“Avast, my hearties, land ahoy!” the goblin in the bandanna proclaimed.
The goblin with the eye patch scowled. “You’re not the captain of this ship,” he complained, “I am!”
“I’m a better pirate than either of you,” the third goblin said loudly.
“A ‘thank you’ would be nice!” Rachel murmured as the goblins ignored them and continued to argue.
“Let’s leave them to figure it out,” Amelie said with a grin, “and get back to our walrus!”
The three friends flew back the way they’d come. They were just in time to see the walrus lumber off across the rocks.
“Great!” Kirsty beamed, as she swooped down to where the walrus had been lying. “All we have to do now is pick up the piece of shell!” Her face fell as she scanned the rocks just below her. “But where is it?”
Rachel and Amelie flew down to look, too. But there was no sign of the shell piece.
“It’s gone!” Rachel groaned.
Suddenly they heard a shout from one of the goblins. “After him! He has part of the golden conch shell!”
Rachel, Kirsty, and Amelie all turned to look. They saw the goblins running across the rocks, chasing after a little white seal pup. The pup had something golden and shiny in his mouth!
“That seal pup must have picked up the shell after the walrus moved!” Amelie cried. “Come on, girls!”
Amelie, Rachel, and Kirsty soared through the air toward the goblins and the seal pup. The goblin in the bandanna made a grab for the little pup, but at the last second his bandanna slipped right down over his eyes. He let out a shriek. “Help! Where did the daylight go?” The other two goblins shoved him out of the way and crept toward the seal pup. He was now perched on a rock, watching them with big brown eyes. They leaped forward to capture him, but the pup scooted away.
Immediately, Amelie, Rachel, and Kirsty flew down and hovered around the seal pup’s head.
“Hello,” Amelie said gently, “What’s that you have in your mouth? It looks beautiful.”
The pup watched quietly as Amelie floated down to his level. But then, looking mischievous, he ducked aside and rushed off. “He thinks it’s a game!” Kirsty exclaimed as the pup let the goblins get close to him before dashing off again.
“Pesky fairies!” the goblin in the pirate hat shouted, shaking his fist at them. “Go away! The shell’s ours!”
The seal pup had stopped a short distance away and was watching Amelie, the girls, and the goblin in the pirate hat. Suddenly, Rachel noticed that the other two goblins were silently creeping up behind the pup.
“Look out!” Rachel called.
But it was too late. The two goblins pounced on the pup and held him down. The third goblin rushed over to them with a cry of triumph. The three of them began trying to pry the shell from the seal pup’s mouth—but the pup refused to let go.
“Leave him alone!” Amelie called, but the goblins ignored her. Picking up the pup, they began carrying him across the rocks to their boat.
“Oh, no!” Rachel yelled. “The goblins are kidnapping the seal pup!”
The pup yelped loudly, and all the seals on the rocks turned their heads curiously to see what was happening. Before anyone could do anything, the goblins jumped into their boat, untied the rope, and set sail.
“What now?” Kirsty asked, looking upset as Silky and the other seals gathered around them. “The goblin has the seal pup and the shell!”
“Yes,” Rachel agreed. “But we have something better.”
“What?” asked Amelie.
“Just look around you,” Rachel replied, as the goblins began to row as fast as they could away from the rocks. “We have lots of seals to help us! I’m sure Silky and the others can stop the goblins’ boat!”
Amelie’s face lit up. “Great idea, Rachel!” she declared. The fairy turned to Silky. “Silky, it’s up to you and your friends! Can you rescue the seal pup and bring the piece of the golden conch shell back to us?
Silky nodded his sleek head. He barked a few times at the other seals on the rocks, and then all of them slipped silently and smoothly into the water. The goblins were so intent on making their escape, they didn’t notice the seals swimming in their direction.
“Hey!” the goblin wearing the eye patch shouted nervously as Silky knocked against the boat, making it rock from side to side. “Who did that?” He glared at the other two goblins. “Was it you?”
The other goblins scowled back at him. Then all three of them yelled with fear as more of the seals began to bump and rock the boat!
“We’re surrounded by sea monsters!” the goblin in the bandanna moaned, as he clutched the seal pup. “Somebody help us!
Amelie, Rachel, and Kirsty flew across the waves toward them.
“We’ll help you,” Amelie called. “But only if you let the seal pup and the magic shell go!” Rachel and Kirsty waited, holding their breath. They looked at the little seal pup, still holding the piece of shell in its mouth. Would the goblins agree to do what Amelie asked?
“Never!” the goblins yelled.
Then they all let out frightened shouts as a group of seals dived under the water and began swimming underneath their boat, lifting it up in the air.
“We’ll let him go! We’ll let him go!” the goblins cried, gripping the boat and looking scared. The goblin holding the seal pup lowered him into the ocean, and the little seal swam happily over to join his friends. He still held the piece of golden conch shell in his mouth. Seeing that he’d safely reached shore, the rest of the seals headed back to land as well.
“This is a disaster!” the goblin in the pirate hat shouted. “If you two hadn’t been so scared, we wouldn’t have lost that piece of shell!” “You were the most scared of any of us!” the goblin with the eye patch replied. “You’re a silly coward!”
“I am not!” the first goblin declared furiously, jumping up and down in a rage.
“I’m going to be the captain now because I’m braver than you all,” the other goblin announced. The boat began to rock and dip again as the three goblins argued with each other.
