The band broke into a lively tune, played in perfect time, and the girls grinned at each other. Onstage, the dancers twirled their ribbons and performed their steps expertly, without missing a beat. The audience began to applaud loudly.
“Everything is back to normal!” Rachel said with a sigh of relief. She turned to glance at the carousel. The horses were still spinning, and the music sounded sweet and tuneful now.
“Not quite everything!” Kylie replied. “The goblins still have the carnival crown. And without that, the carnival won’t be able to move on to the next town. Lots of other boys and girls will miss out on carnival fun!”
“Don’t worry, Kylie,” Kirsty said. “We’ll do our best to find the crown.”
Kylie smiled gratefully. “Thank you,” she said. “But it’s your carnival, too! So go and enjoy yourselves now. I’ll return to Fairyland and tell the king and queen the latest news. They’ll be so happy to hear that we only have one magic hat left to find!” She waved. “See you tomorrow.”
Rachel and Kirsty waved back as Kylie disappeared in a shower of sparkles.
“It’s time to meet Mom and Dad at the roller coaster,” said Kirsty.
“Well, Kylie did tell us to go and enjoy ourselves,” Rachel replied with a grin. “And tomorrow, we’ll be on the lookout for the carnival crown!”
“I can’t believe it’s the last day of the carnival!” Kirsty said, slipping on her mask and turning to her friend. “How do I look, Rachel?”
“Awesome!” Rachel laughed.
Both girls were wearing costumes, getting ready for the carnival’s closing-day parade.
The parade and fireworks were taking place that evening. The girls had visited the carnival earlier in the day, hoping to find the missing carnival crown. Unfortunately, they hadn’t seen a single goblin or any sign of the stolen crown!
Now Rachel and Kirsty were back in Kirsty’s room, both dressed as black cats in black pants, black shirts, and black velvet masks. Mrs. Tate had made them each a fluffy tail, and the girls had drawn whiskers on their faces with black eyeliner.
“Pearl doesn’t look very impressed!” Kirsty laughed and glanced at her cat, who was snoozing on her bed.
Rachel smiled, then frowned nervously. “I’m excited about the parade, but I’m worried,” she said. “If we don’t find the crown, the Sunnydays Carnival won’t be able to move on to the next town.”
Kirsty nodded. “Let’s hope we have some luck tonight,” she said.
“Are you ready, girls?” Mr. Tate called.
“Coming!” Kirsty yelled. She and Rachel hurried downstairs.
Kirsty’s parents were dressed up as clowns in baggy suits and red noses. They both clapped and cheered when they saw the girls in their costumes.
“You two look great,” said Mrs. Tate.
“So do you!” Kirsty said, giggling.
“Just don’t trip over your tails,” Mr. Tate added as they headed out the door.
The carnival was in full swing when they arrived. Dusk was falling, and all the booths were brightly lit. The weather had turned cold when the sun went down, but there were still long lines of people waiting to go on every ride. Rachel and Kirsty were glad that their costumes were cozy!
“It’s not going to be easy to spot the goblins in this crowd!” Rachel whispered.
“We’ll just have to keep our eyes open,” Kirsty replied, glancing around. “Oh, look, Rachel — hook-a-duck!” She pointed at the booth where little, plastic yellow ducks were bobbing in a tub of water. “Let’s try it!”
“We’re going to get some coffee,” said Mrs. Tate. “We’ll meet you at the fireworks display later, OK, girls?”
Kirsty and Rachel nodded. They hurried over to the hook-a-duck booth as Mr. and Mrs. Tate walked off across the carnival grounds.
Kirsty paid the man behind the booth, and he handed each of the girls a fishing rod. There was a hook on the end of the line, so that she and Rachel could try and catch the ducks.
Rachel concentrated on the duck floating closest to her. It bobbed away a few times, but she finally managed to catch it. As she pulled it toward her, she heard a tiny voice cry, “Hello, Rachel!”
Rachel was so surprised that she almost dropped the duck! Then she looked more closely and saw Kylie perched on the little duck’s back.
