Once upon a time there was a brave girl called Natsuki Pigeon. She was on the way to see her friend Helen Cockle, when she decided to take a short cut through Dallington Forest.

It wasn't long before Natsuki got lost. She looked around, but all she could see were trees. Nervously, she felt into her bag for her favourite toy, Diego, but Diego was nowhere to be found! Natsuki began to panic. She felt sure she had packed Diego. To make matters worse, she was starting to feel hungry.

Unexpectedly, she saw an agile lion dressed in a black skirt disappearing into the trees.

"How odd!" thought Natsuki.

For the want of anything better to do, she decided to follow the peculiarly dressed lion. Perhaps it could tell him the way out of the forest.

Eventually, Natsuki reached a clearing. She found herself surrounded by houses made from different sorts of food. There was a house made from carrots, a house made from sweets, a house made from cakes and a house made from chocolates.

Natsuki could feel her tummy rumbling. Looking at the houses did nothing to ease her hunger.

"Hello!" she called. "Is anybody there?"

Nobody replied.

Natsuki looked at the roof on the closest house and wondered if it would be rude to eat somebody else's chimney. Obviously it would be impolite to eat a whole house, but perhaps it would be considered acceptable to nibble the odd fixture or lick the odd fitting, in a time of need.

A cackle broke through the air, giving Natsuki a fright. A witch jumped into the space in front of the houses. She was carrying a cage. In that cage was Diego!

"Diego!" shouted Natsuki. She turned to the witch. "That's my toy!"

The witch just shrugged.

"Give Diego back!" cried Natsuki.

"Not on your nelly!" said the witch.

"At least let Diego out of that cage!"

Before she could reply, three agile lions rushed in from a footpath on the other side of the clearing. Natsuki recognized the one in the black skirt that she'd seen earlier. The witch seemed to recognize him too.

"Hello Big Lion," said the witch.

"Good morning." The lion noticed Diego. "Who is this?"

"That's Diego," explained the witch.

"Ooh! Diego would look lovely in my house. Give it to me!" demanded the lion.

The witch shook her head. "Diego is staying with me."

"Um... Excuse me..." Natsuki interrupted. "Diego lives with me! And not in a cage!"

Big Lion ignored her. "Is there nothing you'll trade?" he asked the witch.

The witch thought for a moment, and then said, "I do like to be entertained. I'll release him to anybody who can eat a whole front door."

Big Lion looked at the house made from chocolates and said, "No problem, I could eat an entire house made from chocolates if I wanted to."

"That's nothing," said the next lion. "I could eat two houses."

"There's no need to show off," said the witch. Just eat one front door and I'll let you have Diego."

Natsuki watched, feeling very worried. She didn't want the witch to give Diego to Big Lion. She didn't think Diego would like living with an agile lion, away from her house and all her other toys.

The other two lions watched while Big Lion put on his bib and withdrew a knife and fork from his pocket.

"I'll eat this whole house," said Big Lion. "Just you watch!"

Big Lion pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from sweets. He gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.

  And more.

      And more.

Eventually, Big Lion started to get bigger - just a little bit bigger at first. But after a few more fork - full’s of sweets, he grew to the size of a large snowball - and he was every bit as round.

"Erm... I don't feel too good," said Big Lion.

Suddenly, he started to roll. He'd grown so round that he could no longer balance!

"Help!" he cried, as he rolled off down a slope into the forest.

Big Lion never finished eating the front door made from sweets and Diego remained trapped in the witch's cage.

Average Lion stepped up, and approached the house made from cakes.

"I'll eat this whole house," said Average Lion. "Just you watch!"

Average Lion pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from cakes. She gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.

   And more.

   And more.

After a while, Average Lion started to look a little queasy. She grew greener...

  ...and greener.

A woodcutter walked into the clearing. "What's this bush doing here?" he asked.