Flora the Dress-Up Fairy

  Contents

  The Great Cake Robbery

  McKersey Castle

  Fairies to the Rescue

  Goblin Trouble

  Cake Chaos

  A Piece of Cake

  The Big Costume Kidnap

  Colorful Costumes

  Boat on the Moat

  Goblins Get Dressed

  Goblins Meet Goats

  Costume Cleanup

  The Magic Mask Mystery

  Lindsay’s Angels

  Goblin Guests

  Missing Mask

  Jack Frost Unmasked!

  Dressing-up in Fairyland

  “Rachel, look!” Kirsty Tate cried excitedly, pointing through the car window. “There’s McKersey Castle!”

  Rachel Walker, Kirsty’s best friend, stared down the long driveway at the huge stone castle ahead. It was set on a hill, and it had two tall turrets, one on either side of the entrance gate.

  “It’s beautiful,” Rachel breathed.

  Mrs. Tate, who was driving, smiled in agreement. “Isn’t it the perfect place for a party?” she said. “It was so smart of Lindsay and Robert to choose a castle for their big costume ball.”

  Lindsay was Kirsty’s cousin, and she and her husband were celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary at McKersey Castle. Kirsty and her parents had been invited. Kirsty was allowed to bring a friend, so Rachel had traveled with the Tates all the way to the Scottish Highlands.

  “It’s a masked ball, too,” Mr. Tate added.

  “That’ll be fun,” Rachel said eagerly.

  Kirsty nodded. “Wow!” she exclaimed as they got closer to the castle. “There’s a moat and a drawbridge!”

  “Just like a fairy-tale castle,” Rachel said, smiling at Kirsty.

  Kirsty grinned back at her friend. She and Rachel knew a lot about fairies, because they’d met them many times. In fact, the girls were now good friends with the fairies. That was Rachel and Kirsty’s very special and magical secret!

  The two girls watched with delight as the car crossed the drawbridge and came to a stop in the castle courtyard.

  “Look at the battlements,” Rachel said, pointing toward the top of the castle as she and Kirsty climbed out of the car. “I wonder if we’re allowed to go up there.”

  “Hello!” cried Lindsay. Kirsty’s cousin rushed out of the large oak castle doors with her husband, Robert. She hugged the Tates one by one. “And you must be Rachel,” Lindsay said, giving Rachel a hug, too. “Come inside, everyone.”

  “Is everything ready for the party tomorrow night?” Kirsty asked as they carried their bags toward the entrance hall.

  “Not quite!” Lindsay replied. “The cake is coming today, and the party planning company that is organizing everything is delivering the costumes tomorrow. You’ll be able to choose your outfits then.”

  “The other guests are arriving tomorrow, too,” Robert added, as they stepped into the entrance hall.

  The inside of the castle was cool and welcoming. There were tall arched windows, a flagstone floor, and a suit of armor standing in one corner. Colorful embroidered banners and tapestries hung from the ceiling.

  “I’ve picked out a special bedroom for you two,” Lindsay said to Kirsty and Rachel, as Robert led Mr. and Mrs. Tate to their room “Follow me.”

  Lindsay led the girls up a winding staircase. “Ta-da!” she announced, throwing open a small wooden door.

  Rachel and Kirsty gasped with delight when they saw the huge room. It had two canopy beds and pretty white furniture. One side of the room was taken up with an enormous window. After the girls had put their bags down, they went to look out the window.

  “We’re right over the drawbridge!” Rachel cried excitedly.

  “This used to be the old gatehouse,” Lindsay explained.

  “And where does that door by the wardrobe lead?” asked Kirsty.

  “Come and see,” Lindsay replied.

  The door opened onto another narrow staircase, which led up to the castle battlements.

  “Look!” Rachel said, pointing across the hills. “We’re so high, it seems like we can see all of Scotland!”

  “I gave you that bedroom because I thought you two girls would be great at protecting the castle from intruders,” Lindsay joked, her eyes twinkling. “I don’t want anything to spoil this party!”

  Suddenly, Kirsty spotted a white van approaching the drawbridge. “McKersey Village Cakes,” she read from the side of the van.

