Lydia the Reading Fairy Page 2
“You two are going to learn that when I’m talking, you should be listening,” said Jack Frost, drumming his long fingers on his desk. “You should have been paying attention in class. So I want you to write a whole page each about why Fantastic Jack Frost: The Story of My Life is the best book ever.”
“Oh, thank you, sir!” exclaimed Kirsty, much to Rachel’s surprise. “That’s a wonderful assignment. I could talk for days about your book. It is so exciting! You must be very smart to have written something like that.”
A smile flickered around Jack Frost’s grumpy mouth, and Rachel suddenly understood Kirsty’s idea. If they could distract Jack Frost, Lydia might be able to unpin the badge from his robe.
“You must have had a really interesting life,” said Rachel. “I can’t wait to finish reading your amazing book.”
“I’m just naturally gifted,” said Jack Frost, stroking his spiky beard.
“Will you sign some copies of your book for us?” asked Kirsty, clasping her hands together.
“Well, if you insist,” said Jack Frost.
He sounded almost kind. There was a big pile of his books on the table, and he opened one and began to sign his name with a leaking fountain pen. Lydia swooped down, ducked under his arm, and started to unfasten the pin. But just as he finished signing the second book, the fountain pen squirted a blob of ink onto Jack Frost’s robe. He glanced down—and saw Lydia trying to take the badge!
“THERE’S A FAIRY IN MY OFFICE?!” bellowed Jack Frost. “How dare you come in here! I’ll put you in detention! I’ll give you a year’s worth of homework! I’ll make you take exams every day! COME HERE!”
He tried to trap Lydia between his hands, but she zoomed away from him and out through the open window. Jack Frost hurled himself after her, his long robe flapping behind him as he ran.
“They’re heading for the playground,” cried Rachel. “Come on—we have to stop him from catching Lydia!”
She and Kirsty clambered out the window, too, and followed Jack Frost toward the icy playground. He was still yelling at Lydia, but he was so out of shape that he was panting, too. Rachel and Kirsty reached the playground and only just avoided skidding into some goblins playing hopscotch.
“Watch it!” the goblins yelled rudely.
The girls really wanted to say sorry, but they knew that a real goblin would never be that polite! They stuck out their tongues, and so did the other goblins.
“YOWCH!” squealed a tall, lanky goblin.
A plump, warty goblin had landed on his foot. But as he hopped around, clutching his toes, he tripped over a goblin with a jump rope. They both fell flat on their faces, tangled in the rope.
“What are you doing?” they screeched at each other.
Rachel grabbed Kirsty’s arm.
“Those clumsy goblins have given me an idea,” she said. “Maybe our big goblin feet can trip up Jack Frost.”
“Let’s try it!” Kirsty said eagerly.
They raced after Jack Frost, who was sprinting around the playground, snatching at the fairy fluttering in front of him. Lydia zigzagged left and right. It was hard to keep up with them, but at last the girls were close enough to touch Jack Frost’s trailing robe.
“Ready … set … JUMP!” shouted Rachel.
They sprang through the air and landed on the hem of the long, blue robe with their big feet. The robe was yanked off Jack Frost, and he staggered sideways, lost his footing, and tumbled into a snowy sandbox.
Lydia did a loop in mid-air and swooped down to the robe. She unpinned the gold star badge before Jack Frost could clamber to his feet, and then zoomed out of his reach.
“Give it back!” screamed Jack Frost, stamping his feet and waving his fists in the air. “You slimy little fairy! Give me my badge!”
“It’s my badge,” said Lydia in her gentle voice. “And now that I have it back, thanks to my friends, children all over the world will be able to enjoy reading again.”
As she spoke, Rachel and Kirsty’s disguises melted away, and they fluttered upward to join Lydia. Jack Frost turned a very strange purple color as he realized he had been tricked. He snatched up his robe, stomped over to the outside bell, and rang it angrily.
“Everyone inside—NOW!” he yelled. “If I can’t have any fun, then neither can you!”
The goblins grumbled and hung back. None of them wanted to listen to Jack Frost reading more from his book. But their teacher was looking especially fierce, so one by one they all shuffled back into the school. Lydia, Kirsty, and Rachel hovered in the air and watched them.
“Are we going to take the badge back to the fairy school now?” Kirsty asked, after the last goblin had gone inside.
“Well … ” said Lydia. “Maybe it’s silly, but I actually feel a little sorry for Jack Frost. After all, he went to all the trouble of writing a book, and now no one wants to read it.”
The girls understood how the kind little fairy was feeling.
“Maybe there’s something we can do to help,” said Rachel. “Should we go back to the library and find out?”
The others nodded, and together they flew back into the goblin school. A terrible noise came from the library. Goblins were squawking, shrieking, and thundering around like a herd of elephants. Jack Frost was sitting at a desk with his head in his hands. Lydia looked around and folded her arms.
“The trouble with these students is that they are bored,” she said. “What’s the use of a library where every book is the same? I have an idea!” Lydia grinned at Kirsty and Rachel, her eyes twinkling.
