two
I âm fairly certain youâve met Tinker Bellâs little sisters, but if you have not, letâs please make their acquaintance now. Here are:
Clara Bell
Rosy Bell
Golden Bell
Sylva Bell
and baby Squeak
The five Bell sistersâand their friend Poppy Flowerâwere making their way back from fairy school, which had let out early today, as the snow was falling fast and thick. They darted between snowflakes as they flew.
âGnomes are lots of fun,â said Goldie, âeven if too many of them wear those awful pointy hats.â
âI like their hats!â said Rosy.
âTutu!â said Squeak.
âMe three!â said Sylva. âAnd I donât mind what they wear as long as theyâre not too good at sports. Because I want to beat them all at the Valentineâs Games.â
Thatâs another thing the fairies love about February: the Valentineâs Games. I wonât tell you about them now, as Rosy will tell us about them in a moment or two, if you can be patient.
âThe only way youâd beat all the gnomes in your very first year of competition,â said Goldie, âis if you used magic, which unfortunately we donât have much of yet.â
âNot true!â said Sylva. âIâve been training! Besides, Iâll have lots of magic soon.â
âNot too soon, I hope,â said Rosy. âWe still have some growing up to do before we get our magical powers.â Rosy gave Sylva a hug on the wing. âBut Iâm sure when you do youâll be as magical as Tink herself.â
That made Sylva smile. And though none of her sisters saw it, Rosyâs words made Clara smile, too. She wasnât ready to tell her sistersâyetâbut she knew her magical powers were growing. She had been practicing her fairy charms since her last birthday, and she could already make a bell ring without touching it. (She was a Bell sister, after all!) Just last week, sheâd taught herself how to make a rose bloom in the snow. Right now, she was working on her sparkle charm. That was a tricky one.
As Clara flew toward home, she thought about something that had happened long ago, when she was a very young fairy. She had noticed a tiny grasshopper in the tall grass near Lupine Pond. Its leg was broken, so it could not hop or even sing a grasshopper song to summon help. (Grasshoppers use their legs to make their songs!) Clara had known she didnât have a hope of helping the grasshopperâshe hadnât even started learning charms yet at school. But she couldnât bear to see the injured insect. Then all at once, she recalled a charm sheâd heard her big sister, Tinker Bell, recite once, long ago. How did it go?
Clear as crystal, Clara heard Tinkâs voice in her head. She closed her eyes, stretched out her arms, and said:
Harm and hurt
And pain no more.
Feel this power,
From my core.
May you be
Sound as a bell.
May my magic
Make you well!
Clara had felt faint and dizzy, and it took a few moments before she was well enough to open her eyes again. She steadied herself and looked at the grasshopper. It hadnât hopped away. It was exactly where she had first seen it. Her charm had failed!
But the very next moment she heard a tiny little chirrp coming from her grasshopper friend. That could only mean . . .
âYour leg has healed!â sheâd cried.
Then sheâd heard a voice behind her. âClara. Clara Bell.â
It was Queen Mab! Clara had nearly jumped out of her wings.
âWere you using magic?â
Clara almost had not dared to speak to the queen. But Queen Mab had asked her a question, and she could not let it go unanswered. âI was, Your Majesty,â sheâd said.
âThe healing charm is very powerful, Clara Bell. Did you learn it from Tinker Bell?â
âI did, Queen Mab.â
âTink should know better than to teach that to you. It takes life to heal
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