Ruth the Red Riding Hood Fairy Read online

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Poem

  Fairy Tale in the Firelight

  Scrambled Story

  Tracking the Goblins

  A Twisted Hammock

  Frightened Frost

  Back in the Library

  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!

  “There’s something so magical about a campfire,” said Kirsty Tate, warming her hands as the flames flickered.

  “I love staring into the flames,” said her best friend, Rachel Walker. “If you look at them for long enough, you can start to see pictures in there.”

  The girls leaned against each other, feeling happy, sleepy, and relaxed. They had spent a wonderful weekend at the Wetherbury Storytelling Festival, but now it was Sunday evening and the fun was nearly at an end. Together with the other children from the festival, they were sitting on logs in a circle around a campfire. Alana Yarn, one of their favorite authors, had helped organize the weekend, and she was sitting on a log, too. The girls had had a wonderful time getting to know her.

  “So,” said Alana, looking around the circle at them all. “Have you enjoyed the Storytelling Festival? What was the best part?”

  Everyone nodded and started to call out their favorite moments.

  “The only bad thing about the whole weekend is that it has to end,” said Rachel.

  Alana smiled.

  “We still have one more storytelling session before you have to go home,” she said.

  There was a large wicker basket in front of her, and she began to rummage through it.

  Rachel turned and smiled at Kirsty.

  “Thank you for inviting me to stay this weekend,” she said. “It was a great idea to come to the Storytelling Festival—I’ve had an amazing time.”

  “You’re welcome,” said Kirsty. “I’m really glad you came. I like everything ten times more when you’re here. It’s been an extra-special weekend.”

  Rachel nodded. “Especially because we’ve had such a wonderful time with the Storybook Fairies,” she whispered.

  Rachel and Kirsty had shared lots of secret adventures with fairies, and meeting the Storybook Fairies had been enchanting. Elle the Thumbelina Fairy had whisked them away to the Fairyland Library, where they met Mariana the Goldilocks Fairy, Rosalie the Rapunzel Fairy, and Ruth the Red Riding Hood Fairy. The fairies were all very upset because Jack Frost and his goblins had stolen their magical objects, but Kirsty and Rachel had already helped get three of the objects back.

  “I just hope that we can get Ruth’s magical basket back soon,” said Kirsty. “Until then, Jack Frost still has control of her story.”

  The fairies’ objects gave the holder power over each story. Elle, Mariana, Rosalie, and Ruth always used their objects to make sure their fairy tales unfolded correctly. But Jack Frost and the goblins wanted the stories to be all about them. They had been using the magical objects to go into the stories and change them.

  “We’ve gotten three of the objects back so far,” said Rachel, thinking about their adventures during the festival. “There was Elle’s thumb ring, Mariana’s spoon, and Rosalie’s hairbrush. If only we had already found Ruth’s missing basket! Without it, I’m worried that Alana’s final storytelling event will be ruined.”

  Just then, Alana Yarn cried, “Aha!” and pulled a red hooded cloak from her basket. She threw it around her shoulders with a flourish, and put up the hood. Her eyes twinkled in the firelight as she gazed around at the children. For a moment, no one spoke. They could hear the crackle of the burning twigs on the campfire. As the sun set behind the hills, the moon and stars began to shine.

  “To close the festival, we are going to do something very special,” Alana said. “Everyone is going to tell a story together. We will pass this cloak around the circle, and whoever has it will tell part of the story. Does anyone have any questions?”

  “What else is in the basket?” called out a girl with blond, curly hair.

  Alana smiled. “There is a surprise inside my basket, but that’s for later. Right now, we have a story to tell!”

  The other kids laughed and whispered with one another. They were eager to see what the surprise would be.

  Kirsty and Rachel looked at each other, knowing that they were thinking the same thing: Please don’t let Jack Frost and his goblins ruin the story!

  “Let’s begin,” said Alana in an excited voice, taking out a red book and turning to the first page. “This beautiful cloak I’m wearing is a clue to which story we’re going to tell. I will start you off, and let’s see where the story takes us! Once upon a time … ”

  She passed the cloak and the book to the girl next to her, who put on the cloak and read the next line from the book, “… there was a little girl who was called Red Riding Hood.”

  The boy next to her took the cloak and book and continued. “One day, Red Riding Hood’s mother asked her to take some treats to her grandmother.”

  As the red cloak and the book were passed around the campfire circle, the story of Red Riding Hood unfolded and Rachel and Kirsty began to relax. Everything was happening exactly as it should. Maybe Ruth had already managed to find her magical basket! They listened as Red Riding Hood set off through the wood to her grandmother’s house with a big basket of goodies. Then the red cloak was passed to Rachel.

  Feeling excited, Rachel slipped the heavy red cloak around her shoulders. It felt warm and she closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about all the things that she had learned about storytelling that weekend. Then she opened her eyes and started to read the next part of the story aloud.

  “Red Riding Hood was halfway through the wood when she saw three figures on the path ahead. They were goblins!”

  Rachel clapped her hand over her mouth, and Kirsty gasped in horror.

  “Rachel, she meets a wolf in the wood, not goblins!” Kirsty whispered.

