Shannon the Ocean Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  But suddenly, to Kirsty’s horror, a goblin swam around from the other side of the rock and grabbed the Twilight Pearl!

  As Shannon and the girls watched in dismay, all the other goblins appeared.

  “Oh no.” Rachel groaned. “The beam from the lighthouse helped the goblins find the pearl, too!”

  “We’ll take that, please,” said Kirsty, holding out her hand. But the goblins just laughed.

  “Go away!” one jeered. “The pearl belongs to us!”

  “If you don’t give us that pearl right now,” Shannon said, looking very serious, “I’ll turn the lighthouse off again and leave you here. You know how Pogwurzels love the dark!” She winked at the girls.

  The goblins looked panic-stricken. “Take the pearl. Take the pearl!” they yelped, tossing it through the water to the fairies and swimming speedily away.

  Laughing, Shannon touched her wand to the Twilight Pearl. It shrank to fairy-size immediately. She swept it up into her arms, spinning around in excitement.

  “Everyone in Fairyland will be so happy to have the Twilight Pearl back,” she cried. “But girls, you should get back to Kirsty’s gran so that you can watch the Seafarer come into the dock.”

  The three friends flew quickly to the deserted end of the pier. There, Shannon made Kirsty and Rachel human-size again.

  “Now we just have the Moon Pearl to find,” Shannon reminded the girls, giving them each a quick hug. “See you again very soon!” Then she vanished in a cloud of fairy dust.

  Rachel and Kirsty hurried back down the pier. As they passed the arcade, Kirsty noticed that the toy dolphin Rachel had won was still lying in the chute of the machine.

  “Look, here’s your dolphin,” Kirsty said, handing it to her friend.

  “Let’s share it,” Rachel suggested. “It’ll remind us of our amazing underwater adventures!”

  Kirsty smiled and the girls ran back to the café, where lots of people had gathered to watch the Seafarer approach.

  “Ah, there you are, girls,” said Gran. “I was worried a storm was on the way, because it was so dark out at sea. But luckily, someone managed to get the old lighthouse working to guide the Seafarer in.”

  Rachel and Kirsty shared a secret smile.

  The huge cruise ship was moving slowly into the harbor now. As it did, the darkness began to lift and the sun came out. Everyone clapped and cheered as the ship docked safely.

  “Look, the lighthouse is dark again now,” Kirsty whispered. “Shannon’s fairy magic kept it working just long enough!”

  “And the Twilight Pearl is safely back in Fairyland,” Rachel added happily. “Now, I wonder where the goblins have hidden the Moon Pearl. …”

  “Oh, dear!” Gran exclaimed as she read the paper the next morning.

  “What’s the matter, Gran?” asked Kirsty. The girls were getting ready to go down to the beach.

  “There are major floods in coastal areas all around the world,” Gran explained. “It sounds like the sea is behaving very strangely. The high tides are coming in much farther than they usually do!”

  Rachel and Kirsty glanced at each other in concern. They knew that the Moon Pearl, which controlled the tides, was missing from Fairyland.

  “Have fun at the beach, girls, but make sure you’re back for lunch,” Gran went on. “And keep an eye out for the tides, even though Leamouth doesn’t seem too affected right now.”

  “OK,” the girls agreed.

  “I wonder if Shannon found out where the goblins are hiding with the Moon Pearl,” Rachel said as they hurried through the yard and down the cliff steps to the beach.

  “I hope she has,” Kirsty replied. “All those floods sound scary!”

  It was still early, so the beach was deserted. The girls decided to go straight down to the water. They pulled off their flip-flops and waded into the cool, clear sea.

  “Isn’t it funny to think that we were actually under the sea yesterday?” Kirsty remarked.

  Rachel was about to reply when her eye was caught by a green glass bottle bobbing up and down on the waves. It had a cork in the top. With a rush of excitement, Rachel realized that there was a piece of paper inside.

  “Kirsty, look at this,” she called, grabbing the bottle as it floated by her. “It’s a message in a bottle.” Kirsty waded over and peered through the glass at the piece of paper. “It says Open me!” she read aloud.

