The Chocolate Rose Read online

  Painting Chocolate

  Cocoa left Caramel Hills with a box full of colorful, glittery chocolate-caramel stars. When she arrived, there were a few other Candy Fairies dropping off candies, and the stage was looking sweet-tacular. Cocoa was impressed with all the candy touches. There were rows of sugar candies sewn on beautiful pink cotton candy sheets for the curtains. Against the wall at the back, colorful gum-drops and licorice strips created a sparkling rainbow. And in each corner were giant swirl lollipops.

  “Hi!” Fruli called when she saw Cocoa. She waved, and Cocoa landed next to her. “Just what we need, a Chocolate Fairy!” Fruli exclaimed. “It’s so good to see you!”

  For the first time in days, Cocoa stood up a little straighter. She knew how to be a Chocolate Fairy. It felt good to be needed for a talent that came naturally. “Just don’t ask me to sing or dance,” she said, smiling.

  “Not today,” Fruli replied. “We have too much to do here with the setup.” Fruli was wearing a beautiful flower dress. As always, she looked as if she could have been in a fashion magazine. She was also holding a large scroll and a long licorice pen. Being in charge of building a stage and putting on a show was a huge responsibility. Fruli pointed to the corner of the stage. “We need more chocolate over here. We should have made the sides wider. And we need to do this quickly. Tonight is the dress rehearsal!”

  Cocoa saw that the stage was narrow on the sides. There was not enough room for more than two fairies to stand.

  “Do you think you can help make some chocolate strips to build the floor?” Fruli asked. “We need more chocolate—and fast.”

  “Chocolate strips, coming right up,” Cocoa said.

  “Great!” Fruli exclaimed. “I am so glad you came by. I really needed your help.”

  Cocoa grinned. “I came to drop off these chocolate-caramel stars. Melli and I made them today.” She handed her the box of colorful candies. “We thought the stars would look yummy and add to the scenery.”

  Fruli peered inside the box. “Scrumptious! We can line these around the edge of the stage. Thank you. Supersweet of you!”

  “This place looks choc-o-rific!” Cocoa said.

  “Everyone has worked so hard,” Fruli told her. “Plus, the show is going to be a great hit. Are you singing or dancing?”

  Cocoa bit her lip and then sighed with relief when a Fruit Fairy rushed over, needing Fruli’s help.

  “Sorry, Cocoa,” Fruli called over her shoulder. “I have to fly. Thanks again for helping out with the chocolate!”

  Cocoa was relieved she didn’t have to explain to Fruli why she couldn’t be part of the show. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of not wanting to perform. She was happy to start making the chocolate strips, and in no time, she had made the stage wider. Cocoa had to admit she was enjoying helping out. Melli was right about being part of the fun. But as she stood on the stage to make sure the chocolate strips were secure, she had no desire to be in the spotlight!

  “Cocoa,” Fruli said, flying up to her. “Berry told me you are growing chocolate flowers like the ones in the gardens at the Royal Palace.”

  “I am,” Cocoa said. “My cousin Mocha gave me the seeds. My flowers haven’t bloomed yet. Right now there are just tiny buds.”

  “Oh,” Fruli sighed. “I was hoping to decorate the stage with the flowers. Queen Sweetie loves all flowers—but especially chocolate roses.”

  Cocoa hung her head. “I know,” she said. “I thought about that too.”

  “That’s okay,” Fruli said. “Thanks so much for making the stage wider. This is going to be a delicious show!”

  “I’ll see you later,” Cocoa said. She took off for Chocolate Woods. She wanted to check on her flower buds. Maybe they were ready!

  But when Cocoa arrived at her garden, she was disappointed once again. The buds were still closed.

  Maybe the flowers have stage fright, she thought.

  Cocoa went inside and got her pad and pencils. She came back outside, found a comfy spot, and started sketching the flower buds. Then she had an even better idea. Back inside she went to get her paints.

  As the sun was dipping down behind the Frosted Mountains, Cocoa painted what she imagined her garden would look like once the flowers bloomed. With each stroke, she painted large, beautiful flowers with bright, juicy colors.

