HA Fairytale part3

A Fairytale: Part Three

Maa-ma, Daa-da. The large blue eyes of the child stared at her
intently as he watched her mouth shape the sound of the words. His own
mouth was slightly ajar and a small dribble of saliva ran down his chin
unnoticed, as he concentrated on the face before him.

Stella felt a rush of love for this beloved child of hers. If
only he would talk.

"Is your mum giving you the third degree again Harry?" The
baby's eyes slid sideways, his face breaking into a huge smile,
displaying two tiny teeth nestling in his lower gum. He stretched out
his chubby arms towards the figure emerging from the bushes.

"Oh, hello Mildred," Stella greeted the small being
approaching them.

The fairy had become almost part of the family, ever since the
day that Henry had discovered her living in his garden and she had been
instrumental in bringing he and Stella together.

Mildred's appearance was bizarre as usual. Her sense of colour
and style was non-existent. Stella had been taken aback by her first
meeting with the fairy, expecting gossamer and lace, instead of a
scarlet mini-skirt and luminous purple boob tube.

Henry thought that Mildred was wonderful and spent a lot of
his time down in the old summerhouse, where Mildred lived with her
husband, a hapless gnome called Norman

The fairy tottered towards them, the heels of her silver
stilettos hampering her progress, as they sank into the soft soil with
every step.

Harry crawled towards her eagerly, like his father he adored
Mildred.

"Whoa!" she laughed as she collapsed onto the blanket and the
baby fell upon her.

Stella smiled as she watched the pair. Harry lay on his back
chuckling heartily as Mildred tickled him.

After awhile she sat up and pulled the baby to his feet. He
clung onto her shoulder gently fingering the folded wings on Mildred's
back.

"Still no luck then?" the fairy asked.

Stella gave another sigh. "No. He's ten months old; surely he
should be able to say a couple of intelligible words by now. I took him
to the doctor last week. I thought maybe there was something wrong with
his hearing."

"And what did he say?"

"Same as you and Henry really. His hearing is fine and he will
talk when he's ready."

"See! Anyway he does talk; you just can't understand what he
says. Believe me, when he's got something important to say it will come
out loud and clear. Perhaps if he had a playmate it would help him
along a bit? That's what I came to tell you really, that he is going to
get one--- a playmate that is"

"Really," Stella sounded a bit bemused.

"Yeess," Mildred drew out the word and inclined her face
towards Stella, as if prompting a response. Stella stared at her
blankly for a few seconds and then the penny dropped.

"Really! Oh Mildred how wonderful, when are you due?"

"Hold on a bit," the fairy held up her hands in protest. " I'm
not 'due' at all. We fairies have a better arrangement than you
lot."

" Oh," Stella was taken aback. " Well how do you---, you
know?"

"The first bit is the same, wouldn't want to miss out on the
fun, would we?" Mildred winked. " After that it's up to the elf. He has
to lay this little egg. That's one of the reasons I came over. Norman's
in the process and his screeching was really getting on my tits."

"Oh poor Norman!" Stella looked horrified.

"Poor Norman my ass! It's only a little egg for God's sake, to
hear him caterwauling you would think he was parting with the Titanic
or something."

"Pleasant! It's not bloody pleasant for me, listening to him
keep going on about his sodding bag."

"His bag?" Stella looked confused.

"Oh-- the egg has to grow a bit after it's laid and the elves
usually knit themselves a little bag to keep it in, until it's big
enough for hatching. I think he has shown me every bloody stitch,
boring or what?"

"Well I think you are too hard on him, he's a lovely little
chap."

"Yeah, well you don't have to live with him, do you?" Before
they could disagree further, Harry changed the subject for them.
Leaning his face in front of Mildred's, he unleashed a string of
gibberish then looked at her solemnly, as if awaiting a reply.

"Oh really!" Mildred laughed, having failed to understand a
word he said.

Unusually for a British summer, the weather continued to be
sunny and hot and a few days later Stella strapped Harry intro his
pushchair for a walk in the nearby woods. On the way she would call in
on Mildred and Norman.

"If I hear one more word about that bloody egg I will wrap it
round your sodding neck Norman!" Mildred's voice carried to Stella as
she rounded the bushes.

Norman was sitting in the shade of a tree looking sullen.
Clutched in his arms was a bag, which appeared to have been knitted
from leftover bits of wool. His face brightened when he saw
Stella

"Have you come to see the egg?" he looked like an eager little
puppy.

Mildred was sunbathing, resplendent in a multicoloured bikini.
Her eyes were closed against the glare of the sun. She opened one eye
at Norman's words and sat up when she saw Stella.

"Oh thank you God." She raised her arms to the sky. "An
intelligent being at last." Norman shot her a venomous look, as his
fingers grappled with the cord holding the bag closed. Finally he had
it open and proudly held it out for her to look inside.

Stella drew in her breath at what she saw. Nestling in the
bottom lay a silvery grey egg, about half as large again as a duck egg.
What made her gasp was its beauty. The silvery surface gleamed as it
caught the light, reflecting tiny pinpoints of rainbow sparkle.

"Oh, it's beautiful Norman, when will it hatch?"

"Well it's already doubled in size. So it should be within a
week. It is quite beautiful isn't it," he said with pride. "It was
worth all the pain."

"Was it really bad?" Stella sympathised.

"Terrible," he whispered.

