“For now,” Kirsty added.
Back at Kirsty’s house, Abigail flew straight up to the barn roof and carefully put the Breeze Feather into Doodle’s tail.
The weather vane rooster shimmered in a magic haze of gold. And then he fizzed into life and shook himself. Fabulous copper sparkles flew into the air, making Rachel and Kirsty gasp. Doodle’s fiery feathers were magnificent.
Doodle shifted to settle the Breeze Feather properly into place, where it glimmered and glowed. Then he looked straight at Rachel and Kirsty. “Jack—” he squawked, and opened his beak as if to speak again, but the color of his feathers faded. Doodle became a rusty old weather vane once more.
“He’s trying to tell us something,” said Kirsty.
“Last time, he said ‘Beware,’” Rachel reminded Kirsty. “So now we have ‘Beware Jack. …’ I wonder what he wanted to say next?”
Abigail floated down from the roof. “I don’t know,” she said. “But keep your eyes open. Jack Frost is always up to no good.”
“We will,” Kirsty promised.
“Now I must fly back to Fairyland,” Abigail said. “Thank you again, Rachel and Kirsty.”
“Good-bye, Abigail!” Kirsty said, and Rachel waved.
Abigail’s wings flashed, and with a swirl of tiny golden leaves, she was gone.
Rachel and Kirsty smiled at each other, enjoying their fairy secret.
“Five more magic feathers to find!” whispered Kirsty.
“I wonder which one we’ll find next,” Rachel said.
Missing Fidget
Magic in the Air
Goblin Hunting
A Sticky Situation
Cotton Candy Clouds
A Silver Lining
“What’s the weather like today, Kirsty?” asked Rachel Walker eagerly. She pushed back her bedspread. “Do you think there’s magic in the air?”
Kirsty Tate was standing at the bedroom window, staring out over the garden. “It seems like a normal day.” She sighed, with a disappointed look on her face. “The sky’s gray and cloudy.”
“Never mind.” Rachel jumped out of bed and went to join her friend. “Remember what Titania, the Fairy Queen, told us. Don’t look too hard for magic —”
“Because the magic will find you!” Kirsty finished with a smile.
Rachel and Kirsty shared a very special secret. They were friends with fairies! When Jack Frost had put a spell on the seven Rainbow Fairies and banished them to Rainspell Island, Rachel and Kirsty helped them return to Fairyland. Now Jack Frost was up to no good again — this time with the Weather Fairies. And once again, the Fairy King and Queen had asked Rachel and Kirsty for help.
“Look at Doodle.” Rachel pointed at the weather-vane rooster, which sat on top of the old barn. “Don’t you think he looks a little happier, now that he has two of his tail feathers back?”
Kirsty nodded. “Let’s hope we find all of his feathers before you go home,” she replied. “Then the weather in Fairyland can get back to normal again!”
Doodle the rooster had a very important job. With his seven magic tail feathers and the help of the Weather Fairies, Doodle controlled Fairyland’s weather. But then Jack Frost sent his mean goblin servants to steal Doodle’s feathers. Doodle chased the goblins into the human world — but without his magic, and away from Fairyland, he changed into an ordinary, rusty weather vane!
Kirsty’s dad had found the weather vane lying in the park, and brought it home to put on the roof of the barn. He had no idea what a magical creature Doodle really was!
Now the weather in Fairyland was a big mess — and it would be a mess until Rachel and Kirsty got all of Doodle’s feathers back and sent him home.
“Well, we’re off to a good start,” said Rachel. “With the help of Crystal the Snow Fairy and Abigail the Breeze Fairy, we’ve already found two feathers!”
The King and Queen had promised Kirsty and Rachel that each of the Weather Fairies would come to help them find the feathers.
“Girls, are you awake?” Kirsty’s mom called from downstairs. “Breakfast’s ready.”
“Coming!” Kirsty shouted back.
“I wish we knew what Doodle was trying to tell us yesterday,” said Rachel, as she and Kirsty ran downstairs. Each time one of Doodle’s tail feathers had been replaced, the rooster had come to life. The first time, he squawked “Beware!” The second time, he managed to say the word “Jack,” before turning to metal again.
