Jack Frost’s Spell
Goblins botch and goblins fumble,
Goblins shout and goblins grumble,
Got to fix this naughty rabble,
Stuck-out tongues and noisy babble.
All babysitters should beware,
I’ll snatch the objects in your care,
Precious things from precious tots,
As they lie curled up in their cots.
Find the hidden letters in the star shapes throughout this book. Unscramble all 8 letters to spell a special word!
Cover
Title
Dedication
Map
Poem
Toy Box Trouble
Vacation Begins
A Fairy Friend in Need
Kids’ Club Chaos
The Goblin Babysitter
Toddlers to the Rescue!
Picnics in Peril
A Brand-New Day
Trails and Tracks
Picnic Problems
Off to Fairyland!
Lost, then Found
The Stolen Night-light
Lanterns by the Lake
Nap Nuisance
Trouble at Twilight
Into the Ice Castle
Bedtime at Last
Teaser
Also Available
Copyright
“Rachel, look!” Kirsty Tate gasped, peeking out of the lodge window. “We can see the butterfly house from our bedroom!”
Rachel Walker dropped her suitcase and ran around to the other side of the bed. As soon as she pulled back the polka-dot print curtain, her face lit up with a smile.
“I can see it!” she replied. There, almost hidden among the trees, was a cluster of cabins and greenhouses in all different shapes and sizes. The butterfly house was the one in the middle, next to the main eco-center. Inside, tropical plants and flowers curled up toward the sunshine, filling the dome with rainbow colors.
It was the perfect beginning to the girls’ spring break. Kirsty and Rachel had only just arrived, but they loved it here already! Their families had organized this weekend away at the EcoWorld activity center — an amazing park set in the heart of a leafy forest. Mr. and Mrs. Tate’s friends, the Robinsons, had been invited, too.
Everything at EcoWorld had been carefully designed to protect the animals and plants that lived in the countryside around it. The Tates, Walkers, and Robinsons were spending the weekend in a pretty eco-lodge built out of reclaimed wood. Everything in the park was recycled, even the water in the swimming pools!
Kirsty picked up her EcoWorld brochure and started flicking through the pages. “Should we go exploring?” she asked. “It says there’s a climbing wall and a rain forest area and . . . wow! Rachel, the dome over the man-made lake has a roof that opens up when it’s sunny!”
Rachel couldn’t help but giggle — she’d grabbed her fleece already! She and Kirsty had only three precious days together and she wanted to make the most of every minute.
“I wonder what we’ll find today?” she mused.
Kirsty’s eyes twinkled. She and Rachel were used to discovering all kinds of amazing, magical things. The lucky girls shared a secret — they were friends with the fairies! The pair had been on some incredible adventures. Jack Frost and his goblins were always stomping into Fairyland and trying to stir up trouble. If a fairy needed their help, they only had to wave their magic wand and Rachel and Kirsty would be there.
The girls slipped on their fleeces and scampered out into the yard. The lodge had large glass doors that opened onto a daisy-speckled lawn.
“Kirsty! Kirsty!” chimed a little voice.
“Play! Play!” piped up another.
Kirsty and Rachel beamed at each other. The friends moved aside the branches of a pretty weeping willow and spotted Tom and Lily, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson’s two-year-old twins. The toddlers were playing in a sandbox made out of recycled railroad ties.
“Hello, you two!” exclaimed Kirsty. “This is my best friend, Rachel.”
“Ra-ra,” cooed Lily.
Rachel bent down to meet the excited twins. Lily played peekaboo behind her hands, but Tom gave her a wide smile.
Tom glanced at Lily, then shyly presented their new friend with a shiny orange shovel.
“We can’t play right now, Tom,” Kirsty said kindly, “but we’ll come back and build sand castles later.”
Rachel nodded. “We just want to see what there is to do in EcoWorld.”
The adorable little boy clapped his hands. He’d spotted Mrs. Tate wandering up to the sandbox with his bottle. Kirsty’s mom pulled a crumpled list and some money out of her jeans pocket.
“Can you pick me up a few things from the supermarket?” she asked. “Just follow the signs. The park is totally enclosed, so you can’t get lost. Use the change to treat yourselves to a shake at the café afterward if you want.”
“Great!” Kirsty grinned. She linked arms with Rachel, steering her toward a path at the bottom of the yard.
“Isn’t this amazing?” remarked Rachel, as the friends stepped onto a maze of boardwalks. Every so often, the walkway would turn a corner, revealing a building nestled in the trees.
The friends rushed to the supermarket and picked out Mrs. Tate’s groceries. Soon they were sitting in the Treetop Café, each clutching a tasty milk shake.
“I’ll get some straws,” offered Kirsty, spotting a container in the corner.
She lifted the lid and picked out two straws with glittering stripes. She took them back to the table.
Rachel blinked, then peered around the café. Was she imagining it, or did her straw seem to be sparkling more brightly than everyone else’s?
The sparkly straw was shimmering brilliantly now. Kirsty had never seen a straw twinkle before — it had to be fairy magic! Rachel propped the straw against her milk shake so that no one else in the café could see it.
