Mirror, Mirror
Flashing Lights
Who’s There?
Moondust Magic
Caught!
Moon in the Mirror
It was a cool, dark evening. Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker stood with a group of children at the edge of Mirror Lake—a wide, still stretch of water surrounded by hills. The two friends were staying with their families at a vacation spot called Camp Stargaze. They were having a wonderful week so far!
As its name suggested, Camp Stargaze was the perfect place to see the night sky. There were lots of unusual and exciting activities for the campers to do every night, too. So far, Kirsty and Rachel had been to a campfire midnight feast, gone firefly-watching in the Whispering Woods, and studied the stars from the Camp’s observatory. Tonight, they were about to set sail on a moonlit boat ride!
“Come on, you landlubbers,” called Peter, the camp counselor. He led them along a small wooden dock, and Kirsty and Rachel saw that a motorboat was tied to the dock. “All aboard, me hearties!”
Chatting and laughing, the kids climbed aboard. The boat was lit with lanterns that cast golden reflections onto the dark water of the lake. The boat rocked gently as people took their seats, and Kirsty excitedly squeezed Rachel’s hand once they sat down. “Every time I go on a boat it reminds me of the first time we met,” she said. “Do you remember?”
Rachel smiled at her. The two girls had met on a ferry one summer when their families were both going on vacation to Rainspell Island. Kirsty and Rachel had liked each other immediately, and had ended up having a magical time together that week—and they’d shared lots of adventures ever since!
“Of course I remember,” Rachel replied. “And I hope—” She broke off as Lucas and Matt, two boys that they’d become friends with, sat down nearby. The girls knew that they couldn’t let anyone find out their secret—they were friends with the fairies, and were often called to Fairyland to help on important missions!
Kirsty could guess what Rachel had been about to say—that she hoped they had another fairy adventure that night! “I hope so, too,” she whispered quickly. The girls had been helping the Night Fairies search for their stolen bags of magic dust all week, but there were still two bags they hadn’t been able to track down … yet.
“Everyone ready? Then let’s go!” called Peter. A lady named Alison started the engine of the boat, and its loud chugging broke the quiet of the evening. Then the boat moved slowly away from the dock and across the dark water.
“This lake is called Mirror Lake,” Peter told everyone, “because in the daytime, the water is usually so smooth and calm, it’s like looking in a mirror. The moon is supposed to be pretty full tonight. I was hoping we’d get a wonderful reflection in the water, but right now it’s too cloudy.” He shrugged. “Hopefully the clouds will disappear soon, so we can see the moon. Its reflection looks amazing in the lake—twice as bright as it is in the sky!”
It didn’t take long for the boat to reach the other side of the lake, where Alison and Peter tied it to a small dock, then helped everyone ashore.
“Wow, look at these rocks,” Matt said, shining his flashlight on them. “They’re really glittery, aren’t they?” “I think they’re granite,” Rachel said, switching on her flashlight so she could see better. Kirsty fumbled in her pockets for her own flashlight, but couldn’t find it. “That’s weird,” she muttered to herself. “I’m sure I had it earlier.”
“Okay, listen up,” Peter called. “Tonight’s activity is sending Morse code signals! Morse code is a way of communicating with someone else using short and long signals that represent letters of the alphabet. I’ll split you into two teams, and you’ll each have a special light for signaling each other across the lake. I’ll also give you a copy of the Morse code alphabet.”
Rachel and Kirsty smiled at each other. This sounded like fun!
“Rachel, Kirsty, Lucas, Matt—you can be one team, Peter said. “I’ll take you to your base, farther down the shoreline.”
“And Hannah, Holly, Tom, and Ben, you’re the second team,” Alison said. “Follow me, guys, and we’ll go in the opposite direction.”
Alison’s team went on the path that headed to the top of the lake, while Peter’s team took the path that went down the shoreline. After a few minutes, Peter stopped walking and stared up at one of the hills. “That light isn’t usually up there,” he said, sounding confused. “Some people must be camping there, I guess.”
