Ruby the Red Fairy

327734_Text_v2:226364_i-072.v2 8/12/10 3:30 PM Page i

Dedicated to Joanna Pilkington,who found fairies in her

beautiful garden

Special thanks toNarinder Dhami

No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by

any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or oth-erwise, without written permission of the publisher. For

information regarding permission, write to Working Partners Lim-ited, 1 Albion Place, London, W6 0QT, United Kingdom.

ISBN-13: 978-0-439-73861-3ISBN-10: 0-439-73861-X

Copyright © 2003 by Working Partners Limited.

Illustrations copyright © 2003 by Georgie Ripper.

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, NewYork, NY 10012, by arrangement with Working Partners Limited.

SCHOLASTIC, LITTLE APPLE, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.RAINBOW MAGIC is a trademark of Working Partners Limited.

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 7 8 9 10 11 12/0

Printed in the U.S.A. 40

Dedicated to Joanna Pilkington,who found fairies in her

beautiful garden

Special thanks toNarinder Dhami

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and de-stroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher

has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without

written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Rainbow Magic Limited, c/o HIT Entertainment,

830 South Greenville Avenue, Allen, TX 75002-3320.

ISBN-13: 978-0-439-73861-3ISBN-10: 0-439-73861-X

Text copyright © 2003 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

Illustrations copyright © 2003 by Georgie Ripper.

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement

with Rainbow Magic Limited.

SCHOLASTIC, LITTLE APPLE, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

RAINBOW MAGIC is a trademark of Rainbow Magic Limited. Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark Offi ce and other countries.

HIT and the HIT logo are trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited.

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 10 11 12 13 14 /0

Printed in the U.S.A. 40

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page ii

“Look, Dad!” said Rachel Walker. Shepointed across the blue-green sea at therocky island ahead of them. The ferrywas sailing toward it, dipping up anddown on the rolling waves. “Is that Rainspell Island?” she asked.

Her dad nodded. “Yes, it is,” he said,smiling. “Our vacation is about to begin!”

1234567891111111111

1ST PASS PAGES

1

The End of theRainbow

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 1

The waves slapped against the sideof the ferry as it bobbed up and downon the water. Rachel felt her heartthump with excitement. She could seewhite cliffs and emerald-green fields onthe island. Even golden sandy beaches,with tide pools here and there.

Suddenly, a few fat raindropsplopped down onto Rachel’s head.“Oh!” she gasped, surprised. The sunwas still shining.

1234567890123456789

1ST PASS PAGES

2

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 2

Rachel’s mom grabbed her hand.“Let’s get under cover,” she said,leading Rachel inside.

“Isn’t that strange?” Rachel said. “Sunshine and rain!”

“Let’s hope the rain stops before weget off the ferry,” said Mr. Walker.“Now, where did I put that map of the island?”

Rachel looked out of thewindow. Her eyesopened wide.

A girl was standingalone on the deck.Her dark hair waswet with raindrops,but she didn’t seemto care. She juststared up at the sky.

1234567891111111111

1ST PASS PAGES

3

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 3

1234567890123456789

1ST PASS PAGES

Rachel looked over at her mom anddad. They were busy studying the map.So Rachel slipped back outside to seewhat was so interesting.

And there it was.In the blue sky, high above them,

was the most amazing rainbow thatRachel had ever seen. One end of therainbow stretched far out to sea. Theother seemed to fall somewhere on Rainspell Island. All of the colorswere bright and clear.

4

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 4

1234567891111111111

1ST PASS PAGES

5

RedOrange

Yellow

Green

BlueIndigo

Violet

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 5

“Isn’t it perfect?” the dark-haired girlwhispered to Rachel.

“Yes, it is,” Rachel agreed. “Are you going to Rainspell on vacation?”

The girl nodded. “We’re staying for aweek,” she said. “I’m Kirsty Tate.”

Rachel smiled as the rain began tostop. “I’m Rachel Walker. We’re stayingat Mermaid Cottage,” she added.

“Oh! We’re at Dolphin Cottage,” saidKirsty. “Do you think we might be closeto each other?”

“I hope so,” Rachel replied. She hada feeling she was going to like Kirsty.