  Rachel smiled broadly. “Let’s see what happens,” she said, pulling out the cork.

  Immediately, a sparkling mist of turquoise dust burst out of the bottle — and so did Shannon the Ocean Fairy!

  “Girls, I need your help!” Shannon declared, looking pale. “Fairyland is flooding fast!”

  “Oh, no!” Rachel exclaimed.

  “Is everyone safe?” Kirsty asked.

  Shannon shook her head. “The toadstool houses are all flooding,” she explained. “Fairyland is in chaos!”

  “How can we help?” asked Rachel. “We need to find the Moon Pearl right away,” Shannon replied. “And I think I know where the goblins who have it are hiding.”

  “Where?” asked Rachel.

  “Hawaii!” Shannon told her.

  “Hawaii?” Kirsty repeated, amazed. “How are we going to get there?”

  “With fairy magic, of course!” Shannon laughed. She quickly waved her wand and turned the girls into sparkling fairies. Once she had created some magic bubbles so the girls could breathe underwater, they were ready to go.

  “Follow me,” Shannon said, diving neatly into the waves.

  Kirsty and Rachel did the same.

  “Now, stay very close,” Shannon instructed, linking arms with the girls and waving her wand again.

  Rachel and Kirsty let out a gasp as they were swept off their feet at top speed. A magic current carried the three friends through the water. They went so fast that their hair streamed out behind them!

  The girls couldn’t see anything except for the swirls of rainbow-colored bubbles along the magical stream.

  A few minutes later, Rachel and Kirsty felt themselves slowing down.

  “That was like a super-fast roller coaster ride!” Rachel exclaimed.

  Kirsty nodded. “The water feels much warmer here,” she said.

  “That’s because we’re in Hawaii!” Shannon declared. “See the coral reef?”

  Rachel and Kirsty gazed around. The sea was a clear sapphire-blue. All kinds of colorful tropical fish were weaving their way through the reef of pink, red, and white coral. The sun was shining through the water, creating pretty patterns on the sandy seabed.

  “Let’s go and see what the goblins are up to,” Shannon said with a grin. “I think they’re up here.” She zoomed to the surface, and the girls followed.

  Peeking out of the water, Rachel and Kirsty saw a beautiful island with palm trees and a golden, sandy beach.

  “Listen,” Shannon whispered.

  Rachel and Kirsty suddenly realized that they could hear shouts and whoops of glee. They turned and saw a big, rolling wave making its way toward the beach. And riding on top of the wave, on brightly colored surfboards, was a group of giggling goblins!

  Rachel, Kirsty, and Shannon had to muffle their laughter as they watched the goblins surfing. The goblins all had garlands of flowers around their necks. Some were even wearing flowery Hawaiian shirts or long grass skirts — in the water!

  “They look so funny!” Rachel giggled. “But aren’t they supposed to be in hiding with the Moon Pearl?”

  “I think they’ve forgotten about that,” Shannon replied. “They’re having too much fun!”

  “These waves are gigantic,” Kirsty remarked as another huge wall of water headed toward the beach.“They’re perfect for surfing.”

  Shannon nodded. “Yes, that’s what Hawaii’s famous for,” she said. “But these waves are even bigger than usual!” She frowned. “I think the goblins are using the Moon Pearl to make the waves bigger. To do that, they must have the Moon Pearl underwat
er and close by.”

  “Let’s start searching!” Kirsty said eagerly.

  As Rachel and Kirsty looked around for any sign of the Moon Pearl, they suddenly spotted a group of bright blue seahorses bobbing through the water toward them.

  The tiny seahorses swam right up to Shannon and started talking to her in bubbly, high-pitched voices! The girls looked on in awe.

  “Aren’t they cute?” Kirsty said. “I wonder what they’re saying.”

  Shannon grinned and waved her wand. Rachel and Kirsty suddenly found that they could understand the seahorses perfectly!

  “Hello, Shannon,” the little seahorses chorused.

  “Hello, girls.”

  “We’re very pleased to meet you,” said one.

