A Dragon named Frank with a hot problem

Breeze was smiling because he could smell his favorite smell – cakes baking. He slid off the branch and began to wander through the forest. He knew if he took his time he would miss the messy washing up bit and land at Tulips door in time for afternoon tea and cake.

His smile lasted for about ten seconds. It was the saddest looking dragon who took his happy smile away. The dragon was green and miserable.

“Hey, What is wrong with you buddy?” Breeze asked.

“My life is ruined and all because of my hot breath.” The dragon mumbled.

Breeze frowned and sat down, a safe distance away, from the grumpy dragon.

“But, Frank even I know that your speciality is fire breathing” Breeze spoke softly not wishing to annoy the small dragon.

“Yes but not when you love flowers and want to be a botanist.”

“A what?” Breeze looked about him wondering if he had fallen on his head and was having a terrible nightmare, because not one bit of this conversation was making sense to him.

“I like studying and growing flowers but it won’t work cos often, much too often they end up looking like toast.”

Breeze opened  his mouth, closed it and opened it again. He was afraid to say what he was thinking.

The dragon spoke for him. “No burnt flowers do not taste like toast. They simply look burnt.”

“Okay I know what to do lets talk to Elegant witch.” Breeze stood, told Frank where to meet him and ran off to see Elegant.

Unfortunately for him she wasn’t baking, she was cleaning her house using a broom.

Breeze watched her work and frowned. The world is gone upside down, he thought, dragons who want to potter about in the garden and witches who use a broom for sweeping. 

Her chuckle startled him. “I heard that Breeze and no I am not crazy. I just like sweeping.” Putting down the broom she asked him, “What problem have you brought to me today?”

Breeze told her about Frank. It was Elegants turn to look worried. “If I stop his fiery breath, the others will not like it.” Elegant began to pace about the room. There was a bee dancing on the window ledge, very gently Elegant shooed it from the room. Then she turned to Breeze, “That is the answer.”

Breeze frowned. He didn’t think a bee on a window was an answer to anything but he knew Elegant to be a clever witch so he waited for her to return.

Frank arrived as Elegant finished her spell. When the dragon nervously asked her if she could help, she smiled and held out the hat for him. “It is smashing but won’t it go on fire too?”

Breeze moved out of the way and said, “Try it” then as fast as he could he ran to Tulips house. Afterall if the magical beekeepers helmet worked the dragon would be happy and if it didn’t then Breeze might have a lot of ashes to sweep up and Breeze hated sweeping.

 

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The day when the forest played a trick on a tiny witch.

Every seven years a crazy day arrives in the wood. It is called Mayhem day. And as you would expect anything is possible on this day.

Breeze and the other Ogres keep records. This means, they know when to expect the madness to happen. Then they let everyone else know. This year it was delivered by the blackbirds. “Stay indoors, take care for today will be a crazy day.” They tweeted and sang.

Elegant witch received the message and told her sister. Lovisma laughed and said, “Last time the only thing that happened was we were stuck indoors and I had no fun.”

“But you were safe.” Elegant replied.

“Safe is boring.” Lovisma decided then and there, she would have some fun.

Though her notebook was full of fun ideas, for example:

1. Paint the clouds with colourful spots.
2.  Put crabs in the pond.
3.  Replace the Ogres sugar with salt.
4.  Make Mrs. Rabbits washing dance on the washing line so she cannot collect it.
5.  Put glue on the elves shoes. When they finish work they will have to go home in their bare feet.

And the ideas went on filling the entire notebook. The problem was, she had tried them all.

“I need to think of a different way of making fun.”  She began by finding things to use. She found pots of paint and stacked them in Elegant’s gardening wheelbarrow, then she found some cobweb rope, a mound of mermaids slimy scales left by a visiting witch, and she chucked them into the barrow.

Just when she thought the barrow should be full to the brim she turned to look at it and frowned. Her collection was on the ground and her barrow was full of …

dog. “I didn’t put you in it, shoooo…go away.”

The dog sat and stared at her.  It blinked, blinked again and then…. vanished!

