Bailey the Babysitter Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  Kirsty peeked through the branches, then ducked back out of sight. Three grumpy goblins were sitting on tree stumps just a few feet away from them! They were making a terrible racket.

  “Give me that!” demanded one, swiping a teapot from his friend and drinking from the spout.

  “How rude!” snapped another, erupting into a giant goblin burp. “I bet those yucky fairy babies have enough drinks and snacks at their picnics!”

  The third goblin sat with a messy tablecloth tied around his neck, rubbing his bloated belly.

  “It’s too hot in here,” he groaned. “I feel icky. . . .”

  “You only feel sick because you ate all the food,” grumbled the burping goblin.

  The first goblin put down his teapot and began to chuckle.

  “At least we spoiled Bailey’s fun.” He laughed. “She’ll never guess where we’ve stashed her lunch bag.”

  Kirsty and Rachel took a step closer and listened carefully.

  “Hiding it in Fairyland was a brilliant idea,” he continued. “It’s right under their noses.”

  The ill goblin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “I’m tired of this,” he announced. “Let’s go back and get it. When we hand over the lunch bag, Jack Frost is bound to give us a reward!”

  Kirsty and Rachel froze on the spot, their eyes wide with worry. There was only one thing to do — they had to get to Fairyland first!

  The goblins stomped out of the clearing, pushing and shoving one another through the bushes. As soon as the coast was clear, Kirsty and Rachel leaped out from their hiding spot.

  “Poor Bailey,” Kirsty said. “We have to warn her.”

  Rachel reached for her gold necklace and carefully opened the locket. Inside was a sprinkling of fairy dust.

  “Let’s hold hands,” she suggested, as Kirsty opened her locket, too.

  The best friends scattered a pinch of fairy dust into the air. A sweet-scented breeze instantly began to curl around their legs.

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” marveled Kirsty, as the breeze transformed into a trail of exquisite rainbow colors. The enchanted rainbow swirled around the girls, and lifted them high into the air.

  Kirsty and Rachel felt a tickle on their shoulders. A pair of shimmering fairy wings had appeared on each girl’s back! The girls fluttered their wings and laughed. It was wonderful to be fairies again!

  After a while, the rainbow began to arch back toward the ground. Kirsty and Rachel found themselves floating toward a wood dotted with blossoming trees. When their feet touched the grass, the rainbow faded away as quickly as it had arrived.

  “Where are we?” wondered Rachel, breathing in the country air. “I don’t think we’ve visited this part of Fairyland before.”

  Kirsty pointed to a toadstool cottage with sunflowers growing in the garden. She fluttered up the path to the front door.

  “Come here, Rachel!” she gasped, as soon as she got to the front door.

  Above the bell, a hand-painted sign read FAIRY BABYSITTER. The girls had discovered the Fairyland Nursery!

  Kirsty stepped forward and rang the bell. A happy chime pealed across the wood, but no one answered. She was just about to turn away when Rachel pointed to a little path leading around the cottage. “I can hear voices,” she whispered.

  Kirsty and Rachel followed the path to the back of the cottage.

  “How adorable!” Rachel gasped. “Look!”

  There, at the bottom of the garden, was a circle of fairy babies. They sat like cherubs, their delicate gossamer wings twinkling in the sunlight. The babies were dressed in footed pajamas and little floppy sunhats. Each one clutched a wand with a glowing star at the very tip.

  “Those must be training wands,” guessed Kirsty.

  “I can see Bailey, too,” added Rachel.

  Bailey was struggling to open a picnic basket packed full of food. The girls fluttered up in the nick of time. Just as they joined the circle, the basket fell facedown onto the lawn!

  “Oh, dear.” Bailey sighed, watching as cupcakes, rolls, and apples tumbled across the grass. “I should have known this might happen!”

  “We can help,” offered Kirsty.

  Bailey tried to greet her friends with a smile, but her sweet face was full of worry.

