Belle the Birthday Fairy

  Contents

  The Birthday Book

  Parties in Peril!

  A New Fairy Friend

  Goblin Intruders

  Birthday Book Hunt

  Discoveries!

  The Birthday Candle

  Cake Catastrophe

  Goblins in Tippington!

  Kitchen Chaos

  Trapped!

  A Deal is Made

  The Birthday Present

  Party Pooper

  Party Planners

  Inside the Ice Castle

  A Brave Act

  Parties Galore!

  “I can’t wait to see Mom’s face when she arrives at her surprise birthday party!” Rachel Walker said with a little skip of excitement.

  “Yes, she’ll be so amazed when she realizes that you and your dad arranged it all!” replied her best friend, Kirsty Tate, swinging her rollerskates happily.

  Kirsty was staying at Rachel’s house in Tippington during school break. Rachel’s mom thought that Kirsty was just there for a visit, but she was also there to attend Mrs. Walker’s surprise party!

  “Everything’s ready,” said Rachel, counting things off on her fingers. “The food, the music, the decorations for the village hall …”

  “What about the cake?” Kirsty asked.

  “Dad ordered that from the bakery,” said Rachel with a smile. “He’s not very good at baking, and he wanted it to be perfect!”

  The friends were on their way to the local park to go rollerskating. As they passed the village hall where Mrs. Walker’s party was going to be, Rachel squeezed Kirsty’s hand.

  “Let’s just quickly look inside,” she said. “I want to show you where I’m planning to put all the decorations on the day of the party.”

  “Ooh, yes!” said Kirsty eagerly. “I can’t wait to help you decorate the hall and lay out the food.”

  They peeked in the door—and their mouths fell open in astonishment. A group of boys and girls were there in their best party outfits, but no one seemed to be having a good time. The guests were talking in low voices. They all looked upset! Some of the parents were kneeling on the floor, cleaning up squished cakes and spilled drinks. A box of decorations sat untouched by the window. There was a stereo on the stage, but it was making a strange whining sound and there was smoke coming out of the top.

  A little girl was standing by the door with her head down. She was wearing a pretty pink dress with a white sash, but she looked very sad.

  “Hello,” said Rachel. “Is this your party?”

  The little girl nodded her head. Her big blue eyes filled with tears.

  “Everything’s going wrong!” she sobbed. “Half of the guests forgot my birthday party and didn’t show up. The food tables collapsed and squished my birthday cake. None of the decorations would stay up on the walls. Now the stereo is broken, so we can’t even dance.” Kirsty put her arm around the little girl’s shaking shoulders. She didn’t know what to say.

  The girl’s mom hurried over to them.

  “I’m sorry, Maya, but Dad can’t fix the stereo. We’re going to have to move the party home.”

  “But we can’t fit everyone in our house,” said Maya, looking miserable.

  “I know, but we have no choice,” said her mom sadly. “You can pick ten friends to bring with you. Everyone else will just have to go home.”

  Trying not to cry again, Maya walked off with her mom. Rachel and Kirsty left and headed toward the park.

  “I feel so bad for Maya,” said Rachel. “It’s really unlucky that all those things went wrong.”

  When they got to the park, they sat down to put on their rollerskates. They were both upset about the little girl’s birthday being ruined!

  “If only one of the Party Fairies had been here,” Kirsty said with a sigh. “I’m sure they could have done something.”

  Rachel and Kirsty were good friends with the fairies, and had often helped them outwit mean Jack Frost and his mischievous goblins.

  The girls stood up, wobbled a little, and held onto each other for balance. For a moment, they forgot about the ruined party.

  “It’s been ages since you and I went rollerskating!” Rachel giggled. “I hope I can still remember how to skate without falling over!”

  Rachel and Kirsty had only been rollerskating for a few minutes when a group of older boys walked by carrying skateboards. They all looked annoyed. Rachel spotted a boy who lived on her street in the group.

  “Hi, Sam!” she called. “Have you guys been skateboarding on the park ramp?”

  “Only for about five minutes,” said Sam. “It’s Oliver’s birthday, so we were planning a whole day of skateboarding. But the ramp collapsed and the park worker sent us home. It’s the only ramp in Tippington, so Oliver’s birthday plans are ruined.”

  “That’s so unlucky!” said Rachel. “Two birthdays ruined in one day!”

  Kirsty frowned as the boys walked away.

  “It’s more than unlucky,” she said. “It’s too much of a coincidence.”

  “You’re right, Kirsty!” said a musical voice behind them.

  The girls whirled around in surprise. The tall hedge behind them was sparkling with colored lights. Sitting cross-legged on one of the leaves was a tiny fairy! She had long brown hair pulled back on one side with a purple flower. She was wearing a pretty purple minidress with sparkly gold ballet flats.

  “Hi, girls,” she said with a friendly smile. “I’m Belle the Birthday Fairy!”

  “Hi, Belle!” said Rachel and Kirsty, stepping closer to the hedge so that other people wouldn’t be able to see the little fairy.

  “Is everything OK?” Kirsty asked. “We’ve seen two birthdays go wrong already this morning.”

