Courtney the Clownfish Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  Where’s Courtney?

  Underwater Fun

  Here Comes Trouble!

  A Race for the Shell

  Bouncing Bubbles

  All Together Now

  “I can’t believe that we’re going home tomorrow,” Rachel Walker said, gazing out to sea. “This has been such a terrific vacation!”

  “I know,” her best friend, Kirsty Tate, agreed. “I’ll never forget it.”

  The two girls leaned against the railing at the end of Leamouth Pier. It was a warm, clear day and the sun cast dancing sparkles on the water below. Bouncy music boomed out from the carnival behind them.

  Kirsty and Rachel had been staying with Kirsty’s gran for a week of their spring vacation, and it had been a very exciting time. They had met the seven Ocean Fairies and enjoyed some wonderful adventures with them as they tried to find the lost pieces of the magic golden conch shell.

  Rachel sighed. “I’m a little worried. We still haven’t found the last piece of the conch shell, and time’s running out.”

  “We can’t let our vacation end without finding it,” Kirsty replied. “I really hope we meet Courtney the Clownfish Fairy soon!”

  Kirsty and Rachel had met the Ocean Fairies on the first day of their trip.

  They’d been invited to the special Ocean Gala in Fairyland.

  Every year at the party, Shannon the Ocean Fairy played a song on the magic golden conch shell. It ensured happy times in and around the oceans for everyone. But this year, before she could play the song, Jack Frost had crashed the party. He said he hated the ocean. He didn’t like seeing anyone enjoy themselves, and he couldn’t stand getting sand between his toes! He’d ordered his goblins to seize the golden conch shell. Unfortunately, they’d fought over it and then dropped it.

  The shell had smashed into seven pieces. Before the Ocean Fairies could grab them, Jack Frost used his magic to send the shell pieces into the human world. Luckily, the fairy queen had acted quickly. She sent the Ocean Fairies’ seven magic creatures—a dolphin, a seal, a penguin, a turtle, a starfish, a whale, and a clownfish—out into the human world, too. They would find and protect each piece of the shell. So far, Kirsty and Rachel had helped six of the Ocean Fairies find their magic creatures and the hidden pieces of the conch shell. They still needed to find Courtney’s clownfish and the seventh piece of shell.

  Until the shell was put back together, the girls knew there would be chaos all throughout the oceans.

  The girls gazed at the carnival rides, hoping they might see the little fairy.

  There was a giant spiral slide, a bouncy castle, a spinning octopus ride, and lots of game booths. “Is that a sparkle of fairy dust near the slide?” Kirsty asked, pointing.

  Rachel shaded her eyes to see. “No,” she replied sadly. “It’s just the flash from a camera.” She linked her arm with Kirsty’s. “It’s no use for us to search for Courtney,” she continued. “Remember what Queen Titania always says? We don’t need to look for fairy magic. It will find its way to us.”

  Kirsty nodded. “You’re right,” she said. “Come on, let’s go to the carnival. Look, there’s a clown over there.”

  The girls wandered closer to the clown. He was wearing a red-and-white polka-dotted jumpsuit, a little black hat with a yellow flower on top, huge floppy shoes, and full clown makeup. He was busy bending balloons into shapes. The girls watched as he turned a red balloon into a dog for a little girl, and a blue balloon into a sword for a boy.

  The clown saw them watching and waved. “Hello!” he called. “Let me make something for you.”

  He pulled out a long orange balloon and twisted it into the shape of a fish. “Here you go! Don’t let him swim away!”

  “Thank you,” Kirsty said, taking the fish balloon. As the clown walked away, Kirsty’s heart skipped excitedly.

  A magical glimmer was coming from inside the balloon. As she looked closer, she realized it was Courtney the Clownfish Fairy!

  Courtney waved from inside the balloon. Then, with a little burst of sparkles, she magically appeared in front of the girls. She had long, wavy, red hair, held back from her face with a pretty purple headband. She wore a leaf-and-fish patterned shirt over black leggings.