  “Our picnic hasn’t gotten off to a very good start,” she confessed. “Without the magic lunch bag, none of the food tastes very good.”

  Just then another fairy fluttered down the path. Kirsty and Rachel recognized the strawberry curls and shimmering blue vest right away — it was Polly the Party Fun Fairy!

  “I’m here to organize the picnic party games,” Polly explained, “but they keep going wrong! The donkey for Pin the Tail on the Donkey wandered away. Even the balloons have gone flat.”

  “We overheard the goblins talking,” announced Rachel. “The magic lunch bag is in Fairyland . . . and they’re coming to get it!”

  “We have to find it first,” replied Bailey. “If Jack Frost steals the lunch bag back, all snacks will be ruined!”

  “I’ll babysit while you search,” Polly offered kindly.

  “Where should we start?” asked Rachel, darting up toward the cottage as fast as her wings could carry her.

  Kirsty thought hard. The goblin had said that he’d hidden the lunch bag right under the fairies’ noses. What did he mean?

  Suddenly, her face lit up.

  “Bailey,” she said, “can you show us inside the Fairyland Nursery? I think the goblins played a trick on us.”

  “This way!” cried Bailey.

  Kirsty and Rachel followed her through a quaint red kitchen, up a twisting set of stairs, and into the nursery playroom.

  “It’s just as magical as I knew it would be,” exclaimed Rachel, remembering the pictures Bailey had revealed in the Seeing Pool only a day before.

  Kirsty flitted past the row of tiny cribs and sweet fairy teddy bears.

  “That goblin hid the lunch bag where a fairy would never think of looking,” she remarked. “Where do you keep your magic objects, Bailey?”

  Bailey pointed to a bookshelf tucked away in the farthest corner of the playroom. Three quilted cushions were neatly lined up along the top shelf. The first one had the magic toy box on top.

  “Look underneath the middle one,” urged Rachel.

  Bailey darted up to the top shelf and lifted up the cushion. Suddenly, her wand began to fizz with scarlet stars!

  “It’s here!” she cried, pulling out the magic lunch bag.

  Rachel and Kirsty beamed at each other. Trust the silly goblins to hide it in plain sight!

  “Well done.” Bailey laughed, bursting into a peal of fairy giggles. “Let’s tell Polly.”

  The delighted fairy opened the playroom window and called down to the garden.

  “Now picnics everywhere can be fun again,” added Rachel, thinking of Lily and Tom in the rain forest dome.

  “Not if I can help it!” bellowed a voice.

  Kirsty and Rachel shivered in surprise as bony green fingers plucked the lunch bag out of Bailey’s hands.

  “It’s the goblin from the picnic!” cried Kirsty.

  The greedy goblin smirked. The mischievous creature had climbed in through the toadstool’s window.

  “That’s me!” he boasted. “This lunch bag is going to live in Jack Frost’s Ice Castle.”

  “No,” cried Bailey. “Please give it back!”

  The goblin guffawed loudly.

  “We’ve got to do something,” said Kirsty breathlessly.

  Rachel fluttered up to the ceiling. She circled around and around the playroom, leaving a trail of fairy dust shimmering in the air behind her. The goblin stumbled and shouted, swiping at her with his free hand.

  “Stop it!” he groaned. “You’re making me dizzy!”

  “Faster,” urged Kirsty, her eyes twinkling with delight.

  Rachel looped again and again. The angry goblin lunged at her but missed, tripping into a fairy
crib instead. When he got back to his feet, there was a dainty lace curtain caught on one of his pointy ears.

  Kirsty spotted her chance.

  “Give us back the lunch bag now,” she demanded.

  “No!” pouted the goblin. “I want a reward from Jack Frost.”

  Bailey bravely stepped a little closer. “I’ve got an even better reward,” she said. “How would you like a stinky goblin picnic full of gross foods?”

  “You wouldn’t have to share,” added Kirsty.

  “That’s right!” piped up Rachel. “Smelly cauliflower, rotten eggs, and a pile of bogmallows. It’s all yours.”

