Pink Poogle Toy Forum

The three daughters of the king

A long time ago, in a far far away kingdom lived a good king who had three beautiful daughters.
When the eldest one turned seventeen, she organized a party to celebrate and all the nobles of the reign were invited. For a whole week they danced and feasted in the castle, and on the seventh day they went in a forest by coach and started dancing in a clearing.
But in that forest lived a witch who, attracted by the sound of laughers and music, went out of her shack and asked to join the dances. She was very old and ugly, so the princesses made fun of her hooked nose and red eyes, telling her to go away.
The witch got very angry at those words, and cursed them crying: “May your dances last long, for when your feet will stop my servants will bring you to my castle at the end of the world!”
The party continued for all the night and, at dawn, the eldest sister felt very tired and sat down on a tree stump to rest. Immediately a big crow appeared, grabbed her by the shoulders and flew away.
At that sight the middle princess took fright and stopped dancing too, and a second crow took her away disappearing from sight.
But the youngest princess remembered the words of the old witch and didn’t stop. She danced through all the woods, across seven bridges and seven towns to the home of her godmother. She was an old woman, kind and wise, who was said to have magical powers.
“The witch cursed my sisters and me,” the girl told her. “When my feet will stop dancing her crows will bring me to her castle at the end of the world, where my sisters already are. Can you help us?”
“I can’t undo what she did,” replied the woman. “But I can help you. Take this wooden flute and when you’ll need something blow in it: you’ll obtain what you want. But be careful! Every person can ask for one item only in their whole life.”
As soon as the exhausted girl stopped dancing, a huge crow flew down and lifted her in the air. For all the day they traveled, passing mountains and countries, rivers and plains, until finally they reached the castle of the witch. The crow entered from a narrow window and dropped the princess in a small room on the top of the tallest tower.
Her two sisters were in there, too, and as soon as the crow left they started crying and moaning because the room had no other exits and the witch’s crows guarded the place all the time.
“Don’t weep,” the girl reassured them. “My godmother gave me this magical flute that will help us returning home.”
And to show them its magical powers she blew into it.
The instrument gave a crystalline sound and quickly hundreds of ants came from under the stones.
“How can we serve you, my ladies?” they all chorused.
She was surprised and didn’t know what to reply, but in the end she said, “I want a mirror.”
The ants disappeared and returned after a few seconds carrying a small elegant mirror on their backs.
“You’ve been a fool,” the other sisters told her. “That mirror will be of no use, and you’ve wasted your wish.”
The eldest one took the flute and blew into it.
“I want a rope to reach the feet of the tower,” she said.
The ants returned with a long silk rope, and they fixed it on the windowsill.
One after another the princesses started climbing down, but the crows noticed it and flew away to warn the witch.
When the sisters reached the feet of the tower, the second one blew into the flute and said, “I want a fast horse to carry us home.”
The ants brought a beautiful white steed, the fastest of the world, and the three princesses mounted on its back.
The horse started galloping as fast as the wind, but the witch had seen them and was going after them riding one of the crows. The horse and the bird raced for the whole night, but when the gates of the city appeared the witch had nearly reached the fugitives. She bent forward to grab them, and in that moment the youngest princess took her mirror and reflected the first rays of the sun into the crow’s eyes. The blinded bird flapped desperately its wings for a second, and then dropped down like a stone.
The princesses returned safely home to their father, and lived happily ever after.

Tamm

Tamm was pretty much a normal Fairy. She had bat-like wings and warty mud-colored skin just like other Fairies do. She was stuck up and haughty just like other fairies were. And she held grudges and played tricks just like other Fairies do.

But, she was not a normal Fairy. The only difference was, was that she did not have her tail. A Fairy’s tail is its pride and joy – it is soft and a light grey, possibly the most beautiful part of its body. If a Fairy did not have its tail, it was cast out from the other Fairies, forced to live alone and fend for itself. So, she did all her work alone, without the aid of other Fairies.

And that was how Tamm was. She was a lone Fairy. But sometimes, lone Fairies are worse than a group. They can go faster, and don’t have as many to worry about. Tamm was one of these Fairies, and, possibly the worst of them all.

She mainly focused her antics on three animals – Ishka the brown Fruit Bat, Imma the white fluffy bunny, and Iris the field mouse.

Ishka was probably the one bothered the most by Tamm’s antics. Because Ishka was almost blind, and couldn’t see in the day, she was easy to target for even noticeable tricks. Of course, she could have squeaked to show what was in front of her, but Ishka was still young, and didn’t bother to think of such easy remedies to her problems.

