Daisy and Chloe were sisters. Not just any old sisters – they were identical twins. They were tall and thin with long, golden hair, usually plaited down to their waist. Their eyes were sparkly and blue, their skin tanned and their mouth red. The only bad thing about them was that although they were pretty they were selfish and badly behaved.
Living next door to them was Alice. She was the complete opposite. She had tangly brown hair, dull brown eyes, pale skin and her lips were pink and peeling. The good thing was that she was friendly, generous and well behaved.
One of the things Alice loved most was Brownies. She had been going for two terms and had become a seconder. She knew the Brownie Guide Law and wondered how Daisy and Chloe were going to behave when they started Brownies next week.
On Wednesday, Alice was delighted to see the twins at Brownies, but not so delighted when they started being silly in News and telling spooky stories. She was horrified to see them refusing to say the promise and law, and was flabbergasted when they wouldn’t let anyone else except her use the paint. In Brownie Bells, it was unbearable. They were swinging their arms like mad, squeezing people’s fingers really hard and talking about toilets during the prayer. In the end, they told Brown Owl that they had had great fun and would come back next week.
After about nine weeks of their bad behaviour Brown Owl had a talk with Alice at the end. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to use my magic on them next week,’ she sighed. ‘They’ve gone too far.’
The following week, when Daisy and Chloe arrived at Brownies, they walked through the door and found themselves in a beautiful place, in what the sign called ‘Brownie Land’. They set off exploring. They came to a green meadow scattered with bright yellow buttercups and pearly white daisies. On the other side was a pond of crystal clear water.
‘Come on,’ cried Chloe. ‘I’m thirsty.’
They scooped handfuls of water and dripped them into their mouths. The water wasn’t normal water – it was a different flavour every time you tasted it.
After their magic drink they went on, through a field that was filled with beautiful flowers – daffodils, roses, poppies and tulips. Daisy reached out and picked one. POP! A figure popped out of the flower.
‘W-w-who are y-y-you?’ Daisy stammered.
‘I am Lauren, the Brownie Fairy Queen, and you two are going the wrong way.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Chloe.
‘Well, you were sent here by your Brown Owl for misbehaving. You should be on the bad side of this world.’
With that, the fairy marched the twins back past the stream and through the meadow. Then they went over a patch of grass, surrounded by tall trees that were reaching up into the clear blue sky. They walked through a wood and came to a bridge over a stream.
‘Just over that bridge,’ Lauren said mysteriously.
Daisy and Chloe tiptoed over the bridge.
Instantly they appeared in a dark, gloomy world. The twins looked around.
‘There are two things I need to say,’ said Lauren. ‘One: your home is that cave.’ She pointed at a hollow rock. ‘Two: now that you have gone over the bridge, you can’t go back.’
Chloe and Daisy looked at each other in dismay.
‘But will we ever be able to get back to our own world?’ Daisy cried.
‘Yes,’ Lauren answered. ‘If you keep the Brownie Guide Law.’
‘What is it again?’ asked Chloe.
‘A Brownie Guide thinks of others before themselves and does a good turn every day,’ Lauren said.
‘But how are we supposed to think of others before ourselves if there aren’t any other people here?’ questioned Chloe.
‘There are others.’
‘Where?’
‘I’ll show you.’
As Daisy and Chloe followed Lauren they noticed that there were lots of other caves around them which were obviously filled with children who had misbehaved.
‘I see now!’ exclaimed Chloe.
‘Yes,’ answered the fairy. With that, she disappeared in a puff of glitter.
This side of Brownie Land was nothing like the other side. Even in summer the trees had no leaves and everything seemed dirty – even the water. It usually rained all day. As the twins got used to the dark world they soon realised why they had been sent there and decided to try and behave better in the future.
The twins lived in Brownie Land for one whole year until one day when someone knocked at their door. It was a little girl.
‘I’m Lucy,’ she sobbed. ‘Brown Owl sent me here for messing about. I’ve got some firewood but I can’t light it, and I’m so cold and tired, wet and hungry.’
‘Come in,’ said Chloe. She lit the fire and Daisy sat Lucy on her knee and gave her some hot chocolate with marshmallows.
‘Thank you,’ said Lucy. ‘That has warmed me right down to my toes. Please may I stay here over night?’
‘Yes, you can sleep in my bed,’ said Chloe. ‘I’ll sleep on the floor.’
‘No, my bed,’ said Daisy, ‘and I’ll sleep on the floor.’
ZAP!
Daisy and Chloe looked around. They were in Brownies playing 21!
‘Hi guys!’ said Alice. ‘Are you joining in with 21?’
‘Wait,’ said Daisy. ‘There’s just one thing that we have to do first.’
They went into the cupboard and got a piece of paper and a pen. Then they wrote a note and gave it to Brown Owl. This is what it said:
Dear Brown Owl,
Sorry we misbehaved in Brownies.
We won’t do it again.
Daisy and Chloe
Brown Owl smiled. ‘That’s OK,’ she said, after correcting a few spelling mistakes. Alice grinned.
A few weeks later, Brown Owl passed Daisy and Chloe a letter.
To Daisy and Chloe,
Thank you for helping me. I am now back at Brownies
and have apologised to Brown Owl.
From Lucy