Holly and the Christmas Wish Read online

  Thanks and sparkles, Catherine Coe!

  Welcome to the world of the fashion fairy princesses! Join Holly and friends on their magical adventures in fairyland.

  They can’t wait to explore

  Can you?

  Contents

  Cover

  Half Title Page

  Dedication

  Title Page

  Map

  Sparkle City!

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Fashion Fairy Princess Website

  Sneak Peek of Buttercup in Glitter Ocean

  Fun Facts about Holly

  Copyright

  Holly pressed her nose against the circular window of her pink brick cottage. Outside, Sparkle City looked just like a Christmas card. It had been snowing for over a week, and everything was covered in a glittery snow carpet. The trees, plants, houses and shops were so white and sparkly that the landscape seemed even more magical than usual.

  Instead of shopping or running errands, all the fairies in the city seemed to be playing in the snow. Holly watched two fairies fly past, pulling sledges behind them. At the corner of her street, a group were making a fairy snowman, and in the distance she could see fairies laughing and having a snowball fight.

  A knock on the door made Holly jump. She fluttered over, pulled it open, and smiled to see the flushed faces of her best friends, May and Summer.

  Summer held up her skis. “We’re going to play on Harmony Hill – are you coming?”

  Holly grinned. “Yes, please!”

  “I’m going to try and beat my downhill record!” said May. Holly could barely see her brown eyes underneath the lilac woolly hat she was wearing.

  “Come inside while I get my things,” said Holly.

  May and Summer flew in and nestled into Holly’s peacock-feather sofa, while Holly pulled on a turquoise hat over her shoulder-length blonde hair, then slipped on matching gloves and coat. Finally, she grabbed her skis and boots from the cupboard.

  “OK, I’m ready!” Holly declared.

  As soon as she got outside, Holly was glad she’d wrapped up warmly – the air was chilly, and it was still snowing. The fairies could see their breath as they spoke.

  “I can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas!” said Summer, her long auburn hair peeking out from under a velvet hat. “I wonder if we’ll get invited to the Snowflake Ball this year?”

  “Oh, I’d so love to go,” May said. “It’s meant to be the most magical party in all of fairyland!”

  The Snowflake Ball was held every year, on Christmas Eve, in the enchanted grounds of Glimmershine Palace. The palace was a beautiful sparkly building with lots of gorgeous turrets and stained-glass windows. It was where all the fairy royalty lived – including the fairy princesses. Every fairy in fairyland, let alone Sparkle City, was desperate for an invitation to the ball. But not everyone could go – only a handful of fairies were invited each year.

  “I wonder how the fairy princesses decide?” said Holly. “I don’t think I’ve done anything special enough to deserve an invite.”

  “At least your name sounds Christmassy,” said Summer with a wink. “May and I don’t really sound like we’d fit in at a winter ball!”

  Holly laughed. She hadn’t thought of that – although she was pretty sure that wasn’t how the fairy princesses chose their guests.

  The three fairies carried their skis right to the top of Harmony Hill. Within seconds, May had strapped hers on and whizzed away down the steepest slope. Holly grinned at her fearless friend, whose golden wings had become a blur. There was no way she’d be going that fast! Luckily, Summer also preferred the gentler slope, and the two fairies were soon skiing down it together. They waved at May as she passed them, already flying back up the hill.

  “I’m much too clumsy to go as fast as May,” said Summer as she and Holly glided to a stop at the bottom. “I’d end up toppling over and getting my head stuck in the snow!”

  Holly nodded in agreement. She loved zooming down the hill, fluttering her light-blue wings in the wind, but she was only a little fairy and she liked to enjoy skiing at a steady pace.

  After they’d been up and down several times, they bumped into May at the bottom of the hill. “Shall we do snow fairies now?” suggested Summer.

  “What are snow fairies?” asked May.

  Holly smiled. “You don’t know? Let me show you!” The petite fairy jumped on to her back in the soft, newly fallen snow and fluttered her wings to make a fairy shape.

  Summer laid down next to her and did the same thing with her own cherry-red wings.

  “Oh, that looks like so much fun!” said May, jumping down on the other side of Holly. The friends squealed as they felt the cold snow through their warm clothes.

  “How about we go and get some hot chocolate to warm up?” suggested Holly. It was her favourite drink, especially in wintertime.

  “Good idea!” said Summer. All three fairies fluttered up and brushed the glittering snow off their clothes.

  They were soon sitting in Cutey-Pie Café sipping hot chocolate topped with pink whipped cream. The hot drink tasted sweet, smooth and creamy in Holly’s mouth, warming her up from her toes to the tips of her wings.

  May looked through the café windows, which were edged with rainbow fairy lights. “It’s getting dark,” she said.

  Holly nodded as she turned to look at the dusky sky. The snow was still falling heavily from the fluffy clouds. “We should probably go home. But we can play in the snow again tomorrow, can’t we?”

  “Oh, yes!” said Summer. “It looks like there’ll be lots more snow too!”

  May and Summer lived a few streets away from Holly, so she said goodbye at the corner of her road, holding her skis in one hand and waving with the other. “See you tomorrow!”

