Taffy Trouble

by Helen Perelman

  Suddenly there was a whirling, bubbling sound. Cocoa quickly realized that she was swimming in circles. She had swum right into a whirlpool!

  The water was swirling in a large circle, and the strong pull of the water was making swimming very difficult. Then Cocoa caught a flash of Dash’s silver wings!

  “Dash!” Cocoa shouted. “Hold on!”

  The two fairies were circling around quickly. Cocoa knew she had to grab hold of something fast! They were both struggling not to get sucked down into the dark hole in the center of the whirling water.

  “I’m getting dizzy!” Dash shouted.

  “Me too!” Cocoa said.

  She reached for a nearby piece of sea licorice and then grabbed Dash’s foot. “I think I can pull you in. Swim toward me!” she shouted.

  Dash flapped her webbed wings. “The current is too strong!” she said. “I can’t swim to you.”

  “You have to try,” Cocoa said. Her grip on Dash’s hand was slipping. “Faster, Dash. Flap your wings as fast as you can!”

  “I can’t fly! I mean, I can’t swim!” Dash shouted to Cocoa. “I’m stuck!”

  “Hold on!” Cocoa cried. With all her might, she willed her wings and feet to move as she gripped her friend’s hand. The whirlpool was like the strongest windstorm she had ever been in!

  Then suddenly she felt a strong tug on her foot. Cocoa panicked. Was it one of the arms of the gummy octopus?

  “Oh no!” she cried. She never should have gone exploring in the North Sea when they were there on a mission to catch a troll! She tugged her foot away. She had to swim away as fast as she could!

  Sticky Trouble

  It’s me!” Rocky shouted. “I have you! Hang on!”

  Cocoa was so happy to see Rocky holding a longer, stronger licorice vine. She grabbed on to it and threw the end to Dash. Rocky tied the other end around a large rock and was able to pull them in.

  “That was close!” Cocoa said when they were safely out of the swirling water. “I didn’t think we were going to make it.”

  “That was a whirly whirlpool,” Rocky told them. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you before about those.”

  “It would have been so mint if it wasn’t so scary!” Dash said, panting. She looked over at Cocoa and gasped. “Cocoa! The magic crystal!” she cried.

  Cocoa’s hand flew to her neck. The crystal was no longer there. “No!” she cried. “It must have fallen off in the whirlpool. Oh, this is going to worry Princess Lolli!” Cocoa gave Dash a look. They should not have gone exploring!

  “Rocky! Rocky!” Shelly called as she swam over to them. “Have you seen Raina, Berry, and Melli?”

  “Oh, no,” Cocoa said. “Have they disappeared too?”

  Shelly nodded. “When we returned, your friends were worried when you didn’t get back to Great Sugar Reef in an hour. I told them to wait, but they wanted to find you. Sticky is usually out in these waters, and I’m not sure where they are now.”

  Cocoa had a sinking feeling about a large, hungry gummy octopus and her friends. “We just came face-to-face with Sticky and had a ride in a whirlpool. We wouldn’t have made it out if it weren’t for you, Rocky. We have to find them—and fast!” she shouted.

  Shelly and Rocky quickly swam ahead of Cocoa and Dash. Cocoa felt her heart pounding in her chest. Princess Lolli had trusted them to solve this salty case, and now everything was a mess. Losing her friends and the salt-crystal orb was not what she had planned on happening!

  “They will be okay,” Dash said, catching Cocoa’s eye. “Raina may not have the Fairy Code Book with her, but those three are smart fairies.”

  “But they’ve never been underwater,” Cocoa said. “And that Sticky is pretty slimy!” She sped up, trying to keep up with the Sea Fairies. She felt tired and out of breath. “And the light is starting to change! We don’t have much time until it is dark.”

  Swimming sure took a lot more energy than flying!

  Cocoa touched her chest where the crystal had been.

  “We have to find them fast,” Dash said. “It’s getting dark down here now.”

  Cocoa flapped her webbed wings. The time had crossed her mind as well. They needed to be back to the trap early in the morning to prepare for Gargo, and they had to be back at the surface by Sun Dip or they would have to stay Sea Fairies forever.

  Cocoa caught up to Shelly.

