Aisha the Princess and the Pea Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  “Because she’s from a fairy tale?” Kirsty guessed.

  “Exactly!” Aisha said.

  “I’d like to go with you,” the princess said. “You’re doing a very nice thing by trying to help me. I’d like to help, too, if I can.”

  “Then let’s go!” Aisha said. She waved her wand, and tiny hearts and peas spilled out in a glittery cloud. The girls shrunk to fairy-size and felt their gauzy wings fluttering on their backs.

  Then Aisha waved her wand again, and there was a tinkling sound as she transported them all to Jack Frost’s Ice Castle. Goblins marched back and forth across the castle entrance.

  “The three of us can fly in,” Aisha said. “Princess, I’m afraid you may have to wait out here.”

  The princess nodded. “Okay. I’ll try to find a way past those goblins in the meantime.”

  Aisha, Kirsty, and Rachel flew up, up, up to the tall castle turrets. They found an open window and fluttered inside. Right away, they heard a commotion nearby.

  “Hold it steady! I’m going to fall!” Jack Frost was yelling.

  They flew into the main hall of Jack Frost’s castle, where they saw an amazing sight.

  Mattresses were stacked from the floor all the way up to the high ceiling, making a tall tower.

  “One, two, three, four … there are too many to count!” Kirsty cried.

  Jack Frost was trying to climb a long, rickety ladder all the way to the top. Two goblins stood below, steadying the ladder.

  “The ladder is wiggling!” Jack Frost complained.

  “Why don’t you just use your wand to transport yourself up there?” one of the goblins called up.

  “Because that’s not in the fairy tale,” Jack Frost called down. “I am a poor lost princess who needs a place to sleep for the night, and I’m going to climb up to the top of these mattresses, just like she did!”

  Aisha and the girls watched as Jack Frost climbed and climbed until he reached the top. Two goblins perched close to the edge, watching Jack Frost scramble to reach them.

  “Pull me up!” Jack Frost demanded.

  The goblins grabbed his hands and pulled Jack Frost onto the top mattress. The whole mattress tower wobbled dangerously.

  “I have a plan,” Aisha told the girls. “You two fly over and grab his wand. Then I’ll try to get the locket.”

  “Got it!” Rachel and Kirsty said together, nodding.

  The three fairies flew up to the top of the tower.

  “I should be feeling the pea just about now,” Jack was saying. “As I fall asleep, my delicate skin will feel the pea. Then everyone will know I am a true princess!”

  “What pea?” asked one of the goblins.

  “The pea that you put under the very bottom mattress,” replied Jack Frost.

  The goblins looked at one another.

  Jack Frost sat straight up. “Do you mean to tell me you forgot to put the pea under the mattresses?” he wailed.

  That’s when he spotted the three fairies flying toward him. He quickly pointed at them.

  “Goblins! Get rid of them!” he barked.

  The goblins produced flyswatters and began to swat at the fairies. Kirsty and Aisha quickly flew out of the way, but Rachel was just a little slower. One of the flyswatters hit her wings!

  “Oh no!” Rachel cried, as she tumbled to the floor below.

  “I’ll help you!” Aisha cried. She started to wave her wand, but one of the goblins swatted it out of her hands.

  “Oh no!” Aisha cried, and dove to catch it.

  Kirsty flew as fast as she could. She had to reach Rachel before it was too late! But Rachel was almost near the bottom of the tower now.

  “Rachel!” Kirsty cried out in alarm.

  Rachel tried to flap her wings, but they wouldn’t work!

  “I’ve got you!” said a familiar voice.

  Rachel landed safely in two soft hands. She looked up to see that the princess had caught her.

  “Are you all right?” the princess asked.

  “Just a little dizzy,” Rachel said, standing up. “Thanks! You saved me again. But how did you get into the castle?”

  Kirsty and Aisha flew up to them.

  “Well, I hid and roared like a scary bear, and the goblins guarding the entrance ran away,” the princess explained. “Then I ran inside. I guess I got here just in time.”

  Kirsty looked up at the top of the mattress tower. “If we go back up there, we’ll just get swatted down again.”

  “I can’t go back up there anyway,” Rachel said. “My wings aren’t working very well.”

  “As soon as I find my wand, I’ll fix them,” Aisha promised. She sighed. “I’m not quite sure what to do!”

  Rachel looked up and down the mattresses. “If we can’t go to Jack Frost, maybe we can bring him to us!”

  “You mean knock down the mattress tower?” Kirsty asked. “Great idea! It’s already so wobbly. It should fall over pretty easily.”

  She flew to one of the mattresses and pushed with all of her might. “They’re too heavy! I wish I was my normal size. Then I’d be able to knock this whole tower right over!”

  “Well, I’m my normal size,” the princess said. “I can try.”

  Suddenly, two goblins ran up to them. One of them was holding Aisha’s tiny wand!

