Two and a half wishes, p.1
Two and a Half Wishes, page 1
First published in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2024
Published in this ebook edition in 2024
HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,
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Text copyright © Paula Harrison 2024
Illustrations copyright © Mónica de Rivas 2024
Cover illustrations copyright © Mónica de Rivas 2024
Cover design copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2024
Paula Harrison and Mónica de Rivas assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of the work respectively.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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Source ISBN: 9780008583019
Ebook Edition © January 2024 ISBN: 9780008584290
Version: 2023-11-07
For Maureen
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
Books by Paula Harrison
About the Publisher
‘Try this, Caramel! Do you like it?’ Goldie Locks gave a spoonful of porridge to her little bear cub.
Caramel licked the spoon and squeaked eagerly. Standing up on her back legs, she put her front paws on Goldie’s knee and gazed at her with wide brown eyes.
Goldie smiled and gave the bear cub another spoonful. Then she stirred the porridge one more time before putting the lid on the huge copper saucepan. ‘That’s done! Now let’s get out of here while we still have the chance!’
Grabbing a basket, she popped Caramel inside along with some squares of flapjack and a bag of cherries. Then she sneaked out of the back door of the Three Spoons Hotel and dashed across the market square.
Goldie breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she was round the corner. The hotel guests always loved her porridge, but she didn’t want to spend all morning at the stove. She frowned as she wiped a blob of porridge off her sleeve. She hadn’t told her mum and dad, but … she was really bored of porridge! Why couldn’t the guests have something else for breakfast? She pulled a flapjack out of her basket and took a huge bite.
Heading down a side street, she found Red Riding and Snow White waiting for her at the edge of town. ‘Sorry I’m late!’ she called, running to meet them. ‘I’ve only just finished cooking. Why aren’t we meeting at the academy?’
‘The whole place is full of beginners learning to tap-dance,’ Red said gloomily.
Snow held up a bundle of ninja costumes. ‘I brought our suits. Let’s go somewhere quiet and practise our ninja moves.’
Red’s eyes lit up. ‘Shall we go to Shadowmoon Forest? We could try out the Creeping Tree and Shadow Flit moves that Madame Hart taught us last week. I bet I can be quieter and sneakier than either of you!’
Goldie grinned. ‘I bet you can’t! You’re the noisiest girl I know! Snow’s always the best at ninja moves.’
Snow, who had stopped to stroke a wild rabbit, smiled and passed the ninja suits to her friends.
Goldie, Red and Snow lived in Hobbleton, a sleepy little town in the magical Kingdom of Waybeyond. Red delivered baskets of food for her mum who ran the Pickled Pantry grocery store, while Snow helped out in her family’s dress shop. The three girls were really good friends and took ballet lessons together at the Glass Slipper Academy. Their adventures had begun when they’d discovered that their teacher, Madame Hart, had a secret storeroom full of swords, shields and other equipment that she’d collected while training young sword-fighters many years ago. This secret stash was hidden behind a mirrored wall in the main dance studio and, once they’d discovered it all, Goldie, Red and Snow had wanted to give up ballet lessons at once and learn sword-fighting and ninja moves instead.
After a lot of persuading, Madame Hart had agreed to train them. Since then, they’d used their new skills to fight trolls, ride dragons and defeat some of the wickedest baddies the kingdom had ever seen! Goldie knew there was more to learn, and she couldn’t wait! It would be MUCH more exciting than cooking porridge.
‘Hurry up then, slowcoaches!’ she called over her shoulder. ‘The first one to the woods gets the biggest piece of my flapjack!’
Goldie, Red and Snow dashed out of Hobbleton and across the fields to Shadowmoon Forest. A herd of unicorns wandered through the trees. The girls raced down the twisty woodland track past a row of giant red toadstools. Tinkling laughter echoed through the leaves as a cluster of fairies whizzed by.
Stopping in a clearing, Goldie, Red and Snow shared out some of the flapjacks before wriggling into their ninja suits. Goldie admired how much her outfit blended in with the branches and leaves – the perfect camouflage! Caramel scrambled out of her basket and began climbing up a tree.
‘The Creeping Tree move went like this …’ Red tiptoed from one tree trunk to the next.
‘And the Shadow Flit was like this!’ Snow sprang from one shadowy spot to another.
Goldie shook her head. ‘You’re not doing it right! Red, you have to crouch much lower than that, and, Snow, don’t stick your arms out so much.’
‘Let’s see you do it – if you’re so perfect!’ said Red, sticking her hands on her hips.
‘Easy! Watch this!’ Goldie smoothed the wrinkles out of her ninja costume and got into position behind a tree. Then she crept through the wood like a shadow. She was just about to try the next move when she spotted someone in a grey cloak moving between the trees. The cloaked figure had their hood pulled up so Goldie couldn’t see their face, but something about them seemed familiar.
‘Who’s that?’ murmured Snow.
Goldie looked closer. ‘I think it might be one of our new hotel guests – Miss Raven. She only arrived yesterday.’
