Selena the Sleepover Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  Looking confused, the boy walked out of the Dinosaur Gallery. He headed through a small room to the Arctic Display. The goblins scurried after him, and the girls fluttered above.

  “How are we going to get the enchanted game bag back now?” asked Selena.

  The girls could hear the worry in her voice. They put their arms around her shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, Selena,” said Kirsty. “If you turn us back into humans, we’ll talk to the boy.”

  “We’ll get the bag back for you,” Rachel promised.

  They fluttered to the ground as the boy wandered around the display, reading the descriptions of life in the Arctic Ocean. He paused beside a model of a polar bear and stroked its fur. The two goblins scrambled up the back of the polar bear and teetered on its head. One of them held the other by the ankles and dangled him down toward the bag.

  “Oh, no — look!” cried Kirsty. “Selena, hurry!”

  Selena swept her wand over their heads. In a flash of fairy dust, they were human-size again. They leaped out in front of the boy as Selena tucked herself under Kirsty’s hair.

  “Look out!” Rachel shouted.

  The boy spun around, and the goblin on top of the polar bear lost his balance. He let go of the goblin in the green hat, who landed on the ground with a loud squawk of fury. The first goblin looked scared, and ran out of the room before he could be yelled at.

  “Are you trying to steal from me?” the boy demanded. “Leave me alone!”

  “Give me that game bag NOW!” the goblin cried rudely.

  The boy looked really angry.

  “I don’t like people who try to steal from me,” he said. “I found that bag. Finders keepers!”

  Rachel and Kirsty exchanged alarmed looks. What if the boy refused to give the enchanted game bag back to them, too? They needed a plan — and fast! But what?

  “Excuse me,” said Rachel.

  The boy turned to look at her. “Oh, hello,” he said. “Thank you for warning me!”

  “You’re welcome,” Rachel replied. “We’ve actually been looking for you, too. I think you have something that belongs to a friend of ours.”

  Kirsty stepped forward with a friendly smile. “Our friend lost her game bag,” she explained. “Without it, lots of kids will be really disappointed, because their games won’t work properly.”

  “She really needs it back,” Rachel added. “Can you please help us?”

  The boy peered at them thoughtfully, then looked at the green-hatted goblin, who was pouting angrily.

  “This boy has been trying to take the bag from me,” he said. “It must be very special.”

  “It is,” said Kirsty. “It was stolen from our friend, too.”

  The boy reached into his own bag and pulled out the game bag. He looked at it thoughtfully for a minute. Then he smiled and held it out to Rachel.

  “It sounds like your friend needs this more than I do,” he said.

  “Thank you so much!” said Rachel and Kirsty together.

  With a snort of rage, the goblin ran past the girls and out of the room. The boy raised his eyebrows.

  “Maybe that’ll teach him a lesson about manners,” he said. “I’d better go and find my group now. Good-bye!”

  “Bye!” called the girls as he hurried out.

  After he’d gone, Selena flitted out and hovered in front of Rachel and Kirsty. With a flick of her wand, the enchanted game bag returned to fairy-size. Selena smiled at the girls.

  “Thank you for persuading him to give back the bag!” she said. “You did a wonderful job.”

  “You’re welcome,” said Rachel. “Are you going to take the bag back to Fairyland now?”

  “Yes,” Selena replied. “That will fix the treasure hunt problems. But I’ll come right back — we still have to find the sleepover snack box so the midnight feast will be a success.”

  With that, she smiled and disappeared in a flurry of fairy dust.

  “Come on,” said Kirsty, grabbing Rachel’s hand. “Let’s get back to the Roman Gallery.”

  They walked back to their group. When they arrived, Mr. Ferguson was looking very happy.

  “Good news, girls!” he said. “Charlotte has just found some brand-new sets of clues, and our team has already figured out the puzzles. Our letter is C. I’m sorry you missed the chance to solve the clues.”

  “We don’t mind at all,” said Rachel, sharing a secret smile with Kirsty.

  Now that everything was back to normal, it didn’t take long for all the groups to complete their treasure hunts. All together, they found five letters. There was a purple C, a green Y, a blue T, a yellow P, and a red R. Everyone gathered in the entrance hall, and Charlotte held up her hand for silence.

  “When you put these letters in the right order, they will spell out the place where we’re having the midnight feast and storytelling,” she said. “Who will be the first to figure it out?”

  A hand shot into the air. It was the Boy Scout in the red hat — the boy who had found the enchanted game bag.

  “It spells ‘crypt,’” he said.

  “Correct,” said Charlotte, sounding impressed. “The midnight feast is being held in the old crypt, deep underneath the museum.”

  Rachel and Kirsty looked at each other, thrilled. A midnight feast in a crypt? How exciting!

  Into the Crypt!

  Selena Appears

  Things That Go Bump in the Night

  Midnight Mayhem

  Scary Shadows

  “I can feel butterflies in my stomach, I’m so excited!” whispered Kirsty in Rachel’s ear.

  Charlotte, the organizer of the museum’s giant sleepover, asked everyone to line up in pairs. She handed each of them a little lantern with four glass sides and a curved handle.

