Edie the Garden Fairy

  The Earth Fairies must be dreaming

  If they think they can escape my scheming.

  My goblins are by far the greenest,

  And I am definitely the meanest.

  Seven fairies out to save the earth?

  This very idea fills me with mirth!

  I’m sure the world has had enough

  Of fairy magic and all that stuff.

  So I’m going to steal the fairies’ wands

  And send them into human lands.

  The fairies will think all is lost,

  Defeated again — by me, Jack Frost!

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Project Green

  Garden Magic!

  Goblin Gardener

  Ribbon of Sparkles

  Which Wand?

  Rainbow Park!

  Teaser

  Copyright

  “It’s another beautiful day, Kirsty!” Rachel Walker exclaimed happily as she and her best friend, Kirsty Tate, hurried along the winding country lane. The blue sky above them was dotted with fluffy white clouds, and the sun was warm on their faces. “Isn’t Rainspell Island just the most magical place?”

  “I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather go on vacation,” Kirsty replied, gazing over the lush green fields. The aquamarine sea sparkled in the distance and seagulls wheeled through the crisp, salty air.

  The Tates and the Walkers had arrived on the island three days ago to spend the fall break there.

  “It’s great that we’re helping to keep Rainspell clean and beautiful, isn’t it, Rachel?” Kirsty added. “Do you have the flyer that came yesterday?”

  Rachel pulled the flyer out of her pocket. PROJECT GREEN was written at the top, and underneath it read:

  “I’m glad we decided to volunteer,” Kirsty said as they studied the flyer. “We might have our friends the Earth Fairies to help us with the environment, but we humans have to do our part, too!”

  Rachel nodded. Rainspell Island was a very special place because it was where she and Kirsty had first become good friends with the fairies. Since then, the girls had shared many magical, amazing adventures while helping the fairies outwit cold, sly Jack Frost and his goblins.

  But now it was Rachel and Kirsty’s turn to ask the fairies for help. When the girls had arrived on Rainspell Island, they’d been shocked to see lots of litter scattered across the golden beach. They decided to ask the king and queen of Fairyland to help clean up the human world with fairy magic. King Oberon and Queen Titania had decided that the seven fairies currently in training would become the Earth Fairies. These fairies would help Rachel and Kirsty make the world a greener place. If the Earth Fairies were successful, they would become full-fledged, permanent fairies.

  But just as the Fairyland Wand Ceremony was about to begin, the goblins stole the wands that were supposed to be given to the Earth Fairies. Then Jack Frost’s icy spell had immediately sent the goblins and wands spinning into the human world to hide. Jack Frost absolutely refused to help the world become greener, but Rachel and Kirsty were equally determined to make sure all seven of the Earth Fairies got their wands back from the goblins. Then they would work together to make the world become a cleaner, greener place.

  “We made a good start,” Rachel said cheerfully. “We already tracked down Nicole the Beach Fairy’s wand, and Isabella the Air Fairy’s, too.”

  “But it’s a little scary to think that there are five more goblins running around with fairy wands!” Kirsty frowned. “I hope we find them soon, so the Earth Fairies can get back to work cleaning up our world.”

  “Remember what Queen Titania said though,” Rachel reminded her. “Fairy magic isn’t powerful enough to fix all the problems of the environment on its own. Humans have to help, too!”

  “I know.” Kirsty nodded. “We must be very close to the PROJECT GREEN area now, Rachel,” she said, looking around.

  The girls kept walking. At the end of Butterfly Lane they came to a large, empty lot. Rachel and Kirsty could see several people at work. Some were collecting trash that had been dumped and carting it away in wheelbarrows. The girls could see old sofas, rusty bicycles, and broken toys among the junk. Some volunteers were pulling up weeds and digging through the soil. Meanwhile, others were unloading tools and plants from the backs of trucks.

  “There’s a lot to do,” Rachel whispered to Kirsty. “This doesn’t look like a garden at all, yet!”

