But just then, the goblin reached out a bony hand, picked up the spoon, and licked it clean. Then he tucked it into the back pocket of his overalls. Disappointed, the fairies slipped out of sight behind a saucepan and kept watching. The smallest goblin got up and walked over to the fireplace, where three chairs were gathered around the fire. He sat down in the smallest chair. The medium-size goblin plonked himself down in the medium-size chair, and the biggest goblin took the biggest chair.
“This chair is too little for me,” the smallest goblin grumbled. “My bottom keeps getting stuck, and it’s too hard and uncomfortable.”
“Well this one is too big and squishy for me,” the biggest goblin complained. “It’s swallowing me up!”
Only the medium-size goblin looked happy.
“This one is just right,” he said. “I’m so smart—I picked the best one.”
“Oh, is that so?” huffed the biggest goblin. “We’ll see about that!”
He tipped the medium-size goblin out of the medium-size chair and sat down in it himself. Squawking with fury, the other two goblins started to push and prod him, trying to get him to move.
“I should have the ‘just right’ chair!” wailed the smallest goblin. “I’m the little one!”
The medium-size goblin sat on the lap of the biggest goblin and bounced up and down. They fell to the floor together, shouting and scratching at each other.
“This is our chance!” Rachel whispered.
The fairies flew across the room to try to take the spoon while the goblins were squabbling, but the goblins were rolling around on the floor too quickly. Then the smallest goblin clambered onto the “just right” chair, and the others let out shouts of fury. The biggest goblin shoved him, and he fell to the floor with a loud thump.
“You’re so mean to me!” he wailed. “I’m not playing with you anymore!”
He scrambled away and raced upstairs, closely followed by the other two goblins.
Rachel, Kirsty, and Mariana looked at one another.
“What should we do now?” asked Mariana. “There’s no way that we can take the spoon back—they’re moving too fast.”
“We have to keep trying,” said Kirsty in a determined voice. “Come on!”
They zoomed up the stairs and into the bedroom, which had three beds in it. Fluttering against the ceiling, they watched the goblins jump up and down on the biggest bed.
“Awful!” shouted the smallest goblin. “This one’s got no bounce at all—it’s much too soft!”
They all leaped onto the next bed, which was medium-size. As they jumped, the bed made a cracking sound.
“They’re going to break it!” Rachel exclaimed.
“They don’t care,” said Mariana.
“Hopeless!” the biggest goblin squawked. “This bed is too hard. It’s like trying to bounce on a piece of wood!”
They leapfrogged onto the last and smallest bed. Now they were so close together that their tummies were touching. But they had big smiles on their faces, and they all started to giggle.
“Wheeee!” squealed the medium-size goblin. “This is just right!”
“Now’s our chance,” said Rachel as the goblins jumped higher and higher. “We have to fly up behind the goblin with the spoon and take it out of his pocket before he spots us.”
“It’s very risky,” said Mariana, turning pale.
Rachel and Kirsty took her hands.
“Be brave, Mariana,” said Kirsty. “We can do it!”
The fairies flew across the ceiling to the curtains and then fluttered down behind them, keeping out of sight.
“Let’s get under the bed and then fly up together,” said Rachel. “Hopefully one of us will be able to take the spoon.”
They swooped down and flew under the biggest bed and the medium-size bed toward the goblins. When they were under the smallest bed, Rachel held up three fingers and counted down, to make sure that they would all fly out at exactly the same moment. Three … two … one …
Whoosh! They zipped upward, but just at that moment the smallest goblin jumped off the bed and spotted them.
“Fairies!” he yelled. “This place is infested with fairies! Run!”
All three goblins bounced off the bed and scurried downstairs to the kitchen. Rachel, Kirsty, and Mariana followed them past the fireside chairs and toward the kitchen table. The porridge bowls were still there, and two of them had hardly been touched. The goblins dove under the table.
“I’ve got an idea!” said Kirsty with a gasp. “Mariana, can you make us human-size again? I think I know a way to make him take the spoon out of his pocket.”
Mariana swished her wand through the air, and instantly Rachel and Kirsty were girls again. Kirsty darted over to the table and picked up one of the spoons. Then she peered under the table.
