THE PUDDLE PIXIES - CHAPTER 13 - THE BIRTHDAY SURPRISE

There was going to be a very special Birthday that Michaelmas – the Puddle Pixie Elder was going to be 500 years old! He had not told anyone about it, for he didn’t want people to make a fuss, but secretly he hoped his oldest friends at least would remember.

Still, it was already the beginning of September, and not a word had been said about it; in fact, he had seen less of his friends than usual lately; they often seemed to be too busy to come over for a chat and a cup of nectar. Still, there was always plenty for the Elder to do, for the affairs of New Puddlington kept him occupied most of the time, and what with Winter fast approaching, he had to make sure there were plenty of umbrellas and goods in stock, ready for the Winter rush.

Of course, little did he know that the Puddle Pixies had been thinking about his special Birthday and very little else for some time now, and the Pixie Messenger Pigeons had been busy delivering pretty gold-edged invitation cards to friends far and wide throughout the Pixie Kingdom and beyond. Even the King and Queen of the Pixies had sent word that they intended to come to wish the Elder ‘Many Happy Returns’. They had also sent one to the Elder’s oldest friend, Merlin, Lord High Wizard of the Universe; but as no-one was ever quite sure where or indeed when to find him at any given time, they had to make do with sprinkling his invitation with magic Pixie dust, and saying a magic spell :

'COME SUNLIGHT AND MOONLIGHT
BY LAND SEA AND COAST
LORD MERLIN - WE CALL YOU -
PLEASE OPEN YOUR POST!'

and then hope for the best. The card had in fact disappeared in a small puff of smoke, but nobody could be sure if Merlin had received it yet. Still, plenty of other folk had already secretly sent messages to say they would be coming, and the Council was already expecting over 500 guests.

All the Pixie schools were planning a show for him on the big day, with plays and songs written specially to honour him, telling in music and rhyme tales of his long and eventful life. The Pixie band, the Raggle –Taggle- Gypsies, had been booked to lead the dancing, and other performers were coming from all over the Universe to perform at the Very Special Concert.

Eventually, the big day dawned. The Elder, trying his best to pretend that he didn’t really care whether there was any special Birthday post for him or not, came downstairs for breakfast, casting a sidelong glance towards the door. His face fell for a moment when he saw just one piece of paper lying on the mat.

However, when he picked it up he looked rather puzzled. It read :

LOOK OUTSIDE

That was all. Just two words. LOOK OUTSIDE.

So he did.

Opening the front door he saw, there on the front lawn, TEN SACKFULS of post, each one bearing a label which read ‘The Elder’. He threw up his hands in wonder. Then five of his Great Grandsons stepped forward. They all took a sack in each hand and carried them into the Elder’s parlour, where they all spent the next couple of hours sorting through them. When the last envelope had been opened, and the cards and greetings had been sorted and read, the Elder wiped a tear from his eye. ‘I didn’t know I had so many friends' he said ‘And with all my wonderful family too – I am such a lucky Pixie’.

But there was a little place deep in his heart which felt sad, for his beloved wife, the beautiful Puddle Pixie Rose, was not there to share his joy. Many years ago, she had been called away to the Happy Land, where the Angel folk had important work for her to do. But the Elder knew that she was watching over them all, just as she had always done when she still lived with him in New Puddlington.

‘Come on Great Grandad’, said Puddle Pixie Alex ‘There are lots of people waiting for you on the green’ As he spoke, a beautiful golden coach drawn by six prancing pixie ponies drew up at the door. A smart footman in silver livery stepped out and bowed low before the Elder, who saw that there were already two passengers in the coach – the King and Queen of the Pixies!