Rachel grinned and nudged Kirsty. “I’ve hooked something better than a duck.” She laughed. “Look!”
Quickly, the girls put down their fishing rods and the duck. They moved away from the stall to talk to Kylie.
“Jack Frost is here!” Kylie said breathlessly, fluttering onto Rachel’s shoulder. “He thinks his goblins haven’t been causing enough trouble at the carnival, so he came to keep an eye on them. And … he has the carnival crown!”
“That’s why it’s so cold tonight!” exclaimed Kirsty. Kylie nodded.
“Have you seen any goblins, Kylie?” Rachel asked. But as soon as she asked, she saw three small figures in jester hats hurrying toward the tunnel of love.
“Look!” Rachel gasped, as she spotted their green faces. “Goblins!”
“Nice job, Rachel!” cheered Kylie.
“Let’s follow them,” Kirsty suggested.
The three goblins jumped into the front car of the train outside the tunnel of love. Rachel, Kirsty, and Kylie quickly climbed into another car a little further back. The goblins didn’t even notice!
The train slowly set off into the tunnel. It was dark inside, so the girls took off their masks and stuffed them in their pockets.
As the train chugged on, they saw that the tunnel of love was based around the four seasons. First, they traveled through the spring area, where there were pretty gardens full of daffodils and bluebells.
Summer came next, and the scenes showed a park with people picnicking and sunbathing. A park bench stood under a pretty arch of roses. The air felt warmer! In the autumn section, it became cooler again. The girls could see fake trees with red, orange, and gold leaves.
The winter scene came last. It was the coldest of all! Here, there was fake snow on the ground and people ice skating and sledding. The girls could see models of snowmen and frosty trees scattered around, too.
The train slowed down as it reached a curve in the track. The girls were surprised to see the goblins leap off and disappear behind one of the painted scenes!
“Quick!” whispered Rachel. “We’d better follow them.”
The girls stepped down from their train car and hurried to hide behind a plastic tree.
“Hurry up, you fools!” a voice bellowed from the shadows. Kylie and the girls jumped. They peeked out from behind the tree to see Jack Frost sitting on a throne of ice nearby!
“He’s wearing the carnival crown!” whispered Kirsty in excitement. Jack Frost glared at his goblins. “You’re having too much fun!” he snapped. “You should be ruining the carnival for the humans, not enjoying it yourselves!”
“Maybe we can creep behind the scenery, sneak up to the throne, and grab the crown right off his head!” Rachel suggested quietly.
“Good idea,” Kylie agreed. Rachel and Kirsty began to edge carefully toward the throne.
“WELL?” Jack Frost roared.
“I have an idea for how to ruin the carnival,” one goblin volunteered. “We could steal all the candy apples and eat them!”
“We can frighten the little children!” another shouted.
“And we could put wet paint on all the horses on the carousel!” suggested another goblin eagerly.
“Excellent!” Jack Frost declared, rubbing his hands together gleefully. “I’ll keep the carnival crown here, so that those pesky fairies can’t get their hands on it!”
The goblins cheered. Then, snickering, they all ran back outside to the carnival. Rachel and Kirsty had just reached the throne, and they could see the crown poking above the back of it.
“Can you reach it, Rachel?” Kylie whispered.
“I’ll try,” Rachel replied, cautiously stretching out
her hand. But suddenly, the crown was whisked away! Jack Frost leaped to his feet. The girls jumped, and Kylie almost tumbled off Rachel’s shoulder.
“Thought you could fool me, didn’t you?” Jack Frost sneered, peering around the throne at them. “Well, you can’t! I knew you were there the whole time!”
“We want the crown!” Rachel cried.
“Yes, you have to give it back!” Kirsty added bravely.
But Jack Frost only laughed. Then he pointed his wand at the girls and fired two ice bolts!
Rachel and Kirsty managed to dart out of the way just in time. When they looked again, Jack Frost had jumped into the last car of another train. As it disappeared around the corner, he gave the girls and Kylie a cheerful wave.
“After him!” cried Kirsty. The girls rushed out of the tunnel of love.
