The Fairy Of Mischief

THE FAIRY OF MISCHIEF

In the dank earth was a tiny opening. Two ladybirds stood
guard. One either side of its opening. A black, satin spider nodded at the ladybirds and they let him through. He went into the opening. It was, in fact, a long tunnel, lit by tiny glow-worms sat on minute shelves. The spider carried on. He carried a large bundle of the finest, strongest spider silk on his back.

When he reached the end of the tunnel, he stood and waited. Eventually two tiny figures approached it. The two, although scared, were safe. They were dragging two rather large dead flies behind them. The exchange was made and the spider returned up the passageway. The silk was then taken to the weaving chamber where silk worms, using their own silk as well, worked it into trousers, jackets, hats, dresses and magical gowns. Once the clothes were complete, they were taken to the dye chamber and came out in a myriad of colours.

How they were dyed was a closely guarded secret. Only the fairies of the Colour Kingdom knew how they were dyed. No-one but no-one was allowed to tell. Only a few were educated in the reading of the fairy language and the secrets it held.

In another chamber, stood a pretty little fairy. She was no more than three inches high and dressed in a three-quarter length spider silk gown dyed the brightest cerise pink you have ever seen. Around her shoulders was a purple cloak and cerise pink shoes adorned her tiny feet. She had brown cropped hair and a grin that was nearly as big as she was. She was Princess Mischief, eldest daughter of the King and Queen, and believe me, her name suited her.

She tottered out of the chamber to the ballroom. Today was the first day of Spring and the day of the Spring Ball. Spring heralded a very busy time for the fairies of the Colour Kingdom. During the early winter before the snow lay deep and frost made patterns all around, the fairies had been collecting seeds. Small seeds, large seeds, any that they could find. They were taken back to the secret underground passages that linked the kingdom. There they were given the colours that the big people saw when the flowers bloomed during the summer. Some special seeds were given their colours in the autumn for they bloomed during the end of winters hold. Flowers like the sunshine yellow daffodils, snow coloured snowdrops, blood red tulips and the intense purple crocuses.

Princess Mischief tip-toed into the ballroom and looked around. Not many guests had arrived yet. She wandered about. She took tinier steps than normal. Her shoes were really too high for one so little but Mischief did not care. She was going to be noticed! The Queen looked over, “How” she mused “does that girl walk in those shoes?” She opened her mouth to say something but promptly closed it. Nothing would get Mischief out of them.

The guests began to arrive and as customary, were introduced to the King and Queen, Princes and Princesses. Mischief was bored. She hated this part of the ball. Having to smile and shake hands was so, so boring. Last year, to liven things up, she had instructed the band to play out of tune, well, not just instructed them, bribed them. The King had been furious and dismissed her from all the days activities. She hadn’t minded. It meant she got out of the seed planting. She had, this year, been made to promise not to pull any more stunts. It was going to be very difficult not to scheme, especially for one so skilled in its art.

The King looked at his eldest daughter. There were times he despaired of her and times when the things she did amused him but couldn’t been seen to laugh and then there were times he really didn’t know what to do with her. She wasn’t remotely like her brothers and sisters. Mischief stood at the end of the line, legs crossed, looking at her nails. Her hands caught the light. Nails of brilliant turquoise with a gold stripe nearly blinded him. “At least” he thought “she is behaving herself”.

The introductions were finally over and the ball could begin. The guests milled around the ballroom. It was covered in butterfly scales of turquoise, red, yellow, green and peacock blue. The iridescent colours shivered in the warm breeze that gently blew down the passageway. Mischief leant against the wall. Her best friend, Snowflake, from the Weather Kingdom hadn’t come due to illness. It was a shame for the two fairies were very close and unfortunately for everyone else shared the same sense of humour.

Suddenly, in the archway, a latecomer to the ball – a fairy prince. He was dressed in the finest silk tuxedo coloured midnight blue with tiny silver musical notes on the sleeve. Everyone stared at him. Everyone except Mischief. She was too busy plotting her next trick. He looked around. He had heard of Mischief and travelled from the Music Kingdom very far away to see if everything he had heard was true. He couldn’t fail to miss her. Her outfit stood out. It was true that the other fairies were wearing brightly coloured outfits but Mischiefs had an intensity about it that just seemed to radiate brilliance and magic rolled into one. He knew at that precise moment he wanted to marry her.

He strode over to where she was sat on a table swinging her legs.

“Good afternoon” he said.
“Is it?” Mischiefs voice implied a total lack of interest.
“Well, I think it is. Especially after seeing you”
“Someone pass me a bucket before I throw up!” Mischief exclaimed.

Prince Pedzle looked at her. This was not going to be easy. He was not, however, going to give up or be deterred. Mischief knew she should behave in a more ladylike and polite manner. Her father often complained she should have been a boy. Guests were important for many reasons.

“I’m Prince Pedzle, The Music Kingdom”
Mischief looked at him and grinned, then began to laugh.

“I bet that names a bit of a handicap”.
“Slightly. Would you like to dance?”
Mischief jumped down from the table – after all it was hardly polite to refuse someone whose name you had just laughed at.

At the end of the ball, everyone left for their own kingdoms. Now the Colour Kingdom had to begin to deliver the seeds ready to catch the suns warmth. Mischief returned to her chamber and changed. She was supposed to wear greens and browns so as the big people wouldn’t see her. Hmmm. Instead of which, she was elegantly dressed in bright orange and lemon. Her mother despaired. At least, again, she was helping and wasn’t in trouble.