Every piece of free time the three received, they put into planning. They planned out how they would capture the Fairy. It had to be done just right, otherwise, the Fairy would get hurt or it would not succeed.

Until one day they had a plan, and all the materials. Slowly, bit by bit they worked on their creation, until it was finished…

The cage was made, and Ishka had agreed to bring in the Fairy…
---

Hearing a noise, Ishka turned. Her face was scrunched up in slight confusion as she tried to identify the visitor. The apple fruit she had been eating she set down on the ground carefully, staring towards the noise.

Tamm sneered, and let out a laugh. How she loved that cute little innocent look the little Bat got! She flicked her wings out lightly, preparing for the little trick she had planned.

Ishka let out a high-pitched squeak, her ears flicked backwards, and her eyes suddenly grew excited.

“It’s you!” she squeaked out suddenly. Her voice, like most bats, was high pitched. “C’mon, then, I’ve been waiting for awhile!”

Tamm rocked back slightly, confused. Why had the little Bat wanted her? She flicked her wings open, her warty face eyeing the Bat.

Ishka looked on expectantly. She spread her own wings, and then took off flying. “Follow me, please!”

Still confused, Tamm followed the young Bat. She had to slow herself to match the slow, almost melodic rhythm of Ishka’s flight. Every once in awhile, she saw the Bat open her mouth slightly, and then close it, her ears flicking shortly afterwards.

After awhile, Ishka slowed even more. She started circling around a pretty field, finally coming to a stop on a thin tree branch. She was upside down, however, so Tamm could not land with her. So she continued flying, awaiting further directions from the Bat.

Ishka squeaked again, and pointed her right wing towards a rock in the center of the field, afterwards wrapping herself up once more. She stayed silent, her eyes watching the Fairy eagerly.

Tamm flew hesitantly away from the Bat to where she was directed, unsure of what was going on. What would be awaiting her at the rock? She paused above it, eyeing it before landing.

Almost immediately she was pounced upon by Iris and Imma. There was a little bit of a struggle, but, in the end, the two animals triumphed. Tammy was soon covered with a small, makeshift cage made of wood and other things from a nearby forest.

Tamm was shocked for a second, surprised. She should have expected it of course, but, the little Bat had looked so trustworthy… and happy. Of course, Tamm had picked on Ishka the most, so there was no reason for her not to trick her...

After the shock wore off, the Fairy realized she hurt. She didn’t know where she hurt, it was as if the pain was there, but wasn’t at the same time. She looked up at the Mouse and Bunny looking down at her, a pained expression on her face.

“What’s the matter?” Imma asked softly, her nose twitching in short breaks and her ears flicking back. Iris nodded in agreement, whiskers twitching.

“I… don’t know.” Tamm answered. She mused slightly over the fact that when she was caged or confused she wasn’t like she was usually, instead she was more humble. She pointed to where the pain was coming from. “It hurts. I don’t know what hurts, but it does.”

Iris’s ears twitched a few moments more, and then she raised her paw and signaled Ishka over. They waited a few moments for the Bat to arrive, and when she had, Tamm explained the feeling once more.

Ishka nodded, not saying a word. She looked onwards to where Tamm had pointed, and then emitted a few high-pitched squeaks. Almost immediately her ears flicked.
Ishka blinked, her eyes once more confused. “There is something there, but then again, it isn’t there. It is long and thin, sort of like…” she paused then, trying to find the right words. “Kind of like a tail.”

The four gasped lightly. It was evident to all of them, even Ishka with her poor eyesight, that there was nothing there. And yet, Ishka had clearly ‘seen’ something there.

Imma’s nose twitched a couple of times. Then she reached up to unlock the cage. She felt that the Fairy wouldn’t try to be mean to them, now that they had a mystery to solve.

Tamm stumbled out, a relieved look on her face. She muttered a “Thanks,” quickly, and then sat down on the rock. She stared at the point where she had been looking at before. “It still hurts.”

Ishka nodded, and emitted a few more squeaks. “It’s still there.”

Imma listened, nibbling on a blade of grass. Then, without warning, she jumped forward and landed a little below where Tamm’s gaze was focused.

Tamm gasped out in pain, and pushed the Bunny away. Tears stung at her eyes, and she gasped deeply.

Imma nodded in satisfaction. “As I thought,” she said softly. “You do have a tail. For some reason… it’s just invisible. Surprising you didn’t know about it before, eh?”

The other three blinked, confused. The Bunny’s words had made no sense to them. After awhile, Tamm broke the silence.

“So… I do have a tail then. We just haven’t seen it before,” she said, focusing her gaze on the others.

“Yes.”