Kirsty leaned over the rail and lookeddown into the shimmering water. “Theocean looks really deep here, doesn’t it?”she said.“There might even be mermaidsdown there, watching us right now!”

1234567890123456789

1ST PASS PAGES

6

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 6

Rachel stared at the waves. She sawsomething that made her heart skip abeat. “Look!” she said. “Is that amermaid’s hair?” Then she laughedwhen she saw that it was just seaweed.

“It could be a mermaid’s necklace,”said Kirsty, smiling. “Maybe she lostit when she was trying to escape froma wild sea monster.”

1234567891111111111

1ST PASS PAGES

7

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 7

The ferry was now sailinginto Rainspell’s tiny

harbor. Seagulls flew around them, and fishing

boats bobbed on the water.

“Look at that big white cliffover there,” Kirstysaid. She pointedit out to Rachel.

“It looks a bitlike a giant’s

face, doesn’t it?”Rachel

looked, andnodded. Kirsty

seemed to see magicevery where.

1234567890123456789

1ST PASS PAGES

8

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 8

“There you are,Rachel!” called Mrs.Walker. Rachel turnedaround and saw hermom and dad comingout onto the deck.“We’ll be getting off theferry in a few minutes,”Mrs. Walker added.

“Mom, Dad, this is Kirsty,” Rachelsaid.“She’s staying at Dolphin Cottage.”

“That’s right next door to ours,” saidMr. Walker. “I remember seeing it onthe map.”

Rachel and Kirsty looked at eachother and smiled.

“I’d better go and find my mom anddad,” said Kirsty. She looked around.“Oh, there they are.”

1234567891111111111

1ST PASS PAGES

9

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 9

Kirsty’s mom and dad came overto say hello to the Walkers. Then theferry docked, and everyone began toleave the boat.

“Our cottages are on the other sideof the harbor,” said Rachel’s dad,looking at the map. “It’s not too far.”

Mermaid Cottage and DolphinCottage were right next to the beach.Rachel loved her bedroom, which washigh up in the attic. From thewindow, she could see the wavesrolling onto the sand.

1234567890123456789

1ST PASS PAGES

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 10

A shout from outside made Rachel lookdown. It was Kirsty. She was standing under the window, waving.

“Let’s go and explore the beach!”Kirsty called.

Rachel dashed outside to join her.Piles of seaweed lay on the sand, and

there were tiny pink-and-white shellssprinkled everywhere.

“I love it here already!”Rachel shouted happilyabove the noise of theseagulls.

“Me, too,” Kirsty said.She pointed up at the sky.“Look, the rainbow’s still there.”

Rachel looked up. The rainbowglowed brightly among the fluffywhite clouds.

1234567891111111111

1ST PASS PAGES

11

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 11

“Have you heard the story about thepot of gold at the end of the rainbow?”Kirsty asked.

Rachel nodded. “Yes, but that’s just infairy tales,” she said.

Kirsty grinned. “Maybe. But let’s goand find out for ourselves!”

“OK,” Rachel agreed. “And maybe wecan explore the island at the same time.”

1234567890123456789

1ST PASS PAGES

12

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 12

They rushed back to tell their parentswhere they were going. Then Kirstyand Rachel set off along a road behindthe cottages. It led them away from thebeach, across green fields, and towarda small stretch of woods.

1234567891111111111

1ST PASS PAGES

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 13

Rachel kept looking up at therainbow. She was worried that it wouldstart to fade now that the rain hadstopped. But the colors stayed clearand bright.

“It looks like the end of the rainbowis over there,” Kirsty said. “Come on!”And she hurried toward the trees.

The woods were cool and shady afterbeing in the heat of the sun. Rachel andKirsty followed a winding path until theycame to a clearing. Then both girlsstopped and stared.

1234567890123456789

1ST PASS PAGES

14

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 14

The rainbow shone down onto thegrass through a gap in the trees. Its colorssparkled and twinkled brightly.

And there, at the rainbow’s end, layan old, black pot.

1234567891111111111

1ST PASS PAGES

15

327734_Text_v1:226364_i-072.v2 8/3/10 4:06 PM Page 15