  “Please don’t worry,” the Sea Fairy said when she saw Cocoa’s face. “Sticky doesn’t mean any harm. His tentacles might be long and sticky, but he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  “But my friends don’t know that,” Cocoa said. She worried about how scared her friends might be if they saw the giant octopus.

  “He just might get them gooey!” Rocky added. “Once, it took me a month to get his goo off my wings.”

  Cocoa kept her eyes open for clues as to where her friends might be. She hoped they were nearby. She felt terrible that they had been worried about her and Dash. If only there was a sign that her friends were safe!

  Just then Cocoa noticed something glimmering in the sugar sand. She dove down deep.

  “Look!” she cried. She waved at Dash, Shelly, and Rocky. They came swimming down to the bottom of the sea. Cocoa picked up a sugarcoated hair clip. “This is Berry’s! They must have come this way.”

  “Good catch!” Dash said.

  A tiny gummy crab crawled sideways over to Rocky and pointed one of his claws to the left. Rocky snapped her fingers. “Thanks, Clipper!” she said. “Clipper saw them. They are hiding out in the old salt well down in Chocolate Cave,” she said. “It’s just around the chocolate coral reef ahead. Let’s go check.”

  Cocoa had no idea where Chocolate Cave was, but she hoped it was close. She moved her wings, arms, and legs to go as fast as she could. Soon she saw the chocolate coral reef that Rocky was talking about. It snaked along the bottom of the sea for miles. Cocoa had never seen coral made of chocolate before—or any that long! If she wasn’t so nervous about her friends, she would have loved to try the chocolate and swim through all the nooks and crannies.

  “Follow me,” Shelly called. She waved to Dash and Cocoa. “It’s a little tight getting through, but this cave is a great hiding spot.”

  Cocoa and Dash twisted and turned just like Shelly and Rocky. They were soon under the chocolate coral reef and surrounded by large barrels for storing salt.

  “This is where we keep the emergency supply of salt,” Rocky said. “But now these barrels are empty.”

  “We have so little salt left,” Shelly added. “This is why we need to stop Gargo.”

  Cocoa sat down on one of the empty salt barrels. How would her friends have known to come here? This was not a spot they would have found on their own. She shook her head and wondered where her friends were now. And if they were safe from a sticky, gooey green octopus.

  Chocolate Cave

  Cocoa took a deep breath. The cave had a sweet, faint scent of chocolate. For the first time ever, the smell of chocolate was not making her feel better. Once again she felt she shouldn’t have been so curious about that sugar coral reef and swum off. She should have known her friends would worry about her and Dash. She should have thought more about the time. Cocoa dragged her feet across the sandy bottom of the sea. Now her friends were in danger. Her heart ached as she looked around the cave. Her friends were nowhere in sight.

  “I thought for sure they’d be here,” Rocky said.

  “Maybe they are hiding,” Dash said, looking around at the tunnels and archways. “Maybe they are hiding from Sticky.”

  Dash was right. The cave had tons of places to hide. “Raina? Berry? Melli?” Cocoa called out. “Are you in here?”

  She called a few more times and then heard: “You found us!”

  It was Raina. She popped up from a tunnel opening, with Berry and Melli close behind. The three of them hurried over to give Cocoa and Dash tight squeezes. “We went looking for you, and you found us!”

  Cocoa was so happ
y and relieved to see her friends. “Are you all right?” she asked. She pulled back to get a better look at them.

  “You didn’t get gooed!” Dash cried. She hugged her friends tighter. “We were so worried!”

  Melli grabbed Cocoa’s hand. “We were worried about you. That is why we went to look for you.” She glanced over her shoulder. “No Sticky, right?”

  “Sticky couldn’t fit in this cave,” Rocky said, giggling. “You are safe in here.”

  “Dash and I should not have left to explore,” Cocoa said to her friends. “We should have stayed with Rocky. We’re very sorry.”

  “Sure as sugar, we didn’t mean to cause so much trouble,” Dash added.

  Berry put her hands on her hips. “What happened? Where did you go?” she asked.

  “After we pulled the taffy, we saw these amazing gummy fish and then Sticky showed up. We went through a rainbow maze of coral . . . and then we found ourselves in a whirlpool.”