“Come out from under there!” she demanded.
The goblins scrambled out, staring at her in astonishment.
“How did you get there?” asked the biggest goblin.
“Where are the fairies?” asked the medium-size goblin.
Kirsty didn’t reply. She just scooped up a big spoonful of porridge, took a deep breath, and catapulted it at the medium-size goblin. Splat! It hit him square on the forehead.
“Porridge fight!” he squealed, sounding delighted.
He pulled the magic spoon out of his back pocket, dug it into the other bowl of porridge, and flung a cold lump of it at Kirsty. The other goblins grabbed spoons and started to fling porridge around, too. Soon they had forgotten about the girls and were hurling cold porridge at one another. Kirsty and Rachel ducked behind an armchair as porridge flew over their heads and goblin shrieks filled the air. Mariana was hiding behind a curtain.
“At least the magic spoon is out of the goblin’s pocket,” said Rachel. “Now we have to get it back for Mariana!”
A lump of porridge hit the wall nearby and Kirsty winced.
“I know it was bad to start a food fight,” she said. “I just couldn’t think of any other way to get the spoon back.”
“You did the right thing,” said Rachel. “We can clean up afterward. Besides, I’ve got a plan … ”
The girls peeked out from behind the chair. There was porridge all over the kitchen. The walls were dripping, and the counters and floor were covered in slippery porridge puddles. Rachel took Kirsty’s spoon, stood up, and launched another blob of porridge at the medium-size goblin. Then she backed away toward the stairs, followed by Kirsty.
“Come back here!” the goblin barked.
He tried to run after them, but skidded on a porridge puddle and skated across the floor with his arms flapping. The magic spoon flew out of his hand.
“No!” shouted the other goblins.
They dove toward the magic spoon, belly flopping onto the porridge, and went sliding across the floor on their tummies.
The magic spoon landed in Kirsty’s hand, and the goblins groaned as her fingers closed around it. Flapping around in the porridge, they watched as Kirsty held out the spoon to Mariana. The little fairy fluttered out of her hiding place and took the spoon. It immediately shrank to fairy size, and glowed for a moment as if it were glad to be back in her hand. Mariana’s eyes shone with happiness.
“Hooray!” cried Rachel, clapping her hands.
“It’s not fair!” wailed the smallest goblin.
Just then, there was a noise at the door. The girls looked up and saw the three bears peeking in. They all looked nervous, but when they saw the goblins, their expressions changed. Their eyes crinkled at the corners, their mouths twitched, and then they started to laugh.
“Hee, hee,” said Mama Bear with her paw over her mouth. “Now that they’re covered in porridge, they don’t look scary anymore.”
“They just look silly!” added Baby Bear.
The goblins looked around. When they saw the big bears looming over them, they all squealed.
“Help!” shouted the biggest goblin.
“
We’re all going to be eaten!” wailed the medium-size goblin.
“Run!” the smallest goblin shrieked.
The goblins dove out the kitchen window, and the bears stepped into their home.
“Oh dear, look at this mess,” said Mama Bear with a groan.
“Don’t worry,” said Mariana, fluttering forward.
She waved her wand, and the porridge disappeared from the walls, floors, table, and counters. The pots and pans danced their way back into the cabinets, and soon everything was tidy and sparkling clean. In a final flurry of sparkles, a picnic basket appeared on the kitchen table.
“Honey sandwiches,” said Mariana with a smile. “You must all be very hungry by now.”
“Thank you!” said the bears in delight.
They picked up the picnic basket and set off into the forest again, waving good-bye as they went. Mariana turned to the girls.
“How can I ever thank you?” she asked.
“There’s no need,” Rachel replied.
“Oh, yes there is,” said Mariana. “And I know just the way! My porridge is famous, and I am going to make a pot for you—right now.”
With a whispered spell and a wave of her wand, a pot of porridge appeared on the kitchen table. The aroma was mouth-watering, and the girls could hardly wait to try it.
“Delicious!” said Kirsty when she took her first mouthful. “Not too hot and not too cold.”
“Not too salty and not too sweet,” Rachel added. “It’s just right!”
