Tara the Tuesday Fairy : A Rainbow Magic Book (9780545308793) Read online

  Field Day Sparkle

  Rhyming Clue

  Goblins Have a Head Start

  Girls Get Crafty

  Three-Legged Fun

  Tuesday Fun for Everyone!

  “Come on, Rachel! You can do it!” Kirsty Tate cheered as she watched her friend sprint down the sunny field. Today was Tippington Schools’ Field Day. The three local schools had come together to compete in all sorts of different games and sports. Kirsty was staying with her best friend, Rachel Walker, in Tippington during school break, so she had come along to watch.

  The 100-yard dash was the last race of the morning, and Rachel was doing really well. She was neck and neck with one other girl as they sprinted toward the finish line.

  “Come on, Rachel, keep going!” Kirsty yelled. The two runners were so close, it was impossible to guess who was going to win. Then, at the very last moment, Rachel surged past the other girl with a final burst of speed, and crossed the finish line.

  “Yay! Rachel wins!” Kirsty cheered, jumping up and down. She beamed at some of the other children who had watched the race, but they all looked unhappy. They must have wanted the other girl to win really badly, Kirsty thought.

  Rachel came over a few moments later, smiling. Her face was flushed. “Phew — that was a close one,” she panted.

  “You were amazing!” Kirsty smiled. “What an exciting race!”

  “Well, I thought so,” Rachel said. “But have you noticed that everyone else seems really bored?”

  Kirsty looked around. It was true. A girl nearby was scuffing the grass with her foot and complaining to her dad that she was too cold. One of the older boys was saying that he was hungry. Even some of the teachers seemed bored.

  A startling thought struck both girls at exactly the same time. “It must be because the Tuesday Fun Flag is missing,” Kirsty said in a low voice.

  “That’s what I was about to say,” Rachel agreed. “That explains why nobody is having fun today!”

  Rachel and Kirsty shared an exciting secret: they were on a mission to help the fairies! Jack Frost had stolen the seven Fun Day Flags. The Fun Day Fairies used them to bring fun to everyone in Fairyland and in the human world. But once the flags were in Jack Frost’s ice castle, his goblins started having too much fun. They played lots of tricks on Jack Frost!

  Fed up with the goblins, Jack Frost sent a breeze to blow the flags into the human world. Little did he know that his goblins missed their fun and games so much they had snuck away to find the flags again.

  “We’ll have to look out for Tara the Tuesday Fairy,” Rachel said, glancing around hopefully. “The sooner we can find the Tuesday Fun Flag, the better for everyone!”

  Just then, an announcement came over the speakers. “This morning’s races are now finished. Please make your way to the gym, where the prizes will be presented before lunch. Thank you.”

  The Field Day was taking place at Rachel’s school, so she led Kirsty inside to the gym. A stage had been set up along one wall for the first, second, and third prize winners to receive their medals.

  “I’ll meet you afterward, OK?” Rachel said, joining the group of winners waiting to collect their prizes.

  “OK,” Kirsty agreed, going to sit at the back of the gym to watch. As she took her seat, she noticed that a table set up behind her had a big, impressive golden cup on it. That must be the trophy for the school that wins the most events, she guessed.

  A woman in a plum-colored suit came and stood on the stage. “Good morning,” she said, “I’m Jennie Bailey, Tippington’s principal, and I’m so happy to be here to award the medals today.”

  As the principal went on speaking, Kirsty heard a tiny sound and turned around. To her surprise, the golden trophy was glittering more brightly than ever. Nobody else had noticed, because everyone was sitting with their backs to the trophy table. Then the trophy lid rattled, and a stream of turquoise sparkles came drifting out from inside the cup!

  Kirsty recognized fairy magic when she saw it! But how could she go over and investigate without everyone noticing and wondering what she was doing? Luckily, at that moment, everybody else in the audience started clapping loudly for the children who had won prizes.

