Jelly Bean Jumble

by Helen Perelman

  “Cake Kingdom unicorns are known to be the strongest and fastest,” Berry stated. She couldn’t take her eyes off the handsome foursome. She noticed they were saddled with harnesses for two barrels each.

  “Since these unicorns are much bigger than Lyra, they will be able to carry the extra weight,” Princess Sprinkle explained.

  “We’ll have to fly straight to Candy Castle,” Raina said. “These barrels will keep the cocoa hot, but not overnight.”

  “That’s true,” Princess Sprinkle replied. “You are a smart Candy Fairy, aren’t you?”

  Raina blushed. “I was just thinking out loud,” she said.

  “She reads a lot,” Dash blurted out.

  “Raina is usually right about things,” Berry added, smiling at her friend. “We want to get back to Candy Kingdom quickly. All the fruit candy crops need some warmth . . . fast.”

  The fairies climbed onto the backs of the majestic unicorns. Even Lyra got a ride back to Candy Kingdom on one of the unicorns. The trip back went faster, with Princess Sprinkle leading the way on her golden-cake-colored unicorn. The experienced unicorns knew shortcuts, and they flew a different route home.

  As they flew over the Forest of Lost Flavors, Berry took in a sharp breath. She hoped with all her heart that the plan to warm the soil would save the fruit candy crops. The white trees and barren forest made her frightened.

  She looked ahead at the lineup of unicorns and the barrels of steaming cocoa. She knew their arrival wouldn’t be much of a secret. The sugar flies were going to love this bit of sweet news to spread.

  “I hope this works,” Berry said to her friends as they flew closer to Fruit Chew Meadow. It has to work, she thought.

  When they arrived at Fruit Chew Meadow, the jelly bean plants were still droopy, and all the beans were frozen. Berry knew that the jelly beans were in serious trouble.

  “It’s like the Forest of Lost Flavors,” Dash said. Then her hand flew to her mouth. She didn’t mean to sound so bitter.

  Berry’s eyes filled with tears. She looked to Princess Sprinkle.

  “Let’s get to work,” the princess said bravely.

  The fairies gently unrolled the sheets of foil that Princess Sprinkle had packed. They covered the freezing plants and then slipped the barrels of steaming hot cocoa underneath. When they were done with their work, the fields looked shiny in layers of foil.

  “I guess we can’t drink the cocoa, huh?” Dash asked. Before her friends could answer, she held up her hand. “I know what you are going to say,” she laughed. “I’ll chew on my mint stick.”

  Just as they completed the foiling, Princess Lolli appeared. She hugged her sister tightly. “When did you get here?” she asked, grinning. She squeezed her sister’s hand. “I’m so happy to see you!”

  “You must thank the brave Candy Fairies for my arrival here in Candy Kingdom,” Princess Sprinkle told her. “They flew to Cake Kingdom and brought me back here.”

  Princess Lolli turned to the five Candy Fairies. “You flew all the way to Cake Kingdom?”

  “Lyra took us,” Berry said. “We read about Princess Sprinkle’s experience with frost and knew she could help us. I wanted to show her the white jelly beans.” She fluttered her wings. “I felt so bad about planting so early . . . and about the other Fruit Chew Meadow crops,” she added.

  Princess Lolli took Berry’s hand. “You couldn’t have known about the frost coming,” she said. “You and your friends were very clever to go to Cake Kingdom.” She smiled at her sister. “I often don’t ask for help when I could use it the most. And you have proved how necessary asking for help can be.”

  “I’m not sure our hot cocoa plan will work,” Berry said. “The jelly beans and the soil are so frozen. . . . ” Her voice trailed off. “The jelly beans might be tasteless,” she whispered.

  “Let’s not worry about that now,” Princess Lolli said. “We need to wait and see how the soil responds.”

  The two sisters flew back to the castle to check on the other frozen crops while the fairies set out to cover the other fruit candy crops hit by the storm.

  All of a sudden Razz swooped down to Fruit Chew Meadow. “What’s going on here?” she asked. She stood with her hands on her hips, a disapproving expression on her face.

  Berry stood up and walked over to her. This time she was going to speak her mind. “You’ll see,” she told her. “We have everything under control.”

