The Enchanting Adventures of Ruby and Julia

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The Enchanting Adventures of Ruby and Julia

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CHAPTER 3 Ruby's Birthday

The next day Julia woke up early ,for planning Ruby's birthday. First Julia made a list of how many people were going to attend the party. Next, Julia started making a big banner that had 'Happy Birthday!' written on it. Then, she started making soccer decorations. After that, Julia wrapped up her present. It was a beautiful soccer lamp. Finally, Julia and her mom made a soccer ball cake and basketball cookies. Julia would be be ready for Ruby's birthday in no time. After school, Julia and her friends hid at Ruby's house. When Ruby walked into her house, everybody jumped out of their hiding places and shouted "Happy Birthday!!!". Ruby was so so surprised. Julia came running to her, she hugged Ruby and screamed "Happy Birthday!!", in joy. "Did you do this?", Ruby asked with excitement. "Yes!", said Julia. "Do you like it?". "Of course!!!", said Ruby. "This is amazing!". Ruby was greatly impressed with soccer ball cake and soccer ball decorations as, it was her favorite sport. When it was time to open gifts, Ruby's friends gave baseball gloves and basketball. When Ruby opened Julia's present she was so happy to see a beautiful cute soccer lamp. She knew she is going to keep it close to her bed and heart as it was from her best friend. She hugged Julia and thanked her again. Ruby's parents gave their gift at the end of the party. Everyone were so excited. When Ruby saw the gift, her jaw dropped. It was a pet dog !!!. Ruby hugged her parents. She named her pet Max.

She had lots of fun and thanked all her friends and parents for the amazing party. After the party had ended, Ruby and her family had dinner with Max. The next day morning, after breakfast, they took Max for a walk. Ruby loved him a lot . Max was a very cute fluffy golden poodle which made him get people attracted to him. When they returned, Ruby had to go to school. When she was walking to school she saw Julia. Ruby dashed over to Julia and told her all about how she walked Max. By the time Ruby had finished talking, they had reached their school. Ruby and Julia went to their class. Ruby tried to listen to the teacher but, she just couldn't keep herself from thinking about Max. Soon ,it was time for sharing time. Sharing time was when ,each student in the class gets something from home, to share with everybody. "Oh no", thought Ruby, "I forgot to bring mine!". Ruby had thought ,that she would bring at least one of the gifts she had got for her birthday, to school today. Just when it was time for Ruby to share, Ruby's mom and dad walked into the room with Max."Forgot someone?", Ruby's mom asked her with a naughty smile. Ruby sighed in relief. She didn't expect her parents would show up at school with Max. What a great day it was !!. After Ruby introduced Max and shared her exciting day events, she let everybody pet him. Ruby's mom and dad drove Ruby and Julia back home, after school. While they where going home Ruby had an idea, she told Julia and Julia loved it too. Ruby asked her mom "Will Julia and I , be able to walk Max alone?". They were waiting for it to happen.

CHAPTER 6 A Candy Land Adventure

They started the journey. The three bears had claimed they knew the way, and led Ruby and Julia . So, Ruby and Julia followed them. First, they had to make a decision to go through the Candy forest or ,to go through the tall sour patch grass. They decided to go through the Candy Forest. The Candy Forest was creepy ,yet really fun. They kept seeing an owl that was sleeping! It was like they were going in circles. "Are we going in circles?", Julia whispered to Ruby. "No way!", Ruby whispered back. "Do you really think that?". "Well, yeah", Julia whispered. "I keep seeing that owl every time",pointing to it. "I guess you are right", Ruby whispered. "We should ask Rose", Julia said. "What are you guys talking about back there?", Henry asked. "We were discussing, whether we are going in circles ,around the same place", said Julia. Henry looked at Rose with a nervous smile. "I really don't know where we are going", said Rose. Everyone paused for a second. "We said we knew the way because, we have been really lonely and no one ever comes to Candy Land" and we don't have any friends.", she added in a deep sad tone and felt sorry. "It's okay", Ruby and Julia said. "Lets take a different direction.". After they finally made it out of Candy Forest they had to cross Candy Hollow.

