“Are you sure you want to hold on to that fairy?” Alicia asked Jack Frost.
“No way!” he said. He let go of Kirsty’s arm, and she flew up to join Rachel and Alicia.
“He’s getting confused between good and bad,” Alicia whispered to the girls. “That’s great for us, because everything Jack Frost thinks is bad, we think is good!”
“Right,” said Rachel in a determined voice. “Now I have a question for you, Jack Frost. Is it a good thing or a bad thing to give the enchanted mirror back to Alicia?”
“It’s a good thing!” said Jack Frost in a puzzled voice.
Smiling, Alicia floated down and held out her hand. Jack Frost handed her the mirror at once, although there was confusion in his eyes.
As soon as the mirror was in Alicia’s hand, she held it up and cried out,
“Return all thoughts from wrong to right.
Correct the errors made tonight.
Winter winds bring ice and snow,
But stop Jack Frost from bringing woe.”
The mirror gave a blue flash that lit up the whole room, and instantly the confusion left Jack Frost’s eyes. The young fairies looked at one another in astonishment. Then the door burst open and the five other fairies darted in.
“Fly up!” Alicia called out, flinging the cloak over Jack Frost’s head.
She seized the wands that had fallen to the floor and tossed them to the fairies. Everyone shot upward, and Jack Frost stumbled around in fury, trying to tug the cloak off his head.
“You tricky fairy!” he bellowed. “I’ll make you sorry for this!”
With a flick of Alicia’s wand, the young fairies disappeared.
“I sent them back to the Fairyland School, where they belong,” she told the girls with a smile. “You must go home, too, but I promise to see you very soon!”
“You will never find the everlasting rose!” Jack Frost shrieked, dragging the cloak from his head and stomping on it. “My goblins have hidden it, and winter will last forever!”
“With my friends beside me, I can do anything!” Alicia declared.
She waved her wand again, and Rachel and Kirsty were caught up in a whirl of fairy dust as Alicia’s magic whisked them home. They landed softly on their beds in Rachel’s bedroom.
“What an adventure!” said Rachel, still a little out of breath.
“My head is still whirling!” Kirsty added with a laugh.
As usual, no time had passed since the girls had gone to Fairyland. Mrs. Walker’s footsteps reached the top of the stairs, and the bedroom door opened.
“Goodnight, girls,” she said with a smile. “Sweet dreams!”
“Thanks, Mom,” Rachel said. The girls exchanged a secret smile. They knew that no dreams could be better than the amazing fairy adventure they had just shared!
Devious Divers
Alicia Appears
Sparkling Skates
A Fishing Trip
The Magic of Winter
“I wish you didn’t have to go home later,” said Rachel, squeezing Kirsty’s hand as they walked along. “I love it when you come to stay.”
Kirsty smiled at her. The girls were in the park, taking Buttons for his morning walk. He was running back and forth, sniffing everything and wagging his tail.
“It’s been a really magical visit so far,” said Kirsty, as Buttons ran over to an empty flowerbed. “Meeting Alicia was amazing.”
“Yes, it was,” Rachel said, remembering Alicia’s enchanted home. “I just hope we can help her find the third missing magical object.”
“The everlasting rose,” said Kirsty, nodding. “It sounds beautiful.”
Rachel sighed as she looked at the flowerbeds that Buttons was sniffing.
“Without it, these flowerbeds will stay empty,” she said. “Alicia said that her rose makes sure that new life is ready to burst out of the ground when spring comes. Winter will never end if we don’t find it.”
“That would ruin the cycle of the seasons,” said Kirsty. “Every year is supposed to have spring, summer, fall, and winter. If it were winter all the time, people and animals would get sick, and plants wouldn’t grow.”
Rachel looked at the people in the park. Everyone looked pale, and no one was smiling. A couple of boys were walking away from the lake, carrying fishing rods.
“We can’t fish when the lake is frozen over,” the girls heard one of them say. “I don’t like winter.”
“Oh no,” said Rachel, feeling sad. “Winter is a beautiful season, but no one wants a season to last forever. People will start to dislike it!”
At that moment they were walking toward a large cluster of bushes, thick with frost. Just as they passed the bushes, they both heard a squeaky, echoing giggle. They stopped and stared at each other.
“Could that be … ?” said Kirsty.
“It sounded like … ,” said Rachel.
“GOBLINS!” they exclaimed together.
The girls crouched down and peeked between the branches. A few feet away, there was an open space in the middle of the bushes, where three very strange figures were crowded together. They were wearing green diving suits with round, glass diving helmets.
“You sound really weird!” one of them was yelling.
His voice echoed as if he were shouting in a tunnel. The others giggled and bashed their helmets together.
“You look like green goldfish in a bowl!” another goblin hooted, pointing at the other two and laughing.
“Well, you look like a green blob,” snapped the third goblin. “And you’ll still look like that when you take the diving suit off, so there!”
The goblins lowered their voices.
“We have to get closer,” Kirsty whispered. “They might know something about the everlasting rose.”
The girls crawled into the bushes as quietly as they could. Now they could better hear what the goblins were saying. And they heard something that made them stare at each other in excitement.
