Angelica couldn’t stand to hear another word. The brave little fairy burst out of the chandelier, making the crystals ripple and chime.
“My panpipes are supposed to make people well-behaved,” she said angrily. “They don’t make people obey selfish commands!”
“Angelica!” Kirsty cried in dismay. “Be careful!”
Rachel reached for her friend’s hand. “We have to help her.”
Angelica fluttered left and right, still trying to reason with a furious Jack Frost.
“I would never tell a lie,” she said earnestly. “The sparkly panpipes will only work if you play them the right way.”
“Tooot-toot-tooot!”
Rachel watched in astonishment. Jack Frost wasn’t listening to a word that Angelica was saying!
“He still hasn’t seen her.” She gasped. “He’s too busy shouting and making that terrible noise!”
The friends darted behind the frozen throne. In between blasting out-of-tune toots on the panpipes, Jack Frost continued to bark and bellow at his goblins. The goblins argued back just as loudly. Not one of them stopped to notice the tiny fairy pleading to be heard. At last, poor Angelica had to give up.
“He thought the panpipes would make the goblins obey his every command,” she told her friends, “but they’re being even more troublesome than usual!”
Kirsty looked thoughtful for a moment, before starting to smile. She’d just had a fantastic idea!
“I know how to get Jack Frost’s attention,” she said, “but it’s not going to be easy.”
Rachel and Angelica listened intently as their friend proposed that they should each use their hands to block the ends of the sparkly panpipes. Kirsty had counted that the magic instrument had six pipes tied together with silver thread — one for each fairy hand! The difficult part would be flying close enough to Jack Frost without getting batted away or even worse, caught!
“If he hears that his plan won’t work, he might be persuaded to give the panpipes back,” said Rachel hopefully.
Angelica nodded. “It’s worth a try.”
The threesome fluttered out into the middle of the Throne Room.
“You goblins had better fix that tree or I’ll … I’ll … What’s that?” Jack Frost scowled. “Fairies in my Ice Castle?”
Kirsty and Rachel darted to one side, just missing a flick from Jack Frost’s bony finger. Angelica whirled around the other way, grasping the end of the sparkly panpipes with both hands.
Jack Frost lifted the enchanted instrument to his lips, with Angelica still clinging on.
“I’ll show you!” he roared, blowing as hard as he could.
“Come on, Rachel!” shouted Kirsty, flying up to put her hands over two more holes.
Jack Frost swung the panpipes from side to side, but Kirsty and Angelica held on tight.
“Almost there!” puffed Rachel, flitting from left to right.
At last she managed to flutter in and clutch on to the last two pipes. The furious hooting and tooting stopped at once. Jack gasped in surprise.
“Well done, girls!” said Angelica with a proud smile. She flew up to face Jack Frost. “Now, if you’d just listen, I can tell you exactly why the panpipes aren’t working.”
Jack Frost waited sulkily as Angelica had her say. When he realized that she was telling the truth his mouth twisted into a scowl.
“Will you give the sparkly panpipes back now?” demanded Rachel. “They’re no use to you.”
Jack Frost replied with a rude noise and tossed the precious object to the floor. Angelica dashed down to catch it.
“Watch out!” pleaded Kirsty. A clumsy goblin was lifting up his enormous foot at just the wrong moment!
Angelica touched the panpipes with the tip of her wand in the nick of time. A cascade of golden stars whirled around the magic object, shrinking it down to fairy-size. Angelica tucked the pipes under her arm, then fluttered back to join her friends.
“Let’s get you back to Tippington,” she said breathlessly. “They’ll be needing you at the Winter Fair!”
Despite its sorry start, the Brownie sale was going strong now. Happy shoppers strolled up and down the aisles, chatting with friends and neighbors. The Brownie leader stood proudly in front of the tree, watching her girls happily serve all the shoppers.
“It’s just wonderful,” Angelica cooed.
“Can you stay for a while?” asked Rachel, finding a cozy hiding spot for the fairy on the winter woolies stall.
