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Table of Contents
All About Fairies
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IF YOU HEAD toward the second star on your right and fly straight on till morning, you’ll come to Never Land, a magical island where mermaids play and children never grow up.
When you arrive, you might hear something like the tinkling of little bells. Follow that sound and you’ll find Pixie Hollow, the secret heart of Never Land.
A great old maple tree grows in Pixie Hollow, and in it live hundreds of fairies and sparrow men. Some of them can do water magic, others can fly like the wind, and still others can speak to animals. You see, Pixie Hollow is the Never fairies’ kingdom, and each fairy who lives there has a special, extraordinary talent.
Not far from the Home Tree, nestled in the branches of a hawthorn, is Mother Dove, the most magical creature of all. She sits on her egg, watching over the fairies, who in turn watch over her. For as long as Mother Dove’s egg stays well and whole, no one in Never Land will ever grow old.
Once, Mother Dove’s egg was broken. But we are not telling the story of the egg here. Now it is time for Rani’s tale.…
“OH, COCKLESHELLS!” The cry startled a black-capped chickadee. The bird burst out of the brush and into the air right in front of Rani. She gave a little cry of her own.
What in Never Land is going on? thought Rani. She stepped forward and parted a tall clump of Nevergrass. And there, next to Havendish Stream, she saw her fellow water-talent fairy Silvermist.
Silvermist was staring into the water. Her hands were on her hips and she had an annoyed look on her face. Tally, another water talent, was at her side.
“Is everything okay?” asked Rani.
Silvermist looked up. Her long, black hair rippled down on either side of her heart-shaped face. “Oh, Rani. What a disaster! It all started when Tally and I came here to check the stream’s water level,” she began to explain.
Rani nodded. There had been a dry spell in Pixie Hollow for the past two weeks. Havendish Stream had slowed to a trickle. The stream powered the fairy-dust mill, which was where the fairies kept their grains. They also made fairy dust there.
Each and every water talent had been working round the clock to keep the stream at its usual level. They pulled raindrops out of clouds. They changed the path of underground streams to meet up with Havendish.
The water talents had worked especially hard, but many of the other fairies had helped out as well. Every fairy who needed water for work—the cooking, dyeing, garden, wing-washing, and dish-washing talents, to name a few—had felt the dry spell’s impact. It had been a busy two weeks. Exhausting, in fact.
“Luckily, the rains came last night,” Silvermist went on. “It looks like—”
“—everything is back in order,” Rani finished for her.
Silvermist nodded and returned to the current problem. “So here I was, checking out the water level. Then the clasp of my mother-of-pearl belt came loose and it fell into the stream!”
Rani looked into the water. The belt winked in the sunlight. It seemed right at home in the golden sand at the bottom of the stream.
Tally leaned forward and took a closer look over Silvermist’s shoulder. “Your mother-of-pearl belt?” she cried. “That’s my mother-of-pearl belt!”
Silvermist’s glow, like every fairy’s, was generally lemon yellow with a hint of gold. Suddenly, it became bright orange with embarrassment. “I’d fly backward if I could,” she said to Tally, uttering the usual fairy apology. “I meant to return it right away, but it’s so pretty, and I thought I’d wear it one more time.…” Her voice trailed off.
The water was too deep to reach the belt with a stick. And Silvermist and Tally couldn’t go into the stream. Never fairies, even water-talent ones, can’t get their wings too wet. When wings get waterlogged, they can drag a fairy underwater. So although Silvermist was desperate to get the belt back for her friend, going in after it was out of the question. Tally, on the other hand, looked as if she wouldn’t mind, at that moment, giving Silvermist a quick shove into the water.
But Rani wasn’t like other fairies. Without saying a word, she dove into the stream so cleanly, she hardly made a splash.
Silvermist gasped, but Tally just laughed. “That’s right!” she said. “I keep forgetting!”
Rani, you see, had no wings to drag her under. By nature a very generous fairy, she was also rather impulsive. Not so long ago, she had, without a second thought, cut off her wings to help save Never Land from certain destruction.
It was terrible to be without wings, but it did have one advantage. Rani was the only fairy in all of Pixie Hollow who could safely swim.
Rani opened her eyes underwater and saw the belt right away. Still, she waited before picking it up. She playfully chased a little minnow. She sifted some pale sand between her fingers. She moved her head from side to side and watched her golden hair float around her like a shaft of sunlight.
Only when it felt as if her lungs were going to burst did she reach down and grab the belt. She kicked her legs until her head broke the surface of the stream. She held up the belt.
Silvermist and Tally both reached for the belt at the same time. Tally raised an eyebrow at Silvermist. Silvermist pulled her hand back.
“What would we do without you?” Silvermist said to Rani.
As Tally took her belt, Silvermist helped Rani out of the water. Rani shook herself off. The water sprayed her two friends a bit. Then she sat down on a warm rock to dry off in the sun.
“I didn’t mean to get mad at you, Silvermist,” said Tally. She hooked the shiny belt around her narrow waist. “I know you didn’t drop the belt on purpose. It’s just that we’ve all been on edge these past two weeks.…”
Silvermist and Rani nodded in sympathy.
