Milly the River Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  “No way!” agreed a short, squat goblin with a mean face. “Jack Frost will be really angry if we lose it. Come on, paddle harder. We’ve got to get that wand back!”

  The goblins threw themselves whole-heartedly into their paddling, and their rafts sped along after the wand.

  Overhead, the three fairies were chasing after it, too. Fortunately, the wand was easy to follow, because it left behind a trail of golden sparkles, but the fast current meant it rushed along with the water at top speed.

  “I think we should fly closer to the river,” Rachel called to Milly and Kirsty. “That way we can grab the wand as soon as we get near it.”

  “Good thinking,” Kirsty replied, and they swooped down, so that they just skimmed the water as they zoomed along.

  Flying so fast was really exciting, but the three friends hadn’t planned on there being so much trash floating in the river. It was hard work having to dodge around empty bottles and plastic bags.

  “There’s so much litter!” Rachel cried, swerving quickly in order to avoid a broken umbrella caught against a rock. Its spokes were sharp and pointed, and her heart pounded as she almost collided with it.

  “I know, it’s disgusting,” Kirsty said, flying over yet another wrinkled plastic bag. “We’ve got to get to that wand before the goblins do. This river needs a serious cleanup.”

  “Oh, no!” Milly suddenly said nervously. “Have you seen what’s ahead? Rapids!”

  Kirsty and Rachel gulped as they saw what she meant. The river was now flowing steeply downhill, causing the water to turn white and foamy as it churned over the rocks.

  The goblins looked anxious, too. Their rafts were wildly bobbing up and down with the strong current, and the tall goblin looked very seasick. His eyes were closed as he clung to the raft.

  Just then, the magic wand was flipped on its end by the bubbling water, so that it was carried along with its tip in the air.

  “Quick!” cried Kirsty, soaring toward it. She grabbed ahold of it, as did Rachel, and together, they pulled it out of the water.

  “Yes!” Kirsty cried. “We got it, Milly!”

  Milly let out a cheer. Then, just as she was flying over to grab it, the goblins on the barrel-and-plank raft raced by. The big-nosed goblin snatched the wand right out of Rachel’s and Kirsty’s fingers!

  “Hey!” Rachel yelled. “Give that back!”

  “No way,” he chided, twirling it between his fingers. “I won’t let it go again . . . whoa!”

  His raft was bumping and bouncing even harder on the wild current, and the goblin fell sideways. With a shout of fear, he reached for a nearby rope to hold on to. When he did so, the wand slipped from his fingers and splashed down into the water again.

  “No!” the short goblin bellowed, shaking his fist. “You can’t be trusted with anything!”

  “It’s not my fault,” the big-nosed goblin yelled back. “You suggested making these rafts in the first place. This is all your fault.” He stopped and looked ahead in shock.

  The short goblin was just about to shout a reply when he also glanced ahead — and yelled in terror. “Waterfall!” he screamed. “Help!”

  The two rafts plunged over the waterfall, and the goblins fell off immediately, wailing and shrieking as they tumbled through the air. The wand was falling, too. As the fairy friends flew through the mist of the roaring waterfall, Rachel managed to veer over and grab the wand out of midair. It was heavy for a little fairy, though, and the weight of the wand immediately pulled her down. “Milly!” she called above the noise of the water as it crashed below them. “Here!”

  Milly zoomed over at once, her hand outstretched, and grabbed hold of the wand. As soon as Milly touched it, the wand shrank down to fairy-size. With a few good flaps, Rachel was able to get a safe distance above the rushing waterfall again. “Whew!” She sighed in relief.

  Meanwhile, Milly was waving the wand in the goblins’ direction, muttering some magic words. A stream of golden sparkles shot from the wand and swirled around the goblins . . . just in time to make them land safely on their rafts at the bottom of the waterfall.

  “Now to guide them safely to the shore,” Milly said with another flourish of her wand. Once again, a flurry of golden sparkles streamed from it, and the two rafts were magically steered to the river bank. The goblins climbed onto land with shaky legs. All four of them looked sopping wet and utterly miserable.

  “I think you’d better go back to Jack Frost’s castle now and dry off,” Milly called sweetly, hovering above them with Rachel and Kirsty on either side of her.

  The goblins all glared, but said nothing. They trudged away, heads down, bickering among themselves. They knew when they were beaten.

  Milly flung her arms around Rachel and Kirsty. “Thank you, girls!” she cried. “I don’t think I’ve ever flown quite so fast in my life.”

  Kirsty grinned. “That was really exciting,” she said. “Glad we could help.”

  Milly eyed the river and then her wand. “Now . . . I have work to do, don’t I?” she said. “Come on!”