  “I know!” Rachel groaned. “But the book says ‘goblins’! And somehow I couldn’t stop myself from reading it aloud!”

  She quickly passed the cloak to Kirsty, who pulled it on and took the book, hoping that she could read the story without saying the word “goblin.”

  “Red Riding Hood knew that she shouldn’t talk to strangers,” Kirsty began, “but the goblins said—oh!”

  Now it was Kirsty’s turn to clap her hand over her mouth. She also hadn’t been able to stop herself from saying “goblins” instead of “wolf”!

  The girls looked around at the other children, but no one seemed to have noticed that anything strange had happened. Kirsty didn’t dare to read more. She took off the cloak and passed it and the book to the children on the next log.

  As a little boy put the cloak around his shoulders, Rachel nudged Kirsty.

  “Look at Alana’s basket!” she whispered.

  The basket was glowing as if there was a fire inside it. The girls watched and saw a tiny fairy flutter out of it and shoot into the air.

  “It’s Ruth the Red Riding Hood Fairy!” Kirsty exclaimed.

  Ruth was wearing a white dress with red stars around the hem, and a silky red cloak was swirling around

  her shoulders. She had beautiful glasses with delicate black frames, ma
gnifying her sparkling eyes. Her brown hair gleamed in the firelight as she zoomed down to the girls and hid behind the log where they were sitting.

  “Hello, Ruth,” Rachel whispered out of the corner of her mouth. “It’s good that you’re here—something very strange is happening to the Red Riding Hood story.”

  “I know,” Ruth whispered back. “I need your help—and quickly! Will you come into the story with me now?”

  The girls looked around at the other children. Everyone was watching a boy who was reading the next part of the story aloud.

  “The goblins snatched Red Riding Hood’s basket and blew a big raspberry at her,” the boy was saying.

  “Oh dear,” said Kirsty in a low voice. “We really need to find those goblins. Luckily, no one’s looking our way. Come on—let’s go!”

  Moving slowly so they wouldn’t attract attention, Rachel and Kirsty slipped off the log and ducked out of sight. Ruth gave them a relieved smile.

  “I already feel better just knowing you’re going to help me,” she said. “Elle, Mariana, and Rosalie all said that they couldn’t have gotten their magical objects back without you.”

  “We’re just happy to be able to help,” said Rachel. “We don’t want the last event of the Storytelling Festival to be spoiled. We want to save stories for everyone!”

  Ruth took out a little red book. The words Red Riding Hood were written in silver letters on the front, and they sparkled in the light from the campfire. Ruth held up her wand and spoke.

  “The storybook world is in danger today.

  “We must find the goblins and send them away.

  “Take me and my friends to the path through the wood,

  “And help us to rescue dear Red Riding Hood.”

  The campfire, the other children, and the twinkling stars disappeared as if someone had blown them away. Instead, Rachel and Kirsty found themselves standing on a narrow, winding path, surrounded by crowded fir trees on both sides. They were inside the storybook world once more.

  Ruth fluttered between Rachel and Kirsty as they gazed around. In the storybook world, the girls were still human-size. Bright sunlight filtered through the leaves, and bluebells and poppies grew in colorful patches among the trees.

  “How beautiful,” said Kirsty.

  “Listen!” Rachel exclaimed, putting a hand on her friend’s arm. “I can hear someone coming.”

  The girls darted out of sight behind a tree, and Ruth perched on Kirsty’s shoulder. Seconds later, a little girl came skipping around a bend in the path.

  She was swinging a wicker basket as she skipped, and her red cloak swirled around her shoulders. She was singing a song to herself.

  “Red Riding Hood!” Rachel whispered in a thrilled voice.

  “She’s such a happy girl,” said Ruth with a smile.

  Suddenly there was a cacophony of screeches, squeals, and whoops, and three goblins leaped out of the wood and danced around Red Riding Hood. She gasped and turned from left to right, trying to get away from them. But one of the goblins grabbed at her cloak.

  “No, that’s mine!” she cried.

  But the goblin just laughed at her and pulled the cloak from her shoulders. Her basket was knocked to the ground, and muffins, cookies, and fruit scattered all around. The goblins ran off into the wood, shrieking in delight.

  “Hey, stop!” cried Red Riding Hood. “Bring back my cloak! Thieves!”

  She started to chase them, but she tripped over a tree root and fell onto the leafy ground.

  Rachel and Kirsty darted out from behind the tree and helped Red Riding Hood to her feet. Her knees were dirty and her dress was torn.

  “Are you all right?” Kirsty asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” said Red Riding Hood. “They just surprised me. My mother warned me that there were wolves in the wood. But she didn’t say anything about strange green creatures like that.”

  “They’re so mean,” said Rachel. “Don’t worry—we’ll help you pick up your things.”

  Kirsty and Red Riding Hood gathered armfuls of the fruit and baked goods, and Ruth picked up the cloth that had covered all the food. Rachel picked up the basket, which had rolled to one side of the path, and looked at it carefully. Her heart gave a sudden hopeful thump of excitement.

  “Ruth, could this be your magical basket?” she asked.

  Ruth shook her head.