  “Hello there,” she said, as she hovered in midair, her beautiful wings glittering in the sunshine. “I’m glad I found you two. I really need your help.”

  She landed lightly on Rachel’s shoulder, and Rachel smiled as Courtney’s wings tickled her neck. “Of course we’ll help,” Rachel replied. “Let’s go somewhere where it’s not so crowded. We don’t want anyone to see you.”

  Kirsty and Rachel walked to an area of the pier that was less busy. An older couple relaxed in beach chairs, arm-in-arm, but nobody else was around.

  “That’s better,” Courtney said, her tiny fairy voice like tinkling bells. “We’ve got to find Squirt, my clownfish, and the last piece of the golden conch shell. The oceans are still a mess. As soon as we get the shell back together, Shannon can play her special song on it, and everything will go back to normal.”

  “What are we waiting for?” Kirsty said excitedly. “Let’s start looking!”

  Courtney grinned. “Just what I was hoping you’d say!” She giggled and waved her wand at Kirsty and Rachel. Bright orange fairy dust surrounded them and the girls felt themselves shrinking down, down, down until they were fairies themselves!

  Rachel fluttered her wings, loving how she felt lighter than air now. But the sea breeze sweeping in was strong. It was hard to hover in one place with it blowing her around!

  “Now for some magic bubbles,” Courtney said. She waved her wand again. Two orange-tinted bubbles appeared over Kirsty and Rachel’s heads, then vanished with a pop! Kirsty and Rachel knew that they would be able to breathe underwater now.

  “Let’s go to a special tropical part of the ocean!” Courtney cried, waving her wand a third time. A stream of sparkling fairy dust poured from it and swirled all around the three fairies.

  Moments later, they were lifted up by a glittering whirlwind that spun them away from Leamouth Pier, so fast that Rachel and Kirsty could barely see a thing.

  When the whirlwind came to a stop, the girls found themselves in warm blue water, right above the seabed. They were surprised to discover an amazing sight.

  “It’s an underwater carnival!” Kirsty said. “Look, there’s an octopus ride—with a real, live octopus!”

  She giggled as she watched the octopus spin around very fast, with fish and other sea creatures perched on the ends of its arms.

  “Look at the baby turtles,” Rachel cried. A giant clam opened and closed nearby, blowing bubbles on which a group of baby turtles happily bounced. “They’ve got their very own version of a bouncy castle!”

  The girls marveled at everything that was going on. There were sea creatures gathered together from all around the world—from coral reefs to polar seas, and all the oceans in between. Penguins and seals zoomed down a huge column of rock that looked just like a giant slide. Whales and dolphins flipped and spun, as if they were performing gymnastics. Other creatures seemed to be dancing in front of the flashing lights created by a group of lanternfish. “Wow,” Kirsty said, unable to take her eyes off the happy animals. “They’re all having so much fun!”

  “I could stand here all day watching them,” Rachel said, mesmerized by the scene.

  Courtney, however, didn’t look so happy. “Hmmm,” she said. “I’m glad the sea creatures are enjoying themselves, but a lot of them shouldn’t be in this part of the ocean! The penguins should be closer to the South Pole, the dolphins should be in cooler seas, and the whales normally need much deeper water than this.” She frowned. “It’s all beca
use the last piece of shell is still missing. We’ve got to find it—and fast!”

  Luckily, the next moment, Courtney spotted something that put a smile on her face. “There’s Squirt!” she cried, pointing at a nearby rock. The rock was covered with purple and red anemones. There was a whole group of clownfish playing a game of “catch-me-if-you-can” with them. The clownfish would dart into the anemones, and the anemones would try to close their fronds around them before the clownfish zipped out again.

  Rachel smiled as she watched them play. The clownfish were so pretty with their bright orange and white stripes. They all giggled as the anemones tried to catch them. One of the clownfish spotted Courtney and his face lit up in a huge grin. He swam over at once. It was Squirt!

