The Coconut Clue

by Helen Perelman

“I’m sure you’ll make something super sugar-tastic,” Cocoa said.

  “Where did our friend the gum-gum bird go?” Dash said, looking around.

  Melli put her hand up to shade her eyes from the sun. She looked up at the sky. “I don’t know where she went, but I think our company is back,” she said.

  High above the nest, the group of gum-gum birds lined up on the surrounding branches.

  “Maybe they don’t like that we have the wand,” Cocoa said.

  Raina had never seen such an angry reaction from an animal in Gummy Forest. She took care of the gummy bears, fish, and other animals.

  “We’d better take cover,” Melli said, looking concerned. “Without our gum-gum friend here, we are not safe out in the open.”

  “Melli’s right,” Cocoa said. “Let’s duck under these gummy vines in the nest so we can figure out what to do about these angry birds. We need to stay covered until we figure out what is going on with the gum-gums and this wand.”

  “We’ve finally got the wand and the coconut in the same place,” Dash said. “Can’t we see what happens when this wand is put together?”

  Melli opened the Tropical Treasures book. She flipped through some pages. “We really need to know about the wand before we try to use it.”

  Raina had to admit that Melli was making a good point. She wasn’t thinking as clearly as Melli. As much as she wanted to try the wand, she knew even fairies had to be careful with something that might be magic. . . .

  “With any magic, we have to be sure we’re careful,” Raina said. “Who knows what mischief we can make if we start waving this wand around.”

  “Maybe we’ll get some candy,” Dash muttered. “Candy with delicious tropical colors and tastes.” She rubbed her stomach and licked her lips.

  “Or we could get some sour magic,” Cocoa said. “We should look up more stories.”

  Dash hung her head low. “Oh, I was afraid someone was going to say that,” she said.

  Raina moved some of the gummy vines aside to make room. The five friends huddled together around the Tropical Treasures book. In chapter fifteen, Raina pointed to the page. “Read this!” she cried. “There were two wands in two different kingdoms!”

  “So there is another wand in Ice Cream Isles,” Melli said. “That makes sense!”

  Berry took the coconut from Raina. “And if we place this coconut on the end, we solve the problem of the missing tropical gummy flavors in Candy Kingdom!”

  “But why was the wand hidden in Gummy Lagoon?” Raina asked. “I think we need to know that part of the story.”

  The squawking gum-gums were getting louder.

  “They know we’re here,” Dash said.

  Raina flipped to the next chapter in Tropical Treasures. “There must be more stories in here about Gummy Lagoon,” she said. “I bet there is another clue in here about why the gum-gums are so angry at us.”

  “Can you read faster?” Cocoa asked.

  Raina looked up. The birds were getting louder. “We need to face them,” she said bravely. “They must be scared. Think about it: No Candy Fairy has been here in years. We need to explain to them that we mean no harm.”

  “Do you think you can explain that?” Melli asked. “Did you find any reason for why the birds hid the wand?”

  Raina turned the page and saw the answer to that question. “I’ve got it!” she cried. “I know why the gum-gums hid the wand!”

  “Good timing,” Berry said, peeking out from the nest. “We are surrounded by gum-gums!”

  Gummy Secrets

  Trolls!” Raina exclaimed. “There was a troll stealing candy from Gummy Lagoon!” She turned Tropical Treasures around to show her friends. “Look!” She tapped the picture in the book. “Her name was Guma, and she stole gummy candy—tropical-flavored gummy candy!”

  “Whoa,” Berry said. “Look at her. She looks bigger than Mogu!”

  “I wouldn’t want to meet up with her,” Melli said, covering her eyes.

  Raina read the passage to her friends. “Guma lived in the lagoon many years before Mogu came to Sugar Valley. She would hide out in the quicksand. The greedy troll would steal the gummy candies and leave none for the gum-gums. For years she roamed the lagoon and stole candy.”

  “No wonder the gum-gums don’t want the wand being used again,” Cocoa said. “What a terrible feeling to have your candy taken from you.”