  As the girls drew closer, they saw a woman in overalls carrying a long silver banner that had PROJECT GREEN printed on it in tall emerald-green letters. The woman began trying to hang the banner over a big wooden arch at the entrance of the lot, but it was so long that she got tangled up in it. Rachel and Kirsty rushed to help.

  “Oh, thank you!” the woman said breathlessly as the girls helped her. Soon, they had draped the banner over the arch. “Have you come to volunteer?”

  The girls nodded eagerly. “I’m Rachel and this is my friend Kirsty,” Rachel explained.

  “Fantastic!” The woman smiled at them. “My name’s Janet, and I’m the head volunteer. It’s really important that we get the garden set up as soon as possible because” — Janet glanced anxiously at her watch — “in a very short time, the builders and their bulldozers are arriving to turn this space into a parking lot!”

  “That’s terrible!” Kirsty gasped.

  “We’ve been learning at school how important green spaces are,” Rachel added.

  “Yes, we need parks for people to enjoy, not more parking lots!” Janet said firmly. “The only person with the power to stop the builders is the mayor of Rainspell Island himself. We explained to the mayor that we want to show him how this space would work well as a garden — and he’s promised to come by in an hour to see for himself.”

  “Only an hour!” Rachel exclaimed. “That doesn’t give us much time.”

  “How can we help?” asked Kirsty.

  “See the fields around the vacant lot?” Janet pointed at the fields that bordered the land on two sides. “You can dig holes and plant saplings around the edges of the garden. Then, when the trees have grown, they’ll help protect the space from wind and rain. Come on, I’ll find some shovels for you.”

  Rachel and Kirsty followed Janet across the lot. More volunteers were arriving all the time, and there was a buzz of activity as everyone got to work.

  “Start over there at the corner of the field, and make sure you space the holes evenly,” Janet told the girls as she handed each of them a shovel. “Here are the saplings. We have oak, beech, and ash. If you have any problems, come and find me.” With a quick smile, Janet dashed off to welcome a new group of volunteers.

  Rachel and Kirsty each collected an armload of tiny saplings and then headed toward the edge of the vacant lot. Suddenly, the saplings in Rachel’s arms began to tremble slightly and tickle her nose. Rachel gasped. She really wanted to scratch the tip of her nose, but her arms were full.

  “Oh, Kirsty, help!” she called. “The saplings are tickling my nose. I think I’m going to sneeze, and then I might drop everything!”

  Kirsty immediately put down her own saplings and hurried over to Rachel. Her friend was twitching her nose in a desperate effort to keep from sneezing. Quickly, Kirsty took the saplings from Rachel’s arms. She looked closely at the tiny trees, and then gave a cry of delight.

  “Oh, that’s better!” Rachel sighed with relief, rubbing her nose vigorously. “But why were the saplings shaking like that, Kirsty?”

  Kirsty laughed. “Try and guess!”

  “Is there a spider or a bee hiding in there?” asked Rachel.

  “No, but we have seen these cr
eatures before, and they have shimmery wings!” Kirsty replied, her eyes twinkling.

  “A butterfly?” Rachel guessed. “We are on Butterfly Lane, after all.”

  Kirsty shook her head. She set the saplings on the ground and motioned for Rachel to look more closely. Once again the saplings quivered and trembled — and then a glittery fairy fluttered out of the branches!

  The fairy hovered in front of Rachel and Kirsty, a huge smile on her face. She wore a pretty blue sun dress, a pink hat, and cute pink rain boots with white polka dots. She carried a straw basket in her hand. “Girls, remember me?” she said. “I’m Edie the Garden Fairy!”

  “Hello again, Edie,” Rachel said with a laugh.

  “If you’re here, then that means your wand must be close by!” Kirsty said eagerly.

  Edie nodded. “Yes, and I need your help to get it back, girls,” she replied.