  “A whirlpool?” Raina gasped.

  “Sweet strawberries!” Berry said. “How was that?”

  “A little too whirly,” Dash told her, “even for me! We’re lucky that Rocky was there to pull us out. And when we saw Sticky coming, we swam away. I guess you got away from him too.”

  Rocky cleared off a space on a few rocks for the fairies to sit down. “How did you know to come to Chocolate Cave?” she asked.

  “How did you find it?” Shelly added.

  Berry held up the salt-crystal orb that Princess Lolli had given Cocoa.

  Cocoa gasped. “The crystal!” she exclaimed. She was so relieved to see the magic crystal again.

  She realized that when her friends had been in danger, the jewel had found them. She hadn’t lost it. Princess Lolli was looking out for all the Candy Fairies!

  “When we saw Sticky instead of you two, Princess Lolli’s crystal floated down and glowed,” Raina explained. “It showed us where to hide so we wouldn’t get gooed.”

  “Now I understand how that octopus got his name,” Melli said, shuddering. “He is one sticky creature! We barely escaped his goo!”

  “We were able to see that you and Dash were safe too,” Berry said to Cocoa. There was a tiny image of you and Dash swimming with Shelly and Rocky, so we knew you were okay.”

  Melli sat down on a rock next to Dash. “We thought for sure Cocoa, of all fairies, would find a chocolate cave! We just had to wait.”

  “Choc-o-rific!” Cocoa said. She touched the crystal on her necklace. She didn’t want to cause any more trouble. “I’m so glad that we found you—and the crystal! Now Princess Lolli won’t have to worry. She knows we are all together and safe.”

  Dash clapped her hands. “But we still need to catch a troll!” she exclaimed.

  “And we can’t do that in here,” Cocoa said, looking around, “but we can stay here for the night and get an early start. We need to finish what we came here to do!”

  Shelly looked concerned. “Are you sure licorice will hold him? He is sure to be pretty mad when he is caught.”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Berry said. “I’ve seen many licorice vines, and none look stronger than the ones you have growing in the sea.”

  Cocoa saw that Shelly was still unsure. No plan to catch a troll was certain—Cocoa knew firsthand how tricky trolls could be—but still, this was a good idea. “Let’s get some rest,” she said.

  “All this swimming does make me tired,” Melli said, yawning.

  The fairies settled down in Chocolate Cave for the night.

  Cocoa didn’t think she could fall asleep underwater, and with her head full of thoughts of catching Gargo before Sun Dip tomorrow. But her eyes got heavy, and before she knew it, Cocoa and the rest of the fairies were fast asleep.

  The morning sun reflected on the sugar rocks outside the cave, shining right in Cocoa’s eyes. She sprang up. “Come on, let’s go string a troll! We don’t have a minute to waste, ” she said, waking up her friends. She shot out of the cave, with her friends close behind her.

  “Do you think Gargo will take the bait?” Melli asked Cocoa as they swam.

  “I hope so,” Cocoa said. “This candy world is too delicious. I have never seen so many beautiful colors of candy.” She turned back to look at Shelly and Rocky. “And the Sea Fairies are so kind. I wish we were here to visit and not to catch a troll.”

  “I know,” Melli said. “There are so many unusual places to explore. I wish we had more time.”

  “Remember, the sea-salt magic wears off at Sun Dip,” Raina warned. “As much as I love these waters and all the stories of the sea, we have to get back to Rock Candy Isle before this sea-salt magic runs out.”

  Cocoa knew Raina was right, but she didn’t want to return to Candy Kingdom without helping Nillie and the Sea Fairies.

  “We only have one chance to catch Gargo,” Melli said.

  Cocoa smiled at her friend, and together the Candy Fairies, Rocky, and Shelly headed back to the trap set for Gargo at Great Sugar Reef. The sticky business of catching a troll was about to begin!

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Shelly said, “but I can’t wait for Gargo to come!”

  The fairies hid behind a large piece of rock candy to watch.

  “Don’t worry,” Cocoa said. “When Gargo comes this time, we’ll be ready. He won’t get away with stealing anymore. The Candy Fairies will make sure of that!”