They saw lots of fairies living in a very big and grand tree. The fairies told them it was called their Home Tree. There was a fairy for each Candy. They had lots of fun there! Next, they had to pass the chocolate shooting dragon!. That dragon ate anything on it's way! They tried to creep under the chocolate shooting dragon, but, it didn't work. They tried to creep beside it. It didn't work. Ruby had an idea. She explained the idea to everybody else. Everybody liked it, except Rose. "Let's talk to the dragon!", Rose exclaimed. "What happens if your idea doesn't work?", Julia asked. "Then we can try Ruby's!", Rose pointed out. "It's fine for me.", Ruby said. "Then let's start!", said Oliver. They tried to talk to the dragon but, they could not get his attention!. Then they tried Ruby's idea, Henry distracted the dragon on one side and everybody else ran out of sight and Henry ran too. They had finally escaped from the chocolate shooting dragon!. It was such an adventure.

CHAPTER 5 Meeting Candy Land friends

Ruby and Julia gasped in fear after listening to the mysterious voice. Just then from the woods Julia spotted a map. Julia opened it. It was the map of Candy Land! . Julia immediately showed Ruby the map. "This is perfect!", Ruby cheered. "Now we know where to go!". "We still have to go through a series of obstacles to exit Candy Land", Julia said glumly. "Oh right", Ruby said. Just when it seemed hopeless ,Ruby spotted a house at the corner of her eye. How come I didn't realize this house before, Ruby thought. "I see a house!" Ruby said. "Let's knock on the door!". The house was made out of gummy bears. As they knocked on the door they heard a beautiful voice say, "who's there?". The door opened, and there ,they saw a big gummy bear standing right in front of them. Ruby and Julia backed up. "Oh well hello", the big gummy bear greeted. "You guys are humans aren't you?". "Yes", Ruby said, trying to be brave. "Oh there's no reason , for you guys to be scared of ", the big bear said politely. "We are just a gummy bear family. My name is Henry ". "Hi there !", said Julia sounding little astonished. "She is Rose", said Henry ,pointing to the middle sized bear. "And, this is Oliver, our son .." . " Hey there !", greeted Oliver.

"Well", said Ruby this time ,sounding a little more confident. "We are visitors of Candy Land . I am Ruby and this is my friend Julia and this is Max .We need help, to pass all the obstacles to go home.", Ruby continued. "Well of course ,we will help you, perhaps we could accompany you on the journey!" said Henry. "What!!!", asked Oliver in a shocking tone. "What about our soccer game?"."What did you say?" asked Ruby with a sly smile excitedly. " My soccer game ???" Oliver sounded bit disheartened, wondering why Ruby was smiling. "What about we play soccer and then continue on the journey?" ,Ruby told Oliver. "Yay! , Let's play ", he jumped happily. After the fun filled soccer game, they started their adventurous journey.

A round chocolate appeared in Julia's hand . "Yay ! we have completed the second obstacle !!". Finally, they had to go across the last and final obstacle. It was the hardest. They had to go across boiling hot white chocolate volcanoes! One misstep and they will get thrown!. Everybody was scared except Ruby. "I will go first", Ruby said. Ruby stepped down and let her foot touch the floor , so that she could feel whether the volcano was boiling hot. The first volcano wasn't hot. So, Ruby crossed that one easily. The second volcano wasn't that hot either. So, Ruby ran across it. She guessed the same for the third one too, but she was wrong. It was really hot. Ruby stepped on it ,but in a second, Ruby was blasted into the air!!!. Luckily, for Ruby, Julia and the three bears had caught her. Julia realized there was a pattern. For Ruby, Julia thought, two volcanoes were not hot and the next one was hot. What if that was a pattern?. Julia told the others her assumption. Everybody agreed to it. So, they sent Henry to test the pattern. Henry followed the pattern and got across!!!. Julia carried Max along and everybody else got across too!!!. In Ruby's hand a white chocolate candy bar appeared. The final obstacle has been completed. Everyone cheered.

