Kitabı oku: «The Fairy Bell Sisters: Winter Magic»
Christmas Gifts
The Fairy Bell Sisters all love Christmas.
And this year it looks like they will be welcoming a very special visitor for the festivities …
Copyright
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2014
HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers
77-85 Fulham Palace Road,
Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
Text copyright © Margaret McNamara 2014
Illustrations copyright © Erica-Jane Waters 2014
Cover illustration © Erica-Jane Waters, 2014
Margaret McNamara and Erica-Jane Waters asserts the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of the work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007523269
Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 9780007523276
Version: 2014-09-25
For Becky, who loves Christmas
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Map
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Fairy Secrets
How to Make Fairy Bell Holiday Punch
Read on for a sneak peek of …
Other Fairy Bell Sisters stories
About the Publisher
“This Christmas will be the perfect Christmas,” said Lily Bell one sparkling December morning. “I’ll have so many presents!”
The Fairy Bell sisters were lying on the hearth rug before a roaring fire in the great room of their fairy house. It was a blindingly sun-filled morning with fresh snow sparkling on every rooftop of the fairy village.
“Only ten more days until Christmas,” said Silver Bell. She was stroking a tiny kitten that was curled up in the crook of her arm. “We don’t know if we can wait any longer than that, do we, Ginger?” she said. Ginger purred.
“Well, you won’t have to,” said Clara. “Christmas is coming whether we’ll be ready or not.”
“I’m ready now,” said Lily.
“We’ll be patient, won’t we, Squeakie?” said Rosie Bell. She rubbed Squeak’s tummy.
“O-bee!” said Squeak.
“Why not, Squeak? Why won’t you be patient?” said Rosie. Squeak rolled over and rubbed her back on the side of her cot. “I don’t know what’s the matter with Squeak. She hasn’t been at all herself lately.”
“Maybe she’s getting a new tooth,” said Silver.
“Or she has an upset tummy,” said Clara. “Lily, have you been giving Squeak fairy chocolates again?”
“Not too many,” said Lily.
“I’m a little worried about her,” said Rosie. “Do you think—”
Just then there was a tinkling of bells outside their fairy house windows. “What’s that?” asked Clara. The bells had a tone that she recognised from long ago, but she did not want to risk saying what she thought. She flew over to open the door – and found no one there.
“Try the back door,” said Lily. “Maybe it’s Avery. She said she’d come and visit later on today.”
The tinkling sound came again. Rosie looked at Clara. Could it be?
Silver flew to the back door and opened it. “No one here, either,” she said.
Once more the bell tinkled. Ginger scurried into the kitchen to hide.
“Look! There at the window!” cried Rosie.
A dazzling beam of light filled the largest window of the fairy house great room.
“Squeak!” said Squeak.
The light was so bright and powerful that it seemed to be knocking right on the windowpane.
Clara took Rosie’s hand and squeezed it tight. “She’s come back, Rosie,” whispered Clara. “She’s come back at last.”
It would be terribly rude to go much further in this story without introducing all of you to the Fairy Bell sisters. If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting them already, please do so now. Here are:
Clara, Rosie, Lily, Silver and Squeak live together with the other young fairies on Sheepskerry Island, which is a place so filled with magic that you might be reading this story very near it right now (only you might not know it because human people call it by another name). The Fairy Bell sisters have one more member of their family, their big sister, who lives in Neverland with a friend called Peter Pan. In case you don’t dare guess her name, I’ll tell you: it’s Tinker Bell. And it was Tinker Bell who had made that tinkling sound right outside the Fairy Bell sisters’ fairy house.
If you have read other stories about the Fairy Bell sisters, you know that now is the time I usually ask a question to see if you really want to read any further. The question could be about perfect fairies or foolish fairies or headstrong fairies or fairies with tender hearts.
In times past, most of you have turned the pages and read on, which is why you know so much about the Fairy Bell sisters. But this time, I’m going to take a chance. I’m not going to ask that question, because I believe that every single one of you will want to read a story about a magical little baby who’s about to make a big change. A little baby who has a secret language all her own. A little baby named Euphemia Bell, better known as Squeak.
You might especially want to read this story if I add that it is absolutely filled with magic and it’s about a Christmas that almost does not happen – a Christmas that is an absolute disaster … until Squeakie Bell discovers the most extraordinary Christmas present in all of Fairyland.
So get yourself cosy and wrap up warm if it’s cold outside. And then let’s see if you do go ahead and turn that page …
Oh, I just knew you would! You won’t be sorry!
“What is all this?” said Rosie.
“Did Christmas come early?”asked Silver.
Clara pushed open the window against the snow. The beam of light grew brighter and the bell sound was even higher and more clear. The great room was bathed in a brilliant light, which dissolved into tiny crystals. The crystals gathered in front of the roaring fire. They didn’t melt like snowflakes. Instead, they swirled together into words.
“What is it?” asked Silver. She had never seen such a thing before in her life.
But Lily had. She remembered a message like this on her ninth birthday, a very special message indeed. “It’s from Tinker Bell!” she cried.
The moment Lily Bell said the words ‘Tinker Bell’ the crystals swirled into shapes. And the shapes turned into words. And the words chimed. 
they said.
“Tink!” cried Clara. “Is that really you?”
“It’s not Tink herself,” Rosie whispered. “But it’s Tink’s magic!”
“Let’s listen to what she’s saying,” said Lily. “Quick! Before the crystals disappear!”
The words sparkled and glowed as they chimed aloud.
“Does that mean you’ll come home, Tink?” asked Silver.
“Hush, Silver,” said Clara. “It’s magic.”
The words continued to appear.
“Aahma!” said Squeak.
The Fairy Bell sisters watched the words
until they faded from sight.
Silver was the first to speak. “Do you really think—”
But her words were interrupted by another flash.
Just to be on the safe side, the sisters didn’t speak for quite a long time.
“Do you think she means it?” asked Clara at last. Clara knew from experience that sometimes Tinker Bell had trouble keeping her promises.
“Oh, she’ll come! She’ll come for sure. And she’ll bring Christmas with her!” said Silver. Silver had been so young when Tink left for Neverland that she barely remembered her oldest sister. Sometimes she even forgot what Tink looked like. “I want to see her so much.”
“Squeakie, aren’t you happy?” asked Rosie.
But Squeakie, usually the cheeriest baby on Sheepskerry Island (or anywhere else), only gave a tiny smile.
“Squeakie’s too young to know much about Christmas,” said Lily, giving her baby sister a cuddle. “But, oh my! I can only imagine what Tink will bring me from Neverland. She knows I have wonderful taste!”
Silver was so thrilled that she flew around the great room in circles at the thought of Tinker Bell being here on Sheepskerry Island. “Now I really can’t wait until Christmas,” said Silver. “It’s going to be the best Christmas of my entire life!”
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