One Wish Read Online Free PDF Page A

fingers. The smug look on its face sent Tanya’s heart pumping with rage, for now the cheeky little beast was heading right for her table. Oberon, who had fallen asleep on Tanya’s feet, was given nothing more than a dismissive look before the fairy turned its attention to Tanya’s rucksack. Before she could help herself, Tanya snatched up the bag and hugged it fiercely to her chest.
    ‘Don’t even think about it, you nasty little thief!’ she whispered.
    The fairy stopped dead, its eyes huge with shock. It regarded Tanya warily, then recovered itself. Its eyes narrowed to slits and its lips drew back over its teeth in an ugly snarl.
    ‘Put it back,’ Tanya said through gritted teeth, hoping her voice was low enough not to attract anyone else’s attention. ‘Put it all back. Now.’
    ‘Shan’t!’ the fairy retorted with an infuriating smirk. ‘You can’t make me!’
    It slunk under another table. It was right, of course. What could Tanya do? Even if she tackled it and managed to get the stolen items back, how could she return them to their owners without looking as though she herself was guilty of stealing them? Besides, she thought in disgust, she wouldn’t want anyone to eat the pie or the iced bun after the fairy’s dirty little fingers had mauled them.
    Dimly aware that her hands had clenched into fists on the tabletop, she watched as the thieving fairy approached its next victim, a young man reading a book. Only this time the fairy did something quite unexpected. Instead of reaching for a pocket, it pored over the man’s boot, scratching its chin before pulling the knot free and deftly unravelling the shoelace.
    Tanya frowned in confusion. Surely the fairy wasn’t going to attempt to steal the man’s boots? They’d be far too difficult to make away with! This time, she realised, there was something she could do.
    She leaned closer to the man at the table. ‘Excuse me?’ she began.
    The man looked up. ‘Yes?’
    ‘Your shoelace is undone.’ She glanced under the table. The fairy had pulled the lace completely free and was now stuffing it into the sack with everything else. Odd , she thought. Perhaps it doesn’t want the boot after all . . .
    The man raised his eyebrows. Clearly, he thought Tanya was odd. Nevertheless, he gave her a polite smile. ‘Uh, thanks.’ He bent down, just as the end of the shoelace vanished into the sack. ‘Oh . . .’ He looked confused now. ‘I must have lost it altogether. That’s strange.’
    What would it want with one shoelace? Tanya wondered.
    The fairy shot a victorious look at Tanya and hissed like a threatened cat. Then it took off at remarkable speed, dragging its stolen cargo behind it. Tanya stood up quickly, jolting Oberon from his snooze. A thought had struck her, and suddenly she had a very strong feeling about what the shoelace was for – and where it would lead her.
    ‘Well, I hope you find it,’ she gabbled, grabbing her rucksack and Oberon’s leash. ‘I have to go now!’
    With that, she took off, pushing clumsily past the other tables. She heard tuts and exclamations of, ‘Well, really!’ but she did not slow down or stop to apologise. This, she knew, might be her only chance. Once out of the café and back on the pier, she looked this way and that before glimpsing a brown blur headed in the direction of the pier’s entrance.
    She raced after it, dodging people right and left, all the while trying not to lose sight of the small, wily figure that was weaving in and out of people’s legs with ease, sometimes causing them to stumble. On it went, and on, snatching a newspaper from a coffee-shop table and a bag of candyfloss from a stall as it went. Both went into the brown sack. Soon, almost at the end of the pier, Tanya could feel herself slowing. Her forehead and upper lip were wet with sweat. She couldn’t keep up with it for much longer . . .
    Just then, it made a sharp turn to the right, vanishing into a games arcade. Tanya stopped and