Bailey the Babysitter Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  “Let’s head back to the forest,” suggested Kirsty.

  She climbed over a root, then darted into a pretty tunnel of willow trees. The branches seemed to bend and curve toward them, hiding the girls from view.

  “Look behind you,” whispered Rachel.

  Kirsty spun around. Somehow, the branches had closed over the entrance to the path! The girls found themselves standing in a secret den covered in fluttering green leaves.

  “My fingers are tingling!” Kirsty gasped.

  “Oh, Kirsty,” marveled Rachel. “We’re being called to Fairyland!”

  A burst of glittering light swirled around Kirsty and Rachel, spinning the girls around and around. The willow branches began to sway, their leaves shimmering in green and gold.

  Kirsty felt her toes lift off the path. “We’re shrinking to fairy-size!” she cried.

  Rachel smiled, then reached for her best friend’s hand.

  At that moment, a delicate pair of gossamer wings appeared on each girl’s shoulders. The willow trees parted again, and the girls fluttered out into the warm afternoon sunlight.

  A moment later, the girls were standing in a country garden dotted with beautiful golden sunflowers. A long curved path led up to an enchanting toadstool cottage.

  “It’s the Fairyland Nursery!” exclaimed Kirsty.

  A fairy with curly black hair opened a window and peered outside.

  “I’m so thrilled to see you again!” she called. “Come in.”

  When Rachel and Kirsty got to the back door, they recognized Sabrina the Sweet Dreams Fairy. The friends shared a warm hug — they had fond memories of the time they helped Sabrina and the Night Fairies get their bags of magic dust back from Jack Frost.

  “Follow me, girls,” Sabrina said hastily. “Bailey needs your help.”

  Rachel and Kirsty fluttered down the hallway as quickly as they could. When they got to the playroom, they couldn’t believe their eyes. There were fairy babies climbing up the canopies, hiding in toy boxes, and crawling under shelves. The other Night Fairies were rushing up and down trying to coax the little ones back into their cribs. Even Nia the Night Owl Fairy’s magic bag of sleep dust didn’t seem to be working. Poor Bailey stood in the middle of the chaos, clutching a pile of pillows.

  Poof!

  Suddenly, the pillows that Bailey had been carrying changed into a stack of silly dress-up clothes. A little fairy in striped pajamas had crawled up and touched it with her star-topped wand!

  “Please try and remember the rules, Ellie,” sighed Bailey, putting the funny hats and frilly dresses onto a chair. “No magic at naptime.”

  The baby peered up at Bailey and then burst into a peal of fairy giggles. It was impossible to be upset with her, but poor Bailey’s face looked tired and sad.

  “If fairy babies miss their sleep, their spells start going haywire,” she explained. “When Morgan came by to help this afternoon, a stray bolt of baby magic turned her hair blue! It will take hours to fade back to normal again.”

  Morgan the Midnight Fairy peeked her head out from underneath a nearby crib. The fairy’s lovely blonde hair had turned as blue as her dress!

  Rachel squeezed Bailey’s hand. “What can we do to help?” she asked.

  “We have to get my night-light back before bedtime,” replied the flustered fairy. “Missing a nap is one thing, but who knows what will happen if none of the babies sleep tonight!”

  Kirsty thought for a moment. “If the night-light isn’t in Fairyland or the human world, then there’s only one place left to try,” she announced. “Jack Frost’s Ice Castle!”

  “Hold on tight, everyone!” called Bailey. “Please try and stay in line.”

  Kirsty and Rachel smiled at each other. It was hard to believe that they were fluttering through the sky hand in hand with a dozen adorable fairy babies! When the friends had decided to go to the Ice Castle, Bailey thought it best to bring the little ones along, too, so she could look after them. The Night Fairies couldn’t babysit any longer, as they had to get ready for their night’s work.

  “Don’t let go of my hand,” Kirsty whispered gently into the ear of a tiny fairy with dancing green eyes.

  The toddler flipped onto her tummy, then burst into tinkling giggles. Fairy babies could fly, and they couldn’t resist zooming off in zigzags or dizzy loop-the-loops. Bailey had to remind all the babies to fly in a row so that no one got lost. Kirsty was posted at one end of the flying line and Rachel at the other. Bailey flew in the middle of the line, so she could keep an eye on everyone.

