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.