“Parade?” the red-headed twins said as they passed by. They did not sound excited.
“Yes! A parade!” the goblin said, clapping his hands. “Even the pets wear costumes! You have to come! You have to dress up! Say you will?”
The twins looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. “We weren’t going to go, but I guess it could be fun.”
“Yes, it’ll be fun! Get costumes!” The goblin ran off to recruit more kids for the parade. “Hurry up! It’s almost time to get ready for the parade! Get an outfit from home, or borrow one from the Honeydown collection!”
A quiet hum began to grow. Soon, almost everyone who had come out for tug-of-war was busy talking about their fun plans for the parade. They began to head home to get ready.
“Keep an eye on that goblin,” Skyler said.
“I will,” replied Rachel. “He’s great! He just got everyone excited for the parade, including me!”
“Yes,” answered Skyler. “That’s why I think he has my bunting. Just you watch.”
“Should we go home to find costumes?” Kirsty wondered. “I’ll bet Gran and Gramps have some great stuff around the cottage.”
“You had better stay close,” Skyler insisted. “You can sort through the dress-up stuff we saw on Main Street.”
“Good idea,” said Rachel, and they set off across the playground lawn. But when they arrived in the center of town, they discovered that most of the costumes had already been picked over.
“What a mess,” Kirsty said, looking around. She couldn’t tell what the kids in the group next to the costume rack were supposed to be. They all had on layers of jewelry and sashes and big pieces of fabric that looked like capes. The leftover clothes—once neatly hanging or placed in boxes—were scattered on the ground.
“It’s a disaster,” Rachel agreed, picking up a boa that didn’t have many feathers left.
Both girls were wondering who would have left the costume rack in such a mess when they realized the answer was right in front of them.
“Goblins,” Kirsty whispered, examining the group wearing strange costumes. When the girls looked closely, they could see the goblins’ green skin under their makeup. Also, there were not a lot of dress-up shoes that fit their enormous feet. Some of the goblins were barefoot, and others still wore the cleats from the tug-of-war uniforms.
The girls looked through the remaining clothes. “There aren’t any full costumes left,” Rachel noted. “We’ll have to piece something together.” They quickly draped cloth over their shoulders and looped belts around their waists to form togas. They tied gold scarves around their heads and put strings of gold beads around their necks. Rachel placed a single gold feather behind her ear. She gave one to Kirsty, too. “We’re Greek goddesses!” they exclaimed, looking at each other.
“You look great!” Skyler said. “Now, let’s track down that enthusiastic goblin. We have to figure out if he has my bunting, and how to get it back.”
The girls went hand in hand through the crowd. Many goblins were fighting over necklaces or crowns. Others had buried their heads in the costume boxes, still searching.
“When is the parade supposed to start?” Rachel wondered.
“In less than an hour,” Kirsty said, pointing to the old town clock in the center of the square.
“Then we don’t have much time,” Rachel said.
Kids and adults were starting to arrive now, so Main Street started to feel crowded.
“It’s going to be harder to find him than we thought,” Kirsty admitted as they searched.
“Don’t worry,” Skyler whispered from her hiding place in Kirsty’s pocket. “Let the magic come to you.”
Just as Skyler said it, the girls spotted someone dancing on the edge of the crowd, all by himself. He seemed to be waltzing. Holding one arm up and another in front of him, he took elegant sweeping steps and made graceful spins.
“It’s so lovely. It looks like he is at a ball,” Rachel said with admiration.
“That’s our goblin!” Kirsty exclaimed in a hushed voice.
“Yes, it is!” agreed Skyler. “Check out his beautiful skirt.”
When the girls looked closer, they realized that his full, many-colored skirt was the bunting! He had wrapped it around and around his waist to make a very stylish skirt that glittered with magic. As they watched, he stopped dancing and made a curtsy. He lifted the top layers of his skirt and bowed slightly. Then he began to dance again.
“He looks so happy! How will we ever get the bunting away from him?” Rachel wondered.
