Josie the Jewelry Fairy Read online

  I’m a wonderful painter — have you heard of me?

  Behold my artistic ability!

  With palette, brush, and paints in hand,

  I’ll be the most famous artist in all the land!

  The Magical Crafts Fairies can’t stop me!

  I’ll steal their magic, and then you’ll see

  That everyone, no matter what the cost,

  Will want a painting done by Jack Frost!

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Golden Seashells

  Scattered Pearls

  Jinxed Jewelry

  Footprints in the Sand

  Green Ice Cream

  Sparkly Surprises

  Teaser

  Copyright

  Rachel Walker sat up and yawned, then smiled as she remembered where she was. It was early in the morning, but the warm sun was already soaking through the canvas of her tent. She looked over at her best friend, Kirsty Tate, who was still curled up in her sleeping bag. So far, their vacation on Rainspell Island had been full of adventure!

  “I wonder what today will bring,” she whispered to herself.

  Rachel leaned back on her pillow and thought about everything that had happened since they’d arrived. It was Crafts Week on the island, and so far the girls had tried pottery, drawing, and sewing. There were lots more crafts left to try, plus a competition and exhibition at the end of the week.

  Things had gotten even more exciting when they met Kayla the Pottery Fairy, though. Rachel and Kirsty were secret friends with all the fairies. Now they were spending spring break together on their favorite island, and they were in the middle of a magical adventure!

  Kirsty stirred in her sleep and rolled over. Rachel sat up and unzipped the tent flap. Sunlight spilled into the tent, turning everything golden. Kirsty yawned and opened her eyes.

  “Good morning,” she said, stretching her arms. “I was having a great dream. I think I sleep even better in the tent than I do in the bed and breakfast!”

  Kirsty’s family was staying at a little b and b in the village, and Rachel’s family was camping. The girls had decided to spend every other night at each place all week, and it was turning out to be a lot of fun!

  “I think I can hear Mom making breakfast,” said Rachel, wriggling out of her sleeping bag. “Come on, I’m starving!”

  The girls got dressed and pulled on their sandals.

  “What crafts should we do today, Rachel?” asked Kirsty.

  “Well, you know it’s my mom’s birthday,” Rachel said. “I’d love to make something to give her later at the party.”

  Mr. Walker had organized a surprise party for his wife, and the girls could hardly wait. Just then, there was a tap on the tent flap.

  “Come in!” said Rachel and Kirsty together.

  Mr. Walker came into the tent and put a finger to his lips. He looked very excited.

  “I just want to show you the present I got for your mom,” he whispered to Rachel. “I had them handmade by Carrie Silver, who runs the jewelry shop down by the water.”

  He held out a tiny velvet box. Rachel took it and opened the lid. Sitting on a bed of ivory silk was a pair of gold earrings, shaped like seashells.

  “They’re beautiful,” she said in a soft voice.

  “Really pretty,” Kirsty agreed.

  Rachel picked up one of the earrings — but then something awful happened. The seashell fell off of the rest of the earring. It was broken!

  “I’m sorry!” cried Rachel, feeling guilty. “I was trying so hard to be careful!”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” said Mr. Walker, examining the earrings. “Look — they’re both broken. It must have happened while the box was in my pocket.”

  He looked sad, and Rachel gave him a big hug.

  “Don’t worry, Dad,” she said. “I have an idea. Carrie Silver is running a jewelry-making class in her shop. We could go down there and make something for Mom’s birthday ourselves.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Kirsty chimed in, giving Mr. Walker a reassuring smile. “We can take the earrings back to be fixed at the same time.”

  Mr. Walker agreed. Just then, they heard Mrs. Walker’s voice.

  “Breakfast’s ready,” she called. “Come and get it, everyone!”

  They hurried out of the tent and filled their plates with bacon, eggs, potatoes, and fruit. The girls wished Mrs. Walker a happy birthday and ate their breakfast as fast as they could.

  “What’s the rush?” asked Mrs. Walker with a laugh.

  “We’re just excited to get to the craft workshop in town,” said Rachel with a grin. “Come on, Kirsty, let’s go!”

  The girls waved good-bye and hurried off before Mrs. Walker could ask what sort of crafts they were going to be doing. They didn’t want her to guess that they were making jewelry for her birthday!

  The girls ran through the buttercup-filled fields toward the village. The sparkling blue sea stretched out in front of them. A light breeze lifted spray from the tips of the waves.

  “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live here year-round?” said Kirsty as they reached the village.

  “Maybe,” said Rachel. “But I love coming here for vacation — it makes it extra-special when we only have a few days on the island.”

  The girls linked arms when they reached Main Street. There were already lots of people strolling in and out of the gift shops and taking photos of the quaint little buildings. Kirsty stopped next to a pretty souvenir shop with flags hanging in the window.

  “Look, this store sells jewelry,” she said. “Maybe we could get some ideas to inspire us.”

  The girls looked over the jewelry display, but they weren’t very impressed.

