The next morning, the girls arrived at the theater bright and early, ready for the final dress rehearsal. Kirsty and Rachel had been very busy practicing their dance whenever they had a moment.
“We practiced so much, I think I was dancing in my sleep last night!” Kirsty laughed. “I don’t want to make any mistakes today.”
“Everyone thought you did great yesterday,” Rachel said. “I mean, we only had about half an hour to practice in our dressing room before we went on stage!”
“Yes, but today we’re going to be doing the whole show from beginning to end,” Kirsty reminded her. “That means the whole cast will be there, so I want to do it right.”
“I can’t wait to see Cinderella’s pumpkin coach,” Rachel said, as they went through the stage door. “Alison, the actress who plays the Fairy Godmother, owns a riding stable. She’s bringing two ponies to pull the coach onto the stage!”
“Oh!” Kirsty exclaimed. “Do you think one of the ponies will be wearing Paige’s magic horseshoe?”
Rachel nodded. “I hope so,” she answered. “But we’ll have to watch out for goblins! If they steal the horseshoe, none of the props will work. And who knows what could happen with the scenery?”
“We have to stop them,” replied Kirsty. “Or Jack Frost will ruin all the Christmas plays everywhere!”
As the girls headed to their dressing room, they noticed a crowd of people standing in the wings of the stage. The people were gathered around two beautiful white ponies, which were harnessed to a dazzling orange-and-gold pumpkin coach.
“Look!” Rachel gasped. “The ponies are here.”
“Let’s go and see,” Kirsty said eagerly.
The girls hurried over to join the admiring crowd. The ponies had been carefully groomed, and their white coats gleamed. They wore pretty golden halters and glittering golden headdresses with fluffy orange feathers.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” Rachel said, stroking the pony closest to her. Both animals were very well-behaved and stood patiently as people pet them.
“They even have golden horseshoes!” whispered Kirsty, pointing down at the ponies’ sparkling hooves. “I wonder which is the magic one.” The girls tried to look closer at the ponies’ horseshoes, but it was hard to do with so many other people around.
“Isn’t the pumpkin coach fantastic, too?” Rachel said. “This is going to be the best part of the whole show!”
Suddenly the director hurried over, clutching his clipboard. “Time for you all to get changed for the dress rehearsal,” he called. “The ponies are going to practice pulling the coach on and off the stage a few times before we start, so we need to clear some space.”
Rachel and Kirsty gave the ponies one last pat and dashed off to their dressing room.
“I wonder if Paige will be waiting for us,” Kirsty said as they went inside.
But there was no sign of the little fairy. Quickly, the girls changed into their dresses and ballet shoes, and put the flowers in their hair.
“We’d better go to the makeup room now,” Rachel said, once they both had their costumes on. When the two girls were ready, it was time for the dress rehearsal to begin. Kirsty and Rachel hurried to join the rest of the cast.
“I’m really nervous,” Kirsty said. “I hope I can remember everything!”
“You were wonderful yesterday, Kirsty,’ said Lucy, the fourth dancer in the group. “You hardly made a single mistake.”
“You’ll be great today, too!” Rachel told her friend confidently.
Everyone was milling around backstage, dressed in their costumes. Rachel and Kirsty were thrilled to see Cinderella in her rags; the ugly stepsisters in their tall wigs and huge dresses; and a very handsome Prince Charming.
“Attention, everyone!” Mr. Robinson said as he bustled in. “Cinderella and the ugly stepsisters on stage for the first scene, please. Everyone else can wait here until they’re called.” He turned to Rachel and Kirsty. “Could you two help out by carrying the ugly stepsisters’ trains, please?”
Rachel and Kirsty laughed as the ugly stepsisters headed toward the stage. They wore big puffy dresses—one striped purple and yellow, the other bright pink with purple spots. Both dresses had long, dragging trains.
Rachel and Kirsty picked up the ugly stepsisters’ trailing skirts and helped them take their places in the wings. Then the girls found a quiet spot where they could watch without getting in anyone’s way. There was a burst of music, and the dress rehearsal began.
