“Jack Frost will love it,” declared the long-nosed goblin.
“They’re not looking!” whispered Tyra. “Now’s our chance!”
Kirsty reached out her hand and touched the edge of the tape measure. She started to pull it toward her, but just then the long-nosed goblin gave a loud yelp.
“It’s my turn to carry the tape measure now!” he said, grabbing at it. “You guys have been hogging it all day.”
“No way!” shouted the goblin in the top hat. “It’s my turn!”
“Mine!” yelled the other two goblins.
The long-nosed goblin stuck out his tongue at them and then raced off through the mall.
“Get him!” bellowed the goblin with the scarf belt.
They all ran after him, and the three fairies joined in the chase, flying close to the high ceiling so that they wouldn’t be seen.
The long-nosed goblin was a fast runner, and he led the others around the shopping mall at top speed, not caring who he bumped into along the way. Their shouts and squeals made everyone stare at them.
“Oh, those awful goblins!” said Tyra. “They’re causing so much trouble!”
Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t reply — they needed all their energy to fly as fast as they could!
The rowdy goblins hurtled into Top Hats & Tiaras, where the goblin with the scarf belt skidded into a long rack of wedding dresses and came out wrapped in ivory silk. The others pointed at him and laughed as loud as they could.
“You naughty kids!” cried the shop manager. “Get out of here at once!”
As the goblins scurried out, Rachel and Kirsty noticed a bride coming out of the shop’s fitting room. Tears welled up in her eyes, and there was a big pink stain down the front of her dress.
“It’s ruined,” she was saying. “What am I going to do?”
The girls felt very sorry for her, but there was no time to stop and help. They zoomed after the goblins, who had disappeared into the Comfy Feet shoe store. Shoes flew up into the air as the goblins charged through the aisles. The store was in chaos. Customers were waving shoes and yelling. The store manager was pulling his hair and shouting into the phone.
“I’m telling you, there isn’t a single pair of matching shoes in the entire store!” he said. “I have tons of angry customers here.”
The girls swooped over his head and chased the goblins into the stockroom at the back of the store. The goblin in the top hat had been distracted by all the shoes and was busy trying on a purple boot and a green-spotted clog. But the others had disappeared!
“Look — there’s a door at the back of the room,” said Kirsty.
“But it’s closing!” Tyra cried in alarm. “Quick, girls!”
The three fairies zipped toward the exit, and whisked through with only an inch to spare. Rachel felt the door brush against her wings as it shut tight.
“That was close!” she said.
They found themselves back at the fountain, on the other side of the workshop. The three remaining goblins were running around the fountain so quickly that they looked like blue blurs.
“How can we stop them?” asked Tyra.
Rachel looked around. Nearby was the Sweet Scoop Ice Cream Parlor with a tray of free samples outside.
“I have an idea,” she said. “Tyra, can you use your magic to turn all the ice-cream samples blue? If we can distract the goblins, we might be able to get the magic tape measure back.”
Tyra nodded and sent a stream of rainbow-colored sparkles over to the tray. Instantly, the ice cream turned ice blue. A few seconds later, the goblin with the scarf belt sped over to the tray.
“Ice cream! Yum!” he exclaimed. “It’s the same color as the Ice Blue clothes! I’ve got to try it!”
The skinny goblin joined him, and soon they were both wolfing down the delicious ice cream.
“They’re so greedy,” said Tyra. “They’re going to eat all the free ice cream!”
“But where’s the goblin with the tape measure?” asked Rachel.
“Over there!” Kirsty exclaimed, pointing.
Instead of gobbling up the blue ice cream with the others, the long-nosed goblin was scurrying back to the workshop with the magic tape measure.
“He must want to finish Jack Frost’s outfit,” Tyra said. The fairies sighed with disappointment. “How are we going to get the magic tape measure back now?”
Kirsty watched as the goblin added some final stitches to the outfit. He looked very happy with himself, and that gave her an idea.
