Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings Junior Novel

• One
  
• Two
  
• Three
  
• Four
  
• Five
  
• Six
  
• Seven
  
• Eight
  
• Nine
  
• Ten
  
• Eleven
  
• Twelve
  
• Thirteen
  
• Fourteen
  
• Fifteen
  
• Sixteen
  
• Seventeen
  
• Eighteen
  
• Nineteen
  
• Photos from the Film
  

H
igh up in the evening sky, the Second Star to the Right glows brightly. If you follow that star, you'll find the magical island of Never Land. It is a wonderful place, filled with tall mountains, flowing rivers, and deep forests. And in the very heart of Never Land is Pixie Hollow, the home of all the fairies.

Pixie Hollow is very different from the mainland, where the humans live. For one thing, all four seasons occur in Pixie Hollow at the same time. There's Spring Valley, where flowers always bloom. And Summer Glade, where it's warm and sunny every day. In the Autumn Forest, leaves turn colorful shades of red, gold, and orange. And just over the border, where no warm-weather fairy is permitted to go, are the Winter Woods. Shimmering white snow blankets the world there, and ice-topped mountain peaks overlook frozen valleys, brooks, and streams. Warm-weather fairies live on one side of the border, and cold-weather fairies stay on the other. A winter fairy cannot survive the heat of spring or summer. And the icy temperatures of the Winter Woods would freeze a warm-weather fairy's wings. So the fairies stay in their seasons and keep busy with their work. They know that the rules are there to protect them, and that crossing the border can be very dangerous.

One bright and busy morning in the Autumn Forest, Silvermist, a water-talent fairy, flew along the river. A handful of dragonflies buzzed around her. They were collecting dewdrops to place on spiderwebs. Not far away, a garden fairy named Rosetta was coaxing flowers to bloom. Vidia, a fast-flying fairy, zipped overhead. The wind from her wings pushed the autumn leaves through the air. Each fairy had a job to do, and they were all happily finishing their morning tasks. But perhaps no fairies were quite as busy as the tinkers. They were expecting a very special arrival in Tinkers' Nook!

“Look sharp, everyone!” Fairy Mary, the head of the tinker fairies, called. “The snowy owls will soon be arriving to take the snowflake baskets to the Winter Woods.” She looked around and noticed that a tinker fairy named Lucinda was not focused on her job. “Lucinda, stop noodling and start tinkering!” she scolded. Then she flew off to check on the basket production.

Nearby, a friendly gray mouse named Cheese was struggling with his wagon. It was filled with bundles of reeds, and it was a bit too heavy for him to pull. Suddenly, a lasso appeared out of nowhere and picked up a bundle of reeds from the cart, making the load lighter. Cheese looked up and saw that his friend Tinker Bell was holding on to a pole attached to the rope. Leave it to Tinker Bell to create an invention like a pole with a swinging lasso to help a friend in need!

“Is that the last load?” Tinker Bell asked the mouse with a satisfied smile.

Cheese replied with a happy squeak to say “Yes!”

Tinker Bell waved and flew off to help her other friends.

“Morning, Clank! Morning, Bobble!” she called when she reached the basket depot. The two tinkers were busy weaving long reeds into sturdy baskets. She placed the new bundle on a pile in front of them. “That should be enough to finish the snowflake baskets,” she said.

Bobble looked up. His thick dewdrop goggles made his eyes seem enormous. “Aye, that'll do her,” he agreed.

“Thanks,” Clank added. He smiled at Tinker Bell and didn't watch what he was doing. He accidentally wove the reeds right over Bobble's hands!

“Clanky!” Bobble complained, trying to free himself.

“Sorry,” Clank apologized. Tinker Bell giggled. Her friends were always getting into funny mishaps like this. Granted, Tinker Bell had a way of getting into tricky situations herself. One time, she had almost ruined the preparations for bringing spring to the mainland. And just this past summer, she had accidentally been captured by a little girl in the human world. But each time, her friends had helped her find a way to fix the problem. And right now, Tinker Bell couldn't get into any trouble at all because she was doing her very favorite thing: tinkering!

She looked around at the towering piles of baskets that were ready to be collected by the snowy owls. “I can't believe we make the baskets but don't get to take them to the winter fairies,” she said. “I mean, wouldn't you want to go into the Winter Woods?”