“I’m not sure,” said Kirsty. “But the parade is about to begin.”
“There’s no way it will go well if we don’t return the bunting to Fairyland,” warned Skyler.
“How much magic do you have left in your wand?” Rachel asked Skyler.
“Just a little,” Skyler admitted.
“Do you have enough to make a real costume?” Rachel asked.
Kirsty immediately understood what Rachel was thinking. “Yes!” she said. “A costume that would fit in at a real ball. A true gown!” Rachel smiled and nodded.
“Well, we can find out!” Skyler gave her wand a mighty swirl, and sparkles came out with a whoosh! All at once, the most gorgeous gown appeared, floating in midair! It was an elegant midnight-blue satin, with lace and ruffles on the sleeves and a full skirt that reached the floor. It also had a wig with hair looped in a tall bun.
“Nice work!” Rachel exclaimed. “Now we just have to get the goblin to trade.”
“It might not be easy,” Skyler worried. “It is difficult to give up a magic object. It’s part of the power.”
“We’ll do our best,” Kirsty said, and the girls plucked the costume pieces from the air and approached the dancing goblin. Skyler crossed her fingers.
“Excuse me,” Rachel began. “I am sorry to interrupt, but I couldn’t help but notice your lovely dancing.”
The goblin halted at once, his eyes filled with delight. “Really?” he asked.
“Yes,” Kirsty responded. “Are you here for the parade?”
“Why, yes,” the goblin said. “I love the chance to dress up and pretend. What a grand tradition.”
“Well,” said Rachel. “We were wondering if you would like to try on this special costume. It looks like it would be just your size.”
The goblin reached out and touched the satin fabric. “I’m not sure,” the goblin answered. “Blue isn’t really my color.”
The girls watched as a stream of sparkles flitted all around the dress. At once, the blue fabric changed to red. “Now, that’s more like it,” the goblin said and he immediately scrambled out of his old outfit and put on the dress. Then he snatched the wig from Rachel’s hands.
Meanwhile, Kirsty had bent down and picked up the bunting. Skyler burst out of Kirsty’s pocket. As soon as the fairy touched the colorful stringed decoration, it shrunk down to Fairyland size. In an instant, both Skyler and the bunting were gone.
The goblin didn’t even notice. He was playing with the tiny curls from the wig that fell against his neck. “Why, thank you,” he said. “I will be the hit of this parade!”
Kirsty and Rachel smiled at each other. The goblin was funny; he was both polite and greedy. But above all, he was a fan of fun traditions. “Let’s have a parade!” he exclaimed with a happy yell.
Suddenly, Main Street was full of people in costume and lots of people on the sidewalks, ready to cheer. Rose’s dad directed everyone with the bullhorn, and soon it was time to start.
“Wow!” Kirsty said. “Skyler must have done some speedy work. Everything came together so fast!”
“That bunting must have powerful magic,” Rachel said. Then, in the blink of an eye, the girls were no longer wearing their simple Greek goddess costumes. Kirsty was dressed as a pirate, complete with beard and a parrot on her shoulder. Rachel, wearing golden armor and carrying a bow and arrow, was an elf warrior. The girls smiled in disbelief.
�
��These are by far the coolest costumes ever!” Kirsty said.
“Coolest costumes!” the parrot repeated.
“And this will be the coolest parade,” Rachel added, “because it is such a cool town tradition.”
With that, the two girls took their places with all the people, goblins, pets, horse carriages, clowns, jugglers, and stilt walkers. Kirsty and Rachel were happy to enjoy the fun for now. But tomorrow, they would have a magic sparkler to find!
Both Kirsty and Rachel woke early with a buzzing in their ears. Actually, it was more of a fluttering—a fluttering of fairy wings.
“Wake up, girls!” Skyler called, flitting from bed to bed. “We have a lot to do today!”
“What time is it?” Rachel wondered, rubbing her eyes.
“Is the sun even up?” Kirsty asked.
