Mudpile Wood: Part 3 – Job Swap

They were waiting for Izzy to return.  Tulip and Elegant were  in Elegant’s house because she had made some breakfast muffins and bars.

Breeze was sitting at the side of the house chatting to Lovisma when they heard a loud screech.

Breeze saw a flash of pink fairy wings, “Izzy.”  They followed her indoors.

“Why are you as red as a tomato?” Lovisma asked Izzy who darted behind the sofa in the sitting room. She refused to come out.

Izzy whispered, “You should have told me how horrible they can be.”

“Who?” Elegant asked.

“Children.”

Breeze frowned. “They are not horrible.”

“Well the ones I met were. The first little girl broke my wand. The second demanded more money. The little boy cried and screamed so much his mum came hurtling through the door with a big white face and waving a frying pan at me.”

Ellen went to sit by her. She put an arm about Izzy’s shoulder. “you weren’t supposed to wake them up.”

“I didn’t on purpose. I had never seen so many things I pressed a few buttons and the rooms were bright, things moved, noises were made, they woke up.” Izzy shuddered. “It was horrible, really really horrible.”

 

“Sweet dandelion tea is good for shock.” Tulip said and handed a cup to her.

“Thanks Tulip. Something smells nice.” Izzy said. “I am really tired and hungry. I had to fly out of the houses really fast.”

“The breakfast buns were excellent.” Breeze confessed. “So excellent I ate them all. Sorry.”

Everyone swung around to look at him. “Well they were.”

 

Elegant waved her hand in a graceful manner. A huge plate of breakfast muffins appeared beside her. She glared at Breeze and said, “have one of these Izzy. Breeze has had enough muffins.”

 

There was silence for a long time until Ellen and Izzy had recovered.

When they were finished breakfast, Izzy said. “I don’t want your job I prefer mine.”

Ellen smiled. “I want mine as well.”

Breeze scratched  his head.  “But I thought you were both fed up with your jobs.”

Izzy said, “I was but it is easy and easy is good.”

Ellen smiled and then said. “You are correct there is nothing wrong with sticking to what you know.”

 

Breeze felt a little puzzled by this but decided a room full of magic was a little too much for him and he went off to do what he loved to do best, sit in a tree and dream.

 

 

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Mudpile Wood: Part 2 Job Swap.

What happened when the fairies swapped

their jobs.

 

They practiced.

Ellen insisted Breeze watch. She told him he had to pretend to be a sleeping child. He thought she was bossy but he  didn’t mind being the sleeping child until Izzy tumbled him out of his sleep on the wide branch. He hit the ground with a bang.

Ellen made Izzy do it over and over again until she got it right. Breeze grumbled loudly each time he hit the ground.

 

Next it was Ellen’s turn to wake the trees up. “This will be easy peasy,” she said.

He hoped it would be for the tree’s sake.

 

It wasn’t.

The first time she tried it the trees bloomed bright red.

Breeze said, “They look hot.”

The second time she woke them they flipped upside down and their roots were waving at the clouds. A lot of angry squirrels and birds left in a hurry. But the third time she did it perfectly.

 

Now we are ready to start work,” Izzy rubbed her hands together. “This will be fun.”

They agreed to meet back at Tulips house at dawn.

 

Breeze sat and waited for the sun to rise. He liked watching it climb out of its bed. He said good night to the moon. It smiled at him.

Minutes later he heard a loud noise. He climbed the tallest tree to spy on Hungry Wood which was a few miles from Mudpile Wood.

It was called Hungry Wood because the Ogres who lived there were always hungry.

This morning the wood was shimmering and hopping.

 

“Oh dear it shouldn’t be doing that. Or should it?” He called for Tulip. She took a look and called Elegant to come and help.

The three friends decided to visit Hungry wood.

“This is not good at all.” Elegant said when they were close to the wood.

Every tree and bush was trembling. Animals scurried and raced from it. They huddled in a group behind Breeze.  He wondered what was going on.

There was a loud belching noise and a giant oak shot from the ground to fall back into place shuddering and groaning. Then a hawthorn tree did the same little dance. Ellen came out of the wood shaking her head. Her hair stood on end and she looked frightened. “I don’t understand it, I did everything I had done in practice but it is n’t working.”

Elegant sighed. “Every wood is different, they have to be treated differently.” She flew into the wood and a moment later there was a great shimmering rainbow of green that flowed over the wood followed by silence.