  “Mine glitters with magic,” she said. “Besides, we know that Jack Frost and his goblins have it.”

  The girls packed the food back into the basket, and then Ruth tucked the cloth over everything.

  “Thank you,” said Red Riding Hood. “You’re very kind. But I’m so sad to have lost my cloak. My grandmother made it for me, and I always wear it.”

  “The goblins have stolen something belonging to Ruth, too,” said Kirsty. “We have to get it back! If we can catch them, we will get your cloak back, too.”

  “Thank you!” said Red Riding Hood. “But I must hurry—my grandmother will be waiting for me.”

  Red Riding Hood waved and went on her way. As she disappeared along the winding path, Rachel heard a distant, high-pitched giggle.

  “Goblins!” she exclaimed. “I’d know that sound anywhere. If we’re quick, we can still catch up with them.”

  “They might lead us to your magical basket, Ruth,” Kirsty added.

  “Good thinking,” said Ruth. “And wings are quicker than feet!”

  She waved her wand, and a shower of silvery sparkles erupted from the tip. Covered in fairy dust, Rachel and Kirsty twirled around as they shrank to fairy size. Their delicate wings unfurled and fluttered, shaking the last sparkles of fairy dust onto the path through the wood.

  They rose into the air and listened. Somewhere ahead of them, among the trees, the goblins were still giggling.

  “Come on, we don’t want to lose them!” cried Ruth.

  They flew over the treetops, guided by the giggles. Soon they spotted the three goblins below. One of them was wearing the red cloak and pretending to be Red Riding Hood, skipping along and singing in a silly, squeaky voice. The others were shrieking with laughter and jumping around, making faces.

  “Those troublemakers!” Kirsty exclaimed. “I wonder where they’re going.”

  “Let’s get closer,” said Rachel.

  They weaved among the trees, staying behind the goblins and listening as they giggled and teased one another. Then they reached a clearing, where a tall oak tree was growing among the firs. A blue hammock swung from the branches, and the goblins stopped and stared at it. The fairies stopped, too, their wings fluttering fast as they hovered.

  “Why have they gone so quiet?” Ruth asked in a whisper.

  The hammock moved, and the goblins took a step back. Then a pair of familiar, angry eyes appeared over the hammock’s edge.

  “It’s about time!” snarled Jack Frost, sitting up.

  “Oh my goodness!” Kirsty cried. “Look what he has on his lap.”

  It was Ruth’s glittering magical basket!

  “We have to get it back,” Rachel said in a determined voice. “Come on!”

  The three fairies swooped down toward the basket, hoping that they could reach it before they were seen. But the goblin in the cloak glanced up and spotted them.

  “Ooh!” he squeaked, jumping up and down and pointing. “Ooh! Ooooh!”

  Jack Frost looked up and rolled his eyes.

  “Stop saying ‘Ooh!’, you fool!” he snapped. “They’re fairies, not fireworks!”

  He clutched the basket to his chest and pointed a long, bony finger at the fairies.

  “You get out of here!” he shouted. “Swat them away, goblins! Get them!”

  Kirsty dived under the hammock and the goblin in the cloak lunged after her.

  Kirsty darted out of his way, and he hurled himself against the hammock by mistake.

  “EEEK!” yelled Jack Frost as the hammock spun over and over, wrapping him up inside it.

  “WAHHHH!”
wailed the goblin as Red Riding Hood’s cloak was tangled into the hammock.

  Seconds later, when the hammock stopped spinning, Jack Frost and the goblin were knotted together, their legs and arms sticking out at strange angles.

  “We should grab the basket while he can’t use his hands to stop us!” said Ruth.

  “The basket is buried somewhere inside that hammock,” said Kirsty. “We’ll have to wait.”

  She led Rachel and Ruth up to a tree branch above.

  “How are we ever going to get my magical basket back?” Ruth asked with a groan.

  Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t answer, because Jack Frost was shrieking too loudly, his voice getting higher and higher with each word.

  “How dare you tie me up? Who did this? When I get out of here, you are going to be in so much trouble!”

  The goblin in the red cloak was also yelling, but his voice was too muffled to be understood. The other two goblins hid behind the oak’s trunk, their knees knocking together.

  “Those poor goblins,” said Rachel. “It’s not their fault that he got all tangled up. I know they’re troublemakers, but they don’t deserve to be shouted at like that. Jack Frost needs a good scare himself.”

  “That gives me an idea,” said Kirsty. “I know who would scare Jack Frost—the wolf!”

  “You’re right,” said Ruth, looking thoughtful. “And the best person to help lure the wolf to where we want him is Red Riding Hood.”

  “Yes!” said Rachel, clapping her hands together. “If we can get the wolf to come to the oak tree and scare Jack Frost, we might be able to grab the magical basket.”

  “Come on, there’s no time to lose!” Kirsty exclaimed. “We have to catch up with Red Riding Hood!”

  The three fairies zoomed into the sky as fast as arrows, and flew over the treetops until they saw the winding path below them once again. Red Riding Hood was hurrying along, but she wasn’t skipping now. Rachel, Kirsty, and Ruth swooped down and hovered in front of her.