Rachel and Kirsty both grabbed onto the glass ball.
“Now!” Rachel whispered.
Both girls fluttered their wings, struggling to fly upward while lifting the glass ball. To their relief, it was just light enough for them to carry. Gradually, the girls rose into the air, higher and higher, until they were out of the goblins’ reach.
As Rachel and Kirsty hovered in mid-air, holding the sparkling glass ball, they looked at the goblins down below. They had given up searching and had started arguing instead.
“Who threw the glass ball in the first place?” one of them grumbled.
“Well, it wasn’t ME!” another goblin retorted.
“I bet it’s YOUR fault!” the first goblin shouted, prodding another in the stomach.
“No, it’s HIS fault!” that goblin snapped, pushing the goblin in the green hat over. With a howl of rage, the green hat-wearing goblin tumbled backward into a deep snowdrift and disappeared from sight.
Immediately, the other goblins began pushing and shoving each other until they all ended up stuck in the snowdrift, their arms and legs waving frantically.
Meanwhile, a beaming Stella flew over to join Rachel and Kirsty. “We did it, girls!” Stella cried, her eyes shining. “And now I think it’s time to take the magic glass ball straight back to Fairyland.”
She lifted her wand. In a whirl of green sparkles, Rachel and Kirsty were whisked away, the goblins’ grumbles ringing in their ears.
As they flew over Fairyland, Rachel and Kirsty looked down to see a large crowd of fairies waiting around the Christmas tree by the royal palace. Everyone looked very anxious, but when they saw Stella, Rachel, and Kirsty flying toward them with the glass ball, they clapped their hands in joy.
“Thank you, thank you,” cried Queen Titania, coming to greet the girls as they landed.
“Our glass ball ornament is safely home again,” King Oberon declared, smiling.
“Rachel, Kirsty, would you put it back on the tree for us?” Stella asked sweetly.
“We’d love to!” Rachel and Kirsty chorused. They carried the glass ball over to the tree.
There were ornaments on every branch, except for a big one near the middle. Carefully, the girls hung the glass ball on the branch. It swayed gently, glittering and gleaming and sending flashes of rainbow colors here and there.
“We left the goblins stuck in a snowdrift!” Stella told the king and queen with a grin.
“They were arguing so much, it’ll take them ages to dig themselves out!” Kirsty added.
Everyone laughed, but then Queen Titania sighed.
“Stella, Rachel, and Kirsty,” she said solemnly, “you have done very well to return the candle and the glass ball. But the last decoration, the star, is the most important one of all!”
“Why?” Rachel asked. “Because without the magic star, the stars will not twinkle in the night sky,” the queen explained. “And without the stars, Santa Claus can’t find his way to deliver the presents on Christmas Eve.”
“You mean nobody will get any presents?” Kirsty gasped.
The queen nodded sadly.
“And Christmas Eve is tomorrow,” Rachel said. “We don’t have much time left!”
“At least we know where the star is,” Stella pointed out. “It’s hidden somewhere in Goblin Grotto.”
“Then we’ll have to go there and get it back!” Kirsty said in a determined voice. “Can you take us, Stella?”
The little fairy nodded solemnly.
“We won’t let you down,” Rachel told the king and queen firmly.
“Thank you,” Queen Titania replied. “And now I think you both deserve a good rest. Go home, and forget all about the goblins until tomorrow.”
The two girls said their good-byes as the Fairy Queen waved her wand. In a swirl of fairy dust, the girls were swept up and carried home. They landed gently on Kirsty’s front doorstep.
“We have to find the star tomorrow, Kirsty,” Rachel said.
“Yes,” Kirsty agreed. “Christmas just won’t be Christmas without Santa!”
Suddenly, Rachel pointed at the living room window. “Look, Kirsty!” she said, smiling widely. “Your Christmas tree lights are working again!”
“Hooray!” Kirsty cried happily.
The two girls rushed inside.
