Frozen Treats

by Helen Perelman

  Melli was relieved that the princess and prince understood. She looked back at Drizzle and Fluff. But they were standing awkwardly by the gate.

  “You go inside with Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop,” Melli told Dash, Cocoa, Berry, and Raina. “I’ll be right in.”

  Her friends went inside the palace while Melli flew over to Drizzle and Fluff.

  “Those are your Candy Fairy friends from Sugar Valley?” Drizzle asked.

  “Yes,” Melli replied. She realized she had not introduced her new Ice Cream Isles friends to her Candy Fairy friends. “Please come inside to the dining hall. I didn’t get a chance to introduce you,” she said. “I’d like you to meet one another.”

  Fluff said, “We really have to work on the float. You go ahead.”

  Melli took their hands. “No,” she said. “I want you to meet my friends. We can finish the float later. We’ll work quickly.” She smiled at Drizzle and Fluff. “Please?”

  Drizzle and Fluff exchanged a glance. Melli was relieved when they both nodded and agreed to go with her.

  But when Melli introduced Drizzle and Fluff to the Candy Fairies, they were very quiet. The Candy Fairies were sitting together at one end of the table and making no move to get up or talk to the Ice Cream Fairies. Melli sat awkwardly in the middle.

  “Are those the Frozen Fairies?” Cocoa whispered to Melli.

  “No,” Melli said quickly. “Please don’t call them that. It was a misunderstanding.” She looked over at the other end of the table. She knew that Drizzle and Fluff had noticed the whispering was about them. “Please, Cocoa,” she whispered. “Be nice.”

  “I will be,” Cocoa said, staring at the Ice Cream Fairies. “As nice as they were to you.”

  Melli sighed. She should never have sent those sugar fly messages! She knew she should have thought first. Now her friends had the wrong impression of Drizzle and Fluff. And it was all her fault.

  Melli twirled her ice cream scoops around in her bowl. She didn’t feel like eating. The two colors, strawberry pink and creamy vanilla, mixed together and made a milky mess.

  Princess Lolli came over to Melli once the dishes had been cleared. “Melli, I heard how wonderful you were to Dips,” she said. “You saved her. We are all very grateful that you were there to help.”

  “Dips is so sweet,” Melli said. “I’m glad that I could help. And now she is going to help us.”

  “Oh?” Princess Lolli said. She raised her eyebrows high.

  Melli grinned. “We have a secret surprise!” she said. She looked over at Drizzle and Fluff.

  “What’s that?” Cocoa asked.

  Melli didn’t know that Cocoa had been listening. “Oh, you’ll see tomorrow,” Melli told her. “You should rest up tonight. Tomorrow is going to be the most spectacular Summer Spectacular!”

  Cocoa looked at Melli and shrugged. “If I didn’t know better,” she said, “I would think that you were trying to get rid of us.”

  “No, no,” Melli said. “I just . . .”

  Drizzle finished her sentence for her. “She just has work to do tonight.”

  Melli saw the surprised looks on her friends’ faces. Princess Lolli stepped in and told the other Candy Fairies to follow her upstairs. “I’m sure Melli will join you shortly,” she said sweetly.

  “Yes,” Melli added quickly. She was grateful to Princess Lolli for taking her friends to their rooms.

  She fluttered her wings and tried to shake the awkward, sticky feeling. As she flew to Sweet Cream Harbor with Drizzle and Fluff, she hoped that the other fairies would understand.

  Once at the harbor, the three fairies pulled their float out of the shed and started to work. It was late and the light was dim, but they knew what to do. They scraped the heavy sauce off and put a on light, fluffy layer of marshmallow.

  “I think my friends have the wrong impression of you two,” Melli said as they worked.

  “What do you mean?” Fluff asked.

  Melli sprinkled rainbow sugar crystals around the float. “Well, when I first got here I sent a sugar fly note about how things here were a little chilly.” Melli looked away. She wished she could take back those words.

  “Oh,” Drizzle said. She sat down. “That might explain the frosty stares at our introduction.”

  “I’m really sorry,” Melli said. “I will explain everything tomorrow. I want them to get to know you. I want all of us to be friends.”

  At last, the three fairies finished up the float. They were tired and had smudges of marshmallow from ear to ear.