  “Jack Frost wants you out of here!” the goblin yelled.

  Kirsty looked at the princess. “Aisha and I will get rid of the goblins,” she whispered. “Once we’re clear, you and Rachel can bring down the tower!”

  The princess nodded. “Got it!”

  “Catch us if you can!” Kirsty called out, and she and Aisha flew right past the goblins. They ran after the two fairies.

  “All right, Rachel,” the princess said. “I’m going to put you in the pocket of my dress. Then we’ll both give a big push.”

  “Okay!” said Rachel, as the princess tucked her into the pocket.

  The princess walked up to the mattress tower and began to push. Rachel pushed, too. The tower began to wobble even harder.

  “What’s happening?” Jack Frost yelled from high above.

  “Almost there,” the princess said. “One more push, Rachel!”

  The princess and Rachel pushed with all their might. The tower teetered, and tottered, and then … all of the mattresses toppled over!

  “I’m falling!” Jack Frost wailed.

  Thump! Thump! Thump! The mattresses fell all over the floor of the castle’s main hall. Jack Frost tumbled and rolled down the falling tower.

  “Oof! Oof! Oof!” Jack Frost cried. “My poor delicate skin!”

  As he somersaulted down the mattresses, Aisha’s locket slipped off his neck and soared through the air.

  “Got it!” Aisha yelled as she swooped across the room to grab it. The locket shrank to fairy-size in her hand.

  Thump! Jack and the goblins landed safely on top of some soft mattresses.

  “We did it!” Rachel cheered from the princess’s pocket. Then she looked around. “Where’s Kirsty?” She suddenly felt worried. What if Kirsty had been squished by a falling mattress?

  “I’m here!” Kirsty said, flying over to everyone. “And I found Aisha’s wand!”

  “Oh, thank you!” Aisha said. “Now I can fix Rachel’s wings.”

  Aisha flew to Rachel and waved her wand. A musical sound filled the air as tiny hearts and peas swirled around Rachel’s wings. They began to flutter, and she flew out of the princess’s pocket.

  “Hooray!” she cheered. Then she turned to the princess. “Thanks for all your help.”

  “It was fun,” the princess said. Her body started to shimmer.

  “What’s happening?” Kirsty asked.

  “Now that I have my magic locket back, she can return to her fairy tale,” Aisha explained.

  “I have something to say before I go!” the princess said. “I remember my fairy tale now. In the story, I feel the pea under the mattresses and prove that I’m a real princess. But
that’s not what really happened.”

  “It isn’t?” the girls asked, surprised.

  The princess shook her head. “Not exactly. You see, I thought it was strange that the queen asked me to sleep on so many mattresses. So I looked under them and found the pea. I guessed what the queen was up to and played along. Nobody could really feel a pea under all those mattresses! That would be silly.”

  “That’s exactly what I said!” Kirsty cried.

  The princess’s body shimmered even more, and she waved as she faded away.

  “And that is the mark of a true princess,” Aisha said. “It’s not delicate skin. It’s cleverness!”

  “And bravery,” Rachel added. “She saved me twice and wasn’t afraid of Jack Frost or his goblins.”

  “Speaking of Jack Frost—he could use a little more cleverness right now,” Kirsty said, nodding over to the center of the hall. Jack Frost and his goblins were trying to stand up in the pile of mattresses, but kept falling over. Their arms and legs flailed about wildly.

  “Somebody help me!” Jack Frost cried.

  “But I can’t get up!” one of the goblins yelled.

  Aisha smiled. “Let’s get you girls back to Tiptop Castle before Jack Frost manages to get up and starts causing trouble.”

  She waved her wand again, and the girls instantly found themselves back in their room in Tiptop Castle. Their wings were gone, and they were normal-size once again.

  “Thank you both so much for all your help,” Aisha said. “I’m going back to Jack Frost’s castle so that I can send all the mattresses back here.”

  “Be careful!” Rachel said.

  “I will,” Aisha promised, and then she vanished.

  As the last of Aisha’s fairy magic twinkled away, the girls heard a commotion coming from downstairs.

  “Let’s go see what’s happening,” Rachel suggested.

  They headed downstairs to find all of the festival organizers and guests in the ballroom. A big movie screen had been set up, and the chairs were organized in rows, like in a movie theater. The castle cooks were setting up at a table at the back of the room. They were handing out hot dogs and popcorn to the children.

  The girls spotted Omri and another girl they had met, Emily.

  “What’s going on?” Rachel asked.

  “We’re going to watch a fairy tale movie!” Emily said. “You’re just in time.”

  “You’d better hurry and get your hot dogs and popcorn,” Omri said. “We’ll save you a seat.”

  Rachel patted her stomach. “Thanks! I forgot how long ago breakfast was.”

  The girls grabbed their food and took seats next to Omri and Emily. The lights dimmed, and the movie started.