“Cute” Lovisma said and felt sad. She would have loved to be the first witch with a magical dog. When she told Elegant, her sister said, “I told you stay indoors – today is a crazy day. That dog wasn’t magical ..it wasn’t really here at all.”

Lovisma ignored her. She had decided on a plan. She crept to the center of the wood and began to chant,

“I wish for these dreams to come true,

let the sky and grass swop color so I am standing on blue.” She clicked her fingers and began to laugh. The grass was bright blue. She looked to the sky. It was bright green.

Then she heard it … a low throaty growl. Lovisma immediately thought of the crazy dog.  “Come out magical pup so I may thank you.”

Instead the sky darkened and clouds ran away as the green turned to purple.

“I preferred my colors” she calmly muttered.

The growling was louder and it was coming from the ground. Lovisma looked about her and noticed mushrooms. Hundreds and hundreds of mushrooms of all sizes.  She flicked her wand at them and said, “You look a little sad, I think spots of many colours would make you feel less bad.” With a click of her fingers a paintbrush appeared in her hand. She began to flick paint about her. Spots of paint landed on the mushrooms and they grew and grew. As they grew, the growling became louder.

Lovisma decided she didn’t want to stay in such a noisy spot and she tried to move, but the mushrooms had her caged in.  They stretched and grew until they blocked out the sky. She stood shivering wondering how she could make them stop. Every spell she tried made them grow faster. Finally she prodded one with her wand. There was a loud hissing sound and it shrank faster than it had grown. It didn’t stop until it was a puddle of gunk at her feet.

Then one by one the same thing happened the other mushrooms, the air was angry, filled with hissing sounds. The smell of rotting mushrooms was horrible. Lovisma screwed up her tiny nose and wailed. “I didn’t as for this to happen.” Her crying stopped only when she realised the pool of gunk was rising higher by the second.

Her next shriek was loud. “Help.”

Elegant heard her and appeared on her broomstick high above her troublesome sister.

“Serves you right, what did I tell you to do?” Then the kind hearted witch relented. With a flick of her wand she sent the gunk where it belonged  in the middle of nowhere.  Next she swooped low and hovered close to Lovisma.

“Would you like a lift home? I made chocolate fudge cake and vanilla ice cream?”

Lovisma didn’t need to think about it. She hopped on Elegants broom, promising she would never step outside of the house on Mayhem day, ever again.

Do you think she kept her promise?

Izzy’s Problem

Note: A first draft of a chapter book, remarks, comments will be chewed on with delight.

Chapter 1

A problem to solve.

Pots and pans were zipping through the air.  The kitchen was a large airport without an airport controller.  With a loud squeal Esmeralda,  Izzy’s cat,  was whisked upwards in the playful current of air. She landed in a  huge saucepan.  Crouching low with her tail tightly curled about her,  Esmeralda’s huge paws covered her eyes.

Izzy didn’t notice her poor cat.  She was sitting eating toast. It was oozing with warm runny butter and strawberry jam.

Those saucepans look grotty Izzy , she thought.  Her friends couldn’t understand why  Izzy preferred saucepans to cauldrons. “Easier to clean” she explained to them. That is they would be easier to clean if she remembered to get cleaner.

Izzy began to write on the back of an envelope.  The note said,  get some more cleaner,  it was scrawled in her untidy hand writing with cartoon spiders dancing about it.   She scowled at it, it reminded her of something she didn’t like doing – shopping.

“Surf and stuff it” Izzy  stamped her foot and every flying object including Esmerelda lost its invisible wings, landing with a huge wallop in an untidy heap on the kitchen floor.

Izzy knew why everything was turning upside down and roundabout on her.  She was fed up.  It was ages since she had any fun with her other witch friends.

“Perhaps they’ve grown out of having fun!”  Izzy whispered.  “What a terrible thought!  I mean, what sort of witch is a witch who doesn’t have any fun or silliness in her life. It’s what we’re supposed to do, create mayhem for humans.  They say people can die from boredom.” Izzy told a dizzy looking Esmerelda  who was stumbling out of the upturned pot.

