The Genie's Curse

by Tom Percival

  Contents

  1 Fairy Dreamboat

  2 Cursed!

  3 Blame-storm

  4 Bad Heir Day

  5 More Haste, Less Speed

  6 Unfinished Monkey Business

  7 A Deal’s a Deal

  8 A Daring Rescue

  9 Flashback

  10 Coming Clean

  11 Homecoming

  12 The Genie’s Return

  13 Pride Comes Before a Fall

  Ella sat under the Story Tree and gazed up at the gold and silver branches. Each one contained a record of every story that had ever been told near it. To ‘read’ one, all you had to do was touch a branch or a leaf and the story would spring to life in your head. Somewhere up there was the tale of how she and Cole, her Fairy Godbrother, had been rescued from an awfully wicked witch by Red, Jack, Anansi and Rapunzel.

  Ella smiled as she looked at her new friends and picked up a sock with a hole in it that needed darning – so many chores, so little time!

  ‘Hey, Ella,’ said Rapunzel. ‘Can I have my foot back, please?’

  ‘Oh! Sorry!’ replied Ella, dropping Rapunzel’s foot. ‘Was I doing it again?’

  Everybody nodded. Ella had a habit of fixing anything that looked broken, ripped, dirty or torn – even if it didn’t need it. Like the time that she’d sewn up all the holes in Anansi’s favourite jumper – including the neck and both arms.

  ‘It isn’t Ella’s fault!’ protested Cole. ‘The wicked witch cast a spell on Ella that makes her want to fix everything – but I can’t reverse it, the magic is too strong.’

  ‘Isn’t there anyone –’

  ‘– else who could help?’ asked Hansel and Gretel, who often finished each other’s sentences, meals and crossword puzzles.

  ‘Whaaaat?’ squawked Jack’s magical talking hen, Betsy.

  ‘I don’t think the magic set I was given for my birthday would do the trick,’ replied Jack. ‘You can use it to make it look like your finger’s been chopped off though!’

  ‘Cool!’ said Anansi.

  ‘Whaaaat?’ screeched Betsy again. Although she was a talking hen, the only word that Betsy could actually say was ‘what’, but somehow Jack always seemed to understand her.

  ‘Good idea!’ said Jack. He turned to Anansi. ‘What about your Uncle Rufaro? He understands magic, doesn’t he?’

  ‘Yeah, but he’s not here at the moment,’ said Anansi. ‘He’s still trying to break the curse on . . . you know . . .’ Anansi shrugged, trying not to look too upset that most of his family had been cursed to look like trolls. ‘He should be back by tomorrow night though,’ he added.

  ‘That reminds me!’ said Jack. ‘Have you seen the posters that Mayor Fitch has been putting up? Telling everyone to report any troll sightings? Well, the troll on the poster looks exactly like Rufaro.’

  ‘You mean those posters?’ said Anansi, pointing to the noticeboard which was plastered with them. ‘They’re everywhere! I was standing still earlier and nearly had one pinned to my back!’

  ‘Whaaat!’ interrupted Betsy.

  ‘Well, yes, Mayor Fitch does seem a bit mean . . .’ replied Jack. ‘But he is the mayor of Tale Town, so we shouldn’t be too rude!’

  ‘I think we’re getting off-topic here,’ interrupted Rapunzel. ‘Right now we need to work out what to do about Ella.’ Everyone watched Ella trying to sweep the dust off a small pile of dirt.

  ‘What about one of the other fairies, Cole?’ asked Red. ‘Like your Fairy Grandmother, or Fairy Half-Cousin? Do you think any of them could help?’

  ‘They’re all off at some big Fairy Folk meeting,’ said Cole. ‘But there is my Fairy Big Brother, Zak . . . He’s pretty much amazing at, well . . . everything – but he likes everyone to know it too.’

  ‘Can you, like, summon him or something?’ asked Rapunzel.

  ‘I guess,’ muttered Cole. ‘But don’t blame me if he just goes on and on about how great he is.’ He clicked his fingers and a cup with a string poking out of the back appeared in mid-air next to him. He leaned forward and spoke into it.

  ‘Zak? Hello? Yeah, hi, it’s me Cole . . .’ He paused and listened to the muffled sound which came out of the cup.

  ‘Yes, of course your little brother!’ Cole rolled his eyes. ‘How many other Coles do you know?’ He paused again and listened to the cup.

