Amelie the Seal Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  Magic Lantern

  Conch Confusion

  Pirates on the Prowl!

  Wings and a Walrus

  Pupnapped!

  Picture Perfect

  “Look at the lighthouse, Rachel!” Kirsty Tate exclaimed to her best friend, Rachel Walker. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  Rachel shaded her eyes from the sun and gazed at the lighthouse. The tall, newly-painted red and white building stood proudly among the rocks at the harbor entrance. “It’s very nice,” Rachel agreed. “It looks so much better than it did before.”

  “Everyone in town helped raise the money to renovate the lighthouse and turn it into an artists’ studio,” Kirsty’s gran explained. Kirsty and Rachel were spending their spring vacation with her in the coastal town of Leamouth. “There’s been a lot of work going on since the last time you were here.”

  Rachel and Kirsty glanced at each other and smiled. On their last visit to Leamouth, they’d met Shannon the Ocean Fairy. The girls had helped her to recover three enchanted pearls that had been stolen by Jack Frost and his goblins.

  Now Rachel and Kirsty were in the middle of another thrilling fairy adventure! At the beginning of their vacation, King Oberon and Queen Titania had invited the girls to come to the Fairyland Ocean Gala. It was held on the beach just outside the Royal Aquarium.

  There, Rachel and Kirsty had seen Shannon again, along with her friends, the seven Ocean Fairies: Ally the Dolphin Fairy, Amelie the Seal Fairy, Pia the Penguin Fairy, Tess the Sea Turtle Fairy, Stephanie the Starfish Fairy, Whitney the Whale Fairy, and Courtney the Clownfish Fairy.

  They told the girls that the highlight of the Ocean Gala was always the moment when Shannon played the magic golden conch shell. It brought peace and order to the oceans of Fairyland and the human world each year.

  But just as she was about to do that, Jack Frost had appeared and ordered his goblins to grab the golden conch shell. As the goblins argued with each other, the shell had fallen to the ground and shattered into seven shining pieces.

  Immediately, a bolt of icy magic from Jack Frost’s wand had sent the pieces whirling away into the human world. Rachel, Kirsty, and the fairies were horrified! They knew that without the golden conch shell, there would be chaos in oceans everywhere.

  “Last time we were in Leamouth, Jack Frost was up to his old tricks,” Kirsty whispered to Rachel, as her gran walked along the path to the lighthouse. “Now we’re back again, and so is he! We have to find all the pieces of the conch shell, Rachel, so that it can be put back together again.”

  “Don’t forget that the magic ocean creatures will be guarding the missing pieces,” Rachel reminded her.

  Luckily, Queen Titania had acted quickly after Jack Frost and his goblins had vanished. Inside the Royal Aquarium, she’d shown the girls the seven magic ocean creatures who belonged to the Ocean Fairies: a dolphin, a seal, a penguin, a turtle, a starfish, a whale, and a clownfish. All of them glittered with golden fairy magic. Then, with a wave of the queen’s wand, the creatures had vanished. Queen Titania’s spell had sent them into the human world to guard the seven missing pieces of shell until Kirsty, Rachel, and the Ocean Fairies could find them and bring them back to Fairyland.

  “Yes, but Jack Frost knows about Queen Titania’s spell now, and he’s sent his goblins out to look for the shell pieces, too,” Kirsty pointed out anxiously.

  “Well, we helped Ally and Echo the dolphin return the first piece to Fairyland, didn’t we?” Rachel replied. “Now we just have to wait for the magic to come to us again!”

  “Girls, come along,” Kirsty’s gran called. “I don’t want to be late for my painting class.”

  Kirsty and Rachel ran to catch up with her. As they approached the lighthouse, they saw that a line of easels overlooking the ocean had been set up outside. There were people sitting at some of the easels, painting views of the water and the lighthouse. “Maybe you’d like to explore the lighthouse for a while, girls?” Gran suggested as she headed for an empty easel. “It’s been renovated inside, too, and there are lots of paintings on display. Even the big old lantern right at the top is working again. It’s just for show, though. Ships don’t need it to tell them where the shore is anymore.”

