“I was hoping you’d say that.” Cherry smiled. “Off we go!”
With a blur of bright colors—and the delicious smell of freshly-baked cakes—Kirsty and Rachel found themselves flying through the air toward Fairyland.
“Hello,” a sweet voice called as they landed with a bump. “Which one of you is Kirsty and which one is Rachel? I’ve heard so much about you, my dears.”
Kirsty and Rachel blinked and looked around. They were in Fairyland, and both girls were now fairy-size themselves. They even had wings! And there, standing in front of them, was somebody who could only be the Fairy Godmother. She had long, copper-colored hair held back by her crown, the kindest green eyes that Rachel and Kirsty had ever seen, and wings that shimmered every time they moved. Her long golden dress was covered in tiny glimmering jewels that twinkled in all the colors of the rainbow.
“I’m Kirsty,” Kirsty said, jumping up at once.
“And I’m Rachel,” Rachel added, scrambling to her feet.
“Delighted to meet you at last,” the Fairy Godmother replied, bending into a beautiful curtsy.
Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the goblin, who was standing next to Cherry.
“I see you’ve taken something that doesn’t belong to you,” she said sternly, pointing a finger at Cherry’s party bag.
The party bag glowed with red and purple light, then shot out of the goblin’s hands. It zoomed straight over to Cherry, who grabbed it with relief.
“Thank you!” she cried.
“You’re welcome, my dear,” the Fairy Godmother said. Then she fixed her gaze on the goblin. “As for you, I know the perfect way to teach you a lesson.” She pointed a finger at the goblin. “You’ll need that,” she said, “and that.” Kirsty and Rachel couldn’t help laughing as an enormous chef’s hat appeared on the goblin’s head, and a crisp white apron wrapped itself around his body.
“You can help in the Party Workshop for the rest of the week, icing all the cakes,” the Fairy Godmother insisted. “Let’s hope that keeps you out of trouble.”
The goblin pouted as Cherry led him away. “You won’t catch the other goblins as easily,” he snarled. “They’ll get the rest of the party bags, just you wait and see!”
Once he had gone, the Fairy Godmother turned back to Kirsty and Rachel. “I’m afraid he might be right,” she told them. “Jack Frost’s goblins can be very clever, as you know. They’ll try every trick they know to steal the other magic party bags.”
“What can we do to help?” Kirsty asked.
The Fairy Godmother smiled. “All you can do is look out for trouble at parties,” she said. “The goblins will probably try to cause problems at human parties, because they know that the Party Fairies will rush to help. That will give them a chance to steal the fairies’ party bags.”
“We’ll keep a lookout,” Rachel promised.
Just then, Cherry returned. “We’d better send you back to your party,” she told the girls. “And don’t worry—I’m sure there won’t be any more goblins spoiling your fun today.” She carefully opened her party bag and reached inside. The Fairy Godmother pointed her wand at the girls and called, “Home!” At the same time, Cherry threw a handful of red and purple fairy dust over them.
The world seemed to spin, there was a sweet, sugary smell in the air, and then the girls found themselves back in Kirsty’s kitchen.
“Jessica’s the winner!” they heard Mrs. Tate saying. “Come and get your prize for being the best statue, Jessica.”
“It sounds like the game just finished,” Kirsty said happily, “just like Cherry promised. Let’s go and join the party again, Rachel.”
But Rachel was staring at the kitchen table with wonder. “Kirsty!” she cried. “Look at your cake!”
Kirsty gasped in surprise. The red and purple fairy dust that Cherry had thrown over them was floating down onto the cake that Mr. Tate had made—and the goblin had trampled. As the fairy dust landed on the cake, something amazing happened. A delicious fragrance of vanilla and sugar floated around the room, and the original cake melted into thin air. Instantly, a new cake formed in its place. Kirsty and
Rachel stared in wonder as three layers appeared, one by one, beautifully covered with white, pink, and purple icing. Each layer was decorated with tiny sugar fairies, vines of sugar roses, and shiny silver bells. Kirsty broke the silence with a sudden laugh. “It’s the Party Fairies!” she cried, pointing at the sugar figures. “See? There’s Cherry with a wooden spoon, and the Glitter Fairy, didn’t Bertram say her name was Grace? And a fairy with a present—that must be Jasmine. And—” Suddenly, they heard Mrs. Tate calling for them. “Kirsty! Rachel! Where are you?”
