The goblin shivered and sniffed. He rubbed the tip of his nose, which was all red and shiny. “It’s not fair. I wanted to go after the Sunshine Feather, and instead I get stuck with this rotten old Rain Feather! I should be toasty warm, not as cold as yesterday’s mud oatmeal and as soggy as a squashed worm! Achoo!”
“He has a really nasty cold,” murmured Hayley.
“Serves him right!” Kirsty said. Just then, the goblin lifted his hat and pulled out a beautiful copper-colored feather with silvery streaks. He jabbed it angrily into the air. “Just stop this rain, right now!” he muttered. The rain stopped at once, and the goblin grinned with triumph. “At least it follows directions,” he grunted, stuffing the feather back under his hat.
“Oh, the poor Rain Feather!” whispered Hayley.
Suddenly, the goblin’s miserable face lit up with a grin. He had spotted the girls’ raft. “Oh, goody, a real boat just for me!” he cried. Using his big hands as paddles, the goblin pulled up alongside the raft. Then he scrunched up his long legs, sprang straight in the air, and landed in the raft. “Nice duckies. Let’s harness you to my new boat,” he said. “That’s it. All ready now. Off we go!”
“That awful goblin! He’s stealing our raft!” Kirsty explained. “And now he’s using the umbrella to keep himself dry.”
“I feel like some more rain now!” shouted the goblin happily. He took out the Rain Feather and waved it in the air. A big, gray cloud appeared above the trees. Rain began to pour down. “Faster, ducks! Swim faster!” urged the goblin, his voice growing fainter as the raft sailed out of sight.
Rachel, Kirsty, and Hayley watched in dismay. “How are we going to get the Rain Feather back now?” Rachel asked, sighing.
Kirsty stood up. “I have a plan!” she announced.
“Hooray! What is it?” Hayley asked.
“Remember how the goblin said he had wanted the Sunshine Feather?” Kirsty began.
Hayley and Rachel both nodded.
“Well, if we could find a feather that looks like the Sunshine Feather, then we might be able to trick the goblin into swapping with us!” explained Kirsty.
“It’s a good plan. But where can we get a feather?” Rachel wondered. “The magic feathers are so long and beautiful.”
Kirsty grinned and flew into the air. “Follow me!”
Hayley and Rachel zoomed after Kirsty. She led them back over toward her house and then to the nearby farmyard. The farmhouse and cow shed were flooded with a few inches of water.
Kirsty swooped through the henhouse door with Hayley and Rachel close behind. Inside, they saw fluffy, dark shapes huddled together on a perch above the wet floor.
“Excuse me,” Hayley said politely to the chickens. “We need your help.”
The chickens looked up with dull eyes. “Eggs all wet. Feet cold and muddy. Feathers all soggy,” they squawked sadly.
“Oh, dear. They seem so upset,” Hayley said with a sigh.
“It’s because everything is so wet. Dad says chickens really hate being soggy,” Kirsty explained.
Hayley flew down to pet the chickens’ heads. “Don’t worry, chickens. We can make this rain stop with your help,” she told them brightly.
“We need a big feather, as long as this ’” Kirsty said, spreading out her hands to show what she meant.
“Why didn’t you say so?” squawked a handsome rooster. He twisted around and plucked a feather from his tail. “Will this do?”
“Oh, yes! It’s beautiful. Thank you very much.” Hayley fluttered down and took the feather. “Now, cheer up!” she said, flying toward the door. “We’re going to go stop the rain!”
“Thank you,” called Kirsty and Rachel as they followed Hayley to the door.
The chickens fluffed themselves up, already looking much happier. They lifted their wings to wave at the girls. “Good-bye!” they clucked.
Outside, on the henhouse roof, Hayley, Rachel, and Kirsty looked at the long copper-colored feather. “I don’t think the goblin will be fooled,” Hayley said doubtfully. “The Sunshine Feather is covered with golden yellow spots.”
