Jade and the Surprise Party Read Free Page A

mean the Wicked Fairy to take the photo. It’s my fault that we’re prisoners, and you’re going to miss your…” Jade stopped mid-sentence. Somehow it seemed wrong to spill the beans about the wonderful surprise party, even though her friend wouldn’t be able to go to it now.
    The two of them sat there in their own little worlds. Jade’s brain was racing. If only there was a way to escape. She glanced up at the window at the very top of the tower, but it was too high up for them to think about getting out that way.

    The White Cat must have followed her gaze. “If you stand on my shoulders,” he said thoughtfully after a moment, “at least you’d be able to see Swan Lake.”
    “Well, that’s something,” said Jade.
    A moment later she was peeping out of the window. The most beautiful lake lay in the distance. “Oh wow!” she breathed.

    “It’s so calm and I can see the swans too — lots of them, snowy white and as graceful as ballerinas! And…” Jade brokeoff her excited chatter when a ball of green smoke came billowing up and blocked her view.
    “What’s going on?” coughed the White Cat. “Is there a fire?”
    Jade didn’t reply. She just stared down.
    The smoke was clearing to reveal the Wicked Fairy climbing into a black carriage. Two rats were tied to the front of the carriage.
    “Get going, you pathetic beasts!” yelled the Wicked Fairy as she lashed the reins then waved her wand, her voice rising to a screech.

    “With a wham, a shazzam and a flash, take me to the square!
    Bettina will snap the people, and make them stop and stare! Ha ha ha!
    Then the carriage disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
    Jade clambered down from the White Cat’s shoulders. “Oh, White Cat, did you hear that? The Wicked Fairy is going to pretend to be Bettina again, and trick everyone just like she tricked us!” Jade’s voice was trembling. “She’s going to turn them all into statues! We’ve got to stop her!”

    The White Cat had been shaking his head in despair when suddenly he sprung up, full of life. Jumping into the air, he criss-crossedhis ankles six times before landing lightly and breaking into a grin. “I’ve got it!”
    “What?”
    “The answer! There’s a special dance that can be performed to summon the swans. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
    “You mean you can do this dance and the swans’ll fly here to rescue us?” Jade could feel her excitement mounting. At last, a ray of hope.
    “Well… almost,” said the White Cat. “But the trouble is, cats can’t do bird dances in Enchantia. The magic won’t work. But I can teach
you
how to do thedance! And
you
can summon the swans!”
    Jade felt her hope dissolving a little. What if she couldn’t manage the dance? But then she jutted out her jaw. She had to at least give it a try. “OK, Cat!” she said firmly. “Show me how it goes!”
    The White Cat raised his arms slowly through first position to fifth then opened out to second. Jade copied him, so far so good. But then his feet began a series of complicated steps and Jade gulped.
    “Can you show me that bit again, please?” she said.
    The White Cat repeated the sequence and went on a little further. “OK? Gotthat?” He carried on moving through the steps as he talked, and in the end Jade was in a complete muddle.

    “Sorry, White Cat,” she said in a small voice. “I can’t keep up when you go so quickly.”
    “No, no, my fault entirely! I must learn to slow down!”
    But the next time he showed Jade the steps, he went just as fast. “There! Got it now?”
    Jade shook her head miserably.
    “No, no! My fault again. Absolutely! Right, one step at a time.”
    A few minutes later, after a great deal of concentration, Jade thought she had finally learned the steps. She took a deep breath then stood right in the centre of the tower. Waiting until she could hear the music inside her head, she began to dance.

    In no time at all, the music grew louder and