Treasure Trove (9781743583548) Read Online Free
quite far away.
She stopped the train.
She pushed some buttons and pulled some levers. The train started rolling forwards now.
Come on, come on!
They were picking up speed.
âHold onto your buttons, Buddy,â Lola cried. âWeâre going through!â
Buddy didnât answer. He was too busy shaking.
His laces were shaking .
His toggle was shaking .
And his zipper was making a ting, ting, ting sound, because that was shaking too!
There wasnât much time, but Lola reached over and put her arm around Buddy. She hugged him close.
The train was heading straight for the solid wall of rock.
Faster and faster â¦
Closer and closer â¦
No time to change her mind â¦
âHold on, Buddy!â she called.
CRASH!
The train screeched to a stop.
Lola took a deep breath.
Phew!
But then she had three terrible thoughts, all in a row.
One: What if the toy box is broken and we canât get home?
Two: What if we hurt the trapped toy when we crashed?
Three: What if the knocking sound wasnât a trapped toy at all?
Lola slowly opened her eyes.
There was a great big hole in the rock wall. They had smashed all the way through! The train looked fine, if a little scratched.
And luckily, she couldnât see any smashed toys anywhere.
âWe did it! We did it, Buddy!â she cried.
It was much lighter on this side. Lamps were glowing brightly, and the walls around them were sparkling .
Buddy was staring around at everything in silence. Lola had to give him a shake.
âWhatâs the matter, Buddy?â she said.
âLola,â he said in wonder, âIâve heard about this place. But I never thought I would see it for myself!â
He jumped down from the train and walked towards one of the sparkling walls. Lola followed.
When they were close enough to touch the wall, she gasped.
âAre these what I think they are?â she asked.
Buddy nodded.
The wall was covered, from top to bottom and from side to side, with a million beautiful, sparkling buttons .
Lola knew that buttons were really important to the toys in the Kingdom. And not just for keeping their pants up!
âWow!â she said, admiring the walls. âIs this where all the Kingdomâs buttons come from?â
Buddyâs hat bounced up and down as he nodded.
âWeâre in the Button Mines!â he cried.
Buttons were used for many different things in the Kingdom.
Some were lights. Some flashed when that toy was needed. And some buttons were very valuable indeed.
It was a real treasure trove!
If the Plastic Prince got hold of all these buttons, thought Lola, he would be a very rich toy.
Then she remembered the bear and boot prints from the battle in the tunnel.
The Plastic Prince was probably trying to rob the Button Mines , she realised. But where was everyone now?
Lola looked down. There were more bear and boot prints here, all going the same way. Something must have made them run away , thought Lola.
She looked at the rocks on the ground, and put two and two together.
âI think the Plastic Prince was robbing the Button Mines,â said Lola. âThe miners probably tried to stop his army. But then the wall must have fallen in, and scared everyone off!â
Just then, Lola heard a humming noise, followed by a click . And then that same sound.
Knock, knock, knock!
Lola spun around. In the corner of the mine was a large, shiny plastic toy. It was painted to look like a soldier, and held a broken sword in one hand.
On the middle of its chest was the letter N , for Nevercalm.
It was an Almost Toy!
Lola stood, frozen. She felt Buddy shuffle behind her. She was scared.
The humming noise started again. The Almost Toy lifted its broken sword up high. Lola and Buddy stepped back. Then there was a click , and the Almost Toy took a wobbly step towards them.
Lola and Buddy backed away again, but they had reached the wall.
They couldnât go any further. Lola
She stopped the train.
She pushed some buttons and pulled some levers. The train started rolling forwards now.
Come on, come on!
They were picking up speed.
âHold onto your buttons, Buddy,â Lola cried. âWeâre going through!â
Buddy didnât answer. He was too busy shaking.
His laces were shaking .
His toggle was shaking .
And his zipper was making a ting, ting, ting sound, because that was shaking too!
There wasnât much time, but Lola reached over and put her arm around Buddy. She hugged him close.
The train was heading straight for the solid wall of rock.
Faster and faster â¦
Closer and closer â¦
No time to change her mind â¦
âHold on, Buddy!â she called.
CRASH!
The train screeched to a stop.
Lola took a deep breath.
Phew!
But then she had three terrible thoughts, all in a row.
One: What if the toy box is broken and we canât get home?
Two: What if we hurt the trapped toy when we crashed?
Three: What if the knocking sound wasnât a trapped toy at all?
Lola slowly opened her eyes.
There was a great big hole in the rock wall. They had smashed all the way through! The train looked fine, if a little scratched.
And luckily, she couldnât see any smashed toys anywhere.
âWe did it! We did it, Buddy!â she cried.
It was much lighter on this side. Lamps were glowing brightly, and the walls around them were sparkling .
Buddy was staring around at everything in silence. Lola had to give him a shake.
âWhatâs the matter, Buddy?â she said.
âLola,â he said in wonder, âIâve heard about this place. But I never thought I would see it for myself!â
He jumped down from the train and walked towards one of the sparkling walls. Lola followed.
When they were close enough to touch the wall, she gasped.
âAre these what I think they are?â she asked.
Buddy nodded.
The wall was covered, from top to bottom and from side to side, with a million beautiful, sparkling buttons .
Lola knew that buttons were really important to the toys in the Kingdom. And not just for keeping their pants up!
âWow!â she said, admiring the walls. âIs this where all the Kingdomâs buttons come from?â
Buddyâs hat bounced up and down as he nodded.
âWeâre in the Button Mines!â he cried.
Buttons were used for many different things in the Kingdom.
Some were lights. Some flashed when that toy was needed. And some buttons were very valuable indeed.
It was a real treasure trove!
If the Plastic Prince got hold of all these buttons, thought Lola, he would be a very rich toy.
Then she remembered the bear and boot prints from the battle in the tunnel.
The Plastic Prince was probably trying to rob the Button Mines , she realised. But where was everyone now?
Lola looked down. There were more bear and boot prints here, all going the same way. Something must have made them run away , thought Lola.
She looked at the rocks on the ground, and put two and two together.
âI think the Plastic Prince was robbing the Button Mines,â said Lola. âThe miners probably tried to stop his army. But then the wall must have fallen in, and scared everyone off!â
Just then, Lola heard a humming noise, followed by a click . And then that same sound.
Knock, knock, knock!
Lola spun around. In the corner of the mine was a large, shiny plastic toy. It was painted to look like a soldier, and held a broken sword in one hand.
On the middle of its chest was the letter N , for Nevercalm.
It was an Almost Toy!
Lola stood, frozen. She felt Buddy shuffle behind her. She was scared.
The humming noise started again. The Almost Toy lifted its broken sword up high. Lola and Buddy stepped back. Then there was a click , and the Almost Toy took a wobbly step towards them.
Lola and Buddy backed away again, but they had reached the wall.
They couldnât go any further. Lola
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