“I even saw two sparrow men get into a shoving match last night. It was over the last mushroom turnover!” Silvermist said, her eyes wide.
“That’s terrible!” said Tally. She thought for a moment, then smiled slyly. “Those turnovers are delicious, though.”
Rani giggled. A baby newt had crept onto the warm rock with her. It was now sitting in her lap.
“I overheard Queen Clarion talking to Cinda,” said Silvermist. Cinda was one of the queen’s helper fairies. “The queen thinks we’ve all been working too hard. We need a break.”
Rani smiled. Queen Clarion was a very special ruler. She was kind and fair, and appreciated every single fairy in her kingdom. From the aphid-wrangling talents to the scrap-metal-sorting fairies, the queen felt they were all equally important.
Silvermist brushed her hands together. “Well, we’d better get back—”
“—to the Home Tree?” Rani finished for her. It was usually hard for Rani to wait for her fellow fairies to finish speaking. She liked to help them along.
Most fairies found this habit terribly annoying, but they were too polite to say so.
“Yes, are you ready to go, too?” asked Tally. “Is Brother D
ove on his way?” After Rani had given up her wings, she had been given a new pair in their place—the wings of Brother Dove. Whenever she whistled, he appeared. He took her anywhere she needed to go.
“I think I might stay and practice some water tricks,” said Rani. There had been days and days of hard work during the dry spell, and her fingers were positively itching for a little water play.
“That’s a nice idea,” said Silvermist. “Now that things are normal again, we can finally get back—”
“—to the things we enjoy,” Rani said. All three fairies sighed.
“I can’t remember the last time I played seashell tiddlywinks,” said Tally. The game was a favorite among the water talents.
“Or tic-tac-toad,” added Silvermist. Rani was a big fan of seashell tiddlywinks, but tic-tac-toad wasn’t for her. Too…warty.
Tally bit her lip. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked. “Are you certain Brother Dove will come get you?”
Rani stared at Tally, who went on despite the fact that Silvermist was frowning and shaking her head. “It must be so hard to have to rely on someone else to—”
“I guess we’ll see you later, Rani,” Silvermist interrupted. She gave Tally a look that meant Stop talking—now! With a quick wave, the two fairies took off into the air.
Rani watched them. She felt just a tiny bit wistful as the sunlight glinted off their wings. It isn’t so bad relying on Brother Dove, she thought. It was the closest thing to having her own set of wings.
She closed her eyes. She had helped save Never Land by making an important decision. Was it hard being the only fairy without wings? Sometimes. But it was also special. She could go to a place no other fairy could visit. A place with fish and seaweed, currents, mermaids, and coral of every color. Most times Rani thought she had made a fair trade. A good one, in fact.
Soon she was no longer soaking wet, just dampish. She gently nudged the still-sleeping newt from her side and began to do some water tricks. First she bounced a water ball around a bit. She stretched it into an oval. Then she molded it into a tricky heart shape.
Next, she made several fountains of various shapes and sizes. Finally, she worked on her water snake. Although it was good enough to scare away the shy little newt, Rani was still not satisfied.
A rumbling in her belly told her that it was almost dinnertime. She had been doing water tricks longer than she’d thought. She whistled for Brother Dove, who flew up almost right away.
“To the Home Tree, Brother Dove,” she told him. She settled herself onto the bird’s broad back, and they took off into the air.
BROTHER DOVE LANDED in the courtyard beside the Home Tree. Rani gave him a pat on the wing as she climbed off his back. But her mind was already thinking about dinner.
She hoped dandelion greens with raspberry dressing would be on the menu. But lately there had been a lot of cream of asparagus soup. She wrinkled her nose. That dish had been served three days in a row already!
Rani walked up the front steps and entered the gleaming entryway of the Home Tree. She was so busy thinking about food that she wasn’t paying much attention. She didn’t notice the hard-at-work entryway-polishing sparrow man until it was too late.
Her feet slipped right out from under her. “Sweet raindrops!” she cried as she tumbled to the floor.
Rani opened her eyes and found herself looking into the brown eyes of a sparrow man named Ronan. Ronan was one of the slowest and most deliberate fairies in Pixie Hollow. It took him twice as long to do his job as any of his fellow talents.
Most fairies liked him, though. He was laid-back, they said. Some even thought he polished three times as well as the others. But Rani wasn’t fully convinced. She’d rather have something done in a wingbeat. Sometimes she wondered if he wasn’t just plain lazy.
“Are you hurt?” Ronan asked. When Rani shook her head, Ronan put out his hand to pull her to her feet.
“I’d fly backward if I could,” he drawled. He thought for a moment and grinned. “I certainly didn’t mean to send you on a trip!”
Rani gave him a wry smile. My, he’s a slow talker, too, she thought.
“I was just—” he began.
“—working late?” Rani finished for him.
He shook his head. “No, I was—”
“—taking your time?” Rani offered.
Ronan cocked his head. “No, I mean I was—”
“—daydreaming?” Rani suggested. She was certain she was right this time.