  “Yes, very pleased to meet you,” the others repeated.

  Rachel and Kirsty were enchanted. “We’re very pleased to meet you, too,” they replied.

  “These baby seahorses are friends of mine,” Shannon explained. “I’ve known them ever since they were born.”

  “Yes, ever since we were born!” the seahorses cried in agreement.

  “Ever since we were born!” squeaked another one, a little bit behind his friends.

  “We’re looking for the Moon Pearl,” Shannon told them. “Have you seen it?”

  The seahorses bounced up and down in the water, looking very excited. “We think so! We think so!” they all yelled in their tiny voices.

  “Not far from here are two strange green creatures,” one of the seahorses explained. “They have flappy black feet.”

  “Flappy black feet!” the others repeated.

  “And they’re guarding a big, white pearl,” another added.

  “A BIG WHITE PEARL!” shouted all the seahorses together.

  “They were over there by a tall, pointy rock, next to the coral reef,” one seahorse explained.

  “Over there, over there!” chorused the others.

  “Thank you, friends,” Shannon said with a smile. “Come on, girls.”

  She swam off quickly, and Kirsty and Rachel followed. They only paused to wave at the seahorses, who were bobbing up and down in a frenzy of excitement.

  It didn’t take long to find the rock the seahorses had mentioned. Cautiously, Shannon and the girls peeked out from behind it.

  “There they are,” Shannon whispered. “And there’s the Moon Pearl!”

  Two goblins were playing catch with a big, creamy-white pearl. Kirsty caught her breath in wonder. She watched the pearl shimmer in the turquoise water as the goblins tossed it back and forth.

  “It’s not fair!” One of the goblins moaned. “We’re stuck down here, guarding the Moon Pearl while everyone else is surfing.”

  “Yeah, two new guards were supposed to come and take over after half an hour,” the other grumbled. “But nobody showed up!”

  Shannon grinned at Rachel and Kirsty. “There are only two of them,” she whispered. “This is our chance to get the pearl. But how?”

  Rachel thought for a moment. “Maybe we could sneak over to the goblins and grab the pearl when it’s in midair,” she suggested. “Like a game of monkey-in-the-middle.”

  Kirsty nodded. “There’s some coral and clumps of seaweed to hide behind,” she said eagerly. “Let’s give it a try.”

  The three of them swam silently to a boulder covered with colorful sea anemones. Then they slipped through the gap between two large pieces of coral and hid behind a bunch of seaweed. They were very close to the goblins now.

  Anxiously, they all peered through the seaweed to see if the goblins had spotted them, but they were still tossing the pearl back and forth.

  “OK, we’re right between the goblins here,” Shannon whispered. “Who’s going to try to grab the pearl?”

  “Rachel, you’re good at ball games,” said Kirsty.

  “I’ll give it a try,” Rachel agreed bravely.

  They all waited as one of the goblins prepared to throw the pearl back to the other.

  “Now, Rachel!” Shannon said.

  Rachel soared up from behind the seaweed at the same moment that the goblin tossed the pearl. As it flew through the air, Rachel swam forward, stretching out her arms to grab it.

  Kirsty held her breath as she watched. Would Rachel be able to reach the pearl before the goblins realized what was going on?

  Rachel felt her fingertips brush the surface of the pearl, but it was too high for her to catch. “Oh no!” She moaned as the pearl flew over her head.

  “It’s those pesky fairies!” yelled the goblin who had thrown the pearl.

  With a determined look on his face, the other goblin zoomed through the water with the help of his flippers. He snatched the pearl before Rachel could try to grab it again.

  “Now, let’s go!” the first goblin shouted. “Hurry!”

  The two goblins shot off through the water, propelling themselves with their huge magic flippers. Quickly, Shannon and Kirsty joined Rachel.

  “After them!” Shannon gasped.

  The three girls swam swiftly after the goblins.

  They raced along the coral reef, passing schools of fish and a very surprised-looking turtle. But the goblins, with the help of their magic flippers, were just too fast to catch.

