Lacey said hello and pointed down to Kirsty. “This weeds are so sticky,” she explained. “She’s tied up in knots.”
“We can help,” said a tiny fish with glimmering scales. “We’re small, but we’re very good at nibbling!”
With that, he darted down into the shadows and started munching on a thick stem.
The others all joined in, too.
“That’s better!” exclaimed Kirsty, as the stem around her arm broke free. She smiled happily
as the fish nibbled the weeds on the other side, too.
“I’ll dive down to the lower stems,” cried another fish.
“I hope you’re not ticklish,” piped up a fish with bright eyes.
Kirsty started to giggle. The fish were nibbling the clump of weeds wrapped around her feet.
“Oh my!” she chuckled. “I think I am!”
Working together, the school of fish nibbled Kirsty free in no time.
“Good work!” Lacey laughed.
Rachel’s eyes began to twinkle. The fishes’ speedy rescue plan had just given her a magical idea …
A few moments later, the fairies and their new friends were swimming through Tiptop Pond.
“This way!” called Rachel, pointing to a sandy spot not far from the middle.
The fish darted through the water. The silvery school seemed to move as one big fish instead of lots of tiny ones. They gathered in clusters around two twinkly blue posts—Jack Frost’s legs!
Lacey gave the signal with her wand. “One, two, three … nibble!”
The fish flitted down to the pond floor, then started tickling and nudging at Jack Frost’s pointy toes.
“Aargggh!”
There was a dreadful commotion above the surface. Jack Frost hopped from foot to foot, slapping the water with his fists. The goblins watched, confused as he erupted into shrieks of laughter.
Underneath the water Kirsty, Rachel, and Lacey held hands, desperately hoping that Jack Frost’s attack of the tickles might cause him to drop his precious trident.
“It’s no good.” Rachel frowned. “He’s not letting go!”
“We can’t give up!” called Kirsty, swimming down to add some extra tickles of her own. Lacey joined in, but Jack Frost still clung to the trident.
Rachel was just about to dive in, too, when Jack Frost glanced down. He spotted the fairies and his face filled with rage.
“What are you doing here?” he thundered. “I’m trying to have a mermaid lesson!”
Lacey summoned up all her courage and popped her head out of the water.
“I’m here for my magic shell,” she retorted. “Please give it to me!”
Jack Frost threw his head back and howled with glee.
“This little thing?” he smirked, lifting the trident out of the pond so no one else could reach it. “Well, I want it, so tough luck! You’ll never get it back, not now and not ever!”
Lacey’s wings drooped and her cheeks turned pale.
“What am I going to do?” she wailed. “My fairy tale will never be the same again!”
The warm golden glow that usually shone around Lacey had faded away to almost nothing. Kirsty and Rachel paddled through the gloom to get to her and gave her a big hug.
“Don’t be sad. We never give up on a friend,” promised Rachel.
“That’s right,” agreed Kirsty. She called out in a cheerful voice, “Keep tickling, fish!”
Jack Frost held the trident up as high as he could, but it was getting hard to keep his balance. Splashes rippled through the pond as he wobbled backward and forward. He hooted with giggles, slapping his spare hand through the water to shoo away the fish.
Rachel spotted a broken-off piece of reed floating down to the pond bed. She reached out and grabbed it.
“We’ve tried the feet,” she decided, “so let’s move on to the knees!”
Rachel swam up behind Jack Frost, then gently touched the back of one knee with the reed. His legs buckled and kicked—she’d found his ticklish spot!
“Get off!” roared Jack Frost, wildly waving his arms.
Splash!
The trident fell out of his hands, plunging the gems, chains, and magic shell into the water.
“Goblins!” Jack Frost yelled, turning to the raft. “Get over here now!”
“We’re coming!” yelled the biggest one. “Get a move on, crew—row in a starboard direction!”
The goblin sitting beside him in the raft scratched his head. “That’s forward, right?” he wondered, turning to his friend behind him.
His friend nodded, and then changed his mind. The goblins began to paddle furiously—in different directions! The raft moved nowhere at all. While Jack Frost’s goblins flapped and splashed in the water, someone else swooped in and plucked the trident out of the pond.
