Off to Fairyland
Shattered!
Where’s Echo?
Goblins Underwater
A Sparkling Shell
Catch that Goblin!
Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker stepped off the bus and blinked in the sunshine. The two girls were staying with Kirsty’s gran in Leamouth for spring vacation. Today they’d come to Lea-on-Sea, a small seaside resort along the coast.
“I’ve got some shopping to do, so I’ll meet you back here at noon,” Kirsty’s gran said, getting off the bus. “Have fun!”
“We will,” Kirsty assured her. “See you later, Gran.” Then she turned to Rachel. “Come on, let’s go down to the beach!”
It took the girls only a few minutes to walk down the sandy steps to the curving bay. The beach was packed with families enjoying the sun. The sky was a clear, fresh blue, and a breeze ruffled the tops of the waves. Lots of children were swimming. Above them, shrieking sea gulls soared, stretching their strong white wings.
“This is great!” Rachel said, slipping off her shoes and wiggling her bare toes in the warm sand. She pointed to the far edge of the bay. “Do you want to go over there? It’s a little less crowded.”
The girls made their way across the beach, snaking between lounge chairs and sandcastles. Then Kirsty stopped suddenly and bent down. “Hey, look at this shell,” she said, picking it up to show Rachel. “It’s really sparkly.”
Rachel peered at the fan-shaped scallop shell, which was a creamy white color with pink edging. Tiny golden sparkles were shining all over it!
Rachel’s heart beat faster with excitement as she looked at Kirsty. “That looks like fairy magic,” she whispered.
“Just what I was thinking,” Kirsty replied, smiling. “Oh! I can feel something underneath it, too.”
She flipped the shell over in her palm and both girls saw a tiny gold scroll tucked into it, tied with a pretty red ribbon. Rachel untied the ribbon and unfurled the scroll. Then both girls leaned over to read the tiny writing. “King Oberon and Queen Titania hereby invite you to the Fairyland Ocean Gala,” Kirsty read in a whisper. “Wow!” Rachel felt a rush of excitement. She and Kirsty had been to Fairyland many times now. They had enjoyed lots of wonderful fairy adventures, but the thought of visiting their fairy friends was always thrilling. “What are we waiting for?” she said. “Let’s hide behind these rocks so nobody sees us travel to Fairyland!”
Once they were hidden from view, Rachel and Kirsty opened the pretty golden lockets they were wearing. The lockets, had been a present from the fairy king and queen. They contained magical fairy dust that could transport the girls to Fairyland. Their fingers trembling with excitement, the two friends each took a pinch of the sparkling pink dust and sprinkled themselves with it.
Instantly, a glittering whirlwind spun up around them, and they felt themselves shrinking smaller and smaller. Soon they were fairy-size. Kirsty just managed to grab Rachel’s hand as they spun around very quickly. Then, after a few moments, the whirlwind slowed and the girls felt themselves lowered gently to the ground.
“Another beach!” Rachel exclaimed in delight, gazing around. “A Fairyland beach!”
“And we’re fairies!” Kirsty cried, fluttering the beautiful gauzy wings on her back. She loved the way they shimmered in the sunlight with all the colors of the rainbow.
The two friends were standing on the beach next to the Fairyland Royal Aquarium, an unusual building made of glass and stone. The king and queen’s gala was in full swing. Hundreds of fairies were dancing to lively music, competing in swimming races, enjoying boat rides, and eating the most wonderful-looking ice cream. “There are the Party Fairies,” Kirsty said, spotting their old friends flying around, making sure that everyone was having fun. “Oh, and there’s Shannon the Ocean Fairy!”
Rachel and Kirsty had met Shannon during a very special summer adventure the last time they’d had a vacation in Leamouth. Shannon was fluttering toward them now, followed by some other fairies the girls didn’t recognize.
“Hello, Kirsty! Hello, Rachel!” Shannon cried happily. “It’s great to see you again. These are my Ocean Fairy helpers. They take care of the creatures in the Royal Aquarium and throughout all the oceans in the human world, too!”
