Mae the Panda Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  The three fairies rose into the air and waved good-bye. Then they followed the huge footprints away from the clearing and through the forest of bamboo.

  “Bamboo trees are amazingly tall,” said Rachel. “I didn’t know they could grow so high.”

  “Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world,” Mae told them in a proud voice. “It makes a wonderful food for pandas.”

  “I hope it stays like this forever,” said Kirsty to Mae.

  They hadn’t been following the footprints for very long before they heard a lot of shrieking and squabbling.

  “That sounds like goblins,” said Rachel. “Come on!”

  The rain had slowed, so the girls put away their raincoats in order to fly faster. They zigzagged through the trees and bamboo stems until they reached a babbling mountain stream. There, on the bank, were four noisy goblins!

  Three of the goblins seemed to be trying to push one another into the water. The fourth goblin, who had very large ears, was sitting on a log, cuddling something black and white in his arms.

  “It’s Pan Pan!” cried Mae.

  The fairies fluttered closer and hid behind some bamboo leaves. The goblin was tickling Pan Pan with a little fluffy toy, and the panda was chuckling.

  “Mae, that’s your magic key chain, isn’t it?” asked Kirsty in excitement.

  Mae nodded eagerly. “You’re right. Oh, girls, we’ve found the baby panda and my key chain. But how can we get them both back from the goblin?”

  Just then, the three goblins who had been wrestling on the bank turned to the goblin with big ears.

  “We’ve been messing around here long enough,” said the tallest goblin. “Stop cuddling that panda. We have to get it to the Ice Castle, so it can be the first animal in Jack Frost’s zoo.”

  “Not IT … HE!” shouted the big-eared goblin. “Anyway, we can’t go yet. He’s very thirsty!”

  The other three goblins rolled their eyes as he stood up and took Pan Pan over to the clear stream. He put the little panda down to have a few sips of water. When Pan Pan had had enough, he sat back and looked around. The big-eared goblin held out the magic key chain, and Pan Pan scampered back to him and snuggled up in his lap.

  “Finally,” said the tallest goblin. “Now let’s go.”

  “We can’t go just yet,” said the big-eared goblin. “He’s taking a nap.”

  The other goblins groaned and Kirsty turned to Mae with a frown.

  “Why does Pan Pan like the goblin so much?” she asked.

  “It’s my magic,” said Mae sadly. “Animals are attracted to my key chain. It helps them trust me when I first meet them.”

  Rachel’s eyes opened very wide.

  “Of course!” she said. “That’s how the goblins kidnapped Pan Pan.”

  “We have to get the key chain back before we can rescue him,” said Kirsty. “I have an idea. Mae, can you turn me into a goblin?”

  “All right,” said Mae, sounding a little nervous. “Get ready!”

  She raised her wand, and Kirsty closed her eyes. She didn’t like turning into a goblin. But she would do anything to help return Pan Pan to his mother.

  Kirsty felt her nose growing longer and her ears becoming pointy as her hair disappeared. Holding out her hands in front of her, she saw that they had turned green. Mae and Rachel, who were fluttering in the air beside her, suddenly looked very small.

  “Wish me luck!” said Kirsty.

  “Good luck!” whispered Mae and Rachel together.

  Kirsty stepped out from behind the thicket of bamboo, and sat down beside the goblin with the big ears.

  “Hello,” she said, making her voice sound as squawky as she could. “Would you like me to hold that key chain while you rock the panda to sleep?”

  “Don’t be silly,” said the goblin rudely. “This toy’s the only thing keeping the panda with me. If you took the toy, he’d go to you instead.”

  “I didn’t know that!” screeched a plump goblin.

  He immediately snatched the magic key chain and Pan Pan woke up with a jump. Instantly, the little panda scampered after the special charm. But another goblin grabbed it, and Pan Pan changed direction. With a cry of fury, the goblin with the big ears chased after the others and seized the key chain.

  Kirsty leaped up and followed the big-eared goblin, trying to take the magic key chain out of his hands. But then she heard a whimpering noise. Poor little Pan Pan was crying. He didn’t understand what was happening—he just wanted his toy back.

  Mae couldn’t bear to see him crying.

  “We have to stop this!” she said. She flew out from her hiding place, closely followed by Rachel.

  “FAIRIES!” screeched the tallest goblin. “Get them! Trap them!”

  Rachel zoomed toward the big-eared goblin, and Kirsty started jumping up and down.

  “There’s a fairy right behind you!” she yelled at the goblin. “Quick, throw the toy to me!”

