Melodie laughed, a tinkling musical sound. “Don’t worry, Rachel,” she said. With a wave of her magic wand, the piano lid flew open in a burst of sparkling fairy magic!
Rachel and Melodie flew out. As soon as Rachel reached the ground, Melodie waved her wand again and turned Rachel back to her normal size. Holding her party bag tightly, Melodie hid herself in Rachel’s pocket. “We can save the party now,” she said happily. “Let’s go!”
As Rachel hurried out of the music room, she noticed that the squeaky, super-fast music had stopped. She wondered if the spell had been broken when the goblin ran away. Or maybe Melissa’s dad had fixed the CD player, after all.
When she reached the stage, she saw a big group of people still gathered around the machine. Peeking through the crowd, Rachel caught a glimpse of Melissa’s dad with a screwdriver in one hand and a pair of pliers in the other. Miss Kelly and Kirsty were by his side.
“What’s happening?” Melodie asked from Rachel’s pocket.
“I think Melissa’s dad took the CD player apart,” Rachel whispered.
“There are bits of metal and plastic all over the floor.”
“Is he going to put it back together now?” Melodie wanted to know. “I think so,” Rachel murmured. She edged a little closer to watch. “I’m terribly sorry,” the man was saying to Miss Kelly. “I’ve repaired CD players before, but I’ve never seen anything like this. I don’t think I can fix it.”
“Do you think you can fix it?” Rachel whispered to Melodie.
“Yes, I’m sure I can—with fairy magic,” Melodie answered. She peeked out of Rachel’s pocket and her face fell. “But not with all these people around,” she added. “Someone would see me sprinkling fairy dust over the machine.”
“Maybe I can get everyone to move away,” Rachel said thoughtfully. But even though she racked her brain, she couldn’t think of anything that would make the people leave the CD player.
Rachel looked around, hoping that a brilliant thought would pop into her head. And then she remembered the musical instruments in the wings on the other side of the stage, where she had first found Melodie.
No one could see them from the CD player. When Rachel snuck over to the pile of instruments, she was happy to see that there wasn’t anybody else around.
Gently, she lifted the little fairy out of her pocket. “Look,” she said softly. “I’ve got an idea. Can you do anything with these musical instruments instead?”
Melodie smiled and clapped her hands.
“Yes, I can!” she exclaimed. “Is anyone looking?”
“No, we’re out of sight right here,” Rachel told her.
Quickly, Melodie fluttered over to the instruments and perched lightly on the violin. She took a handful of glittering music notes from her party bag and carefully sprinkled them over the violin’s strings.
Flitting from instrument to instrument, Melodie threw a few sparkling notes over each one. Finally, she waved her wand with an expert twirl.
At once, the bow that had been lying next to the violin floated into the air and began moving across the violin’s strings. The flute hovered as soft, sweet sounds poured from it, while it seemed like invisible fingers plucked the strings of a harp. Rachel heard the deep, low notes of a horn and watched in amazement as all the instruments began to play themselves!
From across the stage, Rachel heard Miss Kelly exclaim in surprise. “That’s our ballet music!” she cried. “Where is it coming from?”
Rachel ran back to the group. “I found another CD player,” she told the ballet teacher. She caught Kirsty’s eye and smiled. Rachel didn’t have to tell her friend that this was fairy magic at work!
“Quickly, dancers take your places,” Miss Kelly called. The girls rushed onto the stage and the audience headed back to their seats.
Miss Kelly turned to Rachel. “Could you start the music from the beginning again, please?” she asked.
Rachel bit her lip. She wasn’t sure that she could. What if Melodie had already gone back to Fairyland? Anxiously, she hurried back to the instruments, and then she smiled with relief. She should have known that Melodie wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye. The fairy was still there, dancing to the music, her white dress swirling around her.
“Can you start the music from the beginning?” Rachel asked her.
Melodie’s wand fluttered and she threw a few more glittering music notes into the air. The music stopped for an instant, then began all over again.
As Kirsty and the others began to dance, Rachel and Melodie watched the performance from the wings. “Oh, it’s beautiful!” Melodie exclaimed, copying the dancers’ graceful arm movements.
“Just like it should be,” Rachel agreed.
The ballet went perfectly, and at the end the audience applauded wildly. The girls curtsied, left the stage, and went to join their proud parents. Kirsty, on the other hand, rushed over to the side of the stage.
“Thank you, Melodie,” she said gratefully. “You saved our party.”
“No, thank you!” Melodie beamed. “Without you, there would be no music at the king and queen’s anniversary party. Please keep an eye out for more of Jack Frost’s goblins.”
“We will,” Rachel and Kirsty promised together.
Melodie blew them each a kiss. “Good luck,” she said. With a wave of her wand and a shower of twinkling lights, the fairy flew away.
Smiling happily, Rachel and Kirsty made their way to the hall to enjoy the rest of the party.
“I hope we meet more Party Fairies,” Rachel said.
“Oh, I’m sure we will,” replied Kirsty. Then she grinned. “As long as we keep going to parties!” she added.
“Isn’t it a beautiful day?” Kirsty Tate said happily, looking up at the deep blue sky. “I’m so glad you’re staying here for a whole week, Rachel.”
Kirsty was sitting on the grass in the Tates’ backyard, making a daisy chain with her best friend, Rachel Walker. Pearl, Kirsty’s black-and-white kitten, was snoozing in a patch of sunshine in the middle of the path.
“You know, Rachel,” Kirsty went on, picking another daisy. “This is the perfect day for—”
“A party!” Rachel broke in, knowing exactly what Kirsty was going to say.
Kirsty nodded, a frown on her face. “Let’s hope Jack Frost’s goblins don’t spoil someone’s special day.”
“The Party Fairies will do their best to stop them,” Rachel replied, sounding determined. “And so will we.”
“Well,” Kirsty said, adding another daisy to her chain, “we’ll just have to keep our eyes open.”
“And our ears,” added Rachel.
Suddenly, there was a rustling behind the fence. “OW!” someone muttered. “That hurt.”
“Who was that?” gasped Rachel. “Do you think it was a goblin?”
Kirsty grinned and shook her head. “It’s OK,” she said. “It sounds like Mr. Cooper, our next-door neighbor.”
At that moment, Mr. Cooper popped his head over the fence. He was a tall, thin man with a cheerful smile. “Sorry, Kirsty,” he said, “did I startle you? I pricked my finger on the rosebush.” He held up a small package wrapped in shiny blue paper. “I’m trying to hide these presents around our yard for the treasure hunt this afternoon.”
“Treasure hunt?” repeated Rachel, looking puzzled.
Mr. Cooper nodded. “Yes, it’s my son Jamie’s birthday today,” he replied. “He’s five and we’re having a party.”
A party! Rachel and Kirsty glanced at each other in excitement.
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-35686-2
Copyright © 2005 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.
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First Scholastic printing, July 2010
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Melodie the Music Fairy Page 2
