The Great Birthday Present Mix-Up

Hazel Squirrel was excellent at many things.

She could leap from the old oak tree to the silver birch without dropping a single acorn.

She could balance six hazelnuts on her head.

Once, she had even found a missing mitten underneath three feet of crunchy autumn leaves.

But Hazel was not excellent at remembering things.

“Now, where did I put my breakfast?” she wondered one morning.

She looked under her bed.

She looked inside her sock basket.

She even checked behind her ears.

Then she noticed a piece of toast in her paw.

“Oh!” said Hazel. “There it is.”

Tomorrow was the biggest day of the year in Willowberry Wood: the Woodland Celebration.

Every animal with a birthday that season would receive a special present at the Grand Birthday Picnic.

Hazel had volunteered for the most important job of all.

Present Keeper.

Her tree house was packed from floor to ceiling with gifts.

There was a long green box for Benny Beaver.

A tiny silver parcel for Pip Mouse.

A round yellow package for Tilly Turtle.

A soft purple bundle for Ruby Rabbit.

And at least twenty others.

Each present had a neat little name tag.

Hazel stood proudly in the middle of them.

“I simply have to keep everything safe until tomorrow,” she said.

She paused.

“And remember who gets what.”

Hazel’s tail gave a nervous twitch.

Just then—

WHOOSH!

A gust of wind blew through the open window.

Tags fluttered.

Ribbons flew.

A paper bow landed on Hazel’s nose.

“ACHOO!”

Hazel sneezed so hard that she tumbled backward into the presents.

BUMP! BANG! BONK!

Boxes rolled everywhere.

One slid beneath the table.

Another landed in the teapot.

Three presents bounced down the stairs.

Hazel scrambled after them.

“No, no, no!”

By the time she had gathered everything again, all the gifts looked perfectly tidy.

Except for one tiny problem.

The name tags were scattered across the floor.

Hazel stared at them.

“Oh, acorns.”

She tried to remember.

“The long green one was for… Pip?”

Hazel stuck Pip Mouse’s name onto the long box.

“The silver parcel was definitely for… Benny?”

She attached Benny Beaver’s tag.

Soon every present had a label again.

Hazel smiled.

“Perfect!”

Then she frowned.

“Probably.”

The next morning, Willowberry Wood sparkled with bunting, lanterns and strings of paper leaves.

The Grand Birthday Picnic began.

Hazel stood beside the gift table wearing a bright red Present Keeper hat.

“Happy Woodland Celebration!” she called.

First came Pip Mouse.

Hazel handed him the long green box.

Pip opened it.

Inside was an enormous wooden canoe paddle.

Pip blinked.

The paddle was six times taller than he was.

“Oh,” he squeaked. “This is… very useful.”

“For canoeing?” asked Hazel.

“For reaching things on extremely high shelves,” said Pip.

Next came Benny Beaver.

He opened the tiny silver parcel.

Inside was a pair of miniature dancing slippers.

Benny held one slipper between two claws.

“I don't think my big toe will fit in this.”

Hazel swallowed.

Then Tilly Turtle opened her round yellow package.

Out popped a carrot-shaped trumpet.

BWAAAAAAP!

Tilly jumped so suddenly that she nearly tucked herself inside her shell.

Ruby Rabbit opened a soft purple bundle.

Inside was a waterproof swimming cap.

Ruby placed it over her long ears.

Her ears bent sideways.

Everyone stared.

Ruby looked at herself in a shiny picnic spoon.

“I look like a mushroom,” she said.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Hazel did not.

Her whiskers drooped.

“I mixed up the presents.”

“You?” asked Benny.

“I think the wind started it,” Hazel said. “But I finished it.”

There were still twenty unopened gifts.

The Woodland Celebration was supposed to begin in one hour.

“We’ll fix it,” said Ruby.

“But how?” asked Hazel. “I can’t remember which gift belongs to whom.”

Pip tapped the giant paddle thoughtfully.

“Maybe we don’t need to remember.”

Hazel blinked.

“We investigate!”

Soon the birthday picnic became the Great Present Mystery.

They formed a team.