Ruby and Julia took all the candies they had got in their journey of completing the obstacles and sled it in a hole that was visible all of a sudden.The magical door appeared. Ruby and Julia said their goodbyes to Rose, Henry and Oliver with a heavy heart. Henry and others felt very sad departing them . Oliver hugged Ruby and Julia . Max jumped on Oliver and kissed him. But they knew they had to go home , so Ruby opened the door and went out with Max and Julia. The moment Julia stepped out, a golden card appeared in Julia's hand with a mystery message on it. Julia kept it very safe inside her coat.

CHAPTER 8 The Sweet Obstacles

When Ruby woke up that morning, she felt confident that today would be a very good day. She was the first person to wake up. So, she woke all the others up, except Oliver because he needed some more time to sleep, as he was the youngest. After they finished their breakfast, Henry took Ruby, Julia, Oliver, Rose and Max to his friend, whom he had mentioned the day before. "This is Miguel", Henry said. Miguel was an old and wise candy cane. Miguel told them all about the obstacles. He also told them that, after they finish each obstacle ,they will get a special type of candy which they need to insert into a hole that will make a door magically appear in front of them. Miguel told them that they had to cross three obstacles altogether to exit Candy Land. So, they started their journey. They first obstacle had to pass the chocolate chicken. The chocolate chicken pecks anyone who dared to come near it's eggs. Henry went first. He ran to the places where he couldn't be seen. But, Henry stepped on a twig and the chocolate chicken heard him. The chocolate chicken picked up Henry with his beak and almost swallowed him , when Ruby came running right in front of the chicken to distract it from eating Henry.

It dropped Henry and tried to get Ruby but, Ruby was just too fast for the chicken to get. It was Julia's turn next. Julia , Max and others started running right after the chicken who was trying to catch Ruby. The chicken was now exhausted, running behind Ruby. So, everyone took this as an advantage and ran as fast as they could. They had passed the first obstacle! A lollipop appeared in Julia's hand. "The first candy!", Julia exclaimed. Next, they had to pass the caramel river. The caramel river was so, so, so shiny! Ruby and Julia sat to take a drink at the river. The caramel taste was just so good!. They looked around for a boat but, they didn't see any boat. "I guess we will have to make a raft ourselves", Henry said. "Cool!", Ruby exclaimed. So, they started to make a raft. They cut the candy trees to make the raft, they used some of the bubblegum from the bubblegum bushes and soon they had finished. They made two rafts. One to hold Ruby , Julia and Max and another big one to hold the three bears. They slowly got into their rafts on the caramel river. Ruby spotted something. "Look!", Ruby said. "I see a caramel water fall!". Everybody turned around and saw a beautiful caramel water fall!. Everybody gasped. Max barked excitedly. "Wow!", Julia exclaimed. After a few minutes playing in the waterfall they decided it was time to move on and go to the other side. They used their hands as paddles and went across the caramel river. "That was fun!", Ruby said.

CHAPTER 2 Julia's day

Ruby was running back home in a rush to play soccer with her dad and her mom outside. It took a while for Julia to realize that , Ruby was behind her. "Do you want to play soccer with us?", asked Ruby. "Of course", said Julia. "I will be at your house in a few minutes". "Okay ! see you", said Ruby. At Ruby's house for the soccer game Julia was not focused. All she could think about, was Ruby's birthday that was coming up really really soon. She had to plan a surprise party on her own. She had never done that before, since she became friends with Ruby very recently. The only thing Julia really knew about Ruby was that, Ruby loved sports and was not interested in studies. Yes, Ruby did not like studying! I mean who would not like studying?, thought Julia. Similarly , when Ruby came to know, that Julia was studious she was very, very, very shocked. But they both knew they are going to be best friends whatsoever !!. Julia loves studying and expects Ruby to love studying too. Just then Julia heard Ruby's mom saying "Julia kick the ball!". Julia shook out of her thoughts and when she kicked, Ruby caught the ball in between her legs. "WOW!", exclaimed Julia. "Thanks", said Ruby and she blushed. "It takes a lot of practice", said Ruby. Ruby tried to get the ball past her mom, but her mom would just not let her.

