Publisher's Synopsis
The Missing Bride of Craghallon
It was the most dazzling morning Craghallon had seen in many a year. The sun danced across the treetops of the Enchanted Forest, turning every leaf into glittering emeralds. Master Cobbler Dabby O'Haggin was bustling about his little workshop, polishing a pair of wedding shoes so fine that the birds outside chirped admiringly at their shine. "Tomorrow, I'll be a married leprechaun!" Dabby grinned, his bushy red beard fluffing with excitement. "Ginny Maguire, the loveliest lass in all of Craghallon, will be mine forever!" The villagers were busy decorating the square with garlands of clovers and strings of golden lights. Everywhere, there was laughter and the clinking of mugs filled with sparkling apple cider. But just as Dabby put the final gleam on the golden buckles of the wedding shoes, there came a frantic knock at his door. It was Lindy the Fairy, her rainbow-glimmering wings fluttering faster than a hummingbird. "Dabby! Oh, Dabby! Ginny's gone!" "Gone?" Dabby's twinkling green eyes grew wide with panic. "What do you mean gone? She was just fetching her wedding garland this morning!" "She never returned," Lindy said, her bright green eyes filled with worry. "We've searched the village, the forest, even the meadows where the unicorns graze! But there's no sign of her." Without wasting a moment, Dabby grabbed his trusty cobbler's hammer, which hung on a hook by the door. "Don't you worry, Lindy. I'll find Ginny and bring her home safe and sound before the wedding bells chime!" As the two hurried into the village square, they found a crowd of leprechauns gathered near the fountain. There, at the edge of the cobblestone path, lay something peculiar: a golden locket, shimmering faintly in the sunlight. Dabby crouched down and picked it up. It was cold to the touch, and the intricate carvings of twisted vines and bones sent a shiver up his spine. "This isn't Ginny's," he muttered, his bushy brows knitting together. "I've never seen anything like it." The Leprechaun Queen herself, adorned in her emerald gown and ivy crown, stepped forward from the crowd. Her piercing blue eyes studied the locket with great concern. "This is no ordinary trinket," she said gravely. "It reeks of dark magic-a curse, no doubt." The villagers gasped. Dabby's hands tightened around his cobbler's hammer. "Who would do such a thing? And why take Ginny?" The Queen's voice was heavy with foreboding. "I fear this is the work of the Wicked Hob Goblin, Dev'le'nah. She's long harbored a hatred for happiness, and your wedding, Dabby, would have brought more joy to Craghallon than any event in years." Dabby's heart pounded. "Then we'll stop her. We'll find Ginny and make sure Dev'le'nah's schemes fail!"
