The Rainbow Opal

by Paula Harrison

  Kanga landed on Summer’s shoulder and she patted his wings. “Good boy, Kanga! I know you don’t like flying in the dark.” She turned to Lottie. “When you get hold of the necklace, I’ll send Kanga across. He’ll collect it from you and bring it back to us. Here, take the torch. You’ll need it to find your way to the bridge.”

  “Thanks!” Lottie put the torch in her pyjama pocket. Then she took hold of the rope and climbed to the top of the bank. “Watch out, everyone! I’m going to swing.”

  “Wait!” Rosalind hurried over and gave her the home-made fishing net. “Take this as well! You might need it to reach the necklace.”

  Lottie held the net in one hand and the rope in the other, and took an enormous leap off the top of the riverbank. She swung across the fast-flowing river, her feet skimming over the water.

  Summer held her breath, hoping that the rope would take Lottie all the way across. But the other girl gave a shriek and there was a splash as she landed in the water near the opposite bank. She jumped up and waved to them, only up to her ankles in water. “It’s all right!” she called to them. “This part is quite shallow. I’ll be able to get the necklace easily.”

  She waded towards the glowing light made by the opal, but the river became deeper and she had to climb back on to the bank.

  Summer and Rosalind watched anxiously. “Try using the net,” shouted Rosalind.

  Lottie crouched down and stretched the fishing net towards the necklace. She dipped the net into the water to scoop out the opal and then jiggled the branch where the chain was caught. At last the necklace fell into the net, caught by the frilly material.

  “She did it!” cried Summer, and Kanga gave a happy squawk.

  Lottie pulled the necklace out of the net and held it up to show them. The rainbow opal dangled on the end of the chain and its ever-changing colours glowed brightly in the dark.

  “Now, Kanga,” said Summer urgently. “Please could you fly over and bring the necklace back to us?”

  Kanga flew straight over to Lottie and took the necklace chain in his beak. Then he hopped on to her arm and spread his wings to fly back again.

  “He understood you,” said Rosalind, amazed.

  Summer smiled. “He’s always been a very clever bird.”

  The rainbow opal shone as Kanga swooped back across the river. He dropped the jewel into Summer’s hand and settled on a tree branch.

  “Thank you, Kanga!” said Summer, beaming. “Lottie! You need to go that way to get to the bridge.” She pointed up the river. “You won’t get lost if you follow the creek.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got the torch so I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you back at the palace,” called Lottie.

  Summer climbed up the riverbank holding the bright opal in the palm of her hand. The jewel shone with a warm orange light and then flickered and turned to a deep, mysterious purple.

  Rosalind clambered up behind her. “That jewel’s amazing!” She watched as it changed colour. “It shines much brighter than the jewels in our rings. That must mean the magic inside is really strong.”

  “I hope so.” Summer thought of poor Custard. Everything depended on the jewel being able to help him. Reaching the top of the bank, she started to run.

  The two girls raced through the trees together. The leaves and branches glowed with the light from the jewel. Summer thought how strange it was to see the wood lit up by one colour after another. It felt as if they were running through an enchanted forest.

  She stopped at the back gate and fumbled with the catch. Rosalind looked up at the palace and noticed an anxious face at Summer’s bedroom window. “There’s Maya!” she said, pointing.

  Maya waved frantically at them before disappearing.

  A cold feeling spread through Summer’s insides. “She’s trying to send us a message. Something must be wrong!”

  They dashed across the garden into the palace and ran up the dark stairs. Summer opened her bedroom door and her chest tightened. She tried to get her breath back so that she could speak. “How … how is he, Maya?”

  “He got worse after you left.” Maya held the little koala very tightly and her dark eyes were sad. “He became quite floppy. I tried to get him to drink some more milk from the bottle, but he wouldn’t.”

  Summer stroked Custard’s fluffy middle. She felt his chest rise and fall very slightly as he breathed. His head rested on Maya’s arm.

  “But you’ve found the rainbow opal,” said Maya. “So everything will be all right, won’t it?”

