Nia the Night Owl Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  Night or Day?

  Magic Owl

  Snoring Goblins

  Topsy-Turvy

  Zipline Show!

  Shadow Swoops In

  “Hold on tight, Kirsty,” Rachel called to her best friend, Kirsty Tate. “We’re almost there!”

  “I’m right behind you, Rachel!” Kirsty called back.

  The girls were walking carefully across the wobbly bridge in the Forest Fun Adventure Playground. The wooden bridge was part of a high-ropes course. It was strung between two trees way above the ground. It swayed and wobbled gently as the girls moved across it, making them shriek with laughter.

  “Oh, this is too much fun!” Kirsty gasped. “I love Camp Stargaze, Rachel. There’s so much to do here.”

  The girls and their parents were spending a week of summer vacation at Camp Stargaze, and the Forest Fun playground was in a clearing in the woods on the edge of the campground. There was a treetop walk, a few hideouts, and two ziplines next to each other, as well as the wobbly bridge. The biggest tree in the clearing, the one the girls were heading toward on the wobbly bridge, had a wooden treehouse in its branches.

  There was also a twisty slide that wrapped around the tree’s trunk and led all the way down to an underground fort built below the roots of the tree. It was late afternoon, just after snack time, and the girls were still enjoying the warmth of the summer sun.

  “I know,” Rachel agreed. “Camp Stargaze is amazing. And not only that, we’re in the middle of another exciting fairy adventure, too!”

  Shortly after Rachel and Kirsty had arrived at the camp, their fairy friends had asked for their help once again.

  The girls soon met the Night Fairies, who were responsible for making sure that the hours between dusk and dawn were peaceful in both the human and fairy worlds. They did this work with the help of their special bags of magic fairy dust. But while the Night Fairies were at a party under the stars, Jack Frost and his goblins had stolen the magic bags from them! Jack Frost was determined to cause nighttime chaos. With his icy magic, he sent the goblins to hide the bags in the human world. But Rachel, Kirsty, and the Night Fairies had already found four of the seven bags, and they were hoping to find the others, too.

  “Rachel, Kirsty!” a voice shouted. “We’re over here.”

  The girls glanced up and saw their new friends Matt and Lucas hanging out of one of the treehouse windows. Rachel and Kirsty wobbled to the end of the bridge and went to join them inside the big treehouse. “Have you been on the ziplines yet?” Lucas asked with a grin.

  Kirsty shook her head. “I think I need to recover from the wobbly bridge first!” she replied.

  Matt was still hanging out of the window. “Look, Lucas,” he said, pointing down at the ground below them. “There’s your mom and Lizzy.”

  Lucas’s mom and his little sister were wandering through the clearing. They waved up at the treehouse, and Lucas, Rachel, Kirsty, and Matt waved back.

  “Let’s go down the twisty slide and say hi!” Rachel suggested.

  The top of the silver slide was just outside the treehouse door. Rachel climbed onto it and then immediately shot down with a shriek of surprise.

  “It’s really slippery!” she cried as she disappeared from view.

  “Watch out, Rachel!” Kirsty yelled as she jumped on the slide, too. “Here I come!”

  Laughing, Rachel zoomed around the trunk of the tree, then through the trapdoor to the underground fort at the bottom. She tumbled off the end of the slide and onto a soft cushion. Kirsty came flying into the underground house a few seconds later, and the two girls grinned at each other.

  “Here come the boys!” Rachel said as they heard Matt and Lucas sliding toward them.

  First Matt, and then Lucas, tumbled into the underground fort. Next, all four of them climbed out and ran to join Lucas’s mom and Lizzy. They were staring very closely at a large, leafy bush.

  “What are you looking at?” Lucas asked curiously.

  “Porcupines,” Lucas’s mom replied. Both her and Lizzy’s eyes were wide with delight. “Look!”

  Rachel and Kirsty peeked into the bush, and saw two small porcupines scampering around in the leaves.

  “Aren’t they cute?” said Rachel as the porcupines scurried back and forth. Just then, Kirsty heard a rustling noise in the undergrowth behind them. She spun around and caught a glimpse of gray fur and a black-and-white striped head. Quickly, she nudged Rachel.