As soon as they were back outside, they realized that the goblins had already started their plan to ruin everything.
“A jester stole my candy apple!” sobbed one little boy. A little girl complained that her dress was covered in paint. Kylie and the girls wondered what to do next. Just then, they saw a goblin jester pop out from behind a tree and shout BOO! at a little girl. She burst into tears.
“The goblins are being horrible!” Kirsty said, frowning.
Rachel nodded. “We need to get back the carnival crown — and fast,” she said firmly.
“It won’t be easy,” Kylie pointed out. “Everyone’s in costume, so Jack Frost will be hard to spot.”
Suddenly, there was a loud BANG! “Oh!” Rachel yelped in surprise. She glanced up and saw a trail of silver sparks across the sky. “It’s not time for the fireworks yet,” she murmured.
“Those aren’t fireworks,” Kylie cried. “It’s one of Jack Frost’s bolts of ice lightning!”
“It came from over there,” Kirsty said, pointing toward the log flume.
Quickly, the girls dashed over to the ride. Sure enough, Jack Frost was there. He was using his magic to freeze all the water in the log flume waterways.
“Oh, no,” Kirsty said, with a sigh. “He found a new way to ruin the carnival!”
Looking very pleased with himself, Jack Frost marched away. Rachel, Kylie, and Kirsty followed him, careful not to be spotted.
“I bet he’s looking for another ride to freeze!” said Rachel.
Jack Frost joined the line for the Ferris wheel. He stared up at it, his eyes shining.
“He can’t freeze that, can he?”
Kirsty asked.
“I don’t know,” Kylie replied, sounding worried. “Let’s get in line behind him. Girls, you should put your masks back on, so Jack Frost won’t recognize you.”
Rachel and Kirsty slipped their masks on and stepped into line. “Just one quick ride,” Jack Frost was muttering. “I’ve always wanted to go on a Ferris wheel. The goblins will never know!” He looked around guiltily, to make sure no goblins were watching. Kirsty and Rachel’s hearts pounded as he glanced past them, but he didn’t recognize them behind their masks.
“He’s going on the Ferris wheel!” Rachel whispered.
“We’ll go, too!” Kirsty replied.
Looking excited, Jack Frost climbed into a car when he reached the front of the line. The girls and Kylie jumped into the next one, and the Ferris wheel began to turn.
Rachel glanced upward. Jack Frost’s car was above theirs as they were lifted into the air. But Rachel realized that once they got past the top of the Ferris wheel and started to move back down, Jack Frost would be below them. If we had something to hook the crown with, Rachel thought, we could lift it right off Jack Frost’s head!
Suddenly, Rachel spotted the hook-a-duck booth nearby. “I have an idea!” she exclaimed. “Kylie, could you use your magic to make a fishing rod with a big hook at the end of the line — like the ones for hook-a-duck?”
“Oh!” Kirsty looked excited. “You mean, we can hook a crown!”
“No problem,” Kylie said, laughing. She fluttered into the air and waved her wand. With a flash of sparkles, a shiny gold fishing rod appeared in Rachel’s hands.
“We’re going over the top of the wheel,” Kirsty announced. “Now we’re above Jack Frost.”
Rachel took off her mask and leaned forward, trying to catch the carnival crown with the hook on the end of her fishing line. She came close, but the wind kept blowing the hook the wrong way. Then, with a grin, Kylie fluttered down, gently caught the hook, and attached it to the crown.
Holding her breath, Rachel began to lift the crown off Jack Frost’s head.
Jack Frost didn’t notice a thing as Rachel pulled the crown upward. He was having too much fun on the ride!
“That was great, Rachel,” Kirsty whispered, grabbing the crown off the hook.
Kylie beamed at the girls.
“Now we can make sure the carnival ends happily,” she said. “We’ll be just in time for the crowning ceremony!”
All the rides were coming to a stop now. The parade had started. Soon it would be time for the carnival king or queen to be crowned! Once the Ferris wheel stopped, the girls jumped out of their car. Rachel glanced nervously at Jack Frost, but he still hadn’t noticed that the crown was missing.
