Nina the Birthday Cake Fairy Read online

  I have a plan to make a mess

  And cause the fairies much distress.

  I’m going to take their charms away

  And make my dreams come true today!

  I’ll build a castle made of sweets,

  And ruin the fairies’ silly treats.

  I just don’t care how much they whine,

  Their cakes and candies will be mine!

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Cake Calamity

  A Surprise in the Shed

  Jack Frost’s Birthday

  Fairies Under Attack!

  Jack Frost Takes a Dip

  Treat Day in Fairyland

  Teaser

  Copyright

  “What an amazing birthday this has been!” said Kirsty Tate, twirling happily in the middle of the sidewalk.

  “It’s been the most fun birthday ever,” agreed her best friend, Rachel Walker. “I’ve enjoyed it just as much as you, even though it’s not even MY birthday!”

  Rachel was visiting the Tate family for spring break. Right now, they were walking home from Wetherbury Park with Kirsty’s parents. They had been celebrating Kirsty’s birthday at the village fair!

  “So, what’s been the best thing about your birthday so far?” asked Mr. Tate.

  Kirsty threw her hands into the air. “I can’t decide!” she said with a laugh. “Everything has been perfect. Rachel’s here, Aunt Helen gave us a tour of Candy Land, and we had a great time at the fair.”

  “Well, your birthday is about to get even better,” said Mrs. Tate, raising an eyebrow.

  Kirsty stopped and looked at her parents and Rachel. Their eyes were all sparkling with happiness.

  “We have another birthday surprise for you,” Mr. Tate added.

  Kirsty looked at their smiling faces in excitement. What could it be?

  “You have to tell me what the surprise is!” she pleaded.

  Rachel shook her head. “That would ruin it,” she said. “Come on, let’s hurry back to your house.”

  The girls held hands and rushed ahead.

  “It’s really hard to keep secrets from you,” Rachel said breathlessly. “We usually share everything!”

  In fact, the girls shared one of the biggest secrets imaginable. They were friends with the fairies! Their latest magical adventures were some of the most thrilling they’d ever had.

  “My birthday would be absolutely perfect if we could just help the last Sugar and Spice Fairy get her charm back from Jack Frost,” said Kirsty.

  Two days ago, Jack Frost and his goblins had stolen the magic charms that belonged to the seven Sugar and Spice Fairies. Honey the Candy Fairy had come to ask the girls for their help.

  “We’ve already found six of the magic charms,” said Rachel proudly. “There’s just one more to find.”

  The Sugar and Spice Fairies needed their charms to create all kinds of delicious sweet treats in Fairyland and the human world. But Jack Frost wanted all the treats for his own special project — a giant Candy Castle! He gave the Sugar and Spice Fairies’ charms to his goblins for safekeeping, and ordered them to bring back all the yummy treats from the human world.

  “The worst part is that today is Treat Day in Fairyland,” said Kirsty. “If Queen Titania and King Oberon don’t have goodies to put in the fairies’ treat baskets, Treat Day will have to be canceled!”

  At that moment, they reached Kirsty’s front door. Rachel gave her best friend’s hand a squeeze.

  “Forget about Jack Frost for now,” she said. “We can think about how to find the last charm later. Right now, your last birthday treat is waiting!”

  Kirsty’s parents caught up to them and opened the door. As Kirsty stepped inside, there was a loud shout.

  “SURPRISE!”

  Aunt Helen and all of Kirsty’s friends from school jumped out, waving balloons and tossing confetti! Kirsty’s mouth fell open and her eyes grew wide.

  “A party?” she said in an amazed whisper. “I can’t believe it. I had no idea!”

  Everyone laughed and cheered, and then her friends pulled her into the living room. It was beautifully decorated with pink, yellow, and turquoise balloons, rainbow-colored flags, and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIRSTY banner.

  “This is fantastic,” said Kirsty. “Thank you all so much!”

  “Happy birthday!” said Rachel, giving her best friend a big hug.

  “Come into the kitchen and see your cake,” said Aunt Helen, her eyes shining.