When Elegant came back to them, Ellen hugged her. “Thank you.” She squinted and looked beyond the wood. “I hope everything went well with Izzy.”

“We will have to wait and see.” Elegant told her.

Mudpile Wood: Job Swap

Breeze loves to see Izzy, a tiny smiling fairy, visit Mudpile Wood. Her visit means Winter is over because Izzy’s job is to wake up the trees.

When Breeze met her on a cold frosty morning, Izzy was not smiling. Her red curly hair was bouncing around her face. He guessed she was angry.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“I need another job. I’m tired of doing this stuff.” Izzy glared at him.

 

Breeze wondered why he was always finding fairies with problems.

He decided it was because he was clever and could help them.

 

“If you wake up the trees in Mudpile wood then I will take you to lunch at Tulips house. We will help you find a new job.” Breeze crossed his fingers because he hoped Tulip wouldn’t be mad.

Two mad fairies would be tough to deal with.

 

Izzy flew close to his face. She flew around his head and came back to stare at him. Breeze smiled. He didn’t blink, not once.

She nodded. “Okay just for you I will wake them up in a hurry.”

 

Breeze climbed high into his favourite tree and sat watching Izzy work.

“She is very good at this,” he told a passing dragon fly.

Izzy flew to each tree in turn, said her magic words, gave the tree a hug and flew on to the next one.

Today she was moving very fast. The rabbits on the ground got dizzy as they followed Izzy.

 

Breeze saw the rabbits fall over and grinned. Tulip came to join him. “What are you laughing at?”

He stopped smiling and said, “Izzy is making everyone dizzy, watch.”

Tulip did. “It is not funny. Hamish has just stepped on a hedgehog. Now Hamish has a sore foot. ”

 

When Izzy finished she came to sit with Breeze. “I’m tired and it is your fault.”

Breeze said, “Tulip says that to me, very often. It must be a fairy thing, You are weak and small, while I am strong and tall.”

 

“No it is because we work and you don’t.” Tulip told him.

Turning to Izzy she said, “Would you care for some rosehip tea and a cookie?” When Izzy agreed Tulip said, “this way.”

 

They were sitting at Tulips house minutes later sipping tea and nibbling on cookies.

Izzy explained how tired she was of her job. “I’ve been doing it forever.” She sounded sad.

 

Breeze said, “why don’t you swap with Ellen, the Tooth fairy? She is tired of her job.”

Tulip looked surprised. “That is a good idea. Let’s go visit Ellen.”

 

Breeze took the last cookie and told them he would mind the house while they went to visit Ellen.  He was feeling sleep but chuckled as he heard Izzy sing: “I’m to be a tooth fairy. When do I start, what do I do?”

Tulip’s Vanilla Fudge Recipe – To be made with the help of a grown up

450g light brown sugar
400g double cream
50g butter
1 tbsp glucose syrup
1 tspvanilla essence

 

Line a 20 x 20cm cake tin with baking parchment.

Put the sugar, cream, butter and glucose syrup into a medium to large saucepan.

Heat to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter, stirring now and again.
Once dissolved, put a sugar thermometer in the pan, making sure the end is completely covered by the syrup .

When the mixture starts to boil stir occasionally   until the mixture reaches 116C (soft ball) .

Remove the pan from the heat and leave for  5 mins. Add in the vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Keep the sugar thermometer in the pan and begin beating the mixture, until the temperature cools to about 60C until it is thick.

Before it  sets pour the fudge into your prepared tin and smooth over the surface. Leave to cool at room temperature overnight (don’t put the fudge in the fridge )

Cut into chunks

and enjoy

Lovisma Tries to Cook

Breeze was woken by Tulip. She was tapping the top of his head with her wand.

“How can you sleep? Can you not smell it?” She had a tiny pink clothes peg on her nose. It made her sound funny.

Breeze giggled. She glared at him. “It’s not funny, it is stinking.”

He said, “Its okay. I can’t smell a thing. I have a slight cold in my  nose.” He waved a grotty looking hanky at her.

“Well I need you to do something about the smell. We are having an exhibition of fairy paintings tonight and I can’t have my guests smelling that horrid smell.”

Breeze smiled. “Give them a clothes peg then.”

She twacked him on his nose. It glowed red. “Sorry” she said. “It is really bad, please help.”

