Breeze’s Secret Job.

“I will never tell you another truthful story about me.” Breeze said.

Tulip frowned. She didn’t understand why and asked him to explain.

“Because since I told you about the tree all you do is ask me questions.” He folded his arms infront of his chest. “Stop doing it.”

Tulip smiled. “Okay but perhaps you will answer me this one last question. Why did you stop gardening?”

Breeze scowled at her.

Mrs Groundsel was walking past them. She was delivering a batch of blackberry jam to her friend Robyn and heard Tulips question. She stopped and said, “why would you think he has?”

“Because he is always asleep or sitting in a tree?” Tulip said.

“Not always only when you are around.” Mrs Groundsel walked away.

Breeze climbed his tree and Tulip was tired of asking questions so she went home.

Tulip didn’t forget Mrs. Groundsel’s answer. She decided to become a Fairy detective.  She began to get up earlier in the morning and go to bed late at night. But it didn’t matter, whenever she went looking for him Breeze was always asleep. Izzy asked Tulip, “do you need a sleeping potion? You look very tired and your wings are droopy looking.”

Tulip told her the reason why she was feeling so tired.

Izzy was quiet for a while as she  sipped her tea. Suddenly she said, “I know why you can’t find him working or moving about during the day because he is working at night.”

Tulip shook her head. “No Breeze is not a bat he is that jolly green ogre we keep tripping over on the porch when we have finished baking. He can smell vanilla icing a mile away.”

Izzy said, “tonight you and I will keep watch. I will go to his cave and watch from high above it. You can stay at the edge of the forest. You can follow him.”

***************

 

The moon was bright, the sky a dark curtain behind it.

Izzy was sitting a short distance from the entrance to Breeze’s cave. She was knitting a jumper for a baby rabbit. Tulip was writing out new recipes at the edge of the wood as she waited for Izzy’s signal.

Suddenly Izzy heard Breeze stomping out of his cave.  Spike was sitting on his shoulder. They walked straight past Izzy without seeing her. She waited until they were a little distance away then she send a ribbon of light shooting into the sky.

Tulip spotted the signal. She sent her recipe book back to her kitchen and hid.

It didn’t take long for Breeze to appear on the path from the mountains. Tulip was surprised when he didn’t enter the wood but turned sharp left and walked towards the flat fields behind the trees.

She stayed well behind him. Tulip didn’t want him to see her.  He walked for a long time, through three giant fields.

Then suddenly he came to a small field. Breeze bent low. Spike jumped from his shoulder.

Tulip forgot to watch Breeze she was too busy trying to recognize all of the vegetables she saw growing in the field.

“He is a secret gardener. ” She sat in the hedge for a while and watched him work. He was very good. There were no weeds in his garden just healthy, carrots, potatoes, sweetcorn, peas and beans. Suddenly she had answers to a lot of her questions. It was Breeze who supplied everyone with the vegetables they loved when they couldn’t find them close to Mudpile Wood.

Tulip wanted to rush out and give him a hug. But, she knew she couldn’t. It was his secret to keep or reveal and not hers.

She decided to go home.

Next day at lunch time Tulip was asleep when there was a loud knock at her front door. It was Izzy, ” So you didn’t find out where he went or what he did?”

Tulip said “Yes, I mean no I didn’t.”

Izzy smiled “And I suppose you didn’t bake the giant gingerbread man Breeze is sharing with everyone in the middle of the clearing?”

Tulip looked very innocent and tired. “No, I can only bake small gingerbread men in my small oven.”

Izzy decided not to ask any more questions. “You look tired. I will bring you back some of the amazing gingerbread. Pity we don’t have the recipe, isn’t it?”

Tulip was too tired to worry about her friends twinkling eyes. She went back to bed.