Caitlin the Ice Bear Fairy Read online

  Rachel guessed what her friend was up to. “I’d say that was green, too,” she agreed.

  Jack Frost snorted. “Are you both color-blind? It is red! And I want a green pop. Goblin green, like all of you!”

  Kirsty winced a little when he said “goblin green.” If Jack Frost looked closely at them, he would see that they were looking less green by the second. Caitlin’s magic was wearing off quickly now — too quickly for her liking! Thankfully he seemed more concerned with his ice pop than anything else at the moment, but she knew that could all change. . . .

  “Is this green?” Rachel asked innocently, holding up a yellow pop.

  Jack Frost groaned. “No, that’s yellow,” he replied. “Don’t they teach you anything at goblin school? Get me a green pop — and get it now, before I really lose my temper!”

  The argument went on like this for a few minutes, until Jack Frost finally snatched the box of ice pops out of Kirsty’s hand. “I’ve had enough — I’ll get one myself,” he said, rummaging through them.

  While his head was down, Caitlin made a dash toward Crystal. She pulled her magic wand out of her pocket and pointed it at Crystal’s icy leash. It melted with fairy magic in an instant! Jack Frost was still so busy sorting through the pops, he didn’t see a thing.

  Caitlin smiled joyfully at the little ice bear. “Hello, Crystal!” she said . . . but the bear cub backed away from her suspiciously.

  “She thinks you’re a goblin!” Kirsty whispered to Caitlin. “You’re going to have to turn us back into fairies!”

  She’d tried to say the words quietly, but Jack Frost had excellent hearing. He snapped his head up at once, his eyes cold. “What did you just say?” he snarled, tossing the box of ice pops back at Kirsty. Then a furious expression spread over his face as he saw that Crystal had been set free — and that Caitlin had a fairy wand in her hand!

  Kirsty and Rachel both felt frozen with fear. Thankfully, Caitlin moved like lightning, pointing her wand at the girls and then herself. Instantly, the three of them were all fairies again, able to fly up into the air and away from Jack Frost. He looked as if he might explode with rage!

  “Come back here, you horrible fairies!” he yelled, reaching for his own wand.

  Crystal, meanwhile, let out a happy-sounding rumble at the sight of her fairy friend and started to gallop toward her. She stopped short at the sound of Jack Frost’s loud shout.

  “I haven’t finished with you yet,” Jack Frost bellowed. He swished his wand through the air. Icy lightning bolts shot from its tip, crackling with magic as they hurtled toward Kirsty and Rachel.

  “Look out!” screamed Rachel. “Duck!”

  The lightning bolts were fast and dangerous, and Kirsty and Rachel had to dive and dodge to avoid being hit. The ice bolts crashed against the walls and smashed through the windows, shattering the glass.

  Kirsty was terrified as she swerved back and forth. She knew that if she was hit by one of the lightning bolts, she wouldn’t stand a chance!

  But then Crystal let out a roar, showing all her sharp white teeth . . . and suddenly Jack Frost didn’t look so confident anymore. In fact, when Crystal roared again and then growled, Jack Frost backed up against the wall and dropped his wand from his shaking fingers.

  “He’s terrified!” Rachel said to Kirsty. She’d never seen their old enemy look so frightened before. His lower lip was actually trembling, as if he were about to cry!

  Caitlin winked at them. “Clever Crystal has used her magic — in reverse,” she explained in a low voice. “Now Jack Frost has no courage at all. The magic won’t last long, though, so we should get away while we can. Let’s go!”

  Crystal ran to her fairy friend, changing back to fairy-size as she went. Caitlin waved her magic wand, showering them all in a cascade of fairy dust. The glittery dust whipped up a whirlwind around them and whisked them away.

  When they landed, they were outside the Fairyland Palace. As their feet touched the ground, Rachel and Kirsty saw that a crowd was there to greet them! There was Ashley the Dragon Fairy, Lara the Black Cat Fairy, Erin the Phoenix Fairy, Rihanna the Seahorse Fairy, Sophia the Snow Swan Fairy, and Leona the Unicorn Fairy — and they all had their magical animals with them. The king and queen of Fairyland were there, too. All the fairies cheered as they saw that Crystal had been safely reunited with Caitlin.

  “You did it!” cried Ashley, and her baby dragon, Sizzle, sent a burst of flames into the air in excitement.

  “Nice work!” Lara smiled, her small black cat winding around her ankles and purring as loud as an engine.

  “My dears,” King Oberon said, smiling and stepping forward. “Once again, you have helped us enormously. We are so grateful for all you’ve done, reuniting all our Magical Animal Fairies with their animals.”

  “And we’re so proud of your bravery and quick thinking, too,” Queen Titania added warmly. “Fairyland and the human world will both be better places now that our fairies can train the magical animals!”

  “We’d like to throw a special party in your honor,” the king said. “It’s our way of saying thank you.”

  Rachel beamed at these words. “That sounds wonderful,” she said. “But we should be thanking you!”