  The three of them flew up to the top of the waterfall, and back to where the water was still polluted from the factory waste. Milly waved her wand over the river. As she did so, the dirty scum vanished from the surface and the plastic bags and other items of litter disappeared. Kirsty and Rachel cheered, but Milly still looked troubled. “Well, it’s clean for the time being, but it’s up to you humans now. You have to stop factories from dumping waste in the river, and you need to put trash in garbage cans and recycling bins. It doesn’t belong here.”

  “You’re right,” Rachel said. “We have to work together.”

  “There’s Dotty again,” Kirsty said, suddenly noticing the pretty deer they’d met earlier. “Let’s tell her the good news.”

  They flew over to greet Dotty, who promptly drank from the clean water. “Delicious,” she said. “Thank you!”

  “My pleasure,” Milly replied. “And now I should go. I’ve got plenty of other rivers to clean up, after all. Good-bye, Kirsty! Good-bye, Rachel! Thanks again.”

  The three friends hugged one another, and then Milly waved her wand. Kirsty and Rachel were whisked up in the sparkly whirlwind once more and went flying away at top speed.

  Moments later, the two girls were back at Rainspell Lake. The first thing they noticed was that the tire had vanished from where they’d seen it earlier.

  “Milly is a fast worker.” Rachel laughed happily. “Isn’t fairy magic amazing?”

  “But we’ve got to do our part, too, just like she said,” Kirsty reminded her. “Maybe we could write to some of the local factories and ask them to help keep rivers and lakes clean.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Rachel agreed. “And maybe we could . . . Oh! Look, Kirsty!”

  Rachel was pointing to a clump of cattails near the water. Kirsty’s eyes widened as she saw what was hidden inside. “It’s our boats!” She squealed, leaning over and pulling them out. “Oh, and look, they’re good as new again!”

  Both girls examined their boats in delight. The paper was now smooth and dry, and the colors were fresh and bright. It was as if they were brand-new. And, thanks to Milly’s magic, there were now a few fairy passengers drawn on the inside of the boats. The tiny drawings were all smiling up at Kirsty and Rachel.

  “I’m going to keep this forever,” Rachel declared happily. “What a fun surprise!”

  Rachel linked an arm through Kirsty’s and the two girls headed back toward their cottage. “Tomorrow is our last day here,” Kirsty said, suddenly remembering. “And we still need to find Carrie the Snow Cap Fairy’s wand.”

  “I really hope we can,” Rachel said. “The world already looks so much better for having the Earth Fairies.”

  Just then, carried on the breeze, the girls both heard a tiny, faint tinkling sound. It sounded like Fairyland bells ringing. The girls looked at each other and grinned. “Sounds like the fairies agree with you, too,” Kirsty said. “We r
eally have to help Carrie find her wand tomorrow!”

  Rachel and Kirsty found Nicole, Isabella, Edie, Coral, Lily, and Milly’s missing magic wands. Now it’s time for them to help

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

  “Brrr!” Shivering, Rachel Walker glanced across the bedroom at her best friend. Kirsty Tate was just waking up, too. “It’s really cold this morning, isn’t it?”

  Kirsty yawned and nodded. “It’s freezing,” she agreed. “It’s been getting colder all week.”

  “Well, I suppose it is getting late in the year,” said Rachel. She sat up in bed, wrapping the comforter around her shoulders. “It’ll be winter soon — but I didn’t expect the weather to change quite so fast!”

  “Haven’t we had a wonderful vacation though, Rachel?” Kirsty sighed happily. “It’s been so special to come back to Rainspell Island, where we first met.”

  The Walkers and the Tates were spending the fall break together in a pretty little cottage on beautiful, magical Rainspell Island.

  “Yes, it’s been fabulous!” Rachel smiled. “And we’re even having another fairy adventure, just like the first time we visited Rainspell.”

  “Only this time it was our turn to ask the fairies for help,” Kirsty pointed out.

  When Kirsty and Rachel had returned to Rainspell Island a week ago, they’d been horrified to see the wide, golden beach covered in litter. So they’d asked the king and queen of Fairyland if their fairy friends could help them clean up the human environment.

  The king and queen had explained to the girls that fairy magic could only do so much, and that humans had to help the environment, too. But they had agreed that the seven fairies who were about to complete their training could become the Earth Fairies for a trial period. They would work together with Rachel and Kirsty to try to make the world a cleaner place. If the fairies completed their training successfully, protecting the environment would become their permanent task.

  But just as the Earth Fairies were about to be presented with their new wands, Jack Frost and his goblins had zoomed toward them on an ice bolt. The goblins had snatched all seven wands, and then Jack Frost’s icy magic had sent them tumbling into the human world.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Rainbow Magic Limited c/o HIT Entertainment, 830 South Greenville Avenue, Allen, TX 75002-3320.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-62230-1

  Copyright © 2009 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Previously published as Green Fairies #6: Millie the River Fairy by Orchard U.K. in 2009.

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

  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.

  First Scholastic printing, July 2014

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