Georgia the Guinea Pig Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  A loud knocking came from the other side of the barn door. “A deal’s a deal,” one of the goblins yelled. “Open up before this crazy bull finds us!”

  Georgia pointed her wand at the doors.

  “We’re going to try and grab the goblin who has Sparky, OK?” Rachel whispered to Kirsty.

  Kirsty nodded. “He was standing behind the others, at the back,” she told Rachel quietly. “Ready when you are, Georgia.”

  Georgia waved her wand. The barn doors glittered with bright blue light again, then burst open. The goblins immediately raced out of the barn.

  “Quick! Before the bull starts chasing us!” one of them shrieked.

  Kirsty and Rachel lunged for the last goblin, who was clutching Sparky. Their hands closed around empty air as he nimbly dodged them and sprinted away across the field.

  “He’s getting away!” cried Rachel.

  Kirsty looked around frantically for something she could use to stop the goblin. Suddenly, she spotted some old rope just inside the barn. “Georgia, could you use your magic to turn that rope into a lasso for me?” she asked quickly.

  “Yes,” the fairy replied, waving her wand. Turquoise fairy dust spiralled through the air. The frayed old rope turned into a lasso and flew straight up into Kirsty’s hand.

  Kirsty swung the loop of the lasso around her head, keeping her eyes fixed on the goblin who was running off with Sparky. Then she launched the lasso straight at him.

  The girls held their breath as the lasso sailed through the air. It seemed to be heading in the wrong direction, but Georgia quickly pointed her wand at it. The lasso shone with blue magic and veered back on course, toward the goblin. The loop of rope fell right over his head and caught tight around his middle, pinning his arms by his sides.

  The goblin tried to keep running, but the rope pulled itself magically out of Kirsty’s hands and wound itself around the goblin’s legs until he had to stop.

  “Got him!” Kirsty cheered triumphantly.

  “Help!” the lassoed goblin yelled to his friends, but they were too busy running away from the imaginary bull to notice.

  Rachel and Kirsty walked calmly over to the struggling goblin. Sparky, who was still in the goblin’s hands, squeaked hello.

  “Come here, Sparky,” Rachel said, gently lifting him out of the goblin’s hands.

  Sparky squeaked even louder when he saw Georgia fluttering in midair. With a twitch of his nose, he jumped up toward her. As he leaped through the air, he shrank to his usual tiny size. Georgia picked him up happily and gave him a big hug.

  “Hey! What about me?” the goblin shouted angrily, still tangled in the rope.

  Georgia smiled at him. “Don’t worry, the magic will wear off the rope soon,” she assured him. “In a couple of hours or so, you’ll be free . . .”

  “A couple of hours?” the goblin groaned.

  Georgia winked at Kirsty and Rachel as they walked back toward the Pet Corner. “It will only be a couple of minutes, really,” she whispered with a laugh.

  Sparky started squeaking urgently, and suddenly Georgia looked worried. “Of course!” she cried. “We have to find poor little Carrot! I’d almost forgotten about him.”

  Rachel looked at her watch. “It’s a quarter to four already,” she said. “Kirsty, we have to meet your mom in fifteen minutes. We don’t have much time to look for Carrot.”

  “Then I’ll turn you back into fairies,” Georgia said, waving her wand briskly. “That way, we can all fly around and look for him. Let’s split up and meet back at Carrot’s hutch in five minutes.”

  Rachel and Kirsty zoomed off in different directions, searching for the lost, little guinea pig. Kirsty checked out the play area, the cow barn, and even popped through the windows of the gift shop. Rachel hunted around the pig pen, the duck pond, and the stables. There was no sign of Carrot anywhere.

  “I don’t understand it,” Georgia said when they met up with her again five minutes later. “Where could he be?”

  “We should go soon,” Rachel said sadly, "but I can’t leave the farm without knowing that Carrot’s safe!”

  Kirsty suddenly pointed ahead to where a mother hen was being followed by a line of her chicks. “Wait a minute,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “That’s a strange-looking chick at the end of the line!”

  Rachel looked where Kirsty was pointing, and then giggled in relief. The last “chick” in the line was not yellow and fluffy, like the others. It was a small, carrot-colored guinea pig!

