3. The Seventh Fairy

Mr. Goodfellow was still helping the other riders off the horses. Quickly, Rachel and Kirsty squeezed past the other horses to look more closely at the pillar. "Heather must be trapped in the painting!" Rachel said. "We have to get her out!" Kirsty said. "Yes," Rachel agreed. "But what can we do with all these people around?" Just then, almost as if he had heard them, Mr. Goodfellow clapped his

hands. "Follow me, everyone. The clowns are here!" A cheer went up as everyone ran across the lawn toward the clowns. Rachel and Kirsty were left alone. "Now's our chance!" Kirsty said. Rachel had an idea. "I know! Let's use our magic bags," she said. Titania, the Fairy Queen, had given Kirsty and Rachel bags of special gifts to help them rescue the Rainbow Fairies. "Of course! I have mine here." Kirsty put her hand in her pocket and took out her magic bag. It was glowing with a soft, golden light. When she opened it, a cloud of glitter fizzed up into the air. Kirsty slipped her hand into the bag. She felt something inside, long and skinny like a pencil. It was a tiny golden paintbrush.

Kirsty was confused. "What good is that? We don't want to paint any more pictures." "Maybe Heather knows what we can use it for," Rachel suggested. "Amber told us how to help her when she was trapped in the shell, remember?" "Good idea," Kirsty said. As she bent closer to the pillar, the tip of the brush touched the painted fairy's hand. Suddenly, the whole picture glowed, and the fairy's tiny fingers moved!

A single violet-scented petal floated down from the picture. "Look!" Rachel gasped. "The brush is working some magic on the painting!" Kirsty whispered. She began to stroke the brush all around the outline of the fairy. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, the picture glowed even brighter. The fairy shivered. "That tickles!" she said with a tiny laugh. The magic brush was lifting Heather out of the painting! Rachel checked to make sure that no one was watching them. Then, with Kirsty's last stroke, the fairy sprang out of the painting, her wings flashing like jewels. Purple fairy dust shot everywhere, turning into violet-scented flowers that floated around her.

"Thank you so much for rescuing me!" said Heather, floating in front of them. She held a purple wand, tipped with silver. "I'm Heather the Violet Fairy! Who are you? Do you know where my Rainbow sisters are?" "I'm Rachel, and this is Kirsty," said Rachel. "Your sisters are all safe in the pot at the end of the rainbow." "Hooray!" Heather did a twirl of excitement, scattering violet sparks around the girls. "I can't wait to see them again."

Kirsty held out her hand and Heather landed gently on it. Kirsty hid her from view until the girls had run through the garden, past all the people watching the clowns. They ran out of the gate and down the path that led to the woods.