  The greedy goblin paused for a moment to lick his lips.

  “Nah,” he decided. “I don’t trust you fairies!”

  With that, the goblin tucked the magic lunch bag under his arm and flung open the playroom door.

  The thief howled in panic. A group of fairy babies was fluttering up the stairs!

  The little tots gurgled at the sight of the funny-looking stranger. Some even held their arms out for a hug.

  “Don’t you like fairy babies?” Rachel asked innocently.

  The goblin shuffled nervously from foot to foot.

  “They’re just as cute as human ones,” said Kirsty. She knew that goblins were afraid of human babies.

  “Horrible things, all of them,” he yowled, pressing the magic lunch bag into Bailey’s hands. “Keep your precious object. I’m leaving!”

  The goblin marched out of the playroom, slamming the door behind him.

  Bang!

  The fairies were delighted. Bailey held her arms out, wrapping each of the little kids in a hug.

  “Let’s start the picnic all over again,” she said. “Kirsty, Rachel, will you join us?”

  The best friends shared a smile.

  “Not this time,” replied Kirsty. “Two very special babies are waiting for us in the human world.”

  “That’s right,” Rachel agreed. “We can’t be late for the rain forest picnic!”

  “What good sticking, Tom,” said Kirsty with a smile. “Good job!”

  Rachel crouched down to admire Lily’s handiwork.

  “Look!” she exclaimed. “Lily’s almost ready to start painting.”

  It was Kirsty and Rachel’s last full day at EcoWorld, and the friends were eager to make the most of every minute. After breakfast they’d brought the twins down to the lake. Diane from the Sunnydays Kids’ Club was running an outdoor craft session.

  “This really is a perfect spot, isn’t it?” Rachel sighed happily.

  “Bliss!” agreed Kirsty. “And making recycled paper lanterns is such a great idea.”

  The man-made lake was set in the middle of an airy dome fitted with a special roof that could be pulled back on dry days like today. Diane had set up a row of tables along the lake’s sandy beach. A dozen happy children sat clutching glue sticks, crayons, glitter, and tape.

  “Ra-ra!” squealed Lily, finding a paintbrush and pointing to the pink paint. “You do it?”

  “Let’s decorate it together,” suggested Rachel. “What would you like to paint on your lantern?”

  Sweet little dimples suddenly appeared in Lily’s cheeks.

  “Fairies!” she squealed. “Lily like fairies!”

  “I like fairies, too.” Rachel smiled, catching Kirsty’s eye.

  With her golden curls and polka-dot pinafore dress, Lily reminded the friends of the adorable fairy babies in Bailey the Babysitter Fairy’s nursery. All she needed was a star-topped training wand and a tiny pair of fairy wings!

  While Rachel and Lily were painting,

  Kirsty helped Tom tape up the sides of his lantern.

  “We’ll come back to the lake later and watch them fly high into the air,” she explained.

  “Higher than me?” wondered Tom, his eyes open wide.

  Kirsty laughed. “Yes, much higher than you!”

  Diane wandered up to see how the children were doing.

  “The roof is going to stay open this evening,” she said. “The lanterns will float right up to the sky! There’s going to be a barbecue and songs around the campfire.”

  Tom and Lily beamed at each other. It sounded magical!

  “I just hope that Jack Frost doesn’t spoil their fun,” Rachel murmured under her breath. “Bailey is still missing one magic object.”

  Kirsty frowned. Without Bailey’s night-light, children’s nap times were sure to go terribly wrong.

  “Let’s take the twins for a walk around the park,” she suggested. “We might spot a clue.”

  “Good idea!” replied Rachel.

  The girls wrote the twins’ names on their lanterns, then laid them out to dry. After letting Diane know where they were going, they wandered down the boardwalk that led out to the main park.

  “Where do we start?” wondered Rachel.

  She squinted up at a wooden post with signs pointing in every direction. Should they try the rain forest dome, the Treetop Café, or the eco-center?