“I’m sure it was something about Jack Frost,” Kirsty said thoughtfully. “But what?”
“Maybe he’ll tell us if we find another feather!” Rachel suggested. The girls went into the kitchen. Mr. Tate was setting the table, and Kirsty’s mom was making toast.
“Morning, you two,” said Mr. Tate with a smile, as the girls sat down. “What are you planning to do today?”
Before Kirsty or Rachel could answer him, there was a knock at the back door.
“ I wonder who that could be!” Mrs. Tate said, raising her eyebrows. “It’s still pretty early.”
“I’ll get it,” said Kirsty, who was closest.
She opened the door. There were Mr. and Mrs. Twitching, the Tates’ neighbors.
“Oh, Kirsty, good morning,” said Mr. Twitching. “We’re sorry to bother you, but we were hoping you might have seen Fidget?”
Kirsty frowned, trying to remember. She knew Fidget, the Twitchings’ fluffy tabby cat, very well, but she hadn’t seen her for the last day or two. “I haven’t seen her lately,” she replied.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Twitching said, looking upset. “She didn’t come home for her dinner last night.”
“Come in and ask Mom and Dad,” Kirsty suggested, opening the door wider. “Maybe they’ve seen her.”
As Mr. and Mrs. Twitching walked into the kitchen, Kirsty blinked. For a minute, she thought she’d seen strange wisps of pale smoke curling and drifting over the neighbors’ heads.
She glanced at Rachel and her parents, but they didn’t seem to have noticed anything unusual. Kirsty shook her head. Maybe she was just imagining it… .
“When was the last time you saw Fidget?” asked Kirsty’s mom as she poured some coffee for the Twitchings.
“Yesterday afternoon,” Mrs. Twitching replied. “It’s very strange, because usually she doesn’t miss a single meal.”
“Kirsty and I could help you look for her,” suggested Rachel.
“Good idea,” Kirsty agreed, finishing her cereal. “Let’s go now.”
“And I’ll check our garden and the barn,” added Mr. Tate.
As Kirsty and Rachel got up from the table, Kirsty stared extra-hard at the Twitchings’ heads. She thought she could see wisps of smoke there again, but they were so pale and misty, it was hard to be sure.
“Rachel,” Kirsty said quietly as they headed outside, “did you notice anything funny about the Twitchings today?” Rachel looked confused. “What do you mean?”
Kirsty told her about the wisps of smoke. “I’m not sure if I really saw them or not,” she finished.
“Do you think they could have been magic?” Rachel asked.
Kirsty felt a thrill of excitement. “Maybe,” she said eagerly. “While we’re looking for Fidget, we’d better keep our eyes open for magic, too!”
The girls walked into the village, keeping their eyes peeled for the tabby cat, but there was no sign of her.
“I hope Fidget isn’t lost for good,” Kirsty said, looking around. “Oh!”
Kirsty hadn’t been watching where she was going, and she’d bumped into someone. “I’m so sorry,” Kirsty said politely.
The woman glared at her. “Why don’t you be more careful?” she said grumpily, and hurried off.
“Well!” Rachel gasped. “That wasn’t very nice.”
But Kirsty looked confused. “That was Mrs. Hill, one of my mom’s friends, and she’s usually very nice,” she said. “I wonder what’s wrong?”
Rachel nudged her. “Look over there,
” she whispered.
Outside the post office, two men were arguing. They both looked very grouchy. Then Mrs. Burke, who ran the post office, came out to see what was going on. Kirsty was surprised to see that her usually happy face was grumpy and sad. “There’s something strange happening,” she whispered to Rachel as they went into the park. “Everybody’s in a terrible mood. Look at the kids on the swings.”
Rachel stared at the children in the playground. They didn’t seem to be having fun at all. Every single one of them looked sad! They didn’t even cheer up when the ice-cream truck stopped close by.
The girls stopped at the park gate.
“I think we’ve been all over Wetherbury, and there’s no sign of Fidget anywhere.” Kirsty sighed, glancing at her watch. “We’d better go home, Rachel. It’s almost time for lunch.”
