Thea was already flying ahead to a door marked STAFF ONLY at the end of the tunnel. “This way,” she called. Kirsty, Rachel, and Thea slipped through the gap under the door. On the other side, they saw tall ladders that stretched to the top of the tank. Kirsty guessed the ladders were for feeding. The tank was open at the top, so the three fairies flew up and over the side.
Splash! Splash! Splash! The friends plunged into the water, which was nice and warm.
“Now that I can breathe underwater, I feel just like a mermaid,” Rachel said happily, as they swam down toward the ship.
A whole school of silvery fish came over and gave them curious looks. “Hello,” Kirsty said in a friendly way as she passed.
“We’re just dropping by to get something. Don’t worry.”
“There it is,” Rachel said, as they neared the ship.
Kirsty joined her and, together, the girls carefully unhooked the shimmering flag from the top of the mast. Then they swam over to Thea, towing the flag behind them.
“Thank you,” Thea said happily. She touched her wand to the Thursday flag, and it shrank down to its Fairyland size. Then she waved her wand again and a flurry of twinkling pink lights danced through the water toward the ship. Within seconds, a new flag was attached to the mast. This flag had a slightly different pink-and-silver design.
“We did it!” Kirsty cheered. “Let’s get out of here!”
But even as her friend spoke, Rachel cried out in alarm. Four goblin divers had emerged from inside the shipwreck!
One of the goblins spotted the flag in Thea’s hand and pointed at it furiously. He quickly swam toward the girls, followed by his three friends.
“Quick!” Rachel called, as she, Kirsty, and Thea began swimming away as fast as they could. But they were so tiny that it wasn’t long before the goblins were closing in on them. Rachel could see that it would only be a few seconds before they were surrounded — and trapped!
Kirsty was getting tired when she saw the turtle she’d waved to earlier swim by. The turtle zoomed right up to Thea. He seemed to be saying something.
“Oh, thank you,” Thea replied after a moment, looking relieved. “He asked if we would like a ride,” she told the girls.
“Yes, please!” Kirsty and Rachel accepted gratefully. They scrambled onto the turtle’s smooth green shell, as the goblins drew closer. Thea climbed aboard, too, and the turtle immediately kicked his powerful flippers. The group was soon shooting through the water with great speed. Within seconds, they had left the goblins far behind.
The turtle looked over his shoulder, his kindly eyes twinkling. Thea grinned. “He just told me he’s going to take the goblins on a little tour,” she explained to Kirsty and Rachel.
Rachel smiled as the space between them and the goblins grew. The turtle zoomed along on a zig-zag route around some rocks, over some bright red coral, and past a large, surprised-looking octopus.
“They’re still chasing us,” Kirsty said, looking around to check.
But it was quite clear that the goblins were starting to get tired now. One of them had already given up. He was slumped over a rock, watching the others. The remaining three goblins were slowing down, too.
They seemed to be arguing about whose fault it was that the girls and Thea had escaped with the flag. Kirsty realized that the goblins would never be able to catch up with them now, and she gave a sigh of relief. The turtle swam smoothly up to the surface of the tank, and Kirsty, Rachel, and Thea slipped off his back.
“Thank you so much,” Thea said to him.
“Yes, thank you,” Rachel added. “You saved us — and the Thursday flag.”
“Good-bye,” Kirsty said, giving the turtle a gentle pat.
He smiled at her and winked — this time there was no doubt about it! — and then he majestically swam away.
Kirsty, Rachel, and Thea climbed out of the tank, shaking their heavy, wet wings behind them. Thea waved her wand and, instantly, they were all dry again. Then they flew down under the STAFF ONLY door once more.
Thea looked cautiously up and down the underwater tunnel, but it was still empty. With a wave of her wand and a blast of sparkling pink fairy dust, she turned Kirsty and Rachel back into girls.
She grinned at them both. “I’d better fly off to Fairyland to recharge my wand now,” she said. “Then I can put a bit of sparkle back into Thursday with my Fun Day magic!” She flew over to look at Rachel’s watch. “If you two hurry, you might just catch the otters being fed,” she added.
