Cara the Camp Fairy Read online

  Content

  Camp Chaos!

  Goblin Tracks

  The Secret Switch

  Camp Frost

  Cara’s Crafty Magic

  A Sticky Escape

  Melting Magic

  We’re the Rowdy Raccoons!

  Can’t Beat the Heat

  Cara to the Rescue!

  The Trap is Set!

  A Race throught the Woods

  Confused Campers!

  Songs around the Campfire

  The Search for Kelly

  Get that Compass!

  Girls vs. Goblins

  A Tricky Trade

  Goblin Tracks

  The Secret Switch

  Camp Frost

  Cara’s Crafty Magic

  A Sticky Escape

  “I can’t believe we’re actually at summer camp together!” Rachel Walker said happily.

  “Me, neither,” said her best friend, Kirsty Tate. “We get to do some of our favorite things all in one place. And we get to do them together!”

  Rachel and Kirsty had met on vacation on beautiful Rainspell Island. Since they lived in different towns, they didn’t get to see each other every day. So when the girls’ parents had suggested they go to Camp Oakwood, both Rachel and Kirsty were excited.

  Now, on their second day of camp, the two girls sat at a table in the Craft Cabin. They were making pictures with yarn.

  “First, sketch your picture on the paper,” explained Bollie, their camp counselor. Bollie’s real name was Margaret Bolleran, but everyone called her Bollie. Rachel sketched a fairy on her paper. She looked over at Kirsty and saw that she had sketched a fairy, too. The girls smiled at each other.

  “Now spread the glue over the places you would normally color in,” Bollie said. “Then you can curl up pieces of yarn and place them on the glue, like this.”

  She held up a picture of a tree with green yarn for leaves and brown yarn on the trunk … but then the yarn slid off and plopped on one of Bollie’s boots.

  “That’s weird,” she said, feeling the paper. “This glue isn’t sticky at all.”

  “My glue isn’t sticking, either,” complained a red-haired girl.

  Bollie frowned. “Maybe it’s too hot,” she said, pushing her blonde bangs out of her eyes “I know! Let’s have some fun with the paint spinner, instead.”

  Bollie walked to a big machine on a table on the side of the room. Rachel, Kirsty, and the other girls gathered around to watch.

  “It’s easy,” Bollie said, her green eyes shining. “You put paper on the bottom.

  Then you turn on the spinner and squeeze in drops of paint.” She held a plastic bottle of orange paint over the spinner and squeezed it.

  With a pop, the cover slipped off! Instead of a few drops, the whole bottle of paint gushed into the spinner.

  “Everybody duck!” Bollie yelled.

  Rachel and Kirsty ducked down as quickly as they could. Orange paint splattered everywhere! Bollie turned off the machine, but not before every camper was covered in orange dots.

  “Oh, no!” some of the girls wailed. Rachel giggled. “It’s like we’re covered in sprinkles,” she said. But Bollie did not look happy. “Everybody head to the sinks to clean up!” she told them. “Craft time is cancelled. We’re going on a hike!”

  The campers quickly washed off the paint and changed into clean green-and-white Camp Oakwood tank tops.

  They lined up at the edge of the woods.

  “Follow me, and stick to the path,” Bollie advised them.

  Rachel and Kirsty hung back at the end of the line.

  “Rachel, why do you think that happened in the Craft Cabin?” Kirsty asked in a whisper.

  Rachel gave her a meaningful look. “It feels like Jack Frost to me.”

  Rachel and Kirsty were whispering because they shared a big secret. They were friends with the fairies! They knew that wicked Jack Frost was always playing tricks on fairies and humans with the help of his goblins.

  “But what would Jack Frost be doing at summer camp?” Kirsty wondered. “He likes to be in the cold, doesn’t he?”

  Just then, Bollie stopped suddenly on the path. “Look! Here are some tracks we can examine,” she said.

  The campers made a circle around Bollie as she bent down to give the tracks a closer look.

  “That’s strange,” she said. “I thought maybe they’d be deer prints or raccoon tracks. But these look like big, bare feet. Who would walk around the woods in bare feet?”

