THE PUDDLE PIXIES - CHAPTER 2 - CHASING RAINBOWS

This particular Summer had been unusually hot and dry. At first the Puddle Pixies were happy to spend their time relaxing in the sun, wearing just their individually coloured rainbow swimsuits and sunhats and glasses, and running in and out of the Puddles all day.
But, after the first couple of weeks, they began to get rather bored and bad-tempered, for it was often too hot for them to run about and play, and the puddles were beginning to dry up. It was not long before they were too shallow to swim in, and the Puddle Pixie children had to wade out quite a long way just to be able to paddle.
Soon, the older pixies were looking worried. There was not enough water left to launch the puddaloes, although there were special punts stored in the boathouse which were kept for just such occasions, for they could be floated on a very small amount of water.
What was really worrying the pixies was that they were running out of rainbows.
Of course you know that the Puddle Pixies’ job is to collect rainbows and use the wonderful magical coloured material to make garments and umbrellas, which they sell to people who come from far and wide to buy them, or even just to gaze
at the wonderful sight of rolls and rolls of glimmering shimmering rainbow fabric packed away in the store rooms.
Unfortunately, with the weather being so dry, there was not much of a market for umbrellas, macs and wellies, at present, but there was always a demand for other garments.
The Fairy folk were especially fond of the beautiful dresses and gowns made in every combination of fabulous rainbow shades, and some had already been along to the Puddle to talk to the Puddle Pixie seamstresses and place their orders for new gowns for the Summer Ball in Fairyland. The beautiful Melanie Queen of the Fairies would soon be arriving in one of her fantastic crystal coaches to choose the material for her ball gown, as she did every year at this time. Of course, Queen Melanie’s dress always had to be the finest one at the ball!
So it was that the Pixie Elder sat gloomily in his parlour sipping cool elderflower cordial with the other pixies from the Pixie Council, discussing the situation. He said :
‘I have thought and pondered and thought again, but I just can’t find a
solution to the problem. I am afraid that, if we don’t find some rainbows very
soon, we will have to disappoint the Fairy Queen and most of the other Fairies
too.’
The Councillors sighed deeply and shook their heads. The Elder went on:
‘And on top of this, because of the drought our crops are not doing well, as
no-one is interested in buying the few umbrellas we still have in stock; there is
no money left in the kitty to buy things in from elsewhere, so we are getting very short of food and other supplies. Even the magic dust is running out; in
fact there is just one little bag left for the very direst emergencies!’
The Pixies all shook their heads sadly, finished their drinks and went off home
to have a very big think and a good rest in the shade - if they could find any!
As the steamy hot days went by, even the Pixie children began to notice how serious the situation was becoming, for there were no more treats, and just the most basic things to eat. Soon no-one had much energy left to do anything but lay down in any cool spot they could find.
One day, in the early morning before the sun got too hot, the Elder was walking by the dried-up puddle, trying to decide what to do to help the Pixies. He was just beginning to think it might be time to borrow in some magic from the Fairies or even from the King and Queen of the Pixies, but the Puddle Pixies like to be independent, and this would have to be the last resort.
He walked thoughtfully along, kicking up clouds of dust as he went. Suddenly he felt a little tickle on his cheek, and then a little voice in his ear said :
‘Elder, look down, look down!’
It was a little Puddle Spider, trying to attract the Elder’s attention.
So he looked down, and there, in the soft earth at his feet, lay a lovely white seaside birdie. He was scarcely breathing, and could hardly lift his head to look at the elderly pixie, as he gasped out in a very croaky voice :
‘Water! Water!’
The Elder took his pixie whistle out of his pocket and blew three sharp blasts. Soon, pixies came running out of all the surrounding houses to see why the Elder had sounded the alarm.
On seeing the plight of the poor bird, off they ran and soon returned, each carrying a small bottle of their precious drinking water or a little of their remaining food, which they tenderly gave to the sick creature. The water soon revived him, and after eating a little of the pixie bread, he was able to stand up.
The pixies insisted that he should not try to fly away for a couple of days, until he was back to full strength, and they found him a little cave between the rocks, where he might be able to find some shade to rest in.
Two days later, he was well enough to leave, and the Puddle Pixies were happy to watch their friend – whose name was Quill – soar up into the sky, where the sun still burned brightly.
Next day, a strange thing happened. The pixies were all laying down, hands behind heads, squinting up at the clear sky in the hope of seeing a raincloud, when a huge shadow blotted out the sun. It swirled around and the pixies could see that in fact it was a great flock of seaside birdies, led by their friend Quill. He came to rest on the Elder’s shoulder, saying :
‘I have come to repay your kindness. You gave up your precious food and water to help me, and now my family and friends want to do something for you. Do you have any magic Pixie dust left?’