Just then, a goblin hurried up to him. “The crown!” he shouted, pointing at Jack Frost’s head. “Where is it?”
Jack Frost clapped his hands to his head and realized that the crown wasn’t there. Furiously, he spun around. His icy glare met Rachel’s. Her heart sinking, Rachel remembered that she hadn’t put her mask back on.
“You again!” Jack Frost shouted. He spotted the crown in Kirsty’s hands. “I want that crown!”
“Run!” cried Kylie.
The girls took off. They headed for the main stage, where the crowning ceremony was supposed to take place. Jack Frost raced after them.
“The carnival master’s onstage,” Rachel panted. “We’re almost there!”
At the same time, the girls could hear Jack Frost chanting a spell behind them. “You girls can’t escape from me. These balls will stop you, wait and see!” he cried.
As the girls passed the bottle toss booth, a bucket of balls overturned. The balls rolled and bounced across the grass, right under the girls’ feet. Rachel slipped, and Kirsty stumbled. The crown flew out of Kirsty’s hands and sailed through the air toward the stage.
“Oh, no!” Rachel cried as Jack Frost raced after it. Jack Frost caught the crown at the edge of the stage, just as the carnival master stepped up to make an announcement.
“I’m sorry to say that the carnival crown is missing,” he said sadly. “But the carnival king or queen will still receive free tickets to next year’s carnival.”
As the carnival master spoke, a spotlight came on. It lit up Jack Frost in a blaze of white light. He stood, blinking, with the crown in his hand.
“The carnival crown!” The carnival master gasped, hurrying over to Jack Frost. “You found it! That’s wonderful!” The crowd applauded wildly as the carnival master shook Jack Frost’s hand. “And what a wonderful costume!” he added.
Rachel, Kirsty, and Kylie watched as Jack Frost was pulled on stage by the carnival master. There was a storm of applause.
“Look, Jack Frost is blushing!” Kylie whispered.
It was true! Jack Frost was clearly enjoying all the attention. He had a smug look on his face.
“Please help me announce the winner,” said the carnival master. Jack Frost looked even more pleased!
Rachel nudged Kirsty and pointed at the goblins, cheering in the front of the crowd.
The carnival master held up a piece of paper, and Jack Frost read: “Our carnival queen this year is Alexandra Kirby, for her beautiful princess costume!”
A little blond girl in a pretty princess outfit walked on stage, smiling. The carnival master helped her onto the golden throne, and then turned to Jack Frost for the crown.
Jack Frost frowned and clung to the crown when the carnival master tried to take it. But eventuall
y, he had to let go. He couldn’t do anything else in front of such a big audience.
As the carnival queen was crowned, Jack Frost stomped sulkily off the stage. Immediately, a crowd of children surrounded him.
“Please can I have your autograph?” asked one little boy.
“How did you find the crown?” asked another.
“Can we take your picture?” begged two little girls.
Looking flustered, Jack Frost tried to move away, but the children followed him.
“Jack Frost has a fan club!” Kylie said, laughing, as she and the girls headed away from the stage. “Girls, how can I ever thank you? Now the Sunnydays Carnival can move on, and other children will enjoy it.”
“We were glad to help!” Rachel smiled.
“And it must be almost time for the fireworks,” added Kirsty. “We’d better go find Mom and Dad.”
As she spoke, a huge, glittering cloud of fairy dust exploded in the air in front of them.
“Look, Kirsty!” Rachel gasped, as the dust began to clear. In front of them, the carousel was spinning and sparkling with fairy magic. And there, on a painted unicorn’s back, sat King Oberon and Queen Titania.
“What are you doing here?” Rachel asked, thrilled as the Fairy King and Queen flew over to her.
“We’ve never seen you outside of Fairyland before,” said Kirsty.
King Oberon smiled. “We came to thank you for all your help,” he said.
“Thanks to you, the Sunnydays Carnival is saved!” added the queen.
“But what about Jack Frost?” Kirsty asked anxiously.
Kylie the Carnival Fairy Page 3
