Cherry the Cake Fairy

  A Birthday Surprise

  Fun and Games

  Stop, Thief!

  A Tricky Problem

  A Sticky Solution

  A Magical Mystery Cake!

  “I just know this is going to be a wonderful birthday!” Kirsty Tate exclaimed happily, her eyes shining.

  Mrs. Tate laughed across the breakfast table. “You’ve only been awake for half an hour, Kirsty,” she said.

  “I know,” Kirsty replied. “But look at all these cards I’ve gotten already! Plus, there’s my party this afternoon. And best of all, Rachel’s here for a whole week!” She grinned at her best friend, Rachel

  Walker, who was sitting next to her. The two girls were spending spring break together. They had met on a vacation to Rainspell Island and, since then, they had shared all kinds of magical adventures. First, they had helped all seven of the Rainbow Fairies return to Fairyland. Then, they’d helped the Weather Fairies stop wicked Jack Frost from causing weather chaos—and that was just the beginning of their fairy fun!

  The girls finished their breakfast and went to get dressed. Rachel was halfway up the stairs behind Kirsty, when she noticed another envelope coming through the mail slot. She ran to get it. It was a beautiful, sparkly gold envelope, and it felt heavy in her hand. She glanced curiously at the front—and then gasped in surprise. Miss Kirsty Tate and Miss Rachel Walker, read the beautiful loopy handwriting. Rachel blinked. A card for Kirsty and for her? But it wouldn’t be her birthday for another three months!

  Rachel raced up the stairs two at a time, thinking about the card. She didn’t recognize the handwriting, so it couldn’t be from her mom or dad. But who else knew that she was staying with Kirsty?

  “Look,” cried Rachel, bursting into Kirsty’s bedroom. “Another card—and it’s for both of us!”

  Kirsty took the envelope and gently turned it over, running her finger around the red wax seal on the back. “You open it,” she said, passing the letter back to Rachel and smiling. “I’ve gotten lots of cards this morning.”

  Rachel’s fingers trembled with excitement as she carefully broke the wax seal. As soon as the envelope was open, glittering clouds of fairy dust floated into the air, followed by a rainbow that soared across the room.

  Both girls stared, their mouths wide open. Riding on top of the rainbow, as if he were surfing on a wave, was Bertram, the frog footman from Fairyland! Rachel and Kirsty had met him on their earlier fairy adventures. But they hadn’t expected to see him again in Kirsty’s bedroom!

  Bertram hopped off the rainbow onto Kirsty’s dresser and took a grand bow. He wore a red vest and carried a gold bugle.

  Kirsty grabbed Rachel’s hand and squeezed it. She couldn’t help wondering if this would be the start of another magical quest!

  Bertram tooted on the bugle, then pulled a tiny scroll from one of his pockets. He unrolled it, and cleared his throat. “Ahem. It is with great pleasure,” he began, “that I bring you good news. The Fairy Godmother hereby invites Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker to a surprise party—for the fairy king and queen’s 1000th anniversary as wise rulers of Fairyland!”

  “Wow!” Rachel gasped.

  “Hooray!” Kirsty cried.

  From another one of his pockets, Bertram pulled out a tiny bag of fairy dust and began sprinkling it over Kirsty’s mirror. As the girls watched, the mirrors reflection vanished and a whole new scene appeared before their eyes.

  “It’s Fairyland!” Rachel breathed, leaning closer for a better look.

  “Correct,” said Bertram. “The Fairy Party Workshop, to be precise. All the Party Fairies have been working very hard to make sure the king and queen’s party is absolutely perfect.”

  Kirsty and Rachel gazed in delight at the small figures they could see rushing around the workshop.

  “There’s Cherry the Cake Fairy, making a special party cake,” Bertram told them, pointing a webbed green finger. The cake looked wonderful. It was shaped like a fairy palace and it sparkled with magic. “That’s Grace the Glitter Fairy, making lots of magical decorations. And can you see the fairy wrapping up the pretty gifts? That’s Jasmine the Present Fairy.”

  The two girls watched in delight as Jasmine tied a pink satin ribbon around one of the presents.