  “As you know, I don’t have much magic of my own, because I’m still in training. Getting my wand back will give me a magical boost, and then I’ll be able to start taking care of gardens everywhere!”

  “We’d love to help, Edie,” Kirsty explained, “but we promised to plant all these saplings.”

  “We have to make this empty lot look green and beautiful before the mayor arrives, or else it’ll be turned into a parking lot!” Rachel added.

  Edie looked horrified. “Girls, we can work on the garden and look for my wand,” she assured them. “Green spaces are so important. I’ll help you plant the saplings, and we can keep an eye out for the goblin who has my wand at the same time. I just know he’s around here somewhere!”

  The girls were at the very edge of the garden, far from the other volunteers. Edie stayed hidden among the saplings, just to be on the safe side. Meanwhile, Kirsty began digging holes, pacing the distance between each one carefully. Rachel followed behind her, planting the saplings.

  “You could plant them in groups of three,” Edie suggested, peeking out to watch. “Oak, then beech, then ash, and so on.”

  “Good idea,” Kirsty agreed, beginning to dig another hole. “Oh!” She panted. “The ground’s really hard here!”

  Edie snapped her fingers and a few sparkles of fairy magic drifted down onto the ground. Kirsty tried again, and this time her shovel slid smoothly into the earth.

  “Thanks, Edie,” she said with a laugh.

  Kirsty and Rachel continued planting the saplings around the edge of the garden. Even though they were working hard, they kept an eye out for goblins. But there wasn’t any sign of a single one.

  “We’re almost finished planting these two sides now,” Rachel said with satisfaction. She turned and glanced over to where the other volunteers were hard at work. “The garden’s starting to look a lot better, isn’t it?”

  Kirsty nodded. “Look, there’s someone handing out cups of water,” she said. “Should we get a drink before we finish up here?”

  “Yes, and I’m coming, too!” Edie whispered. She fluttered out of the saplings and dived into Rachel’s pocket.

  The girls walked across the garden, stopping to take a look at the various projects the other volunteers were working on.

  “Hi, girls,” called Janet, who was planting rows of sweet-scented lavender bushes. “We’re making mini-gardens. Come and see!”

  Rachel and Kirsty hurried over. One of the mini-gardens was full of herbs planted in circular beds, and another was full of beautiful, fragrant shrubs with pink, white, and purple flowers.

  “And that one’s a wildflower garden,” Janet explained, pointing at the plot next to hers where people were planting poppies, daisies, and cornflowers. “We chose plants that attract wildlife because we want this garden to be a place for people and animals to enjoy.”

  Kirsty turned as a flash of rusty brown caught her eye.

  “I think it’s working already!” She laughed and pointed across the garden.

  Rachel, Janet, and the others turned just in time to see a fox dart between the piles of junk. They all grinned.

  “This will be a perfect place for foxes and other wildlife!” Edie whispered, popping out of Rachel’s pocket. The girls had grabbed their water and were heading back to finish planting the saplings.

  “Next time we come back to Rainspell Island, everything will have grown a little more,” Kirsty said. “It’ll be amazing to know that we helped plant the garden, Rachel!”

  “As long as the Gardening Club can convince the mayor to cancel the parking lot,” Rachel reminded her friend with a sigh. Suddenly, she gasped in horror. “Kirsty, look at our saplings!”

  Kirsty cried out in surprise as she stared at the tiny trees they’d planted. Half the saplings had been pulled from the earth.They were now laying limply on the ground!

  “What happened?” Rachel wondered.

  Kirsty shook here head. All their hard work was ruined!

  Rachel knelt down and picked up one of the saplings.

  “Maybe the mini-gardens are working too well already!” she suggested. “An animal might have come along and dug them up.”

  “Maybe,” Edie agreed. “But they have to be replanted quickly, or they’ll die.” She took a quick glance around, and then snapped her fingers. A faint mist of fairy dust surrounded the saplings. When it cleared, the girls were relieved to see that they were all neatly planted in the holes again.