“I think this belongs to you,” beamed the Little Mermaid, offering it to Lacey.
Lacey’s face burst into a dazzling, delighted smile. Quick as a flash she swam up and lifted the special shell off the trident’s fork. The instant the fairy touched it, the magic object shrank back down to a tiny size. Lacey pried open the shell and peeked inside—the pearl was still there!
“Well done,” she gushed, reaching out to her friends. “We did it after all!”
“Thank you, Kirsty and Rachel,” piped up the Little Mermaid. With a farewell wave she was gone, shimmering back into the pages of her story.
Now that her fairy tale characters were back where they belonged, Lacey could sparkle again! She flipped and danced in the water, golden fairy dust glittering all around her.
“I’m so pleased that you were here to save the day,” she said gratefully, taking Kirsty’s and Rachel’s hands.
“We are, too!” agreed the best friends.
Just then, a booming voice thundered across the pond. Jack Frost! He pinched his nose with a bony finger and plunged his face into the water.
“I am definitely not pleased!” he gurgled.
“You ruin everything!”
The smallest fish from the school nudged Rachel with his fin.
“I think Jack Frost needs more knee tickles,” he suggested. “Don’t you?”
Jack Frost spluttered with rage, then tried to stomp back to the boathouse. Dozens of silvery fish followed behind him, nibbling at his knees.
“Don’t go that way …” called Kirsty, her eyes twinkling.
“… it’s full of weeds!” finished Rachel.
Jack Frost was in no mood to listen to anyone. The tickly fish were really bugging him and his mermaid outfit was getting harder and harder to walk in. He took another step forward, straight into the clump of slimy weeds. Jack Frost fell backward into the water, landing with a mighty splash.
Kirsty, Rachel, and Lacey started giggling.
“He won’t bother us anymore tonight,” said Kirsty. “We should get ready for the ball back at Tiptop Castle.”
Lacey nodded enthusiastically and opened her eyes wide. “May I ask you one last thing?”
Kirsty and Rachel both nodded.
“Will you come with me to Fairyland first?” asked Lacey. “There’s a surprise waiting for you!”
Kirsty and Rachel’s journey to Fairyland took place in the blink of an eye. The very second they left, time stopped in the human world. In that magical moment Lacey whisked the girls back to Fairy Tale Lane, the little winding street where she and the rest of the Fairy Tale Fairies lived. Julia, Eleanor, Faith, Rita, Gwen, and Aisha were all waiting to greet them. Two very important royal guests were there as well. Kirsty and Rachel flushed with pride—King Oberon and Queen Titania were standing in the road, flanked by a row of frog footmen!
“Good afternoon, Your Majesties,” the girls said politely, bobbing down into curtseys.
The queen smiled at them. “We owe you our heartfelt thanks,” she said warmly. “You’ve put the magic back into our fairy tales. Now children everywhere can enjoy these wonderful stories once more.”
King Obe
ron nodded regally, then beckoned for Kirsty and Rachel to walk with him. “We’d like to repay your kindness,” he continued, “with a small kindness of our own.”
The king came to a stop outside Faith the Cinderella Fairy’s house. Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother opened the front door.
“These are for you,” she announced, holding out two beautiful ball gowns. “I know you’ll look spellbinding in them!”
“They’re amazing,” gushed Rachel, holding her dress up for size. It was a silk gown stitched in the softest powder blue with a matching satin sash.
Kirsty’s dress was made out of smooth green velvet. It had a floaty net skirt that rustled beautifully whenever it moved.
“I feel like a fairy tale princess!” she declared. “Thank you all so much.”
The Fairy Tale Fairies gathered around the girls, taking turns to give them hugs.
“Now, you’ve got a ball to go to,” announced Lacey, blowing a fairy kiss to them both. “Have a magical evening. Good-bye, Kirsty. Good-bye, Rachel!”
With a flurry of sparkles and fairy dust, the visit was over. A little while later, the girls stepped into the Tiptop Castle ballroom. The Fairy Tale Ball was about to begin!
Kirsty looked down. She was already wearing the new ball gown from Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother! Her hair was curled into ringlets and it glittered with a sparkly tiara.
