Jelly Bean Jumble

by Helen Perelman

  “I can’t believe you haven’t found any information,” Dash said. “There are so many books here! None of them mentions a spring frost?”

  Berry closed Shades of Spring. “I’m trying,” she said. She didn’t want to be grumpy, but she had been researching all morning. “Sweet strawberries, you’d think we would have found some helpful bit of information already.” She glanced at the books lying in heaps around the room.

  “What about the other damaged crops?” Dash asked. She popped a mint into her mouth. “All those young seedlings and early buds are going to be ruined.”

  Berry felt all eyes staring at her. She wanted to be strong and show her friends that she was in control. But the weight of the day was pushing her down. Since the frost was still in Sugar Valley, Berry knew that meant the ground was still rock-hard sugar soil. There was no way her seedlings were going to grow or last.

  “How are the other parts of the kingdom?” Raina asked, looking around at her friends. “I haven’t been out of Gummy Forest today.”

  Cocoa spoke first. “I think the storm hit hardest to the north, so Candy Castle and Fruit Chew Meadow were covered in thick frost. Areas farther east weren’t so bad.”

  Berry gasped. “Has anyone heard from Princess Lolli?” She had not even thought about the castle and what could have gone wrong there. “Maybe we should fly up to the castle and see what is going on there. I hope she is all right. Let’s go!”

  Berry led the way to the castle. She was sad to see the lollipop tree where they had been sitting yesterday covered in a white dusting of ice. The Royal Gardens looked sleepy and cold, buried under a thick coat of ice.

  Raina reached out and gave Berry’s arm a squeeze. “Let’s go inside and see Princess Lolli,” she said.

  The palace fairies were all busy trying to spread heaters around the garden. There were no palace guards to announce their arrival. One of Princess Lolli’s advisers, Tula, was standing near the front gate. Berry grabbed Raina’s hand, and together they flew over to her.

  “Tula,” Berry said, slightly out of breath. “How is Princess Lolli?”

  Tula pushed her jewel-coated glasses up on her nose. “Oh, it’s a bitter day,” she said. “The storm took the northern part of the kingdom by surprise.”

  “Is Princess Lolli . . . Is she okay?” Raina asked.

  Tula regarded the two fairies standing in front of her. “Yes, she is fine,” she said. “Her heart is just heavy from the weight of the storm.” She unrolled a scroll in her hands. “Here is the growing list of the areas hit by the cold blast.”

  “How can we help?” Berry asked, jumping in.

  “We’re trying to figure out the damage first,” Tula said, smiling at the fairies. “We will let you know.”

  Berry’s wings drooped to the floor. “And Princess Lolli is not going to Cake Kingdom at all?”

  Tula rolled her scroll up again tightly. “It doesn’t look as if she will make that journey,” she said. “So many Fruit Fairies have fruit chews and lollipops that are in danger of being ruined. The princess didn’t feel it was right to leave the kingdom.”

  “Princess Lolli must be very disappointed,” Berry said to Tula. “She was looking forward to that trip.”

  “Yes, I was, but I can’t leave the Candy Fairies now,” Princess Lolli said, coming up behind Berry. “Berry, how are your jelly beans? How is the rest of Fruit Chew Meadow? The report this morning was not good.”

  Berry gasped. She hadn’t thought that she’d get to see the fairy princess. She rushed over and gave her a hug. It seemed like the only thing she could do. Plus, she wanted to hide her face. She was embarrassed that Princess Lolli knew about her frozen jelly beans.

  “Fairies, come closer. I know if we all work together, we’ll be able to get through this difficult time,” the princess said bravely.

  Tula stepped forward. “Princess Lolli, you have an emergency meeting with Tangerine and JuJu. They are quite upset about the damage to their lollipops. You have to leave immediately.”

  “Yes, yes,” Princess Lolli said, rushing off.

  “Oh, I hope this blows over quickly,” Tula said as they all watched Princess Lolli fly off. Tula then tucked her scroll in the satchel on her shoulder. She turned to Berry. “It’s too bad,” she said, full of sorrow. “Princess Sprinkle knows a lot about these storms. There have been many like this in her kingdom. I was hoping she could help. But communication has been difficult since the storm, and she is too far away to do anything for Candy Kingdom now.”

