Oscar's skateboard hit the old wooden trunk before he could stop it. The trunk tipped. The floor made a horrible cracking sound. Then a whole section of attic floor swung downward like a door on hinges.

Bumperbark Forest was not like any forest Oscar had ever seen. The trees had bark that rippled in patterns, dark brown swirls that seemed to move when he wasn't looking directly at them. Mushrooms grew everywhere—on rocks, on fallen logs, clustered around tree roots—all of them glowing different colours. And the critters. Dozens of them. Squirrels wearing tiny acorn-cap hats. Birds with hats made of woven grass. Even a hedgehog in what looked like a bottlecap helmet.

The paths were definitely strange. They twisted over and under each other like tangled string. Some paths glowed faintly gold. Others shimmered silver. When Oscar stepped on a gold path, it hummed under his feet.

Oscar's throat felt tight. "I can fix it. Just tell me how." Fernwhisper shook her head slowly.

The light from the book spread like water, flowing along every tangled path. Gold and silver unbraided. Loops straightened. The paths remembered their shapes—gentle curves that led between trees, spirals that circled mushroom groves, straight lines to the Heart-Tree. The mushrooms blazed bright again. The forest sighed. Oscar stood up slowly. The book was gone. In its place, a single golden mushroom grew, taller than the others, glowing steady and warm.