The girls enjoyed themselves as they watched the familiar story unfolding before them. They felt sorry for Cinderella when the ugly stepsisters wouldn’t let her go to the ball, and they wanted to cheer when the Fairy Godmother arrived in Cinderella’s kitchen.
“You will go to the ball, Cinderella!” declared the Fairy Godmother. “Bring me a pumpkin!”
Rachel nudged Kirsty and pointed at the wings on the opposite side of the stage. The ponies were ready to pull the pumpkin coach on stage. As the Fairy Godmother waved her wand over the ordinary pumpkin that Cinderella brought her, there was a glittering flash of smoke. A stagehand quickly removed the pumpkin. At the same moment, another stagehand sent the ponies trotting onto the stage. The coach glittered and the ponies’ white coats gleamed in the bright spotlights. Kirsty and Rachel couldn’t help gasping.
“Isn’t it cool, the way the pumpkin disappears and the coach takes its place?” Kirsty whispered. “It’s just like real magic!”
Rachel nodded. “The audience is going to love it!” she whispered.
Suddenly, a piece of wooden scenery that was painted to look like a kitchen cabinet full of shelves of plates toppled over.
It fell to the floor with a loud BANG! Everyone jumped, and the ponies were startled, too. They whinnied with fright and broke into a canter, dashing across the stage past Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother, and dragging the coach behind them.
“The ponies are really scared, Kirsty,” Rachel cried. “We have to stop them!”
The ponies galloped into the wings where Rachel and Kirsty were standing. The two girls quickly stepped forward and grabbed the ponies’ golden lead ropes, bringing them safely to a stop.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen!” they heard Mr. Robinson wail from the front row of the theater.
“It’s OK,” Rachel said soothingly, patting the pony closest to her on the nose. “Calm down.” As she stroked the pony, she noticed one extra-bright sparkle in the middle of its feathered headdress. Suddenly, Paige popped out from between the orange feathers.
“Hello, girls!” she whispered. As Rachel heard footsteps running across the stage toward them, Paige fluttered to hide on Kirsty’s shoulder.
Alison, the ponies’ owner, dashed over to Kirsty and Rachel, holding up the long skirt of her Fairy Godmother costume. “Oh, you managed to catch them!” she said gratefully. “Thanks, girls. I should have stopped them myself, but I wasn’t expecting them to bolt like that!”
“I think they’re fine now,” Kirsty replied, handing the lead ropes to Alison.
“I’ll just check them out,” Alison said, running her hand up and down the ponies’ legs. “Oh, no!” she exclaimed suddenly. “Snowflake lost one of her shoes!”
Kirsty and Rachel could see that the golden horseshoe on Snowflake’s front left hoof was missing.
“I don’t understand it,” Alison went on, shaking her head. “Both horses had all four of their shoes before the dress rehearsal!”
“Maybe Snowflake lost her shoe on the stage,” Rachel suggested.
“Or in the wings,” Kirsty added.
Alison nodded. “If I can find it, my blacksmith will be able to fit it for the performance,” she said, and hurried off.
The next moment, Paige peeked out from under Kirsty’s hair. “Girls, the missing horseshoe is no ordinary shoe,” she announced. “It’s the magic horseshoe!”
Kirsty and Rachel looked at each other.
“So that’s why the piece of scen
ery fell over!” exclaimed Rachel. “It’s because the magic horseshoe is missing!”
Paige nodded. “I think the goblins used some of Jack Frost’s magic to make the horseshoe fall off,” she explained. “Girls, we must get the horseshoe back—and fast!”
“So there are goblins around somewhere,” said Rachel, glancing over her shoulder. “We’d better keep our eyes open.”
Just then, Mr. Robinson called everyone onto the stage.
“We need to find the golden horseshoe as quickly as possible,” he declared. “Otherwise, Snowflake can’t perform in the play. Can someone please go get the rest of the cast so that everyone can help look?”