Mischief gathered her basket and wandered up the tunnel. Picking up her cloak for it was still quite chilly, she emerged in the afternoon pale sun. He held his breath. He had hidden, hoping he would catch a glimpse of her, this tiny breath of fresh air that had enchanted him. Her gown dazzled him as she knelt in the sprinkling of the last snows, Her gossamer wings seemed to shimmer so brightly, he was convinced they must have magical powers that no ordinary fairy possessed.

Mischief fluttered around, putting seeds into little nooks and crannies. She covered the seeds with earth and sprinkled them with fairy dust. She was humming to herself. He watched fascinated. He really had to marry her. It wouldn’t do for anyone else to marry her. Others would stifle her creativity and she’d lose that sparkle. He couldn’t, wouldn’t allow that to happen.

After what seemed an eternity, she flitted back to the entrance and delicately walked back inside. How could he win her heart? She was independent and would certainly not want huge gestures made over her. It had to be something that entertained her, appealed to her, held her interest, intrigued her, something that she had to have or made her laugh.

Prince Pedzle took flight thinking hard, which was just as well as a large tabby cat came down the path and had been eyeing him up as a tasty treat. Flying back to his kingdom, he kept thinking about what he could give her as a wedding gift.

Once home, he wandered around the Music Kingdom, trying to find that something special. The notes of music hung down and he hit one or two and they played their notes. No, they weren’t special enough. Looking around he saw some musical instruments. He picked up a flute – no, a drum – no maybe not. She was likely to be out of control on a drum kit. No prospective parent-in-laws would thank him for that! His eyes fell on a shape. It didn’t look much. In fact, it was quite dull but it gave him an idea. He took it to the Note Master.

“What’s this?” he asked.
“Oh, its a musical instrument”.
“Well, what does it do?”
“Nothing. It needs modifying to help with the sound”.
“What sort of sound?”
The Note Master, who was extremely busy composing his latest score for the Kings birthday, began to lose patience.
“A TINKLING SOUND, TAKE IT!”

Prince Pedzle walked off carrying the tiny shape. The idea became clearer in his mind. Putting the shape in his room, he left the kingdom and went to the Flower Kingdom. Flying back was more difficult. The shape he had asked for was hard to carry and very delicate. Once back in his room, he began to fix the shape to the inside of the flower. Standing it on its green stem, he gently tapped it. The bell shaped flower tinkled. It sounded like her laughter. He sent one of the servants to order hundreds of the bell shaped flowers from the Flower Kingdom. Obviously, these orders would take time and would not be ready until just before the following spring.

Meanwhile, Princess Mischief was confined to her chamber. She didn’t mind. It had been worth it. Today, she had sprinkled fairy dust on her grandmothers wheelchair. Needless to say, everyone had thought Grandmother floating above the dining room table was hysterically funny apart from her mother and grandmother. She had been in trouble for most of the week and this was the last straw. She sat, gazing out of the window watching the sun going down and the night drawing in. The summer had passed. Autumn too had come and gone. It would soon be time for the fairies to sleep. Being tiny little things, they needed to hibernate during the longest days of winter before their work began again.

It was during this hibernation that a cavalcade of silver carriages flew silently across the coal black sky and softly landed. The little shadows fluttered and fussed just inside the woods. This happened for two nights and then, on the third night, before the stars had gone to bed, they too had gone. Many more nights passed and the time drew near for the Colour Fairies to awaken. The night before they awoke, the Dew Fairies came and gently laid drops of dew on every branch twig and blade of grass. Deep in that last night of reviving sleep, Jack Frost flew over the kingdom and every drop of dew magically turned to crystals of glittering ice.

In the pale morning sun, Prince Pedzle, wrapped in his cloak, flew to the tree from where he could watch.

Princess Mischief woke up and stretched. She was always the first to wake. Far too energetic to be kept asleep for too long, she rose from her bed. Spring was approaching. Putting on a gown of lilac and a white cloak, she ran down the tunnel. Going outside, she stood and breathed in the cool, crisp air.

She fluttered her wings a few times to get rid of the creases. She hated creased wings – another reason for not sleeping too long. Flitting around, she heard the tiniest of tinkling sounds. Mystified, she went nearer to where the sound came from within the woods. There was more tinkling. Forgetting that she was not supposed to enter the woods as woods are dangerous places when only three inches high – she went in.

There in front her, were rows of green stems, each with six or seven bell shaped flowers on. Some were pink, others blue or white. All were tinkling in the crisp breeze. She laughed and the bells tinkled again, echoing the sound of her laughter.

Prince Pedzle stepped from behind the tree. He gazed at her. She hadn’t changed. If anything she sparkled brighter than he remembered. Going down on one knee, he asked her to marry him. Princess Mischief looked at him. Of course she would marry him. She couldn’t refuse. Not with a gift like this and certainly not while she was in love with him as she had been since their first meeting.

Those special bells now bloom every springtime in woodlands throughout every fairy kingdom. If you listen carefully when you walk in the woods, you may just hear the sound of tinkling as Princess Mischief and Prince Pedzle walk hand in hand amongst them.

Copyright @ Suzie
December 1999