  Her white and dark chocolate paints were from Cupcake Lake in Cake Kingdom, the neighboring kingdom ruled by Princess Lolli’s sister, Princess Sprinkle. The paints were dyed different colors, but Cocoa’s favorite was the milk chocolate. She used that shade for the chocolate rose. Cocoa usually decorated chocolates with her special icing paints, but using these paints made her flowers seem real. This way the paintings were made not just with sugar, but with chocolate!

  If only my garden really looked like this, she thought.

  Cocoa gazed at her paintings in the soft moonlight. She loved how the painted flowers looked on the canvases . . . and smelled! Then she realized that if there was moonlight, Sun Dip had passed.

  “Oh no!” she exclaimed. She had been working so hard, she had forgotten all about Sun Dip! She knew by now her friends would be gone from Red Licorice Lake.

  “Sour sticks,” she sighed. It seemed just as well. This way she didn’t have to talk—or hear—about the talent show again. Plus, they were probably now all at the Chocolate River stage for the dress rehearsal. The big show was tomorrow night.

  Cocoa brought her paintings inside and fell asleep. She dreamed she was playing in a lush, sweet chocolate rose garden. Her dream turned from sweet to sour when the salty old troll who lived under the bridge in Black Licorice Swamp appeared. Any dream involving Mogu the troll was sure to be horrible. He swept through her garden, stomping and eating her flowers.

  “Nooooo!” Cocoa screamed.

  She startled herself awake and realized that she had been dreaming. Once she was aware that Mogu was just in her dream, she relaxed and drifted back to a dream filled with sweet chocolate roses.

  Showstopper!

  A forceful thumping woke Cocoa up the next morning. Half asleep, she opened her door to find her four friends gathered in her doorway.

  “Cocoa!” Melli cried. She leaped toward her and gave her a giant squeeze. “There you are!”

  “I told you she was probably sleeping,” Berry said with her arms crossed over her chest. “All that worrying, and she is fine!”

  “Huh?” Cocoa said. She squinted up at the bright sun. “What’s going on?”

  “Well, sweet mint leaves!” Dash exclaimed. She pushed through to grab Cocoa’s hand. “I am so happy you are here. I thought for sure Mogu had taken you!”

  Cocoa rubbed her eyes. “What are you talking about?” she said.

  “Where were you last night?” Raina asked. “You skipped Sun Dip, and then you missed the news about Mogu this morning.”

  Cocoa stretched her wings out and yawned big. “Mogu?” she asked. “I had a dream about him last night.”

  “I wish this was a dream,” Berry mumbled.

  Any news involving him was sure to be bittersweet. “What happened with Mogu?” Cocoa asked.

  “He ate the stage!” Dash blurted out.

  “You’re not serious, are you?” Cocoa asked. “Even Mogu couldn’t eat that much, could he?”

  “He did. Now we don’t know if there is going to be a talent show,” Melli answered.

  “We should have known he’d come around. We should have guarded the stage.” Cocoa looked down at her doorstep. On the ground was a stack of sugar fly notes. “I guess I didn’t hear the sugar flies buzzing last night,” she said softly. “Or earlier this morning. I stayed up late painting and didn’t hear a thing.”

  “I am just glad you are okay,” Melli said. “We were nervous that you might have been at the chocolate stage when Mogu came up Chocolate River.”

  “Plus, we missed you last night during the dress rehearsal,” Raina said. “It wasn’t the same without yo
u there.”

  Cocoa looked at her friends’ faces. They all looked so concerned. “I thought you’d all be so busy with the dress rehearsal that you wouldn’t miss me,” she said.

  “What?” her friends said at the same time.

  Cocoa walked back into her room. “I can’t be in a talent show,” she muttered. “I’ve been trying to tell all of you that, but I wasn’t sure how.” She turned around to see that her friends had followed her inside. “You’ve been very nice to include me, but I would ruin any act. And I can’t do that to Princess Lolli or her parents. Their visit is much too important.”

  “You are joking, right?” Melli asked.

  “I’m . . . I’m afraid that . . .” Cocoa paused as she searched for the right words.

  “That doesn’t sound like you, Cocoa!” Dash interrupted her. “You are the bravest Candy Fairy I know. You faced Mogu and tricked him in Black Licorice Swamp! How could you be afraid of being in a show?”