  She led the girls into the kitchen, where they saw a large box sitting on the counter. It was a cake box from the best bakery in the village, Cupcake Corner. Kirsty clapped her hands together in delight.

  “I love Cupcake Corner!” she exclaimed.

  Aunt Helen grinned at her.

  “Then you’re in for a treat,” she said. “Ta-da!”

  She flung open the box — and then gasped with dismay. Instead of a beautiful cake, there were only a few crumbs inside!

  “I can’t figure out where the cake could have gone,” said Aunt Helen, frowning. “Maybe someone took it to put candles on top. I’ll go and check.”

  She hurried out of the kitchen. Just then, they heard Kirsty’s friend Myla in the living room.

  “Musical chairs!” she called. “Come on, everyone!”

  Soon, Kirsty and Rachel were alone in the kitchen. They exchanged a worried look.

  “This must be the work of Jack Frost and his goblins,” said Rachel.

  As the music started up in the next room, Kirsty leaned over and examined the cake box.

  “I wonder if they left any clues,” she said.

  Just then, the musical chairs music stopped. In the silence, the girls heard a soft sob.

  “That sounded like a fairy!” said Rachel in an excited whisper.

  “That glob of icing is glowing,” said Kirsty, pointing to a corner of the box.

  To their delight, a tiny fairy peeked out from behind the icing!

  “It’s Nina the Birthday Cake Fairy,” exclaimed Rachel. “Hello, Nina!”

  But Nina could hardly speak. Sparkly fairy tears ran down her face.

  “Oh, girls,” she said, sniffing. “I feel so helpless! I just saw Jack Frost steal your birthday cake, Kirsty, and I couldn’t stop him. He has my magic birthday candle charm! I’m so sorry.”

  The girls couldn’t stand to see Nina so upset. They wished that they were fairy-size so that they could put their arms around her. She needed a hug!

  “Please don’t cry,” said Kirsty. “We’ll help you get your charm back.”

  “Hey, look!” said Rachel, pointing. “There are some crumbs outside the box, too.”

  “It looks like a trail,” said Kirsty. “Come on — we might be able to catch up with Jack Frost!”

  At once, Nina brushed her tears away. She zoomed into the air, looking very determined. She hid in the pocket of Kirsty’s skirt, and the girls glanced at each other. In the living room, the music had started up again.

  “No one will miss us yet,” said Rachel. “They’re all enjoying the party. Hopefully we can get back before they realize we’re gone!”

  The trail of crumbs led out the back door and across the yard. Rachel and Kirsty ran lightly across the grass, following the delicious-looking crumbs until they reached the shed.

  “Look, the door’s half open,” whispered Kirsty. “Mom and Dad always close it. There must be someone inside!”

  They poked their heads around the door. Inside, someone was standing with his back to them. He was wearing an ice-blue cape, and his hair was very spiky.

  “Jack Frost!” said Kirsty under her brea
th.

  “And look what’s next to him,” Rachel whispered.

  On an upturned crate was a glittering, pink birthday cake. On the top, in rose-colored icing, were the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIRSTY.

  Jack Frost rubbed his hands together and cackled with laughter.

  “It can be my birthday every day now that I have Nina’s magic charm,” he gloated. “I’m going to have the biggest birthday party EVER at my Candy Castle, with lots of presents and birthday songs. I’ll have ALL the treats from Fairyland and the human world. Best of all, I’ll have mountains of birthday cake! It serves those pesky fairies right!”

  He raised his wand and zapped the birthday cake with a blast of icy magic. The rose-colored icing seemed to dribble and run. Soon, it was replaced with ice-blue writing that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACK FROST.

  Rachel couldn’t bear to watch anymore! She felt angry and upset for her best friend. She pushed the shed door open and marched inside. Her eyes were blazing.

  “Stop that cackling right now,” she demanded. “Give Kirsty’s birthday cake back. You’re ruining her birthday!”

