Cheryl the Christmas Tree Fairy Read online

  Christmas future, Christmas past,

  Let this festive magic last!

  Steal away all Christmas joy

  From every little girl and boy.

  My Christmas will be full of glee

  Thanks to the magic Christmas tree.

  Those little fairies think they’re clever

  But I will stop their fun forever!

  Find the hidden letters in the ornaments throughout this book. Unscramble all 8 letters to spell a special Christmas word!

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  The Christmas Tree

  Christmas Cabin

  Old Friends!

  Jack Frost Attacks!

  Gloomy Goblins

  The Smell of Success!

  The Christmas Star

  Santa’s Village

  Cheryl to the Rescue!

  Find Those Goblins!

  Goblins in Danger!

  Goblin Gifts

  The Christmas Gift

  News from Fairyland

  A Snowy Disguise!

  Jack Frost’s Mistake

  A Magical Invitation

  The Perfect Christmas

  Teaser

  Also Available

  Copyright

  Christmas Cabin

  Old Friends!

  Jack Frost Attacks!

  Gloomy Goblins

  The Smell of Success!

  “Look at all the snow!” Kirsty Tate said happily.

  She jumped into a powdery pile and squealed in delight.

  “It’s so beautiful,” said her best friend, Rachel Walker. “I love it here already!”

  “And you haven’t even seen the inside of the cabin yet!” said her dad with a laugh. “Come on, you two. You can decorate the Christmas tree.”

  “Oh, yes!” exclaimed Kirsty. “Each cabin comes with its own Christmas tree, doesn’t it?”

  Kirsty’s and Rachel’s parents had been planning this Christmas trip for months. They had booked a big cabin in the country for everyone to share. It was made of brown wooden logs that glowed in the winter sunshine, and a thick layer of snow covered the roof. There was a sign on the door that read: CHRISTMAS CABIN.

  The Walkers and the Tates carried their bags into the cozy cabin. A fire was crackling in a woodburning stove. Large squishy couches and armchairs filled the room, and colored Christmas lights were draped around every window. It was beautiful! There was just one problem. . . .

  “Where’s the tree?” asked Rachel.

  Mr. and Mrs. Tate checked the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Walker checked the dining room, and Kirsty and Rachel checked the bedrooms. But there was no Christmas tree anywhere in the cabin.

  “That must be a mistake,” said Mr. Tate. “Let’s go to the main office and clear it up. I’m sure they’ll have an extra tree for us!”

  “Why don’t you girls stay here and unpack your bags?” Mrs. Walker said to Rachel and Kirsty. “When we come back, we’ll all have hot chocolate and marshmallows by the fire!”

  Rachel and Kirsty agreed happily and raced into their bedroom to unpack. Rachel put all her clothes into the closet right away, but Kirsty was distracted.

  “Look at the frost on the windows!” she said. “It looks just like lace.”

  Rachel joined her best friend beside the window. The tiny panes of glass were decorated with icy patterns.

  “Everything’s pretty here,” she said, “even the ice!”

  “I bet Jack Frost would love it,” Kirsty said, smiling.

  “He’s the kind of frost we don’t want this Christmas!” Rachel replied with a giggle.

  Rachel and Kirsty knew they were very lucky — they were friends with all the fairies in Fairyland! Jack Frost and his naughty goblins were always trying to cause trouble, and Rachel and Kirsty had often helped the fairies stop them.

  Kirsty turned to finish unpacking, but Rachel kept gazing out the window. Suddenly, she noticed something fluttering on the other side of the glass. The frost and snow made it difficult to see what it was. Rachel leaned closer until her nose was touching the cold windowpane. Were those . . . wings?

  “Kirsty!” Rachel cried in excitement. “Come and look at this!”

  Kirsty rushed to join Rachel at the window. Suddenly, there was a bright sizzle of golden light. It looked like someone had lit a sparkler outside!

  Then the frost on the window melted away. The girls saw a beautiful fairy hovering outside, smiling and waving at them. It was Holly the Christmas Fairy!

  Rachel opened the window and Holly fluttered inside. Her long dark hair was sparkling with snowflakes, and she was wearing a hooded red dress with fuzzy trim.

  “Hello, Rachel!” she cried in her pretty, tinkly voice. “Hi, Kirsty! I’m so glad I found you.”

  “Holly!” said Rachel in delight. They’d had a wonderful Christmas adventure with Holly once. They had helped her save her Christmas magic from Jack Frost and his goblins.

  “It’s so good to see you again,” Kirsty added. “But what are you doing in here?”

  “I came to find you,” said Holly. “I really need your help! Will you come with me to Fairyland — right now?”

  “Of course!” said Rachel. “But what’s happened?”

  “I’ll explain everything when we get there,” Holly promised. “But we have to go now — the other winter fairies are waiting for us!”

  Holly flicked her wand and a stream of sparkling red fairy dust flew out of it. The fairy dust coiled around the girls like ribbons, and they began to shrink down to fairy-size. Beautiful sparkly wings appeared on their backs.

  “I love having wings!” Rachel exclaimed, fluttering them in delight.