“This time Jack Frost has thought of the best hiding place ever,” the first goblin said. “There is no way that those pesky, goody-two-shoes fairies can get to the bottom of a frozen lake. Not even Alicia the Snow Queen Fairy can do that!”
Rachel and Kirsty shared a smile.
“Now we know exactly where to find the rose!” Kirsty whispered.
“Not exactly,” Rachel replied. “The lake is really big. We have to know where to look.”
Suddenly, there was a flurry of barks and Buttons came bounding into the bushes.
“Buttons, no!” Rachel whispered.
But Buttons had seen goblins before. If there was one thing he knew, it was that goblins were trouble, and he should get rid of them as quickly as possible.
“Run!” the goblins howled as Buttons charged toward them. “Protect the rose!”
The goblins scattered in multiple directions. Goblins were very scared of dogs—and of Buttons in particular!
Rachel managed to grab Buttons by the collar. She clipped on his leash and hugged him, shaking her head.
“Oh, Buttons, I know you think you’re helping,” she said. “But now the goblins will know that we are trying to get the rose back.”
She led the panting dog out of the greenery, followed by Kirsty. The girls scrambled to their feet.
“Come on!” said Kirsty, grabbing Rachel’s hand. “We have to stop one of those goblins and make him show us where the rose is hidden!”
Rachel and Kirsty sprinted toward the lake, with Buttons bounding along beside them. He thought it was all just a game, and was joining in with enthusiasm. He didn’t understand everything about goblins and fairies, but he knew one thing: Whenever Rachel and Kirsty were together, there were always great adventures to be had!
They skidded to a halt at the edge of the ice-crusted lake and looked around. Then Rachel let out a cry and pointed to the opposite bank. The three goblins were standing in a line, jostling with one another to get in front. There was a large, round hol
e in the ice in front of them. As the girls watched, the goblins jumped through the hole one by one and disappeared into the deep lake.
Kirsty groaned. “We can’t follow them in there! What are we going to do?”
“I have no idea,” said Rachel, biting her lip. “Hey—what’s that?”
A small speck was flying toward them across the lake.
“Is it Alicia?” Kirsty asked, her hopes rising.
“No, it’s a bird,” said Rachel. “I’ve never seen one like it before, though.”
Kirsty stared at the bird as it flew toward them.
“Wow, I wish my dad could see this,” she said. “He loves birds, and that’s a really unusual one. I’ve only ever seen a picture of it in his bird book. It’s called a snow bunting because of its white feathers.”
“It’s coming straight toward us,” said Rachel, feeling a little nervous. “Do snow buntings like humans?”
“It’s going to crash into us!” Kirsty cried. “Duck!”
The girls dropped to the ground, and Buttons hid his head under his paws.
But when the snow bunting reached the bank where they were standing, it slowed down and landed on the edge of the lake. Rachel and Kirsty smiled and stood up. Sitting on the bird’s back was the beautiful Snow Queen Fairy.
“Alicia!” they shouted together.
“Thank goodness you’re here,” Rachel added. “We know where the everlasting rose is!”
Alicia gave a delighted gasp and slipped off the back of the snow bunting. Her sparkling blue gown swirled around her as she kissed the bird.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” she said. “You fly much faster than I do, my little friend.”
The snow bunting twittered a good-bye and flew away across the park.
“Now, tell me everything,” said Alicia.
She fluttered upward and hovered in front of the girls. Luckily, it was so cold that no one was walking around the lake, so there was no danger of her being seen.
“We saw three goblins wearing diving suits,” Kirsty explained. “They were talking about how clever Jack Frost had been to hide the everlasting rose at the bottom of this lake.”
“But the goblins saw us and ran off,” Rachel continued. “So we followed them here and watched them jump into the lake through that hole. They’ve gone to guard the rose.”
She pointed at the hole, and Alicia zoomed upward to get a better view. When she floated back down, she looked very upset.
“I can’t fly underwater,” she said. “Oh, girls, I think Jack Frost has defeated me!”
“Don’t worry, Alicia! I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Kirsty said.
“Kirsty’s right. We can’t let Jack Frost win!” Rachel added.
The girls could see that Alicia was starting to give up hope. Her shoulders slumped and she gazed down at the ground. Suddenly, Rachel thought of the boys they had seen earlier, carrying their fishing rods home.
“We can’t go underwater,” she said, “but perhaps we could fish for the rose. Alicia, could you magic up a fishing rod for us?”
“I could,” said Alicia, looking puzzled. “But if the goblins are guarding the rose, they can easily stop us from hooking it with a fishing rod.”
“That’s true,” said Kirsty. “We’ll have to get them out of the way somehow.
“You’re right,” Alicia replied. “With my magic and your wonderful ideas, we are unbeatable. We just need to think of something that will be more interesting to the goblins than guarding the rose.”
Kirsty and Rachel exchanged amused glances. They knew the answer to this question.
“Snacks!” they said together.
