Rosie the Honey Bear Fairy Read online

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Bees and Butterflies

  Under the Bridge

  Surprise in a Hive

  Noisy Hikers

  Branching Out

  Bees, Bears, and Badges

  Teaser

  Copyright

  “I wish it could be summer all year long,” cheered Kirsty Tate.

  She straightened up from filling her wheelbarrow and smiled at her best friend, Rachel Walker. Rachel dropped a small shovel into her own wheelbarrow and smiled back at Kirsty.

  “Me too,” she said, her cheeks pink from all her hard work. “And I wish we could help out at the nature reserve for longer, too. I love the animals so much!”

  The girls were spending a week of their summer vacation helping at Wild Woods Nature Reserve as part of a team of junior rangers. Every day, they earned badges for their backpacks by doing special tasks. Becky, the head of the nature reserve, planned the tasks. That morning, she had thought of something especially fun for them to do together.

  “I’d like you to plant shrubs along the bank of the stream,” she had said. “The shrubs will attract bees and butterflies to the nature reserve. We depend on them to help keep the plants alive.”

  The girls had filled their wheelbarrows with pots of flowering shrubs, spades, short shovels, forks, and watering cans.

  “We’re ready, Becky!” called Kirsty.

  “All right,” Becky replied with a grin. “Follow me!”

  She led them through the woods, and the wheelbarrows bumped over the branches and pinecones on the ground.

  When they came out of the woods, the stream was straight ahead. Next to the clear, sparkling water they saw a row of little wooden houses on platforms.

  “They look like fairy houses,” said Kirsty excitedly.

  She had spoken quietly, but Becky heard her and laughed.

  “Yes,” she said. “If fairies existed, I bet they’d love to live in one of these cute houses! Actually, they’re beehives. The bees will use the nectar from the flowers you’re planting to make honey.”

  Rachel and Kirsty smiled at each other. They had a secret that bonded them as best friends forever. They knew that fairies really did exist, and they had often visited Fairyland and shared adventures with their fairy friends. During their most recent visit, the fairies had even given them the ability to understand what animals were saying.

  Becky led the girls to a little stone bridge that crossed the stream.

  “I’d like you to plant some shrubs on both sides of the stream, close to the bridge,” she said. “Do you know how to plant them?”

  “Yes,” said Rachel. “My mom loves gardening, and I’ve helped her lots of times.”

  “Great,” said Becky. “I’ll leave you to it. Call me if you need any help, and have fun!”

  As Becky walked away, Rachel pulled on her gardening gloves and Kirsty looked around the area.

  “Let’s start on this side of the bridge,” Kirsty suggested.

  “Yes, and I think I’ll plant a shrub with pink flowers first,” said Rachel. “What about you?”

  “Blue!” said Kirsty, picking a pretty little plant out of her wheelbarrow. “Let’s get digging!”

  They picked up their shovels and started to dig two holes. After a short while, a group of colorful butterflies fluttered toward them. As they hovered over the holes, the girls heard a babble of tiny, curious voices.

  “What are they doing?”

  “Why is she opening up the ground?”

  “What’s going on?”

  Rachel laughed and paused, resting one foot on the shoulder of her shovel.

  “Hello, butterflies,” she said. “We’re planting some flowering shrubs so you’ll want to come back here.”

  “That’s wonderful!” twittered the butterflies all together. “Thank you! Thank you!”

  Suddenly, among the wafting wings of the butterflies, Kirsty spotted a flash of blue sparkling in the sunlight.

  “Oh, is that a fairy?” she asked in excitement.

  Rachel whipped her head around to look where Kirsty was pointing. She squinted her eyes to see in the bright sunlight, and then shook her head.

  “It’s a big blue dragonfly,” she said. “But even so, I have a funny feeling …”

  “Me too,” said Kirsty. “Like there’s magic nearby!”

  Rachel and Kirsty kept digging, watched closely by the butterflies. They knew that if there was magic around, it would find them when the time was right.

  As they worked, the girls thought about the busy week they were having. As well as helping at Wild Woods Nature Reserve, they were also helping the Baby Animal Rescue Fairies. Animals all around the world needed to be protected from Jack Frost and his pesky goblins.

  On their first day at the nature reserve in Kirsty’s town, the two friends had met Bertram, a frog footman from Fairyland. He was visiting relatives at the pond. He had then whisked the girls away to the nature reserve in Fairyland. There they had spent time with the Baby Animal Rescue Fairies, who looked after animals in both Fairyland and in the human world. But Jack Frost and his goblins had been up to no good again. Jack had decided that he liked animals so much, he wanted to collect one of each kind for his own private zoo—no matter what!

  Kirsty and Rachel tried to tell Jack Frost that animals weren’t like collectible toys. They needed lots of care! But he sneered at them and stole the Baby Animal Rescue Fairies’ magic key chains, which helped them protect the animals. Jack gave the magic charms to his goblins and ordered them to steal some animals from the human world for his zoo. All animals were now in danger!

  The seven fairies had given Kirsty and Rachel the power to talk to animals when they offered to protect them. They had already saved five baby animals. Would they need to help the Baby Animal Rescue Fairies save some more today?