“Of course it is,” Skyler said, pulling the curtain aside. A stream of bright, yellow light burst into the room.
“Barely,” Kirsty insisted, putting a flowered sheet over her head. The girls were usually super excited to help their fairy friends, but they were used to a full night’s sleep as well.
“It’s the day of Honeydown’s huge birthday celebration,” Skyler declared. “The Fireworks Spectacular happens today! But it will be spectacularly horrible if we don’t find my magic sparkler.”
“Do you really think the goblins are already out and about?” Rachel wondered, sitting up and stretching. “They seem kind of lazy to me.”
“I never know what to expect from those green guys,” Skyler said, “except trouble.”
Rachel and Kirsty slowly rose to the challenge. Just as they were tying their shoes, they heard a knock at the door. “I’ll get it,” Kirsty offered. When she came back to the bedroom, she told Rachel that it had been the twins from tug-of-war the day before. “They want us to be part of their team. Today is the Honeydown Challenge. It’s a bunch of obstacles and other games.”
“It sounds like fun,” Rachel said.
“And it’s the perfect way for you to get out in the town,” Skyler said.
“But what about the magic sparkler?” Kirsty asked. “How will we search for it if we are also taking part in the challenge?”
“No worries,” Skyler said. “Always remember Queen Titania’s good advice: You should let the magic come to you.”
“I’m guessing there’s no way the magic would come to us while we’re snuggled in bed?” Kirsty asked hopefully.
“Nice try,” Skyler said. “But you’re already up!”
After the girls ate some of Gran’s delicious french toast, they headed out to find the twins in the town center. Small groups of kids were already gathering. In the late morning sun, Rachel thought they looked like little clusters of toadstools.
“That’s so silly.” Kirsty laughed when her friend mentioned it. “You definitely have Fairyland stuck in your head.”
“Hey! Over here!” Milo called. “You’re just in time. We’re doing an obstacle course first. Then there’s a scavenger hunt. And tonight, right before the fireworks, there will be a huge game
of Ghost in the Graveyard. We play it every year.”
“That sounds like a great plan,” Rachel said, feeling excited, but then Kirsty nudged her arm. “What?” Rachel asked in a whisper.
“It’s a plan,” Kirsty said. “That can only mean trouble. Didn’t Skyler say that the magic sparkler helped big events go as planned?”
“She did,” Rachel agreed with a frown. “But there’s not much we can do, right? We just take part in the Honeydown Challenge until we figure out how to stop those tricky goblins.”
Rachel and Kirsty were excited to see that the twins had also asked Carter and Sandy to be on their team.
Rose’s dad had the bullhorn again, and he was getting the groups in order. Then he announced the stages of the race. “First, you run through the tires,” he began, “then you go over the hay-bale pyramid. Finally, you climb the giant cargo net and then slide down one of the ropes on the other side.”
“This looks fun!” Kirsty said.
“I’m really good at climbing,” Carter said. “Just watch me.”
The obstacle course was set up like a relay. As soon as one member of the team finished sliding down the rope, the next person was able to start. There were four teams, and every team had six members.
Rose’s dad stood at the start. “Ready, set, go!” he called.
Carter started things off. He ran straight for the tire obstacle. When he stepped in the middle of the first tire, there was a huge, muddy splash. It went up to the very top of his knee sock! The girl next to him slipped in the muck and landed with a thud. Only the boy on the far end escaped without being slowed down by the dirty puddles.
“Maybe it’s because of his big feet,” Kirsty thought out loud.
Rachel turned to her friend and gripped her hand. “Goblins!” they exclaimed together.
“That’s no good,” Rachel said. “They’re going to cause all kinds of troubles for the other teams in the challenge.”
“But what really matters is that they’re here,” Rachel reminded her friend. “If they’re doing the Honeydown Challenge, we have a better chance of keeping track of them. Maybe we’ll even spot Skyler’s final missing object.”
