At the end of the first round, the judge announced that there would be a jump-off between Sunbeam and two other ponies.
Sita rode over. “Wasn’t Sunbeam wonderful?” she said. “He’s so brave. It almost felt like he was enjoying himself!”
“I think he was,” said Cassie with a grin.
Sita frowned and said, “I hope knocking that fence down doesn’t throw him off in the next round.”
Cassie had been wondering the same thing. She had to give the pony a pep talk! “Should I take Sunbeam to get a drink of water?” she suggested.
“Good idea,” said Sita. “Thanks! But don’t let him have too much, or he won’t feel like jumping.”
Cassie led the pony away, thinking hard about her crescent moon charm. Silver sparkles swirled around Sunbeam’s head.
“You were wonderful!” she told him.
“Thanks. I liked knowing you were watching,” said Sunbeam. “It made me feel braver.”
Cassie patted his neck as he drank. “You’ll enjoy the next round,” she said, “because now you know you can do it.”
“Cassie! It’s my turn!” called Sita. “Quick!”
With a whispered “Go for it!” Cassie led the pony over to Sita. She climbed up into the saddle, and Sunbeam trotted over to the starting place.
“The other two ponies have taken their turns,” said Mrs. Shah. Her eyes shone. “They both knocked down a fence, so if Sunbeam clears all his jumps, he and Sita will win!”
They all leaned on the gate to watch. Cassie was so nervous for Sita that she could barely breathe. Had her Lucky Star magic been enough?
Sunbeam’s tail flew as he jumped the first four fences perfectly. And the next! And the next! Soon, there was only one fence left — the fence he’d knocked down in the first round.
“I can’t look,” said Cassie. But she did.
Sunbeam leaped into the air and — oh, no! His hoof touched the pole. It rattled and shook, but didn’t fall. He made it over the fence!
“He did it!” yelled Alex.
Everyone cheered!
“The winner, with the only clear round,” said the announcer, “is Sita Shah, on the magnificent Sunbeam!”
When the blue ribbon was clipped onto Sunbeam’s bridle, Sita beamed at her mom. Cassie thought that neither of them could look any happier.
Her arm tingled. She looked down to see her bracelet glowing brightly. As the glow faded, it revealed a shiny new charm — a delicate butterfly with shimmering pink wings.
It’s like the butterfly that flew next to us while we were looking for Sunbeam, Cassie thought, thrilled. I wonder what magic power it will give me.
At bedtime, Cassie glanced around her room. It was circular, and there were stars everywhere — on her bedding, on her rug, and even on her purple pajamas. Her moon-shaped bedside lamp shone softly on the starry wallpaper.
I’ve always loved stars, she thought, and now that I’ve met Stella Starkeeper, they’re even more important to me.
She snuggled into bed with Twinkle curled up beside her, and gazed up at the night sky through the open panel in her glass ceiling. Thousands of stars were sprinkled across the sky. But one glowed brighter than the rest.
She sat up, her bracelet sparkling. “Twinkle, look!”
The old cat stirred. “I’d rather snooze, thanks,” he murmured.
Cassie slipped out of bed and took Stella’s crown from her nightstand drawer. She thought hard about her bird charm . . . and floated up through the open panel, into the dark and starry sky.
She flew toward the brightest star. As she got closer, the light softened and changed into a silver-haired woman in a shimmering dress.
“Look what I found,” cried Cassie, holding out the crown.
Stella Starkeeper smiled. “I thought I’d lost it,” she said. “You not only helped Sita today, but you helped Sunbeam, too — and now you’ve helped me. You’re going to make a wonderful Lucky Star!”
“I hope so,” said Cassie.
“You’ve earned your third charm,” Stella said, touching Cassie’s bracelet. “You only need four more. Now go home and get some sleep. You’ll need it for your next adventure. Starry dreams!”
Cassie yawned, stretched, and drifted down toward Starwatcher Towers, wondering about the butterfly charm. What new adventure would it bring?
She couldn’t wait to find out!
You can talk to animals, too, just like Cassie! Here’s how to make a fun animal hand puppet that might even talk back:
You Need:
• One spare sock or mitten
• White chalk
• Felt in different colors
• Scissors
• Fabric glue
1. Choose what animal you’d like to make! You could try a cat (like Twinkle), a dog (like Comet), a horse (like Sunbeam), or any other animal you can think of.
2. Using the chalk, draw shapes for eyes, nose, ears, paws, and whiskers (if needed) onto the felt.
3. With an adult’s help, use scissors to carefully cut out the felt shapes.
4. Glue the felt pieces to your sock or mitten! The nose should go front and center, with the other pieces arranged around it.
5. Put your hand inside your sock or mitten, and make your new pet talk!
Can Cassie make another wish come true? Take a sneak peek at
#3: Wish Upon a Song!
Lucky Stars #3
Wish Upon a Song
“Magic, magic moments, these are magic moments . . .” Cassie sang.
“Yowl, yowl, meow, yowl . . .” Her black-and-white cat, Twinkle, joined in.
Their voices echoed in the huge observatory dome at Starwatcher Towers. Cassie was singing along to “Magic Moments,” the latest hit by Jacey Day. She was Cassie’s favorite pop star! In fact, that afternoon Cassie and her friend Kate were going to watch Jacey perform. She was the opening act in the Songs on the Sand music festival, right in their own town of Astral-on-Sea!
All week, Cassie and Kate had been practicing a special dance routine to “Magic Moments.” As she twirled around, Cassie imagined that Kate was dancing in the Fairy Cupcake Bakery where she lived with her mom.
Cassie turned up the music. “Let’s dance, Twinkle!” She giggled.
Twinkle blinked his eyes. Cassie scooped him up from the old leather chair where he sat and spun around, being careful not to bump into any of the shiny telescopes. Her dad was an astronomer. Most nights he could be found up here in the observatory, watching the stars.
“There’s a friend I’d love to meet
Spinning world beneath his feet,
He’s got pebbles in his hands
Running ’cross the glistening sands. . . .”
Along with Jacey’s sweet, clear voice, the backup singers added a catchy harmony to the song. The sound of their voices blending together made Cassie want to sing and dance!
When the song ended, Cassie noticed a tingling feeling in her arm. She put Twinkle back on the chair and looked at the charm bracelet around her wrist. Her new butterfly charm seemed to flutter its colorful wings.
“I wonder what magical power this charm has,” Cassie said, “and who I’ll help next.”
Cassie used her charms to help make people’s wishes come true! With each person that she helped, she received another magic charm for her bracelet. So far, Cassie had three. The bird charm gave her the power to fly, and the crescent moon allowed her to talk to animals. But she still wasn’t sure what the butterfly charm did. She couldn’t wait to find out!
#1: Wish Upon a Friend
#2: Wish Upon a Pet
#3: Wish Upon a Song
#4: Wish Upon a Party
#5: Wish Upon a Superstar
#6: Wish Upon a Gift
All rights reserved under Internat
ional and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Working Partners Limited, Stanley House, St. Chad’s Place, London WC1X 9HH, United Kingdom.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-51272-5
Text copyright © 2012 by Working Partners Limited
Cover art © 2012 by Scholastic Inc.
Interior art copyright © 2012 by Karen Donnelly
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Working Partners Limited. Series created by Working Partners Limited, London.
SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. LUCKY STARS is a trademark of Working Partners Limited.
First Scholastic printing, August 2012
Cover art by Jo Taylor
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
Wish Upon a Pet Page 3