  As they planted the shrubs, the girls wondered about the adventures they might have. The butterflies fluttered closer and closer.

  “It’s going to be so nice to have some beautiful plants to visit around here,” said a large red Admiral butterfly, very close to Kirsty’s ear.

  “Oh, your wings are tickling my cheek!” Kirsty giggled.

  “I apologize,” said the butterfly, moving away at once. “We’re very excited to see all the changes that the young people have been making.”

  “Me too,” added the blue dragonfly. “I’ve been flying all over the nature reserve. You junior rangers are doing a great job. Thank you!”

  “Can you hear something buzzing?” asked Kirsty as she took her shrub out of its pot.

  “It’s the bees!” The butterflies began to twitter among themselves. “Now we’ll have some fun!”

  Kirsty felt a little bit nervous when a dark cloud of bees swarmed around them, but they soon put her at ease.

  “New flowers?”

  “For us?”

  “Wonderful!”

  “We’re buzzing with excitement!”

  The insects swooped over the water and turned somersaults in the air as the girls planted shrub after shrub in the ground.

  “I’m going to start on the other side of the stream,” said Kirsty at last. Rachel nodded.

  Kirsty selected a pot and started to walk over the bridge. Halfway across, she paused and bent down to pick up a twig. She stood up and dropped it into the gurgling stream. Then she rushed to the other side to watch it float out from under the bridge.

  “Let’s race!” said Rachel, who had been watching her best friend.

  Rachel pulled off her gloves and each girl chose a twig. They dropped the twigs into the water and then hung over the other side of the b
ridge to see who would win. The insects watched and cheered as Kirsty’s twig edged into the lead. Then, suddenly, Rachel spotted something strange in the water.

  “Look at that leaf,” she said. “Does it look different to you?”

  She pointed to a small leaf that was floating downstream toward the bridge. It was glowing!

  The bees flew down to the leaf, and then zoomed back to the girls in a happy swarm.

  “It’s not a leaf!” they buzzed. “It’s Rosie the Honey Bear Fairy!”

  The girls hung over the side of the bridge and watched Rosie fly up to them. She perched on the stone bridge and gave Rachel and Kirsty a big smile. She was wearing a sparkly blue top and light blue jeans. Her honey-blond hair was tousled.

  “It looks like you’re having fun!” she said. “I’m sorry, but I’m here to drag you away from your game. A baby bear is missing, and I really need your help to find him. Will you come with me?”

  “Of course we’ll come,” said Rachel and Kirsty together.

  Rosie winked and waved her wand in a circle above her head, making a hoop of sparkling fairy dust. It grew wider and wider, until it surrounded the girls and whisked them away at once.

  They blinked, and found themselves looking down over a lush wooded valley. There were tall trees all around them, and the leaves were rustling in the gentle breeze. The ground was soft with layers of mulched leaves and twigs.

  “Hello, Mama Bear,” said Rosie in a gentle voice.

  The girls looked around and saw an enormous brown bear sitting on a rock in a clearing. She was holding a dripping honeycomb in her paw, but she wasn’t eating it. They stepped closer and saw that tears were trickling down her furry cheeks.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Kirsty, putting her hand on the bear’s furry paw. “Can we help you?”

  “It’s my baby, Billy,” said Mama Bear with a little sob. “He’s missing!”

  The girls exchanged a suspicious glance.

  “I’m sure the goblins are behind this,” Rachel said.

  “If they are, I promise we’ll stop them,” Kirsty told Mama Bear. “We’ll find your little Billy and bring him home safe and sound.”

  Just then, a bee buzzed out from behind Mama Bear’s head.

  “Billy’s missing?” he exclaimed, sounding upset. “He’s my friend! How can I help?”

  “Have you seen anything unusual in the valley?” Kirsty asked. “Like strange green creatures?”

  “The Queen Bee might know something,” said the little bee. “If you follow me, I’ll take you to her right away!”

  Rachel and Kirsty turned to Rosie. If they were going to visit the Queen Bee, they were going to have to be fairy-size. With a flick of her wand, Rosie transformed the girls into fairies. Now that they were tiny, they could see the kind expression on the bee’s furry face.

  His wings made a loud, whirring sound, and created a breeze that fanned the girls’ faces. He gave them a little smile.

  “Follow me,” he said. “I’ll take you to the Queen Bee.”

  “We’ll be back as soon as we can, Mama Bear,” said Rosie.

  They waved to the sad-faced bear, and then followed the little bee up to the top of a tree, where his hive was nestled among green leaves. It looked like a small city towering above them.

  The bee led them to the entrance, where two guard bees were hovering.

  “These are my guests,” said the bee. “They want to visit the Queen Bee.”

  “Welcome to our hive,” said the guard bees.

  The girls followed their friend into the straw-colored lower chamber. The walls were full of honeycomb cells. The Queen Bee was sitting on her throne in the center of the chamber. She was surrounded by drone bees, who were combing her fur and polishing her wings.

  Rachel and Kirsty gasped. They recognized that royal fuzzy face!

  “It’s Queenie!” said Rachel, flitting forward to greet their old friend.

