Florence the Friendship Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  Holding hands, Rachel and Kirsty looked at each other and then said, "We declare the fairy Friendship Party officially . . . OPEN!”

  A great cheer rose as the celebrations began. Melodie and her orchestra played some beautiful music, while another group of fairies performed a special friendship dance around the maypole. Then everyone went into the Great Hall of the palace for some party games with Polly. Grace the Glitter Fairy had decorated the hall with the most wonderful pink and silver streamers!

  Rachel and Kirsty had a fantastic time! Polly’s new party games were a lot of fun. They played Best Friend Hide-and-Seek, joined in some obstacle-course races and a treasure hunt, and then took a Best Friend Fun Quiz. It was wonderful to see so many of their fairy friends again, especially since everyone was enjoying themselves so much!

  A little later, Cherry the Cake Fairy and Honey the Candy Fairy made all sorts of delicious food appear. Kirsty and Rachel couldn’t wait to try Cherry’s delicious rose-and-lavender cupcakes, and Honey’s Fairy Fizz Drops and Magic Marshmallow Melts. “Delicious,” Kirsty said, licking her lips. “Thank you, Honey. Those are the yummiest candies I’ve ever tasted!”

  “And the fluffiest cupcakes, too,” Rachel said, smiling at Cherry. “What a great Friendship Party this is!”

  Just then, King Oberon and Queen Titania appeared beside the girls. “Thanks again for everything you’ve done for the fairies,” the king said. “I’m afraid we need to send you back to your world now, but I hope you’ll be back before too long.”

  Florence flew over to say good-bye.

  “Thanks from me, too,” she said. “It’s wonderful to be friends with you!”

  “It’s wonderful to be friends with all of you,” Kirsty replied, her eyes shining.

  “See you soon, I hope,” Rachel said. The queen pointed her wand at them and spoke a magic command. Golden fairy dust billowed from her wand, spinning around the girls and whisking them away in a glittering whirlwind.

  Seconds later, they were back in the village hall, next to the banner and paints. But something was different.

  “Look, Kirsty!” Rachel whispered in delight. She pointed to the letters they’d painted on the banner, and Kirsty’s eyes widened. The pink letter she’d painted was now edged with shiny gold paint, and Rachel’s purple letter had been patterned with tiny silver hearts.

  “Fairy magic,” Kirsty said with a smile. “Don’t they look pretty?”

  At that moment, Mrs. Tate came into the room. “Nice work, girls,” she said, when she saw they’d been painting. Then she took a closer look. “Wow!” she exclaimed. “Those letters are beautiful. You did such a great job!”

  Rachel and Kirsty exchanged a secret smile. They knew they couldn’t take all the credit for the painting. Fairy magic had made their letters look extra-special — but the two friends weren’t about to tell Mrs. Tate that!

  Village Celebrations

  Florence Flies In!

  That’s Magic!

  Tricks . . . and Treasure!

  The Hunt is On!

  “Hold still! There,” said Kirsty Tate, zipping up the dress her best friend, Rachel Walker, was wearing.

  “Thanks.” Rachel smiled. “I’m really looking forward to this party, Kirsty!”

  The two girls were in Kirsty’s bedroom, getting ready for a special celebration in Wetherbury, where Kirsty lived.

  A year earlier, the Wetherbury Village Hall had closed because it needed a lot of repairs. Since then, a team of volunteers had worked hard to rebuild parts of the hall. They had put on a new roof and redecorated the building from top to bottom. Now, at last, it was finished! It had been renamed the Wetherbury Friendship Hall in honor of the great teamwork that had gone into it.

  Kirsty’s mom had helped organize a big party for the villagers and all their friends that night, to mark the hall’s reopening.

  Rachel and her family had come to stay with the Tates for school break, so they were going to the party, too. And, best of all, Rachel and Kirsty were in the middle of another fairy adventure! Florence the Friendship Fairy looked after special friendships in both Fairyland and the human world. But, as usual, mean Jack Frost and his goblins were determined to ruin things!

