“You’re right,” Rachel agreed. “For a minute there, I thought we had some visitors from Fairyland!”
A fairy king and queen, wearing golden crowns, were also dancing among the fairies. As the girls got closer to the stage, Kirsty did a double take. Was that a goblin skipping along next to the fairy queen? But when Kirsty looked again, there was no one there.
I’ve got goblins on the brain! Kirsty thought, shaking her head.
“Hey, Katrina,” Rachel called to a camper who was watching the dancers. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, this is a rehearsal for Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Katrina explained.
At that moment another camper named Tom wandered by. He heard what Katrina was saying and looked confused.
“Hey, Katrina, there isn’t a unicorn in the play, is there?” he asked.
Rachel and Kirsty exchanged glances as Katrina shook her head.
“No, why?”
Tom laughed. “Someone must have attached a horn to a Shetland pony’s head as a joke, then!” he replied. “I just saw it leave the amphitheater and trot toward the clubhouse.”
“Well, there aren’t supposed to be any goblins in this play, either.” Katrina shrugged. “But I’ve seen two campers dressed up as goblins this afternoon!”
Rachel and Kirsty both gasped. So the goblins were at the camp, too!
“I even overheard one of the actors refuse to take off his goblin costume,” Katrina said with a laugh. “Some people really get into their parts!”
“We’d better go straight to the clubhouse,” Leona whispered, peeking her head out of Kirsty’s pocket as the girls hurried off. “The goblins are on Twisty’s trail, too. We have to find him before they do!”
Rachel and Kirsty ran to the clubhouse. They took a quick look around outside, but didn’t see Twisty.
“What are we going to do, Rachel?” Kirsty asked desperately. “We can’t run around the camp all day!”
“Let’s ask inside if anyone’s seen anything,” Rachel suggested.
The girls rushed into the clubhouse. Some of the campers were playing Ping-Pong and pool, while others were watching a movie on TV.
Rachel went over to the boys playing pool. “Sorry to bother you,” she said, “but have you seen a pony dressed up like a unicorn today?”
“I did,” said one of the boys. “When I was playing football.”
“What happened?” Rachel asked eagerly.
“Well, I fell and skinned my knees,” the boy explained. “When I came off the field, the pony was standing there watching me. Then it shook its mane and glitter fell all over me!” The boy laughed. “I guess someone was trying to trick me into thinking it was a magic unicorn!”
Kirsty and Rachel glanced down at the boy’s knees. They didn’t look badly cut at all.
“Maybe the unicorn helped heal the boy, just like he did for you, Rachel,” Kirsty whispered.
“I saw the pretend unicorn down by the dock at the lake,” another boy at the pool table added. “It looks really real! I tried to get a closer look, but he trotted away.”
Rachel and Kirsty hurried out of the clubhouse.
“So Twisty could be in two places,” Rachel said as Leona popped out of Kirsty’s pocket. “The sports fields or the lake.”
“If we choose the wrong one, we might miss him,” Leona pointed out.
“Maybe we should split up,” suggested Kirsty. “Leona could go to the lake, because it’s farther away and flying will be quicker. Rachel and I can search the sports fields.”
Leona nodded. “Good thinking, Kirsty,” she said. “I’ll meet you back at the stables in fifteen minutes.”
Then Leona rose up into the air and zoomed away, her blond hair flying.
“I don’t like being away from Leona, but we have to find Twisty before someone realizes he’s a real unicorn,” Rachel said with a sigh, as she and Kirsty dashed off.
“Or before the goblins find him!” Kirsty added.
The girls raced to the sports fields and began to look around carefully. But to their disappointment, Twisty wasn’t there.
“What now?” Rachel asked.
“I guess we’d better head back to the stables to meet Leona,” Kirsty began, but she stopped when a flash of white in the nearby woods caught her eye.
“Rachel!” Kirsty cried. “It’s Twisty!”
“Careful!” Rachel whispered. She gazed at the unicorn grazing on the grass between the trees. “We shouldn’t frighten him.”
