Eleanor nodded, and Kirsty gave a little cry of excitement.
“I know!” she said. “Eleanor, can you use your magic to make the mirror say Jack Frost’s name?”
“Yes, I think so,” said Eleanor. “But how will that help?”
“Because if we can’t make Jack Frost give up the mirror, maybe the wicked queen can,” Kirsty explained. “She sounds pretty scary!”
Eleanor waved her wand over the mirror and spoke the words of a spell.
“We need to save my magic comb.
Please help us and you’ll soon be home.
Instead of talking about Snow White,
Name Jack Frost as the prettiest sight.”
The mirror sparkled, and the three fairies looked at each other.
“Now we have to get Jack Frost to look into it,” said Kirsty.
“That should be easy,” said Rachel, standing up. “There’s nothing he likes better than looking at himself.”
“Bring me my magic mirror!” yelled the voice of the wicked queen.
She was very close now, and it seemed to the girls that even the leaves were shaking at the sound of her voice.
“Hurry, Rachel!” cried Eleanor. “She’s almost here!”
Just as the wicked queen pushed through the trees into the clearing, Rachel ran over to Jack Frost and held the mirror in front of his face. He gave an admiring “oooh” of delight and started to comb his beard again.
“I’m so pretty!” he said, giving himself a loving smile.
At once, the silvery voice of the mirror spoke to him.
“Oh, fair Jack Frost, indeed it’s true.
The prettiest in all the land is YOU!”
When he heard this, Jack Frost leaped to his feet and happily ran around the pond.
“I’m the prettiest and the best!” he shouted. “I’m the prettiest and the—oh.”
He spotted the wicked queen’s shadow and stopped in his tracks. He looked slowly up at her face, and then his knees began to knock together. Kirsty ran across to join Rachel, leaving Eleanor hovering beside the tree.
“She looks really scary,” Kirsty whispered into Rachel’s ear.
Clearly Jack Frost thought so, too. He shook as the queen glared at him. She was dressed in a swirling black cloak and wore a spiky silver crown. Her dark hair was streaked with white strands, and there were tiny lines around her eyes, but she was very beautiful. Then her mouth twisted into a snarl, and she didn’t look beautiful anymore.
“You’re not the prettiest in the land!” she screeched. “It’s me! Me, me, ME!”
She picked up her cloak and lunged toward Jack Frost, who yelled in fear and threw his hands into the air. The magic jeweled comb flew up and then fell toward the middle of the pond.
“I can’t reach it!” cried Rachel as the comb went over their heads.
“But I can!” Eleanor called out, swooping away from the tree toward the pond.
With her hands outstretched, she managed to catch the comb just before it hit the water. It shrank to fairy size at once and Eleanor flew up, laughing with joy.
“My comb!” she exclaimed. “At last I can take it back where it belongs!”
Jack Frost was too busy apologizing to the wicked queen to pay any attention to Eleanor.
“I’m sorry!” he whimpered. “You’re right! Whatever you say—whatever you want—you’re right!”
Eleanor fluttered down beside Rachel and Kirsty. A single touch of her wand transformed them into humans again, and they were once more wearing their fairy outfits and backpacks.
“My magic comb is safe, thanks to you,” Eleanor said. “It’s time to return all things to their rightful owners.”
She looked at the mirror, and then at the wicked queen.
“Of course,” said Rachel, thinking of the Snow White fairy tale. “I had forgotten that the mirror belongs to the queen.”
She walked slowly toward the angry queen, who was towering over Jack Frost.
“I’m right beside you,” said Kirsty, slipping her hand into Rachel’s hand.
“Excuse me?” Rachel asked the queen, feeling very nervous. “I think this belongs to you.”
The queen turned her flashing eyes on Rachel, who held out the mirror. The queen snatched it, held it up, and gazed at her reflection.
“Tell me the truth once and for all!” she shrieked. “Who is the prettiest in all the land?”
For a moment, everyone in the clearing held their breaths.
“Snow White, of course,” the mirror replied.
The wicked queen let out a squeal of rage … and then shimmered and faded back to her fairy tale.
As the queen disappeared, the girls heard happy voices echoing from among the trees. Then the bushes parted and Snow White stepped into the clearing, followed by the seven dwarves. They were carrying a large picnic hamper, plates, and drinks. Snow White skipped happily when she saw Rachel and Kirsty.
“Thank you for your help!” she called to them, as the dwarves put the hamper down. “Enjoy the picnic!”
The girls waved to her and then she and the dwarves shimmered and disappeared.