Rachel nodded. “We can always keep searching later this afternoon.”
The girls turned back toward the Tates’ house. On the way, they passed the tiny movie theater. The Saturday morning show had just finished, and the audience was pouring out. Just like everyone else, the people looked grouchy.
“It must have been a sad movie,” Rachel whispered to Kirsty.
“But it wasn’t,” Kirsty replied, frowning. “Look.” She pointed to the poster outside the movie theater.
“This hilarious film is a must. You’ll split your sides laughing,” Rachel read. “Well, the audience definitely didn’t find it very funny,” she continued. “Look at their faces.” Kirsty stared at the people walking gloomily out of the theater. Suddenly, her heart began to pound. There they were again! She could definitely see cloudy smoke drifting over people’s heads, just like she’d noticed over her next-door neighbors. “Look, Rachel!” She nudged her friend. “There’s that smoke again.”
Rachel squinted at the people who were all frowning. For a minute, she thought Kirsty was seeing things. But then she spotted them, too — thin, wispy trails of smoke, hovering over the heads of the people like little clouds.
“It must be fairy magic!” Rachel said excitedly. “I’ll bet those aren’t wisps of smoke at all. They’re magic clouds!”
“Maybe,” Kirsty agreed, her eyes lighting up. “We could be close to finding another magic feather!”
The girls rushed home. When they entered the house, the first thing they noticed were the clouds hovering over Mr. and Mrs. Tate!
“Did you find Fidget?” asked Kirsty’s mom. She was sitting on the couch, reading a book. The little white cloud over her head was tinted with pink, like a cloud in a sunset.
“No,” Kirsty replied, staring at the gray cloud over her dad.
“Oh, dear,” Mr. Tate said, looking sad.
“I think the goblin with the magic Cloud Feather must be close by,” Rachel whispered to Kirsty as they ate their sandwiches.
Kirsty nodded. “After lunch, let’s go up to my bedroom and plan our next move,” she said. “These clouds are beginning to worry me.”
“Me, too,” Rachel agreed.
As soon as they’d finished their food, the girls ran upstairs. Kirsty threw open her bedroom door.
“Hello!” called a tiny voice. “I thought you would never come!”
There, sitting on the windowsill and swinging her legs below her, was Pearl the Cloud Fairy.
Pearl was resting her chin on her hands, and she also looked gloomy. She wore a beautiful pink and white dress with a full skirt, and in her hand, she held a pretty pink wand. The wand had a fluffy white tip. Little pink and white sunset clouds drifted and swirled out of it.
To Kirsty’s amazement, a tiny gray cloud hovered over Pearl’s head. “Oh, Pearl! You have a rain cloud, too!” Kirsty said.
“I know.” Pearl sighed, then her eyes flashed with annoyance. “It’s because one of those nasty goblins is using the magic Cloud Feather — and he’s doing it all wrong!” she snapped.
“We think the goblin must be very close, because everyone in Wetherbury seems to have a cloud over them,” Rachel told Pearl.
“I’m sure you’re right,” Pearl said. “This is definitely fairy magic, so that mean old goblin can’t be far away!” She fluttered up into the air, leaving a trail of shining pink and white clouds behind her. “Even you two are beginning to get clouds now!” she added.
The girls rushed over to the mirror to look. Sure enough, tiny gray clouds were starting to form over their heads.
“Should we go find the Cloud Feather?” Kirsty asked eagerly.
Pearl and Rachel both cheered up at that suggestion. Pearl zoomed over to hide herself in Rachel’s jacket pocket. Then they all headed out into the village.
This time, Rachel and Kirsty could see the clouds over people’s heads much more clearly. Some were a pretty pink or orange color, and the people underneath them seemed quiet and dreamy.
Other clouds were black and stormy, and the people under those looked gloomy and annoyed. Some clouds were drizzling tiny raindrops, making their people look very sad. And a few very angry people had clouds with little lightning bolts over their heads. “Look.” Rachel nudged Kirsty as a man with a lightning cloud hurried past, scowling.
“His hair’s standing straight up like he got an electric shock!”