Both Clank and Bobble stopped their work and stared at Tinker Bell in disbelief. “We wouldn't last a day in that cold,” Bobble said, shivering. “You'd get frostbite on your fingers, your face would freeze, and…Tell her, Clank.”

Clank nodded in agreement. “You'd get pounced on by a glacier!” he finished.

Bobble raised an eyebrow, and Tink looked at both of them in confusion.

“They're known for their stealth,” Clank insisted.

Bobble turned to Tink. “He's never actually seen one,” he said.

“You never do,” Clank said ominously. “Until it's too late.”

Suddenly, a loud horn sounded. All the tinker fairies looked up to see a flock of snowy owls rapidly approaching.

“Places, everyone!” Fairy Mary called.

Instantly, the fairies began operating a large pulley that hauled the freshly woven baskets up to a delivery tower.

One by one, each of the snowy owls dove down and snatched a basket in its talons. Then, together, the flock soared back into the sky. Tinker Bell watched, her eyes wide with excitement. The large white birds were so graceful and strong!

A young owl approached the basket pickup. He swooped down to grab one of the baskets. But it was a little too heavy for him. He wobbled as he lifted back into the air.

“Oh, newcomer,” Fairy Mary said knowingly.

After struggling for a moment, the young owl gained speed and flew to join his brothers. Before the flock left, one of the owls dropped a note made of ice down to Fairy Mary. It floated softly on a frozen parachute. The second it touched Fairy Mary's hands, the ice began to melt. So she had to read it quickly.

“The final shipment order,” Fairy Mary said. “Goodness! They need twenty more baskets for tomorrow's pickup!”

But Tinker Bell was only half listening. She couldn't help watching as the owls headed for the horizon. They were flying back to the cold mountain range of the mysterious Winter Woods.

“There's a whole other world over there,” Tinker Bell said wistfully to Clank and Bobble. She couldn't explain it, but Tink felt drawn to the Winter Woods. It was as if there were a secret buried there, deep in the snow, just waiting to be discovered.

“L
ook out!” a voice called.

Tinker Bell, Clank, and Bobble all turned at the same time. Fawn, an animal fairy, was chasing a bunny as it scampered through the basket depot.

“Runaway bunny!” Fawn exclaimed.

The rabbit bounded through the workshop, scattering reeds and supplies everywhere. Baskets went flying through the air!

In a flash, Tinker Bell zipped over and used her special lasso to grab hold of the renegade bunny.

“Gotcha!” Tinker Bell declared proudly. The bunny wriggled its nose. It was not happy to have been caught.

“Thanks, Tink,” Fawn panted, flying up next to her.

“No problem,” Tink replied.

Fawn reached over and tried to calm the bunny down. “Come on, little guy,” she said. “It's still a long way to the Winter Woods.”

Tinker Bell's eyes lit up. “Oh! You're taking the animals today?” she asked.

Fawn sighed. “Trying to,” she said. “It's time for them to cross the border. But this little guy's a handful.”

Tink fluttered her wings excitedly. This was her chance to see the Winter Woods up close! “Hey, uh…how about if I help?” she asked, her eyes shining.

A short while later, Tinker Bell and Fawn were racing through the Autumn Forest with the animals. Fawn was guiding several weasels, a few bunnies, and a marmot. Tink was trying to steer the youngest bunny by using her tinkered lasso as a leash. But the rabbit was so fast that she kept bouncing along behind it instead.

“Slow down!” Tinker Bell yelled. “Whoa!”

Fawn looked over her shoulder and grinned. “Need some help?” she asked.

“Nope,” Tinker Bell said. “Doing fine!”

Finally, they reached the border between the Autumn Forest and the Winter Woods. Tinker Bell was just settling her bunny down when she looked up and saw the border for the first time. She gasped. It was amazing! A wide chasm separated the two seasons, and a thin curtain of soft, shimmering snow fell down the center, marking the divide. Down at the bottom of the trench, a rushing stream babbled on the autumn side. But once it reached the winter side, the water froze solid. A long bridge connected the two seasons. Half of it was a log, and the other half was ice.

“Wow,” Tinker Bell whispered.

The bunny beside her trembled nervously.