Shannon introduced the fairies: Ally the Dolphin Fairy, Amelie the Seal Fairy, Pia the Penguin Fairy, Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy, Stephanie the Starfish Fairy, Whitney the Whale Fairy, and Courtney the Clownfish Fairy.
“Hi,” said Whitney, who was wearing a brightly patterned dress. “Have you been to one of our ocean parties before?”
“No,” Kirsty replied. “But this one looks great! Are you celebrating something special?”
“We hold a gala like this every summer,” explained Tess, who had her blond hair in two long braids. “It’s lots of fun, but important, too. Shannon plays a song on the golden conch shell that ensures peace and harmony throughout the ocean for the whole gear. It’s up there, see?”
Tess pointed at a small stage in front of the aquarium. A table stood in the middle, covered in a midnight-blue velvet cloth. On top of the cloth sat a large golden shell, glittering with magic.
“Speaking of which, it’s about time I got started,” said Shannon. She winked at Rachel and Kirsty. “Wish me luck!”
As Shannon walked onstage, a hush fell over the party. “Good afternoon, everyone,” Shannon said in her tinkling voice. “I hope you’re all having a fantastic time at our annual Ocean Gala.”
“No!” came an angry voice. “No, I am not having a good time, at all!”
Rachel’s mouth fell open in shock as a grumpy-looking figure barged through the crowd and onto the stage. “Jack Frost!” she whispered. “What’s he doing here?”
Kirsty bit her lip. Jack Frost was such an awful troublemaker! “I don’t know,” she replied, “but it looks like we’re about to find out.”
“Excuse me …” Shannon said politely, but Jack Frost grabbed the microphone and began addressing the crowd.
“I hate the ocean!” he ranted. “I can’t swim, and I don’t like getting sand between my toes. It’s no fun for me, so I don’t see why I should let any of you enjoy yourselves. Goblins, get to work!” he ordered.
At his words, a group of five goblins rushed onstage and grabbed the golden conch shell. They ran off with it before Shannon or any of the other Ocean Fairies could stop them. In true goblin style, they immediately began arguing about which way to go and who was going to carry it. The goblins pulled the shell back and forth between them. Suddenly, it flew high into the air—and smashed to the ground, breaking into several pieces.
Shannon ran over to collect the shards of broken shell, but Jack Frost was too fast for her.
“The shell may be shattered, but I don’t care. I’ll scatter its pieces everywhere!” he chanted, waving his wand at the fragments of shell. A blast of icy magic burst from his wand, spiraling and whirling around the seven broken pieces. They went flying into the air, and then, with a puff of smoke, they were gone. “Your precious shell is scattered all over the human world now!” Jack Frost sneered. “You’ll never find the pieces, and your ocean world will be in chaos—forever!” With another wave of his wand and a horrible cackle of laughter, he and his goblins vanished from sight.
Shannon turned very pale. “This is awful,” she said anxiously. “Until I can play the golden conch shell, oceans everywhere will be all mixed up! All the creatures will be confused—they won’t be able to find their homes or families. What are we going to do?”
Queen Titania stepped onto the stage and put a comforting arm around Shannon. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I can’t stop Jack Frost’s spell, but I’ll do my best to change it. Come, let’s go to
the Royal Aquarium, and I’ll explain my plan. Ocean Fairies, you should come, too,” she said. Then her eyes fell on Kirsty and Rachel, and her serious expression softened. “Hello, my dears,” she added. “Would you join us as well? We need your help again.”
Kirsty and Rachel both curtsied. “Of course,” Kirsty said politely.
They followed the queen into the huge entrance hall of the Royal Aquarium. It had, a polished marble floor, and lots of glass tanks arranged along one side. The stained glass windows at the top of the hall featured pictures of different sea creatures: mighty whales, leaping dolphins, dainty seahorses, and many more. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting colorful reflections onto the floor.
The glass tanks varied in size, and each housed a single creature: a dolphin, a seal, a penguin, a starfish, a turtle, a whale, and a clownfish. Kirsty noticed that all seven creatures were surrounded by faint golden sparkles.