  “That necklace is broken,” said Rachel, pointing to a chipped pendant on a silver chain. “And all the bracelets are facing the wrong way, so we can’t even see them.”

  “Let’s try the next store,” Kirsty suggested.

  But the next store’s jewelry display was even more disappointing. There were a lot of broken pins, and the gold watches looked dull and unpolished. In fact, in every store the girls tried, all the jewelry was ruined!

  “The strange thing is that all the other souvenirs in those stores look so clean and new,” said Rachel.

  Kirsty glanced into the nearest store window. Aside from a jar of tarnished silver rings, the window display was bright and colorful. There were lots of wooden toys, hand-painted plates, and shiny ornaments.

  “Yes, that is weird,” she said, sounding thoughtful. “Rachel, do you think that Jack Frost and his goblins have something to do with this?”

  “I’m sure they do,” said Rachel. “I bet the stores here wouldn’t usually have broken jewelry on display.”

  On their first day on Rainspell Island, Kayla the Pottery Fairy had fluttered out of a clay pot and whisked them off to Fairyland. She brought them to the grand opening of the fairies’ Crafts Week! The Magical Crafts Fairies had shown Kirsty and Rachel their special objects, which ensured that arts and crafts were fun for everyone. But after King Oberon and Queen Titania announced that they would choose the best crafts to decorate their Fairyland Palace, everything went all wrong.

  Jack Frost and his goblins had thrown paint-filled balloons into the crowd, splattering everyone with bright green paint! Then they snatched the magic objects from the Magical Crafts Fairies and disappeared to the human world. Jack Frost thought that he was the greatest artist ever. He had stolen the objects so t
hat no one could ever be better than him.

  “So far, we’ve helped Kayla the Pottery Fairy, Annabelle the Drawing Fairy, and Zadie the Sewing Fairy get their magic objects back,” said Kirsty, thinking back over the last few days.

  “But there are still four more objects to find,” said Rachel. “We have to keep looking, or arts and crafts will be a disaster forever!”

  “Yes,” said Kirsty with a groan, “here and in Fairyland.”

  At the end of the village’s Main Street, the road widened and led down to the ocean. As the girls stepped onto the boardwalk, they saw a woman on her hands and knees. It was Artemis Johnson, the organizer of Crafts Week. She looked very upset!

  “Artie, are you hurt?” called Rachel, hurrying over to her.

  “No, I’m fine,” said Artie. “But my pearl necklace just broke, and the pearls rolled all over the boardwalk! How will I ever find them all?”

  “We’ll help!” said the girls right away.

  A moment later, all three of them were crawling around the boardwalk on their hands and knees. The pearls had rolled into all different cracks and crevices, but Rachel and Kirsty found them all.

  “Wow, you must have amazing eyesight,” said Artie gratefully as Rachel handed her the last pearl.

  The girls exchanged secret smiles. After all, they were used to spotting tiny fairies!

  Artie carefully put the pearls in her bag, along with the broken string. “I’ll ask Carrie Silver to fix it for me,” she said. “She’s a wonderful jeweler.”

  “We’re on our way to her shop now,” said Kirsty. “Should we all go together?”

  “That sounds great,” said Artie.

  They walked along the boardwalk together, enjoying the soft summer breeze.

  “Are you having fun on Rainspell?” asked Artie.

  “We love it here,” said Rachel with a big smile. “Actually, this is where we first met and became friends.”

  Artie was about to reply when a burst of noise from the beach interrupted her. Some boys in big green sun hats were messing around at the edge of the water, trying to push one another in. They were shouting and laughing loudly.

  “What a commotion,” said Artie with a frown. “Why are they making so much noise?”

  “They must have already been to the jewelry workshop,” said Kirsty, looking closely. “They’re wearing every kind of jewelry I can think of!”

  The boys all had beaded necklaces dangling around their necks. They were wearing so many bracelets that you could hardly see their arms, and there were even beaded charms dangling from their sun hats!

  After a few minutes, the boys stopped pushing one another around. They started picking up shells from the beach and putting them into a bucket, instead.

  “Oh, no! Collecting seashells isn’t allowed on Rainspell Island anymore,” said Artie, peering across the sand at the boys. “We’re trying really hard to preserve the natural seashore.”

  “Maybe we should go and tell them that,” Rachel suggested.

  But they had only taken a few steps toward the boys when they heard a loud, angry squawk from above. A large seagull flew directly at the group of boys!

  “Run!” yelled the boys.

  They sprinted down the beach, shouting the whole way. The seagull circled above them a few times, and then flew back inland. The girls shrugged.

  “Carrie’s jewelry shop is right up there,” said Artie.

  She pointed to a little wooden store overlooking the beach. It was painted sky blue, and the window that faced the ocean stretched from the floor all the way up to the ceiling.

  “Carrie sits in that window to design her jewelry,” Artie told the girls. “The seashore inspires all of her designs.”

  As Rachel, Kirsty, and Artie reached the shop, two girls walked out, shaking their heads.

  “I give up on jewelry-making,” said the dark-haired girl.