  ‘Look, can you just please come over? I’ve got a bit of a—’

  There was a bright blue flash and suddenly another fairy was standing next to Cole. They looked very similar, with the same bright blue glow, except this boy was older and taller. His hair flopped down over his eyes and his collar was turned up.

  ‘Hey,’ said Zak casually, brushing his hair away from his face. ‘So, you kids need a hand or something?’

  ‘It’s Ella,’ replied Cole, nodding at his friend as she tried to sew a petal back on to a daisy. ‘She’s under a spell that makes her want to fix everything. Do you think you can lift it?’

  Zak narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and stared off into the distance.

  Rapunzel, Gretel and Ella all sighed. Cole rolled his eyes.

  ‘I can help,’ Zak said eventually, sweeping back his messy fringe.

  ‘Really?’ cooed Rapunzel.

  ‘You’re so clever!’ breathed Gretel.

  ‘Can I touch your hair?’ added Ella, and then blushed.

  Zak smiled to himself. ‘In fact, I’ll go one better . . . How about I make it so that all magic just bounces off Ella? That way no spells or curses will have any effect on her at all!’

  ‘Could you really do that?’ asked Rapunzel.

  ‘Wow!’ exclaimed Gretel.

  ‘That would be AMAZING!’ added Ella.

  ‘No worries,’ said Zak, then bent down close to Cole. ‘It’s pretty simple though,’ he whispered, in the kind of whisper that’s loud enough for everyone to hear. ‘I’d have thought even you could do it . . .’

  Blue sparks fizzed out of Cole’s hair. ‘Just get on with it,’ he muttered.

  Zak stood up and smiled as a bright blue ring of light appeared around Ella. She looked down in surprise as the light whirled around her, sparkling and shimmering before it shrank down into a blue glass necklace that tied itself around her neck.

  ‘Done!’ Zak said. ‘As long as you wear that necklace, no magic will work on you. Now if you don’t mind . . . I gotta go. Adios, bambinos!’ He clicked his fingers and winked before vanishing.

  ‘He’s so cool!’ whispered Ella.

  ‘He’s so annoying!’ muttered Cole, Anansi, Hansel and Jack at exactly the same time.

  Not long after Zak had vanished, everyone went home for tea. Ella and Cole were staying with Rapunzel while they were in Tale Town, although none of them were sure if Rapunzel’s parents actually knew about this arrangement. Rapunzel’s parents were the King and Queen of Tale Town, so they were always very busy – and the palace was so huge that a couple of extra guests could easily go unnoticed.

  While they waited for the dinner bell, Rapunzel, Ella and Cole decided to play hide-and-seek. Nobody knew exactly how many rooms the palace had – some of the larger bathrooms even had mini-bathrooms of their own – so a single game of hide-and-seek could last for weeks.

  ‘Twelvety-nine, twelvety-ten, fifty!’ shouted Cole, who struggled a bit with some of the larger numbers. ‘Coming, ready or not!’

  As Cole roamed the corridors, Rapunzel found the perfect hiding spot. It was a huge urn on the landing of the East Wing’s staircase. At first she thought about climbing inside, but it seemed a bit wobbly, so she squeezed in behind it instead. It was very dusty, and just as she was pulling her incredibly long hair out of sight, she sneezed a HUGE sneeze, bumping her head against the urn.

  ‘Ouch
!’ muttered Rapunzel, then added, ‘Oh no!’

  The urn wobbled . . . forward . . . and backwards . . . until with a hollow THUNK it toppled over and tumbled down the stairs.

  ‘Perhaps it’ll be OK?’ thought Rapunzel, as the urn bounced away.

  There was a horrible crashing sound.

  ‘Oh . . .’ she thought, looking at the hundreds of tiny, broken pieces. ‘Perhaps not.’

  Rapunzel was wondering what to do about it when her parents crossed the hallway, followed by a group of palace staff and a small army’s worth of suitcases. They were bound to see the broken urn.

  ‘Ah, daaahling! There you are!’ purred Rapunzel’s mother. ‘I’m so glad we’ve bumped into you. I’m afraid that Daddy and I have to go away on urgent official business.’

  Rapunzel inspected their luggage. One case in particular looked rather like a set of skis. ‘Urgent skiing business?’ she asked.