  The berry-red sparkles swirled around them faster and faster, and the girls felt their feet lift off the ground. Holly took their hands as they spun through the air. When the sparkles faded, they found themselves in Fairyland! The grass was hidden underneath a white carpet of snow, and fluffy snowflakes were falling from the sky. In the distance, the pink turrets of the Fairyland Palace were glittering with snow, too.

  “Welcome to the nursery,” said Holly. “This is where we look after all the baby trees in Fairyland.”

  Rachel and Kirsty turned around and saw that they were standing in front of a group of pretty little trees. Best of all, hovering among the trees were their winter fairy friends!

  “There’s Gabriella!” cried Rachel, rushing over to hug the Snow Kingdom Fairy. “And Paige the Christmas Play Fairy!”

  “I’m so glad to see you both again,” said Stella the Star Fairy with a beaming smile.

  “Thank you for coming,” said Gabriella. “When Cheryl told us what had happened, we thought of you two right away.”

  “Who’s Cheryl?” asked Kirsty.

  A dark-haired fairy with a sad expression was standing in a circle of baby pine trees. She wore a red dress, a green shrug, and tall red boots trimmed with white fake fur. The neckline of her dress was decorated with a green bow, exactly the same color as a Christmas tree. She stepped forward and gave the girls a weak smile.

  “Hello,” she said. “I’m Cheryl the Christmas Tree Fairy. I look after the Fairyland Christmas tree. When the tree is decorated, celebrations can begin in Fairyland and the human world. The tree helps get everyone in the Christmas spirit.”

  “That sounds like a really wonderful job!” said Rachel, smiling back at the little fairy.

  “It is,” said Cheryl. “I look forward to it very much. I have
two other magic objects, too. The Christmas star helps everyone feel helpful and kind at Christmas, and the Christmas gift helps make sure that everyone enjoys the festivities, especially on Christmas day. But this year, everything’s gone wrong!”

  “Why?” asked Rachel. “What happened?”

  “It all started this morning,” said Cheryl. “You see, today is a really special day. I come here to the Fairyland Nursery on this day every year. I choose one of the young pine trees to be my special Christmas tree.”

  Her eyes filled up with tears, and the other fairies put their arms around her.

  “Let’s take Rachel and Kirsty to the Seeing Pool to show them what happened,” said Holly.

  The fairies led Rachel and Kirsty to the center of the nursery, where tiny green trees surrounded a glassy pool of water. Cheryl waved her wand over the pool, and the water shimmered with golden fairy dust as a picture formed. In the image, they could see Cheryl and the other winter fairies standing around a Christmas tree in the nursery.

  “I chose the Christmas tree and all the other winter fairies joined me here for the ceremony,” said Cheryl. “You see, when I have chosen the tree, I say a magic spell. As soon as the spell is cast, everyone in Fairyland and the human world starts to feel happy and Christmasy.”

  Rachel and Kirsty stood beside Cheryl, wondering just what had happened to upset her so much.

  Kirsty looked at Rachel and frowned. “No one seems very Christmasy at all right now!” she whispered.

  In the image, Cheryl waved her wand over the tree and it began to sparkle. Then she placed a shimmering purple and pink star on top of the tree.

  “That’s the Christmas star,” Cheryl whispered to Rachel and Kirsty. “And look, that’s the special Christmas gift.”

  In the Seeing Pool, Rachel and Kirsty saw Cheryl put a present under the tree. It was wrapped in red paper with a Christmas-tree pattern and had a sprig of holly tied on top.

  “I usually have to give a final wave of my wand to complete the Christmas magic,” said Cheryl. “But before I could do that — look what happened!”

  Rachel and Kirsty gazed into the pool. They saw Cheryl lift her arm to wave her wand. Then there was a big blue flash like a bolt of lightning! When the light cleared, the winter fairies were scattered around the nursery as if someone had knocked them down.

  Worst of all, Jack Frost and three of his goblins were standing next to the Christmas tree! Jack Frost glared at the fairies and stroked his icy beard.

  “You silly little fairies have had your silly little Christmas tree ceremony for the last time,” he cackled. He grinned at the goblins. “Seize them!”

  The goblin closest to the tree grabbed the Christmas star.

  “No!” cried Cheryl, raising her wand.

  But as she did, Jack Frost sent a lightning bolt that knocked the wand out of her hand.

  “Not so fast, little fairy!” he jeered.

  The second goblin picked up the special Christmas gift, and the third goblin reached around the magic Christmas tree and tried to lift it.

  “OW!” he hollered as pine needles pricked his face and arms. “Ooh! Ouch!”

  “Oh, stop complaining,” snapped Jack Frost.

  “Please stop!” cried Cheryl. “If you take these things away, Christmas will be ruined for everyone.”

  “Not for me,” Jack Frost declared triumphantly. “And I’m the one that matters! I’m sick of having the same old Christmas as everyone else. This year, my Christmas is going to be the best in the whole world!”

  “How can you enjoy it if it makes other people miserable?” asked Cheryl.

  Jack Frost glared at her and then cackled. “That just makes it even better!” he declared.

  “I won’t let you get away with this,” Cheryl said, putting her hands on her hips.

