At the bus stop, the girls got off and hurried back toward the pool.
“I didn’t notice the goblin wearing any goggles,” Kirsty said.
“I didn’t either,” Rachel agreed. “But maybe there are two of them in there.”
Kirsty and Rachel went around to the side of the building and pressed their faces up against the glass so that they could see in more clearly. They both gasped in amazement.
“There are goblins everywhere!” Rachel cried.
The whole pool was full of green goblins of all sizes. Some were diving, others were swimming laps, and some were just playing in the shallow end.
“We’d better get in there and start looking for the magic goggles,” Kirsty said. “It might take us a while.”
The girls snuck around the building, looking for a way inside. Unfortunately, the whole place seemed locked. Then Rachel heard footsteps, and the girls hid behind a bush. They peeked through the leaves, and saw someone coming toward them.
It was a goblin, wrapped in a big, striped beach towel. He was wearing a white swim cap and red goggles on his head!
“Are those Samantha’s magic goggles?” Rachel asked Kirsty in a whisper.
Kirsty shook her head. “I think those are just ordinary ones,” she whispered back. “They don’t look magical. The other magic objects have all sparkled with fairy magic.”
The girls watched as the goblin walked to a nearby tree and climbed up into its branches. He started crawling along a thick branch that led to an open window in the building. The goblin reached the window and pulled himself through it. Then he disappeared from view.
“So that’s how they’ve been getting in,” Kirsty said. “Let’s try it.”
Kirsty and Rachel climbed up the tree, along the branch, and in through the window, just like the goblin had done. The girls found themselves in a hallway with tiles on the floor and walls.
“I know where we are,” Rachel said. “The pools are this way.”
She led Kirsty down the hallway. Faint shouts and squeals of excitement echoed up from the pools. The the girls tiptoed along, not wanting to be seen.
At the end of the hallway, they peeked around the corner. Kirsty saw two pools, a large one with a water slide at the far end, and a smaller, more shallow pool in front. In the small pool, seven goblins, all wearing nose plugs, floated on the surface. They were on their backs with their heads together in the middle of the pool. Their legs were pointing out to the sides. It reminded Kirsty of a wheel, with the goblins as the spokes. “What are they doing?” she murmured.
Rachel tried not to laugh out loud. “They’re practicing synchronized swimming!” she whispered. “I don’t see any sparkles around their goggles though, do you?”
The girls stared carefully at the goggles on the goblins’ heads, but they all looked pretty ordinary.
Then the goblins flipped over into handstands, with their bodies underwater and their legs sticking out, toes pointed. They all lowered their left legs, and turned in the water at the same time.
“Come on, let’s sneak by while they’re underwater,” Kirsty said. “Then we can search the main pool.”
The girls raced past the small pool, and hid behind a pile of floats. Then Rachel noticed something interesting. She nudged Kirsty. “Do you see those floats over there?” she asked, pointing to a stack at the water’s edge. “They’re shimmering with pink sparkles!”
“Maybe the magic goggles are over there,” Kirsty whispered. “Let’s go and check.”
The two friends ran over for a closer look. There was no sign of the magic goggles, but both girls smiled when they saw what was making the sparkles. Perched on top of the pile of floats, with her tiny legs dangling over the edge, was Samantha the Swimming Fairy!
Samantha had long, dark hair, and a pink-and-black swimsuit with a pretty pink sarong-style skirt. “Hello there, girls!” she said cheerfully.
“Hello.” Rachel smiled. “We were just searching for your magic goggles!”
“Me, too,” Samantha said. “I can sense that they’re in this building.” She grinned at the girls. “But I can’t let you stay in those jeans and T-shirts! I’ll get you something more appropriate …” She waved her wand and a stream of glittering, powder-pink fairy dust swirled from its tip and whirled around the girls. Seconds later, their clothes were replaced with two-piece swimsuits with ruffled skirts on the bottoms. Rachel’s was lilac with a silvery dolphin pattern, and Kirsty’s was turquoise with a gold seashell print.