Ronan shook his head again. He had an amused look on his face. “No,” he said. “I was just thinking about you, and you came along. What a coincidence!”
“Yes, a coincidence,” echoed Rani. She was a little curious about what he’d been thinking. But at the rate he spoke, she might be there all night! She turned to leave. At that moment, Ronan’s polishing cloth slipped out of his pocket and fell to the ground.
Quick as a wink, Rani bent to grab it. Ronan leaned forward to pick it up as well. Clonk! Their heads bumped—hard. Tears sprang to Rani’s eyes. That smarted!
“Oh, dear,” said Ronan. A look of concern filled his face. “That was awkward! Are you okay?”
Rani’s head ached. She was dreadfully hungry. She wanted to get out of there before Ronan did something like stomp on her foot.
“I’d better go,” she replied. “I want to wash up before dinner.”
“What’s the rush?” asked Ronan, his eyes twinkling. “Think they’re going to run out of asparagus soup?”
Rani’s stomach replied with a loud rumble. Her glow turned a deep and sudden orange.
Ronan laughed, which only added to Rani’s embarrassment.
“I’ll see you at dinner, Ronan,” she said. It wasn’t easy to be dignified with a growling belly! She began to climb the spiral stairway to the second floor.
“It was a pleasure running into you!” Ronan called. He laughed as he slowly returned to his work. But then a serious look came on his face. “Before you go, I just wanted to say that I understand how hard it must be to—”
Rani paused, her hand resting on the banister. She frowned. She’d had enough sympathy today. Not Ronan, too! “—be the only fairy without wings?” she said. She frowned. “I’ll have you know that it isn’t so hard at all.” She didn’t turn around again.
Rani walked peevishly down the hallway that led to her room. What a rude sparrow man! she thought. Luckily, he’s not a water talent, or I would have to talk to him every day!
Then her thoughts turned to other, more important subjects. I hope we’re not really having asparagus soup again!
RANI KICKED OFF her slippers as soon as she entered her bedroom. She almost always went barefoot in her room. She loved the feel of the river stones that paved the floor. In fact, the whole room was just perfect for her. The driftwood bed and the coral in the corner where she hung her clothes. The blue-green walls.
The woven seaweed curtains and matching quilt. A sprinkling of sand on the floor, some special shells, and a sea-glass mobile were her favorite touches.
Rani filled her washbowl and cleaned her face and hands. Running a comb through her long, blond hair, she looked at her reflection in the water. Her blue eyes were the same color as the deepest of oceans.
Feeling refreshed, she left her room and went downstairs. Snippets of conversation reached her ears as fairies flew by on their way to the tearoom. “She said she’s at her wits’ end.…” “I’ve been as busy as a nursing talent during an outbreak of fairy pox.…” “The water talents are getting all the sympathy, but who ever thinks about the bread-buttering talents?”
At the tearoom door, Rani stood behind a group of fairies waiting to get in. Ahead of her, an art-talent fairy named Quill said, “Did you hear? Mixie’s cake fell because Spinner was doing jumping jacks in the hallway. She stormed out of the kitchen and dumped a bowl of cream filling on his head!”
“Oh, my goodness!” said her companion.
“Yes,” Quill said.
“And I heard that he made her even angrier by saying, ‘How sweet of you, Mixie. Cream filling is my favorite!’”
A smile crept onto Rani’s face. That was kind of funny. But it was clear that the last two weeks had taken a toll on everyone. It wasn’t just the water talents who were worn out—all of Pixie Hollow was on edge. The fairies had been working too hard.
Rani took her spot at the water-talent table. When the serving-talent fairy placed a big bowl of cream of asparagus soup in front of her, Rani must have made a face.
The serving talent whispered, “I know! It’s all because of the dry spell!” Thankfully, there were also dandelion green salad and mushroom stew, so Rani ended up enjoying her meal.
As soon as the dinner plates were cleared, one of the queen’s helpers tapped a spoon on a goblet made of the finest fairy crystal. Cling—cling—cling! Queen Clarion was about to make an announcement.
“Good evening, fairies,” the queen began. Rani had always thought that Queen Clarion’s voice was as lovely as she was. It sounded like little bells.
“As you are aware,” the queen said, “the recent dry spell has caused us all to work very hard the past couple of weeks. I know many fairies are tired and grumpy.”
Rani looked around. Several fairies, Mixie included, lowered their heads sheepishly.
“Now Havendish Stream is back to normal. It’s time for a well-deserved break.” The queen paused for a moment and smiled broadly. “There will be no work tomorrow!”
“Oooh!” The fairies all looked at each other. No work? What would they do all day?
“Instead,” the queen went on, “there will be”—she paused for dramatic effect—“a Fairy Treasure Hunt!”
The room started to buzz. The fairies at the water-talent table began chattering. Humidia grabbed Rani’s arm. “How exciting!” she cried, her face glowing.
Rani agreed. She couldn’t even remember the last time there had been a treasure hunt!
“What’s a Fairy Treasure Hunt?” Prilla called over the hubbub.
Disney Fairies: Four Clues for Rani Page 1