The friends could have tumbled and twirled through the air all day, but they didn’t dare waste another second. They flew straight up to Angelica’s side and listened carefully to her instructions.
“Follow me down the corridor,” she said. “Try and fly as high as you can. If we stay close to the decorations, Jack Frost shouldn’t notice us.”
“Good idea,” agreed Kirsty.
One by one, the fairies flitted down the corridor, darting in and out of the paper chains and tinsel.
It didn’t take long to track down Jack Frost and his goblins. They had wandered into a ward that had been closed for the Christmas break. The three stood at the end of an empty hospital bed, hunched over the mattress.
“Oh my!” Angelica gasped.
Rachel and Kirsty fluttered down and perched on the head of the bedframe, just out of sight. The goblins had stretched the enchanted scroll out so that Jack Frost could write his name at the top! He tried again and again to make a mark on the magic parchment, but nothing seemed to work.
“I need another pen!” he growled. “Now!”
The goblin with the long nose rolled his eyes. “We’ve given you dozens already,” he grumbled. “Felt-tips, ballpoints, markers — you’ve tried them all!”
The other goblin groaned. “You’ve been scribbling on that scroll ever since you took it from Fairyland. Can’t we just go back to the Ice Castle?”
Jack Frost threw the pen on the floor. “Silence!” he ordered. “I need to get my name on that list. Why else do you think we’re in a hospital?”
The two goblins looked confused. They didn’t have any idea!
Jack Frost narrowed his eyes. “With all these good children around me, sneaking my name on the scroll should be easy. Their goodness will make up for the troublemaking I’ve done this year!”
Angelica landed gently next to Kirsty. “No one can write their own name on the enchanted scroll,” she explained in a quiet whisper. “It appears by magic if you do something good.”
Kirsty looked confused. “Why would Jack Frost want his name on Santa’s list of good children anyway?” she asked.
“Easy!” declared Rachel. “He’s after an extra-big pile of presents this year!”
The friends watched as Jack Frost rolled up the scroll and stuck it back in his pocket.
“If I can’t write on this old scrap, I’ll find someone who can,” said Jack Frost, his ice-cold eyes glinting with determination. “This place is crawling with doctors and nurses. All we’ve got to do is trick one of them into writing my name for me. Someone sickeningly good like them should get the magic going!”
The goblins started to laugh.
“Sick-eningly good!” snorted one. “Nice hospital joke!”
The other clutched his belly and began to hoot with laughter.
Jack Frost didn’t even crack a smile. Instead he grabbed both goblins by their shirts and yanked them down behind the bed.
“Someone’s coming!” he hissed, ducking out of sight.
There was the sound of footsteps and the creak of a door being pushed open.
“Oh no,” gasped Kirsty. “It’s the doctor we saw earlier!”
The girls shared an alarmed look. Now they’d never get the scroll back!
“Is anyone in here?” called the doctor, flicking on the main light. “This ward should be closed.”
Jack Frost leapt out from behind the bed, hastily straightening his worker’s uniform coat.
“Just us hospital workers,” he lied. “We’re giving the place a good clean. Got to keep it nice for the children, right?”
The two goblins looked at each other shiftily. Jack Frost shot them such a fierce glare that they started clumsily making one of the beds. Angelica and her friends flitted up out of sight.
Jack Frost turned back to the doctor. “I’m sure you got the memo,” he insisted, pulling the enchanted scroll out of his pocket. “All you have to do is sign here and we’ll have this place looking tip-top for your next group of patients.”
The doctor looked uneasy.
“Hurry up,” pressed one of the goblins. “We’ve got work to do.”
Angelica covered her worried eyes.
“This isn’t how the enchanted scroll should be treated,” she cried. “I can’t bear to look!”
Jack Frost handed the pen to the doctor. Kirsty and Rachel clutched Angelica’s hands.
“I’ll sign that form later,” the doctor announced, taking the pen. “You three need a prescription first!”
Jack Frost’s lip began to tremble.
“Wh-what’s a prescription?” he stammered.
The doctor pulled a pad out of his pocket. “It’s a list of medicines I want you to take. I’ve never seen anyone so off-color!”
Before they could argue, Jack Frost and the goblins found themselves being helped into hospital beds. The doctor put a thermometer into Jack Frost’s mouth, then walked around to examine the goblins.
“Say ahhh!” he muttered. “You’re practically green. You must be feeling really sick.”
“Now that you mention it, I do,” said the goblin with the long nose.
“Am I going to be OK, Doc?” asked the other goblin.
Kirsty did a somersault in the air. “Jack Frost’s plan is backfiring!” she said.
“Now those silly goblins really think that they’re sick,” added Angelica, trying not to giggle.
Kirsty blinked with surprise as the doctor pulled the thermometer out of Jack Frost’s mouth. There was a tinkly, splitting sound — the glass tube had frozen solid!
“That’s impossible!” said the stunned doctor, rubbing his eyes and checking again. “How can it give me a minus reading? Let’s get you wrapped up nice and warm.”
Rachel stifled a laugh as the doctor piled blankets and hot water bottles into Jack Frost’s bed. His spiky hair and beard began to droop and his nose turned a funny shade of pink.
“I think I’m melting!” he wailed. “Stop it!”
Luckily, this doctor was used to difficult patients. He tucked all three in extra tight, telling them that they should be fine as long as they rested up for a week or two. By the time he headed back off on his rounds, the trio really thought they were sick!
“That’s it, then.” The long nosed goblin groaned. “Christmas is canceled!”
Angelica pointed down to Jack Frost’s bed — she could still see the enchanted scroll sticking out from under the covers.
“Should we fly down and get it?” she suggested.
Kirsty’s eyes began to twinkle. “I have an even better idea,” she replied.
