Rainbow Brite: Starlite
Saves the Day
by Jean Lewis
On a sparkling summer day, Rainbow Brite called in the Color Kids.
"Rainbow Land has never looked so beautiful!" she said. "Let's do
something special for the Sprites - to thank them for giving us the
best Star Sprinkles ever."
"Let's give them a party!" said Patty O'Green.
"Let's make it a costume party!" said Lala Orange.
"How about a softball game?" said Buddy Blue. "We could play the
Sprites for the Rainbow Land championship!"
"I could take the Sprites over Rainbow Falls in a barrel!" said Red
Butler.
"Oh, my!" gasped Lala Orange, gazing at Red adoringly.
Indigo wanted to put on a show, and Canary Yellow suggested a
picnic. Shy Violet couldn't get a word in edgewise.
"We'll use all your ideas," said Rainbow Brite. "First, we'll
declare a special holiday - Sprite Day. We'll invite the Sprites to
an all day picnic at Rainbow Falls."
Rainbow Brite asked Shy Violet and Lala Orange to make posters. Shy
Violet was as good as writing as Lala was at drawing pictures, so
they got busy with pens and crayons.
Rainbow put Patty O'Green and Buddy Blue in charge of sports and
games for the picnic.
Indigo offered to tell fortunes, and Red Butler promised a bang-up
display of fireworks. Canary Yellow agreed to help Rainbow plan the
picnic menu, and Buddy Blue said he would personally squeeze six
dozen lemons for lemonade.
Starlite, Rainbow's horse, and Twink, her favorite Sprite, felt left
out - but not for long.
"Starlite," said Rainbow, "would you take the Sprites sky-riding on
your back? They'd love that."
Starlite tossed his rainbow mane. "I'd be delighted!"
"And, Twink," said Rainbow Brite, "will you invited all the Sprites
to the picnic?"
Twink responded by bouncing right off the Color Mines.
Everyone was busy getting ready for Sprite day. Everyone, that is,
except Murky Dismal and his sidekick Lurky.
"Why didn't you tell me we were all out of evil potion mix?" growled
Murky as the two villians rooted through the weeds growing around
their cave, The Pits.
They were hunting for toadstools, wormwart, and any icky yuck they
could find to brew a fresh batch of evil potion.
"How about this, boss?" asked Lurky, waving a fistfull of shiny
green weeds.
"That's poison ivy, you idiot!" roared Murky. Lurky threw the weeds
as far away as he could.
"Oh, my back!" groaned Murky, trying to straighten up. "We've been
on our knees in these weeds for hours and all you can find is a
bunch of poison ivy!"
"Maybe we should look someplace else," said Lurky.
"If you hadn't stalled the Grunge Buggy, we could go look anywhere
we wanted to," snarled Murky. "Here, take this rope and drag the
Buggy back up here. Now!"
Lurky, eager to get away, fairly flew down the hill.
Meanwhile, Patty O'Green and Buddy Blue had been jogging all over
Rainbow Land putting up Sprite Day posters.
Buddy carried a can of blue paint and Patty a can of green. They
neatly sprayed blue and green borders around each poster after they
hung it up.
Patty and Buddy spotted the grim, mud-spattered Grunge Buggy in a
ditch. They both shuddered.
"What an eyesore!" said Patty. Then she grinned. "Think how furious
would be if we cleaned it up!"
"That would take years," laughed Buddy.
"Not if we just spray-painted it," said Patty.
"Let's do it, then," said Buddy.
Patty and Buddy couldn't resist.
When they finished painting, one side of the Grunge Buggy was bright
green and the other shiny blue. Patty hung a Sprite Day poster on
the car.
"Quick!" warned Buddy, pulling her behind a rose bush. "Here comes
Lurky."
Lurky walked right past Buddy and Patty and the Grunge Buggy.
"See?" giggled Patty. "He doesn't even recognize it!"
Lurky was walking around and around the Grunge Buggy when Murky
Dismal came looking for him.
"Where have you been all this time?" Murky roared. "Haven't you
found the Grunge Buggy yet? How can you lose something that big?"
Then they both walked in a circle around the Grunge Buggy. Suddenly
Murky stopped for a closer look.
"It's right under your nose!" he yelled.
"But it's all shiny clean!" gulped Lurky.
"This is the work of that 'Rainbow Brat' and her gang," howled
Murky, kicking the Grunge Buggy. The motor started with a wheeze and
a snort.
"Hurry up! Get in!" roared Murky, shoving Lurky behind the wheel
while he jumped into the side car. Off they went in a cloud of
exhaust fumes, heading for the Pits.
Near the entrance to the cave, the motor stalled. The Grunge Buggy
lurched down the hill and flung the pair into a muddy ditch.
Murky shook Lurky like a rug. Then he saw the Sprite Day poster
hanging on the car. An evil grin spread over his face. Murky Dismal
was plotting something.
"Do you know what this means?" he gloated. "I'll have that 'Rainbow
Brat' in my power. I'll close the Color Mines forever. Rainbow Land
will be drab, drab, drab!"
As they pushed the mud-covered Grunge Buggy back up the hill, Murky
revealed his plan. "First, we'll float a giant size gloom cloud over
the picnic. Then we'll drop our big net and we'll have them - every
last one of them!"
Now Murky and Lurky were inside the cave.
"But where will you put them, boss?" asked Lurky.
Murky opened one of the cages he kept for Rainbow Brite and her
friends. "Right where they belong!" and he slammed the cage shut.
The weather for Sprite day was picnic perfect. It was warm enough
for a dip under Rainbow Falls, and it was warm enough to work up a
thirst for fresh-squeezed lemonade. And it was not too hot to run
sack races, jump hurdles, or hit a home run.
Everybody was having such a wonderful time that no one noticed the
giant-size gloom cloud overhead.
Starlite, galloping high atop the arch of a rainbow with four
squealing Sprites on his back, spotted it first. Heading for a
landing on the picnic grounds, he saw the gloom cloud spread out
between him and the ground.
"Watch out below!" he cried. "Gloom cloud alert!"
No one heard him. Climbing swiftly above the cloud, Starlite saw
Murky Dismal and Lurky throw out their huge net.
"Hang on!" Starlite warned the frightened Sprites as the net
whistled past them. Lashing out with his sharp hooves, Starlite
dived under the net tearing it to shreds before it could drop on
Rainbow and the others.
Then he headed straight for Murky and Lurky, stamping up and down on
their heel.
Murky and Lurky took one look at those sharp hooves and scampered
into their cave for safety. They jumped into the very cages they had
planned to use for Rainbow Brite and her friends.
Starlite looked into the cave. "Right where they belong!" he
snorted.
Rainbow Brite had seen Starlite defeat Murky and Lurky. She made
sure he and the Sprites were alright.
Then she said, "Let's get back to the picnic. We don't want to miss
Red Butler's fireworks display."
The magnificent display of fireworks brought Sprite day to a
glorious close.
Then Rainbow Brite rode Starlite over the falls on the arch of a
rainbow. The sky was lit up with showers of Star Sprinkles.
What a wonderful day it had been!
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