Ava the Sunset Fairy

  Strange Sunset

  Twilight Tent

  Jack Frost’s Plan

  Two Greedy Boys

  In the Whispering Woods

  Green Dust

  “Look, Kirsty!” Rachel Walker said excitedly to her best friend, Kirsty Tate. It was a warm summer evening, and the girls were standing on the deck of a little red-and-white ferry as it chugged along the winding river. “I don’t think we’re far from Camp Stargaze now.”

  Kirsty looked where Rachel was pointing and saw a wooden sign on the river bank. The sign was in the shape of an arrow pointing downriver and it said: THIS WAY TO CAMP STARGAZE.

  “Hooray!” Kirsty beamed at Rachel. “I’m really looking forward to this vacation.”

  The girls and their parents were spending a week of summer break at Camp Stargaze together. Kirsty and Rachel were thrilled. Even though they were best friends, they didn’t live near each other. They loved meeting up during school breaks whenever they could!

  “It’s not far now, girls,” called Mr. Walker, Rachel’s dad. He was standing at the bow of the boat with Mrs. Walker and Mr. and Mrs. Tate, watching the beautiful countryside pass by. The river was surrounded by open fields and rolling hills, with green trees here and there.

  “Oh, look, girls!” Mrs. Tate exclaimed, gazing up at the sky. “The sun is setting. Isn’t it pretty?”

  All the passengers on deck, including Rachel and Kirsty, looked up, too. The sun was just beginning to sink slowly, streaking the blue sky with long ribbons of gold, orange, and pink. The light reflected down, bathing the fields and trees in a soft glow. The water looked like liquid gold!

  “It’s magical!” Rachel said with a sigh. Then she glanced at Kirsty and flashed a secret smile her way.

  Kirsty grinned back, knowing exactly what Rachel was thinking. She and Rachel knew more about magic than anyone else in the whole world. They were friends with the fairies!

  The girls had visited Fairyland many times, and had helped their magical friends whenever they were in trouble. The fairies’ biggest enemy was mean, grumpy Jack Frost. He was always trying to cause trouble—in Fairyland and the human world. Rachel and Kirsty were never sure what problems Jack Frost and his goblins would cause next!

  Suddenly Kirsty blinked. For a moment, she thought the gold, orange, and pink colors of the setting sun were fading and changing into something else.

  I must be imagining it, Kirsty thought. But then she looked again and was horrified to see that she was right! The beautiful colors were changing before Kirsty’s eyes!

  “What’s happening?” Rachel asked. She’d noticed exactly the same thing, and so had everyone else on the ferry. They were all staring up at the sky in surprise.

  “Look at the sunset,” Kirsty cried. “It’s turning green!” A few seconds later, all the gold, pink, and orange had vanished completely. Now the sunset was casting a strange, spooky green glow on the landscape around it.

  “Everything’s green!” Kirsty added in a shocked voice. “The sun, the fields, the ferry—everything!”

  “And so are we!” Rachel pointed out, staring at Kirsty. All of the passengers, including the girls and their parents, were bathed in the same emerald glow.

  “We look like Jack Frost’s goblins!” Kirsty whispered.

  The girls’ parents and the other grown-ups on the ferry were discussing what could have caused the strange sunset.

  “Maybe it’s just a trick of the light shining through the clouds,” Mr. Tate suggested.

  “Or the sunset could be reflecting off the river and the fields, picking up that green color,” said Mrs. Walker.

  Looking puzzled, Rachel glanced at Kirsty. “I think there’s something very strange going on here, Kirsty,” she murmured.

  “So do I,” Kirsty agreed. “I wonder if it could be something magical?”

  “Here we are,” called the captain of the ferry as it docked at a small wooden pier. “Welcome to Camp Stargaze.”

  As they waited to climb off the ferry, Rachel and Kirsty looked toward the shore and saw the prettiest campsite.

  There was a sign with WELCOME TO CAMP STARGAZE painted on it in silver letters. Beyond that, the girls could see large tents pitched on the grass at the edge of a green forest. The tents all had different names painted on wooden signs outside the entrances. They were surrounded by colorful flowerbeds, and a sparkling stream flowed through the campsite on its way to the river. There were plenty of open spaces for games and activities, and lots of picnic tables scattered all around. The girls were also excited to see a small white building with a dome on top of it.