Rachel and Kirsty began searching for the horseshoe around the wings. Suddenly, Rachel jumped as she heard a door slam at the back of the auditorium, near the theater’s lobby. Rachel frowned. Why would anyone leave the auditorium to search the lobby? The ponies hadn’t been brought in through the main entrance.
Rachel nudged Kirsty. “I think that was a goblin going into the lobby,” she whispered.
“Let’s go and see,” Paige said eagerly.
The girls left the stage and hurried up the aisle. No one noticed—they were all too busy looking for the horseshoe! Rachel pulled the heavy door open and the two girls slipped into the lobby.
“Look!” Kirsty cried, pointing at the stairs leading up to the balcony seats. A goblin was just disappearing around the curve in the stairs. In his hand was a gleaming, glittering, golden horseshoe.
“We have to catch him, girls!” Paige called. “Let me turn you into fairies. We’ll be quicker that way.”
Rachel and Kirsty stood still as Paige showered them with fairy magic. Immediately, they found themselves shrinking until they were exactly the same size as the little fairy! Glittering wings shimmered on their backs. The girls fluttered into the air and followed Paige up the balcony staircase.
“I can’t see the goblin,” Rachel said anxiously as they reached the top of the stairs.
“He could be hiding in the rows of seats,” Kirsty pointed out. Paige and the girls flew slowly above the seats, searching for the goblin. Suddenly, Rachel spotted him. “There he is!” she whispered, pointing. On the right side of the balcony, a goblin’s head was poking up from behind a row of seats. The friends flew over and hovered high above him so he wouldn’t notice them. They could see both of his hands, and it was clear that he didn’t have the horseshoe. “He must have hidden it somewhere,” Paige declared.
“But look over there,” Kirsty said pointing at the back row of seats on the left side of the balcony. “There’s another goblin!”
Sure enough, another green head was peeking over the seats. Paige, Kirsty, and Rachel rushed over, but to their dismay, that goblin didn’t have the horseshoe, either.
“Oh, no!” Paige sighed. “How many goblins are there?”
“And which one has the horseshoe?” Rachel added.
The girls had to figure out what to do next—and fast!
“Let’s split up and each search a section of the balcony,” Kirsty suggested.
“Good idea,” Paige agreed.
Rachel flew over to the right side of the balcony, Kirsty to the left, and Paige took the middle. Kirsty flew along the rows, but she couldn’t see any other goblins. Just then, Kirsty caught sight of a burst of golden sparkles coming from Paige’s wand in the middle of the center row of seats. Paige was doing a little dance in the air, and pointing down. Paige found the magic horseshoe! Kirsty realized with excitement.
Rachel had noticed, too. Both girls zoomed over to Paige, who could hardly contain her excitement. Her cheeks rosy, she pointed her wand at a goblin crouched in the middle row. There, in his knobbly green hand, the magic golden horseshoe glittered!
But at that moment, the goblin glanced up. He gave a loud yelp when he saw Paige and the girls and immediately scrambled away. He ran to the end of the row, then dashed up the aisle and into a small booth at the back of the balcony.
“Where’s he going?” Kirsty asked as they flew after him.
“That’s the sound and lighting booth, Rachel explained. “It’s where the engineer controls all the microphones and spotlights and special effects for the play.”
The goblin had slammed the door of the booth shut behind him, so the girls flew to the front and looked in through the window. Hovering at the glass, Paige and the girls could see that the goblin had used a chair to wedge the door shut.
“There’s no way we can get in, not even if Paige makes us human-size again!” Kirsty pointed out. “How are we going to get the horseshoe now?”
The goblin inside the booth looked very pleased with himself. “Nah, nah!” He stuck out his tongue and wiggled his hands next to his ears. “Can’t catch me!”
The other two goblins on the balcony started laughing smugly, too.
“Not so great now without your fairy magic, are you?” one of them sneered at the girls.
“We have the magic horseshoe, and we’re not giving it back!” the other one jeered.
But Rachel had spotted something in the wall of the booth. “Look at this air vent,” she said, pointing. “The holes are big enough for a fairy to get through.” “You’re right. Follow me,” Paige called as she flew through the air vent into the booth. Rachel and Kirsty did the same. Once inside the booth, Paige sent a stream of sparkles over to Kirsty and Rachel, making them human-size again!