  Berry’s ears perked up. What was Tula saying? Was there a story in the Fairy Code Book that she and her friends had missed?

  “Raina,” Berry whispered to her friend, “we were only looking at the history of Candy Kingdom. But what about Cake Kingdom?” Her eyes sparkled with the hope of finding a solution. “Maybe we weren’t looking in the right place!”

  She raced over to her friends. They had to get back to Raina’s and do more reading. Perhaps the answer was not in Candy Kingdom’s history, but in a different kingdom’s history.

  As the five fairies made their way back to Gummy Forest, Berry flew up next to Raina.

  “There must be a book that has stories just about Cake Kingdom, right?” Berry asked.

  “Yes, of course,” Raina said. “And I know just the book.” When she got home, she went right to her library and then let out a heavy sigh. “Well, I used to know exactly where to find the book.”

  Berry felt bad for Raina. Usually, Raina was able to think of a title and know exactly where the book was located. But not in this mess.

  “Can I help you?” Berry asked.

  “I think that you helped enough,” Raina mumbled. “The book is called Cake Kingdom: A Recipe for the Ages,” she called out. “If anyone sees it, give a holler.”

  Dash ducked underneath the table and brought up a strawberry-and-vanilla-colored book. “Found it!” she cried.

  “What a pretty book,” Melli said.

  “Pretty delicious,” Dash added.

  Raina put the large volume on the table, and the fairy friends gathered around.

  “Why didn’t I think of this before?” Raina asked. She lifted the heavy cover of the book and gently turned the thin, creamy pages. “Cake Kingdom is way up north, and sure as sugar they have had spring storms like this. There are four Cake Kingdom books that go together. One of them might have the answer.” Raina flipped open to the contents page. “This one doesn’t talk about storms. We need the other books. . . . ” Her voice trailed off. “If we can find them.”

  “Cocoa and I will look for the matching books,” Melli offered.

  “Me too!” Dash called.

  Berry watched her friends scatter and search for the missing books. “I am sorry that I made such a mess,” she said to Raina. She looked down at her sparkly shoes. “I am messing up everything.”

  “You aren’t messing up everything,” Raina told her. She smiled at her friend. “Just my library!”

  “Princess Sprinkle is so wise,” Cocoa said as she looked for the pink-and-white books. “I loved hearing her talk about chocolate brownies last time she was here. I hope there is an entry about one of their storms and what the Cake Fairies did to help save their sweets.”

  Dash rubbed her stomach. “Just thinking about Cake Kingdom is making me hungry,” she said. She licked her lips. “Remember those cupcakes that Princess Sprinkle brought last time?”

  “Oh, I do,” Cocoa said. “Those were choc-o-rific!”

  “And they were so beautiful,” Melli added. “Remember all those clever candy toppings? She was so sweet to share with all the Candy Fairies.”

  “Come on,” Berry pleaded. “We need to focus.” She leaned closer to a book. Seeing Princess Lolli so sad had spun Berry into more of a frenzy. Now more than ever she wanted to feel as if she were helping out.

  The fairies looked through and read the many history books on Cake Kingdom. Sadly, none had stories of such an early frost with any clev
er and warm solutions.

  “I’m getting cold reading about all these frosts,” Melli said. “I say we break for a snack.”

  “I second that!” Dash shouted. She pulled out a sack of mint treats from her bag. As she did a copy of the Daily Scoop fell out.

  “I haven’t read this week’s newspaper,” Cocoa said, reaching for the copy. “I heard the Sugar Pops have a new song coming out.”

  Berry rolled her eyes and continued reading through the thick book in front of her. She couldn’t be bothered with the Sugar Pops right now.

  “Wait a second,” Raina said, moving closer to Cocoa. She pointed to a page in the newspaper. “Look! There was a storm at Cupcake Lake early this week,” she read over Cocoa’s shoulder.

  Cocoa read out loud, “ ‘There was a burst of cold that left an unexpected ice frosting over the crops.’ ” She looked around at all her friends. “ ‘The soil was frozen, and the winds knocked down several stalks and trees.’ ”

  Berry squeezed her hands together. “Remember, Tula was talking about a very recent storm!”