Mr. Tate was sitting on the couch, looking very pleased with himself. “Well, I fixed the lights, girls,” he announced. “It was just a matter of changing every bulb on the string.”
Rachel and Kirsty smiled at each other.
“That’s what Dad thinks,” Kirsty whispered.
“But we know better!” Rachel added.
“I wonder what Goblin Grotto is like,” Rachel said, excitedly. It was Christmas Eve, and she and Kirsty were out in the Tates’ backyard, sweeping the snow off the paths. “Do you think it’ll be scary?”
“I hope not!” Kirsty replied with a laugh, brushing away the last heap of snow.
“But don’t forget, we’ll have Stella there with all her fairy magic to help us!”
Rachel grinned and nodded. “But how will we get the star without the goblins seeing us?” she went on. “I mean, even if we’re fairy-size, there’s still a chance we’ll be spotted.”
“I know,” Kirsty agreed. “But it’s not going to stop us from trying, is it?”
“Of course not!” Rachel said in a determined voice. “We have to get the star back, or there will be no real stars in the sky to guide Santa when he’s delivering presents!” Then she shaded her eyes and gazed across the yard. “Kirsty, look at that cute little robin.”
Kirsty looked where Rachel was pointing. A robin was bobbing through the air, coming straight toward them.
“There’s something on its back,” Kirsty said in surprise.
“Hello, girls!” called a tiny voice.
“Stella!” Rachel gasped.
The fairy was riding along on the robin’s back, waving at Rachel and Kirsty. The little bird landed on the fence. Stella hopped off and patted the robin’s head. It flew away into a nearby tree.
“Are you here to take us to Goblin Grotto?” asked Rachel.
Stella nodded. “Are you sure you want to do this, girls?” she asked, her face very serious.
“Of course we do!” Rachel replied firmly.
“But we’re worried about being spotted by the goblins,” Kirsty added. “We need some sort of disguise.”
“Oh!” Rachel exclaimed suddenly. “Maybe we could disguise ourselves as goblins!”
“That’s a great idea!” Kirsty agreed. “Could you make us goblin-size and green, Stella?”
“Oh yes!” The fairy laughed.
“If we wrap scarves around our faces and put up our hoods like the goblins have been doing, no one will even notice us!” Rachel said happily.
“Here goes!” Stella cried. She waved her wand, sending sparkling fairy dust spinning all around the girls. Immediately, they shrank down to the size of goblins.
“Am I green?” asked Kirsty. Then she caught sight of Rachel’s face and burst out laughing. Her friend was as green as the greenest goblin! Rachel was laughing too hard at Kirsty’s face to answer.
“You’re both green all over!” Stella said with a smile, as the girls took off their gloves and laughed again at their green fingers. “There’s just one problem, though,” the fairy went on with a frown. “My magic can’t make you look mean and nasty like the goblins. So you’ll have to do that yourselves.”
Kirsty and Rachel were still giggling at each other’s faces.
“Try to look as angry and grumpy as you can,” Stella told them.
Rachel and Kirsty managed to stop laughing. Rachel screwed up her face into a frown, while Kirsty scowled and narrowed her eyes.
“That’s not mean and nasty enough,” Stella declared. “Try again!”
This time, both girls hunched their shoulders and screwed up their faces into the ugliest, grumpiest frowns they could manage.
“Let’s wrap ourselves up, Rachel,” Kirsty said. “That will help hide our faces.”
Quickly, the girls wound their scarves around the lower part of their faces, and pulled up their hoods.
“Now,” Stella went on, “are you ready to come with me to Goblin Grotto, my goblin friends?”
Both girls nodded eagerly. With a flick of Stella’s wand and a shower of magic sparkles, they were on their way!
Seconds later, in a whirl of fairy magic, Stella, Rachel, and Kirsty arrived at Goblin Grotto. The two girls had never been there before, and they stared around curiously.
