Rachel fluttered forward. “Excuse me,” she said politely.
The otter looked around in surprise, and all the babies stared at Rachel.
“We’re very sorry to bother you,” Rachel went on, “but I’m afraid that swim cap was stolen from our friend Olympia here. She would really like it back!”
“The sparkling swim cap is very important,” Kirsty chimed in. “Its magic helps swimming events at games and tournaments run smoothly. There will be chaos without it!”
“I’m sorry,” the otter replied, “but it’s taken me forever to find my babies a comfy bed. I don’t want to give it up!”
“Oh, no!” Olympia murmured.
“Olympia, listen,” Rachel whispered in her ear. “What if you used your magic to make an extra-special bed for the otter’s babies?”
“Great idea!” Kirsty agreed, and Olympia nodded.
“We can see that you just want a nice, soft bed for your cute babies,” Olympia told the otter. “So if you give us the swim cap back, I’ll use my magic to make the coziest, softest, and most comfortable bed in the whole world!”
Rachel, Kirsty, and Olympia stared hopefully at the otter. What would she say?
The otter thought about it for a few seconds.
“That’s very nice of you,” she said at last, her whiskers twitching a little. “You can have the swim cap back.”
Beaming, Olympia flew over to the sparkling swim cap. The otters watched, wide-eyed, as she tapped the cap with her wand. Magical sparkles immediately returned it to its Fairyland size! Olympia picked up the sparkling swim cap and tucked it safely under her arm.
“Thank you so much,” Olympia said to the otter. “And now I’ll keep my part of our deal!”
Olympia waved her wand and sang:
Close your eyes, sleepyheads,
And lie down in your cozy bed.
Snuggle down, all warm and dry,
And listen to my lullaby.
As Rachel, Kirsty, and the otters watched, a mist of magical fairy dust floated down from Olympia’s wand and landed on the ground. Immediately, a large circular nest appeared, made of moss, grass, leaves, and feathers. The little otters gave squeaks of delight and scampered over to climb inside.
“That’s a wonderful nest,” the mother otter said gratefully. “Thank you.”
“Good-bye!” called Olympia and the girls, waving as they flew out of the holt.
“And sweet dreams!” Kirsty added.
Outside, Olympia, Rachel, and Kirsty gazed out across the river. They were all glad to see that the goblins’ boat had vanished.
“Girls, thank you so much for your help,” Olympia said with a huge smile. “I have to rush the sparkling swim cap back to Fairyland now, so that the swimming event can go on as planned.”
“Can Kirsty and I stay fairies for a little while?” Rachel asked. “We’ll get a great view of all the triathlon events from high up in the air!”
“And we can keep an eye on those goblins, too,” Kirsty added.
“Of course,” Olympia agreed. “I’ll come back later and change you back to your human size. Good-bye, girls!”
“See you soon,” Rachel and Kirsty chorused as Olympia disappeared in a flurry of magical sparkles.
As the girls skimmed across the water, back to the other side of the river, they heard another announcement booming over the loudspeaker.
“Attention, everyone! The currents are now back to normal. The swimming race will restart in five minutes.”
“Whew!” Rachel said happily. “We’ve managed to keep the first event of the day from being a total disaster!”
“Yes, but I wonder where those troublemaking goblins have gone?” Kirsty replied. “I bet we haven’t seen the last of them!”
Bicycle Breakdown
Super Cyclists!
Grab That Bell!
Noise Annoys!
The Race Begins
“Wasn’t that amazing?” Rachel said with a huge grin. She and Kirsty applauded along with the rest of the excited crowd.
The swimming race had just ended. The girls had loved watching the thrilling finish, with three of the swimmers fighting it out for first place. Now those three swimmers were out of the water, drying themselves off as quickly as they could and pulling on their bike shorts and helmets. They were getting ready for the bicycle race! Other competitors were running out of the river as they completed their swims.
“If the bike race is as exciting as the swimming, it’ll be amazing!” Kirsty declared. She and Rachel were still fairy-size, perched on a windowsill high up on one of the houses. The house was on the street that led to the river, and it was right at the beginning of the bike route.
“We’ll have a great view, and no one will notice us up here,” Rachel said. “They’ll be too busy watching the race!”
The girls leaned forward eagerly as the first athlete climbed onto his bike. Head down, he pedaled off with a determined look on his face. But he’d only gone a few feet when his bike began to wobble wildly from side to side.
“What’s happening to my handlebars?” he cried, looking bewildered. He came to a stop — and then held his handlebars up in the air. They’d become completely detached from his bicycle!
“Oh, that’s terrible,” Kirsty said to Rachel. “Look, the other two are going to pass him.”
The swimmers who’d finished second and third were on their bikes now, too. They both sped off, only to stop abruptly with shouts of dismay! The front wheel had come off one of the bicycles and was rolling away down the street. The chain had come loose from the other bike, and was dragging on the ground.
“What’s going on?” Rachel murmured, watching carefully.