  “My cake!” Lindsay cried, hurrying over to the stairs. “I’m dying to see it! It was difficult to arrange, but a party’s no good without a cake, right?” She grinned at them. “Be careful up here, OK?”

  The girls nodded. “Lindsay’s really excited, isn’t she?” Kirsty laughed, as her cousin clattered off down the stairs.

  “So am I!” Rachel said. She shivered. “Oh! Did you just feel that blast of icy wind, Kirsty?”

  “Yes,” Kirsty agreed, frowning.

  Rachel’s eyes widened. “I can see ice!”

  She gasped. “There, all over the steps up to that tower!” The girls hurried over to investigate the tower to the left of the drawbridge. Curiously, they began to climb the frozen steps. As they did, the air got colder and colder. Suddenly, Rachel and Kirsty heard a horribly familiar, icy voice.

  “Raise my flag to the top of this tower!” it snapped.

  Hardly daring to breathe, the two girls peeked around the tower wall to the top of the steps. To their shock, standing next to a gnarled green goblin, was Jack Frost himself!

  “Nothing will stop me from holding my Icicle Party here tomorrow night,” Jack Frost declared, as his goblin struggled to unfold a flag. “Especially not a human costume party!”

  Rachel and Kirsty glanced at each other in horror. Jack Frost was planning a party at the castle on the same night as Lindsay and Robert!

  “This is the perfect place for my party,” Jack Frost continued. “It’s miles from anywhere!”

  At last, the goblin managed to raise the flag to the top of the flagpole. As it unfurled, Rachel and Kirsty saw that it showed a picture of Jack Frost wearing a golden crown.

  “Now we have to get rid of the humans,” Jack Frost said coldly. “We will return to my ice castle immediately, and plan how to ruin this silly costume party before it’s even started!” With a loud cackle, Jack Frost and the goblin zoomed away on a blast of icy wind.

  “They’re gone,” Rachel said, relieved.

  “But they’ll be back!” Kirsty pointed out. “How are we going to stop them from ruining Lindsay and Robert’s party?”

  Rachel thought for a moment. “We could ask the fairies for help,” she suggested. “We have lockets full of fairy dust to take us to Fairyland.”

  Kirsty nodded eagerly, as she and Rachel opened their lockets.

  The girls sprinkled the glittering fairy dust over their heads. Immediately, they found themselves tumbling through the air, shrinking to fairy size and surrounded by dancing rainbows.

  As the rainbow colors drifted away, Rachel and Kirsty floated gently to the ground outside the pink Fairyland palace.

  “Should we knock on the door?” Rachel asked. It was the first time they’d ever arrived in Fairyland without someone to meet them!

  Kirsty nodded, so Rachel lifted the butterfly-shaped door knocker and tapped on the door.

  Almost immediately, Bertram the frog footman hopped out. “Hello, girls!” he exclaimed, looking surprised. “Welcome back to Fairyland.”

  “Hello, Bertram,” said Kirsty. “Could we see the king and queen, please?”

  Bertram bowed, took a small silver bell off the table, and shook it.

  “Kirsty and Rachel to see the king and queen
!” sang out a chiming voice.

  The girls listened in amazement as lots of bells tinkled inside the palace, passing on the same message from room to room.

  “The king and queen will see you now!” a message came tinkling back.

  “Follow me to the main chamber, please,” said Bertram, leading the way.

  The king and queen were sitting on their glittering golden thrones when Bertram and the girls arrived in the chamber. It was a large room with a domed ceiling studded with silver stars.

  “This is a nice surprise,” said King Oberon.

  “Do you need our help, girls?” asked Queen Titania kindly.

  “Your Majesty, Jack Frost is trying to ruin my cousin’s party at McKersey Castle tomorrow,” Kirsty explained.

  “He wants to hold his own party there instead,” added Rachel.

  “We’re holding our annual costume ball here at the palace tomorrow night,” Queen Titania said, frowning.

  “Maybe Jack Frost didn’t receive his invitation and that’s why he’s throwing his own party.”

