her owl. Tinker Bell ducked down inside the basket, hiding.
âWelcome back,â the winter fairy said to the owl. âYou ready for the drop-off?â
The owl gave a nervous hoot.
âCome on,â the winter fairy teased. âYou did it yesterday. Youâll be fine.â
As Tinker Bell watched, the winter fairy flew ahead and spiraled down to a hilltop covered in snow. She realized that the owls were going to drop the baskets onto a long icy slide that would take them to a factory similar to the basket depot back in Tinkersâ Nook. Tink gulped. This was going to be a bumpy ride!
On the winter fairyâs signal, the owls swooped forward one by one and let go of their baskets. Tinker Bellâs basket lurched to one side as her owl got ready to release it. Tink was thrown against the edge, and she accidentally hit the snowflake release lever!
Instantly, the trapdoor at the bottom of her basket sprang open. Her satchel started to slide toward it. Quickly, Tinker Bell snatched it up. But the basket rocked to and fro. She started to roll toward the open trapdoor herself!
Tink grabbed the edge of the opening just before she would have fallen through, and with all her strength, pulled herself back up and closed the trapdoor. Whew!
But Tink wasnât out of trouble yet. Her owl had been thrown off balance by her tumbling. Startled, he accidentally released the basket too soon. It careened out of control.
A winter fairy below spotted the renegade basket. âLook out!â he cried.
Tinker Bellâs basket slid down the chute and smashed into a pile of bins already loaded with snowflakes. Frosty crystals flew everywhere! As her basket rolled to a stop, Tinker Bell remained perfectly still. The winter fairies were scampering to clean up the mess. Thankfully, no one had spotted her. Tink quickly started to gather all the things that had fallen out of her satchel. But waitâsomething was missing.
Tinker Bell peeked around the rim of her basket. The wing book was lying out in the open!
Just then, a large shadow passed overhead. A massive snowy owl whooshed by, and a powerful-looking fairy wearing a cape leapt down to the ground.
âLord Milori,â she heard the winter fairy in charge of the owls say. Tinker Bell gasped. That must be the Lord of Winter Fawn had told her about. The one who had made the rule that fairies couldnât cross the border. Now Tink really needed to stay hidden!
âAnd what happened here?â the lord asked in a deep but quiet voice.
âBit of a bumpy landing,â the winter fairy said, nodding to the young snowy owl. âItâs only his second drop-off.â
The owl gave the lord a sheepish grin.
âAs long as the basket made it,â Lord Milori said, his voice kind, âIâd say he did just fine.â He looked around at the work the fairies were doing. âThe snowflakes are looking quite beautiful.â
As the fairies were talking, Tinker Bell tried to reach the wing book with her foot. But it was too far away. She stretched just a little bit moreâ¦and accidentally knocked the book with her toe. It slid out of reach, and right into Lord Miloriâs boot!
âHmm,â Lord Milori said, picking up the book. âNow, that is odd.â
Tinker Bell smacked her hand against her head. This was a disaster!
Lord Milori studied the book carefully. After a long moment, he finally said, âIt must have been left in the basket by accident.â He handed the book to the winter fairy in charge. âReturn this to the Keeper.â
Tinker Bell breathed in sharply. The Keeper!
Lord Milori remained several minutes longer, admiring the work of the snowflake fairies. Then he mounted his owl and took off into the sky. Once he had left, the winter fairy picked up the book and headed out of the snowflake depot.
Tinker Bell watched him go. If he was off to see the Keeper, then there was only one thing to do. She was