Most of the swimmers were pedaling off on their bicycles now, but none of them got more than a few feet before something went wrong. Seats began to fall off the bikes and crash to the ground. Wheels, chains, and handlebars came loose. Some of the bicycles even started to go backward, even though the cyclists were all pedaling forward.
The crowd looked on in amazement as the competitors came to a stop and got off their bikes, one by one. It was a complete mess!
“Attention, everyone!” The announcer, whose voice boomed over the loudspeaker, sounded just as surprised as everyone else. “In the interest of safety, the race has been stopped for an investigation. It will begin again in ten minutes.”
“I hope they give the swimmers who came in first a head start,” Kirsty remarked. “It won’t be very fair otherwise.”
“I’ll bet this has something to do with those awful goblins,” Rachel said thoughtfully.
“I think you’re right, Rachel!” Kirsty replied, her face lighting up with excitement. “Look!”
Kirsty pointed at the loudspeaker on the corner of the street. Rachel saw dazzling golden sparkles drifting out of it, and she smiled.
“Olympia’s back!” Rachel announced as the fairy flew out of the front of the speaker. She waved at the girls and then zoomed toward them.
Kirsty noticed that their friend looked very worried. “Did something happen in Fairyland, Olympia?” she asked.
“Because the bike race here is in complete chaos!” Rachel added.
Olympia sighed. “Some of the goblins thought it would be fun to steal my musical bicycle bell!” she explained. “That’s why all cycling events have been disrupted — including the one that’s about to start in Fairyland. Will you help me find the bell?”
“Of course we will!” Kirsty and Rachel cried.
Olympia looked relieved. “Thank you so much, girls,” she replied. Then she glanced down the street. All of the cyclists were gathered in a big group, trying to fix their bikes with help from the officials.
“I think we should move away from here,” Olympia went on. “Since there’s no bik
e race to watch right now, someone might glance up and spot us.”
“The race route goes that way,” Kirsty said, pointing around a corner. “Should we fly down one of these other roads? There won’t be any crowds waiting there.”
“Good idea,” Olympia agreed.
Making sure to fly high up in the air and stay close to the houses, the three friends flew quickly along the street. Then they turned the corner and flew down one of the side roads. Kirsty was right. The road was empty because it wasn’t part of the race route.
“We can still see what’s going on,” Rachel said as they landed on top of a lamppost. She pointed down the road. Main Street was down that way, and they could see some of the crowd waiting patiently for the race to restart.
“We’ll fly back to join the crowd as soon as the race begins,” Olympia promised. “I know the goblins must be around here somewhere. They’ll be super cyclists now that they have the musical bicycle bell, so I’m sure that they’ll want to be in the race!”
“When did the goblins steal the bell, Olympia?” asked Kirsty.
“Just before the Fairyland bicycle race was about to start,” Olympia told her, frowning. “Stacey the Soccer Fairy saw them running off with it.”
Rachel was still gazing at the crowd down on Main Street. Suddenly, she saw five cyclists dressed in brightly colored shirts, shorts, and helmets slip out into the street from behind the crowd. They zoomed off on their bikes, heading for the road where Rachel, Kirsty, and Olympia were hiding.
“Why are those cyclists coming down here?” Rachel wondered. “The race doesn’t go this way. And, besides, it hasn’t even restarted yet!”
“Maybe they’re having their own race?” Kirsty suggested.
The cyclists were pedaling very fast, speeding down the road. As they got close to the lamppost where Olympia and the girls were sitting, one of the cyclists bashed into another one and knocked his helmet off. The friends gasped — his head was green!
“Goblins!” Kirsty whispered.
At that moment, the goblin in the lead rang the silver bell on the front of his bicycle. A beautiful melody filled the air. Rachel and Kirsty could see very faint sparkles of fairy magic drifting around the bell.
“That goblin has my musical bicycle bell on his handlebars!” Olympia cried. “After him, girls!”
Olympia, Rachel, and Kirsty fluttered down from the lamppost. They chased the goblins, who were still pedaling so fast that their big green feet were just a blur.
“Do you think we can catch them and get the bell back?” Rachel whispered. The goblins were so fast, it was hard for Olympia and the girls to keep up with them.
“I’m not sure,” Olympia murmured. “But we can’t let them out of our sight, whatever we do!”
Kirsty realized that the goblins were racing on the empty streets that weren’t part of the bike route. That was lucky! There was no one around on those streets to see them.
The goblin with Olympia’s bell rang it again as he raced around the next corner.
“You’ve had the musical bicycle bell for a long time,” one of the other goblins complained, panting as he cycled along. “Let someone else have a turn — like me!”
“I want the bell!” puffed the goblin whose helmet had fallen off. He’d stopped to pick it up, and now he was at the back of the pack. “It’s my turn!”
“Fine, then come and get it!” the first goblin jeered. He turned to stick his tongue out at the others, and then pedaled off as fast as he could. The other goblins followed, still yelling and complaining.