  “Can you help us?” asked Kirsty.

  “Yes, we know just the fairy for the job,” declared the king.

  The queen waved her wand, and a cascade of multicolored sparkles streamed out of the open window.

  A few moments later, a fairy flew in and landed gently on the marble floor. Rachel and Kirsty stared at her. The fairy was dressed as Snow White! She wore a long red dress and carried a basket with an apple inside.

  “This is Flora the Dress-up Fairy,” said the queen.

  “Hi, girls!” Flora beamed at them. “How can I help you?”

  The girls quickly explained about Jack Frost’s awful plans to ruin Robert and Lindsay’s party. Flora shook her head, looking annoyed.

  “Don’t worry,” she said firmly, “we won’t let Jack Frost spoil the party!”

  “We can stop Jack Frost and those tricky goblins from ruining everything,” Flora went on. “As long as they don’t get ahold of my magic dress -up items!”

  “What are they?” asked Kirsty.

  “Flora’s magic items change all the time,” the queen explained. “Just like Flora’s costumes!”

  Flora nodded. “For Lindsay’s party, my three magic items are a porcelain figurine in a princess gown, a Red Riding Hood cape, and a black mask with rainbow colored feathers,” she told the girls. “The figurine will make the party food wonderful, the cape helps the costumes look good, and the mask ensures that all the guests have a great time.”

  “So if the goblins get those three magic things, will they be able to ruin Lindsay’s party?” asked Kirsty nervously.

  “Yes — but luckily, Jack Frost and the goblins don’t know what they are!” Flora laughed. “Now, let’s hurry to McKersey Castle and keep an eye on the party preparations. Just let me change my outfit.”

  Flora waved her wand over her head. A shower of turquoise and emerald sparkles drifted down around her. Rachel and Kirsty watched in amazement as the fairy’s long, curly hair became a tumble of green and blue ringlets, topped with a shell tiara. Flora’s red dress became a blue bandana top and a shimmering, iridescent turquoise skirt that curved up into a beautiful mermaid’s tail at her ankles.

  “What a gorgeous costume!” Kirsty gasped.

  “Be sure to watch out for any goblin tricks!” said the king, as the queen lifted her wand to shower them with fairy magic.

  The girls and Flora nodded as they were swept up in a cloud of fairy dust. A moment later, they found themselves back on the high walls of McKersey Castle. Rachel and Kirsty were human-size again!

  Flora looked up at Jack Frost’s flag, frowned, and waved her wand. Immediately, a stream of blue and green sparkles surrounded the flag. When they cleared, the picture of Jack Frost had vanished, and an L and an R were intertwined in curly pink letters — L for Lindsay, and R for Robert! “That’s better!” Flora declared.

  Rachel looked over the castle walls at the courtyard below. The cake van was parked there, with its back doors open. But the next second she spotted something else — goblins!

  “There’s a group of goblins around the cake van!” Rachel cried.

  “The delivery man must be inside the castle with Lindsay,” said Kirsty. “I hope he took the cake with him.”

  But as the girls and Flora watched, they saw three goblins climbing out of the van. They were holding a large cardboard box. They began to tear it apart, revealing a beautiful three-tiered cake inside!

  “The goblins have Lindsay’s cake!” Kirsty said in dismay.

  “And look,” Rachel added, pointing at another van parked in the courtyard, with JACK FROST’S FROSTED DELIGHTS written on the side. “They’re going to drive away with it!”

  “We’ll get down there more quickly if you’re fairy-size, girls!” Flora said. With a wave of her wand and a sparkle of magic, Rachel and Kirsty were fairies again. Immediately, the three friends flew over the castle walls and hurried down to the courtyard.

  “Oh no!” Flora exclaimed as they hovered above the goblins. “My magic figurine is on top of the cake!”

  Rachel and Kirsty looked closer. On top of the white and silver icing was a delicate porcelain figure wearing a flowing yellow dress.

  “So if the goblins steal it, then all the party food will be spoiled?” Rachel asked in dismay.

  Flora nodded, flying down to confront the goblins. Kirsty and Rachel were close behind.