  Summer opened her hand to reveal the opal necklace and rainbow light burst across the dark room. “I hope so. It’s just … my dad’s story didn’t tell us how the healing powers work or what we have to do.”

  “Try hanging it round his neck,” said Rosalind.

  So Summer carefully looped the chain of the necklace over Custard’s head. The chain was much too long for him. It dangled down so that the shining opal lay against his little legs.

  The princesses waited, hardly daring to breathe as they watched the jewel. Kanga flew in through the open window and watched too. The opal turned a deep sapphire blue then changed to pale yellow.

  “Amazing!” whispered Maya. “All the colours of the rainbow one by one.”

  Custard’s nose twitched and he gave a whimper.

  Rosalind frowned. “Nothing’s happening! Why isn’t it working?”

  “Maybe we just need to wait,” said Summer anxiously. “Perhaps it takes time for the opal to make him better.”

  The minutes ticked by. Kanga stayed quiet, watching with beady eyes. Maya sat down on the bed with Custard on her lap. Summer knelt down next to her, staring at the baby koala and hoping for a sign that he felt well again. Custard closed his eyes and his head flopped against Maya’s arm.

  “This is no good,” said Rosalind at last. “We must have done something wrong.”

  Summer pushed her hand through her golden hair. “But how? I just don’t know what else to do!” She picked up the opal and held it closer to the little koala’s chest.

  Custard opened his little eyes wide and watched the jewel change colour.

  “Please get better, Custard!” said Maya softly.

  Custard gazed steadily at the rainbow opal. Then suddenly he leaned forward and licked it.

  Summer gasped. “Custard! You funny little thing!”

  Soon after Custard licked the rainbow opal, its glowing light began to fade. It grew dimmer and dimmer until it looked just like an ordinary opal again.

  Custard seemed to have more energy. He lifted his head off Maya’s arm and looked around. Then he wriggled and wriggled. Rosalind tried him with the bottle of milk and he drank the whole lot! The girls grinned at each other. Kanga gave a squawk and hopped up and down on the windowsill.

  Summer undid the necklace from Custard’s neck and put it back around her own. “It looks like the magic of the opal worked after all!” She kissed the top of Custard’s furry head.

  “But who would have guessed he needed to lick it?” said Rosalind. “Lottie is never going to believe it!”

  The door burst open and Lottie staggered in with the torch in her hand. Her pyjamas were covered in smears of mud and there were leaves in her hair.

  “Lottie!” said Summer. “Well done for finding your way back over the bridge.”

  “I’m so tired,” Lottie panted. “How’s Custard?”

  “He’s much better now,” said Maya, smiling. “The rainbow jewel was amazing!”

  They told Lottie everything that had happened. Then, as they all felt quite sleepy after the night’s adventures, they settled down to rest for a few minutes. Maya and Summer lay across Summer’s bed, while Rosalind curled up on the soft rug and Lottie lay back in an armchair. Kanga fluffed up his feathers and tucked his beak under his wing.

  When they opened their eyes again, sunlight was pouring through the curtains. Maya’s mum stood in the doorway looking at them all.

  “Well, I didn’t expect to find
you all asleep together! I hope you didn’t stay up too late,” said the queen. “How’s the little koala this morning?”

  Summer picked up Custard and gave him a cuddle. “He seems much hungrier and I think that’s a good sign.”

  “That is a good sign,” said her mum. “That medicine the vet gave us must have done the trick.”

  Lottie’s stomach rumbled. “Actually, I’m pretty hungry too!”

  “Breakfast will be ready very soon,” said the queen, smiling. “There’ll be toast, fried eggs, and bacon sandwiches.”

  “Mmm!” Lottie’s eyes grew round. “I’m going to get dressed!”

  After a hearty breakfast, the princesses took Custard outside. They sat on the palace steps and took turns at feeding him a bottle of milk.

  The king came outside too and looked at them thoughtfully over the top of his glasses. “You’ve done a great job looking after that little koala. It seems that the medicine was more useful than we thought.”