The King said: ‘We are here for your Birthday celebrations. Please join us’. He held out his hand to the Elder and helped him into the coach. Off they trotted to the village green, where the Elder gasped to see an ENORMOUS rainbow marquee. The Puddle Pixies had been secretly working on it for weeks, staying up late and getting up early to stitch away quietly so as not to spoil the surprise. The jolly sound of Gypsy violins of the Raggle-Taggle-Gypsies floated through the air, and as the Elder, with the King on one side of him and the Queen on the other, entered the brightly decorated pavilion, a great cheer rose from the happy crowd of pixies and other friends gathered there.

Then the Elder heard his youngest grandson call out: ‘Are you there yet Great Grandad?’ and a sweet voice began to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. It was his dear friend, Justin the Troubador. All the guests joined in, and the Elder didn’t know where to start greeting them all. A wonderful banquet was set out at the end of the marquee, and he beamed happily as he sat at the head of the top table, between the royal couple.

When everyone had eaten their fill of the delicious pixie delicacies, the King stood up and banged the table for silence. The merry chatter died away, and he began: ‘We are all here today to honour a very great Pixie. He has served us well for hundreds of years, and is the cleverest, kindest and wisest pixie you could wish to meet. He is also very brave, and took a very large part in assisting the Lord Merlin – who we had hoped might be able to come today – to drive out the Wicked Witches and the Fearsome Dragons from the land of Puddlington, to make it a safe and happy place to live in. It was because of this happy transformation that it was decided to re-name the land ‘New Puddlington’. So you see, there is so much to thank the Elder for, that no gift would ever be sufficient to show our appreciation. So we have decided to bestow on him the title ‘Lord High Puddle Pixie’.

With that, the King placed a golden chain round the Elder’s neck, and a beautiful coronet on his head. A page brought a shimmering robe and placed it around his shoulders, to the enthusiastic applause of everyone present. Wiping yet another tear from his eye, the new Lord High Puddle Pixie stood up, and said: ‘I don’t know what to say, except just Thanks to all my wonderful friends and family for being here, and for being you. I am surely the most fortunate Pixie alive’. Then he sat down, quite overcome.

Then on to the stage came a succession of pixie children, and others who all had a special little play to perform or a poem to recite. Some sang special songs, and did special dances. From the old to the young, on and on they came, for no-one could remember a time without the Elder to care for them and guide them. Then it was the turn of the singers and bands to play. Justin the Troubador was the first to sing. Halfway through the Elder’s favourite song, which was about all the wonders of the Pixie world, he suddenly stopped. The band stopped playing, and the audience all looked round, following Justin’s gaze.

There by the entrance of the marquee, was a shimmering glimmering column of light. It got brighter and brighter, and flashed on and off like a beacon until suddenly BANG it exploded into a million twinkling stars, which drifted slowly to the ground, revealing a very distinguished looking elderly pixie, wearing a long blue robe covered in silver moons and stars, rubbing his long white beard and scratching his head to get the stardust out of his hair.

The Elder jumped to his feet and ran the length of the marquee, - more like a 5- year- old than a 500- year- old! – to greet the newcomer. The two elderly gentlefolk hugged each other warmly, shaking hands and clapping each other on the back all at the same time. ‘Merlin, my dear old friend’ cried the Elder. ‘I am so glad to see you. I was hoping you might be here today!’ ‘I nearly didn’t make it’ said Merlin. ‘I didn’t get the invitation until tomorrow – it had apparently got stuck in a time warp and I had already missed the party by the time it caught up with me. So then of course I had to hop back a few days to be in time, for I had something special to do and someone very special to see’. With that, he handed the Elder the most beautiful and perfect deep red rose, the tiniest of teardrops sparkling like diamonds on the edge of each perfect velvety petal.

Merlin continued : ‘This is a gift from the one who loves you most of all. It is a magic rose. It will never die, like your love for each other’. And the Elder knew it was from his beloved in the Happy Land. He smiled a secret smile as he took a deep breath to smell the sweet perfume of the magic bloom.

The floor was cleared for dancing, and the new Lord High Puddle Pixie spent the rest of the long warm night chatting happily with Merlin and all his other guests, until it was time to go home.

What a wonderful Birthday it had been!