  “Who else is there?” Kirsty asked eagerly.

  Bertram pointed. “There’s Polly the Party Fun Fairy. She’s in charge of party games. And Melodie the Music Fairy selects the best party tunes. She’s teaching the fairy orchestra how to play the harmonies for ‘Happy Anniversary.’“ The girls fell silent and listened to the sweet sounds of fairy music drifting through the mirror. “It’s gorgeous!” Rachel said, sighing happily. Bertram went on, “Honey the Candy Fairy is making sure there are enough snacks for everyone, and Phoebe the Fashion Fairy—look, she’s the one with the extra-sparkly wings—is in charge of everyone’s party outfits.”

  Kirsty gazed in wonder at the beautiful dress Phoebe was working on. It was covered with hundreds of sequins and jewels that glittered in the light. “It’s gorgeous,” Kirsty breathed, her eyes wide with excitement. “And we’re really invited to the party?”

  “Oh, yes,” Bertram replied. “The Fairy Godmother says that you and Rachel will be special guests.”

  “Special guests!” Rachel echoed, looking thrilled at the thought.

  “So, when is the party? And how will we get there?” Kirsty asked.

  Bertram murmured something at the mirror and the Fairyland scene dissolved into hundreds of twinkling stars, before finally disappearing. “The party’s at the end of the week. And the Fairy Godmother will send a magic rainbow to take you there,” he said. He handed the magic invitation to Rachel. “To get to Fairyland, all you have to do is step onto the end of the rainbow,” he explained, “like this.”

  Kirsty and Rachel watched as Bertram placed one froggy foot, then another, into the colorful rainbow that floated in the air. And then—whoosh! —with a shower of golden fairy dust, he was gone.

  “Hooray!” exclaimed Kirsty. “I knew this was going to be an amazing birthday.”

  “It looks like it’s going to be magical,” Rachel replied, grinning.

  Rachel and Kirsty got dressed, chatting with excitement.

  “The Fairy Godmother called us ‘special guests’,” Rachel said proudly, pulling her hair into a ponytail. “Imagine! You and me, special guests of King Oberon and Queen Titania at their important celebration!”

  “It’s amazing!” Kirsty grinned, brushing her hair. “I can’t wait to go to Fairyland again.”

  Just then, there was a shout from downstairs. “Come on, girls!” Mrs. Tate called. “There’s a lot to do before the party starts.”

  Rachel and Kirsty looked at each other in amazement. How did Mrs. Tate know about the Fairyland party? Then Kirsty giggled. “She means my party,” she said. “In all the fairy excitement, I almost forgot all about it for a minute!”

  The girls laughed and hurried downstairs. In the kitchen, Mr. Tate was icing Kirsty’s birthday cake. “There,” he said, putting nine candles on top. “It’s all finished.”

  “That looks delicious, Dad,” Kirsty said, hugging him. “Come on, Rachel—let’s see what Mom wants us to do.”

  Mrs. Tate soon had the two girls filling party bags for all of Kirsty’s guests. Then they blew up lots of pink and lilac balloons to hang from the ceiling. And finally, there was just enough time for the girls to put on their party dresses before the guests started to arrive.

  “Let’s play Musical Statues first,” Mrs. Tate announced to all the girls gathered in the family room. “When the music stops—so do you!” The music started and everybody danced. Then Mr. Tate turned it off—and everybody froze on the spot. Rachel was sta
nding on one leg, trying to keep as still as possible, when she suddenly saw swirls of red and purple glitter floating through the doorway. She stared in surprise, wondering what it could be. Then she glanced to the side, wondering if Kirsty had spotted the glitter, too. Kirsty looked startled, so Rachel was sure that she had. Luckily, none of the other girls seemed to have noticed anything unusual.

  The sparkling dust floated over to Rachel, drifting right under her nose. “Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!” she sneezed.

  Now the dust was near Kirsty, too. It was so ticklish! She just couldn’t help rubbing her nose.

  “Rachel and Kirsty—you two are out!” Mrs. Tate said. “Here comes the music again.”

