Sunny the Yellow Fairy Read online

  The water fizzed and turned bright yellow. Lemony-smelling drops sprayed up into the air.

  Sunny swam two circles, and before long she was sparkling clean. She zoomed up into the air to dry. Misty yellow trails appeared as she whooshed around. “That’s better!” she cried.

  She hovered in the air in front of Kirsty. Her wings flashed like gold in the sun. Then she swooped down onto Rachel’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go to the pot at the end of the rainbow! I can’t wait to see my sisters!”

  Rachel nodded. She wanted to leave the garden before the goblins got there.

  “Good-bye, Queenie!” Sunny called, waving to her friend. “I’ll come back to visit as soon as I can!”

  Queenie peeked out of the hive. She seemed a bit sad that Sunny was leaving. Her feelers drooped as she waved a tiny leg and buzzed good-bye.

  Sunny sat cross-legged on Rachel’s shoulder as they headed for the woods. Suddenly, she cried out and flew up into the air. “Oh, no!” She gasped. “I left my wand next to the birdbath!”

  Rachel looked at Kirsty with concern. “We’ll have to go back,” she said.

  “Yes,” Kirsty agreed. “We can’t leave a fairy wand lying around for the goblins to find.”

  “Oh, dear . . . Oh, dear . . .” Sunny zipped back and forth, wringing her hands as they headed back down the path.

  Rachel paused at the gate and looked into the garden. There was no sign of goblins.

  Kirsty and Rachel ran through the apple trees, toward the birdbath. Sunny fluttered just above them.

  Suddenly, an icy blast made them all shiver. They gazed around in alarm. Icicles now hung from the apple trees, and the whole lawn was white and crunchy with frost. The goblins had arrived! And they’d brought winter to the lovely garden.

  Sunny gave a cry of horror.

  An ugly, hook-nosed goblin jumped up on top of Queenie’s hive. His bulging eyes gleamed. In one hand he was holding Sunny’s wand!

  “Give me back my wand!” Sunny demanded.

  “Come and get it!” yelled the goblin rudely. He leaped off the hive and ran toward the gate.

  Kirsty gasped as another goblin jumped down from the apple tree. Crunch! He landed on the frosty grass and set off at a run.

  “Catch!” The goblin threw the wand to his friend. It flew through the air, shooting out yellow sparks.

  The other goblin reached up and caught the wand. “Hee, hee. Got it!”

  “Oh, no!” Sunny gasped.

  Just then, Queenie flew out of the hive with a loud buzz. All the other bees swarmed behind her in a noisy cloud.

  Rachel watched, her eyes very wide. With Queenie in the lead, the bees formed into an arrow shape and raced after the goblins.

  “Be careful, Queenie!” pleaded Sunny.

  “Get away!” The goblin shook Sunny’s wand at Queenie.

  More bright yellow sparks shot out of the wand. One of the sparks hit Queenie’s wing. Queenie wobbled in midair. Then she buzzed angrily and flew at the goblin again.

  “Help!” The goblin ducked and dropped the wand.

  “Butterfingers!” grumbled the other goblin, scooping it up and continuing to run.

  “They’re getting away!” Kirsty cried.

  Queenie and her bees rose into the air again.

  “No, they’re not!” Rachel cried excitedly. The bees shot across the yard and the goblins disappeared in the angry swarm.

  “Get off me!” sputtered the goblin with the wand. He tried to shoo the bees away, but tripped over his own feet. As he fell, he bumped into the other goblin.

  The two of them tumbled over in a heap, dropping the wand onto the grass.

  “That was your fault!” complained one of the goblins.

  “No, it wasn’t!” snapped the other one.

  Queenie zoomed over and picked up the wand with one of her tiny, black feet.

  She carried it straight to Sunny, who was standing on Rachel’s hand. With a little buzz, Queenie landed next to Sunny.

  Sunny took her wand from Queenie and carefully waved it in the air. A fountain of glittering dust and fluttering butterflies sparkled around them. “My wand is all right!” Sunny cried joyfully.

  “Look! The goblins are leaving,” Kirsty said.

  The rest of the bees had chased the goblins to the edge of the yard. Still arguing, the goblins ran across the fields.

  As the grumbling voices faded away, the icy wind disappeared. The sun shone warmly again and the frost melted. The bees streamed back and flew around Rachel and Kirsty, buzzing softly.

  “Thank you, Queenie!” Sunny’s eyes sparkled as she hugged her friend.

  Suddenly, Queenie wobbled and tipped sideways.

  Rachel cupped her hands, worried that Queenie would roll off. “I think she might be hurt,” she said. Sunny knelt down and looked closely at Queenie. “Oh, no! She’s torn her wing!” She gasped.

  “It must have happened when she fought the goblin,” Rachel said.

  “Can you heal Queenie’s wing with magic?” Kirsty asked Sunny.

  Sunny shook her head. “Not on my own. But Amber or Ruby might be able to help me. We have to take Queenie to the pot at the end of the rainbow right away!”

  Rachel and Kirsty hurried across the fields and into the woods. Rachel carefully held Queenie in her cupped hands, while Sunny flew behind them, her rainbow-colored wings shimmering in the sun.

  “There’s the willow tree where the pot is hidden,” Kirsty said. She went over and parted the branches, which hung right down to the ground. The black pot lay on its side in the grass. A large, green frog hopped out from behind it.

  “Bertram!” Sunny flew down and hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

  Bertram bowed his head. “It’s a pleasure, Miss Sunny,” he said. “Miss Ruby and Miss Amber will be delighted to see you.”

  Suddenly, a shower of red and orange fairy dust shot up out of the pot, followed by Ruby and Amber.

  “Sunny!” Ruby shouted. “It really is you!”

  “It’s so good to have you back!” Amber called happily. Kirsty and Rachel smiled as the fairies hugged and kissed one another. The air around them fizzed with red flowers, orange bubbles, and tiny, yellow butterflies.

  Ruby flew onto Kirsty’s shoulder.

  “Thank you, Rachel and Kirsty,” she said. “Now three of us are safe.” Then she spotted Queenie lying on Rachel’s hand. “Who is this?” she asked.

  “This is my friend Queenie,” Sunny explained. “She helped me get my wand back after the goblins stole it.”

  “Goblins?” Ruby shuddered. “You were very brave to fight them, Queenie.” She flew down and stroked Queenie’s head.

  “One of the goblins used my wand to hurt Queenie’s wing. Can you help her?” Sunny asked her sisters.

  Amber thought hard. “I could mend Queenie’s wing if I had a fairy needle and thread,” she said. Then she looked sad. “But I don’t have any here in the pot.”

  Then Rachel remembered something. “Kirsty! What about the magic bags that the Fairy Queen gave us?”

  “Oh, yes,” Kirsty said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her bag. It was glowing with a soft, silver light. When she opened it, a cloud of glitter shot up into the air. Kirsty slipped her hand into the bag. “There’s something here.”

  She drew out a tiny, shining needle, threaded with fine spider silk. She held it out to Amber.

  “Perfect!” Amber said. She flew onto Rachel’s hand and sat next to Queenie.

  Amber stroked Queenie’s black-and-yellow head. “Don’t worry,” she said. “It’s fairy magic, so it won’t hurt.”

  Kirsty watched as Amber carefully wove the needle in and out of the torn wing. The row of stitches glowed like tiny silver dots.

  “Look, they’re starting to fade,” Rachel said.

  “Yes,” said Amber. “When you can’t see them anymore, the wing will be healed.”

  Queenie buzzed softly. She lifted her head and flapped her wings. Then she zoomed into the air. Her wing was as good as new!

  She swooped down and landed next to Amber. Bowing her head, she rubbed her feelers against the fairy’s hand.

  “You have been such a good friend to Sunny, you have to stay with us,” said Amber, hugging the bee.

  “Yes!” Ruby agreed. “Please come and stay with us, just until we go back to Fairyland.”

  Queenie flew over to Sunny and buzzed in her ear.

  “She says she would love to,” said Sunny. “There is a hiveless queen in Mrs. Merry’s yard who would be happy to take care of her bees. Come on, Queenie. Let’s look at our new home.”

  “Let’s take a look, too,” Kirsty said. Rachel crouched down beside her in the grass. They watched the fairy sisters and the queen bee fly into the pot.

  Sunny beamed when she saw all the tiny furniture. She sat down on a soft, mossy cushion. “This is just like our home in Fairyland,” she said. Then her face fell. “But what about the rest of our sisters? They are still trapped somewhere on the island!”

  “Don’t worry,” Kirsty said. “We’ll find them soon.”

  “Yes, we will,” Rachel agreed, jumping up. She looked at her watch. “It’s almost lunchtime. We have to go. But we’ll see you again very soon.”

  The fairies looked up and waved.

  “Good-bye! Good-bye!” Queenie waved a tiny leg and buzzed.

  Bertram, the frog footman, followed the girls out from under the willow tree. “Ruby, Amber, and Sunn
y will be safe here with me,” he said. “But you have to be careful when you go looking for the others. Watch out for goblins!”

  “We will,” Rachel promised.

  Kirsty looked back at the pot at the end of the rainbow. “Nothing will stop us from finding the other Rainbow Fairies!” she said.

  Ruby, Amber, and Sunny are out of danger. Now Rachel and Kirsty need to find

  Fern the Green Fairy!

  Will they find her in time?

  Join Kirsty and Rachel’s adventure in this special sneak peek. . . .

  “Oh!” Rachel Walker gasped in delight as she looked around her. “What a perfect place for a picnic!”

  “It’s a secret garden,” Kirsty Tate said, her eyes shining.

  The two girls were standing in a large garden. It looked as if nobody else had been there for a long, long time. Pink and white roses grew all around the tree trunks, filling the air with their sweet smell. White marble statues stood here and there, half hidden by green ivy. And right in the middle of the garden was a crumbling stone tower.

  “There was a castle here once called Moonspinner Castle,” Mr. Walker said, walking up behind them and looking at his guidebook. “But now all that’s left is the tower.”

  Rachel and Kirsty stared up at the ruined tower. The yellow stones glowed warmly in the sunshine. They were spotted with soft, green moss. Near the top of the tower was a small, square window.

  “It’s just like Rapunzel’s tower,” Kirsty said. “I wonder if we can get up to the top somehow.”

  “Let’s go see!” Rachel said eagerly. “I want to explore the whole garden. Can we, Mom?”

  “Go ahead.” Mrs. Walker smiled. “Your dad and I will get the food ready.” She opened the picnic basket. “But don’t be too long, girls.”

  Rachel and Kirsty rushed over to the door in the side of the tower.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Rainbow Magic Limited c/o HIT Entertainment, 830 South Greenville Avenue, Allen, TX 75002-3320.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-30785-7

  Copyright © 2003 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2003 by Georgie Ripper.

  Previously published as Saffron the Yellow Fairy by Orchard U.K. in 2003.

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

  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.

  First Scholastic printing, July 2005

  www.rainbowmagiconline.com

 

 

  Daisy Meadows, Sunny the Yellow Fairy

 

 

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