Kirsty grinned. “No problem. There’s a can of yellow paint in our garage!”
They all rushed back to the garage. Inside, Kirsty struggled to open the paint can. “The lid’s stuck!” she groaned.
Hayley tapped the can with her wand, and a shower of sparkles twinkled around the lid. It popped right open! Moments later, Kirsty had painted tiny yellow speckles on the feather.
“Perfect! It looks just like the Sunshine Feather!” exclaimed Hayley.
“Now all we have to do is find the goblin,” said Rachel.
Just then, a group of ducks flew by. Without a word, Hayley rose up in a cloud of violet sparkles. Rachel and Kirsty watched her, a tiny spot of light, as she flew next to the ducks in the rain.
Before long, she was back and she had news for the girls. “The ducks just saw the goblin in the field behind the museum!” Hayley declared. “Let’s go!”
The girls followed Hayley to the back of the museum. Sure enough, there was the goblin, floating across the flooded field in Kirsty’s raft. “Achoo!” he sputtered loudly. “I’m sick of being wet and miserable. And my cold’s getting worse.”
Hayley, Kirsty, and Rachel floated at a safe distance from the goblin. “Here goes,” Hayley said bravely. “I have something you might like,” she called to the goblin in a singsong voice, waving the fake Sunshine Feather.
The goblin’s eyes lit up greedily. “The Sunshine Feather! Give it to me!” His long arm shot out and his fat fingers grabbed for the feather, but Hayley was too quick for him. She sped backward out of his reach. “Oh, rats! Almost had two magic feathers!” said the goblin, scowling.
Hayley drifted forward again. “I’ll trade my feather for yours, if you like,” she offered sweetly. Rachel and Kirsty held their breath. Would the goblin fall for their trick?
“OK,” the goblin said right away. “Anything for some warmth. Now, give it to me!” Hayley zoomed down and grabbed the Rain Feather, thrusting the pretend Sunshine Feather at the goblin.
He grabbed it and stroked it fondly with a wide grin on his face. Hayley immediately waved the Rain Feather in a complicated pattern. “Rain, stop!” she ordered.
The rain stopped at once. The gray clouds melted away, and steam rose as the floodwater began to dry up. Then the sun came out, turning the shallow pools and puddles golden.
The goblin waved his feather triumphantly. “My Sunshine Feather’s working already!” he boasted. “I’m leaving now. It’s about time I took a vacation.” He leaped out of the raft and splashed away across the field.
Rachel, Kirsty, and Hayley hugged one another happily. “We did it!” Kirsty exclaimed.
“Yes, and now we’ve found all seven magic feathers!” cried Rachel.
“We can return the Rain Feather to Doodle, and he can take charge of Fairyland’s weather again,” said Hayley. She did a happy cartwheel in the air. Violet and blue sparks fizzed around her.
Kirsty was about to turn toward home, when she suddenly shivered. “That’s strange. It’s getting really cold,” she said.
Rachel looked at her in alarm. “Oh, no! Remember Doodle’s warning? He said ‘Beware! Jack Frost will come if his goblins fail!’ ” There was a crackling noise as the floodwater stopped draining away and began to freeze.
Hayley paled. “It is Jack Frost,” she squealed. “He’s coming!”
A tall, bony figure, dressed all in white, suddenly appeared out of thin air. Icicles hung from his eyebrows and beard. “You again!” he snarled at Kirsty and Rachel. “How dare you steal those feathers?”
Rachel, Kirsty, and Hayley gasped in fear as Jack Frost towered over them.
Kirsty looked at Hayley. “Go!” she whispered. “Take the Rain Feather to Doodle before Jack Frost gets his hands on it.”
Hayley looked unsure, but she nodded and zoomed away, violet fairy dust streaming out behind her like a comet’s tai
l.
“As for you, you useless goblin!” Jack Frost was saying. “I’ll send you on a vacation you won’t forget!” He lifted his wand and blasted freezing white light toward the goblin, who was stomping away across the field. With a fizz and a crackle, the goblin became a skinny ice statue!
Jack Frost turned back to face the girls. He shrieked with rage when he saw that Hayley had left. He glared at Kirsty, who was reaching for her locket. “No, you don’t!” he snapped. He pointed his wand and a narrow beam of light shot out, freezing both lockets tightly shut.
“Oh!” cried Rachel and Kirsty. Without their fairy dust, they would be fairy-sized forever! Jack Frost looked down at the two tiny girls. “What’s the matter? Are your tongues frozen?” he asked, laughing noisily. His laughter sounded like feet crunching on snail shells.
Kirsty trembled with fright, but she looked straight into Jack Frost’s cold, gray eyes. “Why can’t you live in peace with all the other fairies?” she asked.
“Fairyland is a wonderful place! Everyone would be your friend if you stopped causing so much trouble,” Rachel added.
Jack Frost’s mouth tightened with surprise. He seemed speechless. For a moment, Rachel and Kirsty wondered if he would listen to them. Then Kirsty’s heart sank as Jack Frost frowned.
“How dare you give me advice?” he roared, his eyes as cold as a glacier. “You two have interfered too many times. I think it’s time I put a stop to that!” He raised his wand.
Rachel grabbed Kirsty’s arm and pulled her behind a nearby tree, just as a blast of freezing white light poured out of the wand. There was a loud snapping sound, and thick white ice coated the tree.
Kirsty and Rachel shivered. Jack Frost stepped around the tree and raised his wand again. Rachel heard a rushing sound and squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to feel an icy blast at any moment. …
But, instead, Rachel heard Jack Frost give a scream of rage. She opened her eyes.
Doodle, the fairy rooster, flew up in a great rush of wind and fire. His magnificent tail glittered with sparks of red and gold and copper. “Get away from them, Jack Frost!” he ordered, his beak snapping with anger. He flapped his wings furiously. A stream of white-hot sparks sprayed from them and sizzled on the ice.
“Ouch! Stop that!” cried Jack Frost, backing away as several sparks landed on his robe. Little puffs of steam leaked from his spiky hair and beard.
“Doodle’s come to save us!” breathed Kirsty. “And he’s his true magical self again!”
Hayley flew over to the girls. “Are you all right? You’re so brave to face Jack Frost when you were only fairy-sized.”
“We had to. He froze our magic lockets shut,” Rachel told her.
Keeping one fierce amber eye on Jack Frost, Doodle came over and swept Rachel, Kirsty, and Hayley under one wing. Then he peered down his beak at Jack Frost. “You must pay for what you’ve done!” he said severely. “Not only have you created trouble with the weather, but you have threatened two of Fairyland’s dearest friends!”
Jack Frost cowered. Melting ice ran down his face and dripped from his sharp nose. “They shouldn’t have stuck their noses into my business,” he snapped.
“What if Jack Frost casts a spell on Doodle?” Rachel asked anxiously.
Hayley shook her head. “Now that he has all his feathers back, Doodle is seven times as powerful as any one fairy. He’s more than a match for Jack Frost!”
Doodle fluttered his magic tail feathers. Colored sparks shot out, and a rainbow began rising from the ground. Jack Frost started spinning helplessly. “Stop! Help!” he cried. The rainbow swept him up, shooting into the sky in a beautiful arc. Jack Frost struggled and yelled, but soon he was a distant speck amid the glowing rainbow of colors.
Kirsty and Rachel were still staring at him when they felt themselves being whisked up in a whirlwind of shimmering fairy dust. With Hayley and Doodle, the girls sped through the bright blue sky. Soft feathers floated around them and they could smell sweet summer flowers in the air.