  Leaving Gran to unpack her paints and brushes, the girls wandered over to the lighthouse. The door was open, and Rachel and Kirsty went inside.

  “Let’s climb right up to the top,” Rachel suggested.

  “Good idea,” said Kirsty, heading for the narrow spiral staircase. The walls on either side of the steps were hung with watercolor paintings, pencil sketches, and collages of different views of Leamouth. The girls stopped occasionally to take closer looks.

  “I can’t believe the big lantern is working again, can you?” Kirsty asked as they climbed higher. “Last time we were here, the bulb was broken and Shannon had to use her fairy magic to make it light up.”

  “Yes, we had to stop that cruise ship, the Seafarer, from hitting the rocks,” Rachel remembered. “That was almost a disaster, thanks to Jack Frost and his goblins!” She glanced up the stairs as they approached the top of the lighthouse. “The lantern is probably only turned on at night—”

  Suddenly Rachel broke off, her heart pounding. They were almost at the top of the stairs now and she could see a sparkling golden glow ahead of them, coming from the lantern room.

  “What is it, Rachel?” Kirsty asked curiously from behind her.

  “I can see a light coming from the lantern!” Rachel declared.

  “Why would the lantern be turned on?” Kirsty asked, confused. “It’s the middle of the day.”

  “That glow isn’t from a lightbulb,” Rachel replied, “I think it’s fairy magic!”

  Breathless with anticipation, the two girls ran up the last few steps and into the room at the very top of the lighthouse. Sure enough, the lantern was glowing with a magical golden light.

  “Look, Rachel!” Kirsty cried, pointing at the mirrors surrounding the lantern. “There are lots of fairies!”

  “But they all look the same,” Rachel said sounding confused. Then she burst out laughing. “Kirsty, it’s only one fairy!” Rachel explained. “Those are just reflections.”

  The girls heard a tinkling little laugh, and a tiny fairy flitted out from inside the lantern. She had long brown hair with straight bangs, and she wore a patterned dress, gladiator sandals, and a chunky beaded bracelet on her wrist.

  “It’s me, girls,” she cried, “Amelie the Seal Fairy!”

  Smiling widely, Amelie flew over to Rachel and Kirsty.

  “It’s great to see you again, Amelie,” said Rachel. “How are Ally and Echo the dolphin?”

  “Echo’s very glad to be back in the Fairyland Aquarium,” Amelie replied, twirling her wand. “But she’s lonely because all the other tanks are still empty! I just have to find Silky, my seal, and the second piece of shell.”

  “So what are you doing here, Amelie?” asked Kirsty.

  “I thought I might be able to spot Silky from the top of the lighthouse,” Amelie explained. “And I did! He’s with a pod of seals at the farthest end of the shoreline.”

  “So the shell must be close by!” Rachel exclaimed. “What are we waiting for?”

  Amelie laughed. Hovering around Kirsty and Rachel, she pointed her wand at them. A misty cloud of sparkling fairy magic swirled around the girls, lifting them gently off their feet.

  When the magic sparkles cleared, Rachel and Kirsty opened their eyes. They found themselves standing on a large flat stone on a deserted outcrop at the end of Leamouth beach. To their amazement, they were surrounded by a small group of sleek gray seals! One of the seals had an adorable, furry white baby nestled close to her side.

  “I�
�ve never seen seals in Leamouth before,” Kirsty said with delight.

  “That’s because they’re not usually around here at all!” Amelie told her. “The missing golden conch shell is causing all kinds of chaos for ocean creatures.”

  “The seals do look very strange,” Rachel pointed out. The seals were barking excitedly to each other and scooting around the rocks on their flippers. It seemed like they were searching for something. “Do you see those pelicans on the beach over there?” Rachel continued, spotting two white birds with huge yellow bills. They were scooping up piles of shells with their enormous beaks as fast as they could, and dumping them on the rocks. “What are they doing? The only animal who’s acting normally is that walrus asleep on the rocks—”

  Suddenly Rachel broke off. She stared at the huge, heavy, brown walrus with long white tusks, sleeping in the sun.