“I’d love to,” replied Angelica. “Without you, Jack Frost would still have the enchanted panpipes!”
The little fairy lifted the magic instrument to her lips. As she started to play a beautiful song, people began to gather around Kirsty and Rachel’s stall.
“Look out the window,” whispered Rachel to her friend.
Kirsty looked, and her face shone with happiness. Outside the hall, the first snowflakes of winter were gently starting to fall.
“I have a feeling that this is going to be our most successful Brownie Fair ever!” Kirsty beamed.
Rachel grinned back at her best friend. “I couldn’t agree more!”
“I love snow!” declared Kirsty, cupping a handful in her gloves and shaping it into a snowball.
“Tippington has turned into a snowy wonderland!” Rachel said.
She giggled as Kirsty sent the snowball tumbling through the air. It disappeared into a holly bush dotted with scarlet berries, making the leaves rustle and sparkle in the light.
It really was a beautiful day to be outside. A steady layer of snowflakes had been falling silently ever since the Brownie sale. The town’s white paths and rooftops twinkled brightly like a picture on a pretty holiday card.
Kirsty slipped an arm through Rachel’s.
“It all started with Angelica’s visit,” she whispered, thinking of the new fairy friend they had met the day before.
Rachel nodded enthusiastically. The golden sunbeams dancing on the snow reminded her of Angelica the Angel Fairy’s tumbling auburn curls.
The girls trudged on through the snowy streets, taking in the magic. Kirsty, Rachel, and all the other Brownies were on their way to deliver holiday gifts to the residents of the Greenacre Retirement Home. Under their snuggly coats everyone was dressed nicely in their uniforms.
“We’re here, Kirsty!” said Rachel, pointing to a large Victorian house at the end of a sweeping drive.
The Brownie leader led the troop up the drive. A beautiful wreath twinkled above the front door.
“I can’t wait to see the residents’ faces when they spot our baskets of goodies.” Kirsty beamed, her cheeks rosy with cold.
The friends had enjoyed a wonderful morning wrapping up presents for the retirees living in the home. Both girls had puts lots of thought into every gift. Lace handkerchiefs, gloves, diaries, and bottles of bubble bath had all been carefully wrapped, and decorated with ribbon and gift tags.
The Brownies waited patiently, stamping their feet in the snow. At last the door swung open and a woman with a friendly face stepped out to greet them.
“Welcome!” she cried.
The woman introduced herself as Mrs. Pepper, the owner of the retirement home. She led the girls into the lobby and showed them where to hang their coats.
“Can you hear that?” whispered Kirsty, as soon as they got inside.
Rachel listened for a minute. The muffled sound of singing echoed down the hallway.
“The residents are listening to music in the common room,” explained Mrs. Pepper. “The old records are their favorites!”
Mrs. Pepper showed the Brownies into a cozy room, which had a fire roaring in the grate. A group of ladies and gentlemen sat in a semicircle around a record player, listening to a bright, festive tune.
“Hello!” said Rachel, eager to meet everyone.
A gray-haired man scowled at her, then hid behind his newspaper.
Kirsty knelt down beside an old lady in a blue dress.
; “My favorite carol is ‘Silent Night,’” she said. “What’s yours?”
The old lady glared at Kirsty, then harrumphed very loudly and turned to face the window.
Kirsty and Rachel glanced at each other in surprise. This wasn’t the welcome they had been expecting!
“Come on,” suggested Kirsty in a low voice, “let’s put the presents under the tree.”
The girls quietly started to unpack the gifts from their baskets and stack them under the tree in the corner.
“Hey, you!” called a voice.
“Yes?” asked Rachel, leaping up with a smile.
A tiny old lady wearing a pair of glasses on a chain scowled back at her.
“Can you move?” she snapped. “I can’t see the tree with your head in the way!”
Before poor Rachel could think of an answer, another woman pulled herself up to her feet.