The voice didn’t come from any of the gathered group. Instead it seemed to come from the air, from everywhere yet nowhere at once.

“Congratulations, Tamm. With the finding of your tail comes the finding of you. You are, as you have probably guessed by now, not a regular Fairy.”

“Who is there? Who are you?” Iris said, blinking and nervously looking around. She stood on her back legs, her forepaws clutched together as she looked around. Her whiskers twitched forward as she tried to catch the scent of the unseen being.

The air around them shimmered. A few minutes later a rather bored-looking person looked down at them. He looked almost like a human, the only differences were that he was very tiny and had wings like a Bumblebee’s.

“Mm. Excuse me for not introducing myself. I am Aranno, one of the Lords of Fairies. And, Tamm, now a Lady of Fairies, you are very unusual. Usually we have only one Guardian, but you have three,” he said, the bored expression still on his face.

No one responded. An amused look flashed over his face. “Ah. Ishka, Imma, Iris. You are now Tamm’s Guardians. You will watch over her, and advise her when need be. A few days of learning will probably be needed. My own Guardian, Tauren, a white Fox will teach you in this. I, in turn, will be Tamm’s teacher.”

Tamm nodded. “I get it now,” she said softly. “I must be one of the Fairy Royalty… but surely… there must be some mistake?”

Aranno shook his head. “No, I have made no mistake at all, young Tamm. Having no tail at all is a sign of being Royalty, although that is kept a secret… after all, we couldn’t exactly have Fairies at random chopping off their tails, could we? And when you find that you do in fact have one, it is a sign that you are ready to be presented with your role. Oh, and before I forget…”

Aranno snapped his fingers before disappearing again. Almost immediately, Tamm began to change. No longer was she an ugly, regular Fairy with no tail, but now she was beautiful. And with wings similar to a bumblebee’s, as well!

“Well, I guess now I can’t pick on you anymore, can I?” Tamm said, a mischievous grin flashing over her face.

With a startled cry, the three creatures lightly thwapped the Fairy. And that is when their tricks and bullying ended, and their friendly teasing began.

And all went well. Perhaps even a Happily Ever After.

The Forest

Humperdink was an adorable little elf, and he loved dancing. Whenever he heard music, he can’t help but leap to his feet and dance till the music stopped. Whenever the little elf danced, his orange hair, as beautiful as the leaves in autumn, seemed to swirl around and around, like it was dancing with him too. He was happiest when he danced, his sky blue eyes sparking with laughter, he could dance and dance for ages.

Humperdink lived in a happy elf community, a haven, away from the world’s troubles. He lived in a small maple tree with his parents. The little elf didn’t mind that his tree was rather small, he found it rather cozy. After all, there still was enough room for him to dance, and that’s all that matters.

On that particular summer afternoon, Humperdink was dancing through the streets of Elfvill, humming a quaint tune to himself. He was just surveying the leaves overhead when he heard music. It wasn’t like any music he had ever heard before, Humperdink was amazed by this magical sound, yes, and it indeed seemed magical, graceful, smooth, sophisticated and clear all at the same time. I’d bet you can tell that the little elf dancer was excited.

But wait, the music seemed to drift further away now, Humperdink called out: “Wait! Come back!” but of course, the music did not remain there, it continued to pull further away from him, into The Forest opening...

Humperdink could remember his parents telling him something very important.
“Remember dear, you must never ever ever ever go into The Forest.” Humperdink’s merry plump mother told him.
“Yes, you’re mother is right Humperdink, Elfvill is the one of the few elf havens left scattered in this foreign world.” Humperdink’s elderly father told him, “Don’t ever leave his place, in The Forest, many witches live there.”

What to do now? Humperdink thought, well, he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to follow it into The Forest, just for a while. He put all the warnings he had ever been told in the back of his mind and lost himself, just for a while, he thought, in this wonderful music.

It turns out that Humperdink lost track of time, he had been following the music through The Forest for a long while, dancing, with the grace of a pixie. Little did he notice the green, mossy terrain turn into a desolate, barren field. No, he kept on dancing and following the music, unaware of his surroundings. The trees became twisted and gnarled, Humperdink kept on dancing. The earth below became slimy and black, Humperdink kept on dancing. Only when he heard a wild cackle did he realize something was wrong.

Humperdink realized where he was, well, not really, but it certainly isn’t Elfvill! The music had stopped and Humperdink suddenly realized how chilly it was. This didn’t make sense, he thought, it’s summer! Despite that, the rubbed his hands together, trying to warm himself up a bit. The little elf realized he was in a clearing, with rotting trees growing densely all around it.

