Delphie looked thoughtfully at the bluebird. “Does it have to be Sugar who does the dance?”
The bluebird shook her head. “No, in Enchantia, magic comes from the dance itself.”
“Then maybe I could do the dance?” Delphie gasped.
Just then, King Rat’s voice called down the stairs. “I’ll be down in a minute, my love!”
“There isn’t a moment to lose!” said Griff. “Quick, Delphie! Please try!”
“I won’t be able to do it exactly,” Delphie said hurriedly. “Because I can’t dance on my pointes yet. But I can have a go!” She took a deep breath. Could she remember what Sugar had done? She thought she could. Her feet started to tingle in the red ballet shoes.
Sweeping her arms up, she rose on to her demi-pointes. She remembered what Sugar had done and danced forward, her arms stretched out, her head up, hearing the music in her head. She moved into a pirouette, danced forward again and then leapt into the air just as Sugar had done. She couldn’t quite manage it but she jumped as high and gracefully as she could before landing lightly. Bringing her right leg round, she stepped on to her right foot and lifted her left leg high behind her, pointing her hand at Priscilla just as Sugar had done. Delphie held her breath. Would her dancing have been good enough?
There was a flash of light and Priscilla changed back to a princess!
Skye gave a loud chirrup of excitement. The dance had worked!
“Well done, Delphie!” said Griff in delight.
Delphie ran forward and threw back Priscilla’s veil. The toad looked like a beautiful girl again – and just in time as King Rat came hurrying down the stairs.
“I am here, my love!” he called. He was now wearing an ornate crown with emeralds in. “Let us get married!”
“First it’s got to be a sunny day,” Delphie reminded him.
King Rat pulled a glass globe out of his pocket and strode outside with Delphie, Griff and Skye following him eagerly. Inside the globe, just as Skye had said, there was a little model of Enchantia. A few snowflakes were drifting around the model just as they were outside.
King Rat put the globe down in front of him and clapped his hands. “Break!” he commanded sharply. There was a loud cracking noise and the glass shattered.
Immediately, the grey clouds parted and the sun shone through. The air grew warmer, the snow on the ground began to melt, the ice on the moat cracked and the bare branches of the trees burst into green leaf.
“It’s spring!” Delphie cried, looking round as the snow melted quickly and bright blue, yellow and pink flowers pushed their way up through the grass.
“Hrumph! I suppose it is,” said King Rat grumpily. “Still never mind that. I am going to get married now!”
“To a toad,” Delphie whispered to Griff and Skye, with a giggle.
King Rat turned round and headed back towards Priscilla. “Come along, my love. We will be married straight away.”
Delphie, Griff and Skye dashed away. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. Birds swooped through the air, twittering and singing. Looking at the woods, Delphie saw brown rabbits poking their noses out of their burrows and squirrels appearing from holes in tree trunks.
Suddenly there was a flash of light. Delphie blinked as Sugar, Princess Aurelia, King Tristan and Queen Isabella appeared at the edge of the woods.
“Delphie!” the Princess gasped, running forward. “You’ve done it! You’ve made King Rat break his enchantment!”
“We saw winter change to spring and knew your plan must have worked,” said Sugar. “So I used my magic to bring us here.”
“We can’t thank you enough!” said King Tristan.
Delphie glowed. She was so glad she had been able to help! “I had to do the dance that you did,” she told Sugar eagerly. “The magic started to fade and Priscilla began to turn back into a toad.”
“You must have danced it really well to make the magic happen,” said Sugar. “But if you weren’t dancing on your pointes, the magic might not last as long as last time.”
“I wonder just how long it will last?” Delphie said anxiously.
Suddenly there was an ear-splitting yell from inside the castle. “What? My princess is a great big, green slimy TOAD!”
As they looked behind them, they saw Priscilla come hopping out of the castle. She charged among the guards, sending them flying as she went this way and that, croaking. Then suddenly she spotted the muddy waters of the moat around King Rat’s castle. Looking very happy, she gave a loud croak and dived in.
