Ozette's Destiny Read Online Free

daze.
    Maxwell snorted and stomped his giant feet, ready to take to the air. As Ozette headed for the door, DZ raced back into the hall with something in her mouth. She dropped it at Ozette’s feet.
    “I wanted to give you something of mine. Something to remember me by,” she said.
    Ozette looked down and gasped. It was a beautiful gold tiara embellished with diamonds, emeralds and rubies. At the peak was a small flower inset with diamonds.
    Ozette picked it up with her paw. “Are these real?” she asked.
    “Of course they’re real,” DZ said indignantly. “My queen wouldn’t give me fakes. But I want you to have it, Ozette. If you’re going to be the caretaker of Farlandia, you need a crown like a real queen.”
    Ozette started to protest, but DZ gave her the most plaintive look, so she let the dog set it on her head.
    “Besides, Ozette, I got it when I was a pup. It fits you much better than it fits me now that I’ve grown,” the dog said.
    They hugged tightly, and Ozette slipped out the door and onto Maxwell’s back. He flapped his enormous wings, and they were quickly airborne.
    Ozette held onto her tiara as Maxwell soared toward the setting sun, the sky laced with violet, salmon and gold. The feeling of awe and freedom was almost overwhelming, and Ozette found herself envying winged creatures. All too soon, Maxwell landed by her tree. She slid off of the unicorn’s back onto the ground.
    Using his teeth, Maxwell retrieved two intricately woven baskets that had been tied across his flanks.
    “These are from the cook. The green one contains nuts for you and your squirrel buddies, and the brown one contains treats for your other friends. Whenever I fly this way again, I’ll bring you more. You made quite a hit, Queen Ozette,” he said, bowing.
    Ozette’s head whipped around, and she snorted. “Queen Ozette! What nonsense is that?”
    “Well, you have a tiara fit for a queen, and the cook told me Queen Beatrix has deeded Farlandia to itself and appointed you as caretaker. That sounds like the job of a queen to me,” he chuckled over his shoulder as he took to the sky.
    Ozette shook her head dismissively, stashed the baskets in a bush near her tree and clambered up to her nest. She took off her tiara, hid it in a corner of her nest and went to sleep.
     
     

 
    Ozette awoke as the sun peeked over the horizon, the sky a brilliant canvas of blues streaked with salmons, reds and golds. She loved the early morning hours, when the forest was dew-kissed,and the day held unlimited possibilities.
    She sat up, licked her paws, pulled her tail between her legs and began preening herself. When she was satisfied that she looked presentable, she hurried down her maple tree to search for breakfast. Remembering the baskets of goodies from the palace cook, she retrieved the nut-filled basket from the bushes where she had stashed it the night before.
    Ozette feasted on the delicious nuts. Some she recognized – walnuts, hazelnuts, hickory nuts and pecans – but others she had never seen. Moon nuts, star nuts, sun nuts, grizzle nuts and chuck nuts. All were tasty, and she decided to save some to plant and grow trees of her own.
    Ozette thought back to the lesson that her grandmother, The Divine Miss Piddlewinks, taught her as a youngster, called the gift of the acorn.
    “If you aren’t greedy,” her grandmother had said, “and if you plant more than you will eat during the season, there will always be trees and food for generations to come, for squirrels, birds and all kinds of creatures. So don’t be selfish,” her grandmother had told her, tapping Ozette’s nose with the tip of her sharp claw.
    Ozette thought about her grandmother and her life before coming to Farlandia. For generations, Ozette’s relatives had lived in a distant part of Earth World. From stories her grandmother related, the forests had originally been much like the ones in Farlandia, filled with animals, old-growth trees, clear rivers and