“You know Jack Frost wants the silly magic bell so that we can win the bike race,” shouted the second goblin. “So you’d better not lose it!”
“Yes, Jack Frost is really mad that the fairies got the sparkling swim cap back again,” the last goblin reminded them. “He was hoping one of us would win the race. He wants to win everything!”
“So Jack Frost told his goblins to steal my bell so that one of them can cheat and win the bicycle race!” Olympia murmured. “Girls, we have to find a way to stop them!”
The goblins were still biking around the empty streets. Even though Olympia, Rachel, and Kirsty flew as fast as they could, they weren’t able to catch up with the goblins. Before long, Rachel realized that they’d gone around in a big circle and were almost back where they’d started. The goblins were close to the official race route again! They were heading toward the busy streets packed with people waiting to watch the race.
“We’ll be back near the crowd in a minute or two,” Rachel pointed out, looking worried. The goblins turned the corner and were heading along the road where Olympia and the girls had first spotted them.
“They’re going straight toward Main Street,” said Olympia. “We won’t be able to follow them there — someone might see us!”
“What are we going to do?” Kirsty said desperately. “If the goblins join the race when it’s almost finished, they’ll win by cheating!”
The goblins were getting closer and closer to the crowd. All of a sudden, the goblin at the back of the pack bent down from his bicycle and picked up a stick lying in the road. As Olympia and the girls watched, he pedaled hard and caught up with the goblin in front. That goblin was biking along smugly, loudly ringing the musical bicycle bell over and over again.
The goblin with the twig leaned over — and stuck it in the spokes of the first goblin’s front wheel! The wheel stopped turning instantly, bringing the bike to a sudden stop. With a yell of surprise, the goblin let go of the musical bicycle bell and went flying over the handlebars. He landed in the road with a groan, and his bicycle crashed down next to him.
“This is our chance to grab my bell!” Olympia whispered.
But before Olympia, Rachel, and Kirsty could do anything, a race official who’d been standing on the corner rushed toward the goblins.
“What are you doing?” the official demanded with a frown. “The race hasn’t restarted yet. You shouldn’t be riding around here, anyway. It’s not part of the route.” He glared at the groaning goblin, who was dusting himself off. “And was that you, ringing your bell so loudly? That’s against the rules, you know!”
The official bent down and removed the musical bicycle bell from the goblin’s bike. “I’m going to hold on to this until the race is over!” the official said. Then he slipped Olympia’s bell into his pocket and hurried off.
“Oh, no!” Olympia gasped, horrified. “What do we do now?”
“We’ll just have to wait around. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to take the bell out of his pocket.” Rachel sighed as the official went back to his post at the corner.
“But there are so many people around,” Kirsty pointed out. “It’s going to be really difficult to get to the bell now.”
The goblins were arguing furiously with one another. “This is all your fault!” one of them screeched at the goblin who’d had the bell. “You lost the musical bicycle bell, and you’re the one who’s going to have to tell Jack Frost!”
“I wouldn’t have lost it if this fool hadn’t stuck a twig in my wheel,” the goblin muttered, shoving the goblin who’d had the twig.
“Yes, you would have!” the other one retorted, shoving him back. “That official said you’re not allowed to ring your bike bell all the time. He would have taken it from you, anyway! You were just showing off because you had the bell!”
“You’re a great big show-off!” the other goblins chorused.
As the goblins continued to yell and bicker, Kirsty racked her brain. There had to be a way to get the musical bicycle bell back without being seen.
“Oh!” she exclaimed suddenly. Rachel and Olympia glanced at her eagerly.
“Do you have an idea, Kirsty?” asked Olympia. The little fairy smiled hopefully.
Kirsty nodded. “We can’t fl
y over to the official and take the bell without being seen,” she said slowly. “But maybe we could make him throw the bell away so that we can get it back!”
“How?” asked Rachel.
“By making the bell ring and ring without stopping!” Kirsty turned to Olympia. “Could you do that with your magic, Olympia?”
Olympia grinned and nodded. She pointed her wand at the race official, and a stream of magical sparkles danced through the air toward his pocket.
Immediately, the air filled with the clear and beautiful sound of the musical bicycle bell. The official jumped with surprise! Fishing inside his pocket, he pulled the bell out. Olympia and the girls watched as he tried to turn it off. No such luck!
The bell kept ringing loudly. Everyone in the crowd was looking at the official, wondering why he didn’t just turn the bell off. Even the goblins had stopped arguing and were watching curiously.
The official stared down helplessly at the musical bicycle bell as it rang on and on. He shook it a few times. When it still didn’t stop, he looked around and spotted a trash can behind him. Quickly, he hurried over and threw the musical bicycle bell in the garbage. Looking very embarrassed, he rushed back to his position.
“Hurry, girls!” Olympia whispered.
The garbage can was behind the race official, who now had his back to them. Silently Olympia, Kirsty, and Rachel flew down toward it.
“Look out!” Kirsty gasped as she saw the goblins rushing over to the garbage can, too.
Olympia the Games Fairy Page 2