  “You don’t have a choice,” Jack Frost snarled.

  He waved his wand and all three goblins disappeared — along with the magical Christmas objects!

  “No!” cried Cheryl.

  “You’ll never see your precious tree, star, or gift again,” Jack Frost declared. “You pesky fairies think you’re so great, but I’m too smart for you this time!”

  With a final cackle, Jack Frost waved his wand and disappeared.

  The picture in the Seeing Pool faded, and Rachel and Kirsty turned to Cheryl.

  “We won’t ever let Jack Frost ruin Christmas,” said Rachel in a determined voice.

  “He’s not as smart as he thinks he is,” Kirsty added. “I bet we can figure out where he’s hidden the tree, the star, and the gift.”

  “But there are only three days until Christmas,” said Cheryl, looking worried. “There’s not much time!”

  Rachel and Kirsty put their arms around the little fairy and smiled.

  “Then we’d better get started right away!” said Rachel.

  Suddenly, Paige gave a loud gasp.

  “The king and queen will wonder what happened,” she said.

  “You should all go and tell them what Jack Frost has done,” said Cheryl.

  “But we want to help you,” said Stella.

  “I have Rachel and Kirsty,” said Cheryl, smiling at the girls. “The king and queen will need all of you to help with the other Christmas preparations.”

  The other winter fairies hugged them good-bye and wished them luck, and then they flew off to find the king and queen. Cheryl looked at the girls.

  “I wish I felt as confident as you,” she said. “But I have no idea where to start looking for my magic objects.”

  Rachel frowned. “I think we should start in the most obvious place,” she said. “Maybe Jack Frost has taken everything to his Ice Castle.”

  Cheryl gave a little shiver. “It’s a horrible place,” she said. “Are you sure that you want to help me with this?”

  “Of course!” Kirsty exclaimed bravely. “Besides, we’ve been inside the Ice Castle before. We’re not scared!”

  “Then let’s go!” said Cheryl.

  They fluttered their wings and rose up into the air together. As they flew toward the Ice Castle, the air grew colder and dark clouds gathered overhead. They zoomed over a forest where the treetops were dusted with powdery snow.

  “Look, Rachel,” said Kirsty, pointing at the trees. “They look like cakes covered in powdered sugar!”

  As Rachel looked down, she suddenly spotted something.

  “What’s that?” she asked, pointing and hovering in midair.

  Kirsty and Cheryl peered down through the snowy trees. In a clearing, almost hidden from view, they could see three small green figures sitting in a circle. They were all pointing at one another with long, bony fingers.

  “Goblins,” said Cheryl. “We must be pretty close to the Ice Castle.”

  “It looks like they’re having an argument,” said Kirsty thoughtfully.

  “Goblins are so grouchy, they argue all the time,” Cheryl remarked. “Come on, let’s get to the castle.”

  “Just a minute,” said Kirsty. “I have a funny feeling about those goblins. Let’s fly a little lower and find out what they’re up to.”

  The three friends swooped silently downward. They landed on a tree branch above the goblins. Sure enough, the goblins were in the middle of a big argument.

  “It’s not my fault!” a plump goblin was saying. “I thought you were watching it!” He jabbed his finger into the belly of a wart-covered goblin, who gave a yelp of pain.

  “I was watching out for fairies!” he shrieked. “He was supposed to be guarding the tree!” He pointed at the smallest goblin, who was wearing a hat.

  “Don’t pick on me!” the smallest goblin exclaimed.

  When the warty goblin mentioned the tree, the girls glanced at one another excitedly.

 
; “Could it be my tree?” Cheryl whispered.

  “Oh, I really hope so!” said Rachel.

  “It must be,” said Kirsty with confidence. “Why else would the goblins be guarding a tree?”

  Down on the ground, the smallest goblin shoved the others to get their attention.

  “Be quiet, you fools!” he said. “We need to figure out which one is the magic tree — before Jack Frost turns our noses into icicles.”

  When he said this, all three goblins clapped their hands over their noses and looked scared.

  “We know it’s somewhere in this forest,” said the plump goblin. “Maybe we should just guard all the trees.”

  “Don’t be crazy,” snapped the warty goblin. “There are hundreds of trees in this forest, and there are only three of us!”

  “Well, I don’t hear you coming up with a better plan!” yelled the plump goblin, clenching his fists.

  The two goblins hurled themselves at each other and rolled around the clearing, wrestling and yelling.

  “Of course they can’t find it,” said Cheryl in a low voice. “As soon as the magic Christmas tree is taken out of the nursery, it loses its sparkle. It looks like an ordinary tree again!”

  “Can you tell which one is the magic Christmas tree?” Rachel asked Cheryl.

  “I can cast a spell to make it sparkle again,” said Cheryl, nodding.

  “But first we have to get the goblins out of the clearing,” Kirsty realized. “Cheryl, get your wand ready. I’ve got an idea!”

  With that, Kirsty, Rachel, and Cheryl flew high above the treetops.

  “We have to keep the goblins away from us,” Kirsty said. “Cheryl, can you use your magic to make that happen?”

  “Of course, but what will tempt them away?” said Cheryl.