King Rat came charging out, shaking his fist at Delphie. “You tricked me! You… you…”
Priscilla surfaced and gave a croak so loud that everyone covered their ears.
“Go away!” King Rat shouted to the toad.
Priscilla looked at him smugly and croaked even more loudly.
“I think Priscilla likes it here!” grinned Sugar. “She looks like she’s going to stay!”
King Rat looked like he was about to burst with rage. “Get me some ear plugs!” he yelled at his guards. “And lock these tricksters in the dungeons!”
The guards lunged towards them.
“Hold on, everyone!” shouted Sugar, turning a pirouette.
There was a bright flash. Delphie felt herself spinning through the air. The next moment she had landed back outside the royal family’s glittering marble palace along with everyone else.
“We’re back!” she cried in relief.
“And we’re not the only ones!” exclaimed Sugar. “Look!” She pointed into the sky.
Delphie gasped. A flock of bluebirds was flying towards them.
“It’s my family!” chirruped Skye, racing to meet them before disappearing joyfully into the group.
“Thank you, Delphie,” Sugar said, taking Delphie’s hands. “It’s almost time for you to go back home but we’ll see you again, I’m sure!”
Delphie didn’t really want to go but before she had a chance to feel really sad about leaving, Sugar waved her wand.
“Let’s all dance!”
Light, bright music filled the air. The Princess, the King, the Queen, Sugar and even Griff began to dance. The bluebirds swooped around them.
“Join in with us, Delphie!” Skye chirruped.
The music swept through Delphie. She danced forward, the bluebirds encircling her in a glowing cloud. Delphie copied their delicate movements, running in tiny steps on demi-pointes, feeling as light as a feather. She spun into a pirouette and then went forward again, stretching her arms out like wings as the bluebirds fluttered and sang about her. Delphie raised her arms above her head, reaching into the sky towards the fluttering birds. She sprang upwards four times, crossing her feet over with every jump. The joy of dancing filled Delphie. She had never felt so light or so graceful. It was like she was a bluebird herself. Suddenly she seemed to spin faster and faster. Colours swirled round her and she was swept into the air…
She landed to find herself standing in her bedroom, her head still spinning from the dance. She looked down at her ballet shoes. They glittered for a moment and then returned to their usual red colour.
Smiling, Delphie knelt down and undid the ribbons. What an amazing adventure! She put the ballet shoes on her desk and wriggled her toes. She was tired and her muscles ached but she felt very, very happy.
Quietly, she got into bed. As she shut her eyes she pictured herself dancing with the bluebirds. She hadn’t worried about her arms and her legs, she’d just listened to the music and danced. Was that what Madame Za-Za had meant earlier when she said it was important not to try too hard?
Delphie snuggled down. She couldn’t wait until the audition the next day!
The music swelled out in the ballet studio. Delphie danced forward, lost in the sound. Madame Za-Za was watching but Delphie was hardly aware of her teacher.
She reached up above her head and then sprang lightly upwards, landing softly through her knees each time. She spun and danced, feeling like she w
as back in Enchantia, dancing with the bluebirds in the sky. As she held the final position, her eyes glanced at Madame Za-Za and she saw her teacher nod and smile…
Two days later, Delphie raced up the steps into the ballet school. “Delphie!” her friend Lola said, running to meet her. “The cast list is up for the show!”
“Where?” Delphie gasped.
“It’s outside Madame Za-Za’s office!” Lola’s eyes shone. “Oh, Delphie. I’m a robin, Poppy’s a deer and you’re the…”
Delphie didn’t hear any more. She was already racing to the door at the end of the corridor. A piece of white paper was pinned up with the characters and next to them the name of the person playing that character.
Delphie’s eyes found the first line:
The Bluebird… Delphie Durand.
Delphie could hardly believe it.
