Magical Sisters Family Vacation

Hi,

Friends.

Welcome back.

I'm so glad you came back to hear another story about the Magical Sisters.

I can't wait to see what they get into tonight.

So get all cozy in your bed.

Get really,

Really comfy.

Now slowly begin to close your eyes.

And let's begin.

Hurry,

Shouted Ella to her little sister Valerie.

I need to get home and get the car ready.

Dad needs me.

I'm coming,

Hollered Valerie as she ran down the steps at school,

Speeding over to catch up with her big sister.

Once together,

The girls sped things up and in record time made it back to their house.

Ella headed straight for the garage where the family car sat.

It was a normal white Subaru car with traditional tires and a luggage rack.

No other bells and whistles.

Yet.

Ella set her backpack on the ground and took off her coat.

She rolled up her sleeves and with a flutter of excitement,

Pulled out her drawing pad and pencil.

Valerie walked into the garage and watched as her sister began to draw a car with helicopter like propellers.

Once she finished,

She yelled upstairs for Daddy to come down.

I'm all done,

Daddy.

Ella said as she handed her drawing to her dad.

Ah,

Well done,

My little artist.

I see you've made the Subaru a little larger in this picture today.

Giving yourself a little more leg room,

Huh?

Dad laughed as he squeezed Ella's shoulders.

Yes,

Valerie and I want to play games on the way and we need some more room.

I hope you don't mind.

I made the propellers just right,

The way you taught me.

I think it will work very well today,

She beamed.

I agree,

Dad said.

Let's pull the old Subie around back,

Give her some space and then we'll load up and head to Vermont.

Vermont!

Shouted the girls in unison.

They loved Vermont.

Everything was always beautiful,

Tons of wide open spaces and the magic mountains to explore.

It was the girls and the family's happy place.

While Dad drove the car around back,

Valerie and Ella ran to their rooms to grab their suitcases and check on Mama.

Mama was in her room zipping up a suitcase when they flew by her bedroom door.

Mama,

It's time to go,

Shouted Valerie in excitement.

Dad's moving the car around back.

Ella's already made the drawing and it's time to load up.

Alrighty,

Said Mama in a cheery voice.

I'm all ready.

Let's get this show on the road.

All three headed down the stairs and out the back door into the backyard.

In the middle of the yard sat the Subaru with Dad opening the trunk.

Let's go team,

Said Dad.

Everyone load your suitcase,

Get in and seatbelt up.

Everyone quickly did as instructed.

Once they were all inside the car and safely strapped in,

Daddy said looking at Ella,

All right,

Beautiful,

You know what to do.

Ella smiled as she held her Subaru drawing in her hands from earlier.

She took a slow inhale through her nose and then opened her mouth to sigh it out.

Then she softly tapped the tip of her nose three times.

For a moment,

No one moved and there were no sounds to be heard.

Then with a sudden shake,

The car began to lengthen,

Widen.

The seats became longer.

The floor opened up to a nice big play area.

And with great force,

Two huge helicopter like propellers popped out of the luggage rack.

Dad hit the ignition button and instantly the propellers came to life.

And the once boring old Subaru was lifted off the ground.

As the girls giggled with delight,

Dad took the car up higher and higher until all of the houses,

Including theirs,

Were just a dot.

Once they reached their altitude for flying,

Dad glanced back at Ella and said,

Excellent magic work,

My dear.

I really like the design of the bigger cabin.

This will be great for our trip.

As Ella settled in her seat and looked out the window,

She smiled.

She loved getting to perform magic.

And she especially loved performing magic with her parents because it was allowed.

If Valerie and Ella weren't with their parents,

They were never allowed to perform magic of any kind for fear of being caught.

It happened because,

Hey,

When you're in a sticky situation and magic can help you,

You just have to.

After landing,

Unloading,

And a quick snack,

The girls raced out back of the family cabin.

Let's head west over to the mountain base,

Said Ella.

Sounds good to me,

Said Val.

As the girls began to leave the cabin area to head in the mountain direction.

After an hour of hiking and exploring,

The girls sat down on a large tree stump to have some water and refuel.

As they ate their trail mix,

They heard something moving through the trails.

Suddenly,

Almost as soon as they heard something,

They saw a beautiful snow leopard emerge from the trees.

Oh,

Wow,

Ella,

He's amazing,

Valerie whispered quietly.

The snow leopard slowly began to walk towards the girls.

Unsure what to do,

And if they were about to be in some trouble,

Ella readied herself with her drawing pad and pencil,

And Valerie sucked in a deep breath.

Hello,

Ladies.

How are you today?

The snow leopard said.

Both girls' mouths dropped wide open,

And Ella said,

You can talk?

Of course I can talk,

The snow leopard laughed.

Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Leo,

And I am the lead snow leopard for this area.

I heard your car contraption land in the woods over here,

And I came to check it out.

Are you visiting?

The girls continued to stare in amazement,

And finally,

Ella said,

Yes,

Me and my family are here for vacation.

We are a magical family,

And I made our car fly,

Which is how we got here.

It's very nice to meet you.

You say you're a lead snow leopard?

What does that mean exactly?

It means I can do just about whatever I want on this land area.

It's mine to care for and grow.

I try to keep things safe and serene.