  Belle’s smile faded and she nodded sadly.

  “King Oberon and Queen Titania sent me to ask for your help,” she said anxiously. “There’s no time to lose. Jack Frost has stolen the magic birthday charms!”

  “What are the birthday charms?” Rachel asked in alarm.

  “The birthday charms make sure that birthdays go smoothly in Fairyland and the human world,” Belle explained. “Now that Jack Frost has hidden them somewhere, birthdays everywhere are going horribly wrong!”

  Rachel’s hand flew to her mouth.

  “Oh, no!” she cried. “That means Mom’s special surprise party on Saturday could be ruined!”

  “Can you help me?” asked Belle. “Will you come with me to Fairyland and search for clues that might lead us to the birthday charms?”

  “Of course!” cried Rachel and Kirsty together.

  Belle fluttered above them and waved her wand. A burst of purple and gold fairy dust swirled out of the wand’s tip and showered down on the girls. They felt themselves shrinking to the same size as Belle. Beautiful wings appeared on their backs, and Rachel and Kirsty fluttered them in delight. It was a wonderful feeling!

  Belle waved her wand again. This time, the multicolored sparkles spun around them in a dizzying circle.

  “It’s like a merry-go-round!” Kirsty gasped, tightly squeezing her best friend’s hand.

  A few moments later, the colorful blur faded away — and the girls were flying over Fairyland!

  “I thought we could start by flying over Fairyland and looking for clues,” said Belle.

  “So, what are the birthday charms?” asked Kirsty, as they fluttered above the emerald-green hills and tiny toadstool houses. “What exactly are we looking for?”

  “There are three magic birthday charms,” said Belle. “There’s the birthday book, the birthday candle, and the birthday present. The birthday book lists the birthdays of everyone in both the human world and Fairyland. Without it, nobody knows when anyone
’s birthday is!”

  “No wonder half of Maya’s guests didn’t show up today,” said Rachel thoughtfully.

  “The birthday candle makes all birthday cakes delicious and grants birthday wishes,” Belle went on. “And the birthday present makes sure that everyone receives the perfect birthday gift.”

  “Oh my goodness!” said Kirsty. “Without those charms, nobody will ever have a happy birthday again!”

  “I think that’s why Jack Frost stole them,” Belle said, nodding. “You see, it’s his birthday soon, and he’s feeling really miserable about his age.”

  “So he wants everyone else to be miserable, too?” Rachel guessed. “How mean!”

  “He doesn’t want anyone to find out when his birthday is—not even the goblins,” said Belle. “But without the magic birthday book, we won’t know when anyone’s birthday is!”

  The three fairies flew along, scanning the land below. They were directly over the glittering towers of the magical Fairyland Palace when Kirsty gave a cry and pointed down.

  “Look!” she exclaimed.

  Far below, they could see three goblins scrambling up a ladder and climbing over the back wall of the palace!

  “I’m sure they’re up to no good!” said Belle. “Come on. Let’s find out what’s happening!”

  Rachel, Kirsty, and Belle zoomed after the goblins as they crept through a back door of the palace. The fairies followed, turning a corner to see the goblins tiptoeing into the Palace Library.

  “I’m going to give those goblins a piece of my mind!” exclaimed Belle. “How dare they sneak into the palace?”

  She surged forward, her cheeks pink with indignation. Kirsty grabbed her arm and stopped her.

  “Wait!” she whispered. “What if this has something to do with the birthday charms? Let’s creep in and listen to what they’re saying — it might give us a clue.” Belle nodded, so the three fairies slipped silently into the warm, cozy library. The high walls were lined with books, some of them sparkling with magic. In the middle of the room were six squishy armchairs. Beside each armchair was a round wooden table with a glowing lamp on top of it.

  “I don’t think the goblins are here to read quietly,” whispered Rachel as they ducked behind an armchair. “Look!”

  The goblins were pulling books off the shelves, row after row, and throwing them on the floor.

  “Did you find it?” hissed the tallest goblin to the others.

  “Not yet!” they replied.

  “Well, hurry up!” the tall goblin told them. “If we can’t find the birthday book, we won’t know when Jack Frost’s birthday is—and we won’t be able to plan his surprise party!”

  Rachel, Kirsty, and Belle stared at each other in amazement. The magic birthday book was hidden here in the Palace Library!

  “It sounds like the goblins want to find the birthday book as much as we do,” Kirsty whispered. “Let’s try and convince them to help us!”

  Belle looked doubtful.

  “The goblins are never very helpful,” she said.

  “I think it’s worth a try,” said Rachel. “After all, they’re disobeying Jack Frost by being here,” she pointed out. “He doesn’t want them to find the birthday book, so they must have a good reason for ignoring his orders. I think we should try to find out what it is!”

  “Besides, it might take the three of us a long time to find the birthday book ourselves,” Kirsty agreed, looking at all the books that lined the walls. “We could use the goblins’ help searching for it.”

  Belle agreed, so they stepped out from behind the armchair and walked toward the goblins, who were still busily throwing books onto the floor. The girls tiptoed up behind them as quietly as they could….