  As quickly as they had appeared, the swirls of red and purple glitter vanished. Rachel frowned at Kirsty. “What was that?” she whispered as they went to sit down.

  Kirsty grabbed her arm and steered her toward the door. “I think it might have had something to do with her,” she whispered, pointing through the doorway.

  Rachel followed Kirsty’s finger, and a broad smile spread over her face. It was just like she had hoped. There, hovering in midair and waving at the girls, was a tiny sparkling fairy!

  “You’re one of the Party Fairies!” Rachel exclaimed as they rushed over to the little fairy. “We saw you in Bertram’s picture.”

  The fairy smiled. She had sparkly, deep violet eyes and long, dark, curly hair that was tied in pigtails with red ribbons. She wore a red skirt, a pink wrap top, red party shoes, and striped socks. A sparkly red party bag dangled from her wrist. “I certainly am,” she replied, with a curtsy. “I’m Cherry the Cake Fairy!” An anxious frown creased her forehead. “I’m sorry if my fairy dust ruined your game,” she went on, “but I really need your help!”

  “Of course!” Kirsty said at once.

  “What happened?” Rachel asked.

  Cherry smiled gratefully. “Well, you see, as the Cake Fairy, whenever there is danger that a cake might be ruined, I get called away from Fairyland to fix it. And I’ve been very busy today. One of Jack Frost’s goblins has been ruining birthday cakes all over the place! He steals the cake candles, and stomps in the icing.” She bit her lip. “And he’s on his way to your party right now, Kirsty!”

  Rachel’s mouth fell open. “What a mess!” she exclaimed.

  Kirsty glanced over at the kitchen door. “Why is the goblin ruining all the cakes?” she asked. “And what can we do to stop him?”

  Cherry’s eyes flashed. “Nobody knows what the goblin is up to,” she told the girls. “But one thing’s for sure—if Jack Frost is behind it, it must be something bad.” She shrugged. “We have to catch the goblin before he causes any more trouble.”

  “What are we waiting for?” Rachel cried. “Let’s guard Kirsty’s cake right now!”

  The girls raced to the kitchen, with Cherry fluttering behind them. But as soon as they opened the kitchen door, it was clear that they were too late. All the candles had been pulled out of Kirsty’s cake, and there were goblin footprints in the icing.

  “Oh, no!” cried Kirsty in dismay. “He ruined it!”

  “He took all the candles,” Rachel added angrily.

  “And I’ll take this, too!” somebody cackled. Before anyone could stop him, a grinning green goblin jumped out from behind one of the table legs, snatched Cherry’s party bag out of her hands, and ran off.

  “Hey!” Cherry cried. “Give that back!”

  Kirsty and Rachel stared in horror as the goblin ran away. He was his normal Fairyland size, Rachel realized with relief. At least Jack Frost hadn’t cast a spell to make the goblins bigger, like he’d done before. An enormous backpack bumped up and down, weighing on the goblin’s shoulders. The bag was stuffed so full of birthday candles that the top couldn’t even close!

  “We have to get my party bag back!” Cherry cried, flying after the thief. “Quick!”

  The goblin was just about to dodge through the kitchen door, when Kirsty’s kitten, Pearl, came bounding into the room. As soon as Pearl saw the goblin, her black-and-white fur stood up in alarm, and the kitten hissed.

  The goblin’s eyes opened wide in panic, and he skidded to a halt. Then he climbed into one of the kitchen cupboards and locked himself in!

  Cherry flitted in the air anxiously. “That party bag has all my magical fairy dust inside,” she said, worried. “I need it to help make parties perfect—and to finish the king and queen’s anniversary cake.”

  Rachel banged on the cupboard door. “Give that party bag back to Cherry right now!” she ordered the goblin.

  “No way,” the goblin shouted back grumpily. “It’s mine now! As soon as I get out of here, I’m giving it to Jack Frost.”

  “Why does he want it?” Kirsty asked. The goblin gave a nasty laugh. “For his party, of course,” he replied. “The king and queen said he has to stay in his ice castle, but they didn’t say he couldn’t have a party of his own. It will be a very fancy one, too! Now that I have this party bag of magic dust, his cake is going to be the most magnificent cake you’ve ever seen.” There was another cackle from the cupboard. “Just you wait—once we have all the Party Fairies’ party bags, Jack Frost will use the magic dust to make his party extraspecial.”

