Anya the Cuddly Creatures Fairy Page 2

  “It’s no use,” said Princess Anya, fluttering sadly to the ground. “We'll never find the tiara.”

  Rachel and Kirsty fluttered down, too, and put their arms around the princess’s shoulders.

  “Don’t give up,” said Rachel. “We’ve already found two of the missing tiaras, and we'll find yours, too, I promise.”

  “With all three of us searching, we can’t fail,” added Kirsty. “Jack Frost is not going to get away with this!”

  Princess Anya looked more cheerful. “I’m so glad you’re here to help me!” she said.

  The three fairies flew over the fence and found themselves in front of the llama pasture. Kirsty gave a cry of surprise as she spotted the five goblins sneaking in through the gate!

  “Maybe they remembered where they lost the tiara,” said Rachel. “Come on, let’s follow them!”

  The three girls zipped along after the goblins, staying close to the ground so that the goblins wouldn’t spot them. The llamas were all in one corner, feeding from a large trough.

  “Out of my way, Hairy,” snapped the tallest goblin, shoving a cream-colored llama aside.

  “Move over, Big Neck,” shouted a second goblin, who was wearing his riding hat backward.

  He elbowed his way past a chocolate-colored llama. The other goblins scrambled forward, too, plunging their greedy green fingers into the trough and scraping out handfuls of llama grain. They seemed to be searching to see if anything was at the bottom of the trough.

  “Those poor llamas!” said Kirsty under her breath.

  “Don’t worry,” said Princess Anya with a little smile. “Llamas won’t stand for being pushed around.”

  The llamas were already snorting with annoyance. Their food was being trampled into the ground by big goblin feet! The chocolate-colored llama butted one of the goblins and sent him headfirst into a hedge.

  “Help!” the goblin squawked in a muffled voice. “I’m stuck!”

  No one went to help him, and the chocolate-colored llama bent his head into the trough. When he lifted it again, something shiny and golden was stuck on the woolly fur between his ears.

  “My tiara!” Princess Anya gasped.

  Unfortunately, the goblins had noticed the tiara, too.

  “GIVE ME THAT!” yelled the tallest of the goblins.

  He snatched at it, but the llama gave a loud snort and bolted away from the trough. Startled, the other llamas followed him and thundered across the pasture at top speed.

  “Catch them!” shouted the goblin. “Stop those horrible hairy beasts!”

  The goblins started to chase the llamas, stumbling over weeds and roots. But their yelps and shouts only made the llamas run faster.

  “They’re too fast for the goblins,” said Rachel.

  “Yes, and they’re too fast for us, too,” said Princess Anya. “How can we make them come back?”

  The girls thought hard.

  “Maybe we could lure them back with some food?” Kirsty suggested after a moment.

  They darted over to the trough, but it was empty.

  "Do you remember the sacks that Duchess kicked over, Kirsty?” said Rachel. “Wasn’t one of them full of llama grain?”

  “Yes!” Kirsty exclaimed. “Good memory, Rachel. Come on!”

  They flew out of the pasture, through the petting zoo, and into the cobblestone courtyard of the stables. The sack of llama grain was still there — but it was a hundred times bigger than the fairies!

  “It’s much too heavy for us to carry very far,” said Rachel.

  “We’re going to have to change back to our normal size,” Kirsty said.

  “But it will take us too long to carry it all the way to the pasture,” Rachel insisted. “The goblins might grab the tiara before we get back.”

  “What are we going to do?” asked Princess Anya in a panic.

  At that moment, a loud neigh echoed through the yard. Merlin’s handsome white head was poking out of his stall.

  He neighed again, and a big smile spread over Anya’s face.

  “Of course!” she said. “Merlin wants to help us!”

  She touched her wand to the stall door and it sprang open. Merlin trotted out, his hooves clattering over the cobblestones.

  “Merlin can carry the sack to the pasture in no time!” said Princess Anya. “We just have to lift it onto his back.”