“This is my plan,” Queen Titania announced. “These are the seven magic ocean creatures who belong to our Ocean Fairies. I now proclaim them the guardians of the seven pieces of the golden conch shell.” She waved her wand, and a jet of silver magic burst from its tip and swirled around the aquarium. The light from the magic was so bright, Rachel had to shut her eyes. When she opened them again, the tanks were empty. The magic ocean creatures had disappeared!
“Where did they go?” Ally gasped, peering at the tank where her dolphin had just been swimming moments earlier. “Where’s Echo?”
“I have sent all seven creatures out into the human world,” the queen said. “They will become the right size for the world, and will find themselves near a piece of the golden conch shell. My fairies, your job is to find the magic ocean creatures again, and each collect a piece of the shell.”
“We’ll help,” Rachel said, feeling excited at the thought of another fairy adventure.
“Thank you,” the queen said, smiling at Rachel and Kirsty. Then she turned to Ally. “I will send you out first,” she declared. “Kirsty and Rachel will help you look for Echo. Good luck!”
She pointed her wand first at Ally, then at the two girls. A glittering whirlwind immediately lifted them off their feet and into the air.
When Kirsty and Rachel landed, they were back to their normal sizes, and were standing outside a building called Ocean World. “It’s a sealife center,” Kirsty realized, reading a nearby poster. “This says See ocean creatures in our amazing underwater tunnels and our unique oceanside stadium. Perfect!”
“Echo must be inside somewhere,” Ally said, hovering near Rachel’s shoulder. She looked almost like a glittering butterfly, with her beautiful long, lavender dress and sparkly wings, Kirsty thought.
“Come on, girls, let’s go in,” the fairy said.
Kirsty’s grandma had given the girls some spending money, so luckily they had just enough to pay the entrance fee. As they went in, Ally tucked herself into Rachel’s pocket so that she’d be out of sight. They walked through the aquarium, and couldn’t help but notice that the ocean creatures were acting very strange.
“Look,” Rachel said in surprise, stopping in front of one glass tank filled with tropical fish. “These angelfish are doing somersaults!”
Kirsty stared. Sure enough, the pretty striped fish were swimming around and around in the water. They looked very dizzy!
Farther along, the girls saw three catfish in a tank who were tickling each other with their whiskers. In the next tank, some octopuses had gotten their tentacles all tangled together in knots.
“This is awful,” Ally said, looking worried. “And it’s all because Shannon didn’t get to play her song on the golden conch shell. We’ve got to find the pieces to put the shell together again as soon as possible.”
Just then, an announcement came over the loudspeaker. “Ladies and gentlemen, our wonderful Wild Dolphin Show is about to begin. Please take your seats in the oceanside stadium!”
“Dolphins?” Kirsty said excitedly. “Echo might be there. Come on!”
The girls and Ally quickly made their way to the oceanside stadium. It was an open-air arena with a wonderful view right down to the sea. A wooden jetty had been built close to the water, and Rachel and Kirsty could see some boys in Ocean World uniforms there, carrying buckets of fish.
Two dolphin trainers strode onto the jetty and waved at the audience. “Hi, everyone!” one of them called. She had a blond ponytail and a big smile. “Welcome to the Ocean World Wild Dolphin Show. You’re about to see dolphins performing some amazing tricks.”
“These dolphins are wild dolphins. They live freely in the ocean,” said the second trainer, a man with short brown hair. “But they love showing what they can do—and they love their dinner, too!” He grinned and threw a handful of fish into the sea. Immediately, a group of dolphins appeared, swimming gracefully in and out of the water.
“I love how they look like they’re smiling,” Rachel said, her eyes glued to the beautiful creatures.
“Me, too,” Ally said, peeking out of her hiding place in Rachel’s pocket. “I can’t see Echo anywhere,” she added, disappointed.
“For our first trick, the dolphins are going to jump through this hoop,” the first trainer announced, showing the audience a bright red hoop. “They love doing this—just watch!” She held the hoop out above the water … but the dolphins didn’t seem interested. In fact, they completely ignored the trainer and her hoop.