Rachel and Kirsty turned their heads and gazed up to see what he meant. Beaming down from the nearest hilltop was a large light that was so bright and powerful, it made them both blink and look away.
“I hope that doesn’t get much brighter,” Peter said. “It could disturb the wildlife.” He shrugged. “With any luck, they’ll turn it off soon.”
They continued walking around the lake until they reached a spot where the path widened, and some logs had been arranged in a semicircle. “Here we are,” Peter said, setting the lantern on a flat rock overlooking the lake.
Just then, they saw a flash of light from across the water, then another, then another. “Aha!” he said. “Perfect timing. That’s the other team letting us know they’re ready to start. Let’s get ourselves all ready, then I’ll signal back to them.”
Peter gave Rachel the Morse code sheet to hold, and Kirsty took a notepad and pen. Then the four kids sat down on the logs. “OK,” said Peter, and he quickly clicked the lantern on and off three times. “Now they know we’re ready, too, so keep a close watch and let’s see if we can crack their code!”
They didn’t have to wait long before the light across the lake started flashing. First came a long flash, then a short one, then another long flash, and another short one. Then everything was dark again.
“So that was long, short, long, short,” Peter said. “Can you find that on the alphabet sheet?”
Kirsty, Rachel, and the boys pored over the chart. Each letter had a sequence of dots and dashes next to it. The dots represented short flashes of light, and the dashes stood for long flashes, Peter explained. “So you’re looking for dash, dot, dash, dot,” he said. “There it is,” said Kirsty. “The letter C!” “Good job, and just in time.” Peter laughed. “Here they go again!”
They sat in silence while the light across the lake flashed again—one short flash, then a longer one.
“Dot, dash,” Matt said. “Easy—that’s A!”
There was a pause and then the third letter came. It was a long flash, then a short one, which represented the letter N.
It was a lot of fun deciphering the code. After several minutes they had a few words: CAN YOU HEAR THE … The next letter was three long flashes.
“O,” Lucas said, looking at the chart. Then came a short flash, followed by two long ones. “W,” said Kirsty. She grinned. “‘Can you hear the OW?’ Do you think someone is hurt over there?” she joked.
The final letter was a short flash, a long flash, and then two short flashes. “That’s got to be L, doesn’t it?” Rachel said, running her finger down the chart. “Yes—it is! So their message is, ‘Can you hear the owl?’ Let’s listen!”
Right on cue, they heard an owl hoot in the stillness of the night, and they all cheered and laughed.
“It’s your turn to send a message back now,” Peter said. “What do you want to say?
Kirsty tried to think of something funny but was distracted by the light on the hill. “I’m sure that’s getting brighter,” she said, pointing up at it. I know, why don’t we send the others a message about it? We could ask them if they know what’s causing such a bright light.”
“Good idea,” Matt said. They took turns spelling out “WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT LIGHT IS?”
There was a pause, and then the other team spelled back, “WE DON’T KNOW!”
“I can’t help wondering,” Kirsty whispered to Rachel as the others deciphered the last few letters, “if that bright light has something to do with Jack Frost and the goblins. They’ve caused a lot of nighttime trouble this week!”
Rachel nodded. It was true that Jack Frost had been up to his tricks again. He and his sneaky goblins had stolen the bags of magic dust that the Night Fairies used to keep everything running smoothly in Fairyland and the human world between sunset and sunrise. Since the goblins had taken the bags of dust, weird things had been happening—for example, the sunset had been very late one night, the stars had changed position in the sky, and the camp’s midnight feast had almost been a disaster.
Kirsty and Rachel had helped five of the seven Night Fairies find their bags of magic dust, but they really wanted to find the last two bags before their vacation was over.
Just then, they heard a frightened scream. “Help! Help! We’re lost in the dark!”