  “Me, too,” said the redhead. “I’m just not good enough.”

  Rachel and Kirsty exchanged a worried look. Inside, the jewelry-making workshop didn’t seem to be going very well. Beads were rolling all over the floor, and strings were breaking. Carrie was dashing from person to person, trying to help fix each problem, but things kept going wrong all around her!

  “Carrie, what’s going on here?” exclaimed Artie.

  Carrie stopped rushing around for a moment and gave Artie a hug. Then she ran her fingers through her short silver hair, making it stand up on end.

  “It’s a total disaster,” she said. “Everything is going wrong today. I don’t know what to do!”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” said Artie. “I came to ask you to fix a necklace and to bring you two extra students for your workshop. But maybe I should come back tomorrow.”

  “No, please don’t go!” said Carrie, giving the girls a warm, welcoming smile. “First, let me see this broken necklace.”

  Artie handed Carrie the necklace, and she immediately cut off a piece of string from a roll on the table.

  “This is a five-minute job,” she said, patting Artie’s arm. “No problem.”

  But as she spoke, the pearls dropped off the end of the string and rolled away again. Carrie groaned and started to kneel down, but Rachel stopped her.

  “We’ll get them,” she said with a smile.

  It only took Rachel and Kirsty a few seconds to gather the pearls.

  “Thank you, girls,” said Carrie, putting the pearls into a little pot. “I’m so clumsy today! Would you like to look around and see what you might want to make? I’ll come help you as soon as I fix Artie’s necklace.”

  “Are you sure you’re not too busy?” asked Kirsty.

  Things were still going wrong in the jewelry workshop all around them. Students holding bits of broken wire and snapped string were waiting to talk to Carrie.

  “I would love for you to join the workshop,” said Carrie with a smile. “It hasn’t been a total disaster today — I had a group of boys here earlier who made some really amazing beaded jewelry.”

  Rachel glanced at Kirsty. It was good to hear that some people had managed to make nice jewelry! Maybe Carrie’s problems had nothing to do with Jack Frost, after all.

  “The boys wanted to make jewelry out of seashells,” Carrie went on. “They got annoyed when I told them about preserving the natural seashore, and they stormed off.”

  “I bet those were the boys we saw on the beach,” said Artie.

  She started to tell Carrie about the boys, and the girls wandered off to look around the little shop. It was full of delicate jewelry, all inspired by the ocean and the shore. Rachel picked up a silver pin shaped like a starfish.

  “I might make a pin like this,” she said. “Isn’t it pretty, Kirsty?”

  But Kirsty didn’t reply. Rachel looked around in surprise, and saw her gazing at a wooden jewelry box on a shelf in the corner. The box was glowing with a faint light, and there was a beautiful painting of a fairy on the front.

  “Rachel, look at the picture!” whispered Kirsty, excited. “Should we open it?”

  “Of course!” said Rachel.

  Together, the girls lifted the lid of the jewelry box — and out fluttered Josie the Jewelry Fairy!

  Josie was wearing a sparkly yellow skirt with a wide belt, and a cropped peach top. Beautiful beads dangled around her neck, and pretty bracelets jangled on her wrists. She held out her hands to the girls.

  “Rachel and Kirsty, I need your help!” she gasped. “I have to find my magic beaded ribbon. Jewelry is a mess — in the human world, and in Fairyland, too!”

  “Of course we’ll help you,” said Kirsty. “What does your magic ribbon look like?”

  “It’s pink, and it has three sparkly beads on it,” said Josie, tucking her chocolate-brown hair behind her ears. “Until I find it and take it back to Fair
yland, no one anywhere will be able to make jewelry!”

  Suddenly, Rachel had a thought.

  “Carrie said that the boys who were in the shop earlier made some wonderful jewelry,” she said. “How could they have done that?”

  “They must have had my magic ribbon!” Josie exclaimed, clapping her tiny hands. “I knew you would be able to help me! Where are the boys now?”

  “When we last saw them, they were on the beach,” said Kirsty. “If we hurry, we might be able to catch up with them.”

  “Good idea,” said Rachel. “Before we go, just let me give Carrie the earrings my dad needs to have fixed.”

  Josie hid under the brim of Rachel’s sun hat, and the girls hurried over to Carrie, who was still trying to fix Artie’s necklace. Rachel pulled the little velvet box out of her pocket and showed Carrie the golden seashell earrings.

  “I’ll take a look at them as soon as I’m done fixing Artie’s necklace,” Carrie promised.

  “We just have to run out for a minute,” Kirsty added. “But we’ll be back soon!”

  Carrie was too busy to ask where they were going. The girls hurried onto the beach and looked around, but the boys were nowhere to be seen.

  “It’ll be easier to search if we’re all fairies,” said Josie. “Find a place to hide, and I’ll use my magic!”

  The girls noticed a little row of colorful beach umbrellas nearby. One was open, so they darted behind it.

  Josie fluttered out from under Rachel’s sun hat and waved her wand. For a moment, all the girls could see was sparkling dust. Then they were fluttering in midair next to Josie!