  “Remember I told you the camp directors chose this location because you can get really clear views of the night sky and constellations from here?” Mrs. Tate said to Rachel and Kirsty. “That white building is the observatory. There’s a telescope inside of it for looking at the stars.”

  “I can’t wait!” Rachel said with a grin, and Kirsty nodded in agreement.

  “Camp Stargaze is beautiful, isn’t it, girls?” Mr. Walker remarked as they picked up their luggage. “It’s too bad this sunset is making everything look green.”

  The camp counselors were waiting on the dock. They had their clipboards to check everyone in. As the Walkers and the Tates climbed off the ferry, one of the counselors stepped forward.

  “Hi, I’m Peter,” he said with a smile. “Welcome to Camp Stargaze. Now, let’s find out which tent you’ll be staying in.”

  Peter checked his clipboard and told the Walkers and Tates that they were in the Twilight Tent. Then he gave them a map of the campsite and pointed them in the right direction.

  “The Twilight Tent,” Rachel repeated as they walked past the welcome sign and into the camp. “That sounds so pretty.” Rachel loved twilight, that hazy time of day just before night falls.

  There were lots of other families settling in and some, like the Walkers and Tates, were walking around searching for their tents.

  “Is it this one?” Kirsty stopped to read a sign outside a cream-colored tent. “Nope, this is the Moonlight Tent.”

  “There it is!” Rachel said excitedly as she spotted a sign that said THE TWILIGHT TENT.

  The girls were thrilled to see that their tent was the color of the night sky, a deep midnight blue, with tiny silver stars scattered all over it. The tent was enormous! There were three separate sleeping areas—one bedroom for each set of parents and one for Rachel and Kirsty to share. There was also a small kitchen and a living area at the front of the tent.

  “This is great!” Kirsty grinned at Rachel as they tried out the cots in their bedroom. “The tent’s almost as big as a house.”

  Mrs. Walker ducked her head in at that moment. “There’s a bathroom with toilets and showers just a short walk away,” she told them. “Why don’t you two explore the rest of the camp while we unpack? We’ll see you for the cookout later.”

  “OK, Mom,” Rachel said. “Let’s go, Kirsty.”

  The girls left their bags in the bedroom and wandered into the campsite. Just outside their tent, a group of kids of all ages were gathered around Peter, the camp counselor the girls had met earlier. They were staring up at the sky. It was still a deep green! Rachel and Kirsty went to join them.

  “Isn’t it strange that the sun hasn’t set yet?” Peter said with a frown. “It should be dark by now.”

  The girls had been so excited about arriving at Camp Stargaze, they hadn’t really noticed that the sun had stopped setting. But now they could see that the sun didn’t seem to have dropped any lower in the green sky.

  “Have you had a green sunset here before, Peter?” asked one of the boys in the group.

  Peter shook his head. “Never!” he replied. “I have
no idea what’s causing it.”

  Kirsty glanced at Rachel. “There really is something weird going on,” she remarked.

  Rachel didn’t reply because something had caught her eye. It was a tiny patch of golden light in the middle of the green sunset. As she stared at it, the light seemed to grow brighter and more sparkly.

  “Kirsty!” Rachel nudged her friend. “Can you see that little ray of light, right in the middle of all the green?”

  Kirsty looked and nodded. “Is it a star?” she asked.

  As Rachel and Kirsty watched in wonder, they saw the burst of sparkling light swirl down from the sky and swoop toward the river. None of the other campers noticed.

  “Quick, let’s find out what it is!” Rachel whispered to Kirsty.

  Just as the girls reached the bank of the river, the dazzling light skimmed across the water toward them. It landed in a shimmer of sparkles on top of the WELCOME TO CAMP STARGAZE sign.

  “Kirsty!” Rachel cried, her eyes shining with excitement. “It’s a fairy!”

  The tiny fairy was out of breath after her speedy flight. She looked around to make sure none of the other campers could see her, and then she waved at Rachel and Kirsty.