  Suddenly, way off in the distance, they could see the spiky silhouette of Jack Frost’s Ice Castle. As the fairies got closer, the air turned cold. Soon they were fluttering around the castle’s icy turrets.

  “Let’s slip in here,” suggested Rachel, pointing to a narrow window.

  Bailey waved her wand and whispered a spell, making the fairies so small that they could slip into the castle unseen.

  She hushed the fairy babies, who thought being silent was a wonderful new game.

  The group fluttered through the castle’s gloomy corridors without making a sound. Rachel took the lead, darting left and right as they fluttered past dungeons, kitchens, and icy staircases. There wasn’t a goblin in sight.

  “Here’s the Throne Room,” breathed Kirsty, approaching an enormous pair of wrought-iron doors.

  Bailey called all the fairy babies around her and asked them to listen carefully.

  “Everyone fly up near the ceiling, please,” she said. “It’s important to stay out of sight.”

  The fairies darted into the Throne Room through a tiny gap in the door. Hordes of goblins were lying on the stone floor, dressed in nightshirts or pajamas. Each had a little night-light beside them, but not a single one was sleeping. Instead, they were throwing blankets around, sticking out their tongues, or spurting hot chocolate everywhere!

  “This way, fairies,” whispered Kirsty, pointing up to the ceiling. “Hide up there!”

  The fairy babies fluttered up to the crystal chandelier in the center of the Throne Room, their little eyes full of wonder.

  “What was that?” barked a goblin, feeling a tiny breeze rush past his nose.

  “Don’t ask me!” bellowed his friend, whacking another goblin in the head with a pillow. “Take this instead!”

  The goblin next to him tried to get up and fight back, but his big green feet were caught in his sleeping bag. The goblin landed on his friends with a noisy thump, sending night-lights scattering in all directions.

  Up on the chandelier, the fairy babies collapsed into delighted giggles. They thought it was the funniest thing they’d ever seen!

  “Those night-lights must have been stolen from the human world,” Rachel told Kirsty.

  “My magic night-light’s here, too,” whispered Bailey. “Look!”

  She pointed at Jack Frost’s ice-blue throne in the center of the room. Jack Frost himself was slumped in the seat, holding the magic night-light! But he looked thoroughly miserable.

  “Why won’t this thing work?” he grumbled, giving the night-light a hard shake. “Silly fairy magic!”

  The friends flew as close to Jack Frost as they dared. As soon as Bailey set her tiny feet on the top of his throne, the magic night-light began to glow. A sweet lullaby started to play. Jack Frost leaped to his feet in surprise.

  “What are you doing here?” he thundered as he spotted the fairies.

  “I’m here for the night-light,” Bailey said boldly. “It belongs to me.”

  Jack Frost snatched up the magic night-light, then dangled it over the side of the throne with one bony finger. The fairy babies on the chandelier shrieked in surprise.

  “It’s useless!” he snapped. “I thought your silly objects would help make my goblins behave, but none of them worked. I’m going to smash the night-light!”

  “The night-light only works for true babysitters,” explained Bailey. “You must want the children in your care to be sa
fe and happy, not just to obey your every command!”

  “Ha!” barked Jack Frost, turning his back and sulking.

  Kirsty and Rachel spotted their chance. The friends darted forward and Rachel grabbed the night-light.

  “Bailey!” called Rachel, tossing the enchanted object through the air. “Catch!”

  As soon as it landed in Bailey’s arms, the magic night-light began to glow even brighter, casting shapes across the Throne Room walls.

  Jack Frost’s face turned white with rage. He swiped at Bailey but missed, landing in a furious heap.

  “Goblins!” he screeched. “Get those pesky fairies!”

  Kirsty nudged Rachel in the ribs. “Jack Frost’s goblins aren’t listening!”

  Now that the magic night-light was working again, the fairy babies had fluttered down from the chandelier. The little ones were trying to snuggle in the blankets next to the goblins! Instead of grabbing the fairies, Jack Frost’s goblins were wailing pitifully and scrambling to get away.

  “Ugh!” yelled one. “This one’s trying to hug me. Get it off!”

  “Help!” yelled another, trying to shake an adorable fairy toddler off his sleeping bag.

