Once Upon a Forest

Cornelius leads Abigail, Edgar, Russell and Michelle on a meadow hike toward the forest edge. Russell is almost hit by a passing car as a glass bottle is tossed from a window. The broken bottle shatters near the road and a gas truck is soon involved, setting up the danger ahead.

The broken bottle punctures a gas truck tire, causing the vehicle to skid off the road. Its tank ruptures and gas begins to leak into the forest as the driver hurries off to fetch help. The meadow is soon overwhelmed by the spreading fumes.

Dapplewood is devastated by the gas spread. Michelle runs toward her home crying out for her parents but ignores warnings from the others. Abigail finds Michelle and carries her to safety while Michelle collapses from the fumes and her parents are found dead.

Cornelius recounts a past encounter with gas that forced him and his sister to flee, leaving their parents behind. He explains that saving Michelle will require Lung-wort and Eye-bright herbs and that the plants near them are destroyed. The Furlings must seek a new meadow and return with the herbs within two days.

During their first night of travel, a monstrous one eyed barn owl spots the trio and attacks. Abigail is briefly captured but escapes the owl and the group finds a safe place to sleep for the night.

At dawn the trio meets a flock of wrens preparing to bid farewell to a mud trapped young wren. Edgar stops the ceremony and devises a plan to free the trapped bird. The wrens celebrate the rescue.

Phineas explains that the meadow lies beyond the land of the yellow dragons, which is really a busy construction site with machines. They escape the site through a sewer grate and emerge in a pond next to the other meadow. The locals take notice as the trio prepares to continue their search for the needed herbs.

They reach a field filled with Eye-bright, but Lung-wort sits high on a treacherous cliff. Russell discovers designs for a flying machine created by Cornelius, and the group decides to build it. The herbs become the key to saving Michelle.

Russell finds the flying machine designs and the friends build the device that will carry them to the cliff. They plan to use the contraption to reach the Lung-wort and bring it back to the meadow. Their growing ingenuity shines through this makeshift project.

Abigail volunteers to climb out on the wing and grab the Lung-wort as they pass the cliff. She loses balance, but Edgar saves her from a fall. They are relieved when the Lung-wort is snagged on the wing and they continue their journey home.

On the way back they encounter a storm and crash land in the woods. They hurry to reach Cornelius and present the Lung-wort and Eye-bright to heal Michelle. A sense of relief settles in as they realize they have survived the journey and made it back home.

Moments after the crash, they deliver the herbs to Cornelius. Humans appear at the back window, forcing the group to flee through the back door. Edgar becomes separated and ends up trapped in an animal trap until a human frees him and disposes of the trap, clearing the area.

Michelle is given the remedy and appears unresponsive the next day. A single tear shed by Cornelius falls on her and she revives, much to everyone's relief. The recovery confirms that the herbs are effective.

Cornelius sees the flying machine and is amazed by how much the three have matured over the last days. The surviving Dapplewood residents begin to return to their homes, reuniting with their families. Cornelius agrees to take in Michelle as they plan a shared future for the meadow.

The tale ends with a resolve to protect and restore Dapplewood together. The trio, along with their adult allies, commits to using the flying machine and their new cooperation to keep the meadow safe.