“‘Ere comez ‘nother un!” A low, booming voice shouted somewhere from behind the gnarled, twisted trees.

“I know, I know! Yer’ don’t have to shout!” Replied another voice, this time, higher pitched and scratchier, or as the people in Elfvill described it, higher-pitched-and-scratchier. Humperdink was sure that was the same voice that cackled not so long ago.

“Where… where am I?” Humperdink managed to get out.

“Why, yer’ in The Forest darling!” The person with the higher-pitched-and-scratchier voice replied.

“I… I’d like to go home please… if… if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Oh… yer’d like to go home to dear Elfvill eh? Did yer’ hear that Nathan? The little elf wants to go back to Elfvill!”

“Her her har har he he smurf smurf!” Nathan laughed.

“Tee hee hee haa haa he he!” The higher-pitched-and-scratchier voice cackled.

”I… I don’t get what’s… what’s so funny…” Humperdink called out nervously… “Can… can you bring me home?”

Before he finished the sentence, two figures appeared behind the dense plantation of trees. One was of a bulkier size, in fact, he was rather giant. His skin was of a brownish hue, but you couldn’t really tell as there were fungi growing all over him. His face was clearly visible though, he had a long face, or as the people in Elfvill called it, Longface. The giant had no hair… unless you count the fungi growing on his head. The other figure, however, was small and skinny. Her skin was of a greenish hue and she had warts growing all over her. She had a long nose, or as the people in Elfvill called it, a john.

“Iz thad the elv we’ve captured?” The bulky giant, (who was Nathan), asked.

“Yes, that’s the one.” The woman with the warts and the john replied.

“Awll right, I’ll ged the pot boiling.”

Now, our little elf realized what was happening. His mother had read him books about witches with johns that eat elves and giants with longfaces that boil pots. The witch would cast a spell and lure an elf from the safety of Elfvill to the dangers of The Forest. Then, the giant would boil the pot while the witch puts the elf in.
“Come on darling, come with me.” The witch said to Humperdink.

Humperdink knew what was going to happen next, his mother read it to him in a book titled Witches with Johns. The witch would lead the elf into a magic circle, where she would cast a spell and make the elf fall asleep. Oh no, you’re not going to get me, Humperdink thought.

“Wow!” Humperdink commented, “You’re a really pretty witch!”

“Why thank yer’ darling!” The witch replied.

“You know, I have some magical cream that would get rid of those nasty wrinkles and warts!”

“Oh really?” The witch was rather interested now.

“Yes! Its back home at my house… but oh no, I cant get it for you.”

“Well, do yer’ really think it’ll make me prettier?”

“Prettier than pixies!”

The witch blushed after this complement, making her face a weird orange color as the redness of the blush combined with the greenness of her skin.

“Well, if yer’ really do have that kind of cream, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you to get me some.”

“But I don’t know the way home! Oh well, too bad I guess.”

“No, no, no! Yer’ must get that cream! Here! Ride on my broom.” As she said the word “broom” a rickety broom that looked rather unsafe, came flying into her hand. “I’ll take yer’ close to Elfvill, where yer’ll get the cream, and come back. Okay?”

“Of course!” Humperdink muffled a giggle as he hopped on the witch’s old broom. The flight was rather exhilarating, it was the first time the little elf has ever flied before. He felt the wind embracing him and giving him cold kisses, he felt the occasional branch brush against his shoes, he got the occasional lurch in his stomach when the witch turned upside down. He felt like a true pixie at that moment.

“There! We’re outside Elfvill! I cant go in because its ‘protected’ by elves.” She mocked the word ‘protected’ in a nasally tone.

“I’ll be right back!” Humperdink replied. With that, he leapt off the broom and dashed inside Elfvill. Where he got home in time just for supper! Honey Acorns and Dandelion Cake! His favorite!

The witch however, waited outside of the haven for her cream for hours… when she had finally realized she had been tricked, she slapped herself on the head for being so stupid and headed back towards her home in The Forest.

The End

Ack! D: I forgot about the time again. -sigh- I swore I thought you changed it to midnight NST...This was my problem last time, too! I don't get home until 4 PM or so, sometimes later, NST.

Uhm, I'm going to PM it to you just in case no judges have sent it in and you feel like accepting it, haha...if not, I'm really sorry.

(I actually liked my story this time!)

“The formal will be this Friday. Only juniors and seniors may go. Hope to see all of you there!”

Amanda stared at the loudspeaker above her teacher’s desk, and rolled her eyes. How dare they interrupt her test? As she returned to the math problems, which she was nearly done with, the bell buzzed, signaling the end of her last class. She groaned and hurriedly tried to finish the last programs as her classmates pulled themselves past her, ignoring her entirely. She didn’t have anyone to wait for her, so she didn’t care.

