Anya the Cuddly Creatures Fairy (2 page)

“Hi, Kirsty!” he called at the top of his voice. “Hi, Rachel! This place is AMAZING!”

Mrs. Tate hugged Kirsty and Rachel.

“Are you having a good time, girls?” she asked.

“Oh, yes!” Rachel exclaimed. “It's even more exciting here than we imagined!”

“We want to show Charlie the petting zoo and the royal stables,” said Kirsty eagerly.

Just then, Mrs. Tate cried out. One of the palace peacocks had jumped up onto a stone pedestal and started pecking at her purse!

“Shoo!” said Rachel, flapping her arms at the peacock.

The peacock lifted its tail feathers and stalked away. Kirsty and Rachel stared at it with astonishment.

“I've never seen a peacock act like that before!” said Kirsty, frowning.

“Me, neither,” Rachel added.

“Maybe there's something in the air,” said Mrs. Tate. “Kirsty's cat, Pearl, has been out of sorts, too. She's been running away and hiding all morning.”

“That's really strange,” said Kirsty, frowning. “Pearl usually loves curling up in people's laps.”

“Maybe she misses you,” said Charlie.

“I wonder if Buttons misses
me
,” said Rachel, thinking of her shaggy dog.

“I'm sure he does,” said Mrs. Tate. “I have to go now, but I'll be back to pick you up this afternoon, Charlie. Bye, girls!”

She got into her car and waved her hand out the window as she drove away.

When the car had disappeared over the drawbridge, Kirsty turned to Charlie with a big smile.

“What would you like to see first, Charlie,” she said, "the maze or the petting zoo?”

“Oooh, I want to see the animals!” said Charlie, his eyes shining with delight. “I love animals!”

Rachel and Kirsty led Charlie to the playground behind the palace. Charlie gasped when he saw the tall climbing wall in the center.

“That's called Rapunzel's Tower,” Rachel explained.

“I definitely want to explore that later!” Charlie declared.

They passed the Snow White playhouse, walked around the lake, and finally arrived at the little petting zoo. Charlie smiled happily when he saw the pigpen, the goat enclosure, and the rabbit hutches.

Rachel crouched down beside a fluffy white lop-eared rabbit. She saw a little bucket full of salad scraps, and picked out some lettuce for the rabbit.

“Would you like to feed him?” she asked Charlie.

Charlie crouched down beside her and held out the lettuce. But the rabbit turned around and hopped away!

Charlie's smile faded a little.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

“Maybe he's not feeling very well,” Kirsty suggested. “We should probably tell Jean, the animal keeper.”

She looked around for Jean, but the only people in sight were five boys who were peeking into the henhouse. They were wearing stylish riding jackets and breeches, with tall boots and velvety riding hats. The brims of the hats hid their faces completely.

“No eggs in here!” one of the boys yelled.

Then Kirsty noticed something very strange.

“Rachel, look!” she said. “There are guinea pigs on top of the henhouse!”

Sure enough, several guinea pigs were now sitting on the henhouse roof. Kirsty and Rachel exchanged surprised glances.

Meanwhile, the boys had moved over to the rabbit hutches, and were trying to pet the rabbits. But every time they got close, the rabbits scattered.

“Come on,” said Kirsty, seeing that Charlie was disappointed. “Let's visit the royal stables.”

The girls led the way to the stables. They were surprised to see a beautiful golden carriage in the cobblestone courtyard outside. In the sunshine, the gold sparkled and glimmered like fairy dust.

Kirsty and Rachel peeked inside the carriage and saw soft, cushiony red seats with wide padded armrests.

“It looks magical,” Rachel whispered in delight.

“Just like Cinderella's carriage,” said Kirsty, smiling at her best friend.

Charlie was looking at some sacks of animal feed leaning against the wall. “Horse oats, chicken corn, and llama grain,” he said, reading the labels aloud. “Each animal has its own special food.”

Suddenly they heard a loud neighing and stomping.

“It's coming from that stall over there!” said Rachel, after looking around. “Come on!”

The girls and Charlie raced over to the stall, which had a brass plaque on the door:

Charlie and the girls peeked around the stable door. Inside, Jean the animal keeper was standing beside a pretty Shetland pony holding a grooming brush.