“I have a plan,” she said. “Tyra, can you turn us back to our human size again, please? If we flatter the goblin, maybe we can distract him from the tape measure.”
The girls hid behind a giant flowerpot next to the fountain, and Tyra waved her wand again. Instantly, Rachel and Kirsty were transformed back to their normal size. Tyra tucked herself under Kirsty’s hair, and they walked over to where the goblin was putting the finishing touches on the outfit.
“What a wonderful creation!” said Kirsty in a loud voice.
“Whoever designed this must be very talented,” said Rachel.
The long-nosed goblin puffed out his chest.
“That was me,” he said proudly.
“Wow, that’s impressive,” said Rachel. “Is it for you?”
The goblin shook his head.
“That’s too bad,” said Kirsty. “You’re so handsome! It would look totally fabulous on you.”
“You’re right,” said the goblin with a sigh.
“You could always resize it, so it will fit you,” Rachel remarked in a soft voice.
The goblin stared at Rachel, his hands slowly reaching for the outfit. Then he excitedly started to trim it down to his size.
“Would you like me to measure it for you?” asked Rachel, looking hopefully at the tape measure.
“No, that’s mine,” the goblin snapped.
He held on to it tightly, even when he took the outfit into the dressing room to get changed. As soon as the curtain closed, Rachel turned to Kirsty in alarm.
“What are we going to do now?” she whispered.
“Quick, help me move the mannequin over to the dressing room,” said Kirsty.
The Jack Frost mannequin moved easily and quietly on its wheels.
“Tyra, can you make yourself sound like Jack Frost?” asked Kirsty in a low voice. “If the goblin believes the real Jack Frost is here, he might hand over the tape measure.”
Tyra waved her wand, but then the dressing room curtain swished open and the goblin came out.
“Too soon!” exclaimed Kirsty.
She gave the mannequin a push and sent it skidding toward the goblin.
“Give me the magic tape measure, you fool,” said Tyra in Jack Frost’s voice.
The goblin froze, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. All he could see was Jack Frost speeding toward him.
“Help!” he squeaked.
He threw the magic tape measure into the air and started running. As the mannequin crashed into the dressing room, Tyra caught the magic tape measure in her outstretched hand. It immediately shrank to fairy-size.
“I got it!” she cheered.
Rachel and Kirsty burst into squeals of laughter. Tyra was still talking in Jack Frost’s voice!
The girls hurried back to the design competition workshop. Most of the boys and girls had finished their outfits.
“Five more minutes,” Jessica announced.
“Oh, no!” cried Rachel. “We’re not going to have time to fix our outfits!”
“I’m not going to let that happen,” said Tyra, who was hiding underneath Kirsty’s hair. “You would have had time if you hadn’t been helping me, so it’s only fair that I help you now.”
Quickly, the girls got to work. They fixed the problems as fast as they could. Rachel had just painted the final stripe on her rainbow when Jessica clapped her hands together.
“Time’s up!” she announced. “Thank you all for working so hard. It’s time to get ready for the competition!”
“All the other outfits look amazing,” said Kirsty, gazing around.
“Thanks to you,” said Tyra, using her magic to quickly dry Rachel’s jeans. “They would have been fashion disasters if you hadn’t helped me get my tape measure back. How can I ever thank you enough?”
“You already have,” said Rachel, patting her jeans. “It’s been fun!”
“I have to take the tape measure back to Fairyland now,” said Tyra. “Good-bye, Rachel and Kirsty! Good luck in the competition!”
She zoomed high above the fountain, gave the girls a final wave, and disappeared in a puff of rainbow-colored fairy dust.
The shopping mall was getting very busy. Lots of people were arriving to watch the competition. They gathered around the fountain as everyone changed into their new fashions. Kirsty’s brightly colored dress swirled around her ankles, and the paint on Rachel’s jeans sparkled in the lights. They felt very proud of their hard work.
“Look, there’s your mom in the crowd,” said Kirsty.
They waved to Mrs. Walker and her friend Moira, who was standing beside her. A small stage had been built next to the fountain, and all the contestants walked onto it and stood in a row. Rachel and Kirsty squeezed each other’s hands.