  “This is delicious!” Fluff cried. “And Dips is going to be an extra-sweet addition.”

  Melli admired their work. “You know,” she said, “this seems much bigger than the other floats I saw in the harbor today.”

  Together, the three fairies pushed the float back into the shed so it would be a surprise the next morning.

  “The float is much bigger. Now I’m really glad we have Dips to pull it,” Drizzle said as she pushed.

  Fluff snapped her fingers. “Maybe we could make this a double-scoop float,” she said. “Then we could have more fairies on it.

  “My friends don’t expect to be in the Spectacular,” Melli said, smiling. “They think they are just watching from the palace beach. It will be a delicious surprise. Would you both be okay with that?”

  Fluff and Drizzle shared a smile. “The more the merrier,” Fluff said.

  “Super sundae!” Drizzle exclaimed.

  Melli grinned. She couldn’t wait to tell her friends!

  Frozen Treat Ending

  The morning of the Summer Spectacular, Melli woke up with the sunrise. She dressed and hurried out to Sweet Cream Harbor. She felt bad sneaking off while her friends slept, but she left notes under their doors. She hoped they would understand . . . and love the idea of being part of the celebration.

  When Melli reached the harbor, it was quiet. No other Ice Cream Fairies were there yet. The sunlight glistened on the water like sugar crystals. The sight took her breath away.

  “Delicious, right?” Drizzle said as she and Fluff came up behind Melli. “This is the best spot in the isles to see the sunrise.”

  “In Sugar Valley, Sun Dip is my favorite time of day,” Melli said. “The colors of the sky are yummy and I visit with my friends.” She turned to look at her new friends. “Here the sunrise is just as sweet. I’m really glad that you and Fluff are here.”

  Drizzle and Fluff gave Melli a tight squeeze.

  “We’re so happy you’re here and that we became friends,” Fluff said.

  “This promises to be a sugar-tastic day,” Drizzle added.

  Dips swam up close to the shore. Her white head peeked out above the water. Melli hoped their plan would work! Pulling a large float with seven fairies might not be simple for the small seal.

  Melli flew out over the water to greet Dips. She showed the seal the licorice harness and how it should slip over her head.

  “I’ll hold the reins,” she explained. “All you have to do is swim. We don’t need to go fast. Let’s give it try, okay?”

  Dips nodded and slapped her flippers in a playful splash.

  Drizzle and Fluff pulled the float closer to the water’s edge. Together, the fairies hooked the reins to the float. Melli held her breath. She stood with Drizzle and Fluff on the float as Dips started to move.

  “Hot caramel! She’s doing it!” Melli cried. “Are you okay?” she called to Dips.

  Dips waved a flipper and continued forward.

  Melli was so happy. Dips would be the star of the Spectacular!

  “Come on,” said Fluff, grinning. “Let’s go back to the palace and get your friends.”

  “Yes, let’s,” Drizzle said, smiling. “We need to give them a proper welcome to Ice Cream Isles.”

  “And there is no better way than on a float pulled by a Sweet Cream Harbor seal!” Fluff added.

  As the fairies returned to the palace they saw that it was decorated with many swirls
of ice cream and toppings.

  Before Melli, Drizzle, and Fluff entered the dining hall, they went to check on the caramel sauce one last time. Melli was so proud. Now everything was set for the celebration.

  But Melli was not prepared to be greeted by four very sour faces in the dining hall.

  “Where were you?” Dash asked. “We woke up and you were gone.”

  “We were worried,” Raina said.

  “And a little mad,” Berry said. “We came because we wanted to be with you. You sounded so lonely. But you don’t want to be with us at all.”

  Melli’s wings dipped low to the floor. “Oh, sugar sticks,” she said. “Not another misunderstanding! Didn’t you see my notes? I slipped notes under your bedroom doors before I left this morning. I wanted to surprise you all today. Not make you mad!”

  Cocoa stepped forward. “Surprise us?” she asked.

  “Please don’t be mad,” Melli said. “I was having a hard time in the beginning. I really should have listened to what you told me before I came here. At first I was homesick, but I didn’t give my new friends a chance. Once I did, I realized we had a lot in common . . . and we had fun together.

  “So much fun that you forgot about us?” Dash asked.