“Amanda.”

She glanced up, meeting the eyes of her elderly math teacher.

“You’ve been working too hard lately. Besides that, I have somewhere to go. Come on. Out.” He pointed to the door, raising his shaded gray eyebrows at her.

“I just have to check these last two problems…” she tried desperately, but he cut her off.

“Time’s up. Get out.”

She shrugged her backpack onto her shoulders, sighed, and handed him the test.

“Hey, Amanda. Don’t work yourself so hard. You’re smart.”

She shrugged again and hurried outside to her nearby locker. By this time, the people usually pressed around her locker were gone and she dialed the combination in peace. 7...29...39. A pile of books fell out of the top shelf of the metal container, nearly knocking her glasses off of her thin face.

That was all it took for her to crumple against her locker, head resting on her knees as a tear leaked out of one eye. She went through this every day. She wanted to go to the formal. She was a senior. She wouldn’t have many more opportunities to enjoy herself. It’s not like anyone wants me there anyway, she thought remorsefully.

“Hey Manda, why the long face? Hahaha. It’s like you’re a horse. Hahaha. Get it? Long face? Horse? Get it, Manda?”

Amanda glanced up from her jeans and met the eyes of the most eccentric looking woman she had ever laid eyes on. She couldn’t be more than five years older than Amanda was. Her eyes were framed by cat-eye glasses with diamonds along the frames and a pink tint to the glass, and she was wearing a very short, very pink dress made of silk and chiffon over even pinker fishnet tights.

“Ohh, wait, I messed up the joke.” She scowled.

“Uh, not to be rude, but…who are you?”

“I’m your faerie godmother, dear!” With a quick giggle, she fluffed her skirt and beamed at the teenager. “Oh, hey, do you like my skirt? Will I…blend in?” she glanced around.

“Ma’am…I think you might be at the wrong place…uhm, this is Silverstone High--”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know! I’m here for you, Manda dearest! I’m going to send you to the ball…er…I mean, the formal. Yes, yes. I know you’ll have so much fun!” she gushed. “Oh, I completely forgot to introduce myself--Faye. Your faerie godmother. Oh, wait, I’ve already said that…”

“Wait, wait.” She sighed. “Should I call the principal for you--”

“No, no, that’s pointless. Do you think I should add some more lace up here…?” She gestured to the top of her poofy pink dress and, without waiting for a response, squeezed her eyes shut and muttered to herself. In a flash, a curve of lacy pink appeared around the hem. Before Amanda could get her head around it all, Faye continued. “So, ’Manda, what do you want? And,” she added, sticking a stern, pointed finger into Amanda’s face. “Nothing stupid. I know you want to go to the formal. But do you want a date? A nerdy date or a football man date?” She giggled at the expression on bewildered Amanda’s face.

At the same time, the football team, decked out in full uniform, dashed down the hall. The quarterback was the only one who noticed her, and slowed down, giving her a smile.

“Hey, Amanda,” he greeted her.

“Oh, uhm, hi, Jett.” She flushed red. “Oh, er, this is um, my cousin.” She gestured to Faye.

He turned around, staring at Faye, then turned back to Amanda in confusion. “Er, where?”

“Oh. Um. She must have, um, ran off.” Amanda stared, puzzled, at Faye. “Um. So I better. Um. Go find her. Um. Bye.”

She dashed down the hall, still flushed red. Faye paced close behind. “You like him!” she squealed, wrapping an arm around Amanda’s shoulders. Amanda flinched away. “I’ll be right--”

“Wait.”

Before she could utter her question, Faye disappeared into thin air, leaving a layer of glitter on the floor. Bewildered, Amanda continued to run, trying to get away from this frightening little woman.

It seemed there was no escaping from her. A moment later she appeared in front of Amanda, stopping her in her tracks.

“Guess what, Amanda,” she whispered loudly. “He likes you too!”

“Faye! What did you--”

In a puff of pink glitter, she was gone.



The next day, Amanda waded through clumps of pink glitter covering the hallways. Faye had been there--or was she just a product of Amanda’s imagination? Was she going insane?

No, she wasn’t. Unfortunately, Amanda thought with a sigh. In a bubble of pink glitter, Faye perched on Amanda’s first period desk, happily wearing what looked like a baby blue wedding dress.

“Hi, Amanda,” she chirped. “Quarterback’s gonna ask you outttt,” she sang. With that, she was gone, leaving an explosion of pink glitter around Amanda’s desk. Jett stumbled into the class. Instead of taking his regular seat near the back, he stopped by Amanda’s desk.