Jessica and Ella walked onto the stage with a short man in a dark gray suit.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the competition,” said Jessica with a beaming smile. “The contestants have been working hard on their designs, and now it’s our job to choose which ones will participate in the fashion show.”
Ella stepped forward. “Jessica and I will be judging the competition with the manager of Hartley’s Department Store, Owen Jacobs. Please be patient while we make our decisions.”
The three judges started to walk along the line. They examined each design closely and carefully. But they had only looked at a couple of entries when there was a scuffle in the crowd. A late entrant ran onto the stage! He had spiky hair and a nasty scowl.
“It’s Jack Frost!” cried Rachel.
Jack Frost elbowed his way into the line. He was wearing the outfit that the goblins had made, but it was much too small for him. When the judges reached him, they all exchanged surprised glances.
“Um, well, it’s a good try,” said Owen. “But it’s a little on the small side.”
Jack Frost narrowed his eyes.
“You need to practice measuring,” Jessica said kindly.
Jack Frost curled his lip.
“Maybe it would look better on one of your little friends, who we met earlier?” Ella suggested.
When he heard this, Jack Frost looked like steam might come out of his ears!
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” he roared. “I’ll show you what real fashion is! Just you wait and see!”
As he turned and stormed off the platform, there was a loud ripping sound, and a split tore up the back of his pants.
“I wonder what he meant by that,” Kirsty said quietly.
But there was no time for Rachel to reply. The judges were now in front of them! The girls held their breaths as Jessica, Ella, and Owen walked around them, looking at their outfits.
“These are great outfits,” said Owen. “I especially like the creative flair of the scarf dress!”
“The detail in your rainbow is wonderful,” Ella told Rachel with a smile.
“We’d love you to model your outfits in the fashion show at the end of the week,” said Jessica. “Nice work, both of you!”
The girls were thrilled, and they gave each other a big hug. In the crowd, Mrs. Walker was smiling and clapping.
“I’m so excited!” whispered Rachel as the judges moved on. “I just hope that we can stop Jack Frost before the fashion show. There are still four magic objects to find.”
“Of course we can,” said Kirsty firmly. “The fairies are depending on us, and we’re not going to let them down!”
Kirsty and Rachel have helped Tyra find her measuring tape. Now it’s time for them to help
Alexa
the Fashion Reporter Fairy!
Read on for a sneak peek. . . .
“What should we call our fashion magazine, Rachel?” Kirsty asked, tapping her pencil thoughtfully on her sketch pad. “I can’t think of a good title!”
The girls were in the beautiful landscaped park that surrounded the new Tippington Fountains Shopping Center, an enormous building of chrome and glass. Kirsty had come to stay with Rachel for the school break, and Mrs. Walker had taken them to the grand opening of Tippington Fountains earlier that week. Yesterday, Rachel and Kirsty had attended a workshop for the design competition at the shopping mall. The girls had enjoyed it so much, they’d decided to create their own fashion magazine! They were sitting on a picnic blanket on a soft carpet of red, yellow, and orange autumn leaves with their sketch pads and colored pencils.
Rachel was finishing a design for a T-shirt. “I’m not sure,” she replied, glancing up as more leaves drifted down from the trees above them. “Fashion for Girls?”
“How about Fantastic Fashions?” suggested Rachel’s dad. He was sitting nearby on a park bench, reading a newspaper.
“Fabulous Fashions?” Kirsty said, then shook her head. “No, that’s not special enough. What about Fashion Magic?”
“Perfect!” Rachel said with a grin. She held up her sketch pad to show Kirsty her T-shirt design. The T-shirt was bright orange with TIPPINGTON FOUNTAINS written in gold and red letters across the front. Below the words, Rachel had added a drawing of the spectacular fountains in the middle of the shopping mall.
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-53929-6
Copyright © 2012 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
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First Scholastic printing, July 2013
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Tyra the Designer Fairy Page 2