Pip in Jewel Forest Read online

  “Of course – I should’ve remembered.” Poor Pip. They’d all been really scared that day.

  “It’s not that I don’t like the river… I love being near it and listening to the soothing sound of the rushing water. I just don’t like being in it!”

  “I’m not surprised,” said Blossom sympathetically. She and Pip sat in silence for a while, watching the ripples on the pink water circle across the river.

  The peace was broken by a familiar voice. “Hello, Pip! Hello, Blossom!” The two fairies turned round to see Catkin flying over to them.

  “Oh, hi, Catkin!” said Pip, putting on a brave face. “How’s the organizing going?”

  Catkin grinned. “I’m on my way to collect the medals,” she told them. “The tree squirrels have been making them. What are you two up to?”

  “Oh, er, just hanging out,” said Blossom. She thought Pip might not want to tell Catkin about her sports disaster.

  But Pip wanted to be honest. “Actually, we’re here because Blossom was trying to teach me Branch Gymnastics. But I was terrible and flew off, and Blossom came to find me. The truth is, Catkin, I’m really worried about the Olympics tomorrow,” she admitted.

  Catkin sat down next to Pip. “Oh, Pip, please don’t worry. You’re good at other things, like sewing, and dancing – and you’re an amazing singer. Not every fairy can be good at sports!”

  Pip gave Catkin a small smile. “Thanks, Catkin. But the thought of competing tomorrow makes me feel sick.”

  “I’ve got an idea!” said Catkin, bouncing up and pulling at Pip’s hand to do the same. “Come and help me with the last-minute organization. There’s still so much to do – I promise it’ll take your mind off it!”

  “That sounds great,” said Pip. “If you’re sure I won’t get in the way?”

  “Of course not – it’ll be brilliant to have an extra pair of wings!”

  Pip and Catkin worked non-stop for the rest of the day. First, they picked up the medals from the tree squirrels. They’d made them out of gold, silver and bronze conkers tied with spider-silk thread. The gorgeous medals glistened in a wicker basket, and Pip couldn’t help but feel a stab of disappointment that there was no chance of her winning one.

  But there was no time to be sad. Next, Catkin and Pip flew down to Bluebell Clearing, a large mossy patch of ground surrounded by bluebell fields. Catkin explained that this was where most of the events would take place. It was the perfect area, with lots of natural sunlight pouring down, and tree stumps dotted around for the spectators to sit on.

  Once they’d sorted out the seats, they had to build the podium and stage. Luckily, Catkin had already asked some sparrows to gather as many golden acorns as they could find. The shiny nutshells were piled up at the centre of the clearing.

  “This calls for a little fairy magic,” said Catkin. She put a hand into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a handful of fairy-dust. She tipped some carefully into Pip’s outstretched palms. “I always find fairy magic works best if there are two of you,” she explained to Pip. “Ready, steady, go!”

  Pip and Catkin squeezed their eyes shut and threw the fairy-dust up into the air. They could hear the tinkle of the dust as it landed on the acorn pile. But when Pip opened her eyes, the pile wasn’t there any more – in its place was a glittering golden stage made from shells, with a winners’ podium in the centre!

  “Wow, it’s beautiful!” cried Pip.

  Next, the two friends made the refreshments for the fairy competitors. They gathered daisy petals and peaches to make the daisy-peach punch and poured it into leaf cups to serve.

  The sky had turned a deep purple colour by the time Catkin announced that they’d finished. “Thanks so much, Pip – I would’ve been up all night if I hadn’t had your help!”

  “Thanks, Catkin – it really did take my mind off the sports tomorrow. In fact, I’m actually looking forward to it – it’s so magical down here, I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces!”

  Pip slept soundly that night – she was exhausted after helping Catkin all day. And when she woke up, she didn’t feel quite so anxious about the Fairy Olympics. How bad can it be? she thought as she made a cup of beechnut tea. There’s no point in worrying about it now.

  She put on a special “Jewel Forest” Olympics T-shirt – something else the organizing committee had taken charge of. On the front was a sparkly leaf made out of tiny crystals.