  “Carrot’s adopted a new family!” Georgia chuckled. “How sweet!”

  Sparky scampered over to Carrot and squeaked at him happily. Georgia, Rachel, and Kirsty watched as Carrot looked at Sparky, then back at the chicks, as if he was figuring something out. Then he rubbed noses with Sparky and squeaked.

  Georgia grinned. “He says he’s enjoyed being part of the hen family, but he’s ready to go home now,” she translated. “And we’re ready, too, little Carrot!”

  Georgia checked to make sure that nobody else was in sight. Then she waved her wand over Rachel and Kirsty, turning them back into girls. Kirsty went over and picked up Carrot. “Come on,” she said gently. “Let’s take you back to your hutch.”

  As soon as Kirsty had placed Carrot back in his hutch, Rosie and Millie, Carrot’s mom and aunt, rushed over and squeaked at Carrot excitedly. Then all three of them rubbed noses, and Carrot nestled against Rosie, looking very happy.

  Georgia waved her wand to make sure that the cage door was tightly shut. “There will be no more going back to the hen house, OK?” she said to Carrot, with a smile.

  Then she picked up Sparky and turned to the girls. “It’s almost four o’clock. You’d better go,” she told them. “And we should fly back to Fairyland, Sparky — where I’m going to make sure that Jack Frost never gets anywhere near you again!”

  Sparky nuzzled Georgia’s arm and she pet him gently. “Thank you for everything,” she said to Kirsty and Rachel. “Sparky says thank you, too.”

  Kirsty and Rachel hugged the tiny fairy good-bye and gave Sparky a gentle scratch. Sparky squeaked good-bye to the girls, then squeaked in the direction of Carrot’s cage. A bunch of squeaks came back in reply, as if the farm guinea pigs were calling out their good-byes, too.

  And then, with a burst of turquoise sparkles that glittered in the afternoon sunlight, Georgia and Sparky vanished.

  “There you are, girls!” came a voice. Rachel and Kirsty turned to see Mrs. Tate walking toward them. “Have you had a nice day?”

  “Great, thanks, Mom,” Kirsty replied with a smile. “Wasn’t it, Rachel?”

  “Oh, yes,” Rachel agreed. She grinned as she noticed a pot of sunflower seeds, some sliced apple, and a whole pile of carrot sticks in the guinea pigs’ cage. She was sure that the food was a gift from Georgia! It definitely hadn’t been there before. “Today’s been magical!” Rachel said, sighing happily.

  Georgia the Guinea Pig Fairy has her pet back. Now Rachel and Kirsty must help

  Lauren

  the Puppy Fairy!

  Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek. . . .

  “Look at that zucchini, Kirsty!” Rachel Walker laughed, pointing at the giant green vegetable on the display table. “It’s almost as big as I am!”

  Kirsty Tate read the card propped in front of the zucchini. “It won a prize,” she announced. “It’s the biggest vegetable at the Wetherbury Spring Show!”

  There were other enormous vegetables on the table, too. The girls stared at the giant-size carrots and onions. There were also huge bowls of daffodils, tulips, and bluebells. The best flower displays had won prizes, too.

  “This is great!” Rachel declared. “I wish we had a Spring Show back home.”

  Rachel was staying in Wetherbury with Kirsty for the week, and the girls h
ad spent the whole afternoon at the show. The field was crammed with booths selling homemade cakes, cookies, and jams, and there were pony rides and a huge red-and-yellow bouncy castle. Rachel and Kirsty were having a great time!

  “I think we’ve been around the whole show,” Kirsty said at last. “Mom and Dad will be here to pick us up soon.”

  “Should we take one last look at our favorite booth?” Rachel asked eagerly.

  “You mean the one for the Wetherbury Animal Shelter?” Kirsty said with a smile.

  Rachel nodded. “I want to see if they’ve found homes for those four puppies.”

  “I hope so,” Kirsty said. “They were really cute! And speaking of pets . . .” She lowered her voice so that she wouldn’t be overheard. “Do you think we might find another fairy pet today?”

  “We’ll just have to keep our eyes open!” Rachel whispered in a determined voice.

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  e-ISBN 978-0-545-29540-6

  Copyright © 2006 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Georgie Ripper.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.

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  First Scholastic printing, March 2008

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