Everyone gasped in shock. “Who said that?” Peter called, shining his flashlight into the shadows.
“It sounded like it was coming from that direction,” Lucas said, pointing at a group of large granite rocks nearby. “Come on!”
They ran toward the rocks, which glittered as the flashlight beams fell on their surfaces. They searched behind them, and then shouted into the woods and up the mountainside, but there was no reply—and no sign of anyone at all.
“That’s strange,” Peter said, frowning. “Let’s signal to the others, to see if they heard any strange shouts where they are.”
They wandered back to their signaling spot … but the signal lamp had vanished!
“Where is it?” Matt cried, hunting around the rock it had been on. “Do you think it fell in the lake?”
Peter shook his head. “We would have heard the splash if it did,” he reasoned. “And it couldn’t have fallen in—there’s no breeze at all.”
“Then where is it?” Lucas asked. “Do you think someone is playing a trick on us?
Nobody answered, but just then, Kirsty remembered her missing flashlight and had the horrible feeling that Lucas might be right. Maybe someone was playing a trick … and maybe that someone was a goblin!
Rachel nudged Kirsty. “Look—over there!” she whispered. “Is it me, or is that granite boulder glittering all by itself?”
Kirsty stared. Yes, one corner of a rock was sparkling very brightly. “That looks like fairy magic,” she whispered excitedly. “Come on, let’s take a closer look.”
She and Rachel tiptoed away from Peter and the boys and headed back to the rocky area. One of the rocks was still glittering and twinkling. As they got closer, they saw that a tiny fairy was perched on the rock, her wings sparkling against the dark sky. “It’s Anna!” Rachel said, hurrying over. “Hello again!”
Anna was one of the Night Fairies, and she used her special magic to look after the moon and its moonbeams. She had long, blond hair that was pulled back in an elegant knot. She wore a midnight-blue dress with a pink frill at the bottom, as well as a sparkly cardigan, and a crescent-moon pendant around her neck. Anna fluttered over to Kirsty and Rachel as soon as she saw them approaching. She hovered in midair. “Hello,” she said in a sweet voice. “I was hoping you’d notice me. I didn’t dare come any closer with those boys around, but I’ve seen everything that’s been going on.”
“Seen everything? So you know what happened to our lamp?” Kirsty asked her.
Anna nodded. “There were a couple of goblins hiding nearby,” she replied. “One of them called out, pretending to need help. Then, when you all rushed over, he and his friend took your lamp and ran off.”
“I knew it had to be goblins!” Kirsty burst out. “Which way did they go?”
“Up the hill,” Anna replied. “I’m sure they’re responsible for that bright light shining up there. I’m worried they’re trying to interfere with the moon somehow, since they have my magic moonbeam dust.”
“Well, we’ll help you,” Rachel said at once. “But …” Her eyes drifted back toward Peter, Matt, and Lucas who were still hunting for the missing Morse code lamp. “They’ll be worried if we disappear.”
“Don’t worry,” Anna reassured her. “I’ll work some magic to make it seem like you’re only away from them for a second.” She waved her wand in a swirling pattern, and hundreds of pink sparkles flooded out from it, twinkling in the darkness. “There,” she said. “It’ll only last for a little while, so there’s no time to waste. I’ll turn you both into fairies, and we can fly up the hill to see what those sneaky goblins are up to!”
Anna waved her wand again. This time, the sparkling fairy dust whirled all around Kirsty and Rachel. Moments later, a tingling sensation trickled through their bodies, and they felt themselves shrinking smaller and smaller. Soon, they were the same size as Anna, with colorful, shimmery wings on their backs. They were fairies!
“Let’s go,” Anna said, and she, Kirsty, and Rachel all fluttered their wings and flew up the hill. The higher they flew, the colder it became, and the light from the hilltop got stronger and brighter. As they neared the highest point of the hill, the light was so powerful that they had to shield their eyes as they flew.