Izzy had a terrible thought. What if it isn’t only people who could be seriously affected by the lack of fun and newness in their lives?  “Witches couldn’t die from boredom, could they?”  Izzy spoke very carefully and slowly hoping that it would help to get rid of such a stupid thought.

But no, it lingered, repeating itself over and over. It didn’t help her bad mood.  She gave a giant hiccup and flew straight out of the window into the huge beech tree.

It was her favorite place to sit and think.

In fact some of her most earth shattering decisions had been made while sitting quietly in this tree. High above with only the odd wayward bee for company she was free from all the usual noises of life.

Her great decisions may seem simple to you or me but to a neat methodical witch they were very important indeed.

For example:  She once spent a whole afternoon sitting wondering, if it would be better to file all of her recipes  (Jamie and Delia’s) by color code or by the order in which Izzy ate her meals.  That was her problem.

The order in which she ate depended on what she was having.  If it was tomato soup it always came first and last, Izzy loved tomato soup.

High in this tree the solution appeared suddenly. It was simple. A recipe book for witches by a champion cooking witch! The recipes would appear as she made them up.  If she liked the new recipe it would stay but if she didn’t then it would topple off the page.

Today she was so tired she curled up and fell asleep.

When she woke she was not only hungry but full of energy.

“I think a little walk before dinner would do this talented witch a world of good,” she decided as she licked her lips.  “A couple of meringues from the bakers shop could be just the medicine that I need.”

 

The Twitchet Sisters

Roberta and Lizzie were happy witches until, they met a certain wolf who loved to knock or blow houses down.

He didn’t simply knock their house down he stomped all over it. This was an easy task for him because Roberta and Lizzie are as big as a teaspoon.

However, a flattened house left them with a whopper of a problem.

“We need to find a new house and fast.” Roberta stated as she hovered above the remains of their squished tiny house.

“How? The elf who created our dream home is on holidays and we cannot wait until then. We need one now!” Lizzie stomped about picking up what she could save and dropping them into one pile on the ground.

“We will split up and go in search of a new home. Meet you back here  in an hour.” And Roberta vanished.

“I don’t see why we can’t simply magic one house seeing as we are two stupendously talented witches.” Lizzie said flicking her wand. The chocolate chip muffin that appeared before her disappeared pretty quickly into Lizzie’s mouth as she was supposed to be on a diet.

The search began.

Roberta appeared clutching a tiny parcel and said, “I have it watch.” With a flick of her wrist at the parcel a tent appeared between them. It was pink. A violent shade of pink.

“Cute but too blowy.” Said Lizzie and with a huff she blew the tent down.

Roberta shuddered and vanished.

Lizzie found a dolls house but Roberta declared it would be too busy with many tiny hands moving dolls and furniture about. “We would never know where anything was.” She said.

By nightfall they came to a decision, they would make do for the time being in a very nice looking dove house. However the doves were too friendly towards the tiny witches offering them dinner of seeds and worms.  “Ugh, No thank you.”

The sisters agreed to continue searching the next day.

They tried, tins (too noisy), boxes (too soggy in the rain), dog houses (too smelly), garages (too dusty).

Finally they stumbled into a house filled with treasures.

And on a shelf they found the perfect home, can you guess?

Here it is-

A perfect teapot home for two tiny tea loving witches.

 

Hisilicon K3

Lovisma gets a letter.

Letter’s were unusual for a witch to receive.  Lovisma knew this letter meant someone was in trouble. She hoped it wasn’t trouble for Lovisma.

She sat on the softest cushion she could find and prepared to hear bad news.

She pointed her wand at the letter and said “Unzip.”

The letter zipped open and a dandelion popped out.  Odd, she thought it isn’t my birthday.”

Then she read the letter. It was from Connie, her cousin who had sent a video diary to Lovisma.  The letter continued on: To hear and see my diary say shredded sheep really fast four times.

Lovisma did as requested and to her surprise four tiny sheep ran about her kitchen in a circle four times. Then they vanished and a fuzzy picture began to grow before Lovisma. She clutched her wand to her and waited to see what would happen.