“It’s brilliant you’re the Bluebird, Delphie!” Lola said, running up behind her.
“Look! Sukie’s the rabbit!” Lola giggled. “She’s so not going to be happy about that!”
Delphie didn’t care what part Sukie had. All that mattered was that she had danced for joy in the audition and that she owned a pair of magic ballet shoes. She turned a pirouette in delight. What could be better than that?
1. Stand in first position, resting your left arm on your barre. Make an oval shape with your right arm.
2. Bend your knees, keeping your heels together. Make sure they don’t leave the ground
3. Raise your right arm up in a soft curve.
4. Now straighten your knees and lower your arm gently, until you are back in your original position.
(P.S. Not everyone has a barre, so you could rest your hand on a wall or fence instead.)
Prologue
In the soft, pale light, the girl stood with her head bent and her hands held lightly in front of her. There was a moment’s silence and then the first notes of the music began. For as long as the girl could remember music had seemed to tell her of another world – a magical, exciting world – that lay far, far away. She always felt if she could just close her eyes and lose herself, then she would get there. Maybe this time. As the music swirled inside her, she swept her arms above her head, rose on to her toes and began to dance …
Delphie Durand danced in the bright spotlight. Around her on stage, the other girls from her ballet school stood in darkness. Delphie was playing the main part in the show – the Bluebird who brought light back to the animals in the woods. She finished with one leg stretched out behind, her arms held out like wings, holding the pose perfectly without a single wobble. Slowly the lights began to come up on the stage, as if sunlight was gently returning. The other dancers looked around in wonder and then suddenly they all began to dance …
Delphie skimmed across the floor with tiny steps. It was wonderful being up there and it reminded her of the times she had been in another theatre – a secret, magical one. For Delphie owned a pair of special red ballet shoes and when they started sparkling they whisked her away to a theatre in the magical land of Enchantia. All the characters from the different ballets lived in Enchantia and Delphie had enjoyed some great adventures there.
As the music ended and everyone relaxed out of their final poses, Delphie heard the sound of her ballet teacher, Madame Za-Za, clapping from the hall.
“Well done, everyone,” Madame Za-Za called, smiling at them all. “That was a very good dress rehearsal. Go and get changed and then I will give you some notes so we can make the actual performance even better.”
Delphie stretched. Her muscles felt warm and tingly. Her two friends, Lola and Poppy, came running over to her.
“You were brilliant, Delphie!” Lola exclaimed.
“I wasn’t.” Delphie blushed modestly. “I got some things wrong.”
“I didn’t see you get anything wrong at all,” said Poppy loyally.
“Well, I did,” came a voice behind them.
Delphie looked round. Sukie Taylor, one of the other girls in their dancing class, was standing behind them in her rabbit costume.
“Don’t be so mean, Sukie!” Lola frowned.
“Ignore her,” Poppy muttered to Delphie. “She’s just jealous.”
Delphie had a feeling Poppy was right. Sukie had been hoping she would be the Bluebird and ever since Delphie had got the part Sukie had been really horrid to her in class.
Sukie scowled at Delphie. “Madame Za-Za should never have picked you to be the Bluebird. I’d have been much better!” And, tossing her head, she marched off.
Delphie felt the excitement and happiness fade away. But seeing Poppy looking cross, she forced herself to act like she didn’t care. She wouldn’t want her friends to be upset too. “Come on!” she said, trying to sound cheerful. “Let’s go and get changed.”
Delphie ran lightly off the stage with Poppy and Lola following. But as she reached the wings, someone came running towards her from the opposite direction. Delphie was taken by surprise and they collided heavily, with Delphie crashing to the floor. Looking up, she realised it was Sukie.
“Ow!” Sukie said, rubbing her elbow. “Watch where you’re going, Delphie!”
“You were the one who ran into me!” Delphie went to get up but pain stabbed through her left foot and she gasped. “Ow! My ankle!”