Kirsty took Rachel’s and Angelica’s hands.
“If we can persuade Jack Frost to give the enchanted scroll back, his name might appear on the parchment all by itself,” she whispered.
Angelica nodded. “That way Santa will remember to bring him some presents, too.”
“Let’s give Jack Frost a chance to do something good,” agreed Rachel.
The friends darted out from their hiding spot.
The goblins began to howl as soon as they saw the trails of golden fairy dust shimmering above their beds.
“Call the doctor back!” yelled the one with the long nose. “I’m starting to see things!”
“Not things,” said Kirsty, “fairies!”
Angelica hovered over Jack Frost’s bed. “Please, may I have my enchanted scroll back?” she asked sweetly. “There’s still enough time to make sure that the children here and all over the world get the Christmas presents they deserve.”
Jack Frost stuck out his tongue. “No! What about the presents I deserve?”
Rachel plucked up all her courage, then fluttered a little closer.
“This is your chance to get off the naughty list,” she urged. “If you give the scroll back to Angelica, your name might appear on Santa’s list.”
Jack Frost hesitated for a moment.
“It only takes one good deed to make the magic work,” Ang
elica said.
“Time is running out,” called Kirsty. “It’s now or never!”
Angelica held out both hands and waited patiently.
Jack Frost scowled, then pulled the scroll out from under the covers.
“All right.” He grimaced. “Take the silly thing!”
The instant the scroll left his hands, the parchment shrank back down to fairy-size.
“Thank you!” cried Angelica, clutching the magic object to her chest.
Kirsty and Rachel watched spellbound as Angelica carefully undid the red velvet ribbon and unraveled the enchanted scroll. Even Jack Frost peeked nervously over his blankets.
Angelica ran her tiny fingertip down the list of names. There were thousands, each written in beautiful fountain pen. Her finger stopped halfway down the page.
“Here you are,” she read carefully. “Frost, Jack.”
Jack Frost couldn’t help but grin. He even pushed himself up in the bed and high-fived the goblins!
“It’s time to go back to your Ice Castle,” said Angelica, “but when you wake up tomorrow morning there might be a few surprises waiting for you!”
A fountain of glittering swirls cascaded out of Angelica’s wand, bathing Jack Frost and his goblins in an exquisite golden light.
Jack Frost muttered something quietly.
“What was that?” asked Kirsty.
Jack Frost lifted his arms into the air, then summoned the two goblins to stand close.
“If you must know,” he snapped, “I said, Happy holidays!”
There was a crack of lightning and the trio was gone.
“I never thought I’d hear Jack Frost talk like that,” marveled Angelica, rolling the scroll up and tucking it under her arm. “What a perfect end to our adventure together!”
“The adventure’s not over quite yet,” Kirsty reminded her. “You need to take the enchanted scroll to the North Pole. Santa will be waiting!”
At that moment, the sound of children’s laughter started to echo down the corridor.
“And we need to help the Brownies give out those presents!” Rachel beamed.
“Let’s hurry,” added Kirsty. “The children need to get to bed on time. It is Christmas Eve!”
With a tap of her wand, Angelica changed Kirsty and Rachel back to their normal size.
“Good-bye,” cried Rachel. “Happy holidays!”
Angelica waved her magic wand one last time. A beautiful soft doll with fairy wings suddenly appeared in Kirsty’s outstretched hand. The doll had auburn hair and a frothy white dress, just like Angelica’s!
“A special present.” She winked. “For a little girl named Emily.”
Don’t miss any of Rachel and Kirsty’s other fairy adventures!
Check out this magical sneak peek of
Rachel Walker strolled over to the grand doors of Tippington Town Hall and peered outside. There were buses pulling up and lots of people milling around, but no sign of the very special person she was looking for, her best friend, Kirsty Tate!
Rachel’s school was taking part in an exciting competition. Four schools from different parts of the country were competing in two different events; a spelling bee was going to be held today at Tippington Town Hall and a science fair was to take place at the Science Museum tomorrow. At the end of the week, there would be a dance at Rachel’s school!
Rachel was part of the Tippington School spelling bee team, but the most exciting thing was that Kirsty’s school was also taking part in the competition. Kirsty was part of the science team and this meant that she was coming to Tippington!
“Rachel! Over here!” called Kirsty. Rachel turned around and there was Kirsty! She was standing with three other children and a friendly-looking teacher.
“There you are! I was wondering when you’d get here!” said Rachel, running over to Kirsty and giving her a big hug.
“We came in through the side entrance,” said Kirsty with a smile. “This is my teacher, Mrs. Richards, and this is my science team!”
Just then, an official-looking man in a fancy suit appeared on the stairs leading up to the auditorium. “Attention please, everyone! I am your host for today’s competition. Will the four teams taking part in the competition please make their way to the backstage area? Members of the audience should take their seats in the auditorium.”
The four spelling bee teams started to make their way to the backstage area.
“I’ll join you in a minute!” Rachel called to her team. “I’m just going to walk Kirsty to her seat.”
The girls split off from the main group of students and teachers in the hall, and made their way toward a side entrance. As they strolled along, something in one of the trophy cases caught Kirsty’s eye. “Rachel, what is that?” she asked, stepping closer.
“It’s just the light shining on the Tippington in Bloom cup, isn’t it?” replied Rachel, still walking toward the auditorium.
“I think it’s something even more special than that!” whispered Kirsty happily, tugging on Rachel’s arm. Rachel stopped suddenly. There, sitting on the edge of a shiny trophy surrounded by a magical glow, was a beautiful little fairy!
Copyright © 2012 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. RAINBOW MAGIC is a trademark of Rainbow Magic Limited. Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and other countries. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing October 2015
e-ISBN 978-0-545-72316-9
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