Rachel looked lovely, too, the blue gems on her dress matching her eyes perfectly.
“Are you ready?” she asked. “Let’s dance!”
The girls made their way over to the dance floor, holding their skirts up with their hands. Over at the dining table, Mr. and Mrs. Walker and Mr. and Mrs. Tate were chatting and nibbling party food. As soon as they spotted the girls, they gave them a big wave.
The music began to play, and Kirsty and Rachel felt like princesses again. They whirled and twirled around and around on the dance floor all night long.
“I don’t want the week to end.” Kirsty sighed.
Rachel nodded. “It really has been an enchanting vacation, hasn’t it?”
Rosie, one of the festival organizers, thanked everyone for coming and pointed up to the ceiling. Suddenly, hundreds of golden balloons floated onto the dance floor! The guests whooped and cheered, batting balloons into the air around them.
“It’s been a magical party,” said Rosie, “and I can only think of one way to end it … with a bedtime story!”
“We’ve got the perfect book,” said Kirsty, putting up her hand.
“Oh yes,” added Rachel. “May we go and get it?”
Rosie thought it was a wonderful idea. She spread out blankets on the ballroom floor and the children sat down to hear the story. Kirsty and Rachel dashed up to their tower bedroom to get The Fairies’ Book of Fairy Tales.
“Here it is,” said Kirsty, lifting the sparkly book off the shelf.
“We’ve got a minute or two,” whispered Rachel. “Let’s take a look inside.”
Kirsty opened the front cover and then flicked through the pages. All their favorite fairy tales were there, told in magical words and pictures. Near the end of the book, the friends came across a wonderful ocean scene. It showed a fine ship sailing on a moonlit night.
“There’s the Little Mermaid!” Rachel beamed, pointing to the water.
Kirsty was thrilled to see her back where she belonged.
“What a wonderful week with the fairies,” she said. “It’s been an adventure from start to finish!”
“Yes,” agreed Rachel, “an adventure with a fabulous, fairy tale ending!”
Rachel and Kirsty have found all of the Fairy Tale Fairies’ missing magic objects. Now it’s time for them to help
Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek …
“Isn’t it the most beautiful dress you’ve ever seen?” Rachel Walker said with a sigh as she tucked a blond curl behind her ear.
Her best friend, Kirsty Tate, nodded dreamily. “Oh, it is!” she exclaimed.
The dress was a magnificent white wedding gown covered in sparkling rhinestones and delicate lace. Rachel’s aunt Angela held it in front of her as she twirled around playfully.
“You look just like a princess!” Rachel told her aunt.
Aunt Angela laughed. “I’m no princess,” she told her niece. “I’m more of a fairy godmother. I make dreams come true!”
That was the truth. Aunt Angela was a wedding planner. It was her job to organize weddings down to the tiniest detail, and she was very good at it. Her company, Fairy Tale Weddings, was incredibly successful.
Rachel and Kirsty exchanged a smile at the mention of fairy godmothers. The two friends knew a lot about fairies. They had first met fairies while vacationing on Rainspell Island. Now they had many fairy friends and had visited Fairyland lots of times. Jack Frost and his mischievous goblins caused a lot of problems there, and Rachel and Kirsty were the fairies’ secret helpers.
In fact, that’s what the girls were doing today—being helpful! Aunt Angela had hired them to be her wedding planning assistants. Today they were at the hotel where the wedding party was staying, in case Aunt Angela needed two extra pairs of hands.
The next day’s wedding was to be Tippington’s largest of the year. The wedding was so big there were going to be six flower girls. Rachel and Kirsty weren’t as experienced as Aunt Angela, but the girls had been bridesmaids in Kirsty’s cousin Esther’s wedding, so they knew a thing or two about brides and bouquets.
“This wedding is going to be amazing, Aunt Angela,” Rachel said happily. “I just know it!”
Text copyright © 2016 by Rainbow Magic Limited
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. Published by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited. Series created by Rainbow Magic Limited. 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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First edition, January 2016
Cover design by Angela Jun
e-ISBN 978-0-545-86402-2
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Lacey the Little Mermaid Fairy Page 2