  Cocoa shook her head and smiled at Dash. “It’s not stage fright,” she said. “I am afraid . . .” She paused and then continued. “That I don’t have any talent to perform.” She sighed. Finally Cocoa was able to be honest with her friends.

  “Cocoa,” Raina said, “we just want you to be with us. It’s not every day that the king and queen come to Candy Kingdom. We thought it would be fun to be in the show together.”

  Melli moved closer to Cocoa. “I didn’t realize you really didn’t want to perform,” she said.

  “You should have told us,” Berry said. She squinted and looked past Cocoa. “Are these your paintings?” she asked, looking at the freshly painted canvases hanging to dry. She walked slowly up and down, examining each one.

  “You were busy last night! These flowers are incredible,” Raina said.

  “Is this what your garden looks like?” Berry asked.

  “Not yet,” Cocoa mumbled.

  Dash moved closer to the paintings. “Holy peppermint!” she said. “These smell like real flowers. How did you do that?”

  Cocoa shifted her feet. “I used my chocolate paints,” she said. “The buds in the garden haven’t opened yet, and I wanted the flowers to seem real.”

  “These paintings are amazing,” Raina said. “That was extra-creative.”

  “And original,” Melli added.

  “I think art is your true talent, Cocoa,” Berry said with a smile.

  Cocoa blushed. “Thank you,” she replied. Creating the art had made her so happy. She was glad her friends liked her paintings.

  Through the open door, a sugar fly flew in. The tiny fly landed on Cocoa’s shoulder and chirped. He flapped his wings a few times excitedly and dropped a letter in her hand. As fast he had flown in, he flew back outside.

  “Sure as sugar, he was very happy to see you!” Melli said, giggling. “Finally you were around to get a message.”

  Cocoa opened the letter and read it quickly. “Fruli needs us to come at once,” she said. “She guessed that you’d all be here.”

  “Do you think she is going to have to cancel the show?” Melli asked.

  “I hope not,” Berry said.

  “We don’t have that much time,” Dash said. “The king and queen are arriving today, and the show is tonight.”

  Cocoa folded the letter and slipped it into her pocket. “Let’s go see what the damage is,” she said. “Mogu makes everything a bitter mess. That troll is not neat and tidy about eating chocolate.”

  “Poor Princess Lolli!” Melli moaned. “She was so excited when she came to the dress rehearsal last night.” She turned to Cocoa. “Everything was perfect! She was proud of us and our work.”

  “Don’t dip your wings in syrup yet,” Berry snapped. “No one said anything about canceling.”

  Dash rolled her eyes. “Not having a stage is a showstopper for sure!”

  “Let’s go see what Fruli needs,” Cocoa said. She was feeling bad about missing Sun Dip and then sleeping through all the news about Mogu’s feast. “Maybe we can do something to save the event.”

  The five fairies took off toward Chocolate River, unsure of what they’d find . . . or of whether the show would go on.

  Chocolate Tracks

  When the friends arrived at Chocolate River, they saw a sad sight. The candy stage had been torn apart. There were chocolate pieces along the shore and bits of candy everywhere. Mogu and the Chuchies had definitely been there—the chocolate mess was their handiwork! The Chuchies followed Mogu everywhere and loved to eat candy just as much as he did.

  Cocoa’s heart melted. Yesterday the stage had been amazingly decorated with patterns of luscious candies and stunning gumdrop lights.

  “It looks like a stampede of wild unicorns ran through here,” Melli said sadly.

  “No unicorn would ever do this much damage,” Berry replied. She shook her head as she looked around. “This has Mogu and his Chuchies written all over it.”

  “Mogu is lying somewhere with an enormous bellyache,” Raina said.

  “Serves him right,” Dash huffed. “He has ruined everything!”

  Cocoa slowly turned around. “Not really,” she said. “I think we can rebuild the stage in time.”

  “Oh, Cocoa,” Fruli said, overhearing Cocoa. She flew over to her and grabbed her hand. “Do you really think we can?”

  Cocoa felt so sorry for Fruli—and all the Candy Fairies who had put so much work into making the stage. She knew there was no time to re-create the decorations that were on the stage yesterday, but at least they could rebuild the stage for the performance. She felt all eyes on her.