Julia tried to defend the ball as much as she could. All of a sudden, Ruby's mom quickly scored a goal!!! It was a draw match. They had lots of fun. They had a team party!!! They ate snacks and played games. They even rode their bicycles outside! .It was then time for Julia to leave. They said their goodbyes and Julia left. Julia went into her room thinking, what she could gift Ruby on her birthday. She thought about what Ruby likes, Ruby did like sports , so she decided to get her a gift that will make it extra special . After dinner, it was time for Julia's bedtime. She has big plans for tomorrow as it was Ruby's birthday!!!!.

"When are you going to stop studying!!!" ,said Ruby on the phone to Julia. "I will!!" ,said Julia "in a minute!!". "Can I please come over to your house?" ,Ruby asked."Okay!", Julia said. After Ruby came over to Julia's house they discussed about Ruby's birthday and all her plans for the big day. The next day it was a holiday from school. Ruby loved holidays because ,she could do anything she wanted instead of studying . She could play soccer or play basketball or go running with her dad but today was different ,she had to go to her aunt and uncle's house. Going to her aunt and uncle's was usually very fun on school days but on holidays? She loved holidays! .Her aunt usually gives her gifts whenever Ruby visits, so she liked the trip a little bit. When she got there , she was greeted with a great big hug from aunt and uncle and a beautiful gift!! . Ruby opened it right away; she got a soccer ball!!! ."Thank you ,thank you, thank you!!!" ,exclaimed Ruby. Ruby started playing with the soccer ball immediately with her dad and her uncle. Her mom and her aunt were talking. In the soccer game Ruby and her dad were in one team and her uncle was in the other. Ruby and her dad already scored five goals!! ,while Ruby's uncle was behind by three goals!! Finally Ruby and her dad won!!!

Before it was time to leave, Ruby ate dinner with her aunt and uncle. They had fresh lettuce salad. When they came home, Ruby went to Julia's house to tell her what gift she had got from her aunt and uncle. "Nice" , Julia replied. "What did you do after that?". Ruby told Julia all about the soccer game against her uncle and that she and her dad won and their scrumptious dinner in her aunt's place. That night Ruby's dream was epic! Her dream was to be in the Olympics and win!!! Not only for fame &amp; money, but she will also get to do her favorite sports! The next day it was Monday and it was time for school. Ruby was exhausted, school again? I hate school!!! thought Ruby. She dressed up trying to be very slow so she would miss school but, however much she tried to be slow she couldn't just couldn't miss school because, that was the rule in Ruby's house. At school, Ruby had a test. Ruby tried her best to ace the test because she could be with Julia in the accelerated program. After school ,as Ruby was walking back home she saw Julia. She ran to ask her something exciting.

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CHAPTER 10 The Amazing Party

Ruby , Julia and Max went inside the door portal, that took them again to the amazing Candy land . They wandered through the places that they've been before and went to Henry's house to surprise them. The door opened as they tried to knock on it. "Surprise!!!", Rose, Henry, Oliver and everybody else in Candy Land cheered!. Ruby and Julia were astonished!!!. There was a party made just for them!. There was banner that said 'Welcome Back!'! There were the fairy friends from Candy Hollow! Everything was perfect! . "How did you make this amazing party?", Ruby asked Rose. "We didn't have to", Rose said. "You see, there is this button that if you press it, it will make a Candy Party right in front of the door". "That is so cool", Ruby said. "It just needs one more thing, a dance party!". So, Rose switched on the music from a Candy DVD player! Everybody started dancing!. Rose even made snacks!!!. They had so much fun! The fairies made some of their candy and they dropped it down like a candy shower! Henry even invited Miguel, the old candy cane!. Ruby and Julia also met some new friends!. Even though they had been through the whole Candy Land ,they had not met everyone.They met new fairy friends and even some sugar trolls! When it was time to leave, Julia realized something. "How are we going to leave!", Julia exclaimed. "I don't know", Ruby said sounding worried. "Maybe you could stay here!", Oliver said joyfully. The girls were terrified , whether they need to go through all the obstacles all over again .