The goblin inside the booth was staring out the window, wondering where Paige and the girls had gone. A look of horror crossed his face when he turned and saw the girls inside the booth with him.
“Go away!” he yelled, hugging the horseshoe tightly. “You can’t have it! Help!” he called, backing away from the girls.
The two goblins outside dashed to the booth’s door and began rattling the handle. But they couldn’t get in.
“Give us the horseshoe, please,” said Kirsty as she and Rachel moved toward the goblin.
The goblin shook his head furiously. He had backed right up against the counter that controlled the lights. As the girls came closer, he jumped up onto the counter and glared at them.
Rachel tried to grab the horseshoe, but the goblin danced out of her reach. As he did, his big green feet pressed a few of the light switches.
“Hey! What’s going on up there?” a loud voice demanded.
“That’s Mr. Robinson!” Rachel gasped. She turned to look out the window. Some of the lights on the stage were flashing on and off! The director was staring up at the balcony, and he didn’t look happy.
“We have to hurry and get the horseshoe back,” Rachel told Kirsty, “before Mr. Robinson sends someone here to check the lights!”
The goblins on the balcony were still trying to push their way in. But now the goblin inside the booth was determined to get out! He jumped down from the control panel, darted past Rachel and Kirsty, and dragged the chair away from the door.
Immediately, the door burst open and the two goblins tumbled in. They bumped right into their startled friend. The horseshoe was knocked out of his hand, and it flew across the booth! As the goblins crashed to the floor in a tangled heap, the magic horseshoe landed right at Kirsty’s feet.
“Thank you!” Kirsty smiled, picking it up.
Paige fluttered over to the door. Rachel and Kirsty followed, laughing as they stepped over the pile of groaning goblins.
“You’d better hurry up and go,” Rachel said to the goblins.
“Or we’ll put makeup and dresses on you, and make you part of the play!” Kirsty added with a grin.
The goblins scowled. Muttering and moaning, they picked themselves up as the girls left the booth.
Kirsty and Rachel hurried down the balcony stairs with Paige flying alongside them. “Thank you so much, girls!” Paige cried as they reached the lobby.
“Now I need to go back to Fairyland right away and tell everyone that the magic horseshoe is safe!” She smiled at Rachel and Kirsty. “I’ll ask India the Moons
tone Fairy to send you sweet dreams so that you sleep well tonight, girls. After all, tomorrow is your big performance! Good-bye!” And with a kiss and a wave, Paige disappeared in shower of fairy magic.
Rachel and Kirsty hurried back into the auditorium and down the aisle toward the stage. Most of the cast and crew were gathered there together.
“We’ve looked everywhere,” the woman playing Cinderella was saying, “and we can’t find the horseshoe.”
“Mr. Robinson!” Kirsty called, walking up to the stage. “Rachel and I found it!” She held up the glittering horseshoe.
Alison rushed forward, looking very relieved. “Thank you, girls,” she said gratefully, taking the horseshoe from them.
Mr. Robinson clapped his hands. “Wonderful! Now we can get back to work. Let’s start at the pumpkin coach scene.”
Rachel and Kirsty hurried into the wings to watch as the rehearsal began again. This time, the ponies performed perfectly. They waited patiently as Cinderella, wearing a beautiful ball gown and glass slippers, climbed into the coach. Then, at a signal from the Fairy Godmother, they trotted off into the wings. A stagehand was waiting there to grab their lead ropes.
“Nice job!” Rachel exclaimed, as she and Kirsty gave the ponies a pat.
“The horseshoe’s magic is making sure all the props work and no scenery falls over!” Kirsty whispered happily. “Now I just have to make sure that I don’t fall over when we rehearse our dance.”
“You’ll be great,” Rachel said, putting an arm around Kirsty’s shoulder. “We’ll do whatever we can to keep the goblins from causing any more trouble before the performance tomorrow night!”
Paige the Christmas Play Fairy Page 2