  “Of course!” Rachel grinned. “Goblins can’t stand babies — human or fairy ones!”

  “Luckily, babies love goblins!” replied Kirsty.

  A terrified goblin glanced up at the pretty shadows the night-light was casting on the castle walls.

  “It gets worse!” he shouted, pointing at the silhouettes. “Now giant Pogwurzels are coming to get us!”

  The room dissolved into shrieking as panicked goblins fled in every direction. Jack Frost sat in the middle with his face in his hands.

  “It’s nearly fairy bedtime,” said Bailey. “Should we go home?”

  Once the fairy babies were all settled in their cribs back at the Fairyland Nursery, Bailey sat down to read them a bedtime story.

  “Why don’t we have Spikilocks and the Three Goblins,” suggested Bailey, touching an old leather-covered book with her wand.

  Kirsty and Rachel watched spellbound as a parade of tiny storybook characters tripped through the air above the babies’ heads. The story was so enchanting, even they couldn’t help feeling a little sad when Bailey closed the book and said it was the end.

  “Sweet dreams,” smiled Kirsty, fluttering from crib to crib.

  “It was magical meeting you,” added Rachel, kissing each of the babies good night.

  Bailey turned on her night-light, filling the room with a warm glow. A lovely lullaby began to play.

  “I can’t thank you enough,” she whispered, wrapping the girls in a tight hug. “Now little ones everywhere can be happy and safe again!”

  “And we’ve got some babysitting to do tonight,” said Kirsty. “Don’t we, Rachel?”

  Rachel thought of Lily and Tom. The friends couldn’t miss their last night in the lodge!

  “I’ll send you to nighttime in the human world,” said Bailey. “Good-bye, girls!”

  Kirsty and Rachel held hands and shut their eyes tight. When they opened them again, they were back to normal size and standing by the side of the lake in EcoWorld. A stunning silver moon shone down on the water, a thousand tiny stars twinkling brightly behind it.

  “Lantern time!” cried Tom, wrapping his arms around Kirsty’s legs, as the girls wandered up to the Tates, Walkers, and Robinsons.

  Lily squealed with pleasure. “Ra-ra!” she grinned, holding out her paper lantern.

  Rachel gasped. The lanterns had been transformed. Each one sparkled in the moonlight, glinting with tiny gemstones and pearls.

  “It must be fairy magic,” whispered Kirsty to Rachel, as she lifted Tom into her arms.

  Mrs. Robinson came over to the girls. “Enjoy the magical sight!” She smiled. “Afterward we’ll put the little ones to bed.”

  Rachel beamed at Kirsty. She had a feeling that the twins were going to sleep well tonight!

  Don’t miss any of Rachel and Kirsty’s other fairy adventures! Join them as they try to help

  Nicole the Beach Fairy!

  Read on for a special sneak peek. . . .

  “Isn’t it wonderful to be back on Rainspell Island again, Rachel?” Kirsty Tate said happily, gazing out over the shimmering blue-green sea. “It hasn’t changed a bit!”

  Rachel Walker, Kirsty’s best friend, nodded. “Rainspell is still as beautiful as ever,” she replied as the two girls followed the rocky path down to the beach. “This is one of the most special places in the whole world!”

  The Tates and the Walkers were spending school break on Rainspell Island. Even though it was fall, the sky was a clear blue and the sun was shining brightly, so it felt more like summer. Kirsty and Rachel couldn’t wait to get to the beach and dip their toes in the ocean.

  “You’re right, Rachel,” Kirsty agreed, her eyes twinkling. “After all, this is where we first became friends!”

  “And we found lots of other amazing friends here, too, didn’t we?” Rachel laughed.

  Kirsty and Rachel shared a magical secret. During their first visit to Rainspell Island, they’d met the Rainbow Fairies, who had been cast out of Fairyland by Jack Frost’s wicked spell. Since then, the girls had gotten to know many of the other fairies.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Rainbow Magic Limited c/o HIT Entertainment, 830 South Greenville Avenue, Allen, TX 75002-3320.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-63398-7

  Copyright © 2013 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Previously published as Jennifer the Babysitter Fairy by Orchard UK in 2013.

  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. Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and other countries. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.

  First Scholastic printing, May 2014

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