“Wannagoformal,” he muttered, turning red.

“Huh?” she blinked.

“Formal. Us. Me. Together.” He cleared his throat. “Date.”

“Um. Um. Okay.” She felt her cheeks glowing hot and turning pink. I’m going to KILL Faye.


After school, Faye was back. The second the bell rang, she perched herself on Amanda’s desk.

“I’m going to have glitter in my hair for a week,” Amanda grumbled, staring at Faye’s eccentric striped stockings.

“That’s okay! I never get the glitter out!” was Faye’s quick reply. “We need to go to the girly bathroom. The old one. Be there or be round! ACK! I mean, square…”

Five minutes later, Amanda and Faye were facing each other in the handicapped stall of an abandoned restroom.

“I’m gonna get you clothes,” Faye explained, squeezing her eyes shut. A moment later, Amanda’s school uniform was gone. The dress that appeared on her was lacier than a wedding down and the same bright pink as Faye’s hair. The dress shone with layer after layer of glitter.

“What do you think?” Faye chirped excitedly. “If you don’t want it, I’d sure have it.”

“I feel like you. If I have to do this…tone it down…” She wouldn’t admit that she was starting to get excited. A formal! With Jett!

It took a half an hour of commands to “tone it down,” but a knee-length red dress--minimal glitter--finally met Amanda’s tastes.

“Why on earth do you want me to go to the formal so badly?” Amanda sighed.

“Because I love you, sweetening! See you Friday!”

“But--”

Faye reached forward, pinched Amanda’s cheeks, and rained glitter down as she disappeared, leaving Amanda in her school uniform with glitter absolutely coating her hair.


Friday couldn’t have come slower, but it finally arrived. Amanda flew home after school, only to find her room covered in ink glitter. Her red dress was laid out neatly on the bed, coupled with a pair of very Faye striped tights. A lined piece of paper was safety pinned to the dress. “WEAR THE STOCKINGS, SWEETIEKINS! Love from, faerie godmom Faye.”

“I am not wearing the stockings,” Amanda sighed. One hour later, she pulled on the dress and simply waited impatiently, pulling a brush through her hair and carefully applying makeup. And then she waited even longer. Jett was supposed to pick her up at seven. 
It was six-thirty. Six forty-five. Seven. She barely took a breath until she heard the clock chime seven-thirty. With a defeated sigh, she paced the living room. Seven-forty. Eight.

Eight-thirty, nine…

She gave up.

At nine-twenty, she fell asleep on her couch, makeup, red dress, teased hair and all.


The next morning, she awoke sore, grumpy, and glittery. Her mother had already left to work, but had left all of the lights flicked off and curtains drawn. Amanda wasn’t surprised to find herself in her pajamas and Faye parched on her feet, holding up last night’s horrendous tights and frowning.

“I told you to wear the tights!” she sighed, obviously upset. “That was the only way it would work!”

“Wha?” Amanda rubbed the glitter out of her eyes.

“It’s over. The magic is gone.”

And this time without the customary puff of pink glitter, Faye disappeared.

Once upon a time, in a land where the blue heather grows as thick as the green grassy carpet and the red blossoms bloom beside the hedges, long, long ago when the children dreamed and the grown-ups hoped as well, there lived an old couple who did not have a child. This couple dearly wanted a child of their own but they could not have one. Nevertheless, they never gave up hoping that one day, they would have a child.

It so happened that one day, the winds turned wild and their luck changed. On that day, a wild gale such as had never been seen before began to blow. The trees tossed and bent under the wind the woman's water-pail flew away. "Oh dear," the woman thought in distress, "I must go find that pail when the wind is not so strong." The wild wind did not last very long after that. When the woman felt it was safe to leave, she put on her coat and went out over the lush meadows to find her water-pail.

She did not walk very far when she saw her pail lying on its side in the middle of a meadow. But hark! What was that she heard? It was not the singing of a bird or the bellowing of a cow. It was the distinct crying of a child. She hurried towards it. To her great surprise. There was a baby girl lying swaddled in a soft white cloth beside the pail. The woman could not imagine how the baby had got there. "Why," the woman cried, picking the child up and cradling it, "it's as if you fell from the sky!"

So the woman took the baby home and the couple raised it as if it had been their own child. The villagers called the girl the "wind's child" after the wild wind that had blown that day and the couple called her Skye. The little girl grew up very happily and would have been perfectly content if it had not been for one thing: she wanted to fly. The little girl often had dreams of flying and there was nothing that she liked better than to feel the wind blowing on her cheeks. Many were the times she reached her hands out towards the heavens and yearned to touch the clouds but she did not know how she could fly.

