Layla the Cotton Candy Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  “Ah, but what if we could help you get away from the kids?” Rachel said.

  “Would you give it to us then?”

  “We could make a deal,” Kirsty added quickly. “You said yourself that having the charm is too much hard work, after all.”

  “And I’m sure you don’t want to be trapped here by all those noisy kids . . .” Layla coaxed, as their voices grew louder.

  Then the boy in the red T-shirt appeared a few feet away. The boy whooped with triumph and pointed at the clown. “There he is!” he cried. “I found him!”

  The clown gulped as he saw all the kids charging toward him.

  “Oh, all right, all right!” he muttered to the fairies. “You can have the charm. Just don’t let them catch me and take all my cotton candy!”

  Layla waved her wand and burst into action. A new mirror appeared in a bright flurry of pink sparkles. It sliced through the short hallway between the kids and the clown.

  “Whoa, that was weird,” the fairies heard the boy say to his friends. “I’m sure he was there a minute ago. It’s like he just magically disappeared!”

  The clown chuckled with relief. “Nice work, fairy,” he said.

  But Layla wasn’t finished! Two seconds later, one of the mirrors behind the clown vanished, giving him an easy escape route through the maze. “There,” she said. “How’s that?”

  “Wow,” the clown marveled, his eyes boggling at her amazing magic. “Thanks for that.” And he turned and dashed away, his huge clown shoes slapping against the floor.

  “Wait a minute,” Layla called, flying after him. “Don’t forget our deal. You have to give me my charm back now.”

  “Not a chance,” he yelled over his shoulder. “So long!”

  “Hey!” Rachel cried. “That’s not fair. You agreed!”

  The clown just laughed and kept running. He ran all the way out of the maze and through the fair, still clutching the cotton candy. Kirsty, Rachel, and Layla flew as fast as they could after him, but they couldn’t quite catch up.

  “We can’t let him get away,” Layla said breathlessy. “Keep flying, girls!”

  The clown ran out of the fair and into a small group of trees at the edge of the park. The fairies followed him into a clearing. There they saw a huge mound of rainbow-colored cotton candy!

  “Wow,” Rachel said, staring in surprise. “It’s like a cotton candy mountain.”

  The clown turned around, hearing her. “Yes, and you’re not getting any of it,” he told the fairies sharply. “I worked my socks off collecting this for Jack Frost’s hedges. It’s the best cotton candy in town.” He made a face at Layla. “I think you should let me keep your cotton candy charm, actually,” he went on. “I’m much better at making this stuff than any fairy.”

  “Oh, really?” said Layla, annoyed.

  “Yeah, really,” he retorted, climbing up the colorful mountain to dump his new cotton candy on the very top. “Look at this,” he said, bouncing on his toes and springing back up. “Super-soft and super-bouncy. It’s perfect!”

  Layla was about to argue with him, but just then, Kirsty had an idea. She quickly spoke up. “That does look bouncy,” she said admiringly. “I bet it makes a great trampoline. Can I have a try?”

  “Oh, yes! Me, too!” Rachel cried. “Please?”

  The clown sneered down at them. “No way,” he told them. “This is my cotton candy mountain. If anyone’s going to bounce on it, it’s me. Watch this!”

  He gave an enormous leap and boinged straight back up again. “Ha-ha!” he laughed. “This is fuuuun!”

  Layla sighed. “I can’t bear to watch,” she said. “He’s ruining the only good cotton candy at the whole fair with those huge, dirty feet of his.”

  “Wait,” Kirsty urged in a low voice. “I’m hoping all the bouncing might shake the cotton candy charm loose if it’s in his pocket. You never know.”

  “Good idea!” Layla smiled. “Let’s hope so.”

  Unfortunately, the magic charm didn’t fly out of the clown’s pocket — because just then, he tripped on his big clown shoes. “Whoa!” he yelled as he toppled over and went rolling down the mountain. “Help!”

  Rachel, Kirsty, and Layla couldn’t help giggling as he rolled down. Strands of sticky cotton candy wound around him as he went. By the time he reached the bottom, he was in the middle of a tight cotton candy ball, with his head sticking out of one end and his clown feet out the other!

  Layla grinned and raised an eyebrow. “Whoops,” she said to the clown as he kicked and hollered. “How in the world are you going to get out of that?”

  “Help!” the clown called, thrashing his head around as he struggled to free himself. It was no use! He was completely stuck in the ball of cotton candy. He just rolled a little from side to side, like a beetle on its back.

  “Help?” echoed Rachel, pretending to think. “But last time we helped you, you didn’t keep your end of the deal. Why would we help you again?”

  “It’s true,” Layla said. “If you’d given me the cotton candy charm the first time, like you promised, we might be willing to help you out now, but . . .”

  She left the sentence hanging, and the clown let out a groan.

  “Oh, all right,” he grumbled. “If I give you the charm now, will you help me out of this cotton candy ball?”

  Kirsty grinned. “We will,” she said. “But this time, you give us the charm first.”

  The clown heaved a big sigh. “It’s in my shoe,” he muttered. “Help yourself.”

  Layla quickly turned Kirsty and Rachel back into girls, and they ran around the cotton candy ball to the goblin’s feet. They each pulled off one of his huge shoes. Then they cheered as a pink cotton candy-shaped charm on a silver necklace fell to the ground.

