Mariana the Goldilocks Fairy

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Puppet Problems

  Into the Storybook World

  Book World Bears

  Just Right!

  Food Fight

  Three Goblins, Three Bears, and a Picnic

  Teaser

  Copyright

  The fairies want stories to stay just the same.

  But I’ve planned a funny and mischievous game.

  I’ll change all their tales without further ado,

  By adding some tricks and a goblin or two!

  The four magic stories will soon be improved

  When everything that’s nice and sweet is removed.

  Their dull happy endings are ruined and lost,

  For no one’s as smart as handsome Jack Frost!

  Kirsty Tate was walking along the river path toward the Story Barge, feeling thrilled to her fingertips. She loved books, and the Wetherbury Storytelling Festival was like a dream come true for her. Even better, she was enjoying every moment with her best friend, Rachel Walker, who was staying for the whole weekend.

  “This day just gets better and better,” said Rachel, grabbing Kirsty’s hand. “The Storybook Picnic was amazing, and now we’re going to see a puppet show put on by Alana Yarn. I can’t wait!”

  Alana Yarn was one of their favorite authors. She was running the festival, which was being held in Wetherbury Park. The girls were attending every event they could. They had just come from a giant picnic, where they had eaten food inspired by their favorite stories. There had even been a cake in the shape of a very large storybook.

  “What was your favorite food at the picnic?” Kirsty asked as they reached the Story Barge.

  “I can’t decide,” said Rachel after a moment’s pause. “I loved the Alice in Wonderland EAT ME cupcakes, but the Peter Pan cake pops were delicious, too.”

  They were standing next to the Story Barge now, and there was a sign on the path advertising the show.

  ALANA YARN’S PUPPET SHOW

  COME INSIDE AND GUESS THE STORY

  “Come on!” said Kirsty.

  She stepped onto the creaky old Story Barge. A short ladder led to the upper deck, which was piled with books. Inviting armchairs and plump floor cushions were scattered around. Lots of children were already on board, looking very excited.

  “Let’s find a seat,” said Rachel. “I want to look at all these books.”

  The girls settled down on a large blue cushion, and they were soon sharing a book that they had been longing to read. Just as they finished the first chapter and exchanged happy smiles, a head popped up from the wooden staircase that led down to the lower deck of the barge. It was Alana Yarn.

  “The puppet show is ready,” she announced. “Come on down to the lower deck, everyone. A story is waiting for you!”

  The children made their way downstairs and gathered on large pillows in the middle of the lower deck. At the far end of the deck, Rachel and Kirsty saw a small stage with a tall striped puppet theater and a large trunk. The trunk had a curved lid, decorated with pictures of fairy tale characters. Alana was standing in front of the trunk, and as soon as all the children were sitting down, she lifted the lid.

  “I’d like you to try to guess what story I’m going to tell,” she told the listening children. “Look carefully at the puppets and see if you can figure it out.”

  First, she took out a large hand puppet of a girl with long blond hair. Then she placed some props on the stage.

  Rachel and Kirsty watched as she set out three beds—one big, one small, and one medium-size. Next, three chairs appeared—one big, one small, and one medium-size. Finally, Alana took out three bowls of porridge and looked around with a smile.

  “Any ideas?” she asked.

  Almost all the children raised their hands, looking excited. Alana nodded at Rachel.

  “I think the puppet show is going to be about Goldilocks,” she said.

  “That’s right,” said Alana with a laugh. “Now, I wonder if the girl next to you can guess which puppets I will bring out of the trunk next?”

  Kirsty laughed, too.

  “Of course,” she said. “The three bears.”

  A puzzled look crossed Alana’s face.

  “No, that’s not right,” she said, sounding confused.

  Rachel and Kirsty glanced at each other in surprise. If they weren’t the three bears, what could the puppets be?

  Alana reached into the trunk and pulled out three green puppets—complete with big feet, bumpy heads, and long noses.

  They were goblins!

  The other children laughed as if Kirsty should have known.

  “How could you think it was bears?” asked a boy sitting nearby. “Your friend just said that the story was Goldilocks.”

  “Yes, Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” Kirsty agreed.

  “Don’t be silly,” said the boy. “Everyone knows that it’s Goldilocks and the Three Goblins.”

  The other children nodded in agreement.

  “It’s my favorite story,” the boy went on. “I love how the three naughty goblins make such a mess in the cottage.”

  “That’s not what happens,” said Kirsty.

  But no one except Rachel was listening. The girls shot each other an anxious look. They knew exactly what was going on.

  That morning, Rachel and Kirsty had met Elle the Thumbelina Fairy. She had whisked them to Fairyland, where they had met the rest of the Storybook Fairies—Mariana the Goldilocks Fairy, Rosalie the Rapunzel Fairy, and Ruth the Red Riding Hood Fairy. They were all very upset. Jack Frost and his goblins had stolen their magical objects, and their stories were in danger of being ruined forever.

  Whoever held the magical objects had control of the stories. The fairies always used their objects to make sure the stories went how they were supposed to and ended well. But Jack Frost and the goblins wanted the stories to be all about them, so they were using the magical objects to go into the stories and change them.