  Pip fluttered along the fairy skyway to Bluebell Clearing. As she got closer, the skyway became busier and the chatter in the air noisier. She gasped when the clearing came into view. It looked so different from yesterday, when it had been empty and quiet. Now it was buzzing with forest creatures waiting for the Olympics to start. On the tree-stump chairs sat every type of forest dweller imaginable – from frogs to fireflies, rabbits to worms, sparrows to spiders. Some held up signs saying “We Love the Jewel Forest Fairies” and “Go for Gold”, and Pip even saw a group of rabbits wearing face paints!

  In the clearing, hundreds of fairies stretched and fluttered, and drank cups of daisy-peach punch. They smiled and laughed and joked – they didn’t look at all nervous! As well as the fairies Pip knew, who wore Jewel Forest T-shirts, she spotted others wearing Star Valley, Sparkle City and Dream Mountain T-shirts.

  Pip suddenly felt terrified. She hadn’t imagined how many creatures would be here to watch – not to mention all the other fairies who’d come from outside Jewel Forest to compete in the Fairy Olympics. She shrank back behind an elderflower bush. Maybe she could fly back home before anyone saw her and hide for the rest of the day?

  “Oh, hi, Pip!” Pip swung round – it was Princess Primrose and her younger sister Nutmeg, also wearing Jewel Forest T-shirts. Pip’s princess friends lived in the Tree Palace, which was built into an ancient pink diamond-nut tree in the heart of the forest. “Wow, the Bluebell Clearing looks amazing! Catkin told me you helped her put all the finishing touches to it yesterday.”

  “Um, yes,” said Pip in her tiny voice. “Thank you.”

  Nutmeg smiled, making the freckles on her cheeks dance about. “It’s brilliant. I can’t wait for the Olympics to start!”

  “We’d better join the others,” said Primrose, “before the mayor’s opening speech!”

  Primrose linked arms with Pip and the little fairy found herself fluttering down to the clearing. Well, I can’t hide now! Pip thought to herself.

  As the fairies joined their friends before the golden stage, the mayor hopped out in front of the bellflower microphone.

  Ribbit! Ribbit! “Hello, everyone! I am thrilled to welcome you all – fairies, animals, insects and other creatures – to the Jewel Forest Fairy Olympics! This is a very exciting day – the first Fairy Olympics to be held in Jewel Forest – and we have some very special events lined up for you!” The mayor paused for a moment and the audience clapped. Ribbit! “So, we’re going to begin with River Rafting on River Sapphire. Then we have Toadstool Trampolining, followed by Branch Gymnastics. The second-to-last event will be the Fairy Relay. The final event is top secret, and won’t be revealed until later!”

  Pip looked around at her fairy friends. “A top-secret event? I wonder what it is! Catkin, do you know about it?”

  Catkin shrugged her shoulders. “Nope!” she whispered. “It’s a surprise to me, too!”

  “Please make your way to River Sapphire for the first event!” announced the mayor in his deep, croaky voice.

  The fairies were put in teams, competing against the other lands in fairyland. Pip was relieved that she was in the same team as Primrose – she was always so calm. But that didn’t stop Pip from squeezing her eyes tightly shut throughout the entire race.

  At the front of the raft, Nutmeg’s sister yelled for them to go faster as River Sapphire became a sea of splashing oars. Pip’s heart thumped, and although she tried to loosen her grip on the sides
to pick up her oars, she just couldn’t – she was too scared.

  “There’s the finish line!” called Nutmeg after what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes.

  Pip didn’t dare look, but seconds later she heard the mayor announce that a team from Dream Mountain had won. Then she felt Primrose’s arms around her, helping guide her out of the boat and on to dry land.

  Thank fairyland that’s over, thought Pip, finally daring to open her eyes as she fluttered to the bank. She hoped to the tips of her fairy wings the other events wouldn’t be quite as bad as that one.

  After the River Rafting medal ceremony, the mayor announced the next event: Toadstool Trampolining.