All goblins loved snacks, and they usually found them impossible to resist. Alicia waved her wand, and three clear plastic snack boxes appeared on the ground beside her. They each contained a green cupcake, a bag of green cookies, a bag of green-striped candy, some green gummy treats, and a bag of goblin-shaped chips. On the side of each box were the words, DO NOT OPEN UNDERWATER.
“Perfect!” exclaimed Rachel, clapping her hands together.
Alicia gave another little flick of her wand, and a fishing rod appeared in Kirsty’s hand. Rachel picked up the snack boxes and looked across at the hole.
“It’s going to take us forever to walk around the lake to the other side,” she said.
But Alicia smiled. She raised her wand for a third time and recited a spell.
“Come snow, come ice, do not delay,
Or cruel Jack Frost will win the day.
Help me now, for winter’s sake,
And speed my friends across the lake.”
Instantly, both of the girls realized they were wearing a pair of glittering skates.
“They are made of ice,” said Alicia with a smile. “They will last just long enough to get you to the other side of the lake, and then they will melt away.”
“Wait here, Buttons,” said Rachel.
Buttons sat down, and then Kirsty and Rachel stepped onto the ice, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. But they didn’t need to worry. The skates were perfectly shaped for their feet, and soon they were gliding across the frozen lake, striking out toward the hole where the goblins had disappeared.
“This is so much fun!” Kirsty exclaimed happily.
Even though they were worried about the everlasting rose, both girls were thrilled by the swish-swish of their magical skates on the ice and the cold wind on their cheeks. The journey was over too quickly, and soon they were stepping onto the bank on the other side. Alicia had flown ahead and was already waiting for them there.
“That was wonderful,” said Rachel in a breathless voice.
As she spoke, her ice skates melted away into nothing. Kirsty’s did the same.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” said Alicia. “Skating is one of the most enchanting things about winter.”
Rachel took the end of the fishing line and hooked it onto one of the snack boxes. Then Kirsty carried the fishing rod over to the hole in the ice. She dropped the box into the freezing water and let it sink downward.
“I think it’s reached the bottom,” she said after a few moments. “Oh! Something is tugging on the line!”
“Hold on tight!” Rachel cried. “Don’t let it get away!”
Kirsty turned the reel handle, and the fishing rod bent as it pulled on something heavy.
“It’s coming!” said Kirsty.
Then, with a splash and spray of water, one of the goblins shot out through the hole and landed on the bank. He was clinging to the snack box. As the girls watched, he tore off his helmet, opened the box, and started to munch on the food. Then he noticed Alicia, Rachel, and Kirsty, and his eyes opened wide. His mouth was so full that he couldn’t say a word.
“Home you go!” Alicia sang out.
She waved her wand, and the goblin vanished in a flurry of sparkling snowflakes.
“One down, two to go,” said Rachel. “Time to go fishing again, Kirsty!”
The second snack box went underwater, and exactly the same thing happened. The second goblin was sent back home, still munching his snacks. Kirsty sent the third box down through the hole, and soon the fishing rod started to bend again.
“I’ve got him,” she said. “As soon as he is safely out of the way, we can fish for the everlasting rose.”
But this time, when the goblin came shooting out of the water, he wasn’t just holding a snack box. Tucked under his other arm was a sealed glass box, and inside the box was the most beautiful rose that the girls had ever seen. Its velvety petals were deep red, and there were drops of dew clinging to its delicate leaves. It looked as if it had just been picked.
“My rose!” Alicia exclaimed.
Her voice sounded loving and worried at the same time. The goblin pulled off his helmet, stuffed half the cupcake into his mouth, and gave them all an unpleasant grin.
“I knew there was some fairy trickery going on,” he said, spitting cupcake crumbs every
where as he spoke.
“It’s rude to talk with your mouth full,” said Kirsty. “Almost as rude as taking things that don’t belong to you.”
The goblin ignored her. He was far too busy feeling pleased with himself.
“I’m so smart!” he boasted. “I guessed that one of those pesky fairies was sending the snacks down, but I was the only goblin who thought of a way to keep the rose safe and eat my snacks!”
“Give the rose back to Alicia,” said Rachel. “It doesn’t belong to you.”
“Are you kidding?” asked the goblin in an impertinent tone. “I’m taking the rose straight back to Jack Frost, so he can see how wonderful I am. Then he’ll choose another hiding place—one that you will never find!”
Suddenly, Kirsty remembered Jack Frost reading The Snow Queen to the goblins. She thought of the puzzle that the Snow Queen used to keep little Kay a prisoner, and that gave her an idea.
“You’re right,” she said. “You have been very smart. You’ve been too smart for us—we never thought that you might take the everlasting rose away with you.”
The goblin puffed out his chest, and Alicia looked at Kirsty in surprise. But Rachel smiled—she could always tell when her best friend had a plan!
“Before you go, we have something that you might find interesting,” Kirsty went on. “It’s an ice puzzle, but only someone who is really, really smart will be able to complete it. Would you like to give it a try?”
She winked at Alicia, who was holding her wand behind her back. She gave it a little shake, and there was a tinkling sound like falling glass. Nine large pieces of ice thumped onto the ground in front of the goblin.
Alicia the Snow Queen Fairy Page 3