  Cherry turned very pale. She motioned for the girls to come back over to the table, where they huddled together.

  “It’s bad enough that he has my party bag when I haven’t finished the king and queen’s cake,” she said. “But if the goblins are planning to steal all of the magic party bags, then none of the Party Fairies will be able to finish their work in time for the anniversary party!”

  Cherry’s wings drooped, and she shook her head in misery. “The surprise party will be ruined!”

  Rachel and Kirsty looked at their sad fairy friend. What could they do to help?

  The girls tried hard to figure out a way to get Cherry’s party bag back. But they couldn’t think of anything!

  “The Fairy Godmother is much more powerful than a goblin,” Cherry said, sighing. “She’d be able to fix this problem if I could just get the goblin back to Fairyland. But I can’t use my magic to send him back while he’s hiding in that cupboard—or while he’s running away. I need to be able to see him, and he has to stay very still, so that I can wave my wand over him.”

  Kirsty found her gaze drifting toward her ruined birthday cake. “Poor Dad. He spent ages on that icing,” she said sadly. Suddenly, she grinned as a thought came to her. “That’s it!” she muttered. “That’s how we’ll get him out!” “How?” Rachel asked, confused.

  “We need to make more icing for this cake,” Kirsty said loudly, so the goblin would hear. She took out a box of powdered sugar and started mixing some icing in a bowl. Then she added quietly, “Cherry, could you use your fairy magic to make this icing extra-sticky?”

  “No problem,” Cherry replied. She waved her wand over the bowl, and a stream of sparkling purple and red fairy dust swirled around it. The white icing glittered for a split-second, and Strange red and purple sparks crackled above it. Then the icing turned glossy white again.

  Kirsty gave one last stir and smiled. “Super–sticky!” she whispered.

  Rachel was still frowning. “I don’t—” she began.

  But Kirsty put a fìnger to her lips. “It’s a trap!” she whispered into Rachel’s ear. Quickly, she covered the cake with the new icing. “We’d better get back to the party now that the cake is frosted again. We’ll just leave it here on the table…” she said loudly.

  Rachel and Cherry followed Kirsty out of the room. Holding their breath, they waited outside the kitchen, peeking through the crack in the door to see if Kirsty’s trap would work. Rachel crossed her fingers.

  Sure enough, after a moment, the cupboard door creaked open. The goblin climbed down and skipped happily across the floor. With a nasty grin, he climbed up onto the kitchen table, and took a giant leap straight onto the top of the newly-iced cake.

  “There he goes,” Kirsty whis
pered to Rachel. “And any second now, he’ll realize…”

  “I’m stuck!” the goblin howled suddenly. “They tricked me!”

  “Perfect timing!” Cherry giggled.

  The goblin couldn’t move his feet in the super-sticky icing. Rachel laughed out loud at the furious look on his face. “Great idea, Kirsty,” she cheered.

  Cherry flew over to the goblin, her eyes glued to her precious party bag. As soon as he saw her, he bared his teeth. “If you get any closer, fairy, I’ll bite you!” he warned.

  “In that case, I’ll have to take you back to Fairyland,” Cherry said calmly. “I think the Fairy Godmother will be interested to find out what you and Jack Frost have been plotting.”

  The goblin scowled, but said no more.

  “Serves you right for ruining my cake—twice!” Kirsty added.

  “Don’t worry about your cake, Kirsty,” Cherry said. “Once I have my party bag back, I’ll use my magic to make you the most beautiful birthday cake you’ve ever seen. Now, would you two would like to come to Fairyland with me?”

  “Yes, please!” Kirsty cried at once, but Rachel was glancing up at the kitchen clock.

  “What about your party, Kirsty?” she pointed out. “The Musical Statues game has to be over soon.”

  Cherry twirled her wand around. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I’ll work some magic. It will seem like you’ve only been gone from the party for a moment! Will that help?”

  “Oh, yes!” cried both girls together.