Kirsty flew over to join Rachel and Kathryn. They were all feeling worried. They had to get the badge back soon, or tomorrow’s gym class would be a disaster. Suddenly, Kirsty had an idea. She nudged her friends and then smiled at the goblin.
“You were really good at the obstacle course,” said Kirsty. “You must be a really talented athlete.”
Kathryn looked a little confused, but Rachel instantly guessed what her best friend was trying to do.
“I don’t think he’s that good,” she said to Kirsty. “I bet he couldn’t jump over this muddy ditch.”
Kirsty hid a smile. The ditch was much too big for anyone to jump over.
“Of course he could,” she said. “Easy peasy!”
“No, I don’t believe it,” said Rachel, shaking her head and looking at the goblin.
He laughed and puffed out his chest.
“Of course I could jump over a silly little ditch!” he boasted. “I could do it with my eyes closed.”
“Prove it,” said Kathryn.
The goblin took a few steps back. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, took a running leap, and landed in the mud with an enormous SPLASH!
“WAHHH!” he yelled.
With filthy water dripping down his face and clothes, he squelched out of the ditch, his sneakers oozing mud.
“That was your fault!” he grumbled.
“Maybe you should take off those muddy shoes,” Kirsty suggested.
The three friends crossed their fingers. Would their plan work?
The goblin shook his head. He sat down on the edge of the ditch and hugged his knees, looking very unhappy. Rachel, Kirsty, and Kathryn flew down and landed in front of him.
“Kathryn, could you use your magic to make him some new sneakers?” Rachel asked.
Kathryn waved her wand, and a pair of glittery green sneakers appeared in front of the goblin. They had zig zags down each side, and tiny lights flickered around the soles. The goblin’s mouth fell open—he had never seen anything so wonderful!
“Why don’t you swap your old sneakers for these new ones?” asked Rachel. “I’m sure they would fit you perfectly.”
The goblin was already pulling off his muddy shoes. He flung them aside and pushed his enormous feet into the new ones. Kathryn dived toward the old sneakers and plucked out a muddy, slightly wet golden badge. It instantly shrank to fairy size, and Kathryn polished it against her pants until it gleamed.
“Yes!” cheered Kirsty.
The goblin didn’t even notice that he had lost the badge. He couldn’t take his eyes off his sparkling new sneakers. Rachel grabbed Kirsty’s hands and they twirled around, spinning into the air. Kathryn sent a stream of fairy dust swirling around them and they sank downward, growing back to human size. Suddenly they were on the ground, still twirling.
“We did it!” said Rachel. “We got the last badge back!”
“You’ve both been wonderful!” said Kathryn. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
She gave them each a fluttery kiss on the cheek, and waved her hand. Then, in a flash of sparkles, she returned to Fairyland.
“Now there’s just one problem left,” said Kirsty. “We have to prove to Mrs. Best that we can complete that obstacle course!”
The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Beaker’s class was back out on the field in their gym uniforms. Mr. Beaker had set up the obstacle course, and Mrs. Best was watching from the side. Rachel and Kirsty were standing beside the goblins and overheard them muttering to each other.
“I don’t want to do this anymore,” said the goblin with the new green sneakers. “Without that badge, we’ll be as ordinary as these silly humans.”
“Let’s sneak away and skip it,” said the second goblin.
Kirsty leaned closer to them.
“Just give it a chance,” she whispered. “This is supposed to be fun—you don’t have to be the best to enjoy yourselves, you know!”
The next half hour was filled with squeals of delight, laughter, and cheering. It was a completely different class from the day before. Everyone did well on the obstacle course, and Mrs. Best kept nodding and smiling. The goblins seemed to enjoy it, too, even though they tripped over their own feet a few times.
“Good effort, you boys in green!” called out Mrs. Best. “Excellent work, everyone!”
The class helped to clean up the equipment and then went to get changed. Rachel and Kirsty were the last to pile up their cones.
“That was so fun,” said Rachel. “I love gym!”
“PSSST!”
The girls looked around, puzzled.
“What was that?” asked Kirsty.
“PSSST!”
The girls looked down and saw Kathryn peeking out from behind the cones and beckoning to them.
“Kathryn!” said Rachel. “I didn’t think we’d see you again so soon!”
“I’ve come to invite you to the Fairyland School,” she said. “We’re in the middle of the royal visit, and it’s going really well—thanks to you! We think you should be there, too.”
The girls looked over their shoulders. The rest of their class was walking away from them, and Mr. Beaker and Mrs. Best were talking to each other. Rachel and Kirsty exchanged an excited look. They knew that no time would pass in the human world while they were gone.
“We’d love to come!” said Kirsty.
A few minutes later, the girls were following Queen Titania and King Oberon around the Fairyland School. Marissa, Alison, Lydia, and Kathryn were leading the way and looking very proud.
“This is our library,” said Lydia, opening the door to a large, quiet room filled with books. “Fairies can come and read the books whenever they want. As you can see, there are always lots of students in here.”
Many young fairies were curled up in squishy armchairs, reading or fluttering around the enticing shelves. The king and queen smiled.