  Just then, a hoot of laughter echoed through the trees.

  “Hurry up!” yelled a voice.

  “Stop pushing!” shouted another. “I’m getting in there first!”

  Rachel reached for Tom’s and Lily’s hands.

  The yelling got louder and louder. Kirsty had heard that sort of noise before . . . from goblins!

  The best friends felt their hearts thump as the bushes began to rustle and shake. Three shadowy figures burst through the trees. The rowdy group was all dressed in wetsuits reaching way down to their ankles. Kirsty and Rachel peered at the strangers’ feet, searching for a glimpse of green.

  “This way!” yelled a boy with blond hair, pointing to a sign that read SPLASH PARK.

  “Awesome!” cheered his friend, shoving to the front.

  Rachel sighed. These weren’t goblins at all! It was just a bunch of boys on their way to the swimming center.

  “Where now?” asked Kirsty, putting her hands on her hips. “Tom and Lily’s nap time is soon. We can’t let Jack Frost ruin their last day at EcoWorld!”

  “The twins are starting to look sleepy,” said Rachel, leading Tom and Lily back onto the path.

  “Want Mommy,” said Tom, holding out his arms to be carried. Lily trailed behind her brother, sucking her thumb.

  “Let’s take them back to the lodge,” suggested Kirsty. “We might find something on the way.”

  “Would you like another piggyback ride?” asked Rachel.

  Tom nodded sleepily.

  The girls lifted the twins onto their backs, then slowly made their way along the trail.

  “Hello, girls!” Mr. Tate grinned as the friends finally trooped through the gate at the bottom of the yard. “You’re just in time for lunch.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Walker looked up from their lounge chairs and waved. Mrs. Tate placed a big bowl of pasta in the middle of the picnic table.

  “Thank you for taking Tom and Lily out.” Mrs. Robinson smiled, putting down her magazine.

  “I’d better get the twins into their cribs right away,” she said. “We want them to have lots of energy for the campfire and barbecue tonight!”

  “Can we help?” asked Rachel, running in to find Lily’s favorite rag doll.

  Mrs. Robinson nodded. “That would be great, thank you.”

  Kirsty and Rachel carried Tom and Lily into their bedroom. Mrs. Robinson drew the curtains, while the girls clipped the twins into their fleecy sleeping bags. It was a perfect room for a nap — baby rabbits scampered and hopped along the wallpaper and rainbow mobiles spun gently from the ceiling.

  “Night-night,” whispered Rachel.

  “No, Ra-ra!” squealed Lily, sitting up again.

  Rachel tried to lay the little girl back down, but she clenched her fists and refused. At the same time, Tom reached for the crib bars and pulled himself up.

  “No sleeps!” he called, bouncing up and down on the mattress.

  “This isn’t like them,”
said Mrs. Robinson, searching for the twins’ night-light. “They usually love their lunchtime nap.”

  Rachel tried to comfort Lily, but the toddler shook her head and threw her doll onto the carpet. Tom clung on to the crib bars and began to cry.

  Mrs. Robinson rummaged through the twins’ closets.

  “Where has that night-light gone?” she asked out loud. “Lily and Tom love the lullabies it plays.”

  The twins began to sob even more loudly. Mrs. Robinson looked relieved when Mr. Robinson stuck his head around the door to find out what all the fuss was about.

  “We’ll leave you to settle the twins,” suggested Rachel, sharing a knowing look with Kirsty.

  The friends rushed out to the yard so they could talk properly.

  “The twins won’t settle down until Bailey’s magic night-light is back where it belongs,” said Kirsty. “We have to keep looking!”

  The girls checked with their parents, then hurried out to the park. As they ran along the trail, they could hear babies crying in the other eco-lodges.

  “She can’t nap without her night-light!” they heard one frazzled mom call.

  “He won’t even shut his eyes,” insisted another dad, pacing up and down his yard with a baby in a sling.

  “This is serious,” said Rachel urgently. “None of the children can get to sleep!”