  So far, the girls had helped Florence get her magical memory book and her special friendship ribbon back, after they had been stolen by the goblins. They hoped that all of Florence’s magic was safe and sound now.

  The party was in full swing when Kirsty, Rachel, and their families arrived at the hall. The girls had helped decorate the main room earlier. It looked wonderful, with pink and red streamers and matching balloons. Rachel and Kirsty knew there would be lots of games later — a treasure hunt, a cookout, and even a magician!

  “Wow, this is great,” Rachel said.

  “It is,” Kirsty agreed. “But nobody really seems to be enjoying themselves. I wonder why?”

  Rachel looked closer. To her surprise, she could see angry expressions on some kids’ faces! Nearby, two boys glared at each other. “There’s no way football is better than baseball,” one snarled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  Other kids with grumpy faces sat on the chairs lining the room, not speaking to anyone.

  Mr. and Mrs. Tate didn’t seem to notice, so they took Rachel’s parents off to introduce them to some other friends. Kirsty and Rachel hovered at the edge of the party, wondering what was going on. “I have a feeling that something is wrong,” Kirsty said.

  “It’s awful, isn’t it?” came a little voice from behind them. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

  Kirsty and Rachel turned to see a tiny fairy peeking out from behind one of the nearby balloons. It was Florence the Friendship Fairy!

  “Hello again, girls,” she said. “I’m afraid I need your help one more time.” Her shoulders drooped, and she suddenly looked upset. “I think it’s all my fault that friends aren’t getting along at this party!”

  “I’m sure it’s not,” Kirsty said, feeling sorry for poor Florence. “Why don’t we go somewhere quieter, and you can tell us what happened?”

  Florence agreed and fluttered under Kirsty’s hair so that she would stay hidden. The girls went outside and around to the back of the hall, where nobody could see them.

  Florence flitted out from her hiding place and perched on some ivy growing up the wall. “You’ve helped me so much over the last couple days,” she began, “and I know how many times you’ve helped the other fairies, too. We all really value your friendship.”

  Rachel felt a happy glow. “We love being friends with you all, too,” she said.

  Florence smiled. “I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “I wanted to give you each a special friendship bracelet as a gift, to say thank you. So after our Friendship Party last night, I asked the Rainbow Fairies to contribute strands of colored thread to the bracelets. When I had the seven colors of the rainbow, I added an extra gold thread that was full of my special friendship magic. Then I wove them all together into two bracelets.”

  “Ooh, how pretty!” Kirsty exclaimed.

  Florence’s face fell. “They were pretty,” she replied. “I even worked in some extra-special wishing magic that would grant you both a wish when you were wearing the bracelets. But unfortunately, Jack Frost overheard me telling the Rainbow Fairies about my plans. He didn’t want you to have the bracelets, so he ordered his goblins to steal them from my workshop.”

  “How mean!” Rachel said. “Why doesn’t he want us to have them?”

  “Maybe he wanted to punish you, because you helped me get the memory book and the friendship ribbon back from his goblins,” Florence said sadly. “And you know how cold and cruel he is. He doesn’t understand friendship, or wanting to do nice things for other people. He doesn’t have many friends himself.”

  “That’s true,” Kirsty said thoughtfully. J
ack Frost had lots of goblins under his command, but you couldn’t really call them friends. “So, does Jack Frost have the bracelets now?”

  “No,” Florence said. “Those goblins are so sneaky, they decided to have some fun before they took the bracelets to Jack Frost. They heard about this party in Wetherbury and didn’t want to miss out, so they came along. And that’s the problem.”

  Rachel frowned, not understanding. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, the goblins have the friendship bracelets,” Florence went on. “But they don’t realize that a friendship bracelet should only be worn by the person it was made for. If someone else wears it, my friendship magic works in reverse! Then the wearer, and anyone near the wearer, starts arguing and breaking up their friendships.”