The party mood dimmed and everyone became silent. Suddenly, Julia's face lit !. "I think, I know the way to exit Candy land !!!", she shouted. The fairies and all of their Candy Land friends, looked puzzled. She whispered to Ruby. Ruby was so happy and hugged Julia and said, "Julia you are awesome ....!". Everyone looked at each other ,not knowing what the girls were up to . Henry slowly started, " Can you please share the happy news with us too ? ". Ruby turned to Henry and said , "Oh ! sorry ..we were just too excited that we have found a way to see you all often !! ". Oliver jumped in joy. Julia took the golden card from her favorite coat , and showed it to all. "This was the card that we had earned when we finished all the obstacles and went out through the door, last time. It had a mystery message written on it. When I read it now , it showed - THE GOLDEN EXIT ". Everyone were so happy . They extended the party and continued to have more fun celebrating the wonderful news. Ruby and Julia did know that time is frozen outside while being here , which allowed them to stay and enjoy for much longer period. After the amazing party, the girls decided to return home and they happily waved goodbyes to all their friends , as they could meet often. Julia wished to return and when she showed the golden card , the magical door appeared and there was their way home. Max happily wiggled his tail to say goodbye and they came out of Candy Land. The girls walked back home with Max and lots of beautiful memories and belief of having more fun in the future. All thanks to Max and the blasting friendship of Ruby and Julia !! The team awaits for more adventure.

CHAPTER 4 Neither Here nor There

"Of course", Ruby's mom said. "Do you want to go now?". "Yeah", said Ruby. "Wait!, "I want to show you something!"", said Julia. "Okay", said Ruby. Julia opened her bag and showed Ruby a shimmering gray tablet that had 'BEST STUDENT' written on it. "Wow!","Where did you get it?" exclaimed Ruby. Julia blushed. "At school my teacher gave it to me because , I was a good student", said Julia proudly. "Cool!", said Ruby. "Are you going to bring it along while walking Max?". "Okay!", said Julia happily. As they brought Max out for a walk, Ruby asked Julia about what her tablet could do. "It doesn't have games but, it does have other apps that help you read", Julia said happily. "What!!!", "it doesn't have games?", asked Ruby sounding terrified. "Yes" ,said Julia. "After all it is a tablet that I got from school". "Fine ,fine" said Ruby. "Can your tablet do anything else?". "Nope" said Julia. Ruby was disappointed. Just then, Max started to run very fast and Julia realized why ! Max had just seen another dog! Ruby and Julia bolted after Max, trying to catch him, but, they just couldn't. Max was just too fast for Ruby and Julia. Soon ,Ruby and Julia had lost him. They searched for him,all over the neighborhood.

Finally, they found Max barking at a mysterious shiny door of a beautiful house. After a quick cuddle with Max, they looked up to see why Max was barking at the house. The house was covered with vines and exotic flowers. It was an extraordinary sight!!. Ruby was tempted to open the door. She asked Julia if she should open the door. Julia said that they should see what's inside. Curiously, Ruby opened the door and she walked inside with Max. Ruby couldn't believe her eyes!!!. The amazing place was made out of candies! Ruby asked Julia to take a look. Julia couldn't believe it either! . They both took a step inside with Max. Just as they felt the place was safe, Ruby and Julia scurried along all the candy bushes and the candy trees. They picked the taffy apples and cotton candy from the candy bushes. The taste of the sweet delicious candy was unbelievable! As they finally slowed down to a stop they started searching a way to get home but, they didn't find the door through which they entered . Ruby and Julia started to panic, but, Max started barking at something in the woods. They heard a strange stern voice from the woods "You must go through a series of obstacles to exit Candy Land!!!".