  The girls had already followed the goblins into the story of Thumbelina, and helped her marry her flower prince. But there were still three more magical objects to find.

  “I’m so happy that we were able to help Elle get her magic thumb ring back from the goblins this morning,” Kirsty whispered. “But it looks as if Mariana the Goldilocks Fairy will need our help, too. Someone is inside the story right now, changing the bears into goblins!”

  “Before the story starts, would anyone like to come up to the stage and look at the puppets and props?” Alana asked.

  The children sprang to their feet and hurried over to the puppet theater. Everyone wanted to have a closer look at the beautiful puppets. But Rachel and Kirsty held back and stood next to the props table. They looked at each other worriedly.

  “What should we do?” asked Rachel. “It’s obvious that there are goblins inside the story of Goldilocks right now. How can we stop them?”

  Kirsty bit her lip. “The fairy dust in our lockets would take us to Fairyland, but we wouldn’t know where to find the Storybook Fairies. Besides, we need to get into the story of Goldilocks, and I don’t think our fairy dust can do that.”

  She rested her hand on the table and accidentally knocked over one of the porridge bowls with a clatter. She picked it up, and Mariana the Goldilocks Fairy fluttered out from underneath it! She was wearing a blue dress, and her red shoes perfectly matched the bow in her golden hair.

  “Hooray, I found you!” Mariana exclaimed. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get you away from the other children. Come quickly. We need to find a place to hide so we can talk.”

  “This way,” said Rachel, dart
ing behind the puppet theater.

  Kirsty followed her, with Mariana fluttering at her side. The other children were still crowding around the puppets, so no one noticed the girls slipping out of sight. When they were safely hidden behind the puppet theater, the girls looked up at Mariana with eager smiles.

  “We’re so glad you’re here,” said Kirsty. “Something has happened to the Goldilocks story, and we think that the goblins must be inside it right now.”

  “They are,” Mariana said. “That’s why I’m here. They have my magic spoon, which means that they can change whatever they want in the story. It’s a disaster! I have to find a way to make the Goldilocks story go the way it’s supposed to.”

  “Yes, it should have three bears, not three goblins,” said Rachel.

  “Exactly,” Mariana agreed. “Elle told me how amazing you were this morning, helping her get her magical thumb ring back from the goblins. Do you think you might be able to help me, too?”

  “Of course we can,” said Kirsty at once. “We can’t allow Jack Frost and his goblins to ruin the best stories in the world.”

  A smile spread across Mariana’s face, and she pulled a tiny book from her pocket. She held it out to the girls, and they leaned closer. The title was written in tiny golden letters: Goldilocks. Mariana opened the book. The writing was so small that Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t read it. But Mariana tapped the page with her wand, and a twist of golden sparkles spun out of the book. The twist grew bigger, until it swept the girls up, and all they could see was the glimmer of gold. They heard Mariana’s voice above the whoosh of the swirling fairy dust.

  “The Goldilocks story needs magical repairs.

  We must stop the goblins and find the three bears.

  Together I know we can quickly succeed,

  And the goblins will feel very foolish indeed!”

  Gasping, the girls landed in a pile of leaves. They looked around and saw that they were just outside the white fence of a little cottage in the woods. They could hear birds twittering in the tree branches, and fluffy white clouds floated overhead.

  “It all seems very peaceful,” said Rachel, feeling puzzled. “I thought that the goblins would be here already, causing mischief.”

  Suddenly, the door of the cottage banged open, and a little girl with blond ringlets burst out. She ran down the garden path and slammed the gate behind her.

  “Are you all right?” Kirsty asked the girl, as she and Rachel scrambled to their feet.

  “I hope you’re not going into the cottage,” said the girl, panting. “It’s a total mess! I couldn’t wait to get out of there—it’s horrible!”

  “Wait, are you Goldilocks?” asked Rachel. “Aren’t you supposed to be inside the cottage, trying out the different chairs and the beds?”

  “I’m not going to sit on any chairs or lie on any beds in there,” said Goldilocks. “It’s filthy!”

  She tossed her ringlets and ran off into the woods. Rachel and Kirsty exchanged worried glances.

  “Come on,” said Mariana. “We have to find out what’s going on in there.”

  She fluttered over the gate, and the girls hurried up the path. Goldilocks had left the door swinging open on its hinges, and Rachel gave a loud knock and waited. No one came to the door.

  “Oh no—Goldilocks was right,” said Kirsty, peering in through the doorway. “It’s a terrible mess in here.”

  They stepped into the cottage. The front door led straight into the kitchen, which was a wreck. Every single pot, pan, and plate seemed to be on the floor. Pieces of broken china were scattered around, and almost all the cabinet doors were open. Someone had burst a bag of flour, coating everything in white powder. Tomato sauce was all over the table and it looked like someone had made splotches on the wall. The kitchen faucet was running, and the sink was about to overflow. Rachel darted over and turned the water off.

  “This is awful,” said Mariana. “The three bears usually keep this cottage spic-and-span. I can’t believe that they would leave it in this state.”