  “We’re about to go down to the crypt, where the midnight feast is being held,” she said. “It’s dark down there and a little bit spooky, so hold on to your lanterns!”

  There were lots of gasps and giggles, and Rachel and Kirsty both felt thrilled. They were near the front of the line, and they followed Charlotte down a winding stone staircase to the depths of the museum.

  It grew colder and darker as they traveled deeper underground. At last, they reached the old, wooden crypt door. Black ironwork stretched across the wood in the shapes of coiling branches and vines. Charlotte pushed the door open, and it gave a loud CREEEAAAK!

  “Oooh!” said Hannah, who was standing in front of Rachel.

  Charlotte led the way into the dark crypt. A narrow passageway lay in front of them, and the lanterns made shadows flicker across the stone walls.

  “This is where we keep all the exhibits that aren’t being used,” Charlotte said. “The crypt is very, very big, with lots of tunnels leading off of it. We haven’t mapped all of them yet, so I don’t want anyone going off exploring!”

  Rachel and Kirsty saw dark archways on either side of them.

  “Where do they lead to?” asked Kirsty.

  “Some of the tunnels go right under the city,” Charlotte replied.

  Her voice echoed around them, bouncing off the stone walls. Rachel thought about the long, dark tunnels stretching underneath the city’s houses and shops. They sounded so mysterious and exciting!

  The light from their lanterns made a glowing circle around the group as they walked. The girls saw shadowy boxes and tall, decorative vases standing on the floor. There were lots of strange shapes covered in white sheets.

  The long line of kids wound through the crypt, passing tall shelves crammed with dusty crates. At last, the passageway widened out into a room. In the center of the room, a man was sitting on a fancy wooden chair with purple cushions. There was a map on the table in front of him.

  “Gather ’round, everyone!” said Charlotte. “This
is Zack the storyteller. He will be entertaining you after your midnight feast!”

  The storyteller smiled at them. Rachel and Kirsty thought he looked nice. He had twinkling brown eyes that shone in the lamplight, and a long, nut-brown beard.

  On the far side of the crypt was a red velvet curtain, which stretched across the whole width of the room. While the kids gathered in a group, Charlotte walked over to the curtain and peeked behind it.

  The girls caught a glimpse of a long wooden table before Charlotte let the curtain fall back. When she turned around, she was frowning.

  “Charlotte looks worried,” Kirsty whispered. “I wonder what’s wrong.”

  Charlotte hurried over to Zack the storyteller. The girls edged a little closer.

  “There’s a bit of a problem,” they heard Charlotte say. “The picnic food for the feast isn’t on the table. Could you start your story early while I go to check what’s happened?”

  Kirsty and Rachel exchanged alarmed looks.

  “Oh, no!” said Rachel. “This must be because the magic sleepover snack box is still missing!”

  “Could everyone sit in a semicircle around the storyteller, please?” asked Charlotte. “There has been a slight change of plan. The story will start now, before the midnight feast. But don’t worry — soon it will be time to eat!”

  Her voice sounded reassuring and confident, but Rachel and Kirsty could see worry in her eyes. The other kids took their places around the storyteller, but the girls remained standing as they watched Charlotte leave. They couldn’t help worrying about Selena’s sleepover snack box. While it was missing, things would keep going wrong with sleepover snacks everywhere!

  “Sit down, girls,” said Mr. Ferguson.

  Rachel and Kirsty looked around and realized that everyone was waiting for them! They took the only spots left, which were right at the back of the crowd.

  They put their lanterns down, and all the glimmering lights made a large glowing circle around them.

  “Welcome to the crypt,” said Zack in a rich, warm voice. “This place is full of secrets, and many exciting things have happened here. But most mysterious of all was the puzzle of the museum ghost. . . .”

  Rachel started listening to the story, but Kirsty was distracted. She kept thinking that someone was behind her. When she turned her head to look over her shoulder, she glimpsed a spiky-headed shadow!

  “Rachel!” she said in an urgent whisper. “Look!”

  Rachel looked around, but the strange shadow had completely disappeared.

  “What was it?” she asked.

  “It was a weird shadow,” said Kirsty. “It looked like Jack Frost! But I must be imagining things.”

  “Maybe it was the lights from the lanterns making funny shapes on the wall?” Rachel suggested hopefully.

  She looked down at their lanterns and gave a little gasp of surprise. The light in her lantern was fizzing and sputtering. It grew brighter and brighter. Then the little glass door shot open — and Selena zoomed out! She fluttered inside Kirsty’s jacket so she wouldn’t be seen by any of the other kids.

  “I have news!” she whispered. “Jack Frost is fed up with the goblins losing things. He has taken the sleepover snack box himself, and he’s determined to hang on to it!”

  “Oh, Selena! I think he’s here!” whispered Kirsty. “I’m pretty sure I just saw his shadow.”

  Selena nodded, looking worried. “He’s searching for the goblins so he can punish them for losing the magic sleeping bag and the enchanted game bag,” she said. “I bet he knows they’re here, and they’re hiding from him.”