  ‘That’s right, my petal!’ exclaimed her father. ‘Ruling Tale Town can be exhausting and I need to unwind! Why, the journey home from last week’s scuba-diving trip has left me worn out! Your governess will look after you while we’re away.’ He glanced over at his wife. ‘You did tell the governess, didn’t you, darling?’

  ‘I thought we’d fired her?’ said the Queen.

  ‘So we did!’ exclaimed the King, laughing. He turned back to Rapunzel ‘Anyway, the palace has got lots of servants. Just call for them if you need food or someone to get you dressed.’

  ‘I can dress myself!’ said Rapunzel.

  ‘That’s the spirit!’ replied her father, clapping her on the back. ‘Anyway, must dash, there’s a boat waiting. Love you! Byeee!’ He turned to walk down the stairs, his feet crunching on the broken urn.

  ‘What the blazes!’ he exclaimed. ‘Does anyone EVER do any cleaning around here?’

  Rapunzel’s face started to feel hot.

  ‘What on earth has happened to the urn from the landing?’ asked the Queen, her eyes narrowing. ‘Rapunzel?’

  ‘Ah . . . well . . . you see . . .’ started Rapunzel.

  ‘Yes?’ said her parents.

  Rapunzel didn’t really mean to say what came out of her mouth next, but that didn’t matter, because she said it anyway.

  ‘It was Ella,’ said Rapunzel in a rush. ‘You know, the girl who’s been staying here? We were playing hide-and-seek and she accidentally broke it. I was just trying to see if I could fix it. She’s very sorry – so please don’t be cross with her.’

  There was a moment’s pause as Rapunzel’s father looked at his watch, and her mother looked between Rapunzel and the broken urn.

  Rapunzel held her breath.

  ‘I never liked that urn anyway!’ said the Queen. ‘A ghastly pattern and an ugly shape – utterly horrible!’

  ‘But, darling!’ protested the King, ‘I gave you that urn on our wedding day!’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes! As a symbol of my undying love.’

  ‘Well, it just goes to show what horrible taste you have!’ Rapunzel’s mother laughed, patting her husband on the arm. ‘Now come along, we don’t want the boat to leave without us. See you sooooon!’ she cooed to Rapunzel, and then they were gone.

  Rapunzel let out a deep breath and muttered, ‘That was lucky.’ She was about to look for someone to clear up the mess when she was startled by an angry voice.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re so happy about!’ it said.

  ‘Who’s that?’ gasped Rapunzel. She spun around but there was nobody there. Then a small teapot on a nearby shelf wobbled as a head popped out of the top and wings sprouted from the sides.

  ‘I am a hermit genie, and it was my home that you just destroyed!’ shouted the strange creature. ‘I loved that urn! Spent the best years of my life in it – and now what? I’m living in a teapot!’

  ‘Ah . . .’ said Rapunzel. ‘Sorry!’ She’d heard about hermit genies – they lived in empty bottles, urns, lamps and, occasionally, shoes. They could only leave their homes for a few seconds, so if they had to move house in a hurry, they didn’t get long to find somewhere new.

  ‘Oh, you’re “sorry”, are you?’ growled the hermit genie, flapping his wings so hard the teapot hovered in mid-air. ‘Well that won’t do me much good! Not now I’m stuck living in a teapot! Nobody will ever take me seriously wearing this.’

  ‘Oh, it’s not that bad!’ replied Rapunzel. ‘It’s quite pretty actually. And it must be loads lighter – there’s no way you could have flown around carrying that massive urn.’

  ‘That’s not the point!’ snapped the genie, his pointy beard trembling with fury. ‘The point is that you broke my home and then you lied!’

  ‘Well, I’ve said I’m sorry!’ said Rapunzel. ‘What more do you want?’

  The genie gasped. ‘What more? How about a nice Ming vase to live in? Or a real apology, one that you actually mean!’

  Rapunzel looked at the genie thoughtfully. ‘Hang on. As you’re a genie, aren’t you meant to offer me some wishes or something?’

  ‘I cannot believe your cheek!’ spluttered the genie. ‘Someone needs to teach you some manners, young lady—’

  ‘OK . . . look, I’m sorry,’ interrupted Rapunzel. ‘I promise. Now, let’s start over. We’ve got an Ancient Urns and Exciting-Looking Lamps, Jars and Bottles room somewhere in the palace. You can pick whichever one you like.’

