world.

All he needed was one small gem…

Prove your worth for a chance to win AWESOME prizes! It's simple and fun!

Read the Sophie and the Shadow Woods series

Answer three questions about each book Pass a stage, collect a gem, enter for great prizes/freebies Pass SIX stages and get entered into the grand prize draw!

Stage Two

Answer these simple questions about
The Swamp Boggles
:

1. Where was the yellow gem hidden?
   
2. What did Sophie and Sam use to dry out the Swamp Boggles?
   
3. Who is Book Boy?
   

Got the answers? Go to: www.sophieandtheshadowwoods.com
and start your journey!

You can find Stage One in
The Goblin King and look out for
Stage Three in
The Spider Gnomes
, out in July.

Good Luck!