  Rachel and Kirsty each took a top corner of the sack, and Princess Anya grabbed the middle. On the count of three, they all rose into the air, fluttering their delicate wings as hard as they could.

  “Keep going!” Rachel puffed. “Not — much — farther!”

  The bag seemed to get heavier and heavier. But at last, with a final heave, they managed to lift the sack of grain onto Merlin’s broad, strong back. Then they clutched his silvery mane, and he was off!

  Merlin cantered quickly back through the petting zoo to the llama pasture. The surprised faces of goats, pigs, and rabbits were a blur as he raced toward the pasture fence. Then he gave a loud whinny.

  “Hold on tight!” cried Princess Anya.

  The girls wound their tiny hands into the horse’s silky mane, and Merlin soared over the fence. He landed on the soft grass of the pasture.

  The llamas had gathered together in a corner of the pasture, facing off with four of the goblins, who were all flushed and panting. The goblins looked very, very angry, but the llamas looked even angrier. They hadn’t enjoyed being chased by the goblins, and since Anya didn’t have her tiara, they were feeling even grumpier than usual.

  As the girls watched, the goblins slowly started to move forward. The llamas began to paw the ground, lowering their woolly heads.

  “Those goblins had better watch out,” said Rachel. “It looks like the llamas are about to charge!”

  Just as she finished speaking, the llamas ran at the goblins — who screeched in terror as they scattered around the pasture!

  “Quickly, Merlin, go up to the llamas!” said Princess Anya.

  Merlin moved toward the llamas, while Princess Anya, Rachel, and Kirsty pulled open the sack of feed. The llamas didn’t seem to notice them. But then Anya waved her wand over the food, sprinkling it with golden sparkles. A delicious aroma rose from the sack, and the llamas paused and sniffed the air.

  In the distance, the goblins leaped over the fence and vanished from sight.

  “Over to the trough, Merlin!” cried Princess Anya.

  Merlin trotted over to the trough, and the girls poured the grain into it. Within seconds, the llamas had stuck their heads greedily into the trough. The chocolate-colored llama was among them, still wearing the golden tiara.

  Rachel breathed a huge sigh of relief. Their plan had worked! All they needed to do now was to lift the tiara from the llama’s head. But then Kirsty gave a cry of alarm.

  The goblin who had been stuck in the hedge had finally wriggled free, and now he was climbing onto the chocolate-colored llama’s back!

  The llama gave a loud snort and kicked up his back legs, flinging the goblin into the air. The goblin landed on the back of the next llama, who did exactly the same thing . . . and the next . . . and the next!

  “YEE-OUCH!” squawked the goblin, as he was bounced from llama to llama. “OOOH! OWWW! ARGH!”

  Finally he toppled headfirst onto the ground, and lay there panting, sprawled in the mud.

  As the chocolate-colored llama dipped his head down to eat again, Rachel gently took the tiara from his woolly head. She handed it to Princess Anya with a big smile.

  “We did it!” she said.

  Princess Anya reached for the tiara, and it shrank to fairy-size again. She placed it back on top of her golden hair, where it shined as brightly as the sun.

  “Girls, I will never forget what you
did for me today,” she said, smiling at them. “How can I ever thank you?”

  “The best reward is seeing your tiara back where it belongs,” said Kirsty, giving Princess Anya a hug. “We’re just happy that we found it!”

  “Merlin helped, too,” Rachel reminded her friend.

  Princess Anya waved her wand and a large apple appeared in the air beside Merlin. As he crunched on it happily, Princess Anya waved her wand again so the girls returned to human-size.

  “It’s time for me to go back to Fairyland,” Anya said. “I can’t wait to tell the other princesses how wonderful you’ve been!”

  She waved good-bye and then, in a shower of sparkly fairy dust, she was gone. Rachel and Kirsty chatted happily as they led Merlin back to the stables.

  “We did it!” said Rachel. “Three of the missing tiaras are back with the princesses!”