“Thank you!” trilled a sweet singsong voice. “I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”
A tiny fairy stepped out from behind the milk shake glass. She was wearing denim shorts, cropped leggings, and a red scarf dotted with yellow polka dots. Her blonde hair swished as she moved, drawing attention to her spray of freckles.
“My name is Bailey the Babysitter Fairy,” she said, waving a tiny hand. “I work in the Fairyland Nursery.”
“We’re so pleased to meet you!” gasped Kirsty. “I’m Kirsty, by the way, and this is Rachel.”
Bailey nodded her head, but her smile seemed sad.
“I know all about you both,” she replied, “and everything that you’ve done for the fairies. That’s why I came here today.”
“Is something wrong?” Rachel asked quietly.
Bailey’s eyes filled with tears. Something was definitely wrong.
“It’s my job to look after the fairy babies,” she explained, before adding, “Not on my own, of course. All of the fairies take turns to help in the Fairyland Nursery. The Sports Fairies are always coming by to play games and the Rainbow Fairies love sharing their colorful spells.”
“That sounds wonderful,” said Kirsty.
“It is,” replied Bailey. “Or at least it was . . . until Jack Frost stole my three magic objects!”
“The rain forest zone is next door,” suggested Rachel. “Let’s find a quiet place where we can talk in private.”
Kirsty agreed. She helped Bailey climb into the shopping bag so they could smuggle her outside.
The girls slipped out of the café and tiptoed into the damp, warm air of the rain forest dome. The huge glass pod was alive with jungle plants — from towering trees to stunning tropical flowers. Every few moments a light shower of rain sprinkled down from special hoses in
the ceiling.
“Over here,” said Rachel, pointing toward a little glade hidden by giant palms.
When they were sure that the coast was clear, Bailey flew out of the shopping bag. She fluttered like a butterfly in a circle around the girls, her golden wings lighting up the shadows.
“Fairyland is in terrible trouble,” she said urgently. She settled next to a puddle of rainwater, then touched it with her wand. The puddle began to swirl and cloud over.
Kirsty nudged Rachel — Bailey was creating a magic Seeing Pool! The water cleared, revealing a cheerful playroom decorated with colorful pictures and twinkly lights. Along one end were ten tiny cribs, each covered with a chiffon canopy trimmed with the finest fairy embroidery.
“This is the Fairyland Nursery,” said Bailey, peering sadly into the water. “Usually it’s full of happy fairy babies.”
Rachel’s heart leaped. In all of their adventures together, the girls had never met any fairy babies!
“What are those?” asked Kirsty, pointing to three quilted cushions.
“That’s where I keep my precious objects!” replied Bailey. “The magic toy box makes sure that everyone enjoys their playtimes. The magic lunch bag enchants every meal so that food is healthy and delicious.”
“And the third one?” Rachel wondered out loud.
“That’s the magic night-light,” said Bailey. “It helps all babies have restful naps and sweet dreams at bedtime. The poor kids will be worn out without it!”
The troubled fairy began to shed silvery tears. As they dropped into the water, each one made the tiniest tinkling sound.
“Please don’t cry,” said Kirsty. “Between the three of us, we’ll get your magic objects back. Won’t we, Rachel?”
Rachel nodded her head as hard as she could.
“Of course we will!” she agreed. “When did they disappear?”
“This afternoon,” Bailey answered, “in the middle of story time.”
Suddenly, the rain forest water began to shine like a mirror. The girls saw the Fairyland Nursery again, but now it was full of adorable fairy babies. The little ones were sitting in a circle, gurgling happily. Bailey was reading a fairy story, conjuring up floating pictures with her wand.
“Look!” Kirsty gasped, pointing to the back of the playroom.
Three goblins were climbing in through the window, each disguised as a giant baby! The silly threesome pretended to crawl across a rug, mumbling baby noises under their breath.
“Goo-goo, ga-ga!” babbled one, hitching up a badly fastened diaper.
“Babies are yucky,” grumbled his friend. “This is the grossest thing Jack Frost has ever made us do!”
“Be quiet!” snapped the third. “Just grab the gear and let’s go!”
Kirsty looked up from the pool and frowned. “So the goblins stole the three magic objects and took them back to Jack Frost’s Ice Castle?” she asked sadly.
Bailey’s wings drooped a little lower. “No,” she said. “They decided to cause some trouble first! The goblins thought it would be very funny to hide the objects instead. My precious things could be anywhere by now.”
Rachel gulped. Without the magic toy box, lunch bag, and night-light, children in both the fairy and human worlds wouldn’t be very happy at all.
“Let’s start looking right away,” she declared. “Babies need sleep, good food, and playtime. We can’t let Jack Frost and his goblins spoil those things!”
“I knew you’d be able to help!” Bailey beamed. “I’ll go back to Fairyland and search for clues there. I need to check on the nursery, too. The Party Fairies are looking after the babies this afternoon. They love it when Melodie the Music Fairy sings to them!”
Bailey disappeared in a shimmer of scarlet fairy dust.
Kirsty and Rachel rushed back to their lodge, running down the forest paths as fast as their legs could carry them. Both were wondering the same thing — why would Jack Frost steal a babysitter fairy’s enchanted objects? It didn’t make any sense.
“Lily! Tom! What’s gotten into you today?”
As they slipped through the front gate, Kirsty and Rachel could only just make out Mrs. Robinson’s voice — her words were being drowned out by terrible screeching! The twins were sitting in the middle of the lawn, thumping their little fists.
“That’s not like them,” whispered Kirsty. “And what happened to all the toys?”
Rachel’s mouth fell open. The yard was an absolute mess! The rakes and shovels in the sandbox had been snapped in half, the trampoline had a hole in it, and the twins’ soccer ball had deflated. Tom and Lily’s parents were crouching down next to the toddlers, desperately trying to calm them down.
“I don’t know how it happened.” Mr. Robinson shrugged. “Every toy they touched just fell apart!”
The girls shared a secret glance. They both had a very good idea what was going on! Until Bailey’s magic toy box was back where it belonged, no one would be able to enjoy playtime.
“Why don’t we take the twins to the kids’ club for a couple of hours?” Rachel suggested, handing over the groceries. “Then you’ll have a chance to get things cleaned up.”
Mrs. Robinson nodded her head gratefully.
“Thank you, girls,” agreed Mr. Robinson. “I think that will do us all good.”
Rachel took Lily’s hand and led her out toward the trail at the bottom of the yard. Kirsty followed behind with Tom. With two grouchy toddlers in tow, it took longer to get to the center of the park than last time.
“Here we are!” announced Kirsty, finally spotting the SUNNYDAYS KIDS’ CLUB sign.
The girls led the twins into a colorful reception area. Once Tom and Lily had been signed in, a playworker named Diane came out to greet them.
“The toddlers are playing outside,” she said wearily, showing her guests out to a walled garden decorated with cheery murals of ladybugs and bumblebees.
The garden was filled with children, but no one seemed to be having fun. The arts and crafts area on the patio was covered with toppled easels and snapped paintbrushes. On the lawn, a group of children was squabbling over a container of bubbles.
“Yuck!” cried Lily as a bubble popped on her sweater, covering her outfit in sticky goo.
“Oh, dear.” Diane sighed. “The children are a little rowdy today.”
Kirsty noticed a little boy snatching his friend’s trike. In another corner of the garden, two girls fought over a teddy bear.
“We could give you a hand,” she offered. “It must be hard looking after all these children on your own.”
“I would love some help,” replied Diane, “but I’m not on my own. I have a new nursery assistant on toddler duty, but he doesn’t seem to be very focused.”
Diane pointed to the waterplay area. There, in the middle of the mayhem, a figure stood in one of the troughs. Instead of calming down the toddlers, he was kicking water all over the ground.
Kirsty narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t help but notice the stranger’s long, pointy nose.
“Rachel!” she whispered. “We’ve found our first goblin!”
As soon as Diane had led the twins off to find aprons, Rachel and Kirsty crept up for a closer look.
“That’s a goblin, all right!” whispered Rachel, ducking down behind a slide.
The goblin wore a baseball cap pulled down low and an apron tied around his middle, but his big green feet were a dead giveaway! Instead of having fun in the water,the goblin was muttering furiously under his breath.
“Pesky children!” he hissed. “I turn my back for one minute and they run off with the toy box. Now my toes are all soggy!”
Kirsty winked at her best friend — Bailey’s magic object had to be nearby!
“Where could it be?” Kirsty wondered. “We have to get to the toy box before the goblin does.”
As the girls were thinking, a soft breeze blew through their hair and tickled their cheeks. Sunbeams began to dance in the air, glinting brighter and bri
ghter — until pop! — Bailey the Babysitter Fairy appeared!
“Is there any news?” she asked anxiously, perching on the edge of the playhouse.
Kirsty and Rachel told the little fairy all about the grumpy goblin.
“Good work!” she chirped, her face flushing with relief. “I just knew that the magic toy box wasn’t too far away.”
Bailey couldn’t resist taking to the skies for an impromptu loop-the-loop, her golden wings glinting in the afternoon sun.
“We still need to find it,” Rachel reminded her in a low voice. She pointed over to the water trough. The sight of the noisy goblin was enough to get poor Bailey in a flutter again.
“Let’s start looking,” she cried. “The magic toy box has a yellow lid and pink panels on the sides.”
“We’ll have a better chance if we split up,” suggested Kirsty. “Should I start out here?”
The friends agreed. Bailey flew up to the very top of the playhouse so she could see across the garden, while Rachel tiptoed inside.
The nursery was certainly quieter than the garden, but the children were just as unsettled. In the cozy corner, a flustered assistant was trying to read a fairy tale to a group of unruly listeners.
“Please try and pay attention,” she begged. “Otherwise you won’t find out what happened to Cinderella when the clock struck twelve.”
“Don’t care!” snapped a little boy, sticking out his tongue.
The assistant turned the page and did her best to continue.
Bailey the Babysitter Fairy Page 1