“Edith Smythe!” she bellowed. “You’re wearing my glasses!”
“Well, they’re mine now!” insisted Mrs. Smythe.
The lady made a swipe for the glasses chain, but Mrs. Smythe batted her hand out of the way. The Brownies watched in stunned silence as the pair began to make faces and call each other names.
Other residents started to join in the ruckus, too. A gentleman in a green cardigan snatched his neighbor’s hearing aid, then three old ladies began to squabble about who had the best chair. The shouting got so loud it was even drowning out the record player’s music. Instead of behaving like grandparents, the old people were acting like grumpy toddlers!
“There’s not much holiday spirit in here.” Kirsty frowned. “I think Jack Frost has been causing trouble again.”
Rachel nodded in agreement. She had been thinking the exact same thing!
“This has got to stop,” she said, rushing over to the record player and lifting up the needle. If she could just get the residents’ attention, she might be able to persuade them to calm down and be nice to one another!
The vinyl record stopped spinning, but somehow the song continued to play.
Rachel gasped in astonishment. “It must be fairy magic!”
Kirsty’s heart skipped a beat. The festive tune still echoed through the speakers. Every time the chorus hit a high note, a tiny golden star appeared in the air. Each star glittered for a moment, before shimmering out of sight.
“Those stars are getting brighter,” remarked Rachel, standing in front of the speakers to hide the twinkling lights. The room was in such chaos that nobody even noticed.
The stars began to fizz even more brightly. Suddenly a flash of gold zoomed past the friends so fast it made them blink.
“Oh!” gasped a tinkly voice. “It’s even worse than I thought!”
Kirsty and Rachel opened their eyes immediately. There was Angelica the Angel Fairy, fluttering in the air in front of them!
In an instant the little fairy was gone again, darting across to the tree. She tucked herself in among the thick pine branches at the back, then motioned for the girls to come over.
Kirsty and Rachel put the record back on, then rushed over to the tree.
“It’s the snow-white feather, isn’t it?” whispered Kirsty, crouching down. “Everyone here is being so mean!”
“Yes.” Angelica nodded. “I came as soon as I heard.”
The fairy’s little heart-shaped face looked pale with worry. She explained how she’d just met Gabriella the Snow Kingdom Fairy flying over the hills of Fairyland.
“Gabriella warned me that she’d spotted a group of goblins heading to the human world.” She sighed. “So I decided to follow them. I knew they would be up to no good! Ever since we rescued the sparkly panpipes from Jack Frost’s Ice Castle he’s been trying to find somewhere to hide the other magic objects.”
“The goblins led you here?” asked Rachel.
“That’s right,” said Angelica breathlessly. “They’ve got to be somewhere inside Greenacre.”
“Achoo!”
Kirsty and Rachel sprang to their feet. A rather strange-looking worker in a green uniform wobbled into the common room, pushing a clanking snack cart.
“ACHOO!”
The worker sneezed again, barging his way through the Brownies and residents. The very loud sneeze matched the stranger’s very large nose. An old lady put down her knitting and demanded a cup of tea, but the worker completely ignored her.
“Look what he’s doing!” Rachel gasped, her eyes wide with shock.
Instead of serving drinks, the worker leaned across the cart and yanked the top off the cookie tin. He began to shove handfuls of cookies into his mouth, gobbling down three at a time.
“Isn’t he supposed to be passing those out to the residents?” said Kirsty.
Angelica fluttered out from behind a twinkle light.
“We’ve found our first goblin,” she announced, her eyes dancing with excitement.
Rachel and Kirsty edged a little closer to the goblin. Milk and tea were splattered all over the cart, but they couldn’t see the snow-white feather anywhere. When the greedy goblin had shoved every last cookie into his mouth, he began to push his way back out of the door. There was only one thing to do.
“Follow that goblin!” the girls cried together.
Kirsty pointed to the golden piece of tinsel tied around Rachel’s blonde ponytail.