  “Now I understand why the gum-gums hid the wand,” Berry said. “They thought they were protecting the lagoon by stopping the tropical harvests. If there were no more gummies, then there would be no more troll.”

  “But hiding the wand wasn’t the answer,” Raina said. “We have to get the gum-gums to see that they can’t be afraid of trolls. Everyone deserves to enjoy the delicious tropical flavors.” She closed the book and put it back in her bag. “Those pictures in the cave showed us one solution to the problem: The gum-gums took the wand from Gem the Gummy Fairy and hid it away. But that isn’t the best solution.”

  “I hope we can get the gum-gums to understand that we can’t hide from trolls,” Cocoa said.

  “If we hid from trolls all the time, Sugar Valley wouldn’t have any candy!” Dash exclaimed.

  “Hagoo introduced us to that nice gum-gum bird,” Melli said. “Where is that bird now? She would be able to speak to the others.”

  Berry looked out at the surrounding trees. “It would be nice to have a friend in the bunch now,” she said.

  “We should give them some candy,” Cocoa said. “Remember what Dash said: Come prepared! We do have candy. Let’s give them some.”

  The squawking was growing louder and louder. More birds lined the branches of the tree where the Candy Fairies were hiding. Even though the birds couldn’t see the fairies hidden in the nest, they knew they were there.

  “That is worth a try,” Raina said. “We need to act quickly. I hope our gum-gum friend returns soon, but in the meantime, Cocoa is right. Let’s make a Candy Fairies special treat for these birds.”

  Raina parted the gummy vines of the nest and flew out. She waved her arms above her head. “Hello!” she said. She waited a moment and chose her words carefully. “We’re Candy Fairies. We have some of our own candy to share with you.”

  The birds quieted down and stayed perched on the branches of the trees.

  “I think they understood,” Cocoa whispered.

  “Actually, I don’t think they are mad,” Raina said. “Look at them. These sounds are cheers of happiness. These gum-gums aren’t mad. They are happy!”

  “And look!” Berry said, pointing. “There’s Hagoo!”

  The Candy Fairies flew to the edge of the nest, holding chocolates, mints, caramels, and lollipops. They flew around the tree branches and sprinkled candy over the gum-gums.

  “I think they like the treats,” Melli whispered to Raina. “Look how they are eating the candies. It’s a celebration.”

  “Wait!” Raina cried. She pointed up to the northern part of the sky. “Look, our gum-gum friend is back!” she said. The bird landed on the rim of her nest and cooed sweetly to the crowd of birds.

  “What is she saying?” Cocoa asked.

  “The birds wanted the Candy Fairies to come back here,” Raina said, looking around. “They wanted the wand to come out of hiding too.” Raina smiled at the gum-gums and waved to Hagoo crawling on the ground. “I think it’s time we join the wand and the coconut together,” she said.

  “Finally!” Dash cried. “I can’t wait!”

  “Oh, I hope this works,” Melli said with a heavy sigh.

  “I hope we don’t disappoint all these birds,” Raina added. She wasn’t sure what would happen once the wand was put back together.

  Tropical Burst

  Cocoa held up the wand up so Raina could place the coconut on the tip. After dreaming about finding the answer to the lost flavors of Gummy Lagoon, Raina had the power in her hands. The drawings in the cave and the stories in the book all made perfect sense t
o her now. Finally she was given the chance to make the lagoon blossom again.

  “Let’s do this together,” Raina said.

  “Sure as sugar,” Cocoa replied.

  Raina took a deep breath. While Cocoa steadied the wand, she placed the coconut on the tip.

  “Let’s show these gum-gum birds what a tropical candy feast looks like!” Dash said.

  Cocoa raised the wand up. There was complete silence as Cocoa waved the wand around.

  Nothing happened.

  Raina shot Cocoa a worried look. “The wand looks just like the drawings in the cave,” she said, confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “Maybe the wand isn’t working,” Melli said quietly. “Maybe we are too late. It has been a long time.”

  Raina shook her head. “Impossible,” she said. “Wands don’t just stop working. Cocoa, try again.”

  Cocoa waved the wand around again.

  The gum-gums’ wings began to rustle and there was soft squawking.