  “Good luck,” Razz spat. “Foil over freezing crops?” She threw her head back and laughed.

  “Are you sure she isn’t a Sour Candy Fairy?” Cocoa whispered to Berry.

  At this point, Berry wasn’t sure if the jelly beans would get their color and flavor back. . . . All she had now was hope. And she wasn’t about to let Razz ruin that feeling.

  “We are trying to save the crops,” Berry said. “If you want to help spread the foil over the fruit chews and Lollipop Landing, we’d welcome your help.”

  Razz’s mouth fell open. For the first time Berry saw that the bitter fairy was speechless. She fluttered her wings and quickly took off.

  “Wow, Berry,” Cocoa said. “You really told her!”

  “I was just telling the plain truth,” Berry said. “Fairies who don’t want to help won’t be part of the celebration tomorrow.”

  “What celebration?” Melli asked.

  Berry flew up to the sky and looped around in a graceful circle. “Yes, tomorrow the fruit-chew crops will be saved, and we will have a candy harvesting celebration.”

  “We can use our basket!” Cocoa exclaimed. She smiled at Melli. “We worked so hard making it, and now we can fill it with yummy jelly beans.”

  The next morning, when the foil was lifted from the ground, Berry kept her eyes shut tight. She didn’t want to look. When she didn’t hear any sounds from her friends, she opened one eye. For sure, if the jelly beans were perfect, she would have heard squealing.

  “Lickin’ lollipops!” she cried. All the jelly beans were white!

  “Wait,” Raina advised. “I think that before you panic, you should taste one. Remember that sometimes things aren’t what they seem like on the outside.”

  Berry moved slowly over to a jelly bean vine. She carefully plucked a tiny white bean and popped it into her mouth. A burst of orange filled her mouth. “I taste orange!” she cried out. She reached farther down the row and plucked another. This time she tasted a wonderful juicy grape flavor. “Sweet sugars,” she said. “The taste is there . . . but not the color.”

  “Winter white jelly beans.” Raina grinned. “I like them!” She tossed a few into her mouth and smiled. “Well done, Berry.”

  The two fairy princesses arrived at the meadow. “We all need help sometimes,” Princess Sprinkle said. “And I am glad that I was here to lend a hand.”

  “And a few barrels of cocoa,” Dash added.

  The two princesses laughed.

  The Candy Fairies drew closer together. Seeing the sisters hug made them feel closer to one another. They had done a sweet thing. Now they could rejoice in the sweet ending to the jelly bean jumble.

  Cocoa the Chocolate Fairy woke up early. She stretched her golden wings and looked out her window. She was eager to get outside and check on her garden.

  Just a few weeks ago Cocoa had visited her older cousin Mocha, and her cousin had given her special chocolate flower seedlings to plant in her own garden. Every day for the last week, Cocoa woke up extra early to see if the buds were opening. Maybe today the seedlings would flower!

  Mocha had a real gift with flowers. Her garden was known far and wide for its beauty and the vivid colors of each blossom. She lived in Sugar Kingdom and had a very important job: She was the chief gardener and tended to the Royal Palace’s flowers for King Crunch and Queen Sweetie, Princess Lolli and Princess Sprinkle’s parents. Cocoa was so proud of her!

  When Cocoa reached her garden, she was happy to see little stems peeking through the brown-sugar soil.

  “Good mor
ning,” she said to the seedlings. She bent down and watered the tiny chocolate stems with her watering can. Carefully, she sprinkled water on the center flower. This was a chocolate rose.

  “You are doing just fine,” she whispered to the tiny seedling. “I will take care of you. Mocha told me what to do.”

  Normally, chocolate roses did not bloom in Sugar Valley, but Cocoa was determined to grow one. The first thing she did when she came home from visiting Mocha was plant the seedlings. She spread chocolate sprinkles around the stems just as she had seen her do.

  Cocoa sat down on a large rock candy next to the garden and admired her work. She had cleared the flower bed herself. She had turned the sugar soil and put rock candy along the edges. Cocoa dreamed of having a garden filled with flowers. The garden was not as fancy as the ones at the king and queen’s palace or at Mocha’s, but this garden was all hers.