  ‘It’s too late for that now!’ said the genie coldly. ‘You broke my home and blamed it on your friend! You think you can get away with anything – but no more! From now on every single thing that goes wrong in Tale Town will be blamed on . . . YOU!’ The genie popped out of the teapot and waggled his hands in Rapunzel’s direction. ‘This is my curse: the spell has been spun, so it will stay till your crime is undone!’

  ‘No! Wait! Stop!’ shouted Rapunzel, but the teapot and the genie had vanished in a puff of purple smoke. ‘Oh well,’ she muttered as she walked to the kitchens to find someone to clear up the broken urn. ‘How bad can it be?’

  ‘YOU!’ shrieked the cook, the moment Rapunzel pushed open the door to the busy palace kitchens. ‘YOU made the milk go sour!’

  Rapunzel yelped in surprise. ‘What?’ she protested. ‘I just got here. I don’t even know where you keep the milk!’

  ‘A likely story!’ muttered the cook. ‘I know it’s your fault!’ She jabbed a stubby finger at Rapunzel’s chest.

  ‘Oh no . . .’ groaned Rapunzel. ‘It’s the hermit genie’s spell!’

  At the far end of the room, a kitchen boy was carrying a huge bucket of muddy vegetables. He tripped over his shoelace and fell, scattering dirty potatoes all over the floor.

  ‘Now look what you’ve done!’ yelled the cook, glaring at Rapunzel.

  ‘Seriously?’ said Rapunzel. ‘I was nowhere near him! How could I have tripped him over?’

  ‘That doesn’t matter,’ said the cook. ‘What matters is . . .’ She paused, looking confused. ‘You made me forget what I was going to say! Witchling!’

  ‘Rapunzel just made me cut my thumb!’ yelled the pastry chef from a table nearby.

  ‘And she burned my bread!’ shouted the baker, holding up a blackened loaf.

  ‘Whatever,’ muttered Rapunzel, backing out of the room as the kitchen boy, cook, pastry chef and baker all shouted after her.

  Rapunzel wanted to find Ella and Cole to explain what had happened, but every time she saw anyone, they blamed her for something that she hadn’t done. In the end she had to hide in the room where her parents stored all the letters of complaint from the people of Tale Town – nobody ever went in there.

  Rapunzel crouched among the huge piles of angry letters as she listened to the palace staff shouting about all the things she had supposedly done wrong. ‘Everyone in this place is totally mean!’ she sulked. ‘That’s it! I’m getting out of here!’ And with that she climbed out of the window using her long, golden hair.

  The trouble with magic is that you can’t run away from it. No matte
r where Rapunzel went, someone was trying to blame her for something. Humpty Dumpty was saying she had pushed him off a wall. An elderly couple were telling everyone that she had made their gingerbread man run off, leaving them without a tea-time snack. And – worst of all – a huge crowd was standing around a particularly smelly pile of horse poo in the middle of the street, looking at Rapunzel and shaking their heads in disgust.

  ‘THAT was definitely not me!’ cried Rapunzel as she ran off to look for Red. Maybe she’d be able to help?

  ‘So!’ barked Red as she opened her front door. ‘Have you come to say sorry?’

  ‘What for?’ asked Rapunzel.

  ‘For making me spoil my picture!’ said Red, holding up a soggy piece of paper with some smudged lines on it. ‘You made me spill my drink when you knocked at the door!’

  ‘Come on, Red!’ exclaimed Rapunzel. ‘How could I be coming to say sorry, if it was the knocking that made you spill your drink?’

  There was a crash from the garden. Red’s dad was chopping large bits of wood into smaller bits, which he’d eventually glue back into large pieces to chop all over again. It was what he liked to do on the weekends when he didn’t have any real woodcutting to do.

  ‘Tell Rapunzel to leave my tools alone!’ shouted Red’s dad. ‘She broke the handle on my favourite axe. It could have caused a nasty accident!’

  ‘And another thing!’ added Red crossly. ‘Jack told me that Betsy’s caught chicken pox – and he said it was you that gave it to her!’

  ‘What?’ said Rapunzel. ‘Can chickens even get chicken pox?’

  They were interrupted by a ferocious roar from deep within the forest. A distant voice screamed: ‘Rapunzel’s set a bear loose in the forest! RUN!’ This was followed by another roar and an even louder scream. ‘MY LEG!’ the voice cried again. ‘Rapunzel owes me a new leg!’