Pots and pans were zipping through the air.  The kitchen was a large airport without an airport controller.  Esmerelda,  Connie’s cat,  was whisked upwards in the playful current of air. She landed in a  huge saucepan.  Crouching low with her tail tightly curled about her,  Esmerelda’s huge paws covered her eyes.

Connie sat eating toast. It was oozing with warm runny butter and strawberry jam. A blob of jam landed on Connie’s nose.

Connie  stamped her foot and every flying object including Esmerelda lost its invisible wings, landing with a huge wallop in an untidy heap on the kitchen floor.

She knew everything was turning upside down and roundabout on her.  She was fed up.  It was ages since she had any fun with her other witch friends.

“Perhaps they’ve grown out of having fun!” Connie said.“What a terrible thought!  I mean, what sort of witch is a witch who doesn’t have any fun or silliness in her life. It’s what we’re supposed to do, create mayhem for humans.  They say people can die from boredom.”

Esmerelda , Lovisma saw, was stumbling out of the upturned pot.

Connie had a terrible thought.   “Witches couldn’t die from boredom, could they?”

She gave a giant hiccup and flew straight out of the window into the huge beech tree.

It was her favorite place to sit and think.

In fact some of her most earth shattering decisions had been made while sitting quietly in this tree. High above with only the odd wayward bee for company she was free from all the usual noises of life.

Her great decisions may seem simple to you or me but to a neat methodical witch they were very important indeed.

Connie curled up and fell asleep.

When she woke she was not only hungry but full of energy.

“I think a little walk before dinner would do this talented witch a world of good,” she decided as she licked her lips.  “ I might find some fun along the way. Besides a couple of meringues from the bakers shop could be just the medicine that I need.”

Then the picture faded.  “Spoil sport,” Lovisma said and hoped another diary would appear tomorrow.

 

Breeze and the thief.

It sounded like the sky was grumbling but Hamish knew it was Breeze shouting. He decided to visit Breeze.

Hamish was huffing and puffing when he arrived at the cave to find Breeze staring at a fairy cake.

“Thank you.” Hamish said.

Breeze said, “It’s not for you. This is the last one. A thief stole the rest along with my peppermint tea.”

“Maybe they were lost or hungry,” Hamish suggested. “You know you should always give to those who have less than you do.”

“Hmm.  When they steal my stuff they have more than me. ” Breeze bent low and looked into Hamish’s eyes. “So what do I do?”

Hamish smiled. “We should ask someone smart like Elegant or Tulip. ”

“Perhaps Elegant is the one to visit first.” Breeze suggested.”Tulip usually has a Fairy Group Meeting on Wednesday afternoons. Today is Wednesday.”

They found Elegant sitting on her  front step reading a book. It was called, “How to be  the nicest witch ever.”

Breeze said, “You can’t get any nicer Elegant.”

She was delighted and said,” Thank you. Tea and cake?”

They accepted.  As he munched on caraway seed cake, Breeze asked, ” Can you make Lovisma become kind and nice?”

Elegant said, “I hope so. Why did you come to  see me?  Are you sick?”

Breeze explained his problem adding, “I think it is Dandelion Bear.”

“I don’t know this bear.” Elegant said. “She keeps to her self.”

“Ahh  a t-r-o-u-b-l-e-m-a-k-e-r  .” Breeze said.

“No, we don’t know that.” She looked at Breeze and Hamish. They looked at their feet.

Elegant was considering the problem. “Have you asked her why she is doing this?”

“I have.” Breeze said.

“And?”

“She says she didn’t do it. But Spike saw her.” The frog popped out of Breeze’s shirt pocket and said “Ribbit.”

“We need a plan.” Hamish said.

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

Hamish and Elegant hid in the cave as the sun peeped over the edge of the earth. Breeze was asleep.

“He sleeps too much.” Elegant muttered.

A dark shape entered the cave. Elegant flicked her wrist and a soft light came on.  It was Dandelion.  Hamish opened his mouth to shout but Elegant said “SSssshhhh.  Follow me.”