  “Yes, it must have been,” replied Summer, her cheeks growing pink. Would her dad believe her if she told him about the opal’s magic? He smiled at her and winked. Her dad probably would believe her, Summer decided. But for now the magical opal was a Rescue Princesses’ secret!

  Custard finished his milk and Summer was just about to suggest that they went down to the woods, when she heard her mum calling.

  “Summer! Time for your photo!” said the queen.

  “Rats!” said Summer. “I’d forgotten about that.”

  “But at least you don’t have to wear that awful dress,” said Lottie. “The frilly bit got turned into our fishing net.”

  “That’s true!” said Summer. “I hope my mum will let me wear something nicer.”

  Summer hurried into the drawing room wearing her favourite red dress and a tiara that was sprinkled with little flowers. The other girls had also got dressed. Rosalind came in behind her in a dark-blue dress and a crown made from gold and sapphires. Maya paused in the doorway, trying to straighten her heart-shaped tiara on top of her black hair.

  “Here you go, Maya,” said Lottie, helping her. Her own gold and ruby tiara was completely wonky and her red dress had some mud on the sleeves but that didn’t worry her at all!

  The queen was waiting for them. “Girls, you all look lovely!” she said. “I wonder if you’d like to be in the royal photo with Summer?”

  “Oh yes!” said Summer. “Please be in the photo! I don’t want to have my picture taken on my own.”

  “I don’t mind!” said Rosalind. “I quite like having my photo taken.”

  “I don’t mind either,” said Maya.

  Lottie grinned. “Does that mean our picture will be on TV? I’ve never been on TV before.”

  The king came in and heard Lottie’s remark. He smiled. “The picture will be shown to the whole kingdom. You’ll be famous throughout the land.”

  “Maybe we should brush your hair a little first,” murmured the queen, using the hairbrush on each princess in turn.

  Summer set Custard down carefully on one of the sofa cushions. He’d fallen asleep again and she didn’t want him disturbed by the clicking of the camera.

  “Is everyone ready?” said Bill Fleck, looking through the camera lens. “Big smiles, everybody!”

  Squawk! Kanga flew into the room and perched on Summer’s shoulder.

  “Oh dear!” The queen flapped her hands at Kanga. “Shoo, shoo! We can’t have a parrot in a royal photo.”

  “Oh, please, Mum!” cried Summer. “Kanga’s really clean and tidy.”

  “You won’t look smart enough if we let a bird into the picture,” said the queen, and Kanga flapped his wings indignantly.

  “If I may, Your Majesty, the parrot’s feathers make a nice colour contrast,” said Bill earnestly. “I think you will be pleased with the result.”

  “Please, Mum! I don’t want to look smart, I just want to look like me,” Summer pleaded. “I’ll help with the washing-up for weeks!”

  The king’s eyes twinkled. “I think the people of Mirrania will be happy to see that they have an animal-loving princess.”

  The queen sighed. “Oh, all right then.”

  Summer’s heart lifted. She smoothed her dress and straightened her rainbow opal necklace. This was better than she’d ever hoped for – a royal photo with her friends and Kanga!

  Later that day the four princesses sat on the sofa in the palace drawing room and waited for the royal photo to be shown on TV. The king and queen were sitting in armchairs drinking cups of tea. Kanga hopped up and down on the back of the sofa. Summer was hugging Custard, who had just finished another bottle of milk.

  “I hope my eyes aren’t shut in the picture,” said Maya. “I usually blink when anyone takes my photo.”

  “I can promise you that you all look lovely,” said the queen, smiling fondly. “The king and I checked the picture before we gave it to the TV station, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

  A picture of the four girls and Kanga flashed on to the television screen. In the photo, the princesses had big smiles while Kanga tilted his head and cheekily lifted one wing.

  “There it is!” cried Lottie, leaping up from the sofa.

  The newsreader on the television began to speak. “And now, we’re pleased to show you the royal photo of Princess Summer. The whole kingdom has been eagerly waiting to see this picture since the princess’s tenth birthday. Summer is pictured here with her friends, Princesses Maya, Lottie and Rosalind, and her much-loved parrot Kanga.”