“Be careful,” Amelie called, “or you’ll wreck your boat again!”
Rachel and Kirsty laughed as the grumbling goblins sailed away. Meanwhile, the seal pup swam over to Silky and gave him the glittery shell piece. Silky barked a thank you and headed straight for Amelie, holding the shell in his mouth. As he did, there was a burst of golden sparkles, and Silky shrank down to his tiny fairy size.
“Girls, we did it!” Amelie announced happily, flying over to Silky. She gave him a hug and took the shell from his mouth. “We have our piece of the golden conch shell at last. Will you come back to Fairyland with me and give this to Shannon?”
Rachel and Kirsty nodded eagerly. Silky barked good-bye to his seal friends, and the girls and Amelie waved at them.
“Thank you for all your help!” Amelie called, waving her wand over herself, Silky, Rachel, and Kirsty. They were all transported back to Fairyland in a swirling cloud of fairy magic!
When the fairy dust cleared, the girls saw that they were back in the Fairyland Royal Aquarium. Shannon and Ally were waiting for them, looking very excited. Silky was back in his glass tank next to Echo the dolphin, who was thrilled to see him. She swam happily around and around in circles, calling out a greeting.
“Good job!” Shannon declared. “It’s wonderful to have you all back—and with another piece of the golden conch shell, too.”
Amelie held out the shell piece to Shannon. Shannon took it and, cradling it carefully, she walked over to the table where the first piece of shell was waiting on a golden stand.
Rachel and Kirsty watched in amazement as the two pieces of shell sprang toward each other like magnets in a flash of golden light. They fitted together so neatly that, even though the girls studied them closely, they couldn’t see any sign of a crack.
“You see?” Shannon said with a smile. “When we have all the pieces back, the
golden conch shell will be as good as new! Thank you for your help, girls.” She lifted her wand. “And now it’s time to send you home.”
“Good-bye,” Rachel and Kirsty called, waving at Amelie, Silky, Echo, Ally, and Shannon. “We’ll be looking out for the other Ocean Fairies!”
There was a whoosh of glittering fairy dust, and when Kirsty and Rachel opened their eyes again, they found themselves standing at the bottom of the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse.
“Oh, we’re back!” Kirsty said. “Wasn’t that a terrific fairy adventure, Rachel?”
Rachel nodded. “And now we know exactly how to make a walrus laugh!” she replied with a wink.
Smiling, the two girls left the lighthouse and went to find Kirsty’s gran. They could see her still sitting at her easel, absorbed in her painting. But as they got closer, Rachel nudged Kirsty.
“Look at your gran’s picture,” she whispered.
Kirsty’s eyes opened wide. Her gran had painted a group of seals playing on the rocky shore!
“Oh, hello, girls,” Gran called as she dabbed some blue paint onto her canvas. “I wish you’d been here earlier. You won’t believe it, but a pod of seals swam up Leamouth harbor and settled on the rocks over there. They were so beautiful!” Rachel and Kirsty shared a secret smile. They both knew exactly what the other was thinking: Which of the Ocean Fairies and their magical ocean creatures would they meet next?
“Wheeee! This is fun!” squealed Kirsty Tate as she sped along on roller skates. “Beat you to that tree, Rachel!”
Kirsty’s best friend, Rachel Walker, grinned and picked up speed on her skateboard. “I don’t think so,” she yelled breathlessly, overtaking Kirsty at the last moment. “I’m the winner!” she cheered, slapping her hand on the trunk of the old oak tree a split second before Kirsty.
The two girls laughed. It was a sunny spring day and they were on vacation together at the seaside town of Leamouth. They were staying with Kirsty’s gran for a whole week. Today they’d come to Leamouth Park, which overlooked the sea.
“Doesn’t the water look pretty with the sun shining on it?” Kirsty commented dreamily, staring out at the ocean below them. It was a perfect blue.
“I know,” Rachel agreed. “It’s so sparkly, it almost looks magical.” Then she grinned at Kirsty. “Speaking of magic, I hope we meet another Ocean Fairy today!”
“Me, too,” Kirsty said.
Kirsty and Rachel started down the path again. Before long, Kirsty heard tinkling music drift over to them. “Is that an ice-cream truck?” she asked hopefully, feeling hungry at the thought. Her gran had given them some spending money, and suddenly it seemed like breakfast had been a long time ago.
“Yes!” Rachel said, speeding farther down the path and spotting the colorful van parked near the playground. It was still playing its cheerful tune and a large plastic ice-cream cone rotated on the roof of the van. “Come on, let’s go over and have a look.”
The girls raced up to the van and gazed at the pictures of ice cream on the side. A friendly-looking man with a white hat on his head leaned out of the window. “What would you like, girls?” he asked.
“Creamsicle, ice-cream sandwich, chocolate dipped cone … Ooh, how are we going to choose?” Kirsty said, licking her lips as she read. “What are you getting, Rachel?” she asked.
Rachel didn’t seem interested in the list of ice-cream at all. She was staring excitedly up at the roof of the van, where the plastic ice cream cone was still spinning.
As Kirsty gazed up at it, too, she realized why Rachel was so captivated. Perched on top of the revolving plastic cone sat a tiny smiling fairy, waving down at them. It was Pia the Penguin Fairy!
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-54862-5
Copyright © 2010 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
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First Scholastic printing, March 2011
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Amelie the Seal Fairy Page 2