“You’re right! I have a good feeling about this. We’ll find that magic sparkler and give it back to Skyler,” Kirsty declared. “I’m sure of it.”
Unfortunately, the goblins—and their big feet—were way ahead. They were super fast on the obstacle course.
Kirsty and Rachel were worried about their team. Carter was a very good climber, but he did not have very good luck. When he was about halfway up the pyramid, one of his legs disappeared right between two hay bales!
“What happened?” Sandy asked, a worried expression on her face.
“I’m not sure,” Rachel admitted. “I think his foot just slipped through a hole.”
Carter tried to pull himself out. He scowled as he tugged on his leg. Then, all at once, his leg was free. Carter was right back in the race, even though he was missing a shoe. Kirsty and Rachel cheered for their teammate, but the goblin was already on the next obstacle—the cargo net.
As soon as Carter had escaped his troubles, the girl next to him had the same problem, but in a different place.
“Why are there so many holes in the hay?” Milo asked. “It doesn’t seem safe.”
Of course, the goblin who was racing had bounded straight up the bales like they were a simple jungle gym. His feet didn’t slip through any holes.
“I smell something fishy,” Rachel whispered to Kirsty, but Sandy overheard her.
“Fishy?” Sandy asked. “It might be me. I had fish sticks for dinner last night.”
Rachel and Kirsty smiled at each other, but they took note. They would have to be careful with Sandy around.
Carter made up a lot of time, and he was soon sliding down the rope from the very top of the cargo net. It was time for someone else to start the relay.
“You’re next,” Arlo said to Rachel.
“Wish me luck,” she said, and she took off as soon as Carter landed.
First was the tire obstacle. Rachel got just as messy as Carter, splashing through the tires, but she didn’t slow down.
She was very careful as she came to the pyramid. She remembered where the other racers had trouble and stayed away from those spots. Rachel made great time and was almost at the top when she felt something pull at her foot.
“What’s that?” she mumbled to herself. She tried to climb to the next bale, but the tug came again.
“You can do it, Rachel!” she heard Kirsty yell.
Rachel gave her foot a yank, but she couldn’t move. Then, all at once, she started to sink through the hay. Her whole body scraped through the prickly edges, and she landed with a thud on the ground. She was inside the pyramid, and it was dark.
“Hello?” she said in a small voice, but no one answered. “Who’s there?” Rachel
pushed herself to her feet. She felt very alone, although she had a bad feeling that she was not.
Suddenly, she heard a different sound. It was a rustling. She looked up and saw a bright sliver of sky overhead. It was the crack where she had fallen through the hay.
“Rachel?” a voice called. Then a face peeked in, covering the crack. It was Kirsty!
Kirsty eased through the gap and landed on her feet.
“What are you doing here?” Rachel asked. “We can’t have two people on the course at the same time. It’s a relay.”
“But the relay isn’t really that important,” Kirsty said. “Remember?”
Of course Kirsty was right. Rachel knew that.
“I thought I should help you get out of here,” Kirsty said. “I didn’t think it would be so dark. Luckily, Arlo is coming with a rope.”
Hmm, hmm.
“What was that?” Kirsty asked.
Hmm, hmm, the sound came again, followed by a deep breath. “It’s me,” someone said. “From the parade. The one with the great dress and the wig.”
“Oh, you scared us!” Rachel said, remembering the goblin that Skyler had helped. “I thought you were a ghost or something.”
“Oh no! I hate ghosts. So do all my friends,” the goblin said. “I just wasn’t sure it was you before, so I didn’t say anything.”
“What are you doing in here?” Kirsty asked.
“Well, it’s a long story,” the goblin said. “They told me I had to stop the other teams, but I didn’t want to.”
“That’s awful!” Rachel insisted. “That’s cheating!”
“I’m sorry,” the goblin said. “But I can help you out.”
“Help?” Rachel felt her heart flutter with hope. Would he tell them where the magic sparkler was?
Skyler the Fireworks Fairy Page 4