“That’s more like it!” Samantha smiled.
“Oh, thank you,” Kirsty said, admiring her suit. “Now we should try looking in the big pool for your goggles, Samantha. None of the goblins in the little pool have them.”
Rachel pointed to the bleacher seats that ran along the side of the main pool. “Let’s duck behind those,” she suggested. “Then we can peek out to look for the goggles and stay hidden.”
“Good idea,” Samantha agreed.
Together, the two girls and their fairy friend snuck behind the plastic seating, and peeked out between the chairs.
Kirsty noticed a goblin wearing a T-shirt that said LIFEGUARD on the front. He was sitting in an extra tall chair by the side of the pool. He kept shouting instructions to the other goblins. But Kirsty’s eye was caught by what dangled from his left hand — a pair of sparkling pink goggles! “Over there,” she whispered to her friends. “I think he has the magic goggles!”
Samantha beamed. “Yes, those are my goggles!” she cheered quietly. “Nice find!”
“Now we just need to think of a way to get a hold of them,” Rachel said thoughtfully.
“How about I turn you both into fairies?” Samantha suggested. “That way we can try to fly really close to the lifeguard without him noticing — and, with a little luck, we can sneak the goggles right out of his hand.”
Rachel and Kirsty nodded.
“Yes, let’s try it,” Kirsty said eagerly.
Samantha waved her wand, and a cloud of light pink sparkles spun around the girls again. This time, they felt themselves shrinking down, down, down until they were fairy-size.
It’s always so exciting to turn into a fairy! thought Kirsty. She fluttered her wings happily, loving the way they glittered with all the colors of the rainbow under the bright lights above the pool.
“Let’s go grab some goggles.” Rachel giggled as she zoomed into the air. Kirsty and Samantha followed, keeping as close to the ceiling as they could so that the goblins in the pool wouldn’t notice them.
As they got closer to the lifeguard, Rachel could hear him bragging.
“I’m the lifeguard, so that means I’m in charge,” he was telling some other goblins. “And I say no splashing, no cannonballs, and no dunking!”
“We’re just having a little fun,” a small goblin replied. “You’re a bully!”
“Rules are rules!” answered the lifeguard. He pointed to his T-shirt in a self-important manner. “Read the shirt!” he ordered. “I’m the lifeguard — what I say goes!”
Kirsty, Rachel, and Samantha hovered behind the lifeguard’s chair, waiting for a good moment to grab the goggles. But the lifeguard kept a tight grip on them. Then he would twirl them around his finger from time to time.
Now a different goblin with a mischievous expression approached. “It’s my turn to have those,” he said, pointing to the magic goggles. “You’ve had them for days, and you’re not even using them! I want to wear them on the water slide.”
“No way,” the lifeguard huffed. “Water-sliding is not an Olympic sport! Remember, we came here to practice Olympic water events, not to play around on slides.”
“But —” the other goblin began, yet there was no stopping the lifeguard.
“Have you forgotten that the Fairyland Olympics are only two days away?” he continued. “Two days! That’s all you’ve got! You should be practicing your strokes instead of going on the slide. Jack Frost won’t be very happy if he hears about this.
”
The other goblin stomped off with a grumpy look on his face. Kirsty thought the lifeguard goblin looked kind of smug as he watched him go. He twirled the magic goggles around his finger again.
The three fairies exchanged glances and flew a little closer. They hoped they could slip the goggles off the lifeguard’s finger and fly away with them. But just then, a cry of alarm came from the water.
“Help!”
Kirsty, Rachel, and Samantha all turned to see what was happening. A goblin was flailing around in the deep end of the pool. He was thrashing his arms and splashing water everywhere.
“Help!” he sputtered again. Then, before the girls knew what was happening, he slipped under the water.
The lifeguard immediately put the magic goggles on and dived into the water with a huge splash.