When they had finished eating, Mariana raised her wand.
“Time to go back to the human world,” she said. “I will never forget your bravery and kindness today. Thank you!”
As Mariana’s wand swished and the girls waved, they glimpsed someone through the kitchen window. It was Goldilocks, and she was walking up the path toward the cottage.
“Everything is turning out as it should,” said Kirsty, as the cottage melted away around them.
Suddenly they were back on the Story Barge, behind the striped puppet theater. Not a moment had passed since they had set off on their magical adventure. They went back to join the other children as Alana Yarn clapped her hands together.
“All right, everyone, this puppet show needs volunteers!” she said. “Who would like to help me tell this story?”
The other children hesitated, but Rachel stepped forward. Alana smiled at her.
“Thank you for being the first volunteer,” she said. “I’d like you to operate the Goldilocks puppet.”
Smiling from ear to ear, Rachel picked up her puppet.
“Now, I need volunteers to work the puppets for the three”—Rachel and Kirsty held their breath—“bears!”
Kirsty’s hand shot into the air, and she was picked along with two other children.
“You can be Baby Bear,” Alana told Kirsty. “Now, everyone else, take your seats. The show is about to begin!”
The puppet show went perfectly. At the end, when the three bears returned from their picnic to find Goldilocks in their cottage, Kirsty caught Rachel’s eye and they exchanged a smile of relief. The story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears had been saved, and they couldn’t wait to save the rest of the Storybook Fairies’ stories!
“Hurry up, Kirsty,” called Rachel Walker, skipping past colorful bunting and festival tents. “I can’t wait to get to the Story Barge.”
Her best friend, Kirsty Tate, had paused to look at a tent that was decorated with the first lines of lots of different children’s books. She grinned at Rachel and ran to catch up to her.
“That tent is amazing,” she said. “I want to make sure I go back later and see how many first lines I recognize.”
Rachel and Kirsty were having a wonderful weekend. Rachel was staying with Kirsty so that they could go to the Wetherbury Storytelling Festival together. One of their favorite authors, Alana Yarn, was leading the festival and had arranged lots of fun storytelling activities.
“We did so much yesterday, it feels like we’ve had a whole weekend already,” said Rachel. “There was the Goldilocks puppet show and Alana’s storytelling performance of Thumbelina.”
“And we met the Storybook Fairies,” Kirsty added, remembering the magical adventures they had shared with Elle the Thumbelina Fairy and Mariana the Goldilocks Fairy.
“And we still have all of Sunday ahead of us,” said Rachel, stopping to do a cartwheel. “I’m so excited! I wonder what Alana has planned for today.”
“I hope we see the Storybook Fairies again,” Kirsty added.
“I’m sure we will,” said Rachel. “After all, there are still two magical objects to find.”
The girls were secret friends of Fairyland, but this was the first time that they had met the Storybook Fairies. Elle the Thumbelina Fairy had asked Rachel and Kirsty to help them because Jack Frost had stolen their magical objects. Rachel and Kirsty had already helped Elle and Mariana get their magical objects back, but Rosalie the Rapunzel Fairy and Ruth the Red Riding Hood Fairy were still missing theirs.
The river was sparkling in the sunshine, and as they got closer to the Story Barge, the girls saw Alana Yarn standing on the path. When she saw them, she gave a mysterious smile.
“This morning’s activity is in a very special place,” she said. “Go to the playground by the river and look for a tower. Then see if you can figure out what this morning’s story is all about!”
Kirsty and Rachel exchanged excited smiles. They waved to Alana and raced off along the path to the playground.
“This is the best playground in Wetherbury,” Kirsty told Rachel.
It was the biggest playground that Rachel had ever seen. There were lots of colorful swings, a merry-go-round, and seesaws, all surrounded by a bright yellow fence. There were horses on springs, jungle gyms, tunnels, and even a speaking tube. In the center of the playground was a big slide, with a tall winding ladder that led to a tower at the top.
Copyright © 2016 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.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
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 978-1-338-05499-6
First edition, March 2017
Cover design by Angela Jun
e-ISBN 978-1-338-05500-9
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Mariana the Goldilocks Fairy Page 2