“Oh my goodness!” Anna exclaimed suddenly. She stopped flying and clapped a hand to her mouth. Then she fluttered up into the sky, not wanting to be seen.
Rachel and Kirsty, who had been flying slightly behind her, flew up high, too. When they looked down to see what had surprised Anna, they saw a group of goblins … and an extraordinary creation. Using sticks, pieces of wood, string, an old chair, and pieces of trash, the goblins had built a large disk, with all kinds of flashlights, lanterns, lights, glow sticks, and even glow-in-the-dark stickers attached! Many of the lights were running with the power from a portable electricity generator that was labeled PROPERTY OF CAMP STARGAZE. Obviously, the goblins had stolen that as well.
“I don’t understand,” Rachel said, confused. “What are they doing?”
“I think,” said Anna hesitantly, “that they’re trying to make a moon.”
“Make a moon?.” Kirsty echoed. “But … but nobody can make a moon!”
“Well, we know that,” Anna replied, “but I don’t think anybody’s told them.” Then she stiffened, as she saw one of the goblins holding a small blue satin bag that was tied with a drawstring.
The goblin opened the bag, plunged his knobby green fingers inside, then pulled out a pinch of glittering white dust. Next, he sprinkled the dust on top of the makeshift “moon.” Immediately, all the lights fastened to the disk blazed even brighter. “There,” he said happily. “The brighter the better, right, guys? We’ll get rid of the darkness with our beautiful moon.”
“That’s my bag,” Anna said tensely. “And that’s my moonbeam dust. We’ve got to get it back!”
Just then Anna and the girls heard heavy footsteps behind them, and the unmistakable sound of goblin laughter. They crouched low in a bush and pulled its branches close around them as two goblins stomped by. “Look what we got!” one of them bragged. Rachel, Kirsty, and Anna saw him holding up the lamp that had been stolen from the Morse code game. The other goblins cheered. “Good work!” one called. “Let’s tie it to our moon right now.”
They attached the lamp to the disk with twine, humming cheerfully.
“Jack Frost is going to be so happy with us,” one of them commented. “He’s going to love this moon.”
“Yeah, and we’ll make it bigger and bigger, and brighter and brighter, so it’s like a full moon, every night,” another goblin bragged. “Unlike the other, silly moon that hardly ever shines very bright.”
“Darkness will be gone forever!” cheered the first goblin. “The goblins have conquered darkness!”
Anna shook her head in disbelief. “No, no, no!” she sighed. “This is such a bad idea. It could mean disaster for all of Fairyland!”
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“What do you mean?” Kirsty whispered, feeling worried.
“Well, people have got to wonder where this bright light is coming from. Sooner or later, someone is going to climb up here to investigate,” Anna explained. “And when they find the goblins, the secret of Fairyland will be revealed. We can’t let that happen!”
“No,” Rachel agreed. “People from Camp Stargaze have already noticed. Peter, our camp counselor, thought it was caused by campers, but if the light keeps shining night after night, and getting brighter and brighter, I’m sure he’ll want to investigate.”
Kirsty pointed to the generator that was whirring loudly as it lit the goblins’ moon. “Let’s start by taking a closer look at that,” she suggested. “If we can turn it off, we can at least put out some of their lights.”
“Good idea,” Anna said. “Come on.”
Very carefully and quietly, the three fairies crept closer to the generator. They stayed close to the ground and ducked behind stones and clumps of grass whenever they thought one of the goblins was about to look their way. Just as they were about to reach the generator, they saw a goblin put the bag of moondust down on the ground. Then he leaned over the generator to adjust something.
“Even better,” Anna whispered. “I’ll just fly over and grab my bag instead! Without my dust, their silly moon won’t be so bright.”
She darted toward her bag, with her hands outstretched. But just as she was about to take it, Rachel and Kirsty saw the goblin pull a large lever on the generator. The lever increased the power instantly, and their “moon” started to shine even brighter.
Anna the Moonbeam Fairy Page 1