  “Now I’m really confused!” she exclaimed. “Pelicans and walruses don’t live in Leamouth either, do they?”

  Amelie shook her head. “No, these animals are far from home. It’s all because of the lost golden conch shell,” she explained. “You can see why we have to find the pieces and put it back together again!”

  Kirsty gazed out over the ocean with a frown on her face.

  “The missing shell might not be the only thing that’s bothering the seals,” she said anxiously. “Look!”

  Rachel and Amelie turned and saw a row boat bobbing slowly toward the rocks where they were standing. The boat had a mast made out of a tree branch with a tattered flag flying from the top.

  “There’s a picture on the flag,” Rachel said. She squinted in the sunshine, trying to make it out.

  “I hope it doesn’t have a skull and crossbones on it,” Kirsty joked.

  Amelie shook her head. “It’s much worse than that, girls,” she said solemnly. “It’s a picture of Jack Frost. Goblins ahoy!”

  As the boat came a little closer, Rachel and Kirsty could see that Amelie was right. The flag fluttering in the breeze did have a picture of Jack Frost scowling darkly on it.

  “How many goblins are there?” Kirsty asked, straining to see.

  “Three, I think,” Rachel replied. Then she smothered a giggle. “Look!” she whispered. “They’re pretending to be pirates!”

  The three goblins were dressed in pirate costumes. They wore baggy pants, floppy white shirts, and big leather boots. One had a pirate hat, one had a red and white spotted bandanna, and the third was wearing a black eye patch.

  “Look at their boat!” Amelie exclaimed suddenly. “It’s full of shells.” Rachel and Kirsty could see now that the boat was overflowing with hundreds of different shells.

  The goblins were sorting carefully through the pale, shining piles of cream, pink, and yellow shells, examining each one carefully and then tossing it away in disgust.

  “They’re looking for the missing pieces of the golden conch shell!” Kirsty guessed as a goblin tipped a bucket of discarded shells into the ocean.

  “Well, they obviously haven’t found any yet,‘’ said Amelie, looking relieved.

  Rachel glanced around. There were thousands of shells lying on the rocks and the beach, plus huge piles in the goblins’ boat.

  “Neither have we, though!” she pointed out, looking worried. “How will we ever find one piece of shell in all of these other shells?”

  Kirsty nodded in agreement. “The golden conch shell has a magical shimmer,” she said, “but all of these shells are sparkling in the sunshine!”

  “Don’t worry, girls,” Amelie said, glancing at their downcast faces. “I know that Silky is around here somewhere. He’ll help us find one of the missing pieces. I’ll call him with my song. …”

  Fluttering around Rachel and Kirsty, Amelie began to sing:

  At the sound of Amelie’s sweet, soothing voice, the sea creatures around them grew still and calm. The seals lay down on the rocks, and the pelicans stopped scooping up shells.

  Rachel glanced at the walrus, who was still sleeping peacefully. The next moment, she saw a seal’s head pop up from behind the walrus’s huge body. As the seal stared at them with bright eyes, Rachel saw a faint mist of golden sparkles around it.

  “Silky!” Rachel exclaimed.

  Amelie spun around and spotted her seal. Silky bounded out from behind the walrus and rushed across the rocks toward her.

  “Good boy, Silky!” Amelie laughed, patting his head. “Now, where’s the missing piece of shell?”

  Silky barked excitedly. Rolling over, he pointed his flipper at the walrus, who was still happily snoring away on the rocks.

  Amelie turned to Rachel and Kirsty with a frown.

  “Girls,” she announced, “Silky says that the walrus is on top of the shell. Somehow, we have to move that walrus!”

  “Oh, no!” Rachel gasped.

  “How can we get the walrus to move?” Kirsty wanted to know.

  “We’ll ask him very politely!” Amelie suggested. “Come on.”

  Rachel and Kirsty climbed over the rocks toward the sleeping walrus, while Amelie hovered just above him.

  “Excuse me!” Amelie said, giving the walrus a gentle tap with her wand.

  The walrus snorted and sighed grumpily, but didn’t open his eyes.

  “Maybe we could all say it together,” Kirsty suggested.

  “On three, then,” Amelie agreed. “One, two, three!”