The three fairies watched as he swam across the pool, his long green arms scooping through the water in a perfect freestyle. In just a few strong strokes, he’d reached the struggling goblin and was pulling him to safety. He popped the magic goggles on top of his head as he reached the side of the pool.
“Wow!” Rachel said admiringly. “He’s an amazing swimmer — or, I guess I should say your goggles are amazing, Samantha, for helping him swim so well.”
Samantha nodded. “They are very powerful goggles,” she agreed with pride. Then her eyes widened. “What’s going on over there?”
Kirsty and Rachel looked and saw that the goblin who’d asked to borrow the magic goggles was now swimming up behind the lifeguard goblin. Suddenly, he reached out his arm and grabbed the magic goggles from the top of the lifeguard’s head. Then he swam off with them, heading toward the water slide.
“That was so tricky!” Rachel exclaimed.
“The lifeguard didn’t notice a thing,” Kirsty added, watching as the lifeguard pulled the struggling goblin out of the water and onto the deck of the pool.
The rescued goblin sputtered and coughed. “I thought I was going blind!” he wailed.
“Blind? Why?” the lifeguard asked.
The rescued goblin coughed again. “I got water in my eyes and it stung,” he explained.
“Ahh,” the lifeguard said, wagging a finger. “If you want to keep water out of your eyes, you need a pair of goggles like mine.”
The rescued goblin frowned. “But you’re not wearing any goggles,” he replied, sounding confused.
The lifeguard clicked his tongue in an impatient way. “Well, I keep them up here when I’m not actually swimming,” he explained, pointing a finger at the top of his head, where the magic goggles had been just seconds earlier.
“Up where? I can’t see them!” the rescued goblin said, completely confused now.
The lifeguard rolled his eyes. “Then you need glasses, not goggles!” he snapped. “Or maybe a new brain,” he muttered. “Honestly!”
Samantha, Kirsty, and Rachel couldn’t help laughing.
“Come on, that rescued goblin’s fine. Let’s find the tricky goblin who took my goggles,” Samantha said.
The three friends flew across the pool, looking for the shimmer of the magic goggles. The water was still full of goblins, but after a minute or so, Kirsty caught a glimpse of pink sparkles and pointed it out to her friends.
“There!” she said. “He’s swimming in the deep end. Can you see him?”
Rachel and Samantha both watched. The goblin with the goggles was slicing through the water with a very strong freestyle.
The three friends flew after the goblin, but he was going very fast. Before they had a chance to catch up, he’d reached the other end of the pool. He was headed for the entrance to the water slide. He got out, pushing the goggles onto his head. Then he climbed up the steps to the slide, cutting in front of a whole crowd of goblins who were waiting their turn. “Let me past! Get out of the way!” he shouted. “Goblin with goggles coming through!”
It wasn’t long before a shoving match broke out between the goblins at the top of the slide.
“Stop pushing!” shouted one.
“Wait your turn!” cried another.
“You’re stepping on my toes!” whined somebody else.
Kirsty, Rachel, and Samantha looked at one another in despair. What were they going to do now? The magic goggles were surrounded by goblins!
Rachel racked her brain, but it was hard to concentrate because it was so noisy. Two goblins were having an argument in the pool down below.
“It’s my turn for the inner tube,” said the taller of the goblins, trying to grab it from the other’s hands.
“No way! I just got it!” the second goblin snapped. “It won’t fit you anyway. It’s too small for you.”
The tall goblin looked upset and splashed the second goblin in the face before angrily swimming away.
But their fight had given Rachel an idea. “Samantha, would you be able to make an inner tube with your magic?” she asked.
“Of course,” said Samantha, holding out her wand.
“And could you make it slightly smaller than usual, please?” Rachel went on.
Samantha nodded. “No problem,” she replied. “Why?”
“Well,” Rachel began, “I was thinking that we could hold it at the bottom of the water slide. Then, when the goblin with the magic goggles comes shooting off of the slide, he’ll go straight into the inner tube. And, if the inner tube’s a little tight, it might trap his arms by his sides.”