  “It’s no use.” Shannon panted as the goblins disappeared from sight. “They’re too fast.” She stopped and looked at Rachel and Kirsty in dismay. “How are we ever going to get the Moon Pearl back?”

  Suddenly, they heard a chorus of tiny voices say, “We can help! We can help!” The little seahorses were back, bobbing through the water in a long line. “Let us help you catch the goblins!”

  “You can ride on our backs,” one suggested.

  “You can ride on our backs!” the others agreed.

  Shannon smiled. “That’s very nice of you,” she said gently, “but I don’t think you’ll be fast enough.”

  “We will, we will,” the seahorses chorused. “We’ve been practicing. Now we’re extra-fast!”

  Shannon turned to Rachel and Kirsty.

  “In that case, climb aboard!” she said, laughing.

  Rachel and Kirsty each jumped onto the back of a seahorse, and Shannon did the same.

  “Hold on! Hold tight!” the seahorses shouted as they zoomed off.

  “They are fast!” Kirsty gasped, clinging to her seahorse’s neck as they shot through the water.

  The seahorses were graceful, dodging neatly around rocks and shells, and racing in and out of coral arches.

  “There are the goblins,” Rachel said, as she caught a glimpse of them swimming ahead. “We’re catching up to them!”

  But how are we ever going to get the pearl away from them? Kirsty wondered as the seahorses whizzed past a clump of feathery seaweed. As she glanced at the long fronds waving in the water, she had an idea. “Maybe we could tie the goblins up with seaweed!”

  “Good idea!” Shannon cried. She immediately raised her wand. With a burst of fairy magic, she knotted together some long strands of seaweed.

  “Rachel, you take one end of the seaweed rope,” Shannon instructed. “If your seahorse stays still when we get near the goblins, Kirsty and I can tie the goblins up.”

  “Stay still, stay still,” Rachel’s seahorse repeated, nodding his little head.

  Quietly, Rachel, Kirsty, Shannon, and the seahorses snuck up behind the goblins.

  “Now, everyone except Rachel and her seahorse, swim around the goblins as fast as you can,” Shannon whispered.

  The seahorses darted forward, except for Rachel’s, who stayed very still. Rachel hung on to one end of the seaweed rope, while Kirsty and Shannon held the rest of it.

  “Hooray!” the seahorses yelled excitedly as they swam around the goblins. “Around and around and around we go!”

  The goblins’ eyes almost popped out of their heads when they saw Kirsty, Shannon, and the seahorses racing around them.

  “It’s those fairies again!” one of them yelled. “Let’s get out o
f here!”

  But before they could move, the seaweed rope tightened, stopping them in their tracks. The goblins cried out with rage as the seaweed rope tied them up in knots.

  “Help!” the goblins shrieked.

  Rachel, Kirsty, and Shannon rode their seahorses over to the goblins and took the Moon Pearl right out of their hands. The goblins scowled at them.

  “When we let go of the rope, it will take you a little while to get free,” Shannon told them. “That will give you time to think about what you’ve done.”

  “Horrible fairy!” the goblins muttered, sticking their tongues out at her. Shannon quickly touched her wand to the creamy surface of the Moon Pearl, and it instantly shrank to its Fairyland size.

  “Thank you, my friends,” Shannon called to the seahorses, who were still dancing happily around the goblins. She waved her wand, showering herself, Rachel, and Kirsty with sparkles. “See you again soon!”

  “Bye-bye! Bye-bye!” the seahorses called happily.

  The next moment, the girls found themselves flying through the air as Shannon’s magic whisked them up and out of the sea.

  “I think the goblins will rush back to Jack Frost to tell him they lost the Moon Pearl,” Shannon called to Rachel and Kirsty. “Hopefully they’ll leave Hawaii before any humans spot them.” She glanced down and pointed with her wand. “Look, girls!”

  Rachel and Kirsty saw that they were now flying over Fairyland.

  Rachel gasped. “Look at the river!” she cried.

  The twisting river that wound its way through the green fairy meadows had burst its banks. Lots of the toadstool houses were already surrounded by water!