Vu chittered that it was time for something much more important than a break.
Daisy shielded her eyes and looked up. The sun was directly overhead.
‘You’re right,’ said Daisy. ‘It’s time for lunch.’
Vu chittered happily as they headed back to where they lived with Daisy’s family in the base of a tall gum tree.
Daisy landed in the leaf litter outside the kitchen door. A buzz of excited voices floated through the window. She flung open the door and hurried in, almost bumping into her sister Maggie who was pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor, wringing her hands and babbling incoherently.
‘Oh, Daisy!’ cried Maggie, grabbing her by the shoulders. ‘It’s so exciting . . . and nerve-wracking. I don’t know what I’m going to do.’ Her face took on a greenish tinge. ‘Actually, I think I might faint.’
‘Sit down for a moment,’ said Nen, leaving the salad she had been preparing and steering her eldest daughter towards the kitchen table.
‘What’s going on?’ Daisy asked. She checked Vu’s bowl to make sure he had some hackberry leaves, then joined her dad and sister at the table.
‘Maggie’s been chosen to be a contestant in the Songbird Festival,’ said Nen.
‘By Queen Jasmine herself,’ added Efa in his proud, fatherly tone. He handed Daisy a message scroll.
It was an official notice from the Fairy Messenger Service. Daisy unrolled the paperbark and read:
Daisy grinned as she looked from the invitation to her sister and back again. A personal invitation from the queen! How exciting for Maggie.
She studied the scroll again. ‘What’s a duet?’ she asked.
‘It’s where two voices sing together,’ explained Efa.
‘That should be a snap for Maggie,’ said Daisy. ‘She’s always singing with the magpies.’
‘But I’ve never sung for an audience,’ groaned Maggie. ‘The whole forest has been invited to watch and I only have tomorrow to prepare.’ She buried her face in her hands.
‘Cheer up, feather brain,’ said Daisy, putting her arm around Maggie’s shoulder and resting her head against her sister’s. ‘I’ll help you practise. With your natural talent and my organisational skills you’re sure to win.’
For Gary, Lucy, Riley and Abbey. Thanks for making every day an adventure.
And for Deb, the real Aunt Acacia. JW-S
For Anne, Sue and Nancy – with thanks – your wings would be wonderous! KM
PUFFIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (Australia)
707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008, Australia
(a division of Penguin Australia Pty Ltd)
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada)
90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Canada ON M4P 2Y3
(a division of Penguin Canada Books Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL England
Penguin Ireland
25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
(a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd
11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ)
67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand
(a division of Penguin New Zealand Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, Rosebank Office Park, Block D,
181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa
Penguin (Beijing) Ltd
7F, Tower B, Jiaming Center, 27 East Third Ring Road North,
Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, China
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2014
Text copyright © Jodie Wells-Slowgrove 2014
Illustrations copyright © Kerry Millard 2014
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Cover and text design by Karen Scott © Penguin Group (Australia)
Colour separation by Splitting Image Colour Studio, Clayton, Victoria
ISBN: 978-1-74253-726-9
penguin.com.au
wildernessfairies.com
THE BEGINNING
Let the conversation begin...
Follow the Penguin Twitter
Keep up-to-date with all our stories YouTube
Pin ‘Penguin Books’ to your Pinterest
Like ‘Penguin Books’ on Facebook
Find out more about the author and
discover more stories like this at penguin.com.au
Daisy's New Wings Page 5