He started investigating. It didn’t take long to find the source. There was a huge black tunnel of smoke rising from the edge of the wood very close to the river. Breeze ambled through the forest and heard more complaints about the awful smell. “I’m on my way to solving the mystery. ” He told everyone he met.

When he got to the edge of the wood he groaned. “It’s Lovisma.”

The tiny witch was sitting on a fallen tree at the edge of the forest. She was fast asleep. The cauldron sat on a fire some distance from her. The liquid was gurgling and spitting. Smoke billowed into the sky. There was not a bird or butterfly in sight.

Breeze wondered if it was safe to go nearer. He decided the answer was no. Opening his mouth as wide as he could he roared, “Lovisma wake up. Your stuff is angry.”

Lovisma shot up into the air, whacked her head off an overhanging branch . She screeched, “No no no, my fudge is kaput.”

Breeze ambled up to her. “I like fudge.” He told her and smiled.

“Well no one likes burnt fudge, look it is….like…” She peered into the pot. “It is all in one gooey gloopy mess. What will I do with it?”

“Why were you making fudge? Couldn’t you just zap some?” Breeze asked.

“I could just like this.” She clapped her hands together and a bowl of fudge appeared besideBreeze.

He took a piece. It melted in his mouth. “Yummy.”

“I thought I could surprise Tulip. I heard her say I couldn’t bake or boil an egg.” The tiny witch sat on the tree and looked very upset.

Breeze regarded her thoughtfully. He didn’t like to see any being upset . When he heard the wicked Snow Queen in the north was sad because her owl had died he sent her some jokes to cheer her up and a basket of Tulips coconut biscuits. He let another piece of fudge melt in his mouth and he thought about the problem.

“I have a problem.” He said.

“You are not the only one.” Lovisma grumbled.

“No listen my problem is there are a lot of holes in the mountain path. It is making it very dangerous for Mrs. Groundsel and her grandchildren. Your stuff could solve the problem.” He smiled at Lovisma. “Yes let’s go.”

He and Lovisma walked to the mountain path followed by the smelly cauldron full of gunge.

They ate the fudge while they worked. Breeze pointed out the gaps in the path and Lovisma zapped them full of her stuff.  When they were finished he smiled at her and said, “I will tell everyone what a good kind witch you were today, thank you.”

She looked at him and glared. “Don’t you dare.” But Breeze did notice she was smiling when she vanished.

 

Here is a picture drawn by Breeze of one angry witches pot.

Yummiest Biscuits Ever (Fairy Recipe for) Chocolate Chip Biscuits

Ingredients

• 350g/12¼oz flour

• 1 tsp of Bicarb of soda

• 225g/8oz butter

• 175g/6¼oz sugar

• 175g/6¼oz light brown sugar

• 1 tspvanilla

• 2 medium eggs

• 350g/12¼oz chopped dark chocolate or chips

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda
3. In another bowl, mix the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Beat in the eggs. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate.
4. shape small pieces of the dough into flat circles of about 2in in width.
5. Bake for 9-11 minutes

Then eat with delight but remember to share with others

 

I went for my camera and when I returned they had vanished.

Tulip

 

12th July 2nd batch I made please see photo below:

The Party. Part 2.

The Ogres and Fairies had the center of the wood ready for the party.

They stood back to inspect their work.

“Its amzing.” Breeze said. Nudging a balloon with his head.

“Yes.” Tulip agreed.

Everyone was coming to the party, so the table zig zagged its way around the large trees near the center of the wood.

The table had tiny wooden bowls set at certain points in the center. These were decorated with, woodland flowers, silver stars and red fairy lights.

For each Ogre there was  a giant wooden cup, a knife  a fork and a spoon. The chair was decorated in moss and spiderwebs that twinkled when they caught the  sunlight.

Each Fairy place setting had a tiny glass knife and fork, a drinking cup shaped like a star with a squiggly straw peeping from one point. The fairies chairs were decorated in see through silk, with long red ribbons fluttering across the floor.

Place names were made from wood bark, names carved with fairy dust.

Guests arrived, they sat down chattering to each other. The Ogre menu read: Surprise stew, home brewed snow cone drink. or to a fairy dinner. The Fairy menu twinkled and glowed,  pleasant pie, a glass of cold milk, and an array of cream pies and cakes to follow.