  “There’s a badger over there!” Kirsty whispered.

  Rachel, Lucas, and the others watched in amazement as the badger came into view. He was sniffing through the leaves in search of something to eat.

  “This is great!” Matt said, looking excited as the badger hurried past, not even noticing them. “I’ve never seen a badger or a porcupine during the day before.”

  Kirsty frowned. “Matt’s right,” she said to Rachel. “Don’t porcupines and badgers usually come out at night?”

  “Let’s go up to the wildlife hideout in the treetops and look for more animals,” Rachel suggested. The hideout was a special shelter where people could watch animals without scaring them away.

  “We’re going back to camp to play football,” Lucas told the girls. “See you later.”

  The wildlife hideout was hidden behind a canopy of leaves in the branches of one of the trees. Kirsty and Rachel climbed the ladder and then hurried along one of the wooden walkways that connected the treetop trail. When they arrived, the hideout was empty. There were wildlife posters on the walls. Two pairs of binoculars lay on the seat in front of the window.

  “Look, Rachel, we can see the camp,” Kirsty pointed out, picking up a pair of the binoculars.

  “And past the camp, too,” Rachel added. She took the other binoculars and looked through them. “We can see the river we sailed up to get to the camp. And I can see cows and sheep in the field across the river—OH!” Rachel looked startled.

  “What is it?” Kirsty asked.

  “The farm animals are all fast asleep!” Rachel told her. “Isn’t that strange?”

  Kirsty focused her binoculars on the field across the river. Now she could also see that the cows and sheep were all sleeping happily!

  “But it’s still daytime!” Kirsty pointed out, confused. “Why are the nighttime creatures like the badger and porcupines awake during the day? And why are the animals like cows and sheep, who should be awake, sound asleep?”

  “Do you think this could have something to do with Jack Frost stealing the Night Fairies’ magic dust?” Rachel suggested, looking worried.

  “It must!” Kirsty insisted with a frown. “After all, everything’s been going wrong at nighttime since Jack Frost and his goblins stole the magic bags.”

  “But it isn’t nighttime,” Rachel said. “The suns still shining. It’s not even dusk yet!”

  The girls exchanged confused glances. Suddenly a soft, hooting sound outside the wildlife hideout made them both almost jump out of their skin.

  “What’s that noise?” Kirsty cried nervously.

  “I think it might be an owl,” Rachel suggested. “And it sounds like it’s close by. Let’s go and take a look.”

  The girls crept away from the hideout. They could still hear the gentle whoo-whoo sound, and they followed it, walking along one of the wooden bridges toward the treehouse. Suddenly, Kirsty clutched Rachel’s arm.

  “Look!” she whispered, “There, on that big branch near the roof of the treehouse!”

  Rachel looked where Kirsty was pointing and her face lit up with delight. A nest had been built in the crook of the branch, and inside it sat a brown owl, hooting softly. Three fluffy baby owls with large round eyes were cuddled up next to her.

/>   “Oh, aren’t they cute?” Rachel whispered to Kirsty as the mother and baby owls all blinked their big eyes at them. They didn’t seem nervous, but the girls were careful to speak quietly and not startle them in any way. “But shouldn’t they be asleep, too?”

  “Yes, they should,” Kirsty agreed. “Owls are only supposed to be awake at night.”

  Suddenly the girls heard the flapping of wings overhead. They glanced up and saw a snow-white owl, its feathers beautifully streaked with silver, hovering just above the roof of the treehouse. As Kirsty looked a little closer, she saw that the owl’s feathers were sparkling and glittering in the bright sunlight.

  “Rachel, I think that’s fairy magic!” Kirsty gasped, breathless with excitement as she pointed out the dazzling feathers.

  “Are you a magic owl?” Rachel asked.

  The snowy owl hooted softly and flapped her wings.

  “I think she wants us to go with her!” Kirsty exclaimed.

  Immediately, the owl flew off the treehouse roof and circled above the girls. She shook her wings and a cloud of rainbow-colored sparkles floated downward, showering Rachel and Kirsty with fairy magic.

  “We’re becoming fairies, Kirsty!” Rachel laughed as she felt herself quickly shrinking down.

  The mother and baby owls watched in astonishment as the girls turned into tiny fairies with shimmering wings on their backs. Then the snow-white owl shook her own wings again. Rachel and Kirsty both shut their eyes as they were whirled away in a burst of magic fairy dust. Rachel’s heart thumped with excitement. She wondered where the owl was taking them!

  A few seconds later, the girls opened their eyes to find themselves flying alongside the snowy owl over the familiar sights of Fairyland. They could see the royal palace with its four pink towers and the fairies’ red-and-white toadstool houses. But as they swooped down, Rachel could tell that something wasn’t quite right.

  “Isn’t this strange, Kirsty?” she called. “It’s so quiet.”

  “I know,” Kirsty replied with a frown.

  “Oh!” Rachel exclaimed suddenly as they flew lower. “Now I can see why, Kirsty. All the fairies are fast asleep!”

  Kirsty realized that Rachel was right. Every where the girls looked, they could see sleeping fairies. Some were lying in he meadow by the river among the grass and wildflowers. Others were stretched out on the Fairyland beach in the sunshine. As Rachel and Kirsty flew past the toadstool houses, they peeked into the windows and saw fairies asleep in beds and in chairs. One had even fallen asleep while baking a cake in the kitchen!

  There were lots of fairies in the palace gardens, too. Even the Night Fairies were lying among the flowers, dozing peacefully. One of them was sleeping upright, leaning against the trunk of a tree.

  “This is all because of Jack Frost!” Kirsty sighed. “Do you think we should wake the fairies up?”

  “Let’s see what the magic owl wants us to do,” Rachel suggested.

  The owl was just ahead of the girls. She was hovering in midair, checking to make sure they were still following her. Rachel and Kirsty rushed to catch up, and the owl led them to a tall tree in the middle of the palace gardens. There, nestled at the foot of a tree, the girls saw a fairy. She was fast asleep, just like the others. “It’s Nia the Night Owl Fairy!” Kirsty whispered to Rachel.

  The girls watched as the magic owl hooted gently. She flapped her wings and stared anxiously at Nia. But Nia didn’t even stir. The owl began to hoot more loudly, batting her wings up and down.

  Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

  Suddenly, Nia moved her head slightly. Rachel and Kirsty watched with relief as the fairy’s eyes gradually flickered open and she yawned, wiggling her wings.

  “Hello, Nia,” Rachel said with a smile. Nia’s eyes now opened wide and she sat up. She wore a pink-and-white spotted T-shirt with a picture of an owl on it, cutoff jeans over leggings, and sparkly pink sneakers.

  “Oh, Rachel and Kirsty, it’s you!” Nia exclaimed in surprise, tossing back her long dark hair. “I’m so happy to see you. How did you get here?”

  “A magic owl brought us!” Kirsty laughed, and the snowy owl hooted in agreement. Nia noticed the owl for the first time, and her face lit up.

  “Shadow, you’re such a smart bird!” Nia declared, glancing around the palace gardens at all the other sleeping fairies. “Girls, this is Shadow, a magic owl who lives in Fairyland. She obviously realized that something was very wrong here, and went to find you.”

  “Something’s very wrong in the human world, too, Nia,” Rachel explained. “All the nighttime animals are awake during the day, and all the daytime animals are asleep.”

  “And now all the fairies are asleep, too!” Kirsty added.

  Nia shook her head in dismay. “This is all because my bag of magic sleep dust is missing.” She sighed. “That’s why everyone’s sleep is all mixed up! Girls, will you help me get my bag back from those troublesome goblins?”

  “Of course we will,” Rachel said. Kirsty nodded in agreement, and Shadow the magic owl looked pleased and hooted with satisfaction.

  “Then let’s return to Camp Stargaze right away!” Nia cried. And with one flick of her wrist, a stream of shimmering sparkles whirled from her wand and surrounded them all, including Shadow.