Elegant  stood before Dandelion who was choosing six cupcakes and a handful of peppermint leaves. The bear didn’t see Elegant. Dandelion walked out of the cave.  Elegant said.  “She doesn’t know she is doing it.”

Hamish said, “Rubbish I saw her. You saw her.”

“She was asleep. Dandelion bear sleepwalks.”

Hamish looked towards Breeze. “He won’t believe you.”

“Don’t worry I can make him believe.”  Elegant woke Breeze.

He looked over at his almost empty cupboard. “Did you eat them?” He asked Hamish.

“No. But I did consider it before she arrived.”

“Aha so it was Dandelion.” Breeze said.

Elegant said, “First you should watch this.”

She pointed her wand at the wall.ie“I need to show the truth to give relief,

to this ogre who is bothered by a thief.”

As Breeze and Hamish stared at the wall they saw an image of Dandelion walk into the cave. When the light dimmed. Breeze turned to them. “She was sleeping but still she has to see the crumbs and empty cases when she wakes.”

Elegant said, “Lets go and find out.”

They walked along the mountain path to Dandelions home.  They tiptoed inside.

Elegant waved her wand and said,

“Please don’t let us make a sound or she will take fright

an angry bear is not a pretty sight.”

Dandelion began to snore. Her paws were tucked under her head and a group of mice were neatly tugging the peppermint leaves out of Dandelions grasp. The mice scurried away.  Two crows swooped low to collect a cupcake before flying away into the early morning light.

The three friends walked outside.

Breeze didn’t know what to say. Elegant said. “We need to show her. ” That evening they returned to Dandelion’s cave.

Dandelion was horrified. Tears trickled down her fur. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I am a thief.” She sobbed.

“No you are not a thief.” Elegant said. “This will help. It is a soothing potion. You will dream but you won’t sleepwalk.”

Elegant gave Breeze and Dandelion two large baskets of cakes and bakes. “These should keep you both happy for a day or two.  Dandelion if you come to my house tomorrow night I will teach you how to bake.”

Hamish looked at Breeze, “You will have a neighbour who bakes.”

Breeze said, “I must not shout at Dandelion ever again.”

 

 

Breeze plays detective.

Breeze wasn’t happy. He had not met Tulip in days. This meant he had not eaten one fairy cake in two whole days. He decided a visit to her house was necessary.

When he arrived at Tulips house he found the house locked up and a note stuck to the front door.

“I will be back when I am back.”

Breeze read it aloud a few times.  This is very odd he thought and went to see, Elegant.

However Elegant did not know where Tulip was gone.

The kind witch did offer to make some witch cakes for Breeze he accepted them and discovered they were not as nice as Tulips cakes. Thanking Elegant he left with the parcel of cakes tucked into his pocket along with Spike his pet frog.

Breeze asked everyone where Tulip had gone but no one knew. He went home feeling worried. It was most unlike her to simply leave without telling him or Hamish or Elegant where he was going.

When he got home he placed Elegants cakes on the table. Spike had eaten one and was now curled up on a leaf that sat in a saucer. How do I find a missing Fairy, he wondered.

Then he remembered his friend Bob.

He sent him a short note;

Dear Mr. Bob,

I am sending you these great cakes baked by my friend Elegant. We hope you in return will do us a great favor and ask Ellie to find Tulip. We are worried the tiny fairy is in trouble or ill no one has seen her in two  three days.

Tulip was last seen at her house on the edge of the wood you could start there.

I am really worried.

Breeze

 

Then tucking the note into the witches cakes Breeze sent them by pigeon to Bob’s house.

“I do hope the silly dog does read the note and doesn’t simply eat the cakes.”

Breeze could do nothing more but wait.

Halloween: Sticky Toffee Surprise

 

Lovisma was planning a big surprise for Halloween night.

Last year Breeze spoiled her surprise, this year she was being very careful.

He won’t ruin my Halloween night.” She muttered watching her cauldron carefully. She sat on a fat mushroom watching her spoon do laps of the pot.  “Hmm vanilla toffee apples who can resist them?” She giggled. On hearing a twig snap she looked up, then relaxed as one of the Muppet Bunnies dashed past her.

