6. Rainbow’s End

But, instead, Rachel heard Jack Frost give a scream of rage. She opened her eyes. Doodle, the fairy rooster, flew up in a great rush of wind and fire. His magnificent tail glittered with sparks of red and gold and copper. "Get away from them, Jack Frost!" he ordered, his beak snapping with anger. He flapped his wings furiously. A stream of white-hot sparks sprayed from them and sizzled on the ice. "Ouch! Stop that!" cried Jack Frost, backing away as several sparks landed on his robe. Little puffs of steam leaked from his spiky hair and beard. "Doodle's come to save us!" breathed Kirsty. "And he's his true magical self again!"

Hayley flew over to the girls. "Are you all right? You're so brave to face Jack Frost when you were only fairy-sized." "We had to. He froze our magic lockets shut," Rachel told her. Keeping one fierce amber eye on Jack Frost, Doodle came over and swept Rachel, Kirsty, and Hayley under one wing. Then he peered down his beak at Jack Frost. "You must pay for what you've

done!" he said severely. "Not only have you created trouble with the weather, but you have threatened two of Fairyland's dearest friends!" Jack Frost cowered. Melting ice ran down his face and dripped from his sharp nose. "They shouldn't have stuck their noses into my business," he snapped. "What if Jack Frost casts a spell on Doodle?" Rachel asked anxiously. Hayley shook her head. "Now that he has all his feathers back, Doodle is seven times as powerful as any one fairy. He's more than a match for Jack Frost!" Doodle fluttered his magic tail feathers. Colored sparks shot out, and a rainbow began rising from the ground. Jack Frost started spinning helplessly. "Stop! Help!" he cried. The rainbow swept him up, shooting into the sky in a beautiful arc. Jack Frost struggled and yelled, but soon he was a distant speck amid the glowing rainbow of colors.

Kirsty and Rachel were still staring at him when they felt themselves being whisked up in a whirlwind of shimmering fairy dust. With Hayley and Doodle, the girls sped through the bright blue sky. Soft feathers floated around them and they could smell sweet summer flowers in the air. "Oh," breathed Rachel happily. She caught a glimpse of green fields and red-and-white toadstool houses on the ground below. Then some clouds parted, and there were the towers of the beautiful fairy palace, gleaming in the sunshine!

"It's Fairyland! And look, the weather's still mixed up!" called Kirsty. A crowd of fairies waved and cheered as Doodle and the girls landed in the courtyard of the fairy palace. King Oberon and Queen Titania were waiting to greet them. "Welcome back, Doodle. We have missed our weather rooster," said the King and Queen warmly. "And our heartfelt thanks to you, Rachel and Kirsty."

All the people of Fairyland cheered again. The Weather Fairies gathered happily around Doodle, eager to get back to their weather work. "What's going to happen to Jack Frost, Your Majesties?" Kirsty asked.