  Holly turned into her street, and grinned as she thought about what a fun day it had been. But her smile turned to a frown when she noticed something strange outside her cottage – a white carriage with a royal crest, and some fairy-bunnies jumping out of the back. She hoped she wasn’t in trouble. Whatever could it be about?

  Holly fluttered along slowly, worrying about the carriage outside her cottage. Perhaps she had forgotten to pay this month’s fairy bills? She shook her head. No – she was sure she’d posted the fairy-dust in time.

  As she got closer, she noticed that one of the fairy-bunnies held a little golden trumpet in his paws. Now Holly was really confused. The fairy-bunny brought the instrument up to his mouth, took a deep breath and began to play a trumpet fanfare.

  Is this really for me? Holly wondered. By now she’d reached the pavement outside her cottage where the carriage stood. The fairy-bunny ended the fanfare as a second bunny flew up to Holly, cradling something in his paws. Holly felt her hands shaking as the fairy-bunny passed it to her gently – it was a sparkling letter in the shape of a snowflake!

  The little fairy let out a gasp as she read the blue-glitter handwriting:

  Dear Holly,

  We are delighted to invite you to this year’s Snowflake Ball at Glimmershine Palace.

  You will be collected at 6 p.m., on Christmas Eve, by a carriage pulled by winged ponies.

  Please dress in your most magical party outfit!

  With lots of love and fairy wishes,

  Princesses Rosa, Bluebell, Violet and Buttercup xxx

  Holly couldn’t believe her eyes. An
invitation to the Snowflake Ball! As she stared at it in shock, it melted away into nothing. She turned to the fairy-bunnies.

  “Is it true? Am I invited? Why did the invitation disappear?”

  The bunny with the trumpet smiled. “The ball is so special that only the fairies who are invited are allowed to know the details,” he squeaked. “Can you remember them?”

  Holly nodded, her heart racing with excitement. “Six o’clock, on Christmas Eve!”

  “That’s right,” said the bunny who’d given Holly the invitation. “See you then!”

  As the fairy bunnies bowed and hopped back into the royal carriage, Holly suddenly realized what that meant. She had only two days to get ready for the ball!

  She watched as the grand white carriage sped off into the distance and disappeared through the snow. She wondered whether they were delivering more invitations, and who else would get one. She hoped from the bottom of her heart that Summer and May would be invited too.

  Holly fluttered towards her cottage, smiling at the roof that was now white with snow rather than its usual pink. Icicles dangled down prettily from the roof. She knew lots of fairies loved the warmth and sunshine of the summer, but winter was definitely Holly’s favourite time of year ­– and now she was going to the ball!

  Once inside, Holly threw some fairy-dust on the fire, and the logs began to burn brightly, lighting up the room. She took off her coat, hat, gloves and boots and sat down on the sofa. But she was so excited that she started bouncing up and down – she couldn’t sit still! Then she remembered that the invitation had said to wear her most magical party outfit. She jumped up and fluttered to her oak wardrobe, flinging open the doors and staring at the clothes inside.

  Holly pulled out dress after dress, skirt after skirt, blouse after blouse, but she soon realized that she had nothing suitable for such a special ball. She’d have to go shopping. She’d need to get new shoes too. And what about her hair?

  All Holly thought about that evening was the Snowflake Ball. She ate a dinner of toadstool-topped toast, followed by a red velvet cupcake, and wondered what delicious food and drinks might be served at the ball. When she snuggled down into her cotton-fur bed, she found sleep just wouldn’t come. She couldn’t stop thinking about all the things she needed to do, and where she was going to find the perfect dress. Holly tossed and turned, wondering what the ball would be like, who would be there, and if she’d fit in among the other special guests. And when she finally managed to get to sleep, she dreamt strange dreams of riding in a winged carriage that took her to a party so covered in snow that she couldn’t see anything but white…

  Holly woke with a start, jumped out of bed and flew over to the window. Outside, the glistening snowflakes were falling just as heavily as yesterday. With no time to waste, Holly quickly poured herself a bowl of fairy-fruit muesli, and planned her day while she munched.

  First she’d go to see Summer and May – she was desperate to find out if they’d been invited to the ball as well. Then she would go shopping for the perfect ball gown – with shoes to match, of course. She hoped that all the shops in Sparkle City Mall would still be open this close to Christmas!

  Holly cleaned her teeth with her diamond-topped toothbrush then pulled on her coat and boots. She glanced out of the window – it was still snowing. She’d definitely need her hat and gloves today.

  She made sure she had lots of fairy-dust in her blue leather satchel, then pushed open her front door. The snow had piled up so much overnight that she had to shove the door with her shoulder to get it to budge!

  Minutes later, Holly knocked on the door of Summer’s house. It too was covered in snow, the white glittery grains hiding the pretty yellow bricks. The door opened almost immediately.

  “Oh, hi, Holly!” said Summer. “Why are you up so early?”

  Oh dear, thought Holly. It doesn’t sound as if Summer has been invited to the ball after all! Surely she would have mentioned it right away. Now Holly didn’t know what to say.

  “I … erm… You see…”

  Summer frowned. “What’s the matter? Is everything OK?”