“Time to go,” Rachel said. “Should we take the cake in with us, just to be on the safe side?”
“Good idea,” said Kirsty. Then she grinned. “I can’t wait to see everybody’s faces!”
Very carefully, the girls lifted the magnificent cake. As they carried it into the living room together, the little silver bells tinkled happily.
“Wow!” cried Kirsty’s friend Jessica. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Another girl, Molly, was licking her lips. “It’s almost too beautiful to eat,” she said. “But it smells so delicious, I’ll just have to give it a try!”
Mrs. Tate looked dazzled. “It’s a work of art!” she said to her husband in amazement.
Mr. Tate was staring at the cake with a bewildered expression on his face. “Well…um…It’s not too hard to make, when you know how,” he said sheepishly.
“I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do for my birthday next month!” Mrs. Tate added. Mr. Tate looked alarmed at that, so Kirsty quickly interrupted. “Can we cut the cake now, Mom?”
“Good idea,” Mrs. Tate replied. She lit the candles, and everybody sang “Happy Birthday.” Then Kirsty carefully sliced into the lowest layer of the cake. As she did, hundreds of magical butterflies fluttered into the room. Their colorful wings sparkled in the sunshine.
“Ooooh!” everybody exclaimed, as the butterflies vanished into thin air. “Just like magic!”
Kirsty and Rachel smiled at each other. They both knew that it was magic—fairy magic, the most wonderful kind in the world!
As they took bites of the delicious birthday cake, they both couldn’t help thinking about their new fairy mission.
“I can’t wait to meet the other Party Fairies,” Rachel whispered to Kirsty. “But I’m not looking forward to seeing any more goblins.”
“I know,” Kirsty agreed. “I just hope we can keep them from ruining the king and queen’s party.”
Rachel patted her friend’s arm. “At least Cherry said there’d be no more trouble at your party,” she pointed out. “So we can enjoy the rest of your birthday without worrying.”
Kirsty nodded. “Yes,” she said and grinned. “An invitation to the king and queen’s anniversary party, meeting Cherry, and a visit to Fairyland—I knew this was going to be a wonderful birthday,” she sighed happily. “And I was right!”
“Kirsty, you’re an amazing dancer!” Rachel Walker smiled, clapping her hands as her friend took a bow. Kirsty had just finished practicing the ballet steps she would be performing later that evening.
“It will look even better tonight, when I’m with the other dancers and everyone is in costume,” Kirsty replied with a grin.
“And wait till you hear the beautiful music.”
Rachel was staying with her best friend, Kirsty Tate, for the week. That evening, the girls were going to the village hall for a very special occasion—the first anniversary of Kirsty’s ballet school.
“It’s going to be a great party,” Kirsty went on. “My ballet teacher decorated the hall and is organizing some games, and all the parents are bringing food.”
“It sounds like fun,” Rachel agreed. “But if it’s a party, then we’ll have to be on the lookout for goblins!”
Suddenly, the girls heard Mrs. Tate’s voice. “
Time to go, girls!” she called.
Kirsty and Rachel hurried downstairs to join Kirsty’s mom and dad.
Mr. Tate held up a cake tin. “I made cupcakes for the party,” he explained, lifting the lid.
“Cupcakes, my favorite!” Rachel said with delight. “You couldn’t have made anything better.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Kirsty grinned, carefully taking the tin.
Mr. Tate drove them all to the village hall. They arrived to find it already full of friends and families who had come to join the celebration.
“The hall looks so different!” Kirsty gasped. Several rows of chairs had been set up to face the stage, just like in a real theater. Shiny silver streamers hung from the ceiling, twinkling Christmas lights bordered the stage, and bunches of silver and white balloons floated above each table of food.
While Mr. and Mrs. Tate chatted with other parents, Rachel and Kirsty arranged the cupcakes on a plate. They weren’t the only things that looked delicious.
“Yum, chocolate éclairs!” Kirsty pointed out. Then she frowned. “They look almost too good to be true.”
“Maybe we should test some of these—just to make sure the food hasn’t been spoiled by a goblin!” Rachel suggested.
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-35680-0
Copyright © 2005 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.
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First Scholastic printing, July 2010
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Cherry the Cake Fairy Page 2