The goblins lived in small wooden huts that were dotted around the foot of a snow-covered hill. Smoke curled from the chimneys of all the houses. The ground was covered with thick snow and ice, and the sky overhead was grim and gray with no sign of the sun. At the top of the hill, Rachel and Kirsty could see Jack Frost’s ice castle. A cold, gray mist drifted around its frozen blue turrets.
“Brrr,” whispered Kirsty, wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s even colder here than it is at home!”
Rachel, who was closest to one of the wooden huts, peered cautiously through the window. A fire was burning merrily in the fireplace, and a goblin was slumped in an armchair in front of it. He was stretching out his toes near the flames and mumbling under his breath.
“Oh, my feet are frozen!” he complained.
Rachel smiled. “Look,” she whispered to Kirsty. “I’d forgotten how much goblins hate to have cold feet.”
Kirsty peeked through the window and grinned.
“Girls!” Stella gasped, tapping Rachel on the shoulder. “Someone’s coming!”
Suddenly feeling very scared, Rachel and Kirsty spun around. A big goblin with a wart on the end of his nose was tramping down the snowy path toward them.
“Quick, Stella!” Kirsty said urgently. “Hide!”
“All right,” Stella whispered. “But put on your grumpiest faces, girls.”
The fairy fluttered out of sight behind the wooden hut, and Kirsty and Rachel screwed their faces up into ugly frowns. Hearts thumping, they waited as the goblin came closer. Would he realize that they were humans in disguise, and not goblins at all?
As the goblin passed, he threw the two girls a grumpy look. “What are you staring at?” he snapped.
Rachel and Kirsty didn’t reply, and the goblin trudged on his way. Both girls sighed with relief.
“Our disguise worked!” Kirsty said.
“Well done, girls,” Stella said, flying out from behind the hut. “Now we must find the star!”
Rachel’s face fell. “But how are we going to do that?” she asked. “We can’t search the houses if there are goblins inside them.”
Kirsty nodded thoughtfully and gazed around. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide. “Actually, I don’t think finding the star is going to be a problem,” she said. “But getting it down might be!”
Rachel and Stella looked confused.
“What do you mean, Kirsty?” asked Rachel.
“Look,” Kirsty replied, pointing down the path.
Stella and Rachel turned to see what Kirsty was pointing at.
There, in the middle of the goblin village, above the roofs of the wooden huts, they could just see the tip of a tall Christmas tree. Perched on the very top was a large, silver star. It shimmered and shone in the cold, gray air. And as it sparkled, every so often it sent dazzling darts of silver fairy dust shooting into the sky.
“It’s the star from the Fairyland Christmas tree!” Stella exclaimed in delight. “You found it!”
Rachel, Kirsty, and Stella stared up at the star.
“Quick, let’s go and get it right away!” Stella whispered urgently.
As fast as they could, the girls hurried along the snow-covered path to the center of the village.
“How will we get the star down?” Kirsty asked anxiously.
“Without all those goblins seeing us!” Rachel added, stopping dead as she stared at the scene ahead of her.
A crowd of grown-up goblins and goblin children were gathered near the Christmas tree, having a party. They were all wrapped up in hats, scarves, and coats. One was selling food, and there was a group of carolers holding lanterns. They were all singing out of tune, just like the goblin who’d had the magic candle. They sounded so bad that Kirsty wanted to put her hands over her ears! “Goblins aren’t very good singers, are they?” she whispered to Rachel. Rachel shook her head. “But they seem to be enjoying themselves,” she whispered back, as the goblins launched into another tuneless song.
“We have to get the star down somehow,” Stella said thoughtfully. “Girls, if I fly up and push the star off the top of the tree without being spotted, can you try to catch it?”
“Yes, that’s a great idea!” Rachel said with a grin.
“We’ll go and stand under the tree, as close as we can get,” Kirsty whispered to Stella. “Good luck!”
Stella zoomed off, and Rachel turned to Kirsty.