The trainer frowned and looked embarrassed. “Hey, guys,” she coaxed the dolphins, waving the hoop around. “Over here!”
Ally shook her head. “Oh, no,” she whispered. “This is because the golden conch shell is missing, I know it. The dolphins have forgotten what to do.”
It soon became clear that the dolphins didn’t want to jump through the hoop, or balance beach balls on their noses, or do any tricks at all. “I’m really sorry, everybody,” the man with brown hair said, “but we’ll have to cancel today’s show. I don’t know what’s wrong with the dolphins. Usually, they love performing!”
A sigh of disappointment went up from the audience and people got to their feet to leave. Rachel stood up, too, but Kirsty grabbed her hand to stop her. “Wait,” she said. “Look at those boys.”
Rachel and Ally peered down to see what Kirsty had noticed. The two boys who’d been carrying buckets of fish earlier were messing around on the jetty now, throwing fish at each other. One boy’s hat fell off. The girls and Ally gasped as they saw what a pointy nose the boy had … and what green skin, too!
“They’re goblins!” Rachel yelped, her stomach lurching at the sight. What were they doing here?
“Oh, no!” Ally cried. “Jack Frost must have realized that Queen Titania changed the spell. He sent his goblins into the human world to find the missing shell pieces before we do!”
The three friends fell silent. This was terrible! They couldn’t let the goblins find the missing shell pieces first. But then Ally spoke again, and this time she sounded much more cheerful. “Look, there’s Echo! Do you see that sweet little dolphin following the others?”
Rachel and Kirsty looked down at the sea. The group of dolphins was heading away from the stadium, and behind them swam a small, pretty dolphin, whose silvery skin sparkled in the sunlight. “The piece of shell must be somewhere nearby,” Kirsty announced. “We’ve got to get in the water and go after Echo.”
Ally smiled and a dimple flashed in her cheek. “No sooner said than done,” she said. Ally waved her wand, and silver sparkly fairy dust flowed around Kirsty and Rachel, turning them into fairies again. “Now you each need one of these,” she said, waving her wand again to create two magic bubbles. The bubbles settled over the girls’ heads like scuba diving helmets, then disappeared with a pop. Rachel and Kirsty knew from their adventures with Shannon that they would now be able to breathe underwater. They would stay warm and dry, too!
“Ready? Let’s go!” said Ally. Then the three of them flew over to the sea and plunged into the water. They star
ted swimming after Echo and the other dolphins. Rachel flashed a huge smile at Kirsty as they swam through the cool, clear water. What an adventure this was turning out to be!
The three fairies followed the dolphins deep into the ocean, all the way to a beautiful underwater grotto. It was full of colorful sea anemones and waving fronds of seaweed. Ally gave a high whistle, and Echo turned her head.
At the sight of her fairy friend, Echo made a happy clicking sound and swam over right away, looking delighted. Ally gave Echo a hug and stroked her silvery nose. “Hello there,” she said, smiling. “Have you seen a piece of the golden conch shell anywhere?”
Echo made more clicking sounds.
Ally interpreted Echo’s clicks. “She’s asked the other dolphins, but they haven’t seen anything either. She hasn’t searched this grotto yet, though. Maybe we can do that together.”
The friends swam farther into the cave and began looking all over for a piece of the golden conch shell. “There’s something shimmering down there,” Kirsty said excitedly, pointing at one corner of the cave floor. “I wonder if it might be the shell?”
But just as they were about to go and take a closer look, Ally whispered a warning. “There are divers heading this way,” she said. “Hide!”
She, Kirsty, and Rachel immediately darted behind a large clump of seaweed so that the divers wouldn’t see them. The girls knew that the fairies had to be kept a closely guarded secret from other humans.
The two divers swam closer. The light was dim this far down in the ocean, but Rachel couldn’t help noticing that these divers had very big feet. So big, in fact, that they had no need for flippers. Then she noticed that the divers’ skin looked rather greenish, too. …
Ally the Dolphin Fairy Page 1
