Flora the Dress-Up Fairy Read online

  “You must be in costume to attend our party, Jack Frost,” King Oberon said firmly. “Flora’s magic will give you any outfit you’d like. Now, what will it be?”

  Rachel and Kirsty watched as Jack Frost frowned in thought.

  “I want to be a pirate king!” he declared at last.

  Flora fluttered over to him and waved her wand over his head. Sparkling fairy dust instantly transformed Jack Frost into a pirate king, complete with an eyepatch, gold hoop earring, and big black boots — plus a huge pirate hat!

  Rachel and Kirsty grinned to see that the goblins were wearing pirate costumes, too. Some of them even had peg legs, or parrots on their shoulders.

  Looking very pleased with himself, Jack Frost strode off toward the tables of party food. “Come along, me hearties!” he shouted, just like a pirate.

  “Aye-aye, Captain!” the goblins yelled. They followed Jack Frost, waving their swords enthusiastically.

  “Don’t worry,” Flora told the girls, “the swords aren’t sharp at all.” She looked down at her mermaid costume. “It’s a new party, so I need a new outfit!” she remarked.

  Rachel and Kirsty watched as Flora waved her wand above her head. Purple and black sparkles surrounded her for a moment, and her mermaid tail changed into a frilly, black dress.

  A large, pointed hat appeared on her head, and suddenly she was hovering in the air on a broomstick.

  “You’re a witch!” Kirsty cried.

  “A very friendly-looking witch,” Rachel pointed out. She and Kirsty laughed as a tiny black cat appeared at the end of the broomstick, meowing loudly.

  Flora grinned at them and fluttered down from her broomstick. The broom and the cat immediately followed her.

  “Thank you for coming, girls,” said Queen Titania, “but it’s time for you to return to McKersey Castle.”

  Rachel and Kirsty gave Flora a big hug. Then all the fairies gathered around in their wonderful costumes to wave to the girls as the queen lifted her wand.

  “Good-bye!” called Rachel and Kirsty as they were whisked away on a cloud of fairy magic.

  Almost instantly, Rachel and Kirsty found themselves outside the ballroom at McKersey Castle. They could hear music playing inside, and people talking and laughing.

  “It sounds like the party’s going well,” Rachel remarked, pushing open the doors as the girls walked through.

  But Kirsty wasn’t listening. She was staring down at the harps they’d left on the table earlier that day. “Rachel,” she said softly, “our harps aren’t cardboard anymore. The fairies must have made them real!”

  She ran her fingers over the silver strings and four clear, melodic notes rang out.

  Rachel smiled dreamily at her own harp. “Isn’t fairy magic wonderful?” she said, peeking into the ballroom where people were dancing beneath the glittering chandeliers.

  “Fairy magic is the best!” Kirsty agreed happily, as the girls went into the ballroom to join the party.

  Don’t miss Rachel and Kirsty’s other magical adventures!

  Take a look at this special sneak peek of

  “Race you to that tidepool, Kirsty!” Rachel Walker yelled to her best friend, Kirsty Tate.

  “You’re on!” Kirsty replied.

  Laughing, the two girls ran across the beach. Rachel reached the pool first, but Kirsty was right behind her.

  “Your gran is lucky to live in Leamouth!” Rachel panted, gazing around the sandy bay. “It’s so pretty.”

  Kirsty nodded. Leamouth was a little fishing village with winding streets and a harbor filled with boats. Kirsty’s gran lived in a cottage on the cliff, near the beach.

  “I always have fun here,” said Kirsty. “I’m glad you could come this time, too.”

  “Thanks for inviting me!” Rachel replied.

  The two girls wandered down to the sea. The waves lapped at their flip-flops. As the water slid back, it left a large seashell on the sand right in front of them.

  Rachel picked it up. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

  As Kirsty looked, a burst of aquamarine sparkles suddenly fizzed out of the shell, making both girls jump.

  Kirsty gasped. “Fairy magic!”

  The girls glanced at each other, eyes wide with excitement. Their friendship with the fairies was a very special secret.

  Soft music and the faint tinkle of bells floated out of the shell. Quickly, Rachel held it up so she and Kirsty could listen.

  “Hello, girls,” said a small voice.

  Rachel grinned at Kirsty. “It’s the fairy queen!” she exclaimed.

  “We’d like to invite you to a special beach party — a luau — to celebrate summer,” the queen said. “If you’d like to come, just place the shell on the sand right now. We hope you can join us….” The queen’s voice faded away.

  With a quick glance around to make sure nobody was watching, Rachel placed the seashell on the sand. Immediately, a dazzling rainbow sprang from the shell. Its colors were bright in the sunshine.

  “Let’s go, Kirsty!” Rachel whispered.

  Kirsty nodded, and the girls stepped onto the rainbow. As soon as they did, they were whisked away in a whirl of fairy magic.

  When the sparkles vanished, the girls had been magically transformed into fairies. They were in Fairyland, standing on a beautiful sandy beach next to a glittering turquoise sea. The beach was crowded with fairies enjoying the luau.

  As the girls stepped away from the rainbow, their fairy friends rushed to greet them, including King Oberon and Queen Titania.

  “We’re so glad you could come, girls,” the king said kindly.

  “A party wouldn’t be the same without you,” the queen added.

  “Thank you for inviting us,” Rachel and Kirsty chorused.

  “Come and dance!” called Jade the Disco Fairy.

  Laughing, Rachel and Kirsty joined Jade. Meanwhile, they could see another fairy conducting the musicians, and other fairies cooking food on a barbecue.

  “The tide’s coming in,” Rachel remarked to Jade as the waves crept further up the beach. “Will the party be over soon?”

  Jade shook her head. “No, we’ll be fine as long as we stay above Party Rock,” she replied, pointing to a large boulder nearby. “But Shannon the Ocean Fairy can explain it better than I can.”

  A nearby fairy turned and smiled at the girls. She wore a peach-colored skirt, a top made of aqua ribbons, and a glittering starfish clip in her hair.

  “Hi, girls,” Shannon greeted them. “Jade’s right. The sea never comes past Party Rock, so we can enjoy the party all day long!”

  “Great!” Rachel said happily.

  A little while later, the girls were still having fun dancing with their fairy friends when the music suddenly stopped. Everyone turned to see what had happened.

  “Listen, please,” called Shannon the Ocean Fairy. “I’m afraid that the sea is coming in too far!”

  She pointed her wand at Party Rock and everyone gasped in surprise. The water was splashing around the base of the rock, and the level was still rising!

  “The water never comes in this far,” Shannon declared anxiously. “Something’s wrong!”

  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 978-0-545-35967-2

  Copyright © 2007 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Cover art copyright © 2007 by Georgie Ripper.

  Previously published as Flora the Fancy Dress Fairy by Orchard U.K. in 2007.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broa
dway, 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 Re. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and other countries. HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.

  First Scholastic printing, June 2010

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