  The goblin hurled the key chain to Kirsty. Instantly, Pan Pan toddled over to her. She scooped him up in her arms and gave Rachel and Mae a beaming smile.

  “We did it!” she said as they landed on her shoulders. “Pan Pan is safe.”

  “And so is my panda key chain,” said Mae, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

  Kirsty handed her the panda key chain, and it shrank to fairy-size. Pan Pan gave a sad squeak as Mae clipped the charm to her belt. Rachel fluttered down and stroked Pan Pan’s wet little nose.

  “Don’t be sad,” she said in a soft voice. “We’re taking you home to your mother.”

  The goblins gaped at Kirsty in amazement. They still thought that she was one of them!

  “What did you do that for?” yelled the tallest goblin. “Are you crazy? Jack Frost will be furious!”

  With a wave of her wand, Mae transformed Kirsty into a human again. The goblins let out howls of rage.

  “You tricky fairies!”

  “Cheats! Cheats!”

  “Give that panda back!”

  The tallest goblin turned to the goblin with big ears and stamped on his foot.

  “This is all your fault!” he squawked. “If we’d gone when I said we should, we’d be at the Ice Castle by now!”

  “What’s Jack Frost going to say?” asked the plump goblin, his knees knocking together in fear.

  “Maybe we should go into hiding,” said the fourth goblin.

  “Good idea!” said the tallest goblin. “Come on, let’s run for it!”

  The girls and Pan Pan watched as the goblins disappeared into the bamboo forest. Then Mae turned Rachel back to human-size.

  “Can I hold Pan Pan?” Rachel asked at once.

  Kirsty smiled and handed her the little panda. Just then, they heard running footsteps and the goblin with big ears came hurrying back out of the bamboo forest. Rachel held on tightly to Pan Pan. What was the goblin going to do?

  The goblin stopped in front of Rachel and looked embarrassed.

  “I just wanted to say good-bye,” he said in a shy voice.

  Rachel bent down and let him give Pan Pan a tickle.

  “Good-bye, little panda,” he whispered.

  Then he scurried away, and Rachel lifted Pan Pan onto her shoulders.

  “Pan Pan, you’re so sweet that you even melted the heart of a goblin,” said Kirsty with a laugh. “Come on, let’s take you home.”

  Together, the girls and Mae made their way back through the crackling bamboo stems and the wet grass. They found Pan Pan’s mother sheltered under the beautiful pagoda.

  As soon as she saw them, his mother gave a happy cry.

  “Pan Pan!”

  With a squeal of delight, Pan Pan jumped off Rachel’s shoulders and ran into his mother’s arms. As she showered him in furry, snuffly kisses, she looked at the girls with tears in her eyes.

  “How can I ever thank you?” she asked happily.

  “There is one thing,” said Kirsty with a little smile. “Would you let us take a picture of
you and Pan Pan?”

  A few minutes later, Rachel and Kirsty had some beautiful shots of Pan Pan and his mother.

  “Now it’s time for us to go home,” said Rachel, looking at her watch. “We’ve got to meet Becky at the nature reserve!”

  Mae gave each of the girls a kiss on the cheek.

  “You’ve been wonderful,” she said. “I couldn’t have saved Pan Pan or my magic key chain without you. Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome,” said Kirsty. “The Baby Animal Rescue Fairies can always count on our help.”

  “We’re going to need it,” said Mae. “There are still six magic key chains to find. But in the meantime, I’ll send you back to Wild Woods Nature Reserve. Good-bye, girls!”

  She waved her wand and Rachel and Kirsty felt themselves being lifted into the air. Warm rain sprinkled against their faces as Mae’s fairy magic whisked them across the world. A few moments later, they were standing at the entrance to the nature reserve and Becky was hurrying toward them.

  “There you are, girls!” she called. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten lost! Did you have a good time?”

  “Wonderful!” said Kirsty.

  “Spectacular!” said Rachel with a big smile.

  “That’s great!” said Becky. “Now, I’ve got a job for you to do. We’ve cleared a space for some new trees, so I’d like you to plant the saplings.”

  Becky showed them where the young trees were lying on the ground beside a number of holes. She told them how to plant each one in its own hole. Just then, her radio crackled, and the girls heard a muffled voice.

  “It sounds as if I’m needed up at the lake,” Becky said. “Is it OK if I leave you to start planting?”

  “Of course,” replied Kirsty. “We’ll come and find you when we’re finished.”