“Pearl,” Kirsty whispered. “Why hasn’t anyone else noticed the clouds?”
Pearl popped her head out of Rachel’s pocket. “Only magic beings like fairies can see them,” she replied. “And you two, because you’re helping us.”
“The clouds are getting bigger,” said Rachel, staring at a woman who passed by with an enormous rain cloud over her head.
“We must be getting closer to the feather!” Pearl said eagerly.
“But where can it be?” Kirsty wondered. “We’re almost out of the village now.” She stopped and looked around. Suddenly, she gasped, and pointed at a building to their left. “Look at the candy factory!”
The candy factory stood right on the edge of Wetherbury. A stream of small pink and white clouds were puffing out of the tall brick chimney.
“The goblin must be hiding inside the factory,” Pearl cried, whizzing out of Rachel’s pocket and fluttering up into the air. “It’s time to rescue the Cloud Feather!”
“Come on,” Rachel said. “Let’s go inside.”
The girls and Pearl rushed over to the door. But their hearts sank when they saw the big, heavy padlock.
“Of course, it’s Saturday. The factory’s closed.” Kirsty said, looking disappointed. “What are we going to do?”
They stood and thought for a minute. Then Rachel glanced up, and a smile spread across her face.
“Look!” she said, pointing. “There’s an air vent near the roof. We have our magic fairy dust. Let’s turn ourselves into fairies. Then we can all fly in through the air vent.”
The Fairy Queen had given Kirsty and Rachel gold lockets full of fairy dust, which they could use to turn themselves into fairies whenever they needed to.
“Good idea!” Pearl laughed, clapping her hands happily.
Quickly, Rachel and Kirsty opened their lockets and sprinkled some fairy dust over themselves. Almost immediately, they began to shrink, and beautiful shimmering fairy wings grew from their backs.
“Come on,” Pearl cried, zooming back and forth impatiently. “Up we go!” And she flew up to the air vent in the wall.
Kirsty and Rachel flew after her. Pearl slipped through the vent first, and the two girls followed. They all stopped inside and gazed around the factory.
“Wow!” Kirsty gasped, her eyes wide.
Lots of big silver machines were busy making all kinds of different candy, Peppermints poured out of one machine, while long strings of strawberry licorice came out of another. Soft ice cream fizzed into paper cups, and pink and white marshmallows bounced along a moving conveyor belt. Chocolate bars were being wrapped in gold foil, while a different machine wrapped caramel candies in shiny silver paper. There were large sticky lollipops and striped candy canes in every color and fl
avor.
“Isn’t this amazing?” asked Rachel. “Look at all the different kinds of candy!”
Kirsty looked confused. “But the people who work here wouldn’t have left all the machines on, would they?” she pointed out.
Pearl grinned. “I bet they turned them off, but somebody else has turned them on again.”
“The goblin!” Kirsty exclaimed. “Where is he?”
“Let’s split up and see if we can find him,” Pearl replied.
They flew off to different parts of the factory. Rachel flew toward a machine that was mixing fluffy pink cotton candy in a huge silver tub. She looked at the machine for a minute and was about to fly on, but then she heard the sound of someone loudly smacking his lips.
Rachel flew down to take a closer look. There, lying with his back to her, on a huge, fluffy pink cloud, was the goblin! He was greedily scooping up sticky handfuls of cotton candy and munching them happily. He was quite chubby — probably from stuffing himself with so much cotton candy, Rachel thought.
She flew a little closer and peeked over the goblin’s shoulder to see if she could spot the magic Cloud Feather. There it was, in his hand! Tiny pink and white clouds drifted from it as the goblin waved it in the air.
I have to tell Kirsty and Pearl, Rachel thought. She turned to fly away, but as she did, one wing brushed the goblin’s shoulder. With a yelp of surprise, the goblin reached up and grabbed Rachel with one hand.
“You’re not getting my feather!” he shouted, and stuffed Rachel inside one of the pink clouds that was drifting by.
Poor Rachel was trapped! She tried to push her way out of the cloud, but she couldn’t make a hole in it. The cloud drifted farther and farther away from the goblin.
The Weather Fairies Collection Page 4