  “I’m sure they didn’t,” said Rachel, pointing to the floor. “Look—I think the goblins have been here.”

  There were large, muddy footprints all over the kitchen tiles.

  “Those are definitely goblin prints,” said Kirsty. “But they’re not here now.”

  Rachel stepped back outside the cottage, looking down at the path.

  “There are more prints here,” she said.

  “Let’s follow them,” said Kirsty. “If we can find the goblins, we might be able to get Mariana’s magic spoon back.”

  “Wait—these aren’t goblin footprints,” said Rachel, kneeling down. “These are paw prints—big ones, medium-size ones, and little ones.”

  “The three bears!” cried Mariana. “It must be them. We have to follow them and find out what happened here.”

  Rachel stood up and followed the prints down the path.

  “It looks like they went into the forest,” she said. “It might take us a long time to track them down—bears will be able to move through the forest more quickly than us.”

  “Not if you can fly like me,” said Mariana with a smile.

  She waved her wand, and the air shimmered with magic as Rachel and Kirsty shrank to fairy size. Seconds later they were fluttering beside Mariana with gauzy wings.

  “Let’s go!” said Kirsty. “We have to find the bears and find out what the goblins have been doing.”

  The paw prints led the fairies toward the middle of the forest. It grew darker as they went deeper, and they were surrounded by strange noises. Kirsty reached out her hand, and Rachel squeezed it.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Kirsty whispered. “This forest is a little spooky!”

  Rachel smiled at her. Suddenly, Mariana let out a squeak of excitement.

  “I see them!” she exclaimed. “Look!”

  The fairies were flying toward a huge thick oak tree, which looked strong and ancient. Its branches reached up so high that they couldn’t see the top. On the branch closest to the ground, a baby bear was snuffling his little nose. A medium-size mother bear was sitting on the branch above, and a few branches farther up was a very big father bear. The baby bear was trembling so much that the leaves on the tree were shaking.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Mariana, rushing to the biggest bear.

  “Don’t be upset!” cried Kirsty, fluttering over to the mother bear.

  “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” said Rachel, hovering beside the baby bear. “We’re here to help. What happened?”

  “It’s been so scary,” said Mama Bear, her voice shaking. “But the day started happily. We were playing in the woods, and it was so sunny out that we decided to go home and pack a picnic for lunch.”

  “But when we got home, we heard a terrible racket inside our cottage,” Papa Bear went on.

  “I peeked through the windows,” said Baby Bear, “and I saw three scary green creatures inside. They were horrible! They had big feet and long noses, and really mean expressions.”

  Kirsty and Rachel exchanged a knowing glance. The goblins!

  “They were making a terrible mess,” said Papa Bear. “We ran back into the woods to hide. We don’t want any trouble. Why would they be so mean?”

  “Because they’re goblins,” said Rachel with a sigh. “That’s their idea of fun.”

  “I’m too scared to go back home,” said Mama Bear. “But we didn’t pack our picnic, and Baby Bear is very hungry. We don’t know what to do!”

  “We’ve just been to your cottage,” said Kirsty. “It was a mess, but the goblins were gone. It’s safe for you to go home.”

  “Besides, we’ll come with you,” Mariana added.

  “And we know the goblins,” said Rachel. “We won’t let them scare you again.”

  “I don’t know,” said Mama Bear.

  But Baby Bear’s tummy gave a big, hungry rumble, and he looked up at his parents.

  “Please, let’s go home,
” he said. “I want dinner!”

  Soon, the three bears were hurrying through the woods, while the fairies fluttered beside them. But when they reached the cottage, they all stopped in dismay. There was a lot of noise coming from inside. They could hear bangs, crashes, and high-pitched squawks. The goblins were back.

  “I’ve changed my mind,” said Baby Bear, his voice shaking. “I’m not hungry after all.”

  “We’ll just stay in the woods,” Mama Bear added.

  “We won’t let the goblins drive you out of your home,” said Kirsty. “Wait here and we will go talk to them.”

  The bears retreated behind the nearest tree, while the fairies flew over the fence.

  “There’s an open window here!” called Mariana.

  They flew into the kitchen and landed on the drying rack. The three goblins had made even more of a mess than before, but now they were sitting around the table in front of three bowls of porridge. They were all wearing blue overalls and straw hats.

  “Yum, yum!” said the smallest goblin. “Porridge is the best!”

  “Especially when it belongs to someone else,” added the medium-size goblin with a snicker.

  They each took a spoonful of their porridge.

  “Ow!” shrieked the smallest goblin. “Too ho-ho-hot!”

  “Yuck!” grumbled the biggest goblin.

  “It’s stone cold!”

  But the medium-size goblin said nothing at all. He was too busy gobbling down his porridge. Mariana took a step forward.

  “Look!” she said suddenly. “The medium-size goblin is using my magic spoon to eat his porridge!”

  He ate and ate with it until his bowl was scraped clean. Then he leaned back and patted his tummy.

  “Just right,” he said in a smug voice.

  “Maybe he will forget to pick the spoon up,” Kirsty whispered. “One of us could grab it.”