  Becky hurried away, and Rachel picked up one of the saplings. She placed it in a hole, but it started to bend sideways.

  “The trunks aren’t sturdy enough to stand up by themselves,” she said. “What are we going to do?”

  As the girls stared at each other, there was a whooshing sound. A sprinkling of rainbow-colored fairy dust fell, and for a moment they thought they could smell the fresh, wet scent of the bamboo forest. Then they saw a bundle of bamboo poles on the ground between them, tied together with a thin rope made from grass.

  “Look, there’s a note,” said Rachel.

  Thank you!

  With love from Mae and the pandas

  At the bottom of the note were two panda paw prints from Pan Pan and his mother.

  “What a lovely present,” said Kirsty, sounding puzzled. “But how can bamboo help us?”

  “I know!” said Rachel. “Remember how tall the bamboo grew in the forest? I bet the bamboo could help teach the saplings how to stand up straight!”

  Eagerly, the girls set to work. Before very long, they had planted all the saplings, using the bamboo poles to support them. Becky came back just as they were finishing the last tree.

  “That’s fantastic, girls!” she exclaimed. “What a good way to use those bamboo poles, too. Where did you find them?”

  “Oh, they were just lying around,” said Rachel with a smile.

  “Great work,” said Becky. “I have a reward for you.”

  She pulled out a little box, which the girls could see was full of badges. Each badge had a different picture on it, and Becky sorted through them until she found what she was looking for.

  “These badges show that you’ve helped to conserve trees,” she said, handing one to each girl.

  The badges had a picture of a tree on them. The girls pinned them on, feeling very proud.

  “I can’t wait to show Mom and Dad,” said Kirsty.

  Rachel looked at her watch.

  “They’ll be here to pick us up soon,” she said. “Wow, today went by so fast!”

  “That’s good,” said Becky. “I hope you’ve had fun.”

  “More fun than we could ever have imagined,” Kirsty replied. “I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!”

  As Becky turned away, the best friends smiled at each other and Rachel gave a wink. “More fairy adventures, I hope!”

  Rachel and Kirsty found Mae’s missing magic key chain.

  Now it’s time for them to help

  Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek …

  “I can’t wait to find out what we’ll be doing today!” Rachel Walker exclaimed eagerly as she followed her best friend, Kirsty Tate, through Wild Woods Nature Reserve. “I hope we see lots of different animals.”

  It was summer vacation, and the girls’ parents had arranged for them to spend a week as junior rangers at Kirsty’s local nature reserve. The reserve was a haven for all kinds of animals like hares, otters, and red squirrels.

  “Look, Kirsty, there’s Becky with the other junior rangers.” Rachel pointed to the clearing ahead of them where a group of girls and boys were gathered around the head of the nature reserve. “I bet she has some interesting jobs for us!”

  Becky was chatting with a couple of the junior rangers. She spotted the girls and waved to them.

  “Everyone’s here now, so good morning to you all,” Becky announced with a huge smile. “I’m thrilled you’re back for more important wildlife work here at Wild Woods Nature Reserve! Did you have a good time yesterday?”

  “YES!” everyone shouted, full of excitement.

  “Well, we have a very busy day ahead of us,” she informed them. “I have a special job for you down at the stream. You can start off by getting yourselves dressed in these!” Becky pointed to a bunch of tall rubber boots piled on the grass beside her. Rachel and Kirsty lined up with the other junior rangers to grab a pair, and then they pulled on the rubber boots. The boots were so tall, they covered their legs all the way up to their thighs.

  “I feel like Puss-in-Boots!” Kirsty said to Rachel with a grin.

  Becky grabbed a rake that was leaning against a nearby tree and a net lying on the grass. “Follow me, everyone,” she called, walking off through the woods.

  “I wonder why we’re going to the stream,” Rachel remarked as everyone followed Becky. “I hope we’ll be able to do the special job, whatever it is.”

  “If we finish it, we might get another badge,” Kirsty said hopefully. Becky had given the girls badges with a picture of a tree on them after they’d successfully planted some young saplings the day before. Rachel and Kirsty had proudly pinned the badges to their backpacks. “And maybe”—Kirsty lowered her voice so that no one else could hear—“our fairy friends will need our help again today, too!”

  Copyright © 2013 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.

  SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. RAINBOW MAGIC is a trademark of Rainbow Magic Limited. Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and other countries. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.

  First Scholastic printing, January 2015

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-72303-9

  All rights reserved under International 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 hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

 

 

 
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