  “Hi, girls,” she said between breaths. “We haven’t met before, but I’ve seen you lots of times in Fairyland! I’m Ava the Sunset Fairy, one of the Night Fairies.”

  Thrilled, Rachel and Kirsty rushed over to Ava, who fluttered down to perch on Kirsty’s shoulder. Ava wore a beaded dress in soft shades of sunset pink and orange, and sparkly ballet flats with ankle straps. Her long, wavy auburn hair was pulled back from her face with a glittery pink clip.

  “Why are you here, Ava?” Kirsty asked.

  “Is it because of the weird, green sunset?” Rachel wanted to know.

  Ava’s face fell. “Yes,” she said sadly. “I can’t believe what Jack Frost has done this time!”

  Rachel and Kirsty glanced at each other with concern.

  “Jack Frost’s up to his old tricks again?” Rachel groaned.

  “Girls, will you help me and the other Night Fairies fix everything?” Ava asked them anxiously. “It’s such a mess. We can’t do it without you.”

  Immediately, Rachel and Kirsty nodded.

  “What happened, Ava?” asked Kirsty.

  Ava sighed. “It’s a long story, so the quickest way to explain it is for you to come back to Fairyland with me,” she replied. “You can meet the other six Night Fairies, and we can show you exactly what happened. Will you come, girls?”

  “Of course we will!” Rachel and Kirsty exclaimed. The girls knew that, as always, time would stand still while they were in Fairyland, so their parents wouldn’t realize they were gone.

  Looking very relieved, Ava lifted her wand and surrounded the two girls with a cloud of magic fairy dust. Rachel and Kirsty closed their eyes as they were whisked off their feet. They felt themselves rushing quickly through the air.

  “Here we are,” Ava called. “Welcome back to Fairyland.”

  Rachel and Kirsty opened their eyes. They were standing in the beautiful garden of the Fairyland Palace. Waiting to greet them were King Oberon, Queen Titania, and six other fairies.

  “Girls, once again you’ve answered our call for help,” Queen Titania said gratefully, moving forward to hug Rachel, then Kirsty. “We’re so glad to see you.”

  “And so are the Night Fairies,” King Oberon added, nodding at the six fairies standing beside him. “You’ve already met Ava, and here are Lexi the Firefly Fairy, Zara the Starlight Fairy, Morgan the Midnight Fairy, Nia the Night Owl Fairy, Anna the Moonbeam Fairy, and Sabrina the Sweet Dreams Fairy.”

  “Our Night Fairies make sure everything that happens between dusk and dawn goes smoothly, in both the fairy and human worlds,” explained Queen Titania. “But now Jack Frost and his goblins have ruined the nighttime!”

  “How?” Kirsty asked.

  “We’ll show you exactly what happened in the Seeing Pool,” Ava said.

  The king and queen led the way through the garden to the magical pool. The surface of the water was smooth and glasslike, but when Queen Titania waved her wand over it, the pool began to swirl gently. A few seconds later, pictures appeared in the water. Rachel and Kirsty stared closely and saw a beautiful pink-and-gold bedroom with seven little beds.

  “You can see the Night Fairies’ bedroom in their cottage,” the queen told them. When the door opened, Ava and the other six fairies fluttered into their bedroom. The girls noticed that each fairy was holding a small, satin drawstring bag, each one in a different color. “There are seven different colors of bags,” said Ava, “and seven different kinds of fairy dust—one for every Night Fairy. You can see that we keep them under our pillows.”

  In the Seeing Pool, the fairies were now putting their magic bags underneath their silk pillowcases. Then, looking excited, they hurried out of the bedroom again.

  “We were on our wag to a party under the stars last night with all our fairy friends,” Ava explained. “But look what happened while we were gone. …”

  Rachel and Kirsty gazed at the Seeing Pool again. Suddenly, Jack Frost and a crowd of goblins blew in through the open window, riding on a blast of icy wind.

  “I want those bags!” Jack Frost yelled. “Hurry up and steal them before those silly Night Fairies come back!”

  The scattered in all directions. They threw the pillows off the beds and grabbed the satin bags. Then they held them up triumphantly to show Jack Frost.