The girls sneaked across the field toward the unicorn. As they tiptoed up to him, Rachel wondered how they could catch him and take him back to Leona. Suddenly, she realized she still had a carrot in her pocket from feeding the ponies earlier. She took it out and showed it silently to Kirsty, who nodded.
“Here, Twisty,” Rachel called, holding the carrot in front of the unicorn’s nose.
Twisty raised his head and sniffed the carrot. Rachel moved away a little, and the unicorn walked after her, his beautiful dark eyes fixed on the carrot just in front of him.
Rachel led Twisty through the forest, then took a back route toward the stables so that they would be less likely to bump into other campers. Kirsty went in front, keeping a sharp lookout to make sure no one else was around.
When they reached the stables, both girls sighed with relief. They patted Twisty, who shook his mane and gave a little neigh.
“Thank you for healing my wrist today, Twisty,” Rachel said, feeding him the carrot.
“I wonder where Leona is,” Kirsty said with a frown, glancing around as Twisty crunched on his carrot. Suddenly, she spotted a piece of paper stuck to the door of the stables. “What’s that, Rachel?”
“It looks like a note,” Rachel replied. “What does it say?”
The note was in shaky handwriting in green ink. It read:
“I don’t believe it!” Rachel cried. “The goblins aren’t smart enough to catch Leona.”
“Or any fairy!” Kirsty agreed. “It might be a trap. But we’d better go and meet them, just in case.”
Quickly, the girls led Twisty around the back of the stables. They held on tightly to the unicorn, afraid that the goblins might try to pounce on him and steal him.
The two goblins who’d spooked Sparkle in the forest earlier were standing by the ponies’ water trough. The small one was holding Nurse Elizabeth’s lollipop jar. As Rachel, Kirsty, and Twisty came closer, the goblin shook the jar. It sparkled in the sun like magic fairy dust.
“Oh, no!” Rachel whispered to Kirsty. “Maybe the goblins did capture Leona in that big jar!”
But Kirsty shook her head. “No, Leona would use her magic to escape,” she replied. “It could just be something else sparkling inside the jar. We should be very careful!”
The goblin holding the lollipop jar turned his back to Rachel and Kirsty.
“I’m trapped, girls!” he called in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. “Help me! I mean, please in a sparkly, fairy way!”
Rachel and Kirsty tried not to laugh. It was really obvious that the goblin was only pretending to have Leona in that jar!
“Hand over the unicorn!” the other goblin demanded, stepping forward, “and we’ll let your fairy friend go.”
At that moment, Rachel and Kirsty noticed a twinkling light zipping through the air toward the goblins. It was Leona! Now the girls knew the goblins were bluffing.
“We know you don’t have Leona,” Rachel said firmly.
“We do have her!” The goblin stomped his foot in a rage. “We captured her when she was flying toward the lake.”
“And we know she’s not with you,” the goblin with the jar said triumphantly, “or the unicorn wouldn’t still be here!”
“But we know where Le
ona is,” Kirsty said. She and Rachel both pointed above the goblins’ heads.
“Don’t try to trick us!” the goblin with the jar insisted. “We’ve been fooled by you before. Now, give us the unicorn!”
Suddenly, Leona swooped down, giving the goblins a cheery wave. They shrieked with surprise.
“Get her!” the bigger goblin roared.
Quickly, the other goblin unscrewed the jar. He pulled out a handful of glitter and tossed it at Leona. The fairy had to dart around and dodge the sparkles.
“We have to help Leona!” Kirsty cried. “Keep hold of Twisty, Rachel!”
Rachel nodded. Immediately, Kirsty dashed forward. She had to distract the goblin somehow. As the goblin threw another shower of sparkles at Leona, Kirsty rushed over to Tansy’s and Sparkle’s stall.
“Tansy, Sparkle!” she called.
When the ponies saw Kirsty, they immediately stuck their heads out of the open top of the door, hoping to be pet. They neighed happily — and the goblins almost jumped out of their skins!
“Help!” shouted the bigger goblin with terror. “It’s those scary ponies again!”