‘Doesn’t she realise this forest is full of magical creatures?’ Red said, frowning. ‘We’re used to them, but if she runs into a troll or gets stuck in the middle of a unicorn stampede she could get seriously hurt!’
‘Maybe we should warn her,’ said Snow.
Goldie peered through the trees. Miss Raven had stopped beside a giant toadstool and was taking a large jam jar out of her pocket when suddenly a distant rumbling growl echoed round the wood.
‘Troll!’ cried Red. ‘And it sounds like it’s heading this way. We’d better tell her!’
‘Wait!’ hissed Snow. ‘We can’t let anyone see us dressed like this.’
Quickly pulling their normal clothes over their ninja suits, the girls raced over to Miss Raven with Caramel scampering after them.
‘Miss Raven!’ Goldie called out. ‘There’s a troll close by! You should probably get back to Hobbleton.’
Miss Raven swung round, her eyes narrowing when she saw the three girls. She was a tall woman with dark eyes, and her grey cloak shimmered as she moved. ‘Goodness, you made me jump!’ she said, frowning. ‘It’s Goldie, isn’t it? What are you doing out here in the woods?’
‘Um … just going for a walk,’ Goldie said quickly. ‘But then we heard a troll so we thought we’d better warn you.’ She glanced at Miss Raven’s empty jam jar and wondered what it was for.
Miss Raven tucked the jar under her cloak. ‘Well, I was just looking for some woodland flowers, but I certainly don’t want to meet any trolls. They sound terrifying!’ She smiled thinly. ‘I’ll see you back at the hotel then, Goldie. Be careful, girls. You could meet all sorts of crooks and baddies in a forest like this!’ She marched away with her cloak billowing out behind her.
‘Huh!’ snapped Red. ‘We’re not afraid of ANYTHING in this forest. We even fought a troll here once!’
‘Shh! She’ll hear you!’ whispered Snow. ‘No one’s meant to know – remember?’
Goldie watched Miss Raven disappear through the trees. ‘That was weird …’ she said slowly.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Snow.
‘She didn’t seem that worried about the troll, did she? And what was she doing with that jam jar?’ said Goldie.
Red shrugged. ‘She was picking flowers. She probably brought the jar to put them in. Come on, we’d better head back.’
Goldie lifted Caramel into her basket and followed the others. Thoughts whirled through her head. There was something odd about Miss Raven with her sharp eyes and long shimmering cloak. If only she could work out what it was.
When Goldie slipped through the back door of the hotel a while later, the kitchen was still filled with the smell of porridge. Her dad
‘There you are, Goldie!’ he said, beaming. ‘The guests loved your porridge this morning.’
‘Thanks, Dad!’ Goldie set down her basket and Caramel clambered out.
Mr Locks poured two cups of tea and offered Goldie the last slice of cherry cake.
‘It’s okay, Dad!’ said Goldie, smiling. ‘I know it’s your favourite.’
Her dad smiled back. ‘If you’re heading upstairs, could you take some towels to room five? Your mum went out to the bakery, and I’ve been rushed off my feet all morning.’
‘Don’t worry – I’ll do it right now!’
Goldie hurried upstairs and took some towels out of the laundry cupboard. Knocking on the guest-room door, she suddenly remembered that this was Miss Raven’s room. When no one answered, she opened the door and slipped inside.
The curtains were drawn, and a bedside lamp cast a pale light over the room. A row of glass bottles filled with blue, green and purple liquids stood on the chest of drawers. A book with a black leather cover lay beside them. Leaving the towels on the bed, Goldie crept closer to read the title: How to Make Your Spells Sparkle.
Spells! Goldie caught her breath. Why did Miss Raven have a book about spells? Then everything began to slot together like a jigsaw puzzle. First there was Miss Raven’s shimmering cloak, then the potion bottles and now this book! She must be an enchantress with magical powers.
Reaching out to open the book, Goldie stopped suddenly. What was that strange noise? It sounded like a trapped bee or a wasp buzzing against a window. Following the sound, Goldie opened one of the drawers … and discovered Miss Raven’s jam jar with a frightened fairy flying around inside.
‘You poor thing!’ cried Goldie, picking up the jar.
The fairy whizzed round and round, bashing against the inside of the jar with her tiny fists.
Her glittering purple wings fluttered faster and faster, leaving fairy dust smudged all over the glass.
Goldie glanced at the door. If she opened the jar, Miss Raven would know someone had been in her room and looked through her things. The enchantress might even guess who’d done it. Did she really want to mess with a sorceress with a book full of magic spells? It could be even more dangerous than facing a troll or riding a dragon!
Goldie’s heart thumped. She had to be brave. She couldn’t leave that poor fairy trapped in there. Taking a deep breath, she gripped the lid of the jar and twisted it. The lid popped off, and the fairy burst out. Shaking her glittery wings, she hovered in front of Goldie’s face.
‘Thank you so much!’ she cried, her eyes full of tears. ‘I will never forget your great kindness and—’
The door creaked.
The fairy froze, her eyes wide. Then she zipped away from Goldie and hid behind the red checked curtains. Goldie spun round, her heart sinking.
