Elodie the Lamb Fairy

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Alarm on the Farm

  Baa-Meow

  Big Green Boots

  Following the Trail

  Chase!

  The Magic of the Farm

  Teaser

  Copyright

  I want a farm that’s just for me,

  With animals I won’t set free.

  It’s far too slow to find each one.

  Let fairy magic get this done!

  With magic from the fairy farm,

  I’ll grant my wish—to their alarm!

  And if I spoil the humans’ fun,

  Then Jack Frost really will have won!

  COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!

  Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker sat up in bed at exactly the same moment. For a few seconds, they couldn’t figure out where they were. Then they remembered and shared an excited smile.

  “You know you’re on a farm when a rooster is your alarm clock,” said Rachel, bouncing out of bed. “Quick, let’s get dressed. I can’t wait to say good morning to all the animals.”

  This was their first full day at Greenfields Farm, just outside Wetherbury, where they were going to spend all of spring break. The farm was owned by Harriet and Niall Hawkins, friends of Kirsty’s parents, and they were getting ready to open it up to paying visitors at the end of the week. The Tates and Rachel had come to help them.

  Kirsty slipped out of bed, too, and threw open the yellow curtains. The walls of the farmhouse were so thick that the windowsill was big enough to sit on. Kirsty put the blanket from her bed on the sill, and then perched there, gazing out over the farm. She could see the barn where they had met Blossom the cow, and the trees that hid the sparkling duck pond. Over to the left, she could see a green pasture, with sheep dotted around it like little puffs of cotton wool.

  “It’s going to be a lovely sunny day,” said Rachel, joining her at the window. “This is perfect weather for working outside.”

  “I wouldn’t mind rain or snow, as long as we get to spend the day with baby animals,” said Kirsty with a smile.

  The day before, the Hawkinses had asked the girls to look after the baby animals on the farm. Rachel and Kirsty were thrilled. They both loved animals, and they usually found that animals loved them, too.

  As soon as the girls were dressed and had made their beds, they hurried down the creaky farmhouse stairs to the big kitchen. Niall and Harriet Hawkins were already there with the Tates.

  “Good morning, you two,” said Niall in a cheerful voice. “You’re just in time for a big Greenfields Farm breakfast. Eggs freshly laid this morning, milk and butter from Blossom the cow, and hot, crusty bread straight out of the oven.”

  “It sounds delicious,” said Kirsty, her stomach rumbling.

  As the girls began to devour their food, Harriet went through her list of what needed to be done that day. She asked Mr. and Mrs. Tate to finish painting the welcome center, and then smiled at the girls.

  “I’ve got a very special job for you to do this morning,” she said. “Five lambs have been born here recently, and we want to get them used to bottle-feeding. The visitors will love being able to feed lambs. Will you go to the sheep pasture after breakfast and bottle-feed the lambs?”

  “We’d love to,” said Rachel at once. “What a perfect way to start the day.”

  “Would you like me to come with you and show you how to do it?” Niall asked.

  Rachel and Kirsty shook their heads.

  “No, thank you,” said Kirsty. “We’ve both bottle-fed lambs before. I’m sure we’ll remember what to do.”

  “That’s wonderful,” said Harriet. “Thank you, Rachel and Kirsty.”

  “Thank you for letting us do it,” said Rachel, smiling. “I love lambs—they’re so soft and woolly. They’re my favorite animal babies.”

  Kirsty laughed and squeezed her best friend’s hand.

  “You say that about all the animal babies,” she told her.

  “I know,” said Rachel, also laughing. “I can never make up my mind. They’re all so cute.”

  The girls had two fresh eggs each, followed by toast, butter, and homemade blackberry jam. They washed it all down with glasses of creamy, frothy milk, and then carried their plates to the sink.

  “Thank you,” said Harriet. “We’ll finish tidying up in here. I’ve put a bucket of bottles next to the back door for the lambs. Do you know where the sheep pasture is?”

  “Yes,” said Kirsty. “We saw it from our bedroom window this morning.”

  “The lambs are in a pen beside the pasture,” said Harriet. “See you later, girls.”

  Rachel and Kirsty pulled on their barn boots, and then Rachel picked up the bucket of bottles. They said good-bye to the grown-ups and headed out toward the pasture. To get there, they had to pass the barn. Blossom was outside, and she let out a happy moo as they walked past.

  “Good morning, Blossom,” said Rachel, going over to her and patting her side. “We can’t stop. We’ve got an important job to do this morning.”

  She held up the bucket of bottles, and Blossom mooed again.

  “Yes, it’s milk,” said Kirsty. “See you later on, Blossom. We’ve got some animal babies to feed!”

  The girls walked side by side up the path toward the sheep pasture. The morning breeze carried the fresh scent of grass to them, and they took deep breaths to drink it in.

  “I wish I could live here,” said Kirsty. “I love the countryside.”

  Rachel didn’t reply. She was staring at something on the wooden pasture fence. It was an animal, and it was stepping carefully along the top railing.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “A cat?” said Kirsty, sounding unsure.

  “It looks too big for a cat,” Rachel said.

  They sped up, and as they got closer they went even faster. They could now see what the animal was, but neither of them could quite believe what was in front of their eyes.

  “It’s a lamb,” said Kirsty in wonder. “I’ve never seen a lamb balancing on a fence before.”

  “I’ve never heard a lamb saying meow, either,” said Rachel, frowning. “Listen.”

  As they got closer, Kirsty heard it, too. The lamb was meowing like a cat. The girls exchanged a worried glance.

  “Jack Frost and his goblins are causing trouble again,” said Kirsty. “I suppose we should have expected it after what happened yesterday.”

  The girls thought back to their adventures from the day before. They had been watching the new little ducklings on the Greenfields Farm pond, when Debbie the Duckling Fairy had fluttered out of a duck’s nest. Rachel and Kirsty were used to finding fairies in unexpected places, so they were excited to meet her. They had been friends of Fairyland ever since they had met the Rainbow Fairies on Rainspell Island. They had been best friends since that day, too.

  Debbie had taken them to see the animals at Fluttering Fairyland Farm, a magical farm that hovered in midair among the fluffy white clouds of Fairyland. There, the girls had met the other Farm Animal Fairies—Elodie the Lamb Fairy, Penelope the Foal Fairy, and Billie the Baby Goat Fairy. They had also seen the magical baby farm animals who helped the fairies look after baby farm animals everywhere. It had been one of the most amazing visits to Fairyland that Rachel and Kirsty could remember. But then Jack Frost had turned up with three of his mischievous goblins, and everything had gone terribly wrong.

  Jack Frost wanted some cute, cuddly animals to make his own petting zoo at the Ice Castle. So far, he only had his snow goose and her baby, Snowdrop, and he wanted more. So he and his goblins had stolen the fairies’ magical farm animals.

  At once, Debbie had whisked the
girls back to Greenfields Farm, where they found that things were already going wrong. The ducklings were acting like puppies, including Splashy, Debbie’s magical duckling.

  Thinking about their adventures the day before, Rachel and Kirsty stared at the meowing lamb.

  “Jack Frost is responsible for this,” said Kirsty in a worried voice. “Do you think all the lambs on the farm are acting like cats?”

  “It might be all the lambs in the human world,” Rachel replied.

  “What will the Hawkinses say if they come to see the lambs and find them like this?” said Kirsty.

  “When we helped Debbie get Splashy back from the goblin who stole her, all the ducklings went back to normal,” said Rachel. “We have to get Elodie’s magical lamb back—then all the other lambs should be themselves again, too.”

  “We have to get all the missing magical animals back,” said Kirsty. “Without them, Greenfields Farm will never be ready for visitors, and the farm babies will stay changed forever.”

  “You’re right,” said Rachel. “But first, let’s get that lamb down from the fence.”

  Rachel put the bucket of bottles down. Then, moving slowly and quietly, the girls tiptoed up to the lamb.

  “Hello,” said Rachel in a gentle voice. “What are you doing up here?”

  She ran her hand along the lamb’s back. It opened its little mouth, but instead of a bleat, it let out a loud meow.

  “I wonder if it will let me pick it up,” said Kirsty.

  She tried to put her arms around it, but the lamb leaped down from the fence and scampered off. It moved more like a cat than a lamb.

  “Should we follow it?” Rachel said.

  “No, wait,” said Kirsty. “Look … ”

  She was staring at a little tuft of the lamb’s wool that was caught on the fence. Rachel looked, too, and saw that the wool had a faint glow to it. The glow grew stronger and brighter, and then the tuft of wool opened up like a flower. There was a little burst of silver sparkles, and, all at once, Elodie the Lamb Fairy was sitting in the middle of the wool with her legs tucked underneath her. She was wearing a soft pink dress trimmed with purple detailing, and a fluffy lamb’s-wool vest. She clapped her hands when she saw the girls, and her brown curls bounced merrily up and down.

  “I found you,” she said with a smile. “Debbie told me how you helped her find Splashy. It’s wonderful to have him back at Fluttering Fairyland Farm. Will you help me find Fluffy so that I can take her home, too?”

  “We’re always happy to help our fairy friends,” said Rachel. “Oh, Elodie, you came at just the right time. We just saw a lamb acting like a cat.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” said Elodie. “Right now I don’t think any of the lambs in the human world are feeling normal. Where could the goblin be hiding Fluffy? As soon as I get her back home, all other lambs will start acting like lambs again.”

  “We’ll help you look as soon as we’ve fed the farm’s lambs,” said Kirsty.

  She picked up the bucket of bottles and Elodie fluttered inside it to hide. Then Rachel and Kirsty hurried up to the lambs’ pen. But when they got there, just one lamb was inside. It was sitting up very straight, licking one of its hooves.

  “Hello,” said Rachel, stepping inside the pen. “Where are your friends, little lamb? Where have they all gone?”

  The lamb stood up, stretched, and then rubbed its face against Rachel’s legs, just like a cat rubbing its whiskers. It started to purr, and when Kirsty came into the pen, it pressed against her legs, too. Then it weaved around both girls in a figure eight, still purring loudly.

  “You know, the goblins don’t have a lot of imagination,” said Rachel. “The one who took Splashy came here, and I bet the other two came here, too.”

  “I’ve got an idea,” said Kirsty. “Elodie, if you turn us into fairies, we could fly over the farm to look for Fluffy and the other lambs. We’ll be able to search a lot more quickly that way.”

  Elodie popped out of the bucket and glanced around. There were no other people in sight. She lifted her wand and did a little twirl in midair. Instantly, the girls felt themselves whirling around as they shrank to fairy size, and delicate wings unfurled on their backs.

  They were scooped up on magical puffy clouds and swept into the air. The little lamb rose onto its hind legs to watch them. It batted at them with its front hooves, but the little clouds whisked them out of reach. Then the clouds melted away and Elodie joined them. Together, they zoomed up over the sheep pasture.

  “Look down there,” said Rachel. “The lambs are in the pasture.”

  Now that they had a good view, they could see four lambs in the pasture. Two of them were rolling around together, play-fighting. Another lamb was busy chasing a leaf that was dancing in the breeze, pouncing on it and freeing it over and over again. The fourth lamb was scratching at the newly painted fence.

  “It’s just what we were afraid of,” said Kirsty. “They’re all acting like cats.”

  The lambs were meowing so loudly that the fairies could hear them clearly, even from high above. The sheep in the pasture were staying away from the lambs, and giving them some very confused looks. When the leaf-chasing lamb got too close, one of the sheep let out a loud, grumpy baa.

