The Sugar Cup Page 4
“I am,” Dash said. “And I owe it all to you.” She gave her friend another hug. “Now it’s your turn to sparkle!”
“I don’t know about sparkling,” Cocoa said. “I just want to cross the finish line in one piece!”
Cocoa left her friends and headed to the Frosted Mountains. Dash went to gather up her paints and brushes. She smiled again when she saw her finished work. The mint candy was not like anyone else’s work. And she felt super minty proud.
“Dash, come quick!” Melli shouted.
Dash looked up and saw Melli flying toward her minty fast.
“Cocoa needs you!” Melli cried. “Please come quick!”
Dash wrapped her brushes and stuffed them into her bag. In a flash, she was off to the slopes. What could have happened to Cocoa? She hoped that nothing was wrong . . . but she had a bad feeling that this was not just a case of nerves.
Sweet Endings
When Dash arrived at the Frosted Mountains, a crowd had gathered along the racecourse. There was lots of excitement as the scoreboard counted down the minutes until the race began. Dash searched the starting line for Cocoa.
“Over here!” Cocoa called out to Dash.
Cocoa was sitting off to the side of the starting line. She was kneeling down next to her sled. “Dash, please help!” she cried.
Swooping down, Dash saw immediately why she had been called to the slopes. Cocoa’s sled was missing a blade! There was no way she could race!
“What happened?” Dash asked, looking at the lopsided sled.
“The blade was wobbling and I tried to fix it,” Cocoa said. She held up the blade. “I shouldn’t have been playing around with the sled.” She pulled off her goggles. “See, I shouldn’t be racing!”
“Whoa! Hold on a minty minute,” Dash said. “This is not your fault. And we can fix this.” She smiled up at Cocoa. “This happens all the time in racing.”
Melli stood with Cocoa as Dash worked.
“What’s going on?” Raina asked as she and Berry flew over.
Berry pointed up to the scoreboard. “You only have a few minutes until the start,” she said.
“Hurry, Dash!” Melli said.
Dash stood up. She dusted off her hands. “It’s all done,” she said. She winked at Cocoa. “Nothing that I haven’t seen before.”
“Is the sled safe?” Melli asked.
“Sure as sugar,” Dash said. “Sometimes the blades get jammed and I have to tighten up the screw. The sled is better than ever!”
“Thank you, Dash,” Cocoa said.
“Remember, that is what friends are for . . . getting you unstuck!” Dash exclaimed.
Cocoa put her racing goggles back on and picked up the rope to drag her sled to the starting line. “Sure as sugar!” she cried. “Wish me luck!”
“You don’t need luck,” Dash said, smiling. “You have skill.”
“Thank you,” Cocoa said.
“I know the perfect spot to watch the race from. It’s near the finish line,” Dash told her friends. She led them to a tree with a long branch. The four friends sat in a row on the branch.
“Go, Cocoa!” Dash cheered.
When the blast sounded to start the race, Dash couldn’t sit still. She knew many of the racers and enjoyed seeing them all zoom down the slope. Dash was the loudest fairy in the crowd. Cheering Cocoa on was supersweet.
“Peppa and Menta are superfast,” Raina said, looking though Berry’s candy-sparkled binoculars.
“They always are,” Dash said, sighing. The two sisters were not always so nice, and they were usually Dash’s biggest competition whenever she raced. “Look how close Cocoa is to Menta’s sled. Maybe she’ll catch up on the last turn.”
“I hope so,” Melli said, holding her hands tightly under her chin. “I can’t stand to watch!”
“But Cocoa is doing so well!” Dash said, beaming with pride. “She’s doing all the tricks that I told her to do out on those turns. She has a chance.”
“Come on, Cocoa!” Berry cheered.
“You can do it!” Raina yelled.
Dash watched closely as the racers headed into the last turn. She wished with all her heart that Cocoa’s sled would speed away and fly in first.
Instead, Menta took the lead. And her sister followed.
Cocoa came in third.
Dash and her friends flew over to Cocoa. There was a crowd at the finish line.
“I’m sorry I didn’t win,” Cocoa said. “I did my very best, but those other fairies were superspeedy.”
“Don’t be sorry!” Dash said. “You were so mint!”
Cocoa smiled. “Thanks, Dash.”
“You were a pro,” Melli added.
“Come on,” Raina said. “We have to get back to Candy Castle for fast-fly.”
“Let’s go!” Berry said.
Raina clapped her hands. “I have been adding up our scores. If we win first place in fast-fly, we could win the cup!” she said.
“Really?” Melli cried. “Oh, sweet sugar! So much pressure!”