“Nothing will spoil this surprise. That stupid Ogre is helping Elegant and the Fairies make bobbing marshmallows.” She said.

Breeze was standing a short distance away disguised as a giant pumpkin.  He got the idea from Bob (click here to see him as a pumpkin.)  Hamish had helped Breeze get ready.  Everyone knew Lovisma hates pumpkins.

While  the children were dressing up as witches and ghosts, Lovisma placed buckets of her special toffee apples around the party tables. Her apples sparkled and glowed. “What child or ogre could resist these?” she muttered.

Meanwhile Breeze was holding a meeting with the other adults. “I am not sure what will happen when you take a bite so I took one from her basket.” He stared around at the Fairies and Elves.

Tulip said, “Well we won’t know until you take a bite from it.”

Breeze  didn’t want everyone to think he was afraid. He closed his eyes and took a bite. It did taste lovely but the toffee ran off the apple like a river and lay around his feet. He could not move his feet. “I am stuck.” He groaned.

Elegant said, “I bet she plans on taking all of the children’s treats while they are stuck to the ground. I am sure it will wear off soon Breeze.”

Breeze hoped it would because he didn’t want to miss the party. The fairies and elves worked on a spell to undo Lovisma’s spell. Then they created a spell for her.

The party was great. The children loved the bobbing marshmallows that looked like giant spiders. They laughed when Matt tried to eat a real spider thinking it would taste of marshmallow. The spider was  not happy as he scuttled awayinto the dark night.

The children noticed the toffee apples. Lovisma held her breath and waited.

Matt grabbed an apple. It  fizzled and sparkled sending shooting stars into the night.

Lisbeth, Lillian and Daisy-Lyah’s apples played a musical tune  the minute they held them.  Children were dancing and laughing.  Lovisma was angry.

“Give me one!” She grabbed an apple and instantly the ground beneath her feet began to shake. Everyone ran for cover as two tall scarecrows appeared carrying pumpkins. They placed the pumpkins on the ground and rolled them at Lovisma.

She was knocked off her feet and landed on a huge pumkin. Her feet and arms, and head was visible. Lovisma screamed. She was trapped in a pumpkin. She waddled off into the wood crying, “I bet you did this Breeze.  I will get out and then you had better watch out.”

Lisbeth was sitting beside Breeze shivering. “You don’t look worried Mr. Breeze.”

He smiled and said, “I am not, because Elegant added her forgetful potion to the spell so Lovisma will escape from the pumpkin but she will have forgotten everything and we will have a great party.”

Daisy-lyah and Lillian were kind Fairies and they filled a basket full of treats for the naughty witch.

 

 

A Fairy Princess lands in the wood.

Breeze was woken by a strange noise, he sat up and looked around him.  He checked to make sure the world was okay. The sky was blue, in the distance he saw a lot of sleeping sheep and down below the wood was as he last saw it, green and quiet.

Then he heard it again.  He wondered had an elf come to play a trick on him. He decided to check it out. Elves, like his friend Ainion (which sounded like Eye-nee-on) tended to be a bit nasty with their tricks, they had a love of seeing misfortune happen to others which meant others ended up wet or cold or frozen solid for a while.

He crept through the wood and finally spotted her in a large clearing close to the center of the wood.

It was a fairy. She had light brown hair, twinkling eyes and a huge smile. Her wings were gossamer light and her skirt was colored like a rainbow. She was playing in the sunlight chasing a large butterfly. Breeze watched her for a while and noticed the most extraordinary thing. A sunbeam was following her!

When she moved to the left of the clearing the sunbeam danced after her, and when she walked forward the sunbeam danced after her. He smiled. A pair of blackbirds landed on the branch beside him and came to watch. Soon others joined them. The wood was filling up with birds, rabbits and then the branch groaned as Lisbeth and Matt climbed alongside Breeze.

Lisbeth said, “Is she a nasty witch in disguise? Maybe it is Lovisma.” Lisbeth shuddered.

Breeze said, “You stay here and I will find out.”

He slid down the tree trunk and said, “Hello. I am Breeze. ”

The fairy stopped moving and stared at him. She looked frightened.

