Loe raamatut: «The Fairy Bell Sisters: Silver and the Fairy Ball»

Everybody has heard of the Fairy Ball on Sheepskerry Island, for it’s the only ball where fairies put on their diamond wings and walk on satin ribbons under the stars. But only a few of us will ever see those diamonds or find those ribbons. This is what they look like, just so you’ll know when you do see them.

And though this is quite a secret, I’ll tell you something as long as you promise not to tell anyone else: this year’s ball was nearly ruined. And it would have been, except for one of Tinker Bell’s little sisters.

Oh yes, of course Tinker Bell has little sisters. Tink is a grown-up fairy, so she lives on the island of Never Land with her friend Peter Pan. Some people think Tink’s entire family lives in Kensington Gardens in London, as that’s where Tink was born, but that’s not true at all. Her sisters aren’t grown up yet, so their home is with the younger fairies on Sheepskerry Island, which I believe is not far from where you are right now. You may have been there without even knowing it, as on maps used by grown-up people it goes by another name. But perhaps you’ll recognise it if I describe it to you. It’s a jewel of a place, bright green in spring, silent white in winter, and filled with sturdy yellow roses in summer and flaming leaves in autumn. And it holds all manner of secret things that you will know about very soon. If you read the next chapter, that is.

But I am forgetting my manners. Have you met Tinker Bell’s little sisters? Please allow me to introduce them. May I present:

They live with the other young fairies on Sheepskerry Island. There are no sheep on Sheepskerry any more, which is a good thing, as sheep are enormous monsters of huge size, as everyone knows. (Actually, Tinker Bell’s little sisters only know about sheep from the stories they’ve heard from their fairy godmother, Queen Mab, the most powerful fairy of all.)

Tinker Bell’s little sisters go to fairy school, and eat fairy food, and play fairy games, and stay away from trolls and once a year, they go to a Fairy Ball, if they are old enough.

Which, this year, Silver Bell was not.

Do you suppose Silver Bell wanted to go with her sisters to the ball? Oh yes, she did. She wanted to go so much that she did something very, very naughty. Something you would never do, I feel quite sure, even if you meant well, as Silver did. Silver made such a mess of things the day before the Fairy Ball that I’m not even sure I should tell you about it.

I’ll leave the choice to you. If you would like to hear about perfect little fairies and the perfect things they do, please go find another book.

If you would like to hear about a brave little fairy, who can also be rather naughty and get in very big trouble with her sisters, just turn the page.

Oh, thank goodness you turned the page!

That summer, Silver Bell was seven fairy years old. Fairy years are different from our years, so it is a long, long time between birthdays. That is why fairies look forward to their birthdays so very much.

“What sort of cake would you like this year, Silver?” asked Rosie. The sisters were in the garden behind their fairy house, fetching water from Deepwater Spring.

“I think Silver should have a carrot cake,” said Clara. “Carrot cakes can be quite healthy for a fairy.”

“Better for a rabbit,” said Lily. “Right, Squeakie?”

Squeak squeaked.

Silver flew over to the handle and started pumping.

“Hold on, Silver!” said Clara. “You need to prime it first.”

If you haven’t pumped springwater recently, you might have forgotten, as Silver had, that the pump must be topped up to get the water flowing. The sisters always left a small jug of water near the pump for that very purpose.

“This will start things up,” said Clara.

Silver pumped the creaky handle up and down, up and down. The water gurgled, sputtered and then came out in a gush.

“It’s freezing!” Silver laughed.

“Mind my shoes!” said Lily. She had painted them herself and she was very fond of them.

“If I were Silver,” said Rosie, carefully filling their water jugs, one at a time, “I think I would like to make my own choice of birthday cake.”

“I would like to make my own choice,” Silver said. Cakes, of course, were the Bakewell sisters’ speciality. Silver remembered the splendid cake she had had at their fairy house last summer. “Could we have a blueberry cake?” she asked.

“Coomada, coomada!” said Squeak.

“Yes, you love berries, don’t you?” said Rosie, sweeping up baby Squeak in her arms. Squeak had a language all of her own, which her sisters understood.

Clara, Rosie, Lily and Silver headed back to the house with their jugs of water. It was hard work.

“I won’t mind being grown up so we can just magic water whenever we want,” said Lily. “How heavy these are!”

Silver was still thinking about her birthday cake. “Could we make a practice cake today, do you think?” she asked.

“There are one or two bushes where the blueberries are already ripe,” Rosie smiled.

“Not down near Troll Hollow, I hope,” said Clara gravely.

“Nowhere near it,” said Rosie. She shivered. “I stay well clear of Troll Hollow and the awful trolls who live there.”

They all thought about the trolls and their terrible mischief for a moment.

“No, the berries are on the east side of Sunrise Hill. We’ll be fine there.”

“I’d go with you,” said Lily. “But I might catch my wings on the bushes.”

“My wings are not as delicate as yours,” said Rosie. “So I don’t mind going.”

“Carrot cake would be more practical,” Clara said.

But Rosie was already off, with Squeak in one arm and an empty acorn cap in the other, to pick berries for her sister.