I'm still the fastest and most skilled of the pack,

Leo said.

We've never met a talking snow leopard before,

Valerie said.

Well,

I've never really met magical sisters,

But I guess there's a first time for everything,

Huh?

Laughed Leo.

Come on,

Why don't you both climb on me,

And I can show you the lay of the land.

We can move really quickly and easily if you're on top.

It also allows for more protection in the woods and up the mountain.

Valerie immediately shouted.

She began to walk towards Leo,

And then with a swift movement,

She was sitting on Leo's back smiling.

Ella made her way over,

And while she knew it was a little dangerous to meet a talking snow leopard and then get on his back and then go deep into the mountains,

But he was really kind,

And it seemed like one of those lifetime adventure moments.

So Ella tossed her leg over,

Hoisted herself up,

And was sitting behind Valerie before she knew it.

Hold on tight,

My friends,

Instructed Leo,

And they were off.

Trees whizzed by.

The smell of fresh air filled the girls' noses,

And before they knew it,

They were halfway up the snowy mountain.

To the top?

Asked Leo.

Yes,

The girls replied,

And they kept on.

After some time,

Leo came to a stop.

Why don't we take a little break here and rest for a bit,

He said.

Sounds good to me,

Valerie said.

I'm starving.

She hopped down and dug around in her small backpack and pulled out a large bag of fresh granola Mama had made just that morning.

Valerie gave Ella some and then sprinkled some on the ground for Leo.

This is good,

Leo said as he raced around wolfing up the granola.

It's our favorite,

And our Mama makes it for us once a week,

Ella said.

Wow,

That's great.

Sounds like a pretty great mom,

Leo said.

She is,

Said Valerie.

Just then,

A large gust of wind swept through the trees and nearly knocked the girls over.

Whoa,

Said Ella.

That's some strong winds.

Maybe we should be making our way back.

I think you might be right,

Miss Ella.

When high winds start on the snowy part of the mountain,

Things can get a little crazy pretty quickly.

Why don't you both hop back on my back,

And we'll get out of here.

As the girls put away their waters and granola,

The winds began to increase even more,

And Valerie was knocked over while trying to mount Leo.

Ouch,

Valerie said when she fell.

Ella bent down to help her little sister up,

And as she pulled her back up,

She spotted the biggest,

Widest,

Swirling funnel of wind.

What is that?

She shouted.

Leo glanced back in the direction Ella was staring and said,

That's a snow tornado.

We got to get out of here now.

Both girls hurriedly climbed on Leo's back,

And as soon as they were on,

Leo launched forward at an incredible speed.

But even as fast as Leo was running,

The tornado seemed to be catching them.

Valerie shouted,

I'm scared,

Ella.

I know me too,

Val,

Ella said,

But maybe you can fix this.

This is a use your magic moment.

Valerie's face lit up.

You're right.

I can do this.

Okay,

Ella,

Grab my water bottle from my backpack and then hold it open.

Once I have it,

I'm going to give it to you,

Okay?

Ella nodded,

Got the water bottle,

Emptied it,

And held it open in front of her.

Val said,

Leo,

Keep running no matter what until we say stop,

Okay?

Okay,

Leo said.

Here I go,

Val said,

And with that,

She closed her eyes.

She took a very deep breath in,

And as she opened her eyes,

She began to blow a big breath right in the direction of the tornado.

Valerie did this again and again,

And within seconds,

The tornado started to get smaller.

After a minute of deep breaths,

The tornado was so small that Valerie instructed Leo to stop.

The girls jumped down,

Eyeing the now tiny tornado about the size of the palm of your hand.

Valerie approached the tornado,

Picked it up,

And then dropped it into the water bottle.

Ella quickly closed the lid,

And the trio watched as the water bottle went from moving around to slowly becoming still,

And the white tiny tornado was no more.

Wow,

Said Leo.

That was some pretty amazing magic,

Miss Valerie.

Thank you,

Leo.

Shrinking things is still something that I'm working on.

I mean,

I'm only five years old,

And that was by far the biggest object I've ever shrank.

I can't wait to tell Mama and Daddy.

Whoa,

Whoa,

Said Ella.

You can't tell them about this.

You know we aren't supposed to do magic when they aren't around.

We'll get into trouble.

But it saved us.

I think Daddy would be proud,

Valerie said.

Well,

Maybe Ella is right,

Miss Valerie.

I mean,

If you tell him,

You're going to have to explain how you got there,

And that means telling him about me.

And while I enjoy you girls,

I'm not a fan of grown-ups because they don't understand me.

They don't hear my English the way you do.

Okay,

I understand,

Said Valerie reluctantly.

She was sad not to share how amazing her magic had been,

But she was also a good friend.

And if Leo was uncomfortable,

She would keep her lips sealed.

Let's get back to the cabin.

I'm beat and starved again,

Ella said.

Me too,

Said Val.

All right,

My friends.

All aboard,

Leo chanted like a train conductor.

The girls giggled as they climbed on Leo's back.

As the trees zipped by,

Becoming more green with no snow,

Each girl thought about how they could hardly believe that this was only the first day of vacation in Vermont.

So many more adventures awaited them,

And they could hardly wait to see where the fun and magic would lead them.

Good night.