  Kirsty quietly slipped out of her seat and tiptoed over to the trophy. Very carefully, she reached out, lifted the lid, and peeked inside. There, zooming around inside the cup, was a tiny fairy!

  Kirsty and Rachel had met all the Fun Day Fairies the day before, and Kirsty recognized Tara the Tuesday Fairy right away. “Hello, Tara!” she whispered, smiling.

  Tara beamed thankfully as she saw Kirsty’s face, and quickly fluttered out of the trophy. She had long, brown, curly hair, which was swept up into a high ponytail. She wore a cropped blue jacket and blue pants, and had a pretty flower necklace around her neck.

  “Thanks for letting me out,” she replied in a whisper. “I came here to find the Tuesday Fun Flag, but I didn’t mean to get stuck in that trophy!”

  “Well you showed up at just the right time,” Kirsty whispered back. “Nobody is having fun here.”

  Tara opened her mouth to reply, but then got distracted by what the principal was saying.

  “I’m sorry to announce,” the principal said, “that the medals and certificates for our winners have been misplaced. The winners will receive tokens instead for now, and we will break for lunch. I’m sure we will find the real prizes soon.”

  There were a few mumbles of disappointment, and then the audience started leaving the gym. Tara promptly dove into Kirsty’s pocket and out of sight.

  “I was looking forward to my prize,” Kirsty heard one little girl saying sadly. “This Field Day is no fun at all.”

  Rachel came over to Kirsty and Tara, looking upset. But she brightened up when she saw the little fairy peeking out of Kirsty’s pocket. “Oh, Tara, thank goodness you’re here!” she said. “Let’s all go and find a quiet spot to talk. We really need to track down your flag.”

  The three of them left the gym, and Rachel led them to an empty hallway. “Everyone is getting lunch, so we won’t be bothered here,” she said.

  “Tara, do you have any clues from the Book of Days?” Kirsty asked.

  Rachel and Kirsty had learned that every morning in Fairyland, Francis, the Royal Time Guard, consulted a large book to check which day it was. Then he raised that day’s flag up the flagpole. The day before, with all the Fun Day Flags missing, a riddle had appeared in the Book of Days instead. It had helped the girls find Megan the Monday Fairy’s flag.

  “Francis looked in the book this morning. There was a new poem in it,” Tara said. “It goes like this:

  In the air, not on the ground

  At Field Day, flags are all around.

  Check the colored decorations

  For Tuesday Fun Flag celebrations!”

  “Check the colored decorations….” Rachel repeated thoughtfully.

  “That’s right,” Tara said. “The Tuesday Fun Flag is turquoise and sparkly, so —”

  But before she could say another word, a closet door behind the girls suddenly burst open! Kirsty and Rachel jumped out of the way as a tangle of mops and brooms crashed to the ground. Out hopped two grinning goblins who had been listening to every word they said!

  “Thanks for telling us the riddle,” one of them cackled.

  “Yes, now we know where to look for the flag,” the other one added. “And we’ll be taking it home with us!” With that, the goblins ran away down the hallway, chuckling gleefully.

  “Oh, no!” Kirsty cried. “Where are the
y going?”

  “Don’t worry,” Rachel said. “It’s OK. I think I figured out the riddle. The clue is in the first line.”

  Tara looked around hurriedly. “Don’t say another word,” she warned, “in case there are any other sneaky goblins nearby. Just take us to where you think the flag might be.”

  “OK,” Rachel said. “This way!”

  Tara quickly waved her wand so that all the mops and brooms jumped back into the closet. The door swung shut in a burst of turquoise glitter. Then Rachel led Kirsty and Tara back toward the sports field. Luckily, it was empty now, because everybody had gone to get lunch. Tara could fly in the open air without anyone seeing her. Kirsty pulled a couple of apples from her bag, and the girls ate them as they walked.

  When they reached the field, Rachel pointed up at the strings of colored flags that fluttered in the breeze.