  “That leaves four still to find,” Kirsty added.

  “We'll find them,” said Rachel in a determined voice. “I know we will!”

  As they passed through the petting zoo, they saw Jean scratching her head. The girls hurried up to her.

  “All the animals seem happy and friendly again,” she said in a surprised voice. “It’s like magic, as if this morning was just a bad dream!”

  The girls shared a secret smile. This meant that Anya’s tiara was already restoring the special bond between humans and animals!

  “That’s wonderful news,” said Rachel.

  “Charlie is on the playground,” said Jean. “I said I would send you to get him. I’ll take Merlin back to the barn — thanks for giving him a walk!”

  When Rachel and Kirsty brought Charlie back to the petting zoo, he was overjoyed that the animals were back to normal. The rabbits let him pet their soft fur and feed them little treats. Charlie crouched down and held out a palm full of carrot tops while hens clucked happily around his feet. He petted the guinea pigs, fed the goats, and even went to see Duchess in her stall. He was a little bit scared that she might knock him over again, but as soon as she saw him, she gave him a friendly nuzzle.

  “I think she’s saying sorry,” said Rachel with a smile.

  “You certainly made a lot of animal friends today, Charlie!” said Kirsty.

  At that moment, Jean looked around the stable door.

  “It’s time for today’s camp activity!” she said. “I think you'll enjoy it!”

  Kirsty and Rachel walked out of Duchess’s stall and looked around in delight. Merlin was standing in the middle of the courtyard, harnessed to the beautiful carriage they had seen earlier. All the other boys and girls were there, too.

  “This is a genuine old royal carriage that has been restored,” Jean told them. “And Merlin will be happy to give everyone a ride in it!”

  Rachel and Kirsty stroked Merlin’s mane and then climbed into the carriage. With a proud whinny, the horse set off. Rachel sank back into the soft velvet seat with a giggle.

  “I feel more like a real princess than ever!” she said happily.

  “Me, too!” said Kirsty, gazing out of the carriage window at the peacocks, who all looked calm again. “Oh, Rachel, I can’t wait to find out what our next magical adventure will be!”

  Rachel and Kirsty have helped Hope, Cassidy, and Anya find their tiaras.

  Now it’s time for them to help

  Elisa

  the Royal Adventure Fairy!

  Join their next adventure in this special sneak peek. . . .

  “I wonder what adventures Louis and Caroline have planned for us tonight,” said Kirsty Tate, smiling across the grand banquet table at her best friend, Rachel Walker.

  It was spring vacation, and they were staying at the Golden Palace for the Royal Sleepover Camp, a special week-long event for kids. Louis and Caroline were two of the palace’s camp directors, and they had been looking after the kids all week, making sure the activities were fit for princes and princesses.

  “I’m sure they’ve planned something wonderful,” said Rachel, scraping the last bit of strawberry ice cream from her silver bowl.

  The banquet hall looked very beautiful, decorated with lots of twinkling candles and lights. Kirsty gazed thoughtfully out the large round window at the end of the hall. It was twilight, but she could still see the silhouette of the palace’s crumbling old tower. It looked majestic against the purple sky, and it was the only place that the campers were not allowed to go.

  “I wish they would let us climb all the way up to the top of the tower,” Kirsty said. “I’d love to explore up there!”

  “It sounds kind of scary to me,” said a girl named Victoria, who was sitting next to Kirsty. “I’m not very adventurous.”

  Rachel and Kirsty exchanged a secret smile. They'd already had plenty of adventures that week! They had been helping their friends the Princess Fairies get their magic tiaras back from Jack Frost and his goblins. So far, they had found the tiaras that belonged to Princess Hope the Happiness Fairy, Princess Cassidy the Costume Fairy, and Princess Anya the Cuddly Creatures Fairy. But there were still four more tiaras to find. . . .

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  e-ISBN 978-0-545-51279-4

  Copyright © 2011 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.

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  First Scholastic printing, August 2012

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