  Rachel and Kirsty knew exactly who would do that.

  Goblins!

  It was hard for Rachel and Kirsty to talk about the goblins, since they had to stay with Bollie and the other campers. They had to wait until dark, when everyone gathered around a fire for the nighttime story. They sat alone at a nearby picnic table.

  “Did you see those tracks?” Kirsty asked. “I’m sure that Jack Frost and his goblins are around here!”

  “If they were causing trouble, wouldn’t the fairies ask us to help?” Rachel wondered.

  Kirsty nodded. “Maybe they don’t know that Jack Frost is here.”

  Rachel frowned. “I wish we had some way to contact them.”

  “Hmmm,” Kirsty said. Then her eyes lit up. “We do have fairy dust!” The fairy dust was a present from King Oberon and Queen Titania, the fairy king and queen. Each girl carried some in a special locket. They could use the fairy dust to visit Fairyland.

  “But we can’t visit Fairyland now,” Rachel pointed out. “It’ll be time for bed soon. Bollie would be looking for us.”

  Kirsty was thoughtful. “Maybe we can sprinkle it on something,” she suggested. “Like a mirror or a bubble. Something that would let us see into Fairyland.”

  Rachel pointed to a puddle at the foot of the rain barrel. “What about that?”

  “Perfect!” Kirsty said.

  The girls made sure no one was close by. Pale light from the moon shone on the puddle as Kirsty sprinkled some of her fairy dust.

  A shimmery light beamed through the murky water, and then the faces of King Oberon and Queen Titania appeared.

  “Hello, Rachel and Kirsty,” said the queen. “What a pleasant surprise!”

  “I’m afraid we have news that isn’t so pleasant, Your Majesty,” Kirsty said. “We think Jack Frost and his goblins are here at Camp Oakwood.”

  The king and queen looked shocked. “We’ll send Cara the Camp Fairy to help you right away,” the king said. “Thank you so much,” Rachel replied. Then the puddle went dark. A moment later, a small group of fireflies began to circle the girls. Their yellow lights blinked on and off. Then one of the lights got bigger and brighter.

  The light exploded into a shimmer of glittering sparks, like a mini-fireworks display.

  A fairy appeared in front of them! She had freckled cheeks, two sandy brown braids, a colorful tank top, a cute backpack, and shorts. “Hey, campers!” she said cheerfully. “I hear you’ve had a goblin sighting.” Kirsty waved hello to Cara. “We saw goblin tracks!”

  “And everything was messed up in the Craft Cabin today,” Rachel added.

  Cara frowned. “That shouldn’t have happened. I have three magical objects in here that help make camp extra-fun for everybody.” She slid her backpack off and patted it.

  “Ooh, can we see them?” Rachel asked.

  “Sure,” said Cara. She flew to the picnic table, opened up her backpack, and dumped the contents onto the table. Three big, gray rocks tumbled out.

  “Oh, no!” Cara cried. “Jack Frost’s goblins must have stolen them!”

  “Did you leave your backpack alone somewhere?” Kirsty wondered.

  “No,” Cara said, shaking her head. “But the other day I was in the woods
near Jack Frost’s palace when I saw some fairies camping out. They needed help, so I showed them how to build a fire. I put my backpack down for a few minutes.”

  “Those fairies must have been goblins in disguise,” Kirsty guessed.

  Cara nodded. “They must have secretly switched the magic items for rocks when I wasn’t looking!”

  “What do the magic items do?” Rachel asked.

  “Each one helps give summer camp some extra sparkle,” Cara explained. “My friendship bracelet helps make camp activities fun and exciting. My water bottle helps keep campers cool in the heat. And my last item is a compass that keeps campers from getting lost.”

  “That must be why the paint splattered everywhere and the glue didn’t stick,” Kirsty realized.

  “Right. Because the friendship bracelet is missing,” Rachel said, finishing the thought.

  Cara nervously flapped her wings. “We’ve got to find those goblins, fast!”