  The girls looked around. Zack was well into his story now, and everyone’s attention was on him.

  “Nobody will notice if we slip away,” said Rachel in a low voice. “Selena, can you turn us into fairies? Then we can fly around the crypt and find out what Jack Frost is up to.”

  “And we can try to get the sleepover snack box back, too,” added Kirsty. “Jack Frost is sure to have it with him!”

  “Bring your lanterns,” said Selena. “They’ll help us search.”

  The girls crept after Selena into a corner of the crypt. Once they were well-hidden, the fairy waved her tiny wand. There was a faint sound like a far-off lullaby, and the girls shrank to the size of fairies with wings fluttering on their backs. Even their lanterns had shrunk to fairy-size!

  “We must look like tiny fireflies!” Rachel giggled as they rose up into the air.

  The three fairies fluttered around the edges of the room where the other kids and Zack were sitting, careful to stay out of sight.

  “I’m glad it’s so dark in here,” said Kirsty. “Hopefully no one will notice that we’re missing.”

  “Everyone is listening to Zack,” said Rachel. “We just have to make sure we’re back before the story ends!”

  There was a wide tunnel entrance close by.

  “Let’s start by looking down there,” suggested Kirsty.

  Flying as close together as they could, the three friends headed slowly down the dark tunnel.

  Their tiny lanterns made pinprick lights against the arched brick overhead. Suddenly, they saw some bulky shapes on the ground below them.

  “What are those?” asked Selena.

  “They’re big packing crates,” said Rachel. “I remember Mom and Dad using the same sort of boxes when we moved to our new house. The museum must have stored some old exhibits in them.”

  They all flew lower and saw that the packing crates were stacked in high piles. But before they could get too close, they heard a bang and a loud squawk.

  “What was that?” cried Kirsty in alarm.

  “It sounded like a goblin,” said Selena. “Come on!”

  They flew even lower, and as their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw a goblin sitting on the ground and rubbing his foot.

  “What’s the matter with you?” snapped another goblin, coming out of the shadows. “Do you want Jack Frost to hear you?”

  “I banged my foot!” wailed the first goblin.

  Just then, there was a crash and a muffled yell from a pile of boxes against the tunnel wall. A third goblin crawled out from among the boxes, rubbing a big red bump on his head.

  “A dumb box just fell on me!” he grumbled. “I don’t like it down here! You said there was going to be a midnight feast, but it’s cold and dark, and I’m hungry.”

  “You’ll feel even worse if Jack Frost catches us!” hissed the first goblin. “Be quiet!”

  “You can’t tell us what to do!” squawked the goblin who had bumped his head.

  He flung himself on the first goblin and knocked him down. The other goblin jumped on top of them both, yelling.

  Selena looked at the girls. “If Jack Frost were down here, he’d have come running by now,” she said. “Come on, let’s look somewhere else.”

  They flew back along the tunnel and out into the main room. As they were fluttering toward the next tunnel, Rachel gave a little cry and quickly put her hand over her mouth.

  “I see Jack Frost!” she whispered to Selena and Kirsty.

  Sure enough, Jack Frost was skulking around in the shadows behind the group of kids. He was edging closer and closer to them . . . and the sleepover snack box was tucked under his arm!

  Selena, Rachel, and Kirsty zoomed out of sight behind a statue.

  “We have to get Jack Frost away from the other kids,” said Kirsty. “It’s a little spooky down here anyway, and Zack is telling them a ghost story. If they see Jack Frost they’ll be really scared.”

  They fluttered onto the head of another statue and peered around the points of its crown. Jack Frost still stood in the shadows, not moving.

  “Why is he just standing there?” asked Selena.

  “I think he wants to hear
the story,” said Rachel suddenly. “He’s forgotten all about looking for the goblins!”

  That gave Kirsty an idea. “Maybe we should try to remind him about the goblins,” she suggested. “That might make him leave the group.”

  “But how can we do that?” asked Selena.

  “Do you think you could use your magic to make our voices sound like goblins?” asked Kirsty. “If he heard us talking, maybe he’d follow us.”

  “Kirsty, that’s a great idea!” said Rachel.

  “You’ll have to make sure he doesn’t catch you,” said Selena, looking concerned. “It could be dangerous.” She peeked out at Jack Frost again.

  “Don’t worry,” said Rachel with a grin. “I’m sure we can move faster than Jack Frost!”

  Selena waved her wand toward Rachel and Kirsty, and whispered a magic spell.

  “Squawks and wails and nasty jeers;

  Sounds that grate upon the ears.

  Hide their sweet and girly tones

  And let Jack Frost hear goblin moans.”

  Rachel and Kirsty both coughed, then stared at each other.

  “Did it work?” asked Kirsty in a gruff goblin voice.

  “Yes!” Rachel said with a squeaky goblin giggle. “Come on, let’s lead Jack Frost away from the other kids!”

  Rachel and Kirsty swooped down and perched on a shelf behind Jack Frost. Selena hovered above them to watch what happened.

  “He’ll never find us!” whispered Kirsty in a goblin-like sneer.

  “Silly Jack Frost!” said Rachel, giggling.