  Nothing appeared. No tropical feast in a rainbow of colors. There was no gummy magic happening at all. Cocoa put down the wand. There was nothing to celebrate after all.

  “Wait a minute,” Cocoa said. “Remember my chocolate wand?” Cocoa took Raina’s hand. “It only worked when I held it.” She handed the wand to Raina. “You need to try this before we all give up hope. This wand was meant for a Gummy Fairy.”

  “Cocoa’s right!” Berry said. “Don’t give up hope yet, Raina. Give the wand a try yourself.”

  Raina took the wand and closed her eyes. She felt a tingle in her fingers. The wand warmed up the instant she touched it. She opened her eyes and saw the wand start to glow.

  “I think the wand is working,” Dash said. She clapped her hands. “More tropical treats, please!”

  The gum-gums didn’t move a feather. They didn’t make a peep. All the birds in the trees stood at attention as Raina the Gummy Fairy waved the coconut wand.

  And sure as sugar, there was a different result when Raina waved the wand.

  All around them, plants sprouted up, trees became fuller, and flowers began to bloom. A burst of colors covered the area, and a sweet scent of tropical fruit filled the air.

  There was squawking again: The birds were celebrating!

  “Raina!” Melli cried. “You did it!”

  “There is magic in the wand!” Berry said. She hugged Raina tightly. “We needed a Gummy Fairy’s touch. You brought the magic back to Gummy Lagoon.”

  “We all brought the magic back,” Raina told her. She flew over to the gum-gum bird who had showed her kindness. “Thank you for believing in me and my friends,” she said. She wasn’t sure if the bird understood, but the bird cooed softly. “Fairy promise that we will help protect you from Mogu or any other troll who wanders through here.”

  The gum-gum bird spread her wings and let out a deep sigh. She shook some nearby branches and a shower of brand-new candies fell into her nest.

  The colors of the candies were not familiar to Raina or her friends. She knew at once these must be the lost flavors, and she was so excited to try the candies. She smiled at the gum-gum bird and picked up a pale yellow gummy. Holding the candy in her hand, she tried to imagine what flavor the candy would be.

  When a burst of pineapple filled her mouth, she grinned. “Supersweet!” she said. She turned to her friends. “You must try these!”

  “Mango!” Dash said as she popped a pale orange treat into her mouth. “I want to try every color and shape! I could spend all day here!”

  “Coconut!” Cocoa cried. She licked her fingers after trying a white gummy candy.

  Berry and Melli reached for gummies sprinkled in the nest. Their faces lit up when they tasted the candies.

  “Lickin’ lollipops!” Berry exclaimed. “This is delicious.”

  “And look, the cocoa monkeys are munching on those gummy bananas growing on the trees!” Dash said. “I need to try those too!” She flew off to pick one of the new gummy candies from the tree in front of her.

  “Better than I imagined,” Melli said, after eating a mango-flavored flower. “Wait till Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop see all this. They won’t believe their eyes.”

  “Let’s send a sugar fly right away,” Raina said. She waved down a messenger and sent a quick note to Candy Castle. “They have to see all this. What a sight this place is now!”

  The gum-gum bird sat back in her nest, cooing happily. Raina flew to her side.

  “Guma is long gone,” Raina told her. “There might be other trolls to watch out for, but we will look after you and the others. These treats should be for all the fairies and animals in Sugar Valley.”

  The gum-gum bird nodded. All around them, a celebration continued. Gum-gum birds were singing happily, and Hagoo raised his head proudly. Raina saw that the old alligator was pleased. Once again the lagoon was filled with brightly colored candies. No longer was the area dull and barren.

  “Thank you, Hagoo,” Raina said, flying down to the alligator. “Without you, this would not have happened.”

  Hagoo bowed his head. He seemed very pleased. Raina threw her arms around the orange alligator and gave a tight squeeze. “I will never forget how brave and smart you were today.”

  “Did you see all the gummies on these branches?” Dash said, flying over to Raina and Hagoo. “Or on those vines over there?”

