Sample Story - Text
THE NOT SO FOOLISH FAIRY
By Irene Malek
Once there was magic garden full of fairies,
sprites and pixies who were busy at work, flitting from flower to
flower.
Suddenly, the peace in the garden was shattered
by voices coming from behind a large gray rock.
"Elder Elf, I know it’s never been done
this way before, but it works," said a young fairy. She looked
up into the stern face of an older elf as her pink flower dress fluttered
in the breeze.
"Look here, Trina, just do things the way
we’ve always done them. You know that we don’t water the plants that
way," he said as his glasses slipped further down his nose.
"But when the other fairies put in an order
for rain," said the fairy, "sometimes the clouds are too
far away. It often takes days for the rain to reach the plants. Many
of them turn brown and die!! The Dew Drop Fairy likes helping us!"
"I don’t want to hear any more!" interrupted
Elder Elf. "Trina, you’re being foolish. I expect you to follow
the rules! " Trina could see by his face that he was annoyed,
but she gathered her courage to say one last thing.
"Oh please see my plants. I promise to use
the clouds if you don’t like what you see."
Elder Elf sighed. He could see her determination.
"Alright, Trina. The elders and I will come
tomorrow afternoon and decide once and for all. But just make sure
that none of your toad friends are around. I don’t like those creatures!"
Turning away before she started to cry, she began
her flight home.
"Why don’t the elders ever want to try anything
new or make new friends?" she thought as a tear trickled down
her cheek.
As she flew over the fishpond, she thought about
the day Fairy Grandmother was giving her a goodbye hug. She told Trina,
"My dear, don’t worry about what others
say. You must always follow your heart and listen to the little voice
inside which tells you what is right and how to see the good in everything.
Then your life will go the way it is meant to be."
Early the next morning, the first sunbeam from
the rising sun woke her. She jumped out of bed remembering that today
was the day that the elder elves were coming. She put on a sunshiny
yellow dress and sprinkled her wings with fairy dust. She checked
her garden of roses and was pleased to see it sparkling with the morning
dew.
"It looks wonderful! Dew Drop Fairy must
have got my order last night for more dew and so the plants have enough
water for the day. Now we’re ready for this afternoon’s visit from
the elders."
Little did Trina know that something would take
her on an adventure that she didn’t expect. As she was checking the
last golden-pink rose to make sure that the dew had run down into
the plant’s roots, she heard a faint sound. It was one she’d never
heard before. It surprised her because it sounded so sad.
"What is it? Someone or something is in
trouble! I must find out!"
Where was the sound coming from? Just as Trina
was thinking about what to do, a blue bird flew onto a branch close
by her.
"Hello, Mr. Blue Bird! Do you happen to
know what that sound is?" she asked. Mr. Blue Bird looked up
and said,
"Yes, I’m sure it comes from Deep Forest
near the Cascading Waterfalls. But I don’t know what it is, Trina.
Sorry I can’t tell you more."
And off he flew to the meadow.
"Well," thought Trina. "I know
in my heart that someone needs help. And I guess the only way to find
out is to go there myself."
With her gossamer wings shimmering, Trina began
her journey to Deep Forest. Soon she was flying over the waterfall
and then . . . she spotted it, right on the very edge!! . . . There,
overlooking the huge precipice and the foaming water far below, was
a scared baby duck, quacking for help. Quickly, Trina swooped down
to where the duckling was.
"Don’t be afraid, little duck. Everything
will be alright," she said in a soft comforting voice. But all
the duckling could say was "Quack! Quack!"
"Quivering quackers, it’s Trina!! Am I glad
to see you!!" said a voice. And out stepped Trina’s pixie friend,
Quill. His job was to help newborn ducklings but he was always having
problems.
"Quill, I thought you might be here when
I saw the duckling."
"Oh, I’m sooo upset!!" said Quill,
wringing his hands. "Little Duckling wondered away from his parents
this morning and because he’s so scared I can’t get him to do anything!
And look! He’s so close to the edge that one quick move and . . .
he’s over the edge!!!"
"Quill, just calm down. We can’t do anything
unless we think calmly. First," said Trina, following her heart
like Fairy Grandmother had taught her, "we’ve got to make Little
Duckling more comfortable."
So they found the biggest leaf they could and
put it around him to keep him warm. And with that, Little Duckling
sat down on the rock and went right to sleep.
All of a sudden, Trina had an idea.
"I know! We’ve got to get a message to
Little Duckling’s mother and father. Once they get here, they will
know what to do! The only problem is that we don’t know where they
live."
Just when they thought that nothing was going
to work, they heard someone say,
"Croak! Gonna do some diving, Trina?"
"Uggh!" said Quill. "It’s one
of those ugly toads."
But Trina didn’t pay any attention to him because
she knew that all living creatures need a little kindness and besides,
the toads had eaten the pesky insects in her garden.
"Hi, Mr. Toad," said Trina. "No,
no, I’m not interested in diving, but Quill and I do need help."
Then, without even asking Quill, she told Mr.
Toad the whole story.
"But, Trina," whispered Quill, "he
can’t find Mr. and Mrs. Duck. He’s too slow!"
Finally Mr. Toad spoke up in his deep toad
voice.
"Uhh, Miss Trina, I think I can help.
I’ll send a message to the other toads in the woods. (Croak.) I’ll
tell them it has to reach Mr. and Mrs. Duck real fast and that their
missin’ duck is right here at Cascading Waterfalls."
"Yes! Yes! Please do it quickly!"
said Trina. Quill just rolled his eyes and began muttering under
his breath,
"I don’t think it’s going to work!"
Immediately Mr. Toad began to send out his
message in his deep voice. The sound was quickly picked up by another
toad in the distance and sent on to a different toad until the whole
forest reverberated with the deep croaking of toads.
Soon over the trees and almost knocking over
Quill, landed Mr. and Mrs. Duck! With a cry, they both rushed forward
to Little Duckling, bringing their wings around him and gently,
gently moving him away from the ledge to safety.
"Oh, thank you for rescuing our baby!!"
quacked Mrs. Duck looking at them all, including Mr. Toad who promptly
turned a bumpy pink.
"You have all done a great service this
night," quacked Mr. Duck.
Then Mrs. Duck looked at her watch and said
with alarm,
"Well, we really have to get back to the
rest of our family. I’m sure that Mrs. Chicken will be tired by
now."
So with Quill on Little Duckling’s back and
Little Duckling on Mr. Duck’s back, carefully tucked under his feathers,
they flew off toward home with one last "Thank yoooou !!"
"I’d better go too," said Trina "or
I’ll be late for Elder Elf’s visit."
When Trina got back to the garden, her heart
sank; not only were the elders there but . . . the entire fairy
community!
As soon as she landed, Elder Elf stepped forward.
He was smiling.
"Trina, we already heard through the fairy network about your
brave and kind deed. You thought about others instead of yourself.
We also realize that we were mistaken about the toads and that we’ve
been unkind to them. From now on the toads will be our friends."
As all of the fairies cheered, Trina looked
over at her rose garden with a question still in her eyes.
"Ah yes, Trina, . . . you do have the
healthiest plants in the garden. Starting tomorrow, we will all
use the dewdrop method."
And so, because of one kind and not so foolish
fairy, all of Fairyland became a happier and more loving place.
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