“They’ve returned to their fairy tale,” said Eleanor, landing on Kirsty’s shoulder. “Thanks to you both, Snow White and all the other characters are back where they belong.”
“That’s wonderful,” said Kirsty. “Another happy ending.”
“Not for everyone,” said Rachel, looking across at Jack Frost.
He had slumped down on his stool and rested his chin in his hands. The goblins abandoned their half-built log cottage and gathered around him.
“Don’t be sad,” said the shortest goblin.
“You can yell at me if you want,” said another goblin.
Jack Frost lifted his head and peered at his sad reflection in the pond. His bottom lip wobbled.
“I am the prettiest in the land,” he muttered.
“You are!” shouted the goblins. “Of course you are! That Snow White can’t compete with you.”
“She didn’t even have a beard,” added the tallest goblin.
Jack Frost started to look a little happier, and the girls grinned at each other.
“I think it’s time for us to go back to the castle,” said Rachel.
“And for me to return to Fairyland,” said Eleanor. “Thank you for everything! I can’t wait to tell the other fairies that another of our fairy tales is safe again!”
With a happy wave of her hand, she vanished back to Fairyland. Rachel and Kirsty looked down at the picnic hamper.
“Let’s take this back with us,” Kirsty suggested.
Together, they lifted the heavy basket and carried it back through the forest, along the gravel paths and past the tall hedges and statues. By the time they reached the castle, they were feeling very hungry indeed. They saw a group of children sitting on the grass and waved. The children dressed as Little Red Riding Hood and Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk waved back at them.
“Look, there are the girl and boy we saw earlier,” said Rachel. “I wonder if they’d like to share the picnic with us.”
They went over to ask them, and the children agreed happily. A short time later, everyone was sitting on a large picnic blanket in the middle of the largest lawn. Rachel and Kirsty had quickly made a lot of new friends. Little Red Riding Hood’s name was Emily, and the boy dressed as Jack was named Aaron. Everyone had enjoyed Snow White’s wonderful picnic, and they were all full and happy.
“Maybe someone should tell a story,” said Emily in a sleepy voice.
“We’ve got the perfect book upstairs,” said Rachel, jumping to her feet. “I’ll go and get it.”
She ran into the castle and up the winding staircase to the tower bedroom. A few moments later she hurried back across the lawn and sat down with the other children.
“That was quick,” said Kirsty.
“I ran all the way,” Rachel panted, handing her the sparkling The Fairies’ Book of Fairy Tales. “You re
ad it, Kirsty—I’m all out of breath.”
Kirsty opened the book and turned to the second story. The words and pictures had returned, and she held up the pages to show Rachel. The girls shared a secret smile and then Kirsty started to read.
“Once upon a time there was a young princess named Snow White …”
Rachel turned the pages, and everyone listened, enchanted, as Kirsty read the story. When she finished, everyone clapped, but Rachel turned the next page and sighed. The following pages were still blank, and the girls exchanged a worried look.
“Five fairy tales are still missing,” said Rachel in a low voice.
“And there are five more magic objects to find,” Kirsty added. “Oh, Rachel, I wonder what our next fairy tale adventure will be!”
Rachel and Kirsty found Julia’s and Eleanor’s missing magic objects. Now it’s time for them to help
Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek …
“Another beautiful day at Tiptop Castle!” exclaimed Rachel Walker, throwing open the window and breathing in the crisp morning air.
She was looking out of the bedroom that she was sharing with her best friend, Kirsty Tate. They had been having a fun time at the Fairy Tale Festival, and they couldn’t wait for this morning’s ballroom-dancing lesson.
“I can’t believe how lucky we are,” said Kirsty, who was brushing her hair at the beautiful vanity table. “It’s amazing that the festival is being held here, so close to Tippington—and we’ve made some great new friends.”
“We should go down to the ballroom,” said Kirsty, looking at her alarm clock. “The ballroom-dancing lesson will be starting soon and I don’t want to miss a second!”
The girls hurried down the spiral staircase, still thinking about their fairy friends. So far, they had helped Julia the Sleeping Beauty Fairy and Eleanor the Snow White Fairy get their magic objects back. Now Sleeping Beauty and her prince and Snow White and the seven dwarves were all back inside their worlds. But there were still five magic objects left to find, and many more fairy tale characters to return to their stories.
Text copyright © 2016 by Rainbow Magic Limited
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First edition, January 2016
Cover design by Angela Jun
e-ISBN 978-0-545-86395-7
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Eleanor the Snow White Fairy Page 2