“Let’s join the party,” she said. “But we’d better try and sing out of tune, or they might guess that we’re not real goblins!”
Putting on their nastiest faces, Rachel and Kirsty hurried over to join the carolers. None of the goblins gave them a second glance as they stood at the back of the group. Then the girls began to sing, doing their best to sound flat and tuneless as they inched closer to the tree.
“There’s Stella!” Kirsty whispered to Rachel.
Rachel glanced up. Stella was flying high overhead, taking cover behind the gray clouds. She hovered above the tree, looking around nervously, and then began to float downward.
Suddenly, the goblin standing next to Kirsty elbowed her in the ribs. Kirsty almost fell over with fright. Had he noticed Stella?
“You’re singing out of tune!” he said with a scowl.
“Sorry!” Kirsty muttered, as gruffly as she could. She decided to sing more quietly.
Rachel could see that Stella had landed on the top of the tree, and was now releasing the star from the cords that held it in place. When she was ready, the little fairy waved at Rachel. Carefully, Rachel edged up next to the tree. As Stella pushed the star gently off the top, Rachel held out her hands.
The star fell toward her, sparkling as it tumbled through the air. It seemed very bright to Rachel. She was sure one of the goblins would spot it! But, to her relief, nobody seemed to notice, and she caught it safely before it hit the ground. Quickly, she tucked it inside her coat, and edged her way back to Kirsty.
“I’ve got it!” she whispered joyfully.
“Great!” Kirsty beamed.
“What are you whispering about?” snapped the grumpy goblin next to her. He stared curiously at the girls, and they both began to feel nervous!
“Do your best grumpy face,” Rachel muttered.
She and Kirsty pulled their faces into angry frowns, but the goblin didn’t stop staring.
“Look!” one of the other carolers shouted suddenly. “The star is missing from the top of the Christmas tree!”
All the goblins looked up, and began to mutter angrily as they saw that the star had disappeared.
“Where is it?”
“Did it fall off ?”
“Who took it?”
Then there was another shout from the goblin selling food. “Look up there!” he cried, pointing toward the top of the tree. “Is that a fairy?”
Rachel and Kirsty stared at each other in horror, then glanced up at Stella. The tiny fairy must have heard the goblin’s cry, because she darted quickly out of sight behind one of the large glass balls hanging on the tree.
Rachel looked down at the front of her coat. To her dismay, she saw that magical, silvery sparks were shooting out from between the buttons. “Oh no!” she whispered.
The goblin next to Rachel noticed the sparks, too. He was staring a
t them! He peered at Rachel’s face, and he suddenly frowned. “You’re not a goblin!” he hissed, stepping in front of her. “You’ve stolen our star!”
Just then, Kirsty, who was still staring up at the tree, felt her hood slip backwards.
“A girl!” yelled the goblin standing next to her. He was staring at Kirsty as if his eyes were going to pop out of his head. “A human girl!”
“And they’ve got the star!” screeched the goblin who had spotted Rachel.
Rachel pushed past him and grabbed Kirsty’s hand. “RUN!” she yelled.
The two girls broke away from the crowd of goblins, but the goblins ran after them, shouting and pushing each other out of the way. Kirsty looked back at the tree anxiously and saw Stella zooming after them.
“Which way?” Rachel panted, as they came to a fork in the path.
“This way!” Kirsty took off down the left-hand fork, and Rachel followed. She glanced back over her shoulder, and her heart sank. Other goblins were coming out of their houses to see what was going on, and they were joining in the chase. Now there were about fifty goblins running after the girls!
“What’s going on?” shouted a gruff voice ahead of them. Rachel and Kirsty saw the goblin who had been warming his toes by the fire, standing in the middle of the path. Like the other goblins, he had heard the noise and had come outside to see what was going on.
“Stop them!” shouted the goblins behind the girls.
“They’ve stolen the magic star!” The goblin held up his hand. “STOP!” he roared.
Stella the Star Fairy Page 3