  Courtney beamed and threw her arms around him. “I’ve missed you, too,” she said. “But it looks like you’ve made lots of friends here.”

  Squirt nodded. “He’s also found the piece of conch shell,” Courtney reported a minute later. “It’s in one of the anemones. Come on!”

  Squirt began swimming back toward the anemones. The three fairies were just about to follow when a chill spread through the ocean. The sea creatures stopped playing and looked around in surprise. The anemones and clams closed up tightly, as if they were scared.

  “What’s happening?” Kirsty whispered, feeling goose bumps spring up on her arms and legs.

  “I don’t know,” Courtney replied, shivering. “It’s usually so warm here. I wonder if a stray iceberg floated this way because of the broken conch shell.”

  She stopped speaking as a long, thin shape appeared on the surface of the water above them, completely blocking out the last rays of sunlight.

  Everyone stared up at it. For a second, Rachel thought the shape was a massive whale, but then she realized it wasn’t a living creature at all.

  “It’s a submarine!” Kirsty gasped.

  The three fairies and the ocean creatures stared at the submarine in silence as it descended toward them.

  The sub was an icy blue color. Icicles hung from its base and frost speckled the windows. On the side, in large jagged letters, was painted THE FROSTY DIVER.

  Kirsty’s stomach lurched as she read the words. The Frosty Diver? Did that mean the submarine had something to do with Jack Frost and his goblins?

  “Oh, no,” Courtney murmured, clearly thinking the same thing as Kirsty. “Here comes trouble.”

  The submarine continued to sink through the water. Finally, it came to a halt and Kirsty and Rachel heard its engine turn off.

  “What’s going to happen now?” Rachel whispered nervously, her heart thumping. “Should we hide?” She was scared of Jack Frost. He could work powerful icy magic and he was always in a bad mood.

  Courtney squeezed her hand. “Let’s wait and see what happens,” she said bravely.

  The submarine’s hatch flipped open, and the three fairies held their breath. The sea creatures were also silent. They all waited to see what would emerge from the submarine.

  Out clambered a goblin, wearing huge floppy flippers and an icy breathing bubble over his head. He was followed by a second goblin, and then a third, and then a fourth… and even more goblins, until there were at least ten of them standing by the submarine.

  Kirsty let out a breath. Surely there couldn’t be room for any more goblins in the submarine! Finally, one last figure climbed out. Even with his bubble helmet on, there was no mistaking the spiky ice crown on his head, or the wicked look on his face. It was Jack Frost!

  Jack Frost’s cold, piercing eyes fell on the three nervous fairies and he gave a gloating laugh. “Ahh, so you’re here,” he sneered. “I should have known. Well, that doesn’t bother me. My goblins and I are going to find the last piece of the conch shell before you do!”

  “No, you won’t,” Courtney said. “We’ll find it first!”

  Jack Frost laughed again, the scornful sound ringing out through the water. “I don’t think so,” he replied. “Goblins! To work! Find that piece of shell, or you’ll all be in big trouble!”

  The goblins leaped to obey and began swimming in all directions, searching for the shell. Some peered under leafy seaweed plants, others dug through the sand, and one silly goblin even lifted a seal’s flipper to peer underneath it! The seal glared at him before swimming away with its nose in the air.

  Kirsty expected Courtney to make a dive for the anemones, but to her surprise, the fairy stayed still. “Shouldn’t we go and get the shell?” Kirsty whispered.

  Courtney shook her head and leaned over so that both girls could hear her reply. “Not right now,” she said softly. “Jack Frost has his eye on us. If we swim straight for the anemones, he’ll know that the shell piece is there. With so many goblins here, we’d be surrounded within seconds.”

  “We’ll have to distract him somehow,” Rachel said thoughtfully, watching as one of the goblins tickled a giant clam to make it open. The goblin peered inside the clam, looking for the piece of shell. He backed away quickly when the clam shell almost slammed shut on his long nose!

  Rachel turned back to the conversation. Now she was the one getting distracted! But maybe that was the answer.

