The Not-So-Pretty Pixies

by Holly Anna

  “I know that face!” Posey says. “That’s Daisy’s planning face!”

  And, of course, he’s right. And an idea has already hatched right in my head.

  “I’ve GOT IT!” I shout. “We need invitations!”

  Posey and Twee look at each other and shrug.

  “Invitations?” Posey asks with a huff. “Invitations to what?”

  I sigh dramatically. “Invitations to the best Pretty Pixie Party ever!” I say.

  Obviously.

  Surprise Party!

  Twee finds party invitations made from tiny forest flowers, and when you open the flower—poof! A burst of glitter pops out. Wow! These are the cutest invitations ever!

  “I can’t wait to pass them out!” I say.

  But first we have to fill in the time and place. Then—zoomy zoom zoom!—we race to each group and hand them out. We spy on the pixies as they open the invitations. It snows glitter everywhere!

  The leaders from both groups come to visit us. “What are these invitations for?” La-di-la and Bella ask.

  “It’s a surprise!” I say. “But everyone’s going to love it, I promise! Just show up at the Pretty Pixie Meadow at the time on the invitation.”

  Then we prepare a spectacular party! We set up two long tables with white linen tablecloths. Twee arranges flower centerpieces, and Posey sets up the chairs. Then we fill treat bags with bouncy balls, bead necklaces, party poppers, and rainbow confetti. Last of all, we hang lanterns and twinkle lights in the trees all around.

  Then our Pretty Pixie guests begin to arrive and take their seats.

  “Welcome, everyone!” I begin. “Welcome to the best Pretty Pixie Party ever!” Then I turn to Posey. He nods and flings a handful of imaginary friend dust in the air.

  “Yummy-tummies!” Posey shouts. Instantly loads of mouth-watering food float out of the forest and onto the tables.

  La-di-la’s table gets cotton candy and roasted corn, just like they’d wanted. Bella’s table gets candy apples and roasted carrots, just like they’d wanted. Both tables clap joyfully.

  “Hooray for our friend Daisy!” Twee sings. “She found a solution for everyone!”

  I take a tiny bow because I feel like a pixie genius.

  Then Twee happily flits between tables and puts a little bit of each food on her plate.

  “Hey!” shouts La-di-la. “You can’t take food from both tables!”

  Twee looks at her plate.

  “And why would you want their food,” Bella says, “when ours is so much better?”

  Some Pretty Pixies at La-di-la’s table stand up. “Is not!” they shout.

  “Is TOO!” the Bella side shoots back.

  Then everyone stands up and begins to shout and point fingers.

  “Oh no!” Posey cries. “They are spiraling out of control!”

  “And it’s all my fault!” Twee wails.

  Just like that, our party has gone all Humpty Dumpty. It is totally falling apart.

  Listen Up!

  But I, Daisy Dreamer, am not going to stand here and let this party be ruined. So I do what everyone else is doing. I yell.

  “LISTEN UP! LISTEN UP! HEY! HELLO, YOO-HOO, OUT THERE!” But it’s hopeless. Not one pixie listens to me. So I grab hold of Posey.

  “Can your imaginary friend dust fix this?” I shout.

  Posey shakes his head firmly. “Nope, nope, nope!” he cries. “You can’t sprinkle magic on this. This is a problem of the mind and the heart, and it can only be solved by listening to one another.”

  I let go of Posey. Then how can I get these Pixies’ attention? I wonder. I have to cover my ears to hear myself think. Wait, covering my ears gives me an idea!

  “Posey, may I borrow some of your magical dust?”

  Posey digs in his fur and hands me a fistful of dust. Then I race over to the tables and grab one firework and one sparklework. I sprinkle the imaginary friend dust on both skyrockets and shout, “Dazzle, snazzle, sparkle, shine!”

  The skyrockets launch into the air and explode at the very same time. Fountains of glittery light bloom in the sky. Everyone stops arguing to watch the colorful lights.

  “Ooooooooh!” all the Pretty Pixies exclaim. “Aaaaaaaah!”

  “It is magnificent!” La-di-la says, clapping.

  “That is the most beautiful display I’ve ever seen!” Bella adds. “How did you do it?”

  I pick up another sparklework and another firework and crisscross them. “I blended both of your fireworks!” I say. “And together, they made something spectacular!”

  A murmur of wonder comes from both tables.

  “The same thing can work for this party if you’ll let it,” I explain. “It doesn’t have to be one way or the other. You can share your ideas and have a Pixie Party more beautiful than ever! Starting right now.”

  The Pretty Pixies look around the tables at one another and begin to smile, and some nod their heads.

  “Well, those candy apples do look delicious,” La-di-la says, and takes one from the candy apple platter.

  Bella helps herself to cotton candy. “I have room in my heart for cotton candy and candy apples!” she says.

  Then everyone helps themselves to food from both sides of the celebration.

  “I’d like to propose a toast!” I say. We all raise our treats. “To a mix of old and new traditions!”

  “Hear! Hear!” the pixies chant.

  “And to listening to one another’s ideas!” I add.

  Then we tap treats, and everyone begins to eat—except Posey. He sets off more fireworks and sparkleworks. And we watch the sparkly blossoms bloom over the WOM.

  Then the Pretty Pixies sing the Song of the Forest:

  “We come to sing together, underneath the Pixie trees

  With thanks for all our blessings and friends and family. . . .”

  I try to sing along, but the world begins to spin. Faster and faster it goes, until I swirl right out of the WOM. . . .

  A Terrible Mistake

  THUNK! I land on my classroom floor—smack on my bottom! Oof! I’m back to my normal size again.