  The last time they had seen Queenie, she was living with the Rainbow Fairies in the pot at the end of the rainbow.

  “Rachel! Kirsty!” Queenie exclaimed. “How nice to see you!”

  “You, too,” said Kirsty. “But we thought you were living with the Rainbow Fairies.”

  “I had a lovely time there,” said Queenie, “but I missed the other bees. So now I’m the queen of this hive. Come, dear girls, sit yourselves down, have some nectar, and tell me what brings you here.”

  The drone bees brought acorn cups full of delicious nectar. Rachel and Kirsty sipped their drinks and talked with Queenie about the old adventures they’d had together with the Rainbow Fairies. Then they told her about how Billy the little bear was missing.

  “I’m very sorry to hear that,” said Queenie. “Billy is very sweet, and all the bees love him.”

  “Excuse me, Your Majesty,” said one of the drone bees. “The park ranger knows everything that happens in the valley. Perhaps he’s seen something unusual that will help these fairies find little Billy?”

  “Excellent idea,” said Queenie.

  The girls finished their drinks and stood up. Queenie nodded to two of her drone bees, and they buzzed forward carrying a scrumptious-looking piece of honeycomb.

  “Share that with Billy when you find him,” said Queenie. “It’s been lovely to see you again, girls.”

  She commanded a swarm of bees to lead them to the park ranger. Rosie, Kirsty, and Rachel zoomed along behind the bees as they weaved their way among the trees.

  At last they heard the sound of a man whistling up ahead.

  “That’s the park ranger!” said their bee friends. “Good luck!”

  As the bees buzzed away, Kirsty and Rachel fluttered down and landed behind a bush. Hovering above them, Rosie waved her wand and turned them back into humans.

  “OK,” said Rachel. “Let’s find out what that park ranger knows.”

  She tucked the honeycomb into her backpack. Rosie jumped in, too, glad to rest her wings. They tramped through the woods, following the sound of the whistling. The park ranger stood on a grassy hill overlooking the wooded valley.

  “Excuse me?” Kirsty called.

  The park ranger whirled around. He had a friendly tanned face and spiky brown hair.

  “Hello!” he said. “What can I do for you?”

  “We were just wondering if you had seen anything unusual in the valley today?” Kirsty asked. “We’re … um … looking for someone.”

  The park ranger nodded.

  “There was a group of noisy hikers here earlier,” he said. “I had to warn them to be quiet because they could scare the wildlife.”

  Rachel squeezed Kirsty’s hand.

  “What did they look like?” she asked.

  “They looked a little silly to be honest,” the park ranger said with a chuckle. “They were wearing bright green hiking gear with the biggest hiking boots I’ve ever seen, and one of them had a backpack that was stuffed full. Are they friends of yours?”

  “Not exactly,” said Kirsty, gritting her teeth.

  “Do you know where they went?” Rachel asked.

  The park ranger pointed to a curving path that led down through the woods.

  “That leads to the river at the bottom of the valley,” he said. “That’s where they were heading. You might still catch them if you’re quick.”

  “Thank you!” said Rachel. “Come on, Kirsty. Let’s go!”

  She set off down the path, with Kirsty close behind her. They broke into a jog, and Rosie held on tight to the inside of Rachel’s backpack. It was hard to run in the hot midday sun, but they had to stop the goblins.

  With a final curve, the path came to an end next to a large, meandering river. Rachel held out her arm to stop Kirsty.

  “Look, there they are!” she said.

  There were three goblins on the other side of the river, pushing one another and squabbling. On the ground between them was a small raft.

  “There’s a bridge!” said Kirsty, pointing downstream.
“Come on!”

  The girls ran down the riverbank and raced over the stone bridge to the opposite bank. The goblins turned and scowled at them.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Pesky humans!”

  “Leave us alone!”

  There was no sign of Billy. Rachel put her hands on her hips.

  “What have you done with the bear cub?” she asked.

  The goblins glanced at one another.

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” said the first goblin, turning very red in the face.

  “You’re lying,” Kirsty stated, folding her arms across her chest.

  “Prove it!” said the second goblin.

  The third goblin stuck out his very long tongue and blew a loud raspberry.

  “Billy must be here somewhere,” said Rachel.

  “And my magic key chain, too,” Rosie added, sticking her head out of Rachel’s backpack.

  “But where?” asked Kirsty.

  Just then, one of the goblins started to push the raft into the water, turning his back to the girls. Now they could see the enormous green backpack that the park ranger had mentioned. As he had said, it was packed full.

  “What could the goblins need that would fill such a big bag?” Rachel wondered aloud.

  Suddenly, the backpack seemed to wriggle.

  “It moved!” cried Rosie. “Girls, the backpack moved!”

  “I saw it, too,” said Kirsty.

  As they watched, a furry little snout poked out of the top of the backpack. It was followed by a pair of shining brown eyes and two fuzzy ears.

  “It’s Billy!” exclaimed Rosie.

  “Look, he has your magic key chain,” Rachel added with a smile.

  Billy had pushed one paw out of the bag, and he was holding on tight to a fluffy key chain in the shape of a bear.