  A few seconds later they were all back in the Forest Fun Adventure Playground on the edge of the campsite. Luckily, nobody else was around. Rachel and Kirsty were still fairy-size, but Shadow had changed back to the size of an ordinary owl. She flew up into one of the trees and settled on a branch.

  “Now, where are those goblins?” Nia wondered. “I can sense that they’re around here somewhere with my bag of sleep dust.”

  The three friends began to search the playground. But as they did, they started to notice a loud, rumbling noise above their heads. “What is that noise?” Rachel asked, clapping her hands over her ears as it became even louder. “It’s awful!”

  “It sounds like it’s coming from the treehouse,” Kirsty said, glancing upward.

  Nia nodded. “I think someone’s snoring very loudly!” she said with a frown. “We’d better fly up there and check it out.”

  Rachel and Kirsty followed Nia up to the treehouse, passing the owl’s nest on the way. The mother had gone to hunt for food, and only the three babies were left, blinking their huge eyes as Nia and the girls passed by.

  Rachel, Kirsty, and Nia reached the treehouse and peeked through one of the windows. They could hardly believe what they saw. Four goblins were inside the treehouse, curled up in different positions under cozy blankets. They were all fast asleep and snoring loudly.

  “Perfect!” Kirsty whispered, trying not to laugh. “Now we’ll have a chance to search for the magic bag.”

  “We’ll have to be quick,” Nia replied in a low voice. “If we don’t find it, humans will be the next ones to start falling asleep while it’s still daylight!”

  Nia and the girls flew through the window into the treehouse. But before they could search for the bag, they heard shrill, squawking sounds behind them.

  Whoo! Whoo! WHOO!

  Rachel spun around and saw the baby owls calling from their nest, looking scared.

  “Oh, no!” Rachel groaned. “The baby owls must be scared of the loud snoring, and they’re calling for their mother.”

  WHOO! the owls squawked.

  “And they’ve woken up the goblins!” Kirsty added in dismay as the goblins began to stir.

  They were going to wake up and see the girls any minute!

  Rachel spotted the mother owl flying back through the trees to comfort her babies. But it was too late. The four goblins were already awake, and they sat up yawning and rubbing their eyes. They all looked extremely annoyed!

  “It’s still daytime,” one of them said grumpily. “We’re supposed to be asleep!”

  At that moment, the smallest goblin spotted Nia, Rachel, and Kirsty hovering by the window.

  “I bet they woke us up by making silly noise
s!” the smallest goblin cried. He pointed an accusing finger at them. “Horrible fairies!”

  “Ignore them,” ordered a long-nosed goblin.

  “We’ll just go and find somewhere else to sleep until the sun sets. It’s only a short time from now.”

  Still complaining loudly, the goblins began tucking their pillows under their arms and rolling up their blankets.

  “It’s silly sleeping in the daytime,” the smallest goblin muttered angrily. “We’re supposed to go to sleep at night.”

  “Stop moaning!” snapped one of the other goblins, who had huge ears. “You know Jack Frost is having trouble sleeping, so he wants everyone else’s sleep to be mixed up, too.”

  “And anyway,” the long-nosed goblin added, grabbing his pillow, “if we sleep all day, that means we get to stay up and play all night!”

  Nia turned to Rachel and Kirsty. “I wonder why Jack Frost is having trouble getting to sleep,” she whispered. “Maybe that’s why he hates the nighttime so much.”

  The smallest goblin was still looking very pouty. “Well, I’m not sleeping very well, either,” he muttered. “You all have nice, cozy blankets, but mine isn’t comfy at all!” He shot a jealous glance at the long-nosed goblin’s blanket. “I want that one!”

  “No way!” the long-nosed goblin cried. But the small goblin grabbed a corner of the blanket and tried to pull it out of the other one’s arms. The long-nosed goblin wrestled it away from him.

  “I’ll show you exactly how cozy this blanket is!” he yelled. He grabbed the smallest goblin and began rolling him up inside it! The small goblin gave a shriek as he was left rolled up inside the blanket with just his head sticking out of one end and his feet sticking out of the other.