  “So that’s why we saw people arguing earlier,” Kirsty said. “By stealing our bracelets and wearing them here, the goblins are causing everyone to fight with their friends!”

  “Exactly,” Florence replied sadly. “And I have to stop them before they ruin the whole party. Will you help me find the goblins, and get your bracelets back?”

  “Of course,” Rachel said right away. “Let’s start looking!”

  The three friends went back into the village hall. People were dancing, and Kirsty and Rachel peered closely at them. Some kids had put on costumes for the occasion. The dance floor was so crowded that it was hard to make out everybody’s faces.

  Just then, Rachel noticed two boys heading out onto the dance floor, bickering loudly.

  They were both in costumes — one was dressed as a pirate, the other as a knight — but there was no mistaking their long noses and pointy ears. They were goblins!

  “There they are!” Rachel whispered, pointing at the goblins as they stomped across the room. They were arguing about who was the best dancer. Both goblins started dancing to prove that they were better, though they still looked very grouchy.

  All around the goblins, new arguments began springing up — silly arguments, at that! “Short hair is better than long hair,” one girl snapped at another, who had a long braid. “I don’t want to be friends with anyone with long hair.”

  “I don’t like your T-shirt — so I don’t like you!” one boy muttered to another.

  “This is getting worse by the minute!” Florence groaned. “I’m going to try sprinkling some friendship magic around. Hopefully it will help patch up these arguments.”

  Kirsty and Rachel watched as Florence flew high up in the air. They saw her wave her wand, and then streams of pink stars swirled across the room.

  “Sorry,” the girl with short hair said to the girl with the braid. “I don’t know what I was talking about. Your hair is really pretty.”

  “I didn’t mean to be rude about your T-shirt,” the boy said to his friend. “Let’s go outside and play, OK?”

  “Florence’s magic is working!” Kirsty said happily.

  “But so is the magic from the bracelets,” Rachel said. “Look!”

  It was true. As fast as Florence helped friends make up, new arguments started. The two goblins were still bickering, too. As the pirate goblin shoved the knight, the sleeve of his pirate shirt rode up — and Kirsty noticed a rainbow-colored bracelet on his wrist. A-ha!

  “There’s one of the bracelets,” she whispered to Rachel. “But how can we get it back?”

  Before Rachel could reply, the band finished their song. The singer made an announcement. “We’re going to take a break now, but a very special guest will be entertaining you while we’re away. Here’s . . . Milo the Magician!”

  A big “Ooooh!” of excitement went up as a man in a cape and top hat walked onstage.

  Everyone hurried to grab a chair, including the goblins, and sat down to watch the show. Rachel and Kirsty sat near the back of the hall, with Florence hidden under Kirsty’s hair.

  “There!” Florence said suddenly, pointing. Kirsty and Rachel leaned forward and counted one, two, THREE goblins sitting in the front row. One wore the pirate costume, one the knight outfit, and the third wore a tall wizard’s hat and cloak.

  “Oh, no,” Rachel said. “Three goblins and two bracelets — this could get tricky.”

  The magician’s show began, and the girls watched curiously. He plucked oranges from behind people’s ears and pulled a rabbit from his hat. Kirsty and Rachel thought he was great! Unfortunately, the other kids in the audience were grumpy and restless, glaring at one another. The goblins all seemed to enjoy the tricks, though. They clapped enthusiastically throughout the performance.

  When Milo’s show ended, Mrs. Tate stepped onto the stage. “We’re going to start a game of hide-and-seek now, out in the yard,” she said. “Follow me, everyone!”

  Most people — including the pirate and the knight goblins — hurried after Kirsty’s mom. But the goblin with the wizard’s hat stayed where he was. “I want more magic!” he said to Milo, who was packing up his equipment.

  “Sorry,” Milo said. “Show’s over — even for wizards. Why don’t you go outside with the others?”

