Rachel flashed her a thumbs-up.
Kneeling down, Rachel rolled the ball of yarn toward the little lamb, keeping hold of one end of the yarn. The ball nudged up against Fluffy’s nose, and she opened one eye. Kirsty and Rachel crossed their fingers. But Fluffy just closed her eye again. Rachel pulled the ball of yarn back toward her.
“Let me try,” said Kirsty.
She rolled the yarn ball and it bumped up against Fluffy’s hoof. Again, one of her eyes flickered for a moment. But she was just not interested. Kirsty pulled the yarn back to herself.
The girls heard a rustling sound behind them. They turned around as a pair of green hands parted two bushes. The goblin stared at them through the shrubbery.
“What are you doing here?” he snapped.
He was glaring at Elodie—he hadn’t yet noticed Fluffy under the bush. Trying to look casual, Rachel edged sideways so that she was in front of the bush. The goblin looked at the ball of yarn.
“I’ll take that,” he said, reaching out and snatching it from Kirsty’s hands. “I need it so I can take the lamb to Jack Frost’s petting zoo at the Ice Castle.”
“You can’t just take things that don’t belong to you,” said Kirsty, pulling the yarn back.
“Give it to me!” the goblin squawked.
He scrambled toward her, and Kirsty jumped up and ran away, out of the grove of trees and toward the sheep pasture. Rachel glanced at Fluffy and noticed that the little lamb had opened her eyes. She had half raised her head, pricking up her ears.
“She’s interested in the chase,” Rachel said to Elodie, then cupped her hands around her mouth to call in a loud voice, “Kirsty, drop the end of the yarn!”
Kirsty didn’t know why Rachel wanted her to drop the end of the yarn ball, but she trusted her best friend, so as she was running she unwound some of the yarn and let it trail along the ground behind her. The goblin, who was already stumbling in his big rubber boots, now tripped over the end of the yarn.
“Stop!” he screeched angrily. “Give me that yarn!”
He pushed himself up again and kept running. Kirsty zigzagged around the bottom of the pasture, getting closer and closer to the shrubbery. Then, as fast as lightning, Fluffy suddenly darted out and pounced on the end of the yarn with a loud meow.
While Fluffy was busy patting the yarn string with her hoof, Rachel rushed forward and put her arms around the little lamb. Elodie fluttered down and placed one hand on Fluffy’s back. Immediately, Fluffy shrank to fairy size and let out a loud baa.
“Hooray!” Kirsty cheered, throwing her arms around Rachel. “Thank goodness she’s a lamb again.”
The goblin sank down on the grass and rubbed his eyes.
“I only wanted to cuddle her and feel her soft wool,” he said in a sad voice. “She’s so sweet.”
Elodie’s face softened as she looked at the goblin. Rachel and Kirsty could tell that she felt sorry for him.
“There are other ways to enjoy the feel of a lamb’s wool,” said the little fairy in a gentle voice.
She waved her wand and a sweater appeared on the goblin’s knee. It was bright green, and it looked as fluffy as a lamb. The goblin picked it up and pressed it against his cheek.
“This is the softest thing I’ve ever felt,” he said.
He cuddled it and stroked it against his other cheek. A big smile spread across his face.
“It’s for you to keep,” said Elodie.
The goblin jumped up and skipped away across the pasture.
“We should go back to the lambs’ pen,” said Kirsty. “Now that Fluffy is back with Elodie, all the little lambs should be back to normal.”
“Let’s go and find out,” said Rachel.
The girls raced across the pasture to the pen, with Elodie zooming along in the air behind them. But when they reached the pen, they saw that there was still only one little lamb inside.
“At least it is behaving like a lamb again,” said Rachel, watching him springing around the pen.
The girls stepped into the pen and the lamb trotted over to them, bleating with happiness. They stroked it, and it nuzzled them both.
“The other lambs must still be wandering around the farm,” said Kirsty. “How are we going to find them and get them to come back here?”
“I don’t know,” said Kirsty, “but we have to find them. They are going to be one of the biggest attractions here on the farm.”
“I’ll use my magic,” said Elodie. “Now that Fluffy is back with me, I will be able to bring the lambs back easily.”
But just as she raised her wand, they all heard a high-pitched whistle coming from the direction of the farmhouse. They raised their hands to shade their eyes from the sun and saw Harriet standing outside the barn. She blew her whistle again.
“What is she doing?” Rachel asked.
Just then, Patch the sheepdog appeared around the side of the barn, and in front of him were four white lambs. Elodie laughed in delight.