  Sneaky Snack

  Cocoa took Shelly’s hand. “We’ve checked all the vines, and those chocolate clams are in the perfect spot,” she whispered. “We’re ready for Gargo. Why hasn’t he come?”

  Shelly peeked out of a crack between two large sugar rocks. “Where is he? The sun is already in the center of the sky.”

  “What will we do if he doesn’t show up?” Rocky asked. “We have to get you five back to the water’s surface by Sun Dip.”

  Cocoa looked up at the surface. The water made the sky blurry, but she could see that the sun was in the afternoon position. “We have time,” she said bravely.

  But more time passed without sight or sound of Gargo. A couple of hours later, when the fairies had almost given up hope, Rocky fluttered her wings.

  “Shhh!” Shelly scolded. “I hear something!”

  Grumble, grumble, grumble.

  The fairies all ducked down behind the rock candy.

  It was Gargo!

  With his large belly and greedy grin, he looked similar to Mogu. He stomped along the bottom of the sea. He was smaller than Mogu, but still a very big troll! The water swirled around his feet and hands as he trudged across the sandy sugar bottom of the sea. Carelessly, he walked into coral and stepped on sea candy plants. The troll had his eye on the chocolate clams the fairies had left on the highest point of the sugar coral reef.

  Cocoa held her breath as she watched Gargo reach for a chocolate clam. She silently urged the troll to take a step forward with his oversized left foot. It was inches from the licorice vine loop!

  “What if he doesn’t take the bait?” Melli whispered.

  “Oh, sugar sticks!” Shelly said. “Come on, Gargo!”

  “We have to be patient,” Cocoa said quietly.

  The troll stopped and turned his head. Cocoa motioned for everyone to be very still. Rocky and Shelly had told them that underwater trolls were sensitive to noise. She grabbed hold of her magic crystal.

  Take a step! Cocoa thought.

  Gargo inched closer and closer to the precious chocolate clams. Just when he lifted his left foot, the fairies pulled the vine, and the loop tightened around Gargo’s ankle. As they yanked the vine with all their might Gargo was lifted up and dangled upside down. Shelly and Rocky rolled a large rock candy onto the rope to hold it in place.

  “Whoa!” he screamed. “Put me down!”

  “We got him!” Rocky cheered. She rushed to face Gargo. “Gargo, no more stealing! You’ve caused enough harm to these waters!”

  The Candy Fairies formed a circle around Rocky. Cocoa was so happy
that their plan had worked. The trap had caught Gargo!

  “Arrrrrrgh!” Gargo moaned.

  Rocky signaled to the caramel turtles hiding in the coral to get Nillie. “We have a troll!” she said proudly. “Gargo is not going anywhere now.”

  “But hurry anyway!” Melli said, eyeing the upside-down troll. “He doesn’t look too happy hanging there.”

  Cocoa looked up at Gargo. “We did it!” she cried.

  “Well, let’s not celebrate until Nillie and the Sea Guards get here,” Raina advised.

  Cocoa knew her friend was right, but she couldn’t help being excited. She knew that Princess Lolli would be so proud of them.

  Berry swam up toward the surface. “Look at the sun,” she said, pointing up.

  All the fairies lifted their eyes up toward the sky. The sun was sliding fast to the west.

  “I hope those sea turtles swim fast!” Dash said.

  “We don’t have much time now, do we?” Melli asked, looking worried.

  “Oh, please don’t leave,” Shelly said. “I’m not sure we can hold these vines tight without you.”

  Gargo was pulling at the vines. A hungry, angry troll was hard to keep still!

  “The sea turtles will get the message to Nillie,” Cocoa said.

  The fairies huddled together on the large rock candy, keeping the vines pulled tight. They wanted to make sure that Gargo wasn’t going anywhere!

  “Raina, maybe you could tell us a story?” Cocoa asked. She knew Raina had so many stories from the Fairy Code Book memorized. “It would help us all keep our minds off waiting for Sun Dip if you told a good story.”

  Raina nodded. “I know the perfect one,” she said.

  “Is it a Lupa story?” Dash asked. She loved the adventure stories about the brave Candy Fairy.

  “It is!” Raina said. “And I think you’ll like this one.”