  Well, at least I landed right side up! I think as I climb into my chair.

  The classroom is still empty, and I wonder how long I have been gone. Then I notice that Gabby left her bright pink pencil bag across the table. It has her name on it in big sky-blue letters. I’ve never liked it before because it was hers, but now I think it’s kind of pretty.

  Gabby’s bag reminds me of what happened earlier in the day. I remember how nice Gabby was when she helped me this morning.

  And then—gulp. I think of how mean I was when I shouted at her after Carol blinded me with light from her watch. Wow. I blamed Gabby without even listening to her side of the story! Maybe she wasn’t helping Carol. And what if maybe she wasn’t even making fun of me.

  And who knows? Maybe she even saw Twee! Wait a sec. That must be who she saw on my head this morning!

  Oh no!

  I have made a terrible mistake.

  Am I just like the Not-So-Pretty Pixies?

  I should have given Gabby a chance to explain what happened before I yelled at her. Maybe I didn’t need to be angry at all!

  I klunk my head back on my desk and moan.

  And then I hear the classroom door creak open.

  “Daisy?” I hear someone say.

  Thumbs-Up

  I lift my head from the table and see Gabby Gaburp standing in the doorway. She looks a little unsure about talking to me. I guess I can’t blame her!

  Gabby slowly walks into the room and points to our table. “Um, I left my pencil bag, and I just came to get it. That’s all,” she says.

  I pick it up and hand it to her.

  “Are you in trouble, Daisy?” Gabby asks.

  “Probably a little trouble,” I tell her as she clutches her bag. “But I kinda deserve it.”

  Our eyes lock.

  “I’m really sorry for yelling at you earlier,” I say. “I
didn’t listen to your side of the story, and that wasn’t fair.”

  Gabby studies my face to see if I’m faking. “Umm . . . that’s okay.”

  I smile a little. “It’s like sparkleworks and fireworks,” I say. “When you mix them together, you get something really beautiful.”

  I can tell Gabby has no idea what I’m talking about, but she nods slowly, like she’s trying to understand. And for a moment I think maybe I am a firework and Gabby is a sparklework, and then we don’t seem so different after all.

  “You are a little crazy, Daisy Dreamer,” she says. But the way she says it isn’t mean, and she even smiles a teeny-tiny bit.

  And even though Gabby doesn’t know anything about the WOM, I think she might sort of understand.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says as she turns to leave.

  “See ya tomorrow,” I say.

  As Gabby walks toward the door I see my mom and Mr. Roberts. They’ve been watching us. Mom smiles and gives me a big thumbs-up—she heard my apology, and I know I did the right thing.

  Then I sling my backpack over my shoulders, and before I leave the classroom, I look back. The afternoon sun is streaming through the window. And there, in the sunbeam, I can see Twee, Bella, and La-di-la holding hands and waving. The Pretty Pixies are all pretty again.

  And I feel kind of pretty inside too.

  Check out Daisy Dream’s next adventure!

  WHOOSH!

  A gust of wind whips the covers off my warm, snuggly bed. Does the wind want to play hide-and-seek? I feel around for sheets and blankets. I am like a grumpy caterpillar that wants to stay inside her cocoon. I tug the covers over my head.

  SWOOSH!

  The wind steals them again!

  “BAAAAH!” I cry as I jerk the covers back over me. Sir Pounce attacks the ripples in my blanket. “STOP!” Then I scrunch up in a ball to keep warm. It’s freezing in here. And, wait, why is there wind in my bedroom?

  I peek out from under my covers and do a double blink. Am I dreaming? I wonder. Or maybe my eyeballs are playing tricks on me! Because . . .

  It’s snowing!

  In. My. Room.

  And there is an igloo!

  On. My. Floor.

  And someone is crawling out of the igloo’s tunnel right now, and I know just who it is! Posey! My imaginary friend!

  “HAPPY SNOW DAY!” he shouts, a proud smile on his face. I rub my eyes and smile back at him. Only Posey could make it snow in my room. Then my imaginary friend hops to the window.

  “It’s snowing outside, too!” he exclaims.

  About the Author

  Holly Anna has always had a wild imagination. When she was little, she used to doodle drawings that would transport herself and her friends to a wonderful world of make-believe. Now she visits other worlds through writing. Holly lives in San Jose, California, with her family. They have four cats: Rocket J. Squirrel, Le Mew, The Honest John Wookenchops (a.k.a. “Wookie”), and Noel.

  Genevieve Santos is an illustrator born, raised, and living in San Jose, California, and sole proprietor of a small stationery company, Le Petit Elefant. Her love for animation started at a young age, and is what drives her to draw the slightest observations. She also has an insatiable weakness for ice cream.

  Little Simon

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  First Little Simon paperback edition October 2017

  Copyright © 2017 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Also available in a Little Simon hardcover edition.

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  Designed by Laura Roode

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Anna, Holly, author. | Santos, Genevieve, illustrator.

  Title: The not-so-pretty pixies / by Holly Anna ; illustrated by Genevieve Santos.

  Description: First Little Simon edition. | New York : Little Simon, 2017. | Series: Daisy Dreamer ; 4 | Summary: “In this fourth adventure, Daisy and Posey help a pretty pixie named Twee get to the bottom of a not-so-pretty problem”— Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017017068 | ISBN 9781481498876 (pbk) | ISBN 9781481498883 (hc) | ISBN 9781481498890 (eBook)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Imagination—Fiction. | Imaginary playmates—Fiction. | Pixies—Fiction. | Conflict management—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Imagination & Play. | JUVENILE FICTION / Humorous Stories. | JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.A568 Not 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017017068