“Oh,” breathed Rachel happily. She caught a glimpse of green fields and red-and-white toadstool houses on the ground below. Then some clouds parted, and there were the towers of the beautiful fairy palace, gleaming in the sunshine!
“It’s Fairyland! And look, the weather’s still mixed up!” called Kirsty.
A crowd of fairies waved and cheered as Doodle and the girls landed in the courtyard of the fairy palace. King Oberon and Queen Titania were waiting to greet them.
“Welcome back, Doodle. We have missed our weather rooster,” said the King and Queen warmly. “And our heartfelt thanks to you, Rachel and Kirsty.”
All the people of Fairyland cheered again. The Weather Fairies gathered happily around Doodle, eager to get back to their weather work.
“What’s going to happen to Jack Frost, Your Majesties?” Kirsty asked.
Titania looked stern. “He will stay at the end of the rainbow until he sees the error of his ways. He’s gone too far this time,” she said.
Kirsty and Rachel smiled with relief. That should keep him out of mischief for a while, Rachel thought. “We’d better give back our magic lockets,” she said to Kirsty.
Oberon shook his head. “You must keep them, my dears.” He waved his hand over the lockets. Silver sparkles shot out of his fingers. “I have filled them with new fairy dust. If you ever need help, this dust will bring you straight to Fairyland.”
“Where you will always be welcome,” added Titania with a sweet smile.
Kirsty and Rachel’s eyes opened wide. This was a great honor!
Then Doodle came forward. “I have a gift for you, too,” he said, and gave them a weather vane that looked just like him.
“Oh! Thank you all so much,” said the girls. They hugged each of the Weather Fairies and said good-bye to Doodle and the Fairy King and Queen. Then a whirlwind of sparkling fairy dust swept them upward. In a few moments, they landed back in Kirsty’s yard.
Kirsty’s dad appeared from behind the barn, looking puzzled. “Oh, you found that old weather vane. I’ve been looking for it everywhere. Where was it?”
“It appeared by magic,” Kirsty told him, her eyes sparkling. Rachel smiled.
Mr. Tate laughed, scratching his head. “Well, I’d better put it back. I’ve gotten used to seeing it up there.”
“Me, too,” Kirsty agreed.
Just as Mr. Tate was putting the weather vane up on the barn, a car pulled into the driveway.
“It’s my mom and dad!” Rachel said, waving.
“Hello, you two. Have you had a good week?” asked Mr. and Mrs. Walker as they climbed out of the car.
“The best! It’s been really magical!” Rachel replied, hugging her parents.
The girls went upstairs to get Rachel’s things together, while their parents had tea in the kitchen. Then it was time for Rachel to leave. Kirsty hugged her friend good-bye.
“You must come and visit us soon,” Mrs. Walker said to Kirsty.
“Yes, soon!” Rachel added.
“I’d love to, thanks,” Kirsty smiled. “Good-bye, Rachel. I’ll see you on our next vacation!”
After Rachel had left, Kirsty stood in the yard thinking about all of their adventures. She looked up at the barn roof. For a moment, a shining rainbow touched the old tiles and the weather vane spun around swiftly. As it did, Kirsty could have sworn she saw the rooster wink at her and sparkle with fairy magic.
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-60562-5
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by George Ripper.
The Weather Fairies #2: Abigail the Breeze Fairy copyright © 2004 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by George Ripper.
The Weather Fairies #3: Pearl the Cloud Fairy copyright © 2004 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by George Ripper.
The Weather Fairies #4: Goldie the Sunshine Fairy copyright © 2004 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by George Ripper.
The Weather Fairies #5: Evie the Mist Fairy copyright © 2004 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by George Ripper.
The Weather Fairies #6: Storm the Lightning Fairy copyright © 2004 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by George Ripper.
The Weather Fairies #7: Hayley the Rain Fairy copyright © 2004 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by George Ripper.
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. Re. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and other countries. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.
First Scholastic printing, March 2006
The Weather Fairies Collection Page 10