Libby the Writing Fairy

by Daisy Meadows

  “Yes, go for it!” Libby agreed eagerly. She tucked herself inside Rachel’s pencil case, and the girls walked over to the goblin. He was sitting on the picnic blanket again, getting ready to write another chapter.

  “Your story really is amazing!” Kirsty told him.

  “I know,” the goblin said happily, puffing out his chest.

  “We’d really like to read it again,” Kirsty went on. “Would you swap notebooks with me for a minute? You can read my story about a squirrel, even though it’s not half as good as yours.”

  The goblin studied them suspiciously. Then he squealed with rage. “I can see that fairy hiding in your pencil case!” he hissed at Rachel. “Leave me alone!”Clutching the notebook tightly to his chest, he jumped up and raced away.

  “Sorry, girls, he saw me peeking out!” Libby said with a gasp.

  “Don’t worry, Libby,” Rachel assured her. “We’ll catch him!” She and Kirsty ran off after the goblin.

  Some of the other kids noticed the goblin running away, and they followed, shouting, “Come back! We want to hear the rest of your story!”

  The goblin bolted across the playground, dodging the swings and the sandbox. Then, to the girls’ dismay, he seemed to vanish! But Rachel spotted him climbing up a tree in the distance, just before he disappeared into the highest branches. Quickly, Libby and the girls ran after him.

  “Where did that boy go?” asked one of the other kids. Everyone looked very disappointed when they couldn’t spot the goblin anywhere. After a few minutes, they all gave up and headed back to the workshop. Meanwhile, Kirsty and Rachel slipped behind the tree, out of sight.

  “Fairies can’t climb, but they can fly!” Libby whispered, smiling. With one swish of her wand, Rachel and Kirsty were instantly transformed into tiny, winged fairies! Together, the three friends all flew up into the tree.

  The goblin was sitting on a branch, still gripping the notebook. He yelped in angry surprise when Libby and the girls appeared. He began edging warily along the branch, away from them.

  “Go away!” the goblin roared.

  “Let’s try and get the notebook,” Libby whispered to the girls. “We’ll just have to be careful the goblin doesn’t fall out of the tree!”

  The three of them took turns swooping down, trying to grab the notebook, but the goblin kept swatting them away with his free hand. Then Kirsty had an idea! Instead of flying down from above, she flew underneath the branch — and popped up right in front of the goblin.

  “Aaargh!” he screamed, throwing up his hands in fright. He dropped the magic notebook! Rachel and Libby raced to catch it, but they were just a second too late. The notebook tumbled down through the air.

  Suddenly, the boy in the green hat from the workshop appeared under the tree. He caught the notebook and glanced up to see where it had come from. Kirsty’s heart sank as she saw a long, green nose underneath the hat.

  “It’s another goblin!” she said to her friends with a frown. “And he has the magic notebook!”

  How would they ever get the notebook back now?

  “Now it’s my turn to write a story in the magic notebook!” the goblin cried in glee. Waving the notebook over his head, he skipped off toward the playground. Libby, Rachel, and Kirsty all groaned.

  “After him, girls!” Libby yelled. Leaving the other goblin to climb down the tree, the three fairy friends zoomed off.

  When Libby, Rachel, and Kirsty caught up with the goblin in the green hat, they found him perched on the jungle gym. He was scribbling frantically in the magic notebook, muttering the words aloud to himself.

  “ ‘The goblin in the green hat raced up to the battlements of the Ice Castle, where he found the goblin emperor waiting for him.’

  “ ‘Now we’ll see who’s the most handsome, smart, and brave goblin of them all!’ the goblin in the hat cried.”

  As the goblin continued his story, describing how the two goblins fought an exciting duel, some of the other kids from the writing workshop hurried over to listen.

  “We’ll have to wait until everyone’s gone before we try to get the notebook again,” Libby whispered, waving for the girls to hide behind one of the slides.