Hazel was Chief Clue Finder.

Pip was Chief Box Peeker.

Benny was Chief Heavy Lifter.

Ruby was Chief Snack Carrier.

Tilly was Chief Trumpet Tester.

“No more trumpet testing,” said everyone.

Tilly quietly put the carrot trumpet behind her shell.

They examined the presents one by one.

A blue box contained waterproof paints.

“Who likes painting?” asked Ruby.

“Lots of us,” said Pip.

“Who likes painting underwater?” asked Hazel.

Everyone turned toward the pond.

There sat Ollie Otter, painting pictures on smooth river stones.

“One mystery solved!” Hazel cried.

They raced over.

The waterproof paints belonged to Ollie.

Next came a striped package containing a shiny bell.

“For someone who likes music?” guessed Benny.

Tilly blew the carrot trumpet.

BWAAAAAAP!

A flock of birds flew out of a nearby bush.

“Possibly not,” said Ruby.

Hazel noticed a tiny scratch on the bell.

It was shaped like two front teeth.

“Beaver teeth!” she cried.

Benny grinned.

The bell was for Benny’s new bicycle.

Another mystery solved.

They searched beneath picnic tables, inside baskets and around Hazel’s tree house for more clues.

A packet of sunflower seeds belonged to Fern Finch.

A set of tiny paintbrushes belonged to Pip.

A berry-shaped backpack belonged to Ruby.

And the dancing slippers?

They belonged to Tilly Turtle.

Everyone stared.

Tilly smiled.

“I take dance lessons.”

“You do?” asked Hazel.

Tilly slowly lifted one foot.

Then the other.

Then she spun around so gracefully that everyone gasped.

Unfortunately, she kept spinning.

“Little help?”

Benny gently stopped her.

“You're amazing!” said Hazel.

Tilly beamed.

Only one present remained.

The long green box.

Inside was the enormous canoe paddle.

“But whose is it?” asked Pip.

Everyone thought.

Ollie already had a paddle.

Benny had three.

No one else owned a canoe.

Hazel examined the wrapping.

There was no tag.

No clue.

Nothing.

Then she noticed something strange.

A tiny corner of paper was sticking out from underneath the ribbon.

Hazel pulled it free.

It was a card.

She opened it.

Her mouth fell open.

“What does it say?” asked Ruby.

Hazel read it aloud.

“To Hazel, our wonderful Present Keeper. For your next adventure.”

Hazel looked at the paddle.

“My present?”

Benny nodded.

“We made it together.”

“You’re always climbing trees and exploring streams,” said Ruby.

“So we thought you might like to try canoeing,” added Pip.

Hazel hugged the paddle.

Then she remembered something.

“Wait!”

She raced into her tree house.

Everyone hurried after her.

Hazel dug through a cupboard.

Then a basket.

Then a sock drawer.

Finally, she pulled out a bundle of brightly coloured cards.

“My presents for all of you!”

“You forgot them?” asked Benny.

“I remembered them,” said Hazel proudly.

She paused.

“I just forgot where I remembered putting them.”

The cards were handmade birthday treasure maps.

Each one led to a little surprise Hazel had hidden somewhere in Willowberry Wood.

The animals cheered.

Soon everyone was racing along forest paths, following clues beneath mushrooms, around tree stumps and across the little wooden bridge.

The Woodland Celebration became the biggest birthday treasure hunt Willowberry Wood had ever seen.

And Hazel?

She still forgot things sometimes.

She forgot where she put her red Present Keeper hat.

She forgot that she had already eaten two blueberry muffins.

Once, she spent ten minutes looking for a pencil that was tucked behind her ear.

But from that day onward, Hazel kept a little notebook tied to her tail.

On the first page she wrote:

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER

Close the window near birthday presents.

Read the name tags twice.

Friends are very good at solving mysteries.

Tilly Turtle can dance.

Never let Tilly test a trumpet indoors.

From across the forest came a familiar sound.

BWAAAAAAP!

Hazel laughed.

“Especially number five.”

And under the lanterns of Willowberry Wood, the celebration carried on until the fireflies came out to join the party.