  “Put that cake down!” Flora demanded.

  One of the goblins stuck out his tongue. “Go away, pesky fairies!” he jeered. “We’re taking this cake to Jack Frost for his party.”

  Another goblin grabbed a chunk of icing from the cake and flung it at Flora and the girls. They had to dodge quickly out of the way!

  The other goblins cackled with glee. They immediately started pulling off chunks of cake and hurling them toward Flora, Rachel, and Kirsty.

  “Help!” Kirsty cried, as a large piece almost hit her.

  “They’re ruining the cake!” Rachel gasped.

  Frowning, Flora lifted her wand. Suddenly, a swirl of magic sparkles sent a piece of the cake right back toward the goblin who’d thrown it. When it hit him in the mouth, he cringed. Then he licked his lips.

  “Yum!” he declared. He pulled off another lump of cake, but this time, instead of hurling it at the girls, he ate it.

  “Greedy guts!” hollered the goblin next to him. He stuffed a piece of cake into his mouth, too.

  “Leave some for us!” the other goblins shouted. They all began gobbling chunks of cake!

  “Stop!” the biggest goblin shouted suddenly. “Jack Frost’s waiting for us. We’d better put the cake in our van.”

  As the goblins struggled to load the messy cake into the back of their van, Flora, Rachel, and Kirsty tried to figure out what they could do to stop them.

  “Oh!” Rachel gasped suddenly. “They’ll have to drive over the drawbridge to get out, won’t they?”

  Kirsty grinned, catching on. “If we lift the drawbridge up, they won’t be able to leave!” she cried. “That’s a great idea, Rachel!”

  The goblins had piled into the van and were already driving off. Quickly, Flora pointed her wand at the drawbridge.

  Emerald sparks shot toward the heavy chains that raised and lowered the bridge, and very slowly, the drawbridge began to rise.

  “Look at the drawbridge!” squawked one of the goblins. “Go faster! We have to get out!”

  The biggest goblin put his foot down on the gas pedal and the van lunged forward.

  “It’s no good!” Rachel cried. “The drawbridge isn’t lifting fast enough!”

  As the van careened toward the rising drawbridge, Flora flicked her wrist, sending more fairy magic streaming through the air. Rachel and Kirsty both held their breath. As the goblins reached the drawbridge, it swung swiftly up and slammed closed, trapping the goblins’ van inside the castle.

  “Thanks, Flora,” Kirsty said.

 
; Flora winked at her, then waved her wand again and turned Rachel and Kirsty back to their human size. They all hurried over to the van.

  “Now, give me my cousin’s cake back,” Kirsty said firmly. “Or Flora will send you all to the castle dungeons!”

  The goblin in the driver’s seat looked sulky. He muttered something under his breath. The next moment, the back doors of the van swung open. The goblins pushed the cake out onto the stone driveway. Splat!

  Kirsty and Rachel looked at each other in dismay. The tiers of the cake had collapsed and the beautiful cake was completely ruined!

  “Well, at least the magic figurine isn’t broken,” Kirsty said, picking it up carefully. “But everything else is a mess!”

  “Now let us out of here!” the goblin driver yelled angrily.

  Flora waved her wand again. With a creak, the drawbridge slowly lowered. The goblins immediately sped away.

  “Don’t worry, girls, now that I’ve got the figurine back, I can fix the cake,” Flora said. She grinned. “In fact, it will be a piece of cake!”

  As she spoke, she sent a swirl of fairy magic in the direction of the ruined cake. The mess vanished in an instant. In the twinkling of an eye, a beautiful, glittering five-tiered cake appeared, with little arches holding up each layer. White and pink iced flowers tumbled down the sides of the cake. The magic figurine was perched on top, and small figures in costumes danced between the different layers.

  “Oh!” Kirsty breathed. “It’s the most amazing cake I’ve ever seen!”

  Rachel nodded in agreement as a cardboard box magically appeared and folded itself around the cake.

  Just then, Lindsay and the delivery man came out into the courtyard. Flora darted into Kirsty’s pocket just in time.