  Raina laughed. There was something to look at all around them. She was so glad that Gummy Lagoon would once again be a place where Candy Fairies and gummy animals could harvest and enjoy candy.

  Now they just needed to keep the gum-gums and their candy supply safe from trolls. As the celebration continued around her, Raina was thinking of a plan to keep trolls out of Gummy Lagoon. Once Mogu heard of the return of the tropical gummy candy, he was sure to show up.

  Raina had to think of a plan. She had made a fairy promise and had to keep it.

  Sweet Endings

  Raina signaled to her friends. The five fairies huddled together on a branch near the nest.

  “We need to come up with a plan to help the gum-gums feel safe,” Raina said. She was trying to keep her voice low, but the celebration going on around them made that difficult. She didn’t want to upset the birds and the monkeys. Raina wanted them to enjoy the happy moment. But she also wanted to be prepared.

  “I hope Mogu is not on his way here now,” Melli said. “He will want to see what all the fuss is about.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking,” Raina said. She watched the scene down below the tree. The cocoa monkeys and the gum-gum birds were so happy . . . and making a huge amount of noise.

  “When he sees what is going on here, he is going to want to stay!” Dash said.

  “He won’t be able to resist all this new candy,” Berry added.

  “Who could blame him?” Dash asked, popping more gummies into her mouth. “These treats not only look good, they are good! He is going to want to have some himself.”

  Raina thought about what Dash had just said. And if Raina had meant it that the tropical candy should be for everyone in Sugar Valley, she had to include Mogu as well. “Mogu is welcome to some candy, but not all the candy,” she said. “A troll’s greed is what started all this, and now that we have the wand back, we have to be careful.”

  “How are you going to stop Mogu?” Melli asked.

  “He is definitely not known for stopping his candy stealing,” Cocoa added.

  “If he takes more than his share, he won’t be allowed back,” Raina said firmly. “That rule is the same for everyone throughout Sugar Valley.”

  Dash rolled her eyes. “Funny how he forgets that rule,” she said.

  “We can’t punish him before he does something wrong,” Raina told her.

  Melli fluttered her wings. “Just like we thought! Here he comes!” she said. She pointed down below, near the lagoon. “I knew his nose would sniff these fresh flavors out!”

  As expected, the hungry troll was curious about a
ll the new scents and had come to see what all the fuss was about. From the tree branch, the Candy Fairies saw Mogu slowly making his way toward them. His shirt was stained with chocolate, and his large belly hung over his short pants. A line of Chuchies followed him as he stomped through the gummy grass.

  “Let’s go talk to him,” Raina said. She swooped down before her friends could stop her. She flew right up to the troll. She wasn’t afraid. She had a message to deliver. “Mogu, you can try these candies, but you can’t have them all,” she said.

  Mogu didn’t move. He was still for a moment. He grumbled a bit as the Chuchies scattered around to collect fallen candies.

  “Is he going to listen?” Berry asked.

  “He’d better if he wants to stay,” a voice called from above.

  Raina looked up to see Princess Lolli and Prince Scoop right above them.

  “We got your sugar fly message,” Prince Scoop told Raina, “and we had to come right away to see the work you’ve done here.”

  Princess Lolli flew down to stand next to the Candy Fairies. “Hello, Mogu,” she said.

  Mogu grunted and stomped over to the lagoon, where a long vine was full of colorful bunches of gummy berries.

  “Remember, these candies are for everyone, Mogu,” Princess Lolli said. She turned to Raina. “You and your friends were not only brave, but smart. How did you ever find the lost wand? Many Candy Fairies have searched for the wand and have never found it.”

  The gum-gum bird flew down and landed on Raina’s shoulder.

  “I see you’ve met Sweets,” the princess said.

  “Is that your name?” Raina said, facing the bird.

  Princess Lolli laughed. “Sweets is the leader of the gum-gums and the keeper of the wand. For a long time she did not trust any Candy Fairy to protect the gum-gums from the trolls who might come to take their candies here in the lagoon.”

  “I think Hagoo had a part in making Sweets trust us,” Raina said. “I know Hagoo from my travels through Gummy Forest. He put in a good word for us.”