“Thanks,” Kirsty said. “Bye, Thea. It was great to see you again.”
Thea blew them each a kiss and disappeared in a glittering pink blur. Rachel and Kirsty knew that Thea needed to give the Thursday flag to Francis, so he could run it up to the top of the Time Tower. Then Thea would stand in the middle of the clock in the Time Tower courtyard and hold up her wand. As the sun’s rays struck the shiny pattern on the Fun Day Flag, a stream of magical sparkles would fly toward Thea’s wand and fill it with powerful Fun Day magic.
“I hope it doesn’t take Thea long to recharge her wand,” Rachel said in a low voice as they entered the otter room.
Kirsty nodded and glanced around. “Look at everyone in here!”
The otter room was divided in two by a glass wall. On one side of the room was the sea otters’ exhibit, with a stream splashing over rocks into a large pool. A crowd of people had gathered on the other side of the glass to watch the otters being fed. But nobody looked very happy about it, and even the otters looked bored and tired. They sniffed at the small fish that the keeper threw to them, but they didn’t seem hungry at all. Some even turned around and went back to their nests!
“Oh dear,” Kirsty whispered. “Please hurry, Thea. Come and save the day! Nobody’s having any fun.”
The keeper frowned. “I don’t know what’s wrong with them,” the girls heard him mutter. “Usually, these otters are the life of the party.”
Just then, Rachel spotted a stream of bright pink sparkles at the back of the otters’ exhibit. She nudged Kirsty. “I think Thea might be back already,” she smiled. “I’m sure I just spotted some fairy magic.”
As she finished speaking, the otters suddenly seemed to wake up and shake themselves. They came tumbling into the water and splashed around merrily, chasing the fish that the keeper threw to them. Their sleek, dark heads popped up above the water then plunged under again, as soon as another fish dropped into their pool. Almost immediately, everyone in the crowd was smiling at their antics.
“They’re adorable,” Rachel said happily. “And look — everyone’s having fun now!”
“Thea’s worked her magic all right.” Kirsty laughed. “Oh, and there she is!”
The girls beamed at the tiny fairy as she peered out from behind a rock and gave them a special wave. Then she disappeared in a pink shimmer once again.
Rachel glanced down at her watch. “That was a fabulous adventure,” she smiled. “And best of all, we’ve still got some time left before we have to meet Mom and Dad.”
“So we can watch the otters and see some of the other stuff,” Kirsty said. She grinned at Rachel. “I’ve heard the beluga whale exhibit is worth checking out.”
“Oh, yes,” Rachel replied, laughing. “We definitely have to see that!”
Megan, Tara, Willow, and Thea all have their flags back. Now Rachel and Kirsty need to help
“Here’s the recipe,” Rachel Walker said, showing the cookbook to her best friend, Kirsty Tate. “Don’t they look delicious?”
Kirsty nodded. “I love gingerbread men!” she said.
At that moment, Rachel’s mom walked into the room.
“We’d better get started, girls.”
“OK, Mom,” Rachel agreed. She opened the fridge and Kirsty went to find the flour. Meanwhile, Mrs. Walker searched for the cookie cutter.
“Mom, we don’t have any eggs,” Rachel called.
“And there isn’t any flour in this cabinet,” added Kirsty
.
“That’s funny,” Mrs. Walker said, shaking her head. “I’m sure I saw the cookie cutter only a few days ago.” She frowned. “Maybe it’s up in the attic. I’ll check.”
Rachel sighed as her mom left the room. “This isn’t any fun at all.”
“You know why, don’t you?” Kirsty pointed out. “It’s Friday, and Felicity the Friday Fairy’s flag is still missing!”
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-30881-6
Copyright © 2006 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.
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First Scholastic printing, August 2008
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Thea the Thursday Fairy : A Rainbow Magic Book (9780545308816) Page 2