  Next, one of the goblins picked up a pillow with his free hand. Laughing to himself, he smacked the closest goblin over the head with it. The second goblin roared with anger and grabbed another pillow to hit him back.

  Soon all the goblins were having a pillow fight! They whacked each other so hard that the pillows burst, and tiny, fluffy white feathers flew everywhere, making a huge mess. Rachel and Kirsty looked at each other in dismay.

  “Enough!” Jack Frost roared furiously. The goblins dropped their pillows, looking very guilty. They stood still and clutched the bags, waiting for an order from Jack Frost.

  “With the Night Fairies’ magic, I can cause nighttime chaos everywhere,” Jack Frost bragged. “But we have to hide the bags in the human world.”

  He pointed his wand at the goblins. An ice bolt sped toward them and swept the goblins off their feet. Then it zoomed out the window, taking the goblins and the Night Fairies’ magic bags with it.

  Jack Frost looked extremely proud of himself.

  “Usually I hate the nighttime,” he muttered. “But now I can control everything that happens between dusk and dawn, and things are going to be different!” With a cackle of laughter, he headed back to his Ice Castle.

  “Without our special magic, nothing will go right. It will be nonstop trouble from dusk until dawn!” Ava told Rachel and Kirsty. “Will you two help me find my bag of sunbeam dust?”

  Rachel and Kirsty nodded eagerly.

  “But why does Jack Frost want to disrupt the nighttime so much?” asked Kirsty, looking puzzled.

  “We don’t know,” Queen Titania replied, “but we have to stop him!” She lifted her sparkling wand. “Girls, I need to send you and Ava back to Camp Stargaze right now. The bags will have become bigger in the human world, so they’ll be easier to find. Good luck.”

  “Good luck!” echoed the other fairies as the queen showered Ava, Kirsty, and Rachel with magic fairy dust.

  Rachel and Kirsty waved, feeling very excited. Another wonderful fairy adventure was about to begin!

  Just a few seconds later, Rachel and Kirsty were back at Camp Stargaze, standing by the welcome sign. Ava was hovering next to them. Everything was still covered in the same green glow, and the sun remained high in the sky.

  Ava frowned. “The sun won’t set again until I find my bag of sunbeam dust,” she sighed. “I can sense that it’s around here somewhere.”

  “We’ll do our best to find it, Ava,” Kirsty promised.

  “Th
e cookout’s starting,” Rachel said. The camp counselors had set up tables and were putting big bowls of salad and plates of sandwich buns on them. Peter, wearing a chef’s hat, was watching over a large grill and flipping the burgers every once in a while.

  “We’d better go and find our parents,” said Kirsty. “They’ll be wondering where we are.”

  Ava nodded and fluttered into Rachel’s pocket so she’d be out of sight. The girls hurried across the campsite toward their parents, who were just joining the end of the food line.

  “Ah, there you are, girls.” Mr. Tate handed Rachel and Kirsty each a plate. “We were wondering where you’d gone.”

  “This looks great, doesn’t it?” Mrs. Walker said, admiring the big bowls of salad and wide variety of sandwiches. Rachel and Kirsty nodded.

  “I hope this doesn’t take too long, though,” Rachel whispered to Kirsty as they waited in line. “I want to start looking for Ava’s bag of sunbeam dust!”

  But to the girls’ dismay, the line was moving very slowly. Rachel and Kirsty soon realized that it was because of two boys who were just ahead of them.

  The boys were wearing sunhats, big T-shirts, and baggy cargo shorts. They helped themselves to lots of food from all the different bowls, and carried as much as they could.

  “They must be hungry!” Kirsty murmured. She and Rachel watched as the boys wobbled over to the picnic tables on the far side of the campsite, clutching their armfuls of food.

  Then Rachel nudged Kirsty.

  “Look at their noses and their feet!” she whispered in her friend’s ear.

  Kirsty stared at the two boys as they sat down at the picnic table farthest away from everyone else and began to chow down. They looked green, but so did everyone else at the camp because of the glow of the sunset. However, these two boys also had long pointed noses and very big feet.