  “It was a good idea for Jack Frost to hide the birthday book here, wasn’t it?” said Rachel in a loud voice.

  The goblins spun around in surprise.

  “We would never have thought of looking here if it hadn’t been for you goblins,” Belle agreed. “We should thank you!”

  “Jack Frost knew that you silly fairies would never think to look under your own noses!” said the smallest goblin, sticking out his tongue. “Leave us alone!”

  “Don’t be so rude!” said Belle. “We want to help you.”

  “No way!” squeaked the goblins together.

  “Listen to me, goblins,” said Kirsty in a friendly voice. “We overheard what you said about throwing a surprise party for Jack Frost. You need that book as much as we do. How about making a deal with us?”

  “What sort of deal?” asked the tallest goblin suspiciously.

  “You snuck into the palace, and that’s not allowed,” said Kirsty. “We should really tell you to leave right away. So here’s the deal,” she continued. “We’ll let you stay and look up Jack Frost’s birthday in the birthday book, if you promise to return the book to Belle when you’re done.”

  The goblins gathered into a little huddle. The girls could hear them arguing in loud whispers. But after a few minutes, they turned around and nodded.

  “It’s a deal!” they said in unison. Then the great birthday book hunt began! The goblins had no idea where in the library Jack Frost had hidden the book. The goblins searched the lower shelves, and the girls flew up to search the shelves that the goblins couldn’t reach.

  The hunt went on and on. Rachel’s arms were aching from pulling out each heavy book to check it, and Kirsty’s wings were getting tired from hovering in one position for so long. Belle kept flitting down to the lower shelves to clean up the books that the goblins were throwing onto the floor. Outside the tall library windows, the sun began to set. It was getting late, and they still hadn’t found the magic birthday book!

  “Are you absolutely sure that he hid it in here?” Kirsty asked as she reached the end of another row of books.

  “Positive,” said the middle goblin, wiping a few beads of sweat off his brow. “He said, ‘Those pesky fairies will never guess that I’ve hidden the book in the Palace Library. I hope it makes them feel really uncomfortable!’”

  “That’s a strange thing to say,” said Kirsty, fluttering to the ground to give her wings a rest.

  Rachel flew down to join her. “Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place,” she said thoughtfully. “After all, Jack Frost didn’t say that he had hidden the book on the shelves. He said that he wanted to make the fairies uncomfortable.“

  They all thought hard for a moment, and then Kirsty’s eyes began to sparkle.

  “What if that’s exactly what he meant?” she said. “What if it’s in one of the armchairs?”

  Everyone stared at each other for a minute, and then each of them rushed to one of the six armchairs. They pulled up the seat cushions and the smallest goblin gave a yell of triumph.

  “I’ve got it!”

  The little goblin waved a shining book above his head, but he didn’t have a very good grip on it. The book flew through the air and landed safely in Belle’s arms.

  “The birthday book!” she cried in delight.

  Rachel, Kirsty, and the three goblins eagerly gathered around Belle. The birthday book was bound in gold, and when Belle opened it a puff of colorful fairy dust covered them all in sparkles.

  “Look up Jack Frost’s birthday!” cried the tallest goblin. “You promised!”

  “A fairy always keeps her promises,” said Belle calmly.

  She turned the shimmering pages of the book. Hundreds of thousands of names were written there in tiny golden letters!

  “There’s my mom!” cried Rachel, pointing out Mrs. Walker’s name as the page turned.

  “There’s Jack Frost!” exclaimed the goblins all at the same time.

  “Oh my goodness!” said Rachel, her eyes opening wide. “Mom’s birthday is on exactly the same day as Jack Frost’s!”

  The goblins were delighted to have gotten the information they came for. They ran home as fast as they could, promising that they would never sneak into the palace uninvited ever again. Belle
hugged the birthday book to her chest and gave the girls a big smile.

  “I can’t thank you enough for helping me find this!” she said. “If it hadn’t been for you I would have thrown those three goblins out of the palace. Then I never would have found out why they were here.”

  “I’m so glad we could help,” said Kirsty warmly. “Does this mean that birthdays go back to normal now?”

  “I’m afraid not,” said Belle, her smile fading. “People will remember the dates of birthdays, but without the magic birthday candle and birthday present, things will keep going wrong.”

  “Then we’ll just have to make sure that we find the other two birthday charms soon,” said Rachel in a determined voice. “I’m not going to let Jack Frost ruin birthdays for everyone. I’m definitely not going to let him ruin my mom’s surprise party!”

  “I agree,” said Kirsty. “Let’s get started right away!”

  But Belle shook her head.

  “I have to return the birthday book to the present-wrapping room now. That’s where it’s normally kept,” she said.

  “Besides, look outside!”

  Kirsty and Rachel turned to the library window. In all the excitement, they hadn’t noticed that night had fallen in Fairyland. They could see the stars twinkling and the moon glowing.

  “It’s almost my bedtime!” said Belle, stifling a yawn. “And it’s time for you two to return to the human world.”

  “Will we see you again soon, so we can search for the other birthday charms?” Kirsty asked.

  “Of course,” said Belle with a smile. “Good-bye, girls—for now!”