  The lambs were startled by the loud noise. They all jumped up onto the pasture fence, balanced there for a moment, and then jumped down and ran off toward the farm.

  “Oh no,” said Kirsty. “How are we going to get them back?”

  She and Elodie watched in a panic as the lambs scattered. Rachel was still looking all around, hoping to be lucky enough to spot Fluffy. There was no magical lamb in sight, but there was someone down in a grove of trees at the bottom of the pasture. He was wearing bright-green overalls and tall rubber boots, and he was looking up into a tree.

  “Who is that?” Rachel asked. “It doesn’t look like Niall. Are there any other people working on the farm this week, Kirsty?”

  Kirsty looked where Rachel was pointing, and her mouth fell open.

  “That’s not a grown-up,” she said. “It’s not even a human. Look at his enormous boots. That’s a goblin!”

  The goblin seemed to be calling to someone in the tree.

  “Come on,” said Elodie. “Let’s go and find out what he’s doing. He’s one of Jack Frost’s goblins, so I’ll bet you anything he’s up to mischief.”

  Rachel, Kirsty, and Elodie flew down toward the grove of trees. As they got closer, they saw a magical glow through the leaves.

  “There’s something in the tree,” said Kirsty. “Oh, Elodie, I think it’s Fluffy!”

  The magical little lamb was balancing on a low branch. She looked alone and confused.

  “Fluffy!” Elodie called.

  Fluffy was startled, and she jumped down from the branch in a panic. She landed in the goblin’s arms, and he gave a loud squawk of delight.

  “You do want to cuddle me,” he said. “You’re so soft and sweet. I want more cuddles. I want all the cuddles!”

  He squeezed her so tightly that she started to squirm and wriggle in his arms. Seconds later, she twisted away from him and dashed off.

  “Come back!” he shouted.

  “Fluffy!” Elodie cried out.

  The goblin charged after the little lamb, stumbling with every step he took in his massive boots. Fluffy pressed her belly to the grass and crawled under the shrubbery behind the grove of trees.

  “We have to follow her,” said Rachel, zooming into the greenery.

  Elodie and Kirsty flew after her, but by the time they caught up, Fluffy had completely disappeared. They heard the goblin crashing into the bushes behind them.

  Kirsty and Rachel looked at each other in dismay. How were they going to get Fluffy back now?

  Rachel looked around and spotted a few tufts of Fluffy’s wool clinging to the undergrowth.

  “A trail,” she said. “Maybe we can follow it. It might lead us to Fluffy, just like the breadcrumbs in the story Hanse
l and Gretel.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea,” said Elodie, clapping her hands together. “Quickly, there’s not a moment to lose. We can’t let Fluffy disappear again.”

  Staying low and flitting through the undergrowth, the fairies hunted for the little wisps of glowing white wool.

  Here and there they found them clinging to twigs and caught on thorns. Rachel picked up each piece and held them all in her hand. The trail led them through the shrubbery, over to a bush, and when they peeked underneath it, they saw Fluffy curled up like a cat.

  Elodie put her finger to her lips, and they all backed away from the bush.

  “We have to be very careful,” she whispered. “Now that we’ve found her, we can’t risk frightening her again.”

  “Maybe she would come with us if we had a cat toy,” said Kirsty, remembering that they had used a toy to help them get Splashy the duckling back.

  Rachel looked down at the tufts of Fluffy’s glowing wool in her hand.

  “Wool,” she said. “That reminds me, cats love balls of yarn—they will chase them for hours. Could you make a ball of yarn, Elodie?”

  Elodie flicked her wand, and instantly Rachel was holding a large ball of soft blue yarn.

  “Perfect,” said Rachel. “We will need to be human for this.”

  With another wave of her wand, Elodie turned the girls back into humans once again.

  “This shrubbery suddenly seems a lot more cramped. And prickly,” said Kirsty with a quiet laugh. “OK, Rachel, I’m ready. It’s time to get Fluffy.”