  Rachel nodded. But she couldn’t help noticing how entranced the audience was with the goblin’s story. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head! She quickly whispered it to Kirsty and Libby.

  “You want me to disguise you as Crafts Week judges?” Libby raised her eyebrows. “Of course I can do that!”

  Libby waved her wand over Kirsty and Rachel, and glittery fairy sparkles fell softly around them. When the magic mist cleared, the girls looked at each other in surprise. Kirsty wore a pair of glasses and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, while Rachel wore a big sunhat with the brim pulled down low. Both girls were wearing pretty floral dresses instead of their T-shirts and shorts.

  “Good luck!” Libby whispered, sliding into the pocket of Kirsty’s dress with a wink. Then the girls hurried out from behind the slide.

  The goblin was just finishing his story. “And the goblin in the baseball hat became the new Emperor of the Ice Castle!” he cried. “His powerful magic changed his baseball hat into a golden crown, glimmering with sparkling green emeralds. . . .”

  As the kids all applauded, Kirsty and Rachel walked up to the goblin.

  “Your story was wonderful!” Kirsty told him. “My friend and I are Crafts Week judges. Your story is so good, we want everyone, everywhere, to read it!”

  “Hooray!” the goblin cheered, waving the magic notebook around his head in excitement.

  “We want to turn your story into a book that will be in every bookstore and library in the world,” Rachel said as the other kids began to drift back to the workshop.

  “To do that, we’ll need your notebook,” Kirsty added, holding out her hand. She tried not to look too eager. Would the goblin agree — or would he guess what they were up to?

  “Sure!” the goblin agreed immediately, handing the magic notebook to Kirsty. Both girls breathed huge sighs of relief as Libby zoomed out of Kirsty’s pocket.

  “Give that back, you pesky fairy!” the goblin screeched furiously as Libby took her precious notebook. As the notebook shrank to its Fairyland size in a cloud of sparkling magic, the goblin who’d been in the tree ran over to the jungle gym.

  “You lost the notebook, you fool!” he yelled, glaring at the other goblin.

  “Don’t call me a fool!” the second goblin shouted. “My story was a million times more exciting than yours!”

  Libby winked at the girls and quickly waved her wand. There was a burst of sparkling fairy dust. Suddenly, both goblins looked surprised to find themselves holding a book bound in bright green leather with gold writing on the cover.

  “Now you each have a copy of your own story,” Libby said with a smile.

  The goblins looked thrilled.

  “I’ll read you my story,” the first goblin said as they headed off across the park.

  “No, I’ll read you my story!” the other goblin snapped back.

  As the goblins wandered into the distance, still arguing, Libby turned to Rachel and Kirsty. “Girls, our story today will have a very happy ending, thanks to you!” She smiled. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am. Your friendship and loyalty mean so much to all of us in Fairyland.” Then, with one flick of her wand, Libby’s magic swept away the girls’ disguises, returning them to normal. “Now go and enjoy the rest of your writing workshop,” Libby said. “I’ll see you very soon!” With a wave, she vanished.

  When Kirsty and Rachel rejoined the workshop, they could already see a difference. All the kids were writing in their notebooks, brows furrowed in concentration. Poppy was also looking much happier as she walked around, offering advice.

  “I feel like I’m bursting with ideas now!” Kirsty remarked, flipping open her n
otebook. “I thought of a fantastic adventure for my squirrel.”

  “I’m going to finish the story about the Rainbow Fairies we started earlier,” Rachel decided. “I can remember everything that happened now!”

  The girls began to write, and soon they were absorbed in their stories. They scribbled away, occasionally stopping to read different parts out loud to each other.

  “You’re working hard!” Poppy commented, walking over. “Can I see what you’ve written?”

  Feeling shy, Rachel handed over her notebook.

  “Rachel, this story is wonderfully creative!” Poppy declared with a smile. “I love your seven fairy characters, especially Ruby the Red Fairy. You’ve made them so real, they could almost fly off the page!”

  “Thank you, Poppy,” Rachel said proudly.