  “EXCUSE ME!” Rachel, Kirsty, and Amelie said loudly.

  The walrus stirred a little. He wiggled his nose, yawned widely, and then sank back onto the rocks without opening his eyes. Seconds later, he was sound asleep again.

  “This isn’t working.” Kirsty sighed.

  “There’s no way two girls and a fairy can move a walrus!” Rachel added, frustrated.

  “Wait, I have an idea!” Amelie exclaimed. With a quick flick of her wrist, she sent a shower of magical sparkles from the tip of her wand straight toward Rachel and Kirsty. The girls began to shrink down to fairy-size. Just a few seconds later, they were flying up into the air to join Amelie. The paper-thin, shimmering wings on their backs glittered in the sunlight.

  “Why did you turn us into fairies, Amelie?” Kirsty asked, looking very confused. “Now we’re even smaller, and it’ll be even harder to move the walrus!”

  Amelie smiled. “Sometimes, all anyone needs is a little laughter,” she replied mysteriously.

  Kirsty and Rachel glanced at one another.

  “OK, so the walrus does look pretty grumpy!” Rachel agreed. “But how will laughing help?”

  “And how do you make a walrus laugh anyway?” Kirsty added. “By telling walrus jokes?” Amelie burst out laughing herself. “No, you tickle it!” she explained. “And there’s nothing better for tickling than fairy wings. Let’s give it a try before the goblins come to shore.”

  Amelie, Rachel, and Kirsty flew down closer to the walrus. All three of them began to flutter their wings against the walrus’s neck, tickling him gently. Silky sat on some nearby rocks, in case they needed help.

  “Is it working?” Kirsty panted as she tickled away.

  “Yes, he’s opening his eyes!” Amelie cried. Silky barked encouragement and clapped his flippers.

  “Keep tickling, girls!” Amelie instructed. The walrus blinked, grunted a few times, and began to wiggle and shake. Then he opened his mouth and let out a loud bellow.

  “He’s laughing!” Amelie said.

  Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t help laughing themselves as the walrus wiggled a little more, rolling heavily from side to side.

  As he rolled over and away from her, Kirsty caught a faint glimpse of a magical golden glow.

  “There’s definitely a piece of the golden conch shell under the walrus!” she told Rachel and Amelie excitedly. “We just need him to move a little more so we can grab it.” “More tickling, girls!” Amelie instructed. Rachel and Kirsty’s wings were getting tired, but they did as Amelie said. The walrus snorted and groaned with laughter. He began to roll
around more and more!

  “Just a little further!” Kirsty said eagerly, catching another glimpse of shimmering golden light.

  Suddenly, a loud BANG made Amelie and the girls jump.

  “What was that?”.” Rachel gasped, spinning around.

  “It’s the goblins!” Amelie cried, pointing to the ocean. “Look, they hit a rock and made a big hole in the side of their boat!”

  The goblins had been so busy sorting through their shells that they hadn’t been paying attention to where they were going. Their boat had smashed right into the rocks! Now the boat was filling up with water and starting to sink slowly beneath the waves.

  “Help!” the goblins yelled, as they frantically tried to bail water out of the boat with wooden buckets. “HELP!”

  “Come on, girls!” Amelie flew into the air. “We have to help them!”

  Leaving the walrus lying on the shell, Rachel and Kirsty rushed after Amelie. The goblins were squealing with fright. They were all trying to climb up the mast to escape from the water in the bottom of the boat.

  “Stay calm, and don’t panic!” Amelie called down to them. She waved her wand over some thick, dark strands of seaweed floating on the waves. The magical fairy sparkles lifted the seaweed up and carried it over to the boat. As Rachel and Kirsty watched, the strands of seaweed plastered themselves against the hole in the side, quickly filling the gap.

  “The boat stopped sinking,” Rachel said, relieved.

  “Follow me,” Kirsty shouted to the three goblins. “I’ll lead you through the rocks.” She flew ahead, and the goblins rowed their boat after her. Then Amelie, Rachel, and Kirsty took the rope the goblins tossed to them and tethered the boat to one of the biggest rocks.