Breeze said, “We were wondering who you are? We know the other fairies in the wood.” As he spoke he sat on the ground.

The tiny fairy seemed to relax when Breeze sat down. She said, “I am Daisy-Lyah. My job is to catch sunbeams and deliver them to woods. I do this every day. It is a tiring job. I stopped for a rest and found him.” She pointed at the large butterfly.

Lisbeth came to sit beside Breeze. “I never heard of a Fairy who was allowed to catch sunbeams.” Breeze said. “I thought only Princess’ were allowed to do that.”

“My full name is Princess Daisy-Lyah.” Daisy-Lyah said. “But if I say that people laugh. And I don’t like people laughing at me.”

“I won’t laugh cos it is a beautiful name. I’m Lisbeth. Can I play too?” Lisbeth asked.

Daisy-Lyah said, “Yes please it is always better when more people play.”

And so it was that Lisbeth found a new playmate. Daisy-Lyah came often to the wood after that and Tulip always made sure there was plenty of toffee topped fairy cakes for Daisy-Lyah to eat and take home with her.

 

Story inspired by comment from blog site; little things and me

The Tale of the Curious Tree as told by Breeze.

Breeze was left in charge of  Mrs. Groundsels Grandchildren.  “Tell us a story, please.” Lisbeth demanded flashing her dark blue eyes at him.

Breeze sat and stared all around him. In the distance an old twisted tree caught his eye.

Lowering his voice he said, “A tiny oak tree was planted in the wood many years ago by a kind and friendly witch. ”

“It wasn’t Lovisma then.” Lisbeth said and moved closer to him.

Breeze smiled then said,

“The tree was planted in a good place. It began to grow. A rabbit stopped one day beside the tree to scratch his ear. The tree bent sideways to  ask the rabbit what it was doing. 

“I am itchy. So I am scratching the itch.” The rabbit said and then he hopped away.

The tree decided it was good to know answers to simple questions.

Whenever an animal stopped close to the oak it would move its body to look at the animal and ask a question or two. Over time the tree grew very knowledgeable about everyday things.

It knew why the clouds danced across the sky on sunny days and why they emptied buckets of raindrops on the forest on dark cold days. It also learnt the names of all the plants and animals in the forest. “

“Really?” Lisbeth asked.

Before Breeze could speak, Matt said, “That is rubbish there is no twisted oak tree in this wood and if there was it wouldn’t know anything about anything. Trees are just trees.”

Lisbeth looked sad. “Mr. Breeze, that is not true. Is it? Your story is beautiful. I think trees are great.”

“Thank you Lisbeth. Matt will discover the truth some day soon.” He hoisted her on his shoulder and said, “we are going to visit the tree.”

He walked a long way then stopped before the tree. Lisbeth ran her hand along the bark.  “You are a super-duper old tree. ” Breeze placed her on a low branch and jumped up beside her.

“Does it know everything?” She asked Breeze.

“Maybe not everything but it does know a lot of stuff.” He looked at her. “Why?”

“I would like to know what there is far beyond the Sugar lump mountains. Please Mr. Tree can you tell me?”

Breeze looked at her and said, “why don’t you write a note and pin it to the tree?”

She grinned at him. “Trees can’t write.”

“No but fairies can and I bet Tulip or Izzy could talk to it, or Elegant. I will ask them. They could write the answer down for you.”

So Lisbeth left her note pinned to the tree.

Next day she woke Breeze from a nap by shouting at him, “I got an answer.” Lisbeth read the note: “Beyond the Sugar Lump mountains lies a green valley. It is filled with cows grazing, sheep sleeping and lambs having fun. There is no river but there are many different types of flowers and trees. The air is filled with humming birds who sing as they collect pollen from the plants. ”

Lisbeth was smiling when she finished the note. “I am never going to tell Matt about this. It is great to know something he doesn’t. Someday when he walks miles and miles to find out what is over the mountains I can say, I knew all along because the kind oak tree told me.”

When she left Breeze slept, dreaming of dancing trees who became so knotted they fell over and grew on the ground.