  “Thanks, Edie,” they said in chorus.

  “Oh, no!” someone yelled behind them.

  Edie quickly hid in Rachel’s pocket again. The girls spun around, hearts pounding, as they heard other shouts of amazement. Had someone spotted the tiny fairy?

  Janet was looking upset, so the girls rushed over to her.

  “What happened, Janet?” Rachel asked.

  “Everything’s going wrong!” Janet sighed. “Someone has uprooted one of the big butterfly bushes we planted and knocked a big bag of flower seeds on the ground!”

  In the middle of the garden, Rachel and Kirsty could see a big shrub with purple flowers lying on its side, its roots in the air next to a pile of tiny brown seeds. An old broken chair and a couple of rusty tools lay close by.

  “And someone’s moving all the junk around, too!” Janet rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Those things were in the trash pile, and now they’re back in the garden! At this rate we’ll never be finished in time for the mayor’s visit!”

  “We can’t let that happen, Rachel,” Kirsty whispered to her friend.

  “We’ll have to work much faster, everyone,” Janet called. “Otherwise all our hard work will be paved over and our plants will be replaced with parked cars!”

  “If only I could find my wand,” Edie said as everyone got back to work. “Then I could help finish the garden with fairy magic.”

  Rachel frowned. “Where there’s mess and trouble and a missing wand, there must be a goblin!” she pointed out.

  “Let’s find him before he causes any more damage,” Kirsty suggested.

  She quickly climbed up onto the back of a nearby truck. “Come on, Rachel, we can get a good view of the garden from here!”

  Rachel climbed up, too, and the girls looked carefully around the garden. All the volunteers were back at work again, and they couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

  Then Kirsty clutched Rachel’s arm.

  “Look!” she whispered. “Over there on the edge of the garden, by the biggest garbage pile!”

  Rachel saw a very short person wearing a big, floppy straw hat and oversize overalls. He was sorting through the pile of junk and throwing bits of trash right and left, making a mess of the tidy pile.

  “Come on!” Rachel murmured, climbing down from the truck.

  The girls ran across the garden. As they got closer to the strange-looking gardener, they noticed his big feet and large, pointy ears.

  “It’s a goblin!” Kirsty said, eyes wide.

  “Hurry, girls!” Edie urged them.

  Rachel and Kirsty dashed up to the goblin. Luckily, he was standi
ng pretty far away from the other volunteers, and no one had noticed him.

  “Where’s Edie’s wand?” Rachel demanded as she and Kirsty cornered the goblin. “We’d like it back, please!”

  The goblin shrieked in surprise. Then he scowled fiercely as Edie fluttered out of Rachel’s pocket.

  “Pesky girls!” he muttered. “And a pesky fairy, too. Well, I wouldn’t give you the wand, even if I had it.”

  “What do you mean?” Kirsty asked.

  The goblin shrugged. “I lost it in all the mess I made!” he muttered sheepishly.

  The girls and Edie glanced at one another in dismay.

  “The wand could be anywhere!” Kirsty groaned.

  “Why are you trying to undo all our good work?” Rachel asked the goblin.

  “This place is supposed to be green, isn’t it?” the goblin asked. “And considering I’m the only thing that’s truly green around here, I get to decide what goes on!” He folded his arms and stared stubbornly at Edie and the girls. “And I like the sound of a nice, smooth parking lot where I’ll be able to roller-skate!”

  Edie sighed. “My wand changes itself to fit the person who used it last, so it’ll be goblin-size now,” she told the girls. “That means it will be easier to spot. But we have to find it quickly before it falls into human hands. I don’t know what will happen then!”

  “I’m going to find the wand first!” the goblin insisted, and he began pulling the junk pile apart. “I know I saw it when I was scattering the trash around the garden,” the goblin mumbled to himself, picking up a battered old radio. He pushed a button, and music began to play.