Lydia flew up to the center of the ceiling and waved her wand in a wide circle. As a shower of fairy dust rained down onto the library shelves, she recited a spell.
“Transform this room into a place
Of wonderful books and reading space.
Books you read ’til the lights go out.
Books you tell your friends about.
Princesses young and witches old,
Adventures wild and heroes bold.
Books that make you laugh out loud,
Real life tales to make you proud.
Stories that can break your heart.
Stories that are works of art.
Poems, plays, and novels, too.
Fill these dreary shelves anew!”
As she spoke, the endless copies of Fantastic Jack Frost: The Story of My Life began to change. One by one, a colorful selection of books appeared, in all shapes and sizes. As the goblins started to notice and talk about it, Jack Frost looked up. He groaned when he saw all the copies of his book disappearing.
Rachel and Kirsty flew over to land on the desk in front of Jack Frost. He scowled at them.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
“We’d like to have the copies of your book that you signed for us earlier,” said Rachel, trying to sound brave.
Jack Frost’s mouth fell open. He stared at them for a moment. Then he stood up and hurried to get the books. While he was gone, the goblins grew quieter and quieter. One by one, they were discovering exciting books and settling down to read them. By the time Jack Frost returned, the goblins were completely quiet.
“There,” said Jack Frost, shoving the copies of his book at Rachel and Kirsty.
But he didn’t sound quite as angry as usual!
Just then, a very small goblin tapped him on the shoulder.
“I thought you might like this book, sir,” said the goblin in a shaky voice.
He held out a copy of The Snow Queen. Jack Frost grabbed it and read the back cover.
“Aha!” he exclaimed. “She sounds like my kind of royal!”
He sat down and started reading. With a smile, Lydia landed on the desk beside Rachel and Kirsty.
“You’ve been wonderful,” she said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. But now it’s time for us all to go home.”
The girls kissed her good-bye. Then, in a flurry of magical sparkles, they were lifted into the air. Brushing fairy dust
from their eyes, they blinked … and found themselves sitting in their classroom at Tippington School.
Everyone was busy writing about the books they had chosen. Kirsty and Rachel looked down and smiled. There was a copy of Fantastic Jack Frost: The Story of My Life in front of each of them.
“I think it’s time to write a book report!” Rachel whispered.
In a short while, Mr. Beaker cleared his throat.
“All right, everyone,” he said. “I’d like to hear what you thought about your books. Let’s start with Rachel Walker.”
Rachel and Kirsty stood up together.
“We chose the same book,” Rachel explained. “It’s all about someone named Fantastic Jack Frost. I liked this book because the main character tries to be scary, but sometimes he’s very funny without even knowing it.”
“I like the way all the characters come to life in the book,” Kirsty added. “You could almost believe that Fairyland and the king and queen really do exist.”
Rachel shared a secret smile with her best friend.
“Well, it sounds like a really interesting book,” said Mr. Beaker. “I’ve never heard of it before, but you’ve made me want to read it. I think that the school superintendent will be very impressed with your reports when she visits.”
Kirsty and Rachel sat down again as Adam started to read his book report.
“In all the excitement I forgot about the superintendent coming,” Rachel whispered. “I hope we can find the last magical gold star badge before she arrives, or the whole visit will go wrong.”
Kirsty nodded and gave a little smile.
“Don’t you know?” she said. “All stories about fairies end happily ever after!”
“I can’t believe that tomorrow is our last day at school together,” said Kirsty Tate. “It’s been a wonderful week—I wish it didn’t have to end.”
Rachel Walker squeezed her hand as they sat next to each other in the auditorium. The best friends had loved every moment of the past week. Kirsty’s school had been flooded, so she had joined Rachel in Tippington.
“It’s good that your school will be open again next week, but I am going to miss you so much!” said Rachel.
They were sitting with the rest of Mr. Beaker’s class for afternoon assembly. Miss Patel, the principal, clapped her hands together and everyone fell silent.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” she said. “I hope that you have all had a good morning and are looking forward to class this afternoon.”
“Yes, Miss Patel!” all the students said together.
“Some of you have already met our school superintendent, Mrs. Best,” Miss Patel went on. “She is observing the school today and tomorrow.”
A lady with a clipboard joined Miss Patel at the front of the auditorium, and everyone clapped politely.
“I hope that you will all continue to show Mrs. Best what a wonderful school this is,” said Miss Patel.
Just then, Rachel and Kirsty heard the sound of chattering nearby. They peered along their row and saw two boys in green uniforms, snickering and muttering to each other. The girls exchanged a knowing glance. They knew that the boys were goblins in disguise.
Copyright © 2014 by Rainbow Magic Limited.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc. RAINBOW MAGIC is a trademark of Rainbow Magic Limited. Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and other countries. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-0-545-85207-4
First edition, July 2016
Cover design by Angela Jun
e-ISBN 978-0-545-86384-1
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Daisy Meadows, Lydia the Reading Fairy
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