“We can do this!” Berry exclaimed. “Our practice times have been sweet. We’ve got this race.”
“Just fly like we’ve done in practice,” Raina told her friends. “We’ve been having great times. Berry’s right, we have this!”
“But we weren’t racing anyone in practice,” Cocoa said.
“So we’ll fly even faster!” Dash chimed in. She fluttered her wings. “I’m ready to fly. Who’s with me?”
The five Candy Fairies all put their hands into the middle of their circle and did a team cheer.
“That’s my team,” Princess Lolli said. She flew over to her fairies. “Go fly,” she said. “And have fun!”
“We will!” Dash cried as they sped off to Candy Castle.
Dash’s hands started to sweat as she got into her position. There were fairies from each kingdom at each position. Dash couldn’t see Cocoa, but she heard the trumpet blare to announce the start of the race and heard the crowd roar. Squinting, Dash could see Melli waiting for the baton to get to her.
Melli was up against one of the strongest fliers in Cake Kingdom. The Cake Fairy’s wings were double the size of Melli’s wings! Dash was getting nervous. Raina was next, and Dash knew that Raina had the power to take on the smaller Ice Cream Fairy. When Melli reached Raina, Raina reached out and took the baton. She sped toward Berry.
“Way to fly, Raina!” Dash cheered. She started fluttering her wings, waiting for her turn. She couldn’t wait to get the baton. Berry made superfast time and handed off the striped mint baton to Dash.
“Bring it home!” Berry shouted.
And Dash was off. She flew as fast as she could. She couldn’t hear the cheers or see the other fairies along the sidelines. She had her eye on the finish line. And the Sugar Cup!
Dash made it across the finish line—and she was first! In a flash, her friends were all around her.
“The Candy Fairies win!” a voice boomed.
“We did it!” Cocoa shouted. She grabbed Dash and gave her a tight squeeze.
“Sweet sugar!” Melli said, smiling.
The five friends huddled in a circle.
Princess Lolli came over to the winning team. “I am so proud of you,” she said. “That was great teamwork.”
“But was it enough to win the Sugar Cup?” Dash asked.
“Yes,” Tula said, grinning. She came up next to Princess Lolli. “Candy Kingdom won!”
Dash’s mouth fell open. “You mean we really won the Sugar Cup?”
“Yes,” Princess Lolli said. “You all worked very hard. I am so proud of this team. The closing ceremonies and the presentation of the Sugar Cup trophy will be starting soon. Let’s get back to the Royal Gardens.”
All the fairies from all the different kingdoms gathered in the Royal Gardens. Again the trumpets blared. There was a long parade of all the fairies involved in the games. Once everyone was seated, Princess Lolli began the presentation.
“I am very proud to announce that this year’s Sugar Cup goes to Candy Kingdom,” she said. “Congratulations!”
The five Candy Fairy friends flew to the stage.
Princess Lolli handed the golden cup to Dash and Cocoa.
“Now you can say your speech for real,” Cocoa whispered to Dash.
Dash grinned. “The Sugar Cup is beautiful and, winning is sweet-tacular,” she said to the cheering crowd. “And it is especially sweet when the prize is shared with good friends.”
“This is the sweetest ending to a Sugar Cup Games ever!” Cocoa added.
Dash passed the trophy to each of her teammates. Never had winning a trophy been so special and sweet.
Helen Perelman enjoys candy from all parts of Sugar Valley, but jelly beans, red licorice, and gummy fish are her favorites. She worked in a children’s bookstore and was a children’s book editor . . . but, sadly, she never worked in a candy store. She now writes full time in New York, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at www.helenperelman.com.
Aladdin
Simon & Schuster, New York
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READ ALL THE CANDY FAIRIES BOOKS!
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Rainbow Swirl
Caramel Moon
Cool Mint Magic Hearts
Gooey Goblins
The Sugar Ball
A Valentine’s Surprise
Bubble Gum Rescue
Double Dip
Jelly Bean Jumble
The Chocolate Rose
A Royal Wedding
Marshmallow Mystery
Frozen Treats
COMING SOON:
Sweet Secrets
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Aladdin hardcover edition October 2014
Text copyright © 2014 by Helen Perelman
Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Erica-Jane Waters
Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.
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Book design by Karina Granda
Jacket designed by Karina Granda
Jacket illustrations 2014 by Erica-Jane Waters
The text of this book was set in Baskerville Book.
Library of Congress Control Number 2014942340
ISBN 978-1-4814-0608-6 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-0607-9 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-0609-3 (eBook)