The smaller goblin also gave a yell of surprise. He dropped the lollipop jar, spilling glitter on the ground. Kirsty quickly grabbed the jar.
But as Leona headed toward Twisty, the bigger goblin made one last attempt to catch her. He took a giant leap. Luckily, Leona slipped through his fingers! The goblin sailed through the air and landed with a thud in a pile of horse manure.
“Yuck, gross!” said the smaller goblin with a snicker.
“Here, Twisty!” Leona called, holding out her arms as she flew toward the unicorn.
Smiling, Rachel released Twisty. He cantered up and bounded through the air to Leona. As he did, he shrank down to his tiny fairy-size again.
“It’s so good to see you again, Twisty!” Leona declared, giving him a hug. Then she jumped onto his back. They zoomed up and out of the reach of the smaller goblin, who stood staring up at them sulkily.
“Oh, my ankle hurts!” the goblin on the ground moaned.
Twisty immediately circled in the air and hovered over the goblin. A shower of glitter burst from the unicorn’s golden horn and whirled around the goblin’s injured ankle.
“It’s all better!” the goblin said in amazement, jumping to his feet. Looking sheepish, he glanced up at Leona and Twisty. “Thanks,” he mumbled.
“Come on, let’s go,” the smaller goblin snapped. “I’m fed up with pesky fairies and silly girls who ruin all our plans!”
“Me, too,” the other goblin agreed as they stomped off.
“Girls, you’ve done it again!” Leona said happily. “Because of you, almost all our magical animals are safely back in Fairyland and can start their training again. We can never thank you enough — but thank you, anyway!”
“Good-bye,” the girls called as Leona and Twisty disappeared in a burst of fairy sparkles.
“It was wonderful to meet a real unicorn, wasn’t it?” Rachel said, smiling. “Now we only have one day of camp left, and one more magical animal to find.”
“Yes, Caitlin’s ice bear,” Kirsty replied. “But that’s a problem. The ice bear’s special power is courage.” She looked solemnly at Rachel. “So, while she’s missing, will we be able to find the courage to take on the goblins?”
Leona the Unicorn Fairy has taken her magical animal back to Fairyland! Now Rachel and Kirsty need to help . . .
Caitlin
the Ice Bear Fairy!
Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek. . . .
“I can’t believe it’s the last day of camp already,” Kirsty Tate said sadly as she finished packing her bag and zipped it shut. She gazed around the cozy wooden cabin where she and her best friend, Rachel Walker, had spent the week with four other girls. They’d been staying at an adventure camp and had taken part in all kinds of activities — exploring caves, canoeing, horseback riding . . . plus making some very special fairy friends!
The week of camp was almost over now, and their bunkmates had packed their things and were ready to go home. Only Kirsty and Rachel were left in the cabin.
“We’ve had such amazing adventures this week,” Rachel said, smiling as she thought about them.
Kirsty put on her jacket. “Well, our time here isn’t over yet,” she reminded Rachel. “We’re still going to climb High Hill . . . and we’ve got to rescue the last magical animal, too.”
Rachel nodded, an anxious expression appearing on her face. “Oh, I hope we find the little ice bear,” she said. “I hate thinking about her being lost and alone.”
“Or caught by Jack Frost’s goblins,” Kirsty added, frowning. “We can’t let that happen.”
It was kind of cold outside, so Rachel grabbed their hats and scarves. “Come on,” she said. “The sooner we get out there and start looking, the better!”
No one else at camp knew it, but Kirsty and Rachel had been having some extra-special adventures . . . helping the Magical Animal Fairies find their missing animals! Jack Frost had stolen them, but the clever animals had found a way to escape from his Ice Castle and enter the human world, where they’d been lost ever since. So far, the two girls had helped the fairies track down a baby dragon, a magic black cat, a young phoenix, a seahorse, snow swan, and unicorn. But they still needed to find the ice bear cub. . . .
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-54920-2
Copyright © 2009 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
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First Scholastic printing, March 2012
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