Poppy tried to help her, but when Delphie put her foot down it really hurt. “I can’t stand,” she said.
“I’ll go and get Madame Za-Za!” Poppy dashed off.
Lola swung round to Sukie. “You did that on purpose!”
Sukie scowled. “What do you mean?”
“I bet you tripped Delphie up because you wanted her to be hurt!” Lola said accusingly. “You’re her understudy so if she doesn’t dance the part of the Bluebird, you will!”
Delphie stared. Was Lola right? Had Sukie really run into her on purpose? Sukie turned red. “I … I didn’t!” she stammered. “I …” She broke off as the backstage door opened and Madame Za-Za came hurrying into the wings. “Delphie! What’s happened?”
Delphie blinked back the tears. “I’ve hurt my ankle.”
“But how?” Madame Za-Za asked.
Sukie sent Delphie an imploring look. For a moment it was on the tip of Delphie’s tongue to say that Sukie had run into her on purpose. But she didn’t know that for sure and anyway she hated it when people told tales and got others into trouble. “I … I tripped,” she said. “I was running off the stage and I just tripped over.”
Poppy and Lola stared at her.
“That isn’t what …” Lola began.
“It IS what happened,” Delphie interrupted. She saw a look of relief flash across Sukie’s face.
“Let me see.” Madame Za-Za gently unlaced Delphie’s ballet shoe and turned Delphie’s ankle this way and that. Delphie caught her breath. It really did hurt. “Can you move your toes?” Madame Za-Za asked.
Delphie nodded and wriggled them.
“It is probably just a sprain,” Madame Za-Za said, after examining it a moment longer. “But you’ll need to go to hospital to have it checked over. Hopefully it should be back to normal in a week or so.”
Poppy and Lola gasped.
“A week!” said Delphie in dismay. “But what about the show?”
Madame Za-Za looked at her sadly. “I’m afraid you’re not going to be better in time to dance in it, Delphie. Sukie will have to take the part of the Bluebird.”
Tears welled up in Delphie’s eyes, blinding her so she couldn’t see the expression on Sukie’s face. She didn’t need to see it though. She knew just how delighted Sukie would be!
The following day, Delphie lay on the sofa at home listening to the music of a ballet called Swan Lake, and rested her ankle. The doctor she had seen at the hospital had told her that it was indeed a nasty sprain and confirmed that she couldn’t dance on it for at least a couple of weeks. Delphie’s eyes were red with crying. She’d practised so hard to be the Bluebird over the last month and had been looking forward to it
so much. It was so unfair that Sukie was getting to dance the part instead of her.
The more Delphie thought about it, the more she felt sure that Sukie had knocked her over on purpose. It was just the kind of thing Sukie would do. Thinking about it made fresh tears spring to her eyes. She blinked them away and tried to concentrate on the music. She knew the piece well. It was from a scene where the prince in the story was standing near an enchanted lake watching a group of swans dance for him, led by the swan princess. Delphie sighed. She desperately wanted to be up practising and dancing, not lying on a sofa.
She looked at the floor. Her red ballet shoes were there. If only they would glow and take her to Enchantia. She had been willing them to do just that but nothing had happened yet. Everything must be quiet in Enchantia, thought Delphie. The shoes only took her to the magic land when the characters needed her help. Delphie didn’t know whether to feel glad for her friends that everything must be OK or whether to wish something would go wrong so she could go and see them all!
She leaned over and picked the shoes up. The beautiful music from Swan Lake swelled through the room. Delphie couldn’t resist slipping the ballet shoes on. She sighed longingly. If only I could get up and dance, she thought.
As she did up her ribbons, she heard the front doorbell. Delphie’s mum answered it. There was the murmur of voices and then Mrs Durand called from the hall, “Delphie! There’s a friend here from your ballet class to see you … Sukie.”
Sukie! What was she doing calling round? Coming over to gloat probably, thought Delphie, her heart sinking. The last thing she felt like doing was seeing Sukie.
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