  “Rachel! Kirsty!” a voice cried out just then.

  Cara waved her wand. “Gotta go!”

  The fairy disappeared as a little girl with short brown hair ran up. Kelly was a few years younger than Rachel and Kirsty, but she had latched onto them right away.

  “It’s time for lights-out!” Kelly told them. “But I’m not going to go to sleep right away, are you? I’m going to read my fairy book under the covers with my flashlight.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Rachel said. “Kirsty and I like fairies, too.”

  Kelly beamed. “Aren’t they the best? I wish I could meet a real one.”

  Rachel and Kirsty smiled at each other. They knew how lucky they were to be friends with the fairies.

  “I hope Cara comes back soon,” Rachel whispered as they walked back to their cabin.

  “Me, too,” Kirsty said. “If we don’t get those magic items back, summer camp will be ruined!”

  The girls at Camp Oakwood slept in rustic wood cabins. Each one was filled with bunk beds. Rachel and Kirsty shared a cabin with five other girls their age. Their group was called the “Rowdy Raccoons.”

  The next day, after breakfast, the camp counselors gathered the Rowdy Raccoons, the Cheerful Chipmunks, and the Silly Skunks by the sparkling lake. They were supposed to take a canoe trip. A row of canoes was tied to posts on the dock.

  “Hmm. The lake looks a little low today,” Bollie was saying to another counselor.

  “It’s deep enough for canoeing,” said a different counselor, a woman with dark brown braids.

  Bollie blew her whistle. “Okay, Rowdy Raccoons!

  We’re taking these two canoes. Please put on your life jackets now.”

  “I’ve never been in a canoe before,” said Kirsty, as she slipped on her orange vest.

  “It’s kind of like being in a sailboat, only we get to row,” Rachel told her. “It’s fun!”

  Bollie and the other counselors stepped into their canoes first.

  “Okay,” Bollie said. “Please get into the canoe one at a time. No jumping, or you’ll rock the boat!”

  Rachel stepped in first. As she stepped forward, her foot sloshed in a puddle of water.

  “Bollie, is it supposed to be wet in here?” Rachel asked.

  “Our canoe is leaking, too!” called another counselor.

  “So is ours!”

  Bollie shook her head. “It seems like nothing is going right today.” She blew her whistle.

  “Okay, campers, you’ve got one hour of free time!” Rachel climbed out of the canoe. “My sneakers are squishy,” she told Kirsty.

  “It’s because of the missing friendship bracelet,” Kirsty said in a low voice. “Cara said its magic helps make camp activities fun and exciting. So far, almost every activity has been ruined!”

  “Then I know how we should spend our free time,” Rachel said. “We need to find Jack Frost.”

  Kirsty nodded. Then she noticed a bright glint at the edge of the woods. She nudged Rachel. “I think it’s fairy magic. Look!” she said.

  The girls ran toward the trees. As they got closer, they saw Cara sitting on an oak leaf, waving her wand.

  “Thank goodness you spotted me!” Cara said.

  “We have an hour of free time,” Kirsty told her. “We can help you look for Jack Frost.”

  “But I’ve already found him,” Cara said, hopping off of the leaf. She grinned. “Jack Frost and his goblins are on the other side of the woods! He’s set up his own summer camp.”

  “Why would he do that?” Rachel asked.

  “Who knows?” said Kirsty. “But that’s probably where he’s keeping the magic objects!”

  “Exactly,” said Cara.

  “We need to get there fast,” Kirsty pointed out. “We don’t have much time.”

  Cara waved her wand. “Then we’ll fly!”

  Shimmering clouds of fairy dust sprinkled over the girls. They grew smaller and smaller until they were Cara’s size. Wings sprouted from their shoulders.

  “Let’s go!” Cara cried.

  They flew quickly through the trees until they came to the edge of the woods. Then they stopped and hovered with Cara behind a pine tree.

  “See?” Cara said, pointing up ahead.

  It looked like Jack Frost had taken over an abandoned camp. The big wooden sign used to say CAMP PINE TREE, but the words “Pine Tree” had been covered in green spray paint. Now the sign read CAMP FROST.