  “Give Nina’s magic charm back, too,” added Kirsty, hurrying into the shed after Rachel. “You have to stop being so mean and selfish. Otherwise, birthday cakes everywhere will be ruined.”

  “I don’t care!” shouted Jack Frost. He cackled again and hurled a bolt of magic at them. The girls dove out of the way, and heard a loud bang, followed by a puff of blue smoke.

  When the smoke cleared, Jack Frost had disappeared. And so had the birthday cake!

  Nina fluttered up out of Kirsty’s pocket and waved her wand. The girls were instantly caught up in a candy-colored swirl of fairy dust! They felt themselves shrinking to fairy-size. They wiggled their shoulders happily as fairy wings appeared on their backs. When the fairy dust cleared, they found themselves hovering high above Fairyland.

  “It’s wonderful to be back here!” said Rachel, doing a somersault in the air.

  “I love being a fairy,” added Kirsty with a laugh, shaking a few colorful specks of fairy dust from her hair.

  “There’s Jack Frost’s Candy Castle,” said Nina, pointing down at the cupcake turrets and the doors made of cookies. “Girls, this could be dangerous. Are you sure you want to come with me?”

  “Of course!” said Rachel, sounding brave. “We’re not letting Jack Frost ruin Treat Day — or Kirsty’s birthday!”

  The girls and Nina flew toward the castle as fast as their wings would take them. They landed on the branch of a chocolate tree and looked up. The castle loomed high above them, rising out of the milkshake moat that surrounded the grounds.

  “That’s funny,” said Rachel. “Even though the castle is brand-new, it looks like it’s crumbling.”

  “Maybe those goblin builders are here to repair it,” said Kirsty.

  She pointed to dozens of goblins who were lingering around the castle. They were all dressed in green overalls and green hard hats, and they were standing very close to the walls.

  “They’re not building it,” said Kirsty with a gasp. “They’re EATING it!”

  She was right. The troublesome goblins were sneaking bites of the Candy Castle!

  “There were goblins eating the castle yesterday, too,” Rachel said. “Remember, Kirsty? We saw them when we came here with Clara the Chocolate Fairy.”

  “Yes,” said Kirsty. “Wow, it looks terrible! It’s covered in bite-shaped holes.”

  Nina gave a sudden, sharp gasp.

  “Look down, girls!” she whispered.

  Below them, a long-nosed goblin was nibbling on the trunk of the chocolate tree. He had pieces of chocolate bark in each hand, and chocolate-milk sap was running down his chin.

  “Jack Frost’s Candy Castle will disappear in days if the greedy goblins keep doing this,” said Rachel.

  Just then, they heard a bell ringing. The gates of the Candy Castle opened, and out came a goblin dressed as an old-fashioned town crier. He was wearing a black three-cornered hat topped with a white feather, a long red-and-gold cape, cropped black pants, and a pair of white tights. He was even carrying a large bell. The other goblins all stopped eating the castle and stared at him. Then they started giggling and pointing.

  The town-crier goblin stuck his tongue out at them and rang his bell again.

  “Hear ye, hear ye!” he bellowed. “Today is Jack Frost’s birthday. Every goblin is ordered to come to the tent in the garden to sing ‘Happy Birthday.’ Presents are required, and any goblin who doesn’t come will be in BIG TROUBLE. There will be birthday cake!”

  As soon as they heard the word cake, the other goblins stopped giggling. They all raced toward the garden, elbowing each other out of the way.

  The girls could see the top of the tent from their hiding place in the tree.

  “It looks like it’s made of icing,” said Kirsty.

  Nina nodded sadly. “It’s fondant icing,” she said. “Jack Frost has taken all the best sweet treats! Come on, let’s follow the goblins to the tent. If that’s where Jack Frost is, then that’s where my charm and Kirsty’s cake are, too!”

  The three friends fluttered into the air and raced after the goblins. They flew high above the milkshake moat so they wouldn’t be seen. The goblins looked like tiny green specks below! As they disappeared into the tent, the fairies hovered side by side and looked at one another.