  “I just thought of something,” she whispered to Kirsty and Courtney. “What if we could get the carnival going again? Remember how we couldn’t stop looking at it, Kirsty? Hopefully it would have the same effect on the goblins and Jack Frost. When they’re distracted by all the carnival attractions, we can sneak over to the anemones and find the piece of golden conch shell!”

  “That’s a great idea,” Courtney said. She motioned Squirt to swim over. She explained the plan to him in a low voice. “Squirt, we need you to swim around and ask all the creatures to start up the carnival again. Tell them to make it look as exciting as possible!” She grinned. “I’ll do my part to help with some fairy magic, too.”

  Squirt swam through the water like a bright orange streak of light to spread the word. Slowly, the carnival came back to life. The lanternfish began shining their lights, the octopus wiggled its arms, and the seals started racing down the giant slide again.

  “Let’s see what else we can do,” Courtney said, waving her wand in a complicated pattern. Orange fairy dust swirled from it, and several new attractions sprang up. There was a booth with shells to knock down, a Tug-of-War tent with a thick rope of seaweed to pull, and a “Test Your Strength” tower.

  “Oooohhh!” the goblins cried as they noticed what was happening.

  “How cool is this?” one cheered, running to try the shell game.

  “Fantastic!” another whooped, sprinting to a brand-new twisty slide. “Woo-hoo!” he squealed as he slid down it. “Come on, everyone, you have to try this!”

  When all the goblins had abandoned the search for the shell, the fairies were able to swim over to the anemones where Squirt had said the conch piece was hidden. Squirt was still busily passing on the message about the carnival plan, so he wasn’t there to show them exactly which anemone the shell was hidden in.

  “Let’s look through them all,” Kirsty suggested, peering into the soft pink fronds of the anemone closest to her. “It’s not in this one.”

  The fairies worked quickly, checking through the anemones’ fronds as fast as they could. After only a few minutes, they heard a triumphant shout from Jack Frost.

  “Aha! So that’s where the shell is—it’s hidden in the anemones! Move over, fairies. I’m going to find that shell first. Just watch me!”

  As Jack Frost strode along the seabed toward them, Rachel felt her spirits plunge. Oh, no! This was just what they were worried would happen!

  Courtney wasn’t about to give up without a fight, though. She waved her wand, sending a shower of sparkles whirling toward Jack Frost. The glittering sparkles circled some giant clams near him, which blew out bubbles. But these weren’t ordinary bubbles—they were enormous, magical bubbles! They were so big that they knocked Jack Frost off his feet and sent him bouncing away!

 
Jack Frost furiously tried to pop the bubbles with his wand, but the magic was too strong. Boing! Boing! Boing! Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t help giggling as he bounced from bubble to bubble. He started to look a little seasick from all the motion!

  “That’s amazing, Courtney!” Rachel laughed. “Now to find that piece of the conch shell!”

  With Jack Frost getting farther and farther away, the water began to feel warmer, and the anemones started opening and closing again. Squirt swam over, and Courtney hugged him. “Just in time! Can you tell us which anemone has the hidden piece of the conch shell?” she asked.

  Squirt pointed a fin at one anenome, then another. He looked confused!

  The fairies heard a series of muffled pops. They turned to see a furious-looking Jack Frost shaking his fist at them in the distance. “He’s managed to burst the bubbles,” Kirsty realized. “Now he’s heading this way—quick, guys! We’ve got to find that shell right NOW!”

  Just as Rachel was starting to lose hope, she suddenly noticed that the frond tips of one sea anemone were sparkling faintly. Could that be because the conch shell was hidden there?

  She swam over to look, her heart thumping. When the anemone opened up again, she carefully dipped her hand inside. Her fingers closed around something hard and smooth. It was the seventh piece of the magic golden conch shell!

  She pulled it out, feeling a huge wave of relief. “I’ve got it!” she called to Kirsty and Courtney. “I found it!”

  “Good job!” Courtney cried, her eyes bright with happiness. “Terrific, Rachel!”