  Pip’s heart sank, remembering just how bad she’d been when she’d tried to practise. In Bluebell Clearing, she looked around nervously at all the larger fairies lined up behind toadstools. Pip went to find her own, and was relieved to discover a spare one right at the back. It was lower and smaller than the other toadstools – perfect for her!

  The audience watched as the fairies stood waiting for the signal from the mayor. “Fairies, this event is all about how high you can bounce! Remember, if you fall off, you’re out of the competition.” He held up his palm-leaf flag. “And, ready, steady … GO!”

  Pip fluttered up on to her toadstool, tucked in her wings, and kept her feet steady. She glanced around – some of the other fairies were already bouncing up and down expertly. She could see Willa, in the front row of toadstools, jumping away. Her silky long black hair flowed up and down as she moved through the air.

  “OK, here goes,” Pip said silently. She bent her knees, took a deep breath, and jumped. The toadstool wobbled under her, and although she tried to land with her little feet balanced, her left foot slipped and she found herself sliding down the toadstool. She managed a smile as she landed on the soft mossy ground. Oh well, at least that’s over quickly!

  Pip watched the rest of the Toadstool Trampolining with her friends – all of them except Willa were out of the event.

  Soon there were only three fairies left: Willa, Goldie – also from Jewel Forest – and Fern, from Star Valley. The audience cheered them on as they bounced higher and higher, their faces straight with concentration. Pip gasped as Willa somersaulted in the air, and clapped her hands hard as she landed perfectly on the toadstool. Goldie then tried to do the same, but as she spun in the air she drifted to the side, and found it impossible to land back on her toadstool. Now there were just two fairies left!

  Willa launched herself upwards into a backflip. Pip held her breath – this was the highest she’d bounced so far – but as Willa landed she tipped backwards. Her arms flailed about as she tried to regain her balance, but it was no good – Willa tumbled off the toadstool.

  “I’m so sorry you didn’t win, Willa,” said Pip when her friend came to join them after receiving her silver conker medal.

  Willa smiled. “It’s my own fault – I shouldn’t have shown off so much! Anyway, I’m really pleased to be second – I didn’t even think I had a chance of winning a medal!”

  RIBBIT! RIBBIT! RIBBIT! boomed the mayor, silencing the chattering crowd. “Next is Branch Gymnastics. Fairy contestants, take your places, please.”

  But there aren’t any branches nearby! thought Pip. “What does he mean?” she asked Willa.

  Her friend pointed towards the cherry-jewel tree on one side of the clearing. A golden branch began to grow out of its trunk, slowly making its way across the Bluebell Clearing.

  “We’ve got a bit of fairy magic for this event!” said the mayor. “Look out for the branch, everyone!”

  It continued to stretch across the whole length of the clearing, right in front of the seated spectators.

  “Wow!” said Pip.

  “It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” said Catkin. “We had to collect a lot of fairy-dust to create that magic!”

  Soon, the fairies were all lined up on the branch. “You will have fifty puffs of a dandelion clock to show us what you can do. At the end, the audience will vote for the winner!”

  Pip couldn’t help but shake with fear as she sat between Nutmeg and Blossom, her legs hanging nervously from the branch.

  “And … GO!” croaked the mayor as he started blowing on the dandelion he held.

  While many of the other fairies began swinging expertly on the golden branch, Pip lowered herself down slowly, until she dangled by her hands. She knew she had to at least try, so she bent her legs, as Blossom had shown her. Then she caught sight of Blossom out of the corner of her eye, performing triple cartwheels. She’s unbelievable! thought Pip.

  “Ten puffs left!” the mayor told them. The audience’s cheers grew louder as they encouraged the fairies. But Pip still couldn’t even swing herself back and forth. She looked along the line of contestants – every single one of them was swinging, even if some weren’t quite flipping over the branch. Everyone was better than her!

  “Three … two … one … and stop!” called the mayor. Pip fluttered to the ground. She was just glad that was over – and that the audience seemed to be so impressed by the other fairies’ acrobatics, they hadn’t noticed how terrible she was!