“You are running a very happy school,” said King Oberon. “Every class we have seen has been fun and interesting. It makes me want to go back to school!”
Everyone laughed, and the girls squeezed each other’s hands. They knew that the visit was going so smoothly because the School Day Fairies had their magical badges back.
“Finally, we would like to show Your Majesties a gymnastics class,” said Kathryn.
She led them all to the auditorium, where the fairy gymnastics class was waiting. When they saw the king and queen, they began their synchronized flying routine. It was incredible! They twirled and spun through the air, performing the same moves in perfect harmony without a single mistake.
“They’re amazing!” said Kirsty with a gasp.
Just then there was a knock on the auditorium door, and Kathryn hurried to open it. The girls saw her gasp and step backward. Jack Frost and a crowd of goblins were walking into the auditorium!
The School Day Fairies were so shocked that they couldn’t speak, but Queen Titania stepped forward.
“Why are you here, Jack Frost?” she asked in her gentle voice. “You have caused a lot of trouble for the School Day Fairies this week. I hope that you have not come to make more mischief.”
Jack Frost jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the goblins.
“These goblins are so ungrateful,” he complained. “I’ve been trying to teach them all about me and how great I am, but they just don’t want to listen.”
“The Fairy School has trampolines!” piped up one brave goblin.
“We want to play with all this stuff,” added another, waving his arm at the gym equipment.
The School Day Fairies smiled at them.
“You’re all very welcome here,” said Kathryn. “We love finding new students.”
The goblins jumped up and down in excitement, and rushed forward to join the gymnastics class. Soon they were jumping on trampolines and leapfrogging over the vault. Kathryn was a good teacher, and she made sure that they all behaved well and took turns.
“Look,” Rachel exclaimed. “I t
hink Jack Frost wants to join in!”
He had been edging closer to the gym equipment. Suddenly he threw off his cloak and did ten somersaults across the mats without stopping. The fairies burst into applause, and Jack Frost grinned and bowed several times. Kathryn came over to the girls, smiling.
“I think Jack Frost is figuring out that school can be fun!” she said, her eyes sparkling.
“Thank you for bringing us here,” said Kirsty.
“It’s been wonderful to see you again,” said Lydia, joining them.
Marissa and Alison came over, too, and they all shared a big hug.
“Thank you again for everything you’ve done,” said Kathryn. “We have to send you back to the human world now, but I hope we’ll see you again soon.”
The fairies waved good-bye. Then, in a flurry of sparkles, the girls found themselves back on their own school field beside the cones. Mr. Beaker and Mrs. Best were still talking and the other students were still walking back into the school. No time had passed at all.
“Come on,” said Rachel. “I want to enjoy every second of our last day at school together!”
That afternoon, all the Tippington students gathered in the auditorium to present their displays. Every class had added different things. Mrs. Best examined all of the work and wrote lots of notes on her clipboard.
“Mr. Beaker looks as nervous as I feel!” said Rachel, seeing the teacher biting his lip.
Maya, Dylan, and Zac’s model train was on display from the art lesson, along with book reports from the entire class. Rachel and Kirsty had added a picture of a plant from the science lesson.
As Mrs. Best was reading some of the book reports, Kirsty looked around and nudged her best friend.
“Did you notice that the goblins have left?” she asked in a low voice.
“They must be back in Fairyland,” said Rachel. “I bet they didn’t like our school when they couldn’t use the magical badges!”
At last, Mrs. Best reached the end of the display, and turned to face the pupils. She looked down at her clipboard and then gave a big smile.
“I am happy to say that I am very impressed with you all,” she said. “Your teachers are inspiring, your work is superb, and your manners are excellent. I am delighted to announce that Tippington School is outstanding!”
Everyone cheered and clapped—even the teachers! Rachel and Kirsty hugged each other.
“I wish you were staying here,” said Rachel, holding her best friend tightly.
“Me, too,” said Kirsty, feeling a little sad. “It will seem strange to be back at Wetherbury School next week. But it’s already been a magical time, hasn’t it?”
“It’s always magical spending time with you,” said Rachel. “And I can’t wait until our next fairy adventure!”
“It’s Christmas Eve,” said Rachel Walker, gazing out of her bedroom window at the snowy sky. “Santa Claus and his elves are packing the sleigh full of toys, the reindeer are getting ready for their journey … ”
“… and we are going to have the most amazing day ever,” finished her best friend, Kirsty Tate.
Rachel turned and smiled at her. The one thing that made Christmas truly perfect was being able to share it with each other. This year was especially exciting, because the girls had received a wonderful early Christmas present. Months ago they had entered a competition called Best Friends Forever.
They had had to draw a picture of each other and write one hundred words about what made their best friend special. They had forgotten all about the competition until a typed white envelope arrived, addressed to them both.
Copyright © 2014 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. 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.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-0-545-85208-1
First edition, July 2016
Cover design by Angela Jun
e-ISBN 978-0-545-86386-5
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Kathryn the Gym Fairy Page 2