One day, a wild wind blew. The old woman told Skye not to go out. "The wind might blow you away. I have never seen a wind so strong except for the day you dropped from the sky." So the little girl did some dusting and she did some baking, but her eyes shone whenever she looked outside the window. She could hear the wind calling: "Come play with me, little girl!" At last she could bear it no longer. When the woman was not looking, the little girl ran outside towards the meadows.

"Oh, let me fly with you!" she cried out to the wind. She ran as hard as she could beside the wind wherever it blew, but the wind blew so far and changed directions so fast that poor Skye could not keep up. She ran this way and that but the wind never picked her up. "Oh, how can I fly?" the little girl cried out unhappily. Instead, the wind called out a laughing goodbye and went to blow somewhere else.

"I must learn how to fly," the little girl resolved. So she set out across the fields, never thinking about the home she had left behind. Before long she reached a forest where she knew the birds lived. Entering the thick green woods, she looked up towards where she thought the nests might be, high above her in the branches. But they were so high and the leaves were so thick that she could not see the birds. No matter where she walked, she could not see the birds' nests. At last she sat down and wept bitterly. She was quite lost and she couldn't fly.

A soft hand touched her lightly on the arm. Skye started and looked up to see a pretty fairy standing beside her. "Why are you crying, child?" the fairy asked. So the little girl told the fairy her story -- how she had run out with the wild wind and how she couldn't fly, so she had come to ask the birds for advice, but she could not see any of the birds. The fairy laughed a tinkling laugh and said, "Why, child, the birds are off looking for food. They will come home soon enough. In the meantime, you must come with me and eat something." Feeling very hungry, the little girl agreed and the fairy took her to a glade. In the middle of the glade, there were leaves on which berries sat waiting to be eaten. The girl ate the berries and drank honey from acorn cups while the fairy told her fairy tales, each of them so wonderful that no human could possibly tell them.

She had just finished telling another of these wonderful tales when a robin came flying into the glade. It was the custom of the birds to visit the woodland fairy before they went home to their nests as they were all very fond of their fairy friend. The robin seemed a little surprised to see Skye but greeted her with robin-like politeness. The fairy introduced the little girl as their guest and said, "She has a question to ask of you."

"I'll help if I can," the robin sang. So Skye told the robin of her dream of flying and how she had run with the wild wind but could not fly. The robin burst out into a chirruping laughter. "My dear girl," the robin chortled. "You cannot possibly fly without wings. Humans are not born with wings so you can't fly." At this, the little girl looked so sad that the fairy made up her mind the little girl <i>would</i> have wings.

"Robin," the fairy said, "I would like you and each of your fellow birds to give me one of your feathers. You have so many I am sure you wouldn't mind parting with just one. If every bird of the forest gave me a feather, there would be enough to make a pair of wings for our guest." The little girl smiled and the robin seemed astounded, but he gave the fairy a feather and promised to pass on the message.

For many days, the birds each came to give the fairy a feather and the fairy sewed them together. Whenever a new feather came, she stitched it on as well. While she sewed, Skye told her stories about her life with her parents. The story the fairy was most interested in was the one of how the old woman had found Skye. She made Skye tell it over so many times that the little girl began to feel quite homesick. She began to look towards where she thought home might be and wonder if her parents were worried about her. The little girl had lived in the glade with the fairy for a long time and had eaten nothing but the berries and honey the birds brought her. At last, just when she felt she could not bear homesickness any longer, the pair of wings was finished.

The fairy helped the little girl put them on and the girl flapped her arms where the wings were attached. "Let us go out into the fields," the fairy said. "Then you can flap your wings and try to catch the wind." They went out of the forest but no wild wind blew. No matter how much Skye flapped her wings they would not catch a breeze that was not there. Disappointed, she turned to the fairy for advice but the fairy did not know what to do except to wait for another wild wind. So that was just what they did.

One day a bird cried out that a wild wind was blowing. The fairy and the girl rushed out of the forest with the wings attached and Skye flapped her wings as hard as she could do but still she would not fly. At last one of the wings fell apart and the wind called out a laughing goodbye and went to blow somewhere else. Sadly, the fairy and the girl picked up the feathers of the wing that had fallen apart and went back to the forest glade. There the fairy sewed the wing back together and it looked as good as new.

However, she did not think they would work any better than they had before. "We will go ask the fairy queen for advice," she proposed. "The queen may know what to do."