  “Especially since we’ve seen how miserable life would be without the magical animals’ gifts,” Kirsty said. “It was horrible when I lost my imagination — I’m so glad the fairies are there to train the animals and spread their wonderful powers everywhere.”

  The Magical Animal Fairies all looked delighted by Kirsty’s words. Then Kirsty and Rachel’s old friends, the Party Fairies, flew in to help the king and queen work some amazing party magic! Within moments, the palace courtyard had been decorated with huge bunches of colorful balloons, twinkling Christmas lights, and glittering streamers. A Fairyland band played on a stage, with Belle the snow swan singing a lively melody.

  Lucky the black cat was up on her hind legs, dancing with Twisty the unicorn. Giggles the phoenix swooped around telling jokes and making everyone laugh, while Sizzle sent bursts of fire into the air, creating wonderful fireworks. And, somehow, Bubbles the seahorse had arranged a spectacular water display in the fountain!

  “This is amazing,” Rachel said, gazing around in wonder. “It’s the best party ever!”

  Kirsty agreed. The walls echoed with the sound of laughter and singing, and everyone was smiling and happy. But once she and Rachel had danced with Lucky and Twisty, and eaten some of the delicious fairy party food, they knew they should get back to their own world.

  “Thanks again for everything,” Caitlin said, flying over and hugging them both. “You were amazing today — truly courageous, even without Crystal’s magic!”

  “Thank you,” Kirsty said, stroking the cub’s soft white fur. “I’m so happy we could help you rescue Crystal!”

  “I’ve loved our adventures with you and the other Magical Animal Fairies,” Rachel added, waving at their new friends with a lump in her throat. “Bye!”

  After the girls had said all their good-byes, Queen Titania threw a handful of glittering fairy dust over them. A shimmering whirlwind picked them up and took them back to the human world.

  Kirsty and Rachel found themselves on High Hill again . . . and noticed almost immediately how much warmer it was there now. “That’s because Jack Frost has gone,” Kirsty said happily, looking around. “Isn’t the view amazing from up here?”

  Rachel agreed. There below them lay the camp, surrounded by lush trees and meadows. They could see the blue lake, the winding river, and the rushing waterfall, all sparkling in the sunshine.

  “The world looks perfect,” she said, feeling very content.

  Kirsty smiled. “The world is perfect, now that we’ve helped the Magical Animal Fairies find their animals!” she said.

  Rachel slipped an arm through
Kirsty’s. “We’d better go and find Michael and the rest of the group,” she said. “I guess we’ll be going back for the camp party soon. Two parties in one day! We’re so lucky.”

  “We are,” Kirsty agreed. “We’re the luckiest girls in the world.” She smiled at Rachel, and then the two friends set off happily together. Another fairy adventure had come to an end!

  Another magical adventure is just around the corner! Rachel and Kirsty are about to meet the Princess Fairies, starting with

  Hope

  the Happiness Fairy!

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

  “We’re here, Kirsty!” Rachel bounced up and down in her seat with excitement as she pointed out the bus window. “Look, that sign says GOLDEN PALACE.”

  Kirsty beamed at her friend. “I can’t believe we get to spend a whole week in a real palace.” She sighed happily. “I’m beginning to feel like a princess already!”

  There were cheers and whoops as the other kids on the bus also spotted the sign. Golden Palace was in the country just outside of Wetherbury, where Kirsty lived. The house was open to the public, but Kirsty had never visited it before. During spring break the house was holding a special Kids’ Week, and Kirsty had invited Rachel to come to Golden Palace with her.

  “I can’t wait to see our bedroom,” Rachel said eagerly as the bus drove through the tall wrought-iron gates. “Imagine staying in a room that was once used by princes and princesses!”

  “I wonder what activities we’re going to be doing this week,” Kirsty added. “I hope we get to try lots of princessy things!”

  The bus drove over a drawbridge and then began to wind slowly through the enormous grounds. Like all the other kids on the bus, Rachel and Kirsty stared excitedly out of the window, straining to catch their first glimpse of Golden Palace. But there were lots of amazing things on the way to the house that caught their attention, too.

  “Look, a petting zoo!” Kirsty exclaimed as they drove past a field of tiny Shetland ponies and little white goats. The girls could also see another field with horses and donkeys grazing, and pens of baby piglets, rabbits, and guinea pigs. “Aren’t the Shetland ponies cute?”

  “There’s a lake over there,” Rachel pointed out. The lake was surrounded by beautiful willow trees, and ducks and swans were gliding across the water. “And look at that greenhouse, Kirsty. I can see lots of orange and lemon trees growing inside it.”

  The bus passed a croquet field with hoops stuck into the grass, and then a very big, complicated maze made of tall green hedges.

  “That maze has lots of twists and turns,” Rachel whispered to Kirsty. “We might get lost in it and need some fairy magic to find our way out!”

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  e-ISBN 978-0-545-54922-6

  Copyright © 2009 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, March 2012

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