  “Sweeeeeeet morning!” a voice called from above.

  Cocoa looked up and saw her Caramel Fairy friend. Melli’s wings were fluttering fast. Cocoa could tell that Melli was bursting with news.

  “What’s the good word?” Cocoa called.

  Melli came swooping down. Her excitement made her wings move quickly, and she floated above Cocoa.

  “Princess Lolli’s parents, King Crunch and Queen Sweetie, are coming to Candy Kingdom!” Melli exclaimed.

  “The king and queen are coming here?” Cocoa asked. She had never met the royal couple. She knew them from their large portraits in Princess Lolli’s throne room. The king and queen lived in the Royal Palace in Sugar Kingdom. They looked like sweet and kind fairies. A visit from them was a very big deal! “Princess Lolli must be so excited that her parents are coming,” she added.

  “She is,” Melli told her. “In honor of their visit, there is going to be a royal talent show on the shore of Chocolate River.” Melli did a flip in the air. “How sweet is that?”

  “A talent show?” Cocoa repeated.

  “Princess Lolli thought it would be a great idea,” Melli replied. “I think it is a sugar-tastic one! Don’t you?”

  Cocoa’s wings twitched.

  “All the fairies in the kingdom are being asked to help build the outdoor stage,” Melli went on.

  “An outdoor stage?” Cocoa asked.

  “Yes!” Melli cried. She did a few more flips high in the air. “The show is next week.” She landed next to Cocoa and sat down on the rock. “I am going to play my new licorice-stick clarinet!” she said, giggling.

  Cocoa smiled at her friend. Melli was too excited to stay still. Even though she was sitting, her wings were still fluttering. Melli loved playing her licorice-stick. She had been taking lessons, and she practiced all the time. A talent show was the perfect event for her to show off her new instrument. “That is great, Melli,” Cocoa said. “You are going to steal the show.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Melli said. She leaped up and stood in front of Cocoa. She studied her friend. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Cocoa said quickly. “I . . . well . . . I don’t—”

  “What are you going to do for the show?” Melli asked, interrupting her.

  Cocoa looked down at the ground. Her wings drooped. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said.

  Melli looked at her. “How come you don’t seem excited about this? All the fairies in the kingdom are buzzing about this news.”

  Cocoa got up and walked closer to her flowers. “I am,” she said. “I am excited to see the king and the queen.”

  “What about the show?” Melli asked.

  “I don’t know,” Cocoa said softly. She sat back down on the rock.

  “I am sure you can do an act with Berry, Raina, or Dash,” Melli said quickly. “For sure, they will all want to be a part of this. Who wouldn’t want to be in the royal talent show?”

  Cocoa watched Melli twirl around. She knew someone who wouldn’t want to be center stage—herself! She didn’t have the heart to tell Melli. Melli was usually so shy and unsure. Now look at her! She was excited about performing. Cocoa sighed. Melli had real talent and loved playing her instrument. She would be a perfect act.

  “We will all be in the show together,” Melli went on. “And imagine, we’ll get to perform for King Crunch and Queen Sweetie! Princess Lolli will be so proud!”

  Cocoa lowered her head. She didn’t know how to tell her friend she was not planning on having any part in the event. Thinking about standing onstage in front of all those fairies—and the king and queen—made her heart race. If only she had a musical talent like Melli did! But Cocoa couldn’t hum a tune, let alone play an instrument. There was no way she could get onstage to be in the talent show—especially in front of the king and queen!

  HELEN PERELMAN enjoys candy from all parts of Sugar Valley, but jelly beans, red licorice, and gummy fish are her favorites. She worked in a children’s bookstore and was a children’s book editor . . . but, sadly, she never worked in a candy store. She now writes full time in New York City, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at www.helenperelman.com.

  Jacket designed by Karina Granda Jacket illustrations copyright © 2013 by Erica-Jane Waters

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  First Aladdin hardcover edition February 2013

  Text copyright © 2013 by Helen Perelman

  Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Erica-Jane Waters

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  Designed by Karina Granda

  The text of this book was set in Berthold Baskerville Book.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2012941020

  ISBN 978-1-4424-6000-3 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4424-5297-8 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-4424-5298-5 (eBook)