The two set off for the fairy queen's palace, carrying with them baskets of rushes with berries in them and acorn flasks of water. The journey took many days over valleys and dales but at last they reached the realm of the fairy queen. Carrying the wings, the fairy and the girl requested an audience with the queen and were granted it.

The fairy queen was a magnificent fairy. She was dressed in a silver dress of gossamer and spider webs, her rainbow wings shimmering behind her. Her hair framed her lovely face in gentle waves, and Skye knew that the fairy queen would know she could fly. The fairy told Skye's story of wanting to fly and how she had made the pair of wings which could not catch the wind. The fairy queen listened patiently and smiled gently at the little girl.

"My child, I can give you something that allows you to fly in your dreams, but I cannot help you fly when you are awake," she murmured softly. "I cannot make you light enough to soar as one who soars with the wind must be; only in your dreams will you be light enough to fly. But," she added with a smile, "you may fly every night in your sleep."

"But I want to truly fly," whispered the little girl unhappily.

"There is another thing, Your Majesty," the fairy curtsied. She proceeded to tell the fairy queen of the story of how Skye had been found in the field. The queen's eyes shone with joy when the tale was done.

"In that case, my child, I promise you that one day you will fly when you are wide awake." The queen bestowed a lovely smile on the child.

Bewildered, Skye could not help but say, "I don't understand."

"My child, I believe I know who you are. Indeed, you can be no other. Let me tell you a story:

"Some years ago, on that day you were found, the North Wind was blowing in the fields with her child in her arms. It so happened that she blew so wildly about that the child fell out of her arms onto the ground and became a human baby.

"Now, just as humans cannot fly, the winds cannot walk. You can feel each other but you cannot live in each other's worlds. The wind child became a human child when it touched the ground and lay in the fields until a woman came and picked it up. All the North Wind could do was blow near the child sometimes. She is waiting for when the human child becomes a wind child again." The queen smiled and Skye understood. This was why she had always loved the wind so much, especially when it blew from the north, and why she wanted to dance with the wind.

"How do I become a wind child again?" she asked.

The queen shook her head. "You have a body and the wind does not have a body. You will need to free yourself but I do not know how that is to be done. The best thing you can do is to be a human for as long as you live, flying only in your dreams. Perhaps when you lie down to sleep your last sleep, the dream will last forever and your soul will be free. Perhaps it will never dream again. But if you are freed, you may not be a child anymore."

With that, the little girl had to be content. She went back to the glade with the fairy and waved goodbye before heading home. The couple were delighted to see her again; they had given her up for lost and had been grieving everyday since then. Every night the girl dreamed that she was dancing on the wings of the wind. Sometimes she thought she heard the North Wind laughing and touching her face. So the little girl grew up and she was not quite so little but she continued to dream. She grew up until she was no longer a young girl and had little children of her own but she never stopped dreaming that she would fly one day.

Her dream was always the same. She would find herself in the middle of the green fields where she had fallen from and the wind would be blowing laughingly by. Suddenly she would begin running as fast as she could and the wind would run with her. Then with one step she had climbed onto the back of the wind and she would be running up towards the sky, pushing off from the wings of the wind when she began to drop a little. Everytime she pushed off the wind, she would soar higher, ever higher, until her outstretched arms would be trying to touch the sky. And it always ended before she could quite grasp the light that shone down so beautifully.

One night when she was old and living alone, she had a dream that was different somehow to the other dreams she had. This was somehow clearer. At first she thought she must be awake when she realised she was seeing everything in a clearer light, as though the world she had lived in was but a dream of this one. Outside the moon was shining and the wind was whistling and she could no longer stay still in her bed. Energy seemed to renew itself throughout her old bones until she felt quite young again.

She walked outside the house where the wind was caressing her cheek, calling her out to play.

With a laugh she began to run as she had not run for a long time. She was running as she had done in all her dreams but she ran throughout the night, over vale and under dale, far away to a place she had to go. She was not sure where she was running, only that deep in the back of her mind she had known it once. When the first tinges of pink appeared in the sky she was still running towards that place and she was feeling as she had felt when she was a young girl who played with fairies. She laughed again and the wind laughed with her.

Ahead of her was a green-white cliff ledge overlooking the green fields below. As the sunlight burst forth, bathing the world in morning light, the wind blew harder towards the ledge and Skye pushed off the ledge, catching the wind under her feet, arms outstretched toward the light. A tremendous weight seemed to fall from her shoulders and she closed her eyes for a moment. A soft hand took hers in its own and a breathless kiss whispered itself on her head. Somehow she knew she was dreaming her last dream which would last forever. She was a free child of the wind again. The yearning inside her heart that seemed to have been empty all her days was filled now. She was home at last. She was flying.