  To decide on the winner, the mayor told the audience to blow on a dandelion clock while thinking of their favourite fairy gymnast. It was a magical sight as the dandelion seeds then flew out of the audience’s hands – or paws – and came to rest at the feet of their chosen fairy. Pip wasn’t surprised she didn’t get a single dandelion seed, but was thrilled when she saw the pile in front of Blossom.

  “Blossom, you’re the clear winner!” announced the mayor.

  The blonde fairy stared down at her pile of dandelion seeds and blinked repeatedly, as if she couldn’t believe it.

  “Well done, Blossom!” said Pip, giving her friend a huge hug. “I’m so pleased for you.” And Pip really meant it – she was delighted for her friend, even if she didn’t have a hope of winning a medal of her own!

  Blossom still looked dazed as the mayor hung her winner’s golden conker over her head and the whole forest cheered.

  “I can’t believe it!” she said to her friends as the fairies drank daisy-peach punch. “I’ve never won anything before!”

  Primrose put an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “You were miles better than anyone else – I’ve never seen such complicated spins and flips!”

  As the fairies finished their drinks, the mayor announced the next event: Fairy Relay. “This will rely on everyone in a team to fly as fast as they can.”

  The mayor picked out the leaders of each team, who then had to pick their team members. Pip’s stomach whirled with embarrassment – of course no one would want to pick her! For the second time that day, she wished she could hide away.

  Fairy names were called out one after the other as the teams gathered together, and soon all Pip’s friends had disappeared from her side. She stared at her feet, not even able to glance at the stage. Finally Pip realized it was just her left, as she heard her name being called out by Poppy, another Jewel Forest fairy. She rushed over to join the team, her head down, her cheeks burning with shame.

  “Fairies, please line up on the ground in front of the cherry-chestnut tree at the far end of the Bluebell Clearing.”

  Pip let out a little sigh. At least there was only one more event left.

  “This is a test of your flying speed,” the mayor explained. “On my signal, please fly upwards – you must be at least one wingspan off the ground. Each fairy must race back and forth between the tree and the stage before the next fairy in the team can start.”

  I am so going to let my team down, thought Pip. I’ll be last, for sure.

  When it came to her turn, she flapped her wings hard, trying her best, but soon she was being overtaken by many of the faster fairies, who flew much higher to avoid the slower, less confident fairies near the for
est floor.

  She was focused on fluttering her wings as hard as possible when she heard someone shout, “Watch out!”

  Pip looked over her shoulder, but couldn’t help but swerve at the same time. She flew into the oncoming fairy – Nutmeg – and the pair went tumbling through the air.

  “I’m sorry!” Pip squeaked.

  “Don’t worry – it was an accident!” Nutmeg called as the fairies fell to the ground.

  “Pip and Nutmeg, you are disqualified for touching the ground!” croaked the mayor. “Please leave the race!”

  Pip felt awful, lowering her head as she fluttered to the back of the tree-stump chairs. Now two Jewel Forest teams were out of the running. They were never going to win the Olympics.

  “I’m really sorry, Nutmeg,” Pip told her friend as they sat together and watched the end of the race. The crowd’s cheers got louder as three teams raced neck and neck – but it was a team from Sparkle City who won in the end, by just a wing’s length.

  “It’s OK, I promise,” said Nutmeg. “It was my fault too – I called out too late.”

  Pip shrugged. “I just have to face it – I’m never going to be good at sports. I simply can’t jump as high or fly as fast as everyone else.”

  All her forest-fairy friends did their best to reassure her, but today Pip felt completely useless. She was a terrible fairy, and didn’t deserve her wings!

  At least there was only one event left to go. But what would it be? Even Catkin didn’t know what it was, although she was on the organizing committee.

  The fairies didn’t have to wait any longer to find out. The mayor hopped on to the stage again and bellowed into the microphone. “Fairies, and creatures of the forest. It is time for the final competition of the Jewel Forest Fairy Olympics! This is a special surprise, which no one has been able to prepare for – a different kind of sporting test!”