  “Has there ever been a movie made about The Princess and the Pea?” Kirsty whispered to Rachel.

  “I don’t think so,” Rachel replied. “But that would make a good movie, I think.”

  Kirsty nodded. “Yes, especially if the real princess was the star!”

  After the film ended, the lights came on in the ballroom.

  “It’s still raining out,” Amy reported. “There’s a special craft set up in the dining room.”

  “That sounds like fun!” Emily said. She looked at Kirsty and Rachel. “Are you going to do it?”

  The girls looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing.

  “We need to check something in our room first,” Rachel said. “We’ll be right back.”

  As the girls made their way to their room, they heard surprised voices coming from some of the other rooms.

  “My mattress is back!”

  “So is mine!”

  “Somebody returned all the mattresses!”

  Kirsty grinned. “I guess Aisha didn’t have any trouble back at Jack Frost’s castle.”

  When they got to their room, Rachel picked up The Fairies’ Book of Fairy Tales and flipped through it.

  “It’s here!” she cried. “The Princess and the Pea. The fairy tale is safe from Jack Frost.”

  “We still have to save The Little Mermaid,” Kirsty said. “Can you imagine Jack Frost as a mermaid?”

  Rachel shook her head. “Jack Frost with a long fish tail? No way!”

  “Well, if he comes back to Tiptop Castle I’m sure we’ll find a way to get the last magic object back to Fairy Tale Lane,” Kirsty said.

  “We’ll do it princess-style,” Rachel said.

  Kirsty grinned. “With cleverness!”

  “And bravery!” Rachel added.

  Rachel and Kirsty found Julia’s, Eleanor’s, Faith’s, Rita’s, Gwen’s, and Aisha’s missing magic objects. Now it’s time for them to help

  Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek …

  Kirsty and Rachel recognized Lacey the Little Mermaid Fairy right away—she was just as sparkly as they remembered! Lacey’s delicate wings glistened in the sunshine and her mermaid tail sparkled with pale purple scales. Her dark hair was held in place with a fine golden headband. Along the bottom of her shirt a row of tiny jewels glinted in the light.

  “We’re always ready to help a fairy,” whispered Rachel, kneeling over the side of the fountain to make sure that no one else would see Lacey.

  “Always,” echoed Kirsty. “What can we do?”

  Lacey’s pretty smile faded. “It’s my fairy tale.” She sighed. “I can’t go on for a minute longer without putting things right!”

  “Is there still no sign of your magic object?” wondered Rachel.

  Lacey shook her head sadly.

  “What does it look like?” asked Kirsty.

  “It’s an oyster shell with a pearl inside,” replied Lacey. “It’s very precious. The characters from The Little Mermaid have been gone for days now. The shell could be anywhere!”

  “We’ll find it somehow,” promised Rachel.

  “There must be somewhere new that we can search,” said Kirsty. “Let’s think …”

  “Hey! Over here!”

  Lacey and the girls looked up. Someone was shouting from the other side of the courtyard. Another voice bellowed a reply:

  “Look at that!”

  “It’s splashing all over the place!” yelled a third voice.

  “Don’t just stare at it—let’s get it!” boomed another.

  Lacey flipped out of the water. “That noise,” she cried breathlessly. “It’s coming from the moat.”

  “We need to get there fast!” urged Rachel.

  Kirsty began to run, but Lacey shook her head.

  “You’ll be faster as fairies,” she said, pointing her wand into the fountain. As soon as the wand touched the water, a wave of miniature golden shells showered in all directions. Lacey beckoned for the girls to put their hands underneath it. Kirsty and Rachel gazed in wonder as the shells tickled and popped on their fingers before disappearing into the spray. Soon the girls were covered in a sparkling mist of gold.

  “We’re getting smaller!” exclaimed Kirsty.

  When the mist cleared, Rachel reached up to touch her shoulders. A gauzy pair of fairy wings had appeared. The friends joined hands, then fluttered into the air.

  “Hey, you!” shouted the voices again. “Come here!”

  Kirsty, Rachel, and Lacey hurried across the courtyard, following the noisy shouts. They flew out past the gatehouse, across the drawbridge, and over the moat.

  “Oh my!” cried Lacey, nearly tumbling out of the sky. “Goblins!”

  Kirsty and Rachel looked down. Floating on the moat, in among the lily pads, was an inflatable raft. Four green goblins were sitting on it, fighting over a giant fishing net.

  “She’s too heavy!” moaned one goblin, tugging the net with all his might.

  “Let me have a try,” barked another, shoving his friend out of the way. The goblin heaved and hauled the net until—plop!—it landed on the raft. The rest of the gang hooted in delight. A mermaid suddenly popped her head out of the net, then sat up in the middle of the raft.

  Lacey gasped
. “It’s the Little Mermaid from my fairy tale!”

  Copyright © 2016 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. 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.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, January 2016

  Cover design by Angela Jun

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-86407-7

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