3. A Snowy Start

"Thank goodness Doodle is safe!" cried Queen Titania happily. "But the snowstorm means that one of the goblins is close to your town," the king warned. "And he must have Doodle's magic Snow Feather!" Kirsty turned to Rachel. "Do you think your parents will let you come and stay with me?" she said. "My mom said it was OK." "I'll ask them," Rachel replied. "Then we can get the feathers back from the goblins!" The king nodded. "That would be wonderful," he said. The queen stepped forward. She had two golden lockets in her hand. "Each locket is filled with fairy dust," she explained, giving them

to the girls. "You can use a pinch of this whenever you need to turn yourself into fairies and back into humans again. But remember!" She smiled at Rachel and Kirsty. "Don't look too hard for magic— it will find you. And when it does, you will know that one of the magic feathers is close by." The girls fastened the lockets around their necks. "And beware of the goblins," the king added. "Jack Frost has cast a spell to make them bigger than usual." "Bigger!" Rachel said, feeling nervous. "As big as humans, you

mean?" The king shook his head. "We have a law in Fairyland that not even magic can make anything bigger than the highest tower of the Fairy Palace." He pointed at the tallest pink tower. "But it means that now the goblins are almost as tall as your shoulders— when you're human-sized." Kirsty shivered. "We'll have to be careful," she said. "But of course we're happy to help." Rachel nodded. "Thank you," said the king gratefully. "We knew you wouldn't let us down." The queen scattered fairy dust over the girls. It whipped around them, and in a few seconds, a whirlwind was gently lifting them up into the sky. "Good-bye!" Kirsty and Rachel called, waving at their friends below. "And don't worry. We'll find Doodle's feathers and bring him safely home."

"Rachel's here!" Kirsty shouted, rushing to the front door. The Walkers' car was just turning into the driveway. "Put on your boots before you go out in the snow," called Mrs. Tate from the kitchen. Kirsty pulled on her boots. It was the day after she and Rachel had been to Fairyland, and Rachel's parents had agreed that she could come and stay with the Tates. Kirsty had been worried that the Walkers wouldn't be able to make it to Wetherbury, though. The goblins had been up to their tricks again. There had been a heavy snowfall, and flakes were still drifting down. Kirsty ran outside, followed by her mom and dad. The Walkers were unloading Rachel's suitcase from the car. "Hello," called Mr. Tate. "Sorry about the weather. Isn't it awful?"

"I packed my boots, scarf, and gloves in my suitcase," Rachel whispered to Kirsty as they hugged hello. "Would you like to come in for some coffee?" Mrs. Tate asked. "That would be nice," Rachel's mom agreed. "But we shouldn't stay too long, in case the snow gets worse." "Come and see Doodle," Kirsty said quietly to Rachel, as their parents chatted. Mr. Tate had put Doodle inside the hall closet. Gently, Kirsty lifted the weather vane out. "Oh, poor Doodle!" said Rachel when she saw the rusty rooster. "We have to find his feathers, Kirsty!"

A knock at the front door made them both turn. "I wonder who that is?" Kirsty said, putting Doodle away again. Kirsty's mom had opened the door and was talking to an old lady who was bundled up in winter clothes. "It's Mom's friend, Mrs. Fordham," Kirsty whispered to Rachel. "She lives on Willow Hill." "I'm sorry to bother you," Mrs. Fordham was saying, "but there's so much snow, I can't get back to my house. I wondered if I could wait here for a while." "Of course," said Mrs. Tate, helping her inside. "Come and have a cup of coffee." "I've never seen weather like this," Mrs. Fordham went on, unwinding her scarf. "And it seems to be worse on Willow Hill than anywhere else. I don't know why." Kirsty and Rachel glanced at each other. "Why do you think there's more snow on Willow Hill?" Rachel whispered to Kirsty. Kirsty looked excited. "Maybe that's where the goblin has taken the Snow Feather!"