Miss Raven was standing in the doorway, her eyes flashing like lightning. ‘How DARE you come in here and mess with my things!’ she hissed, marching towards Goldie.
Goldie swallowed. ‘That’s what you were doing in the woods this morning. You were trying to trap a fairy, weren’t you? Well, you shouldn’t have done it – it’s really mean!’
‘You have no idea how much trouble you’re in!’ Miss Raven snarled, grabbing the empty jar from Goldie’s hands.
Goldie stumbled backwards and bumped into the chest of drawers, knocking the potion bottles over.
‘Is something wrong here?’ Goldie’s dad appeared in the doorway. ‘Goldie, are you all right?’
Miss Raven swung round. ‘This GIRL came into my room and—’
‘That’s my fault!’ Mr Locks smiled gently. ‘I asked Goldie to bring you some clean towels. I’m sorry if she disturbed you. Our guests’ comfort is very important to us. Is there anything else you need?’
‘I will NOT put up with this!’ Miss Raven snatched up the spellbook. Flicking to a page in the middle, she began chanting loudly:
‘Take this spell and make it roll!
Turn this man into a troll …’
‘Dad, I think we’d better go!’ Goldie tugged frantically at her dad’s arm.
A tiny spark leaped from Miss Raven’s little finger and scorched the bedclothes.
‘Now hold on a minute!’ began Mr Locks, but Miss Raven was still chanting.
‘Take this spell and— Frogspawn! Where’s my troll spell?’ The enchantress lost her place and began flicking through the book again. Suddenly green sparks flew out of her fingertips and struck Mr Locks in the chest.
‘Dad!’ yelled Goldie. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m not really sure … Maybe I’ll sit down,’ gulped Mr Locks, sinking on to the bed.
Little by little, he began to shrink. Feathers sprouted on his arms, and his nose grew long and beaklike. Finally, he stretched out a pair of feathery grey wings and waddled across the bed with a loud quack!
Goldie stared in shock. Where her dad had been just a second before stood a large mallard duck with a green head and a yellow beak.
Miss Raven slammed the book shut, muttering to herself. ‘Vole vomit! That’s not a troll! Why aren’t these spells working?’
Goldie knelt down by the duck. ‘Dad, are you all right? Can you hear me?’
‘See what happens when you get in my way? You should have kept your nose out of my business!’ snapped Miss Raven.
‘Dad! Don’t worry, I’ll help you.’ Goldie tried to scoop the duck up in her arms, but he quacked noisily, shaking his beak. Then he fluttered out of the door and waddled away along the corridor.
Goldie turned back to Miss Raven, tears pricking her eyes. ‘You can’t leave him like that! Turn him back!’
Miss Raven fixed Goldie with an icy glare. ‘If you want your father back to normal, you’d better do EXACTLY as I say. Bring me three fairies by sunset tomorrow, or your dad will stay like that forever!’ And she pushed Goldie out of the room and shut the door in her face.
Goldie stared after the duck, who was still waddling away down the passage. Catching fairies and handing them over to an evil enchantress would be a horrible thing to do. But she couldn’t let her poor dad be a duck forever. She had to find Red and Snow at once! They would help her work out how to defeat Miss Raven and get her dad back again.
As she hurried down the corridor, something buzzed close to her ear. The fairy, who’d been hiding behind the curtain, zoomed past in a flurry of fairy dust. Then she zipped out of an open window and flew away into the cloudy grey sky.
Goldie rushed after her dad, hoping she could hide him somewhere before her mum saw. Then she would find a way to fix everything before anyone discovered what was wrong.
The duck flapped his wings and quacked noisily as Goldie chased after him. At last, she caught him, scooped him up under one arm and dived into an empty bathroom. Running a nice deep bath, she gently put the duck into the water. Then she fetched some seeds and berries and left them on the edge of the bath. Her dad quacked happily and swam around, dipping his beak into the water and fluffing his feathers.
Goldie sighed. At least he’d be happy there. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ she told him. ‘And I’ll find a way to reverse that spell, I promise.’
Hurrying downstairs, she found Caramel under the kitchen table eating the last of the flapjacks. Gathering up the little bear cub, she ran straight to the Pickled Pantry to look for Red.
‘Hello, Goldie! I’m afraid Red’s gone out,’ said Mrs Riding, busily tidying the shelves. ‘She left a message for you and Snow to meet her at the Glass Slipper Academy. Something about a spare practice room.’
‘Thank you!’ Goldie rushed out of the shop. Crossing the market square, she turned a corner. Then she ran along the next street and through the archway that led to the Glass Slipper Academy.
Piano music and the sound of tap-dancing drifted out of the window of the main studio. Goldie ran inside and quickly searched the other rooms. She found Red and Snow in a small room at the back, whirling around in front of a mirror as they practised their sword-fighting moves. Goldie set Caramel down on the floor and tried to get her breath back. The bear cub trundled over to the mirror and sat down.
‘Oh good – you got my message,’ began Red, but Goldie didn’t wait for her to finish.