Kirsty grinned. “And then we’ll be able to take the magic goggles right off his head!” she finished. “That’s pure genius, Rachel!”
Samantha was smiling. “I love it,” she agreed. “And I can use my fairy magic to make the ring just the right size to pin the goblin’s arms to his sides without hurting him. Let’s see …” She muttered some magical words and waved her wand. Bright pink fairy dust shot from the end of it, and then a tiny turquoise inner tube appeared out of nowhere. It floated in midair.
Rachel beamed. “Perfect,” she said, reaching up to take it.
“I made the inner tube extra small for now, so we can carry it easily and the goblins won’t be able to see it,” Samantha said. “I’ll make it bigger when we’re ready to use it. Let’s go over by the bottom of the slide and wait for our goblin.”
The three fairies carried the inner tube through the air and hovered near the end of the water slide. Lots of goblins were swooshing down the slide, one after another, and splashing into the pool.
“There’s our goblin,” Kirsty said, spotting him as he scooted onto his belly at the top of the slide. “But how are we going to keep track of where he is when he’s in the tube?” she asked. “It’s going to be tricky to catch the right goblin if we don’t know when the goblin with the goggles is going to pop out of the tunnel.”
Samantha winked and waved her wand. A stream of sparkles shot through the air toward the goblin as he pushed off into the giant tube. “There.” She giggled. “I just made his swimming trunks glow bright blue. We should be able to see them shining, even when he’s in the tunnel.”
Rachel laughed. “There he is!” she cried, pointing when a bright blue glow flashed by a window in the tube.
“He’s getting closer,” Kirsty said, as they saw the blue glow zip around a twisty section of pipe and approach the bottom. “Let’s get into position!”
Samantha waved her wand to make the inner tube bigger. She and the girls were getting ready to lower it into the right place, when they heard someone yell from the other end of the pool.
“Hey, look out! There are pesky fairies near the slide!”
Kirsty glanced over her shoulder and gulped. Several angry-looking goblins were pointing and swimming toward them.
She looked nervously at Rachel and Samantha. “We won’t be able to catch the goblin on the slide if all the other goblins come after us,” she cried. “What are we going to do?”
“I’ll take care of this,” Samantha said, pointing her wand at the water. A rush of bubbles and sparkles streamed from the ti
p of her wand and into the pool. Immediately, huge waves appeared and began rolling toward the crowd of goblins. It was as if a wave machine had been switched on!
At first, the goblins tried to push through the waves and reach the fairies, but then Samantha twirled her wand, and a bunch of surfboards and beach balls appeared.
“Hey, I’m a super- surfer!” one goblin shouted, grabbing a board and riding a wave back to the shallow end. “Woohoo!”
After that, all the goblins wanted to be super-surfers. Some lay on boards and coasted along on the waves, while others tried to jump up and stand. Soon they were all whooping with glee and playing in the waves. They had completely forgotten about the fairies! Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t help but giggle.
“They won’t bother us anymore,” Samantha said. “Now let’s get the one with my goggles. Look, he’s just about to come out of the slide!”
Sure enough, the goblin with the magic goggles was coming down the final stretch.
The three fairies gripped the inner tube tightly.
“Here he comes!” Kirsty cried, and, a second later, the goblin with the magic goggles burst headfirst off the slide, straight into the inner tube!
Thanks to Samantha’s magic, the tube was just the right size to pin his arms to his sides. When the girls let go, the goblin was left bobbing up and down in the water like a big green cork.
Samantha flew over and tugged at the rubber strap of her magic goggles. Kirsty and Rachel fluttered over to help her.
“Hey!” shouted the goblin, scowling. “Those goggles are mine!”
“Oh, no they’re not,” Samantha told him sternly. As the goggles came free, they shrank to their Fairyland- size and Samantha dangled them in front of his face. “Besides,” she went on with a clever smile, “I don’t think they would fit you now!”
The Sports Fairies Collection Page 7