The Fairy-Tale Matchmaker by E. D. Baker Read Free Book Online

long ponytail was seated in the back. Most the seats in between were filled with nymphs dressed in the clothes of their trade; bark for treenymphs and water lilies for water nymphs. The only seats available were right behind the goblin, who scowled when Cory took her seat and placed the box in the basket in front of her.
    â€œAren’t you ready yet?” he grumped, although she hadn’t taken any time at all.
    â€œAll set,” she said, and put her feet on the pedals.
    Everyone pushed down on the pedals at once and the next moment they were flying down the road. Cory thought they were probably moving as fast as she could fly. If they hadn’t had to stop now and then to let a passenger off or pick up someone new she would have been home in minutes. As it was, she was there in less than an hour, paying the goblin with a coin when she got off.
    Cory watched the departing bus until they had driven out of sight before heading up her uncle’s walk. After taking the box to her bedroom, she let Noodles outside for a few minutes, then put him back in her room. The moment she was out the front door, she made herself small again.
    Cory wasn’t far from the address on Curdsin Way and was glad she had saved it for last. She knew Marjorie Muffet, the person who had written the last help-wanted ad, having met her at her friend Apple Blossom’s birthday party years before. Cory had seen Marjorie a few times over the years, and thought she was nice. Iftheir paths had crossed a little more often, she might have called her a friend.
    Cory had never been to Marjorie’s house before, but when she finally found the address, she thought the little cottage suited her perfectly. Miss Muffet lived in a cute little cottage with a white picket fence. Pink roses covered the arbor that stood at the gate, with more pink roses planted along the inside of the entire fence and lining the walkway that led to the front door. A patch of black-eyed Susans surrounded a for sale sign in the middle of the front lawn. The sign was weathered, as if it had been there a long time.
    Cory read the newspaper ad once more as her feet touched the ground.
    ----
    HELP WANTED
    Must be fearless, have large shoes and a strong stomach. Apply in person to Miss Muffet at 22 Curdsin Way.
----
    Her shoes weren’t exactly large, but she did have a strong stomach and she’d proven herself to be pretty fearless as a tooth fairy.
Maybe the shoes aren’t that important
, she thought, heading for the gate.
    Cory had just stepped through the arbor when she noticed that Marjorie was seated on a carved benchnestled in a corner of the garden. Wearing a pink gingham dress and a white ruffled apron, she was intent on the pages of an oversize book.
    â€œHi, Marjorie!” Cory called.
    The girl glanced up. She looked puzzled at first, but her expression brightened when she recognized Cory. “Cory Feathering! What are you doing in this part of town?”
    â€œLooking for a job,” Cory said as she walked toward the bench. “I saw your ad in the paper.”
    â€œApple Blossom told me that you were training to be a tooth fairy. Didn’t that work out?”
    â€œI was almost finished with my training, except I quit a few days ago. That’s why I need to find a job.” Cory felt a flush of embarrassment over admitting that she’d walked away from such a prestigious career. Saying it like this made her sound like a failure, something she hadn’t felt before.
    â€œI’m sure there’s a story behind that!” said Marjorie. “But I’m not going to pry. Come sit beside me and I’ll tell you about the job, then you can tell me if you still want it. I have spiders, you see. They’re not poisonous, but they are obnoxious. My house is full of them. I’ve tried putting out spider traps so I can release them in the wild, and bait that makes them turn green, fall over, and twitch so they’ll