  The goblin didn’t budge. “I want more magic,” he repeated. As he did, the girls spotted a brightly colored stripe on one of his wrists — the second friendship bracelet!

  “I have an idea,” Kirsty said excitedly. “If the goblin wants a magic show, maybe we could give him one. Then we could use some real magic to get the bracelet away from him!”

  Florence grinned. “Let’s give it a try!” she said.

  Milo left the hall, but the goblin stayed right where he was, glaring into space. “Perfect,” Florence said. “It’s time for us to put on our very own show.”

  Florence waved her wand, and the girls were suddenly wearing magician costumes — capes, hats, and wands!

  “Hi,” Rachel said, strolling up in front of the goblin. “You like magic, huh? Want to see another show?”

  The goblin blinked in surprise. “Where did you come from?” he asked.

  Kirsty tapped her nose mysteriously as she walked up to join Rachel. “Magic,” she said. “Now let’s see . . . what’s this egg doing here?”

  She reached behind the goblin’s pointy right ear and hoped with all her heart that Florence would be able to help her with the trick! Yes — a smooth egg appeared in her palm at just the right moment. She drew her hand back to show the goblin what was in it.

  “Wow!” Rachel said, trying not to laugh at the goblin’s startled expression. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you to wash behind your ears?”

  “Do some more!” the goblin urged. “More magic!”

  Kirsty pulled off her top hat, and showed the goblin that it was empty. “Nothing in there, right?” she said. “But let’s see what happens when I say the magic words . . . bibble bobble, bibble bobble!”

  The goblin gasped — and so did Kirsty. As she finished the magic words, a beautiful white dove flew straight out of her hat and through the open window.

  “Whoa!” the goblin cried. “You’re even better than Milo!”

  “And now for another trick,” Rachel announced. “This may look like an ordinary wand,” she said, tapping it against the goblin’s wizard hat. “But if I throw it up in the air and catch it, it turns into . . .” She held her breath and threw the wand up high. There was a sparkle of pink magic dust. Then a string of colorful silk handkerchiefs shot out of the end of the wand — and started to wrap themselves tightly around the goblin!

  “Oooh!” the goblin cried. “That was a good one!”

  Kirsty and Rachel watched as the handkerchiefs wound around and around the goblin. Soon he couldn’t clap anymore, since his arms were bound tight against his body. The excited light vanished from his eyes. “Hey!” he said. “What’s happening?”

  “This!” replied Kirsty, as she quickly untied the friendship bracelet from his wrist. “Thank you very much!”r />
  The goblin’s mouth fell open as he realized that he’d been tricked. “You — you—” he stuttered. “You horrible magicians! That’s not fair!”

  “I didn’t think it was very fair when you and your friends stole my bracelets, either,” Florence said, flying down and landing on Rachel’s shoulder.

  The goblin made a furious growling noise and stumbled away. “I’ll make sure you don’t get the other bracelet,” he called. “So there!”

  Kirsty and Rachel admired the friendship bracelet in Kirsty’s hand. It had KIRSTY stitched across it in tiny gold letters. “Here, let me put it on for you,” Florence said with a smile. She waved her wand, so that both magician costumes vanished — and the bracelet tied itself neatly around Kirsty’s wrist. “Ta-da!”

  “It’s beautiful,” Kirsty said happily. “Thank you so much, Florence. Now we just need to get Rachel’s bracelet back.”

  “Let’s go see what those other goblins are up to,” Florence said. She hid in the front pocket of Rachel’s bag, and the girls headed outside.

  As they walked out the front doors, they almost ran right into the goblins! The wizard goblin had been untied, and they all looked very smug. “Looking for the bracelet, are you?” the knight goblin said. “Ha! You’ll never find it now.”

  “Yeah,” the pirate goblin gloated, showing them his bare wrists. “We’ve hidden it somewhere really good.”