“I’ll let the sheepdog take care of the lambs,” she said. “It’s time for me to take Fluffy back to the Fluttering Fairyland Farm.”
She hovered beside Kirsty and dropped a kiss on her cheek. Fluffy nuzzled against her human friend, too. Then they did the same to Rachel.
“Thank you both for helping me find Fluffy,” Elodie said. “You’re wonderful. Without you, she would still be meowing and purring.”
“We’re just happy that she’s back where she belongs,” said Kirsty.
Elodie smiled, and then she and Fluffy disappeared in a puff of silvery sparkles. Patch was just guiding the lambs up the path, led by Harriet. Now that they were closer, Rachel and Kirsty could hear the lambs baaing in shrill voices.
Harriet opened the lambs’ pen, and then Patch moved the lambs into it. He ran left and right, keeping low to the ground. His glossy black-and-white coat gleamed in the sunshine.
The last lamb skittered into the pen and Harriet closed the gate. Rachel and Kirsty hurried up to her.
“We’re really sorry,” said Kirsty at once. “We were supposed to be taking care of the lambs, but they were already out of the pen when we arrived to feed them.”
“Don’t worry,” said Harriet. “Patch has a magic touch with lambs. I can’t imagine how they got out of the pen, though. It’s not as if they could have jumped over the fence!”
Kirsty and Rachel shared a secret smile. What would Harriet have said if she had seen the lambs earlier?
The girls each took a bottle from the bucket and went into the pen. They knelt down and waited for the curious little lambs to come closer. Then they offered the bottles. Soon the girls were feeding the first two lambs, cuddling their soft, woolly coats as they drank their milk.
“Well,” said Harriet with a laugh. “It looks as if you two have got a magic touch with the lambs as well. Come on, Patch. Let’s leave Rachel and Kirsty to feed the lambs in peace.”
As Harriet and Patch walked away, the girls exchanged happy smiles.
“Feeding lambs has to be one of the best feelings in the whole world,” said Rachel. “I love them so much.”
“Me, too,” said Kirsty. “I just hope that we can help the two other Farm Animal Fairies get their magical animals back by the time Greenfields Farm opens for visitors.”
“Everyone should have the chance to know the magic of caring for animals,” said Rachel, smiling down at the little lamb she was feeding. “The fairies need us, and we won’t let them down. I can’t wait for our next magical adventure!”
“Just one day left until the farm’s grand opening,” said Kirsty Tate.
She was looking at a computer screen over the shoulders of Harriet and Niall Hawkins, the owners of Greenfields Farm. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tate, and her best friend, Rachel Walker, were also gazing at the computer. They were all looking at the design for the new poster that would advertise the farm.
“I feel jumpy with excitement every time I think about the grand opening tomorrow,” said Rache
l.
“I feel jumpy with nervousness every time I think about it,” said Harriet with a laugh. “I can’t believe there’s just one day left.”
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” said Mr. Tate, patting Harriet’s shoulder.
The Tates and Rachel were all spending spring break at Greenfields Farm, just outside Wetherbury. The Tates were friends with Harriet and Niall, and they had all been helping to get the farm ready. Tomorrow, Greenfields Farm would open to visitors for the first time, complete with a children’s petting zoo.
“You’ve all been wonderful,” said Niall, turning in his chair to smile up at them. “Especially you, Rachel and Kirsty. We were worried about being too busy to look after the baby animals this week, but you’ve done everything for them.”
“It’s been a treat to look after them,” said Kirsty with a smile.
Mr. Tate was still gazing at the poster design.
“I think it needs more photos of the farm,” he said.
“How about adding some photos of the baby animals?” said Rachel. “They are so cute—they’d make anyone want to visit the farm.”
“Especially animal lovers like us,” Kirsty added.
“We could add some photos of the foals,” said Harriet. “They’re really sweet—especially when they’ve just been groomed and are all nice and clean.”
“I saw them this morning and they are definitely not clean at the moment,” said Niall with a chuckle. “I’ve never seen such scruffy looking foals before. Girls, would you mind giving the foals a bath and grooming them before they have their photo taken?”
Rachel and Kirsty exchanged a glance of pure delight.
“That sounds like so much fun,” said Rachel. “We’d love to do it.”
Copyright © 2017 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
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ISBN 978-1-338-20695-1
First printing 2018
Cover design by Angela Jun
e-ISBN 978-1-338-20697-5
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Elodie the Lamb Fairy Page 2