  Melli flew over to Dash. “Never!” she shouted. “Our surprise is that you can be a part of the Summer Spectacular! All of you can ride on the ice cream float with me, Drizzle, and Fluff!” Melli exclaimed. “And Dips the seal is going to pull us!”

  “Are you joking?” Cocoa asked.

  “Sure as sugar, I am absolutely telling the truth,” Melli said. “I couldn’t be happier that you will be with me. And it was Drizzle and Fluff’s idea that you ride with us.”

  Cocoa stood up. “We were wrong,” she admitted. “I guess we felt that if those fairies weren’t nice to you, then we wouldn’t be nice to them.”

  “And that was definitely not nice,” Raina added.

  “We should have behaved better,” Berry said.

  “We should start all over,” Dash said.

  Drizzle and Fluff flew over. “We’d like that,” they said at the same time. “We’re sorry too, if Melli felt left out. That was never our intention.”

  Melli grinned. She was so happy to see all her friends together. A horn blew, and Melli knew it was time to get on the float. They couldn’t miss the opening of the great float parade!

  The fairies all took their places. Melli could tell that everyone was surprised to see such a large and fairy-filled float!

  Along the Sweet Cream Harbor, many fairies cheered as the colorful procession passed. Melli smiled at her new and old friends.

  “Sure as sugar, we have the best float,” Melli boasted as they glided around the harbor.

  “Look, there are Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop!” Dash exclaimed.

  At the front of the lineup, the prince and princess were in a swirled float with colorful sprinkles. The royal couple looked so happy.

  “Delicious. Like the cherry on a sundae,” Melli said, smiling at her Ice Cream Fairy friends.

  After the grand parade, everyone headed to Swirl Island for the ice cream feast. There were so many flavors and colors! The new flavor was a bright pink, and Berry and Cocoa cheered when they realized that the flavor was strawberry-chocolate swirl.

  “Pretty and delicious,” Berry said.

  Melli wasn’t sure what to eat first. And there, in center of the square, was her caramel sauce!

  “Melli, this sauce is just what I had imagined for the Spectacular,” Prince Scoop said. He was holding a large bowl of ice cream with Melli’s sauce. “Thank you! We’ll never have this feast again without your special sauce!”

  Melli blushed. “It was an honor,” she said.

  She looked over and saw Raina and Cocoa talking to Drizzle, and Dash and Berry laughing with Fluff. This made Melli grin. It was supersweet when friends blended together. She took a spoonful of her strawberry-chocolate swirl and sighed. She had been so afraid to go on this journey alone, but she had done it! And though it was a little sticky at first, now everything was sugar-tastic!

  “This trip has been delicious,” she said to Prince Scoop. “Thank you again . . . for everything.”

  As all the fairies settled onto the pier with their ice cream sundaes, Melli sighed. The trip had taught her a good lesson about traveling and making new friends. This was a big double scoop of friendship with all the trimmings—including caramel sauce. She dipped her spoon in her bowl. It was the perfect sweet-treat ending to share with new friends and old.

  READ ALL THE CANDY FAIRIES BOOKS!

  Chocolate Dreams

  Rainbow Swirl

  Caramel Moon

  Cool Mint

  Magic Hearts

  Gooey Goblins

  The Sugar Ball

  A Valentine’s Surprise

  Bubble Gum Rescue

  Double Dip

  Jelly Bean Jumble

  The Chocolate Rose

  A Royal Wedding

  Marshmallow Mystery

  COMING SOON:

  The Sugar Cup

  Helen Perelman enjoys candy from all parts of Sugar Valley, but jelly beans, red licorice, and gummy fish are her favorites. She worked in a children’s bookstore and was a children’s book editor . . . but, sadly, she never worked in a candy store. She now writes full time in New York, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at www.helenperelman.com.

  Aladdin

  Simon & Schuster, New York

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

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  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin hardcover edition June 2014

  Text copyright © 2014 by Helen Perelman Bernstein

  Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Erica-Jane Waters

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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  Book design by Karina Granda

  Jacket designed by Karina Granda

  Jacket illustrations by Erica-Jane Waters

  The text of this book was set in New Baskerville Std.

  The illustrations for this book were rendered in ink.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2014930881

  ISBN 978-1-4424-6501-5 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4424-5303-6 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-4424-5304-3 (eBook)