  “I think you should enter this in the Crafts Week competition,” Poppy went on, handing the notebook back to Rachel.

  “That’s perfect, Rachel!” Kirsty exclaimed happily. “Now we’ll both have an entry in the competition tomorrow.”

  Just then, Poppy clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “I’m afraid the workshop is over,” she announced. “I hope you all enjoyed it. And to end the day, I have some signed copies of my latest book for you. It’s called A Rainspell Island Fairy Tale.”

  Kirsty and Rachel grinned at each other. The new book sounded fabulous. They couldn’t wait to read it! But they couldn’t help feeling awfully lucky. After all, even Poppy Fields, the famous author, didn’t know about their secret fairy friends! Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t wait for their next fairy adventure!

  Rachel and Kirsty have found Kayla, Annabelle, Zadie, Josie, Violet, and Libby’s missing magic objects. Now it’s time for them to help the final Magical Crafts Fairy

  Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek. . . .

  “I’m so sad that it’s our last day of vacation,” Kirsty Tate sighed, placing a pile of folded T-shirts in her suitcase. “But I’m super excited about the Crafts Week exhibition and competition today!”

  “So am I,” Rachel Walker agreed. The girls were in Kirsty’s attic bedroom at the b and b, getting their things ready to head home that evening. They’d spent the week on Rainspell Island, staying every other night at the b and b with Mr. and Mrs. Tate, and alternate nights at the campsite with Rachel’s parents.

  “It’s been so much fun trying out all these different crafts, hasn’t it?” said Kirsty enthusiastically, and Rachel nodded. It was Crafts Week on Rainspell Island, and for the past six days the girls had attended all sorts of workshops. Today there was an exhibition of the best crafts created during the week. Prizes were going to be awarded!

  “And isn’t it great that we both have entries in the exhibition, Kirsty?” Rachel asked, stuffing socks into her suitcase. “I think your painting of me under a rainbow should definitely win a prize.”

  “No, I think your story about us meeting the Rainbow Fairies on our first visit to Rainspell Island should win!” Kirsty laughed. “Of course, no one except us knows that it’s all true!”

  At that moment, Mrs. Tate came in. “Girls, have you finished packing yet?” she asked.

  “Almost, Mom,” Kirsty replied, putting her bathroom bag into her suitcase. “Can we bring our entries to Artie for the exhibition now?” Artie Johnson was the organizer of the Rainspell Island Crafts Week.

  “Then we agreed to help bake cakes and cookies to serve at the exhibition this afternoon,” Rachel added.

  “I’m looking forward to tasting them!” Mrs. Tate said with a smile. “Off you go! We’ll see you at the exhibition later.”

  The girls called good-bye to Mr. Tate and hurried out of the b and b. Rachel carried the notebook that author Poppy Fields had given her at the writing workshop, and Kirsty had her painting tucked under her arm.

  A huge tent had been set up on the boardwalk for the exhibition. The girls slipped inside and quickly found Artie and her helpers setting up tables.

  “Hello, girls,” Artie said, beaming at them. “Do you have something for me?”

  Rachel and Kirsty handed over the notebook and painting.

  “Good luck in the competition,” Artie told them. “What are you doing until then?”

  “We’re going to the Sunshine Cake Shop,” Rachel explained. “We’re helping bake goodies for the exhibition.”

  “My husband, Ben, is the head baker there,” Artie said, her eyes twinkling. “I’m sure he’ll be delighted to have some extra hands helping out!”

  After saying good-bye to Artie, the girls left the tent and walked back along the boardwalk to Main Street.

  “The exhibition is going to be so much fun!” Rachel said excitedly.

  “As long as Jack Frost doesn’t ruin everything,” Kirsty replied with a sigh.

  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 978-0-545-72322-0

  Copyright © 2014 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Previously published as Magical Crafts Fairies #6: Libby the Story-Writing Fairy by Orchard U.K. in 2014.

  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, March 2015

  www.rainbowmagiconline.com