  “Sure as sugar!” Cocoa exclaimed. “Come on, let’s get working.” She smiled at her friends. “Let’s split up and have some fairies clean up the mess and the others start building the stage.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Fruli said. “Thank you, Cocoa.”

  Cocoa couldn’t wait to get to work. She and two other Chocolate Fairies created long strips of chocolate. A team of Candy Fairies joined together to build up the stage. After a few hours of making chocolate, the stage was finally rebuilt. It was not as wide or as high as before, but at least there would be a space to perform.

  Fruli stood at center stage. “This was a bittersweet day,” she told the crowd of Candy Fairies. “This morning I wasn’t sure we’d even be able to have a show at all.” She smiled at the fairies around her. “But now, after all your efforts, the show will go on!”

  Princess Lolli flew up onstage next to Fruli. She gave her a tight squeeze. “Thank you, Fruli,” she said. “This morning after the Mogu feast, I wasn’t sure we’d be able to get this stage up in time. I sent a few palace guards to deal with Mogu and the Chuchies. Their behavior is not acceptable, and their greediness almost put an end to this event. Your dedication and that of all the Candy Fairies make me so proud. My parents have just arrived at the castle, and we’re all looking forward to this evening and watching the talent show.”

  “Our show is in two hours!” Fruli gasped, looking at her watch. “We’ve got to fly, Princess Lolli! There is still so much to be done!”

  Princess Lolli laughed. “Thank you,” she said. She waved to everyone and then headed back to the castle. “See you soon!” she called.

  “We don’t have time to decorate,” Fruli said to Berry. “But at least we have a stage.”

  “But what are we going to do about scenery? It’s almost showtime,” Melli said.

  “I guess we’ll have to do without a backdrop,” Fruli said.

  Suddenly a huge grin spread across Melli’s face. “I have a choc-o-rific idea!” she cried. She grabbed Cocoa and pulled her aside to speak to her alone. Cocoa wasn’t sure what Melli was thinking, but she knew her friend was extra-excited. Melli’s wings were flapping so fast her feet didn’t touch the ground.

  “What? What is it?” Cocoa asked.

  Melli couldn’t speak. All she could do was flap her wings!

  “Melli,” Cocoa said to her, “calm down. Take a deep breath.”
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  After a few deep breaths, Melli finally put her feet on the ground. “Cocoa, what about your chocolate rose paintings?” she blurted out.

  “My chocolate rose paintings?” Cocoa asked.

  “We could hang the paintings you made last night around the stage,” Melli said, jumping up and down. “Wouldn’t that look absolutely sugar-tastic?”

  Cocoa looked up at the stage and then back at Melli. She wasn’t sure how her paintings would look. They were not as glittery as the hundreds of pieces of candy that had lined the stage yesterday. And those paintings were just for her and Mocha. She had never thought about displaying them for everyone to see.

  “Please?” Melli begged. Her wings started flapping uncontrollably again.

  “Let’s ask Fruli,” Cocoa said.

  Before Cocoa could say another word, Melli flew over to Fruli. Fruli nodded, then hugged Melli, and then the two fairies rushed back over to Cocoa, large grins on their faces.

  “Your paintings sound like delicious decorations for the stage,” Fruli told Cocoa. “We’d love to have them. Remember, Queen Sweetie loves chocolate roses, so this is just icing on the cake!”

  “Double-delicious chocolate icing,” Dash added.

  “And the paintings are made of chocolate,” Berry said. “Fruli, you’ll love the art. Cocoa used her chocolate paints.”

  Cocoa felt her face start to get as red as a cinnamon sucker. “I’ll go get the paintings, Fruli, and then you can decide.”

  “I am sure I will love them,” Fruli replied. She turned to the rest of the Candy Fairies. “Now, everyone, into your costumes, please! It’s just about showtime!”

  Cocoa raced back home to get her artwork. As she thought of her paintings being center stage, she smiled. To her, that was the real icing on the cake!

  Pure Talent

  Just as quickly as she had flown home, Cocoa returned to Chocolate River. There was excitement everywhere: Some Candy Fairies were practicing their acts and others were still getting ready. Fairies put sugar sparkles in their hair and strawberry lipstick on their lips. Some of the costumes were dazzling!