  “The clue said the flag would be in the air, not on the ground, didn’t it?” she said, pointing at the flags. “So I think it must be somewhere up there!”

  “Great!” said Tara, clapping her hands in delight. Then she looked around with a determined gleam in her eye. “There are lots of turquoise flags, though, and I can’t tell which is mine from here. We’ll have to look at each of them closely to find the Tuesday flag.”

  Kirsty gazed down the length of the sports field. The flags were strung between poles in a large rectangular shape on the grass. They marked where the races were held. The girls and Tara were standing near the starting line at one corner of the rectangle. Strings of flags stretched away from them in two different directions. “I’ll start looking along this side,” Kirsty said, pointing to the line of flags on her right.

  “And I’ll check the flags above the starting line,” Rachel said, turning to her left.

  “Then I’ll fly across to the other side of the field and look at the ones above the finish line,” Tara said, fluttering away quickly.

  Kirsty began walking along, checking all the turquoise flags on her side. There were hundreds of triangular flags in white, red, orange, yellow, and turquoise, flapping in the breeze. As she walked, she looked carefully at all the turquoise flags, hoping to see a telltale sparkle or two of fairy magic. There was no sign of the Tuesday Fun Flag!

  Kirsty glanced down the line to see how far she had to go. At that moment, she spotted the sunlight glinting off of a twinkly-looking turquoise flag at the other end of the string. It was so sparkly and bright, she was sure it must be the Tuesday Fun Flag!

  “Over here!” she called to Rachel and Tara, pointing at the flag. Then she looked back at the string of flags and her smile vanished. Two goblins had darted out from behind a tree, and they had seen where she was pointing!

  “Oh no!” Kirsty cried, breaking into a run. But the goblins were much closer to the flag, and before Kirsty could get to it, they’d reached it with a cheer.

  “Don’t worry, they’re not tall enough to get it down,” Rachel called as she ran over. The goblins were too short to grab the flag, even if they stood on their tiptoes.

  “That’s what you think!” one of the goblins sneered. He crouched down with his hands together, making a step for the other goblin. The second goblin put his foot on the “step,” and his friend boosted him up into the air. As he flew upward, the goblin reached out and grabbed the flag firmly in his gnarled green fingers. He stuck out his tongue at the girls.

  “What were you saying about us not being able to reach it?” he taunted gleefully. “Well, we just did. Now this flag means lots of Tuesday fun for us goblins!”

  The goblin tugged at the flag with a grin on his face, but then his grin vanished. The flag wouldn’t budge!

  Kirsty held her breath, hoping that the flag was stuck to the string and that the goblin wouldn’t be able to pull it free. But then, the triangular turquoise flag suddenly came loose. As it did, it unfolded to its usual rectangular shape in the goblin’s hand. Kirsty could see the distinctive sun pattern marked out on it in turquoise glitter.

  “Got it!” the goblin roared in triumph, as he dropped to the ground.

  “Run!” shouted the other goblin, sprinting across the field away from the girls and Tara.

  “After them!” called Rachel, racing off.

  Kirsty was close behind. “Come back with that flag!” she yelled.

  But the goblins didn’t stop. They ran the length of the field and then dove into a tent that had been set up in case of rain.

  The girls and Tara followed them inside and looked around. There were mats stacked up for the high jump, sacks for the sack race, hula hoops, hurdles, cones, and all sorts of other equipment needed for Field Day, but there was no sign of any green goblins.

  “There are lots of good hiding places in here,” Rachel muttered to her friends. “We’d better start searching for those goblins!”

  Kirsty checked around the piles of mats, but the goblins weren’t hiding behind them. Rachel looked behind the rack of hula hoops, but there were no goblins there, either. Tara waved her wand over a large crate of tennis balls, and with a stream of turquoise sparkles, all of the balls bounced out in a neat formation. “No goblins in there,” she said, fluttering over the empty crate and waving her wand a second time.

  Instantly, the tennis balls bounced back into the crate, lining themselves up neatly.