The Enchanting Adventures of Ruby and Julia

CHAPTER 9 Mixed Feelings

Ruby and Julia felt really really happy and also really really sad at the same time. They felt happy because they were back home. They felt sad because they also wanted to be with their Candy Land friends. "Well, that was amazing!", Ruby said. They walked home with Max. On the way, Julia realized something. "Didn't we see this boy eating ice cream, on our way to that mysterious house ?", Julia asked Ruby , pointing to a small boy in an ice cream shop with his mom. "Yeah!", said Ruby in a shocking tone. "He is still eating it!!!!!". "The ice cream hasn't melted!", Julia exclaimed. "Do you think ?", Julia stopped. "That when we are in Candy Land time freezes?". "I guess", said Ruby in a low shocking voice. Ruby and Julia spent rest of their way home thinking , if they should tell their parents about Candy Land. When they got home, they decided they would meet the next day. At bedtime , Ruby thought about how much fun she had in Candy Land. It was an amazing experience that no one can dream of. She wondered what Rose, Henry and Oliver were doing. Ruby slowly drifted to sleep ,wondering what she and Julia would do tomorrow .

Next day morning ,Ruby had to wake up early for school . After school, Ruby came over to Julia's house to ask ,if she could come along to walk Max ,and Julia agreed. When they were ready, they started walking Max the same way they did last time. Ruby and Julia thought that they should check on Candy Land , to see if it was not a dream. They led Max to the place, where they saw the door last time but, the door was not there! "Where is the door???!", Ruby asked impatiently."Let's think and retrace what happened", Julia told Ruby ,thinking very hard ."Remember last time Max was barking right at this place and maybe that's how the door appeared...we should try that!", Julia said. Ruby agreed immediately. They asked Max to bark facing the place. Wow !!!!. It worked. The shiny mysterious door to the candy land appeared.

Dedicated to .. My beautiful family and friends and my teachers.!!!!. My special thanks to my teacher ,Ellen for guiding me through the steps of book creation. I feel so proud of myself for writing this book , so therefore a special dedication to me too !!!!! Thank you all for the love and support . I believe you enjoyed reading it.

CHAPTER 7 The Sugar Rush

Next, they had to pass the Caramel Skate Park. Everybody tried to skate to the other side as fast as they could but, they couldn't. Then somebody skated by and said ,"you need to wear skates if you want to go to the other side" and he pointed to skates display. Ruby and Julia dashed over to the place and wore their size . The three bears stayed where they were. "Come on!", Ruby told them. "Why are you just standing there?". "There are no skates that fit our feet", Oliver said glumly. "Oh", said Ruby. "Can you guys skate bare feet?". "Okay!" said Oliver. So, they skated through the Caramel Skate Park. After that, they had to go through Cotton Candy City!. At Cotton Candy City, Ruby and Julia were amazed!. Everything was made out of cotton candy!, even people!!!! Wow ! Yummy !!!. In Cotton Candy City, cotton candy people were driving cotton candy cars and bikes. Ruby and Julia were trying to ask the people if there was a way to get through Cotton Candy City, but, nobody stopped to tell them the answer. Just when it seemed all hope was gone, someone said " You have to go straight and then take a left at main road and you will exit Cotton Candy City, but, it would be nice if you could stay here for at least an hour". Ruby and Julia turned around to see who is talking and they saw a cotton candy lady! ."Oh and by the way Hi!, my name is Rebecca!", the lady spoke.

"My name is Ruby!", Ruby introduced herself. "My name is Julia and this is Max", Julia added. "We need to exit Candy Land.", Ruby said. "Is it urgent?", Rebecca asked. "I am afraid it is", Julia said. "Oh! then Good luck!", said Rebecca. So, they got out of Cotton Candy City. Then they had to go through the final obstacles. "I will take you to one of my friends, he will tell you what obstacles we need to pass , to exit Candy Land", Henry said. It was starting to get dark. "Let's stay here for today, and you can take us to your friend tomorrow.", Ruby said.

Samrita Prabhu was born in India and moved to United States few years back. She is 9 years old and loves reading. This book was an effort to unleash her creativity and passion for writing. It was brainstormed with lots of imagination along with the power of friendship. Samrita loves sports and she is a fast swimmer. She enjoys playing with her little sister and her friends. You can reach out to Samrita at samritapt@gmail.com.

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