  She flew over to sit next to Cocoa. “Keep reading, Cocoa,” she begged. “Maybe the article tells about a solution for frozen crops.”

  “Huh,” Cocoa said, turning the page.

  “What?” Berry said, leaning closer. “Why did you stop reading?”

  “There is no answer written here. The article just ends.” Cocoa scratched her head, puzzled.

  Berry reached over and grabbed the paper. “How can that be?” she gasped.

  “Maybe the problem was solved after the article was written,” Melli offered.

  Sometimes, Melli’s sweet-as-caramel attitude bothered Berry, but right now, she didn’t mind.

  “Or maybe there is no solution,” Berry said bitterly. She walked away from the table and over to the front window. She didn’t want to see her friends’ faces.

  “Berry, we’ll find a way to save the jelly beans,” Dash said. “We always come up with a plan. We need a little more time.”

  “But we don’t have time,” Berry snapped. As soon as she said those words, she felt bad about her tone. She didn’t mean to hurt Dash’s feelings. She turned to her minty friend. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t be so harsh.”

  “I think we’re all feeling the pressure,” Melli stated.

  “I just wish Princess Sprinkle were here,” Raina said. “I bet she knows how to help the frozen crops.”

  Berry snapped her fingers. “Jumping jelly beans!” she exclaimed. “That’s the answer! We need to bring Princess Sprinkle here to Candy Kingdom.”

  Melli raised her eyebrows. “That sounds like a sugar-tastic idea,” she said. “But . . . how are we going to get Princess Sprinkle here?”

  “In order to get her here,” Cocoa said, “we need to get there.”

  “And there is very far!” Dash added.

  Raina stood up. “Berry, Cocoa is right. We’d have to pass through the Forest of Lost Flavors. That is not a quick trip.”

  Berry understood the problem. But she was not going to let that ruin her plan. “If Princess Lolli was going to fly Butterscotch there, why can’t we fly a unicorn there?”

  “But we don’t have a unicorn,” Dash replied, breaking the silence.

  Melli shot Dash a look. “Don’t be so minty,” she scolded.

  “It’s a good point,” Berry said, smiling at Dash. “I will take care of the ride,” she said reassuringly. She winked at Raina. “You map out the trip.”

  “Berry . . . ,” Raina began.

  Berry held up her hand. “I will meet you back here at Sun Dip,” she said, calling over her shoulder as she flew off. “This is going to be a sweet plan. You’ll see!”

  Berry raced to Fruit Chew Meadow to find her ride. For the first time since she had seen the frost on the leaves outside her window, she had a sprinkle of hope.

  When Berry arrived at Fruit Chew Meadow, she saw that a layer of ice was still spread over the ground. The afternoon sun hadn’t warmed up Sugar Valley enough to get rid of the ice. The sight made Berry sigh heavily. The longer the ice stayed around, the more her jelly beans were at risk of losing their flavor.

  Berry tried not to let her sadness stop her. As she flew over the meadow she noticed that other Fruit Fairies had pushed the ice off the leaves of the fruit-chew plants. Berry shivered as she looked over the many different crops.

  By the northern corner Berry spotted what she was looking for and flew fast. There was beautiful Lyra, the white unicorn who guarded the fruit-chew plants.

  Lyra was a small unicorn, and her sweet voice was said to be one of the secrets that made the fruit chews in the meadow so delicious. Not long ago, Mogu, the sour old troll, had tracked salt into the meadow. The salt from Black Licorice Swamp had been caked on the troll’s shoes, and he had brought the salt dangerously close to Lyra. Salt was like poison to the unicorn, and she had gotten very sick.

  Berry didn’t like to think about that time. She was still angry at Mogu for pulling that salty stunt. But Berry and her friends had helped Lyra. She was sure that Lyra would help her and her friends now.

  “Hi, Lyra,” Berry called out. She patted the unicorn and slipped her a sugar cube. Lyra’s colorful mane blew wildly in the wind.

  Berry noticed that Lyra looked concerned. Her extra-long eyelashes shaded her large eyes, but Berry could tell what she was thinking. This cold snap could damage her crop as well.