  Holly bit her lip. “Oh, yes, I’m fine – it’s just that I’ve … been invited to the Snowflake Ball…” She said this last bit so quietly that Summer could barely hear her.

  “That’s fantastic!” Summer jumped up and down. “Why didn’t you say so?”

  “Because I was hoping that you’d been invited too,” Holly said, looking down. “I wanted us to go dress shopping together. Now I feel bad.”

  Summer gave her friend a hug. “Don’t be silly! I never thought I’d be invited – but I’m so excited for you. We must go dress shopping, of course!”

  Summer’s such a good friend, thought Holly. She doesn’t seem to mind at all.

  The two friends were soon ringing the doorbell of May’s house in the next street along.

  May came to the door in her star-print pyjamas, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “Hello, you two. You’re early – I’ve only just woken up!”

  “Holly’s got some exciting news, haven’t you?” Summer nudged Holly.

  “Well, yes… I’ve been invited to the Snowflake Ball!”

  May squealed so loudly Holly had to cover her ears. “That’s the best news ever!”

  Holly gave her a small smile. “But I was hoping you and Summer would have been invited as well…”

  May shook her head, making her dark curly ringlets bounce around. “I haven’t, I’m afraid – but it’s amazing that one of us gets to go. Are we going shopping?”

  “How did you guess?” said Summer with a wink. The fairy friends loved shopping together.

  May zoomed off to get changed and was back within minutes wearing a huge red padded jacket. “It looks freezing out there!” she explained, pointing at the thick snow falling from the white fluffy clouds. “I want to keep warm!”

  As they flew towards Diamond Boulevard Holly felt a warm feeling bubble up inside. OK, so her friends weren’t coming to the ball with her, but at least they’d have a day of fun getting ready. I’m so lucky to have friends like these, Holly thought to herself.

  Holly pushed open the door of Sparkle Sensations – their favourite clothes shop in the city – and the three fairies fluttered inside.

  “Hello, girls!” called out the owner, Topaz. “You’re my first customers today! What can I help you with?”

  “We need a dress for the Snowflake Ball!” said Summer.

  Topaz beamed. “Oh, how wonderful – are you all going?”

  May shook her head, but smiled. “No, just Holly – but Summer and I are helping her to get ready. It’s almost as good as going to the ball, anyway!”

  Holly looked around with a bewildered expression, not knowing where to start with all the hundreds of dresses, skirts, tops and trousers that filled the shop. The clothes were organized by colour, so it felt a bit like being inside a rainbow! “Um … I’d like a dress – a ball gown, I think. But I have no idea what might suit me…”

  Topaz fluttered over and put an arm around Holly. “Don’t worry – that’s what I’m here for. You girls sit down while I choose some dresses for you to try on.”

  The three friends watched as Topaz zoomed around the shop at top speed, piling up more and more dresses in her arms.

  “OK, try these!” Topaz said, her blue eyes twinkling. She liked nothing more than picking the perfect outfit for a fairy.

  Holly fluttered behind the velvet dressing-room curtain. Moments later, she came out in a blue taffeta ball gown.

  “Oh, it’s lovely,” said Summer.

  “And it goes really well with your hair,” May added.

  Holly flew in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror. She agreed it was a nice dress, but it didn’t seem quite magical enough. And it was far too long – she didn’t want to trip over at
the ball! She flew back into the dressing room to try on the next one.

  This time she emerged wearing an emerald-green gown, with long lace sleeves and a neckline dotted with jewels. “I like this one too,” Holly said, “but I might get too hot when I’m dancing.”

  May, Summer and Topaz all nodded. “Yes, you’re right.”

  Luckily, there were many more dresses to try on. Holly changed into a pink cotton dress with a netted skirt, then a turquoise tutu skirt with a fitted jacket. There was a shiny black silk dress with a long train, and a lilac satin ball gown with matching satin gloves.

  But it wasn’t until the very last dress that she got the reaction she’d been hoping for.

  “Oh, wow!” May and Summer murmured together, their mouths gaping open.

  “Now that is magical!” said Topaz.

  Holly’s heart raced as she spun around in the shimmering white ball gown. The embroidered snowflakes caught the light as she turned. It fitted perfectly, the sparkly hem just skimming the floor.

  “This is the one!” said Holly, unable to take her eyes off the beautiful dress in the mirror.

  Topaz grinned. “It’s perfect for the ball. And did you know the snowflakes on it are real? They’re specially made with fairy magic to make sure they don’t melt!”

  Holly felt so special wearing the dress that she didn’t want to take it off, but there was still lots to do and it was already lunchtime. She changed back into her clothes and put on her coat and gloves, then paid Topaz for the ball gown with two handfuls of fairy-dust.

  Holly carried the dress carefully in its bag as she left the shop. That was one thing done for the ball. Next, she had to find the perfect shoes to match!

  “Oh, I love shoes so much,” said Summer as the friends fluttered into Shining Shoes after a delicious lunch of purple-pepper soup at the Cutey-Pie Café. “I just wish my feet weren’t so big!” She stared down at the large boots on her feet and pulled a face.