  Goblins in Camp Frost T-shirts walked among the run-down cabins. Only one of the cabins looked shiny and new, glimmering with magic. Bright green paint covered the walls, and a huge air conditioner hummed in the front window.

  “That must be Jack Frost’s cabin,” Kirsty guessed. “He likes it best when it’s cold.”

  Then the girls heard a loud noise coming from one of the other cabins. It sounded like goblins yelling at each other.

  “Follow me,” Cara said.

  The girls flew quickly through the camp. Then they stopped on the dusty windowsill of the noisy cabin and peered inside. “It’s the goblin’s craft cabin,” Rachel whispered.

  Paint, glue, glitter, Popsicle sticks, pom-poms, and lots of other craft supplies were stored on shelves around the room. A group of green goblins with long noses sat at a table, painting pictures. As usual, the goblins were arguing.

  “That’s my paintbrush!”

  “No, I had it first!”

  At another round table, some goblins were making yarn pictures—or trying to. They were squirting glue on each other and wrapping each other in yarn!

  “Hey, their glue and paint seem to be working just fine,” Kirsty noticed.

  “The friendship bracelet must be nearby,” Cara said. She sounded excited. She got closer to the window.

  Rachel spotted something glimmering on a shelf inside a plastic bin of friendship bracelets, colored string, and beads. She pointed it out to Cara. “That’s it!” the little fairy cried.

  “We have to fly past the goblins to get it,” Kirsty said, sighing. “They’ll see us.”

  Rachel thought hard. “I have another idea,” she said. “The goblins are always putting on disguises to fool us. Maybe we can disguise ourselves to fool them.”

  “Disguise ourselves as what?” Kirsty asked.

  Rachel grinned. “Goblins, of course!”

  Cara clapped her hands together. “That’s perfect!”

  “But where will we get goblin costumes?” Kirsty wondered.

  “Crafts are my specialty,” Cara explained. “And since we’re close to the special friendship bracelet, my crafty magic should be working well.”

  Cara waved her wand, and green construction paper, green yarn, and tubes of green paint appeared in front of her. Then she waved her wand again, and gold stars and leaves shot out as she sang a little song:

  “Paper, yarn, and paint combine!

  Make two costumes that are fine.

  Rachel and Kirsty will be in disguise.

  They’ll look like goblins in everyone’s eyes!”
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  The girls watched in amazement as the different pieces came together to make two goblin costumes: green shirts, green pants, and long, green noses. Cara waved her wand again, and the costumes magically appeared on the girls, who were back to their normal size again!

  Rachel and Kirsty stared at each other for a moment.

  “We look just like goblins!” Rachel said with a giggle.

  Cara smiled and crouched down on the windowsill. “I’ll keep watch. Good luck!”

  Rachel and Kirsty were a little bit nervous. Fairies were nice—but goblins were another story.

  The girls walked into the goblins’ craft cabin. The goblins were still yelling and arguing as they tried to glue Popsicle sticks together.

  “Jack Frost wants thirteen of these frames,” barked one of the goblins. “So hurry up and make them!”

  “But we don’t know how,” a goblin whined.

  “It’s too hard.” Just then, the big goblin noticed Rachel and Kirsty. “Hey, you two!” he yelled.

  The girls froze. Could he see through their disguises?

  “What are you doing standing there? Make some picture frames!” he ordered.

  “We’d better do what he wants,” Rachel whispered.

  The girls got to work, lining up the Popsicle sticks and gluing them together.

  The goblin next to Rachel nudged her with his bony elbow. “Hey, you know how to do it!”

  “Sure,” Rachel said, in a deep goblin voice. “It’s easy. I’ll show you.”

  The girls showed the goblins how to make the frames. Soon, they weren’t arguing anymore. They were happily making crafts.

  “This camping stuff isn’t so bad,” one of the goblins remarked. “You’re right,” agreed his friend. “When Jack Frost set up this camp I thought he had a brain freeze. But he was right when he said that summer camp was fun.”