"Oh, for God's sake don't get him stared on his suffering!
What a wimp! Other elves do it every day so it can't be as bad as he
tries to make out."

"Well maybe you ought to try it next time," Norman
retorted.

"If I did Norman, I'm sure I would make a quieter job of it
than you." The fairy's voice was heavy with sarcasm and Norman's face
filled with anger. Stella jumped in to diffuse the situation.

"Harry and I are off for a walk in the woods. Why don't you
two come along?"

The shade of the trees was pleasantly cool. Mildred ran around
the pushchair, playing peek-a-boo with Harry, while a truculent Norman
followed silently behind them.

Stella glanced round at him. He was walking with his head
down. He had slung the long handle of the knitted bag over his head and
every few seconds he peeped inside it to check the egg. Poor Norman,
Mildred was too hard on him and he was such a sweet little chap.

They strolled on for a while, enjoying the shade afforded by
the canopy of trees. Mildred was chatting about the forthcoming
hatching of the egg and Harry was almost asleep when a strangled cry
from Norman made them turn as one.

For a moment Stella couldn't work out what was going on.
Norman's face resembled a ripe plum and the colour was deepening with
every second. The bag, which had previously hung easily at his waist,
was beneath his chin and appeared to be throttling him.

A raucous cackle made Stella look up. A gaggle of crows had
caught up the strap on the bag and were dragging Norman backwards
Mildred gave a blood-curdling scream and ran towards the helpless
Norman, just as his feet left the ground. His cry of terror was cut
short as his back slammed into the trunk of a tree. The birds released
their grip on the strap, which snagged on a truncated branch leaving
the elf dangling a few feet off the ground.

"Bastard crows! Shitheads.!" Mildred scaled the tree like a
monkey, hurling abuse at the crows that were observing from the
adjacent trees. Their cawing sounded like cruel laughter. Harry watched
silently as Stella ran to take up Norman's weight while Mildred
unhooked the strap.

"The-the egg," stuttered Norman, as Stella lowered him to the
ground. His fingers trembled with the cord and the two of them peered
worriedly inside. Stella sighed with relief, as the softly glowing egg
was revealed unscathed.

Mildred scrambled down the tree and threw her arms around
Norman.

"It's all right now baby," she crooned, as a large tear ran
down the elf's face. "I'll kill the bastards if they touch you
again".

Stella watched the pair in amazement. Before the walk she
could have sworn that they hated each other, now here they were acting
like lovebirds, you just never knew.

The following Sunday Stella rose early. Henry's parents were
coming for tea. She got on well with the couple and Henry's dad was
really sweet, but Stella always felt that her mother-in-law was judging
her. It was nothing specific, just small comments that made her feel
inadequate. Henry said she was imagining it, but it made her feel
insecure, as if she were not quite up to her role as wife and mother.
Today she was determined that everything would be perfect.

By lunchtime she had everything prepared for the meal and felt
she could relax in the garden for a few hours. But it wasn't to be. No
sooner had she collapsed into the deck chair, than a loud 'Yoo Hoo'
came from the bushes and Mildred and Norman appeared.

"Look who we've brought," gesturing to Norman who was carrying
something in his arms.

"Has it hatched?" Stella rose from the chair and hurried
towards Norman. She gasped, in his arms was the most exquisite child
she had ever seen.

"Oh Mildred she's gorgeous!" Stella said as Norman handed her
the infant.

"Henry! Come and see," she called as her husband appeared with
Harry.

The baby could have been a miniature version of Mildred. Tight
black curls ringed the tiny heart shaped face and her skin was almost
translucent.

"She doesn't look newborn at all," said Stella, as the child
smiled up at her.

"I keep telling you Stella, we fairies arrange things a lot
better than you humans. Who wants to go through all the fiddly bits,
like potty training and all that? We arrive fully equipped, it's easier
that way."

"Hello" Stella jumped as the child spoke to Harry, who was
gazing at her raptly. He reached out and touched the baby's cheek
gently, then giggled with excitement.

"Can I get down now and play with Harry? Asked the little
creature. "Of course," said a bemused Stella, helping the child onto
the grass. Harry wriggled in Henry's arms, wanting to be put down as
well and soon the pair were playing happily.

"What will you call her?" asked Henry.

"Gertrude, definitely." Stella and Henry glanced at each
other. Fairies might be well in advance of humans, but when it came to
naming their beautiful children they didn't seem to have a clue.

Henry brought a bottle of sparkling wine from the house and
the four of them toasted the safe arrival of Gertrude.

The time flew past and it was only the sound of Henry's
parents approaching in their car, which alerted them to how late it
was.

"Oh my God!" squealed Stella. "I'm not even changed
yet!"

The three fairies quickly took their leave, Stella and Henry
were the only humans who knew of their existence and they were eager to
keep it that way.

The day was just right for eating outside. The meal had gone
well and Stella was beginning to relax. Henry was in deep conversation
with his father. Henry's mother was sitting on the grass with Harry,
trying to remove the ice cream smeared around his mouth. Smiling,
Stella watched from the comfort of a deckchair.

The heat of the day had settled to pleasant warmth and
everything seemed perfect.
Harry struggled away from his grandmother's attention and staggered his
first few steps across the grass.

"Clever boy!" cried Stella sitting up in her chair. But Harry
ignored the praise. He was too busy staring at something overhead. That
was when he uttered his first intelligible words. Small fist raised to
the sky, he said quite clearly.

" Bloody bastard crow, kill!"