  “The fruit chews are still covered in frost,” Berry said, bending over to examine the plants. “They are the heartiest of the fruit candy, so they should be fine.” She saw that the fruit chews were still colorful and the leaves were dry. “I can’t say the same for my jelly beans.” She shuffled her feet. “I planted a little early this year, and I am scared that I’ve ruined the entire crop.”

  Berry felt that she could be honest with Lyra. She was especially close to the unicorn. Maybe it was because they both tended to the fruit-chew candies, or just because they shared a love of fruity sweets. If Lyra said no, Berry and her friends would be in a sour state. Berry had to pose the question to Lyra in the right way. Now more than ever the fairies of Candy Kingdom needed Princess Sprinkle.

  Lyra tilted her head and looked at Berry. Sensing that there was something on the Fruit Fairy’s mind, she motioned for Berry to sit down near the fence.

  Berry’s eyes brimmed with tears as she followed Lyra. When she sat down on the chilly ground, Berry blurted out her request. “My friends and I want to go to Cake Kingdom and bring Princess Sprinkle back here.”

  Lyra nodded. She understood what Berry was about to ask. Berry felt that the unicorn had even been expecting the question.

  Berry looked down at her hands. “But we can’t make the trip on our own. We need help. As you know, Cake Kingdom is far from here—past the Forest of Lost Flavors.”

  Lyra stretched her legs out beneath her.

  Berry looked up at Lyra. “Would you take us?”

  The white unicorn lifted her head up to the sky. Her pink-and-purple mane blew around her in a burst of color. In the stillness of the moment, Berry held her breath.

  “I know it is a lot to ask of you,” Berry said. “The trip for a unicorn your size could take two days.” She closed her eyes and wished with all her heart that Lyra would agree to the task.

  Lyra nudged Berry with her long nose. She was nodding.

  Berry leaped up and hugged the unicorn tightly around her neck. “Oh, thank you, Lyra,” she sang. “Raina and the others are mapping out the journey now. I know it’s a big favor to ask, but I really think Princess Sprinkle will have the answer and will help Candy Kingdom.”

  Lyra looked toward Candy Castle and then back at Berry.

  “No, we didn’t talk to Princess Lolli about the trip,” Berry told her. “We know she has so much else on her mind. We don’t want to worry her.” She smiled. “If we can get to Princess Sprinkle and show her what has happened to the crops, she can tell us what to do. Then
we can tell Princess Lolli and help save the frozen candy.”

  The unicorn stood up and shook her body.

  “Thank you, Lyra,” Berry said again. “I am going to tell the others. We’ll see you tomorrow morning? We can leave from Red Licorice Lake.” She gave the unicorn a hug good-bye.

  Berry headed back to Gummy Forest to tell her friends the plan. She felt sure that Princess Sprinkle was the key ingredient to making this messy situation better.

  The next morning, Berry looked up at the sky to see the welcome and beautiful sight of a unicorn flying. Lyra’s mane formed colorful ribbons across the blue sky.

  “Lyra’s here,” Berry announced. She tucked a vine with a bunch of white jelly beans in her bag. She wanted to show Princess Sprinkle what had happened to the crop. “Is everyone ready?” she asked.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” Melli said. She gripped Cocoa’s hand. “I hope the trip isn’t too scary.”

  “It might be,” Cocoa told her. “But we’ll all be together.”

  “And we’ll be helping Princess Lolli and all the crops covered in ice,” Raina added. “We must go!”

  “Plus, it’s so mint to ride on a unicorn!” Dash squealed, squinting up at the sky. “I can’t wait!”

  Raina picked up her basket of travel candy and maps. “I hope we can get to the Forest of Lost Flavors before the end of Sun Dip. It will be good to set up camp before dark.”

  Berry buttoned up her bag. “I think we’ll make it in plenty of time,” she said. “I hope these jelly beans will be safe. I want Princess Sprinkle to see the color . . . or missing color.”

  Lyra landed, and neighed to the fairies. One by one they hopped onto the unicorn’s back and steadied themselves for the journey to Cake Kingdom.

  “Everyone hold on!” Berry said, turning around to see the lineup of fairies. When she saw that everyone was holding the licorice reins, she leaned close to Lyra’s ear. “We’re ready to take off when you are,” she said.