  Then, Rachel went over to a pile of sacks. As she drew closer, she saw that there were two sacks that were upside down. Poking out of the bottom of each one was a pair of big, green goblin feet! Then she noticed that a corner of the twinkly turquoise flag was poking out of one sack, too! The goblins had put empty sacks over their heads, trying to hide.

  Without a word, Rachel waved Kirsty and Tara over and pointed at the sacks. Then she pulled her friends behind a stack of hurdles so that they could whisper together.

  “We have to think up a really good way to get the goblins out of there,” Rachel said.

  “Yes — and a way to get the flag back, too!” Kirsty agreed in a low voice. She glanced around the tent.

  “Maybe we could tickle the goblin holding the flag until he lets go,” Rachel suggested in a whisper. “You know how much goblins hate being tickled.”

  Tara looked doubtful. “Yes, but the flag is already in the sack with the goblin,” she pointed out. “He might just pull it further inside to keep it safe.”

  Rachel and Tara looked at Kirsty hopefully. Rachel could see that her friend was thinking hard. After a few moments, she said, “I think I’ve got an idea.” She grinned at Rachel and Tara. “And it just might work!”

  “The goblins are standing right next to each other, so let’s give them their very own three-legged race,” Kirsty giggled, pulling a jump rope out of a crate. “Tara, could you use your magic to tie this rope to one goblin’s right leg and the other goblin’s left leg?” she whispered with a grin.

  Rachel clapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud at the idea. Tara was smiling, too, as she waved her wand in the air. A moment later, the jump rope flew obediently over to the goblins. In a turquoise blur of fairy sparkles, it wound itself around the left leg of the first goblin and the right leg of the second goblin, before tying itself tightly in a knot. The rope paused and then added a loopy bow, with a final burst of bright sparkles.

  Tara chuckled softly. “They won’t be able to run very far with my flag now,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

  “Now I’ll grab the flag!” whispered Rachel.

  She tiptoed over to the sack with the Fun Day Flag sticking out of it. Very quietly, she reached out, grasped the shimmering turquoise fabric, and yanked it sharply. She must have caught the goblin by surprise, because the flag immediately came free.

  “Hey!” the goblin yelled. “Who did that? Who grabbed the flag? Was it you?”

  “Me? No!” the other goblin replied. “It must be those pesky girls. Quick, we’ve got to get out of these sacks!”

  Rachel ran back to the others as the two goblins threw their sacks
off and tried to chase after the girls, not realizing that their legs were tied together.

  “Whoa!” the first one yelled as he was pulled over by the second. “What happened?”

  The second goblin tried to get back on his feet, but he couldn’t stand up. Then he noticed the jump rope around his leg. “They played a trick on us!” he moaned. “We’re tied together!” His fingers pulled at the knot, but it wouldn’t come undone. It was fastened tightly with fairy magic!

  After a moment, he gave up. The two goblins tried to stand up together and walk. Rachel and Kirsty couldn’t resist watching as the goblins swayed, wobbled, and then fell over again. It was so funny!

  “Hey — stop pushing me!” the first goblin screeched.

  “You’re pushing me!” the second goblin snapped. “And now those girls have our flag!”

  “Sorry,” Tara said flying out in front of the goblins. “But it’s my flag, and if you two try to steal it again, I’ll tell Jack Frost you were trying to sneak it back into his ice castle!” She grinned. “Don’t worry, though. As soon as my flag is back in Fairyland where it belongs, that rope will magically undo itself.”

  The goblins’ shoulders slumped at her words. They knew they were beaten. They sighed and stumbled off, still grumbling about being tied together with the jump rope.

  “Here you are, Tara,” Rachel said, handing the sparkly flag to the little fairy.

  “Thank you,” Tara said happily, as she waved her wand to shrink the flag to its Fairyland size. In order to fit into the human world, the flag had magically grown bigger. “Now I’d better zoom back to Fairyland, to recharge my wand with Tuesday magic.”