There would be music and dancing later.

“Why did you hang lanterns from the trees? I banged my head off every single one.” Hamish the Goblin muttered lifting his hat to show a whole group of bumps and lumps.

“The fairies did it.” Breeze said. The other Ogres nodded in agreement.

“Well they are stupendous bumps, ” Elegant witch said as she arrived with her younger sister Lovisma.  A giant cauldron appeared to be flying behind Lovisma. There was a lot of hissing and bubbling coming from the cauldron and the wooden spoon which was spinning about was sending drops of liquid spattering the guests.

“We brought, devils delight, for those who don’t really care for milk or water.” Lovisma clapped her hands  in anticipation of the party.

There was silence while the guests and hosts wondered who might be brave enough to speak.

“Ahh what is in devils delight, it smells delicious.” Ellen an elderly tree nymph asked.

“There is a little bit of this and a lot of that but..”

“Nothing that was alive or walked through the forest.” Lovisma said.

“Did it fly?” Breeze wondered.

“No, it’s herbs spices and water, you fool.” Lovisma was starting to spin. When ever she got mad the tiny witch would spin so fast she created a hole in the ground.

The sound of a deep gong filled the wood. “Food’s up,” The Ogres declared. With a flick of their wands the fairies had the food appear infront of the diners.

“This is yummy, did you make it yourself?” Mrs. Groundsel asked Beaver an elderly Ogre.

“I did. Just a little something I rustled up.” The Ogres found his answer funny. They giggled. Their laughter turned to a bellowing noise. The Fairies sitting opposite Ogres became airborn many landed in trees or on the ground.

“Please don’t do that again.” Tulip snapped brusing cobwebs off her wings.

But they found they couldn’t stop laughing. The madder the fairies became the happier the Ogres were. Their laughter rang out throughout the wood, sending fairies flying through the air.

After the third time, the fairies got into a huddle. They whispered amongst themselves. When they broke apart they were smiling.

The Ogres’ looked at one another. “Is this good?” Breeze wondered.

Once seated the fairies began to eat.

The Ogres relaxed. Breeze was sitting opposite the tooth fairy. “Knock , knock, ” he said.

“Who’s there?” She asked

“Tooth!”

“Tooth who?”

“Tooth or dare!”

He began to chuckle. His laughter sent Ellen hurtling onto a passing squirrel. Ellen looked mad, she walked back to the table and asked, “Ready fairies ?”

The others pointed their wands at the cream pies and with a flick of their wands they each sent a pie into an Ogre’s face.

“Food fight,” Hamish roared.

“Hang on, Hamish, give us a mo, we can’t waste a pie.” Breeze said.

They waited until every Ogre removed the pie from their face and carefully ate it. The fairies were not happy when the food was flying through the air. They picked up their drinks and flew high into the tree to watch.

Everyone declared it to be the best party in the forest. They went home tired and happy though there was no music or dancing.

This was noticed by a few of the Ogres who agreed it would be a fitting excuse to host another event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Battle of the Party. Part 1

The Party

Breeze was excited. He  was jumping up and down like a rabbit.  On the fourth jump he was frightened by a loud voice shouting. “Stop!  Breeze stop jumping now.”

He paused mid jump by clinging to the trunk of the tree closest to him.

He scowled. It was his best friend, Tulip, who happened to be a fiesty fairy.

Tulip pointed her finger at him .

Breeze spoke first, “You are scary for a fairy.” He giggled at the rhyme.

“Huh, we sent our invitations a month ago for our Fairy Tea Party, what did I get today?”

Breeze puffed out his chest. “An invitation to the Ogres Afternoon Tea Party. It’s on the 12th.”

“I know. It can’t be. We are having our party on the 12th.”

Breeze scratched his chin. “Two parties, well…”

“Exactly we won’t have a full table, neither will you.” Her loud voice drew a crowd of onlookers because Fairies never lost their temper.

“Well then there is only one thing to do..” Breeze said.

“Cancel the Ogres party.”

Breeze shook his head. “No.”

“YOU will!” She roared, making the wind turn and run in fright.

“No need, we will have one giant party.” Before Tulip could say anything. The crowd cheered.

Breeze smiled. “There you go problem solved. I need to go. I must tell the others to make some small ogre cream pies for all the fairies.”

 

Part two tomorrow…

In the meantime have fun colouring in your own fairy cakes: