Giselle the Christmas Ballet Fairy Read online

  “You know why!” squawked the second goblin. “Jack Frost ordered us to always leave one guard here, and that should be you.”

  “You!” screeched the skinny goblin.

  “You!”

  “You!”

  The goblins were standing on opposite sides of the well, glaring at each other. The fairies could not fly into the well without being seen. Giselle looked up at the sky, and saw that the sun was beginning to set.

  “We have planned our Christmas ballet for this evening,” she said. “Without my ballet bag it will be hopeless, and time is running out.”

  “I’ve got an idea,” said Kirsty. “We need to distract the goblins, and it sounds like they both love ballet. Giselle, could you do a dance for them?”

  A little smile replaced Giselle’s worried frown.

  “I don’t think they would want to see a fairy dance,” she said. “But I think that some of these trees might be able to help.”

  She waved her wand toward the baby trees that surrounded the glade. Fairy dust flew from the tip and swirled upward. Some of it sprinkled down on the trees, while the rest turned into musical notes that hung in the air. Enchanting music began to play—faintly at first, and then gradually getting louder. The goblins stopped squabbling.

  “Can you hear that?” asked the second goblin.

  “Sounds like ballet music,” said the skinny one.

  Then their mouths dropped open. All around the glade, the baby trees began to sway to the music. They glided forward through the snow, lifting up their delicate branches like arms and shaking white snowflakes all around them.

  The goblins stared in wonder as the trees twirled and swayed around them. The music grew louder and the goblins stepped away from the well, clasping their hands together as they gazed at the trees. They didn’t see that Giselle was hovering on the edge of the glade, directing the trees with her wand like an orchestra conductor.

  “Now’s our chance!” she whispered to Rachel and Kirsty.

  Rachel instantly zoomed toward the well and flew down into the darkness. Kirsty waited, holding her breath.

  The seconds ticked by. Then, just when she thought that something must have gone wrong, Rachel shot out of the well with the ballet bag in her arms.

  The enchanted music ended at once, and the trees slid back to their places. Puzzled, the goblins looked around and saw the three fairies.

  “Go away!” screeched the skinny goblin.

  “You can’t have the bag,” said the second goblin, blowing a raspberry at them.

  “We already have it,” said Rachel, handing the bag to Giselle.

  Horrified, the goblins let out wails of rage.

  “You tricky fairies!” shrieked the second goblin. “You’ll be sorry! Jack Frost will get his revenge on you!”

  They trudged off through the snow, and Rachel and Kirsty turned to Giselle.

  “What do you think they meant by that?” asked Kirsty.

  “Don’t worry,” said Giselle in an airy voice. “There is nothing that Jack Frost can do to me now. As long as my ballet shoes are safe, everything will be all right. And my ballet shoes are under guard in the palace, so nothing can possibly go wrong.”

  Giselle tapped the girls’ lockets with her wand and filled them with fairy dust again. Then she smiled at both girls.

  “You have saved tonight’s performances,” she said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now it is time for me to send you home so that you can enjoy Swan Lake.”

  Rachel and Kirsty were very happy to have been able to help Giselle again. But they couldn’t help wondering what Jack Frost would say when he heard about the ballet bag! The goblins were going to be in big trouble when they got back to the Ice Castle. Hopefully, Jack Frost had learned his lesson and would leave Giselle’s ballet slippers alone!

  Backstage at the Ballet

  Goblins and Guards

  Frostyev Onstage

  An Unexpected Interview

  Everyone’s Perfect Christmas

  “I can’t remember the last time I’ve had such a busy day,” said Rachel. “We’ve watched the rehearsals for Swan Lake, and we’ve helped Giselle get her magic water bottle and ballet bag back from Jack Frost.”

  “The day isn’t over yet,” said Kirsty. “We still have tonight’s performance of Swan Lake to watch. I can’t wait!”

  The best friends were standing backstage, watching the dancers and crew prepare for the ballet. During their day at the Castle Springs Ballet School, they had made friends with the prima ballerina, Penny. She had said that they could stay backstage until just before the ballet began.

  It was very exciting to be backstage. Kirsty and Rachel stood out of the way and watched as dancers dashed past in a flurry of tutus and feathery costumes. The props manager was preparing everything the dancers would need, and the wardrobe designer was following the ballerinas around with a needle and thread, making last-minute alterations and repairs. The lighting was dim, but everywhere they looked the girls could see the sparkle of glitter on tutus and diamonds on tiaras.

  “The stage is just over there,” said Kirsty, pointing to the right. “Should we go and look at the scenery for the first act?”

  “Ooh yes, let’s!” said Rachel at once.

  They tiptoed onto the stage. Thick velvet curtains hung between them and the audience, but they could hear the shuffle of hundreds of feet and the rustle of theater programs. Above the hum of chatter from the crowd, the girls could also hear the squeaks, toots, and pings of the orchestra tuning up their instruments.

  The scenery showed the yard of a royal palace. Roses, lilies, and trees surrounded a sunny courtyard, while the palace in the distance was gleaming white.

  “The theater’s painters must be so artistic,” said Kirsty. “I thought it wouldn’t look as pretty up close as it does when you’re in the audience, but it’s perfect.”

  She traced over a picture of climbing pink roses with her finger. She could see every thorn and petal.

  “I suppose it has to look beautiful for the dancers, too,” said Rachel. “Oh, that’s pretty!”

  She picked up a golden bow, which was lying on a white table.

  “That’s the present that the queen gives to the prince in the first act,” said Kirsty, remembering the start of the story.

  Rachel rose onto her toes and raised her leg behind her, as she had seen the prince do in rehearsals. Then she lifted the bow above her head. There was a musical twang and a golden arrow flew into the air.

  “Oh!” Rachel exclaimed. “How did that happen? I didn’t do it!”

  The arrow fell back down toward them, shining like a golden wand.

  “That’s not an arrow,” cried Kirsty. “It’s Giselle!”

  The Christmas Ballet Fairy was pirouetting down, her wand raised above her head.

  “Oh girls,” said Giselle, holding out her arms to them. “I’m sorry to interrupt your evening, but I have some terrible news!”

  Rachel and Kirsty shared a worried glance. Jack Frost must be up to no good again!

  “What happened?” asked Rachel.

  “I bet it has something to do with Jack Frost,” said Kirsty.

  “You’re right,” Giselle replied. “I should have paid more attention to the goblins’ warning, but I was so sure that my ballet shoes were safe in the palace. While we were warming up for the Christmas ballet performance, Jack Frost and his goblins arrived at the palace. I’ll show you exactly what happened.”

  She waved her wand, and a shimmery moving picture appeared on the red stage curtain. It looked like someone was projecting a movie onto the velvet. The girls could see four mice standing guard outside a large wooden door. The guards looked very serious and handsome. Each one was wearing a tunic of red and gold, with a brown belt around the middle. From each belt hung a golden horn. On their heads the mice were wearing three-cornered red-and-gold hats.

  As Rachel and Kirsty watched, a group of goblins scampered up to the guards
. They were all wearing tutus, and they were shouting. They leapt up and down in front of the guards, waving their arms and trying to pull off the three-cornered hats.

  “Catch them!” ordered one of the guards.

  At this, the goblins scattered in all directions and the guards chased after them. While the door was unguarded, Jack Frost tiptoed up to it. None of the guards saw him—they were too busy trying to control the goblins. Jack Frost pointed his wand at the lock, and the door swung open. He crept inside, and came out a few seconds later with a pair of ballet shoes in his hand.

  “Frostyev and the Goblinovski Festival Ballet will dance again tonight!” he cackled.

  The picture faded as Giselle turned to look at the girls.

  “Those are my magic ballet shoes,” she said, her wings drooping slightly.

  “As soon as we heard what had happened, the king and queen sent the Dance Fairies to the Ice Castle, but there was no one there. We have no idea where to look, and Christmas ballets everywhere are about to start. As long as Jack Frost has my magic shoes, all ballets will be ruined. What are we going to do?”

  Before the girls could reply, they heard shouting from the side of the stage.

  “Something’s wrong,” said Rachel. “Come on!”

  Giselle tucked herself under a lock of Rachel’s hair and the girls hurried to see what all the shouting was about. They found the director surrounded by dancers and backstage crew, all looking angry and upset.

  “Who took my costume?” the dancer playing the queen was wailing.

  “My shoes are stained!” one of the younger ballerinas cried out.

  “My props box is a mess!” a stagehand was shouting.

  “Half the swans’ tutus are missing,” complained the costume designer.

  The director held up her hands and then put them over her ears.

  “Please, stop shouting!” she said. “This is a disaster! Why is everything going wrong? Everyone must start searching the dressing rooms, from the stagehands to the prima ballerina herself. Hurry! If these problems aren’t sorted out in the next half hour, I am going to have to cancel the performance.”

  Rachel and Kirsty exchanged looks of alarm.

  “We can’t let that happen,” Kirsty said in a determined voice. “So many people have been looking forward to this ballet.”

  “Including us,” added Rachel. “Christmas Eve will be ruined unless we can get the ballet shoes in the next half hour!” The two friends had no time to lose. They had to find Giselle’s magic ballet shoes—and fast!

  Rachel and Kirsty hurried down dimly lit hallways until they reached the dressing rooms. All of the doors were open, and people were rushing in and out of the rooms in a panic.

  “Just keep looking, everyone!” the costume designer said, hurrying along behind the girls. “We have to find those missing costumes.”

  “Can we help?” Kirsty asked her.

  But the costume designer didn’t hear her. She swept past the girls and started rummaging through a rack of tutus in the hallway. Rachel took a step forward to try to get her attention.

  “Wait,” said Kirsty, grabbing Rachel’s arm. “Look!”

  Someone in a tutu was just disappearing around the end of the hallway.

  “That’s odd,” said Rachel. “Who could be leaving when the director has ordered everyone to stay here and search the dressing rooms for the missing tutus?”

  “Let’s find out,” said Kirsty.

  The girls hurried along the hallway, but when they turned the corner they only caught a glimpse of the mystery dancer’s tutu as it disappeared around another corner. On and on the dancer led them, turning left and right through the maze of backstage hallways.

  “I think we’re heading back toward the stage,” said Rachel eventually.

  They rounded another corner and arrived back beside the stage. The curtain was still down, but the stage was now filled with a flurry of dancers in sparkling white tutus. They were rehearsing, but they were not ordinary ballerinas. The legs that stretched out behind them were green, and their heads were bald underneath their glimmering tiaras. They were goblins!

  “It’s the Goblinovski Festival Ballet—Jack Frost’s ballet company!” said Kirsty. “They’re here!”

  “And they’re wearing the missing tutus,” Rachel added.

  Giselle peered out from underneath Rachel’s hair.

  “That’s not all,” she said in a low voice. “Jack Frost is here, too—as Frostyev!”

  Through a gap in the crowd of goblin dancers, they could see Frostyev standing on one leg, with the other leg pointing straight up in the air. He was wearing a tight silver costume and there were silver spangles in his hair and beard.

  “I’m the best dancer in the world!” he declared, cackling with laughter. “And the smartest, too!”

  “Dance some more! Dance some more!” squealed the goblins, clapping their hands together and jumping up and down.

  Frostyev pirouetted across the stage with his arms above his head. Even though Rachel and Kirsty were worried, they couldn’t help noticing that he was dancing very well.

  “While those silly fairies are searching for me at the Ice Castle, I’ll be giving a bunch of silly humans the performance of a lifetime,” Frostyev told the goblins. “They’ll all be talking about me. No one will ever want to see another dancer, because I am so perfect and such an icy genius!”

  “What if the humans don’t realize how great you are?” asked one of the goblins.

  Frostyev stopped pirouetting and scowled.

  “If they don’t clap then I will have fun turning them all into toads!” he snapped.

  He sprang into the air so high that he seemed to be flying. His feet were beside the goblins’ heads, and Giselle gave a horrified gasp.

  “He’s wearing my ballet shoes!” she cried. “That’s why his dancing is so perfect. Nothing can stop him now!” Giselle’s wings drooped and she looked very sad.

  The goblins were getting bored of listening to Frostyev’s boasting. Three of them hurried over to the red velvet curtain.

  “Let’s peek at the audience and make faces at them,” suggested a short goblin with dirt on his face.

  They huddled together and peered underneath the curtain.

  “Oh dear, I hope no one sees them,” said Kirsty. “I heard that there are going to be some journalists and ballet critics here tonight. It would be terrible if a photo of the goblins got into the newspapers.”

  “Oh!” Rachel exclaimed. “That gave me an idea. Giselle, could you disguise us as journalists? If we can flatter Frostyev and distract him, we might be able to get your shoes back.”

  “Oh, yes, please try!” said Giselle, clasping her hands together.

  A few minutes later, Rachel and Kirsty walked onto the stage looking very different indeed. Rachel was wearing sunglasses and had a camera slung around her neck. Her hair was hidden under a pink beret. Kirsty’s hair was piled up on top of her head and decorated with sparkling butterfly clips. She was wearing a purple jumpsuit with strings of beads around her neck, and carrying a notebook and pen.

  Frostyev stopped dancing and glared at them.

  “Who are you?” he demanded in a rude voice.

  “Ooh, it’s really him!” exclaimed Rachel, putting her hand over her heart. “The one and only Frostyev! I’m so excited I can hardly breathe!”

  “We’re from Exclusively Ballet, the best-selling ballet magazine,” said Kirsty, holding out her hand. “We’re dying to interview you for our next issue. You’re the most amazing dancer we have ever seen.”

  Frostyev gave a smug little smile and shook her hand.

  “Your sales will double with a picture of me on the cover,” he said.

  “Our readers will want to know everything about you,” Rachel added. “How do you leap so high? How do you stay so handsome?”

  “Well … ” said Frostyev.

  “What are your beauty secrets?” Kirsty went on. “Where do you have you
r beard trimmed?”

  “I have never—” Frostyev began.

  “And of course the most interesting question of all,” said Rachel, talking over him. “Why do you tie your ballet shoe ribbons in such an old-fashioned way?”

  Frostyev drew himself up to his full height and narrowed his eyes.

  “What do you mean, ‘old-fashioned’?” he demanded in a huffy voice. “I’m the latest and the greatest, and don’t you forget it. I’m the freshest, most up-to-date dancer in the whole world.”

  “But none of the modern ballet dancers tie their ribbons that way,” said Kirsty, pointing to the ribbons criss-crossing his feet. “I’ll show you the new way if you want.”

  “Yes, do it right now,” Frostyev ordered. “I can’t perform if I look unfashionable.”

  He sat down and stuck out his legs. Kirsty crouched down beside him and Rachel crossed her fingers behind her back. Would her best friend be able to untie the shoes before Frostyev realized who they really were? Working quickly,

  Kirsty carefully untied the long ribbons. Frostyev was expecting her to re-tie them, so this was the most dangerous moment of the plan. She had to be really fast!

  Kirsty tried to pull the shoes off gently, so that Frostyev wouldn’t notice. But they were clamped tightly around his bony feet, and he frowned at her.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, bringing his face closer to hers.