  Kanga gave a loud squawk.

  “We all look great,” said Rosalind, smoothing her hair.

  “I’m so glad I didn’t blink at the wrong moment,” said Maya.

  The newsreader continued. “The king and queen have also announced that Summer will be attending the Royal Academy for Princesses in the Kingdom of Middingland once the new term begins. We’d like to wish Summer the best of luck as she starts Princess School. And now on to more news …”

  The king switched off the television. There was a moment of silence. The king and queen looked at Summer. Lottie, Maya and Rosalind stared at the king and queen. Summer gazed at the blank TV screen and Custard was quiet too. Only Kanga carried on as normal, hopping up and down and pecking at the sofa.

  “Erm … we have something we need to talk to you about,” the king told Summer. “We didn’t know they were going to announce it like that on television. But never mind! We’ve decided to send you to the Royal Academy for Princesses next term. It’s an excellent royal school!”

  “But I don’t want to go to this academy place!” Summer’s face turned pink.

  “Please do!” said Lottie excitedly. “I’m going there too! My older sister, Emily, goes there already and she says it’s really good fun.”

  “Really?” said Summer.

  “She loves it there!” said Lottie. “It’s in Middingland, which is where we come from, but there are princesses from all around the world at the school. And they let you keep a pet!”

  Summer glanced at Kanga, who was busily preening his feathers. “Are you really happy about going there?”

  Lottie nodded. “I’m starting next term. I can’t wait! They have bunk beds and the academy’s by the sea so you get to go swimming and sailing.”

  “Let’s talk about it properly after dinner when you’ve had time to get used to the idea,” said the queen.

  “All right,” said Summer. Custard wriggled in her arms and she kissed the top of his furry head. “I think Custard’s strong enough to go back to the forest.”

  “We should go and see if his mother’s come back for him,” said Rosalind. “She could be looking for him right now.”

  The princesses went out into the garden and Kanga flew over their heads.

  “What are we going to do about being Rescue Princesses if two of us are at school?” said Maya suddenly. “We won’t be able to carry on helping animals.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” said Lo
ttie. “I think we can carry on being Rescue Princesses but we might need more girls to join us. Imagine a whole school full of princesses who all know how to rescue animals!”

  “I’m going to ask my mum and dad if I can come to the Royal Academy too,” said Rosalind. “It sounds really good fun.”

  Lottie opened the garden gate and they walked into the wood together. The birds chattered in the treetops and the bushes nearby rustled.

  “I know that Custard’s home is here in the woods but I wish we could keep him forever,” sighed Maya.

  “Me too!” said Lottie. “I know he belongs with his mother but he’s been so adorable.” She rubbed her cheek against Custard’s furry ear.

  A loud rustling sound at the top of a tree made them look up, and a large koala climbed down the trunk.

  “Is that Custard’s mother?” said Rosalind.

  “I think so.” Summer set Custard carefully down on the grass. “If it is, then they’ll know each other right away.”

  The girls backed away a little so that they didn’t alarm the animals. Then they watched as the large koala reached the ground and bounded straight over to the baby. The koalas sniffed each other for a moment. Then Custard climbed on to his mother’s back and she clambered up the tree again.

  Custard clung on to his mother and gazed at Summer with big, dark eyes. Summer called up to him. “Take care, Custard! I won’t forget you.”

  With a flash of bright feathers, Kanga flew down to Summer’s shoulder and chattered into her ear.

  Summer laughed. “Don’t worry, Kanga! I won’t forget you either.”

  “We could never forget you, Kanga,” said Lottie. “You’re the only parrot I’ve ever met who hops like a kangaroo!”

  Can’t wait for

  The Rescue Princesses’s next

  daring animal adventure?

  Turn the page for

  a sneaky peek!

  Princess Ella gazed at the trees and hedges flashing past the car window. She linked her fingers together tightly and tried to ignore the fluttering feeling inside her. It wouldn’t be long now. Soon they would reach the Royal Academy for Princesses, her new school!