“Awww,” Fawn said, patting the bunny's side. “Don't be scared, little fellow. We'll let the weasels go first.”

Fawn guided the weasels to the bridge as Tinker Bell watched curiously.

“So how far do we take the animals in?” Tink asked.

“Uh, Tink, we don't cross the border,” Fawn replied. “We just help the animals.”

Tinker Bell raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “But I thought animal fairies got to cross with the animals?”

Fawn shook her head. “Tink, it's freezing over there,” she explained. “Besides, no warm fairies are allowed in the Winter Woods. Just like winter fairies aren't allowed over here.”

Tinker Bell looked at the beautiful falling snow. “Who made up that rule?” she asked, disappointed.

“I think it was the Lord of Winter,” Fawn replied. Then she turned back to the weasels. “All right, guys,” she said encouragingly. “You ready?”

The weasels chattered their agreement. Then they skipped up the log. One at a time, they leapt over into winter. As they crossed the border, each of the weasels' coats magically turned from brown to white!

“Wow!” Tinker Bell exclaimed.

Fawn smiled. “Pretty great, huh? They get their winter coats to protect them from the cold.”

Next, three baby bunnies hopped up to the bridge. They bounded over the border, and their fur also quickly transformed from brown into brilliant white.

Fawn flew over to Tinker Bell's bunny. “Go on, now,” she said gently. “Follow your brothers.”

The bunny's ears perked up. He didn't seem as afraid now that the other animals had all crossed. He hopped to the edge of the bridge and stretched out his ears until they just reached across the border. The tips turned white! Then he spun around and wiggled his tail on the winter side. It turned white, too!

Tinker Bell giggled. “Bye-bye!” she called as the bunny finally hopped all the way into winter. Tink fluttered closer to the curtain of falling snow. What was it like over there? she wondered. Had any fairy ever tried to cross?

Behind her, Fawn was wrestling with a very sleepy marmot. It was his turn to go. But he was already starting to hibernate, right there in the Autumn Forest.

“Oh, no,” Fawn groaned when the marmot let out a loud snore. “No hibernating yet. You do that in winter!” She nudged him toward the log bridge. “Come on. Wake up!”

Meanwhile, Tinker Bell was scanning the crisp, white snow that stretched far out on the other side of the border. It shimmered and sparkled in the winter sunlight. Tinker Bell couldn't help it. She just had to see what winter was like!

Remembering what the bunny had done, she reached her hand over the border. Then she quickly drew it back. Nothing! She glanced over her shoulder to see if Fawn was watching. But her friend was distracted by the sleepy marmot. Now was Tinker Bell's chance!

Gaining confidence, Tink leaned over the border and stuck her nose across. “Oooh,” she said, feeling the tingle of cold air. Her nose was chilly. But it didn't hurt at all.

With a deep breath, Tinker Bell jumped over the border! Instantly, the frosty air surrounded her. Tink shivered. But the snow was magnificent! Tiny flakes swirled everywhere, glistening like pixie dust. Tink opened her mouth and let one land right on her tongue. It was deliciously cold.

Suddenly, Tinker Bell felt a very strange sensation in her wings. She turned around and gasped. Her wings were sparkling! They shimmered with a brilliant burst of colorful light she had never seen before. She could even see all their delicate patterns illuminated. What was causing them to shine so brightly?

As if from far away, Tink heard a baby's laugh. It was very soft. But the sound echoed in her ears.

“Tink?” Fawn's call was distant and faint.

Tinker Bell's wings stopped sparkling.

“Tinker Bell!”
Fawn cried.

“Wha—?” Before Tink knew what was happening, a lasso sailed over her head and tightened around her waist.

“Aaagh!”
she yelled as Fawn yanked her back past the border into autumn.

“Tink!” Fawn exclaimed. “I told you we're not allowed to cross.” She brushed her hand against her friend's wing. “Your wings!” she gasped.

Tinker Bell's eyes shone. “I know!” she cried. “They were sparkling!”

“They're freezing,” Fawn said. “We'd better get you to a healing-talent fairy.”

Tinker Bell tried to protest. But Fawn dragged her away from the border. “Come on!” she cried. Fawn knew that Tinker Bell's wings were in great danger. They had to get help—and fast!