Sky the Blue Fairy (9780545308137) (5 page)

“Good-bye, good-bye!” The blue crab waved his claw. His friends waved, too, their eyes shining proudly. They had never rescued a Rainbow Fairy before.

Kirsty and Rachel glanced at each other as they walked across the pebbles. Sky was being very brave, but the goblins had come closer to her than to any of the other Rainbow Fairies. And now the Blue Fairy was hardly blue at all!

Rachel and Kirsty hurried across the beach and into the woods. Rachel carried Sky very carefully. The fairy lay curled in a ball inside the warm feathers, her cheek resting on her pale hands.

“Here's the clearing with the willow tree,” Kirsty said.

The smell of oranges hung in the air, tickling their noses. Rachel glanced around and spotted a tiny fairy. She was hovering over a patch of daisies, collecting nectar in an acorn cup.

“Look!” Rachel said. “It's Amber the Orange Fairy.”

“Hello again, Rachel and Kirsty!” Amber fluttered over and settled on Rachel's shoulder.

Then Amber saw Sky lying curled up in Rachel's hand. “Sky! Oh, no! Sky, what happened? I have to call the others,” she cried. She waved her wand and a fountain of sparkling orange bubbles sprayed into the air.

The other Rainbow Fairies fluttered up all over the clearing. The air sparkled with red, orange, yellow, and green fairy dust. Bubbles, flowers, tiny butterflies, and leaves sprinkled the grass.

Rachel and Kirsty watched as the fairies gathered around Sky. The Blue Fairy sat up slightly and gave a weak smile, happy to see her sisters. Then she flopped back into her nest of feathers.

“Oh, Sky!” cried Fern, the gentle Green Fairy.

“Why is she so pale?” Sunny asked.

“The goblins got really close to her,” Rachel explained. “They froze the pond. Sky was trapped in a bubble under the ice.”

“Ooooh! That's terrible.” Sunny shuddered.

“Kirsty shouted at them and tried to catch them,” Sky whispered.

“Thank you. You are so brave!” said Ruby the Red Fairy, then she flew high into the air. “We must think of something to help Sky! Oh, I know! Let's ask Bertram for his advice!”

The fairy sisters sped toward the willow tree, their wings flashing brightly in the air. Rachel and Kirsty carried Sky over in her feathery nest.

The pot at the end of the rainbow lay on its side under the willow's hanging branches. The Rainbow Fairies were living there until all seven sisters had been found and they could go back to Fairyland.

As Rachel put Sky down next to the pot, a large green frog hopped out.

“Miss Sky!” he croaked, looking pleased.

“Hello, Bertram.” Sky gave another weak smile.

“The goblins came very close to Sky, and now she's really cold. We have to make her warm so she gets her color back,” Fern explained.

Bertram looked very worried. “Jack Frost's goblins are so cruel,” he said. “You must all stay close to the pot so that I can protect you.”

“Don't worry,” said Sunny, giving Sky a hug. “You'll feel better soon.”

Sky nodded, but she didn't answer. Her eyes started to close. She was so pale, her arms and legs seemed almost see-through.

Rachel and Kirsty watched the rest of the Rainbow Fairies exchange worried glances. “Oh, Bertram, what if the goblins have hurt Sky forever?” asked Fern. “What can we do to save her?”

Bertram looked very serious. “I think it's time for you fairies to try a spell.”

Amber frowned. “It might not work with only four of us. Rainbow Magic needs seven fairies!”

“But Bertram's right, we have to try,” Ruby said. “Maybe we can do a
small
spell. Quick, let's make a fairy ring.”

The Rainbow Fairies fluttered into a circle in the air above Sky.

Rachel noticed a black-and-yellow queen bee and a small gray squirrel watching from the edge of the glade. “Queenie and Fluffy have come to watch the spell,” she whispered to Kirsty. Queenie the bee had helped Sunny get her wand back after the goblins stole it. Fluffy the squirrel had carried Fern, Rachel, and Kirsty back to the pot when the goblins had been chasing them.

“Ready, sisters!” said Ruby. She lifted her wand.
“In a fairy ring we fly, to bring blue color back to Sky!”
she chanted.

The other fairies waved their wands.

Four different colors of fairy dust sparkled in the air — red, orange, yellow, and green. The dust covered Sky in a glittering cloud as she lay in the nest of feathers on the soft green grass.

“Something's happening!” Kirsty said. Through the cloud of dust, she could see that Sky's little dress and knee-high boots were turning bluer and bluer. “The spell is working!”

Whoosh!

A shimmering cloud of blue stars shot into the air. They drifted up to the sky, where they faded away with tiny
pop
s.