“Angelica,” she said urgently, “do you think you can hide yourself at the back of Rachel’s hair? The bow should cover you.”
Angelica gave her wand a bold little wave to show that she was ready. The girls carefully helped the tiny fairy wiggle in between the loops of tinsel wrapped around Rachel’s ponytail. She tucked herself in so beautifully, even Kirsty had a hard time spotting her.
“Let’s go!” called Angelica in a tinkly voice no louder than a whisper.
The friends picked their way across the room, stepping in between the angry residents and flustered Brownies.
“Hurry!” urged Rachel, slipping out of the door just before their leader and Mrs. Pepper wandered inside.
Farther down the hallway, the wheels on the snack cart rattled and squeaked. Kirsty and Rachel ran after it, ducking into doorways whenever the goblin stopped to sneeze or scratch his nose. Suddenly a loud bang! echoed down the corridor.
Angelica pushed her head out of the tinsel and stretched her wings.
“He went into that storage room and slammed the door!” she cried, anxiously doing a loop-the-loop.
Butterflies flipped in Kirsty’s stomach. She took a deep breath, then grabbed the doorknob firmly and twisted it open.
“Oh!” Kirsty cried.
The storage room door swung open to reveal not one, not two, but three goblins! They were playing around with the retirement home’s medical equipment, hooting with laughter. The first goblin had pulled off his uniform and was now picking up bandages and throwing them at his friends’ heads. Another one was making a lot of noise as he raced around and around in a wheelchair. He skidded into chairs and cabinets, cackling at every crash.
“The snow-white feather can’t be in here,” Angelica whispered in dismay. “Those goblins are being far too thoughtless!”
“What’s happening in the corner?” wondered Kirsty, staring at a goblin with pointy ears.
The mischievous goblin barged through a row of walkers, knocking them in all directions. Then he stacked them back up, one on top of another, and climbed up. The tower wobbled and swayed under the goblin’s weight.
“I bet I can reach the ceiling!” he yelled, blowing a raspberry.
“Those walkers are going to be ruined if he keeps doing that!” said Rachel, putting her hands on her hips. She stepped into the storage room, then coughed loudly. “Ahem!”
The goblin with the pointy ears jumped so high he banged his head on the ceiling! The whole stack of walkers clattered down to the floor, causing a terrible racket.
“Owwww!” he groaned, heaving the walkers off his body.
His two friends yanked him up by t
he arms. They’d already spotted Angelica fluttering in the doorway!
“Get up!” yelled the first goblin. “We’ve got to get out of here!”
The second goblin elbowed his way through the door.
“Trust a pesky fairy to ruin our fun,” he muttered, swiping at Angelica as he barged down the corridor. The little fairy darted out of reach, leaving a trail of golden swirls shimmering in the air behind her.
“Are you all right?” asked Rachel, when the goblins had passed.
“Yes, thank you!” said Angelica. “Thanks for interrupting those troublemakers. That was really brave!”
Kirsty gave her best friend’s hand a proud squeeze.
“This way!” Angelica cried. “They’re heading toward the bedrooms.”
The girls hurried along the corridor just a few yards behind the stomping goblins. The silly threesome pushed and shoved one another to get to the front, knocking into picture frames and bashing against doors. The goblins argued loudly all the way, not caring about the commotion they were making.
Soon the goblin with the pointy ears couldn’t help boasting again. “I’m the best climber and I’m the best hider, too!” he teased, making a face at the others.
The first goblin scratched his head. “What do you mean?”
“I found the perfect place for that magic feather,” he bragged. “Take a look in here!”
The goblin threw open a bedroom door and ushered his friends inside. Angelica, Rachel, and Kirsty slipped in behind them, their hearts racing with excitement.
“Oh no!” cried Kirsty.
The bedroom was filled with even more goblins, who were having an enormous pillow fight! Jack Frost’s goblins were hitting one another so hard that the pillows were bursting. Feathers tumbled and swirled in every direction.
Angelica the Angel Fairy Page 2