  “Hooray!” cried Layla, swooping down toward it. As soon as she touched the charm, it shrank to fairy-size. She fastened it around her neck. There was a sudden flash of bright pink light, and the little fairy grinned. “My cotton candy magic is working again,” she said happily. “Now cotton candy everywhere should be yummy. And those kids at the fair will be able to enjoy a tasty treat!”

  “Yay!” Rachel cheered. “Good work, Layla.”

  “Same to you two!” the fairy replied. “I couldn’t have done it without your help, that’s for sure.”

  A grumpy cough came from the clown. “Ahem,” he said. “Aren’t you forgetting something? Our deal?”

  Layla’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “A fairy never breaks a promise,” she said. “Unlike some people . . .” She waved her wand, and magic sparkles puffed out of the tip.

  As soon as the fairy magic touched the huge ball of cotton candy, it began to dissolve, twirling up into the air like smoke. After a moment, the clown was free! There was just one small clump of cotton candy left, in the shape of Jack Frost’s head.

  The clown looked unhappy when he saw it, but muttered a thank-you and trudged away. “I hope Jack Frost won’t be too angry with me,” the girls heard him saying as he went, clutching the cotton candy.

  “Thanks again,” Layla said, spinning happily in midair. “I’d better get back to Fairyland now. I need to make some special cotton candy for the Treat Day baskets. If I hurry, I’ll just be in time! But before I go, these are for you.” She waved her wand, and two big sticks of fluffy rainbow cotton candy appeared in Kirsty’s and Rachel’s hands. “Good-bye!”

  “Good-bye!” called Kirsty and Rachel. “And thank you!” They waved as Layla zipped away. Soon she was just a tiny speck of glowing light against the blue sky.

  “We’d better go meet my mom and dad now,” Kirsty said, noticing the time. She took a bite of her cotton candy as they walked. “Oooh! It’s so fluffy and gooey.”

  “Yum,” said Rachel, enjoying a mouthful of hers, too. “It’s the best cotton candy I’ve ever had. And look how spark
ly it is — definitely a fairy magic special!”

  “Helping Layla was really fun,” Kirsty said happily as they made their way back through the fairground. “And now there’s only one Sugar and Spice Fairy left to help.”

  Rachel grinned. “Nina the Birthday Cake Fairy,” she remembered. “We have to help her get her magic charm back, Kirsty, so that all birthday cakes taste yummy — including yours!”

  “You’re right,” said Kirsty. She linked arms with Rachel and giggled. “But no matter what happens, so far this has definitely been my most exciting birthday ever!”

  Rachel and Kirsty found Lisa, Esme, Coco, Clara, Madeline, and Layla’s missing magic charms. Now it’s time for them to help

  Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek. . . .

  “What an amazing birthday this has been!” said Kirsty Tate, twirling happily in the middle of the sidewalk.

  “It’s been the most fun birthday ever,” agreed her best friend, Rachel Walker. “I’ve enjoyed it just as much as you, even though it’s not even MY birthday!”

  Rachel was visiting the Tate family for spring break. Right now, they were walking home from Wetherbury Park with Kirsty’s parents. They had been celebrating Kirsty’s birthday at the village fair!

  “So, what’s been the best thing about your birthday so far?” asked Mr. Tate.

  Kirsty threw her hands into the air. “I can’t decide!” she said with a laugh. “Everything has been perfect. Rachel’s here, Aunt Helen gave us a tour of Candy Land, and we had a great time at the fair.”

  “Well, your birthday is about to get even better,” said Mrs. Tate, raising an eyebrow.

  Kirsty stopped and looked at her parents and Rachel. Their eyes were all sparkling with happiness.

  “We have another birthday surprise for you,” Mr. Tate added.

  Kirsty looked at their smiling faces in excitement. What could it be?

  “You have to tell me what the surprise is!” she pleaded.

  Rachel shook her head. “That would ruin it,” she said. “Come on, let’s hurry back to your house.”

  The girls held hands and rushed ahead.

  “It’s really hard to keep secrets from you,” Rachel said breathlessly. “We usually share all our secrets!”

  In fact, the girls shared one of the biggest secrets imaginable. They were friends with the fairies! Their latest magical adventures were some of the most thrilling they’d ever had.

  “My birthday would be absolutely perfect if we could just help the last Sugar and Spice Fairy get her charm back from Jack Frost,” said Kirsty.

  Two days ago, Jack Frost and his goblins had stolen the magic charms that belonged to the seven Sugar and Spice Fairies. Honey the Candy Fairy had come to ask the girls for their help.

  “We’ve already found six of the magic charms,” said Rachel proudly. “There’s just one more to find.”

  The Sugar and Spice Fairies needed their charms to create all kinds of delicious sweet treats in Fairyland and the human world. But Jack Frost wanted all the treats for his own special project — a giant Candy Castle! He gave the Sugar and Spice Fairies’ charms to his goblins for safekeeping, and ordered them to bring back all the yummy treats from the human world.

  “The worst part is that today is Treat Day in Fairyland,” said Kirsty. “If Queen Titania and King Oberon don’t have goodies to put in the fairies’ treat baskets, Treat Day will have to be canceled!”

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Rainbow Magic Limited c/o HIT Entertainment, 830 South Greenville Avenue, Allen, TX 75002-3320.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-62248-6

  Copyright © 2013 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Previously published as Sweet Fairies #6: Layla the Candyfloss Fairy by Orchard U.K. in 2013.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.

  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.

  First Scholastic printing, March 2014

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