1. A Sunny Spell

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A Sunny Spell "I feel like I'm going to melt," said Rachel Walker happily. It was a hot summer afternoon and she and her friend, Kirsty Tate, were enjoying the sunshine in Kirsty's backyard. A bumblebee buzzed lazily around Mrs. Tate's sunflowers, and a single gust of wind blew through the yellow rosebushes. The weather was so warm and sunny that Mr. and Mrs. Tate had given the girls permission to camp out in the yard that night. Kirsty looked up from a jumble of tent poles and bright orange material. "It's been a perfect day," she agreed. "Let's hope tonight is perfect, too. It wouldn't be much fun to sleep out here in the rain!"

Rachel laughed, and then started untangling tent poles with her friend. "I think I'd rather take a shower in the morning, not in the middle of the night," she agreed. Kirsty held up some poles. "Right. So how do we put this thing together?" she asked brightly. Rachel scratched her head. "Well…" she began. "Need some help?" came a voice from behind them. "Dad!" said Kirsty, relieved. "Yes, please. We—" She turned to look at her father and burst out laughing. Rachel spun around to see what was so funny. She had to bite her lip not to laugh, too. Mr. Tate was wearing the most enormous sunglasses she had ever seen!

Mr. Tate looked very pleased with himself. He wiggled the glasses up and down on his nose. "Do you like my new shades?" he asked. "Well, yes," Kirsty said, trying to keep a straight face. "They're very… summery." Mr. Tate knelt down and started putting the tent together. "The weather has been so strange all week, I didn't know whether to buy the sunglasses or not," he said. "I just hope it doesn't start snowing again!"

Rachel and Kirsty looked at each other but didn't say anything. The two friends shared a very special secret. They knew exactly why the weather had been so strange—Jack Frost had been messing it all up. Doodle, the weather vane rooster, usually controlled the weather in Fairyland with his seven magic tail feathers and the help of the Weather Fairies. But mean Jack Frost had sent his goblins to steal Doodle's feathers. Without the feathers, the weather in Fairyland and the real world had gone completely crazy. Rachel and Kirsty were helping the Weather Fairies to get them back, but until then, Doodle was just a regular weather vane on top of the Tates' barn. The day before, with the help of Pearl the Cloud Fairy, Kirsty and Rachel had returned the Cloud Feather to Doodle. But even though the girls had found the Snow Feather, the Breeze Feather, and the Cloud Feather, they still had four feathers left to find. "There!" said Mr. Tate, stepping back and admiring the finished tent. "It's all yours." "Thanks, Dad," Kirsty said as he walked away. She put two sleeping bags inside the tent and then flopped down on the grass. "Phew!" she said, and whistled. "It's still so hot! I hope it cools down soon, or we'll never be able to sleep in there." Rachel was frowning and looking at her watch.

"Kirsty," she said slowly. "Have you noticed where the sun is?" Kirsty looked up and pointed. "Right there, in the sky," she replied. "Yes, but look how high it is," Rachel insisted. "It hasn't even started setting yet." Kirsty glanced at her watch. "But it's seven-thirty," she said, frowning. "That can't be right."