  “We have to go inside,” said Rachel.

  The others nodded, looking nervous. They didn’t know what they’d find in there. They waited until the last goblin had entered the tent. Then they held hands and swooped down through the entrance.

  The space inside the tent was packed with goblins. At one end was a round stage that looked like frosted tiers of cake. Jack Frost was sitting on the top tier on a candy-cane throne! His hands rested on the arms of the chair, and he glared at the crowd of goblins. At the other end of the tent was a huge blue box with a silver bow on top.

  “Look,” said Nina in a whisper. “Kirsty’s birthday cake is on the table in front of Jack Frost!”

  “And your magic birthday candle charm is on that chain around his wrist,” added Kirsty with a gasp.

  “But look at all the goblins in here,” said Rachel. “How are we ever going to get the charm back without being spotted?”

  Just then, the town-crier goblin climbed onto the lowest tier of the cake stage and rang his bell. Nina, Kirsty, and Rachel hid behind a large bunch of balloons made of bubble-gum bubbles. They were close to the long-nosed goblin who had been nibbling on the chocolate tree.

  “Listen!” the town crier squawked. “All goblins will now sing ‘Happy Birthday,’ led by everyone’s favorite musicians.”

  He pointed to the big blue box at the far end of the tent. With an explosion of silver glitter, Frosty’s Gobolicious Band burst out of the box and started to sing!

  As all the goblins joined in, the girls covered their ears. Every goblin seemed to be singing a different song to a different tune! Rachel couldn’t help but giggle when she heard the words that the long-nosed goblin was singing:

  “Happy birthday to you,

  Mashed potatoes and stew!

  You look like an elephant,

  And you smell like one, too!”

  Luckily, Jack Frost didn’t hear him. He was too busy blowing out the candles on the cake. Once he did, there was a stampede! All the goblins wanted a piece of birthday cake. They bolted up the steps of the stage, until Jack Frost sprang to his feet with a yell.

  “STOP!” he bellowed.

  The goblins froze. Some of them had started to drool. Their master’s eyes were blazing with rage.

  “No one is having any birthday cake until I get some PRESENTS!” Jack Frost shouted.

  The goblins looked down and shuffled their feet.

  “The thing is . . .”

  “It was such short notice . . .”

  “We didn’t have much time . . .”

  “NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” roared Jack Fros
t.

  In desperation, the town-crier goblin leaned forward and puckered his lips.

  “Would you like me to give you a birthday kiss?”

  “Ugh!” hollered Jack Frost.

  He shoved the goblin backward, who fell on top of three other goblins. Nina, Rachel, and Kirsty put their hands over their mouths to stifle their giggles.

  “You can give me my presents later,” announced Jack Frost. “Band, play ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’ — NOW!”

  The band began to play, and the goblins made a halfhearted attempt to sing along. But they were impatient! They wanted birthday cake, and some of them couldn’t wait any longer. The girls saw them start to lick the candy-cane throne.

  “Stop that, you greedy fools!” Jack Frost demanded. “Fine, come and get some cake.”

  “Oh, no!” exclaimed Nina.

  Jack Frost cut the thinnest slivers of cake that he could and handed them out to the goblins. Then he picked up a big chunk of cake and opened his mouth wide. The magic charm glimmered on his wrist. Seeing it again was too much for Nina.

  “I want my charm back!” she cried.

  She darted out from behind the balloons and zoomed toward Jack Frost. Rachel and Kirsty flew close behind. Everyone was so busy eating cake that they didn’t see the three fairies coming! Nina zipped down next to Jack Frost’s hand and started to undo the chain that held the charm. Rachel and Kirsty held their breath in excitement, fluttering above in case Nina needed their help. Could she get the charm back without anyone noticing?

  Just then, Jack Frost tilted his head back to take another bite of cake and saw Rachel and Kirsty hovering above his head.

  “Fairies!” he snarled, raising his wand. “We’re infested with fairies!”

  He sent a bolt of icy magic crackling toward them. Rachel and Kirsty were hurled sideways.