The Elder went to the safe in the store room and brought out a little gold silk pouch, which he handed to Quill:
‘This is the very last of our magic pixie dust’
he said,
‘We were saving it for the direst of emergencies. I believe that time has come’
Taking the little pouch carefully in his beak, Quill swooped up and up into the air, followed by his snow-white friends. Once again, the daylight darkened as the feathery cloud passed in front of the sun.
The Puddle Pixies watching from below craned their necks and shielded their eyes against the bright sunlight, until they could see Quill and his friends no more, but just a cluster of small white dots against the clear blue sky.
On and on flew the birds; up and up until it seemed to them that the earth itself was just a speck in the universe far below them.
Quill was just beginning to hope that their search would not be in vain, when he espied the tiniest of grey clouds. Then he swooped sharply to the right, followed smartly by the other birds, who could see where he was heading and knew they must get to the cloud as quickly as possible before it blew away.
At last Quill was hovering directly above the little grey cloud. The other birds formed a circle and flew round and round him to ensure the cloud could not escape before their job was done.
Quill gently pulled one end of the gold ribbon on the pouch with his claw, and sprinkled its contents all over the little fluffy grey cloud. As the shower of sparkling magic pixie dust floated down, the birds screeched out an ancient magic pixie spell :
SHOUT THE PIXIE SPELL OUT LOUD
PUT MAGIC DUST UPON THE CLOUD
RAISE A STORM AND BRING THE RAIN
LET THE PUDDLES FLOW AGAIN!!!
The birds repeated the spell over and over again, their screeching getting louder and louder as they flew faster and faster round and round louder and louder quicker and quicker until they were spinning so fast they looked like a whirlpool in the sky and the little grey cloud grew larger and larger and blacker and blacker and larger and blacker and blacker and larger and the air was filled with noise and birds and feathers and clouds and yells and spells and suddenly CRASH! BANG! A huge clap of thunder rent the air and a blinding flash of lightning lit up the heavens!!!!
Down below by the puddles, the Elder heard something he hadn’t heard for a long time – Splish! Splash! Drip! Drop! – and he felt something strange. He put his hand up to his head and felt – a drop of rain!
Then faster and faster it came, big drops, small drops, pitter patter drip drop splish splash, faster and faster until the rain was falling like a heavenly waterfall, roaring and pouring down, filling up the puddles.
The Puddle Pixies all cheered and threw their sunhats into the air with joy. They were soon joined by all the other Puddle Pixies, who ran to the puddle to swim and paddle and throw water at each other, laughing all the while.
But best of all, as the sun, still hot and bright in the sky shone through the torrential rain to the puddles beneath, the air above the water was a mass of shining rainbows, the most beautiful ones that had ever been seen, criss-crossing the water and seeming to come from every direction, so that it looked as if there was a rainbow coloured domed roof above each puddle.
‘Quick, puddle pixies’
said the Elder.
‘Launch the puddaloes!!’
Soon the puddles were all full of pixies pedalling their puddaloes furiously and frantically as fast as they could go, and reeling into their boats as much of the wonderful rainbows as they could carry. There were so many rainbows that each boat had to make several trips before the rainbows were gone as suddenly as they had appeared.
The Puddle Pixies worked hard late into the night, sorting the rainbow silks and satins and storing them away in the store rooms, which were soon full to bursting. The seamstresses took bundles of the precious materials home with them so they could make an early start on the orders for the Summer Ball.
Most of the Puddle Pixies were too excited to sleep long, so as soon as the sun rose over the puddles (which were by now so full that water lapped over the banks and formed big patches of mud which were great fun for the puddle spiders to play in), up they got from their beds and the workshops and sewing rooms were quickly abuzz with activity.
And not a moment too soon! It was not long before a pretty pink crystal coach pulled by two black and white fairy ponies with matching plumes on their proud heads pulled up outside the Elder’s cottage.
Out stepped two beautiful fairies, their gossamer wings all a-flutter. They stood one each side of the door, and curtsied low as Melanie the Fairy Queen stepped daintily from the coach, her golden hair shining as brightly as her bejewelled crown.
The Elder bowed in greeting, and led her and her fairies to the cottage of the head seamstress, where they spent two or three hours examining the wonderful new rainbow materials and discussing the designs for their ball gowns.
They were the first of many visitors; for news of the wondrous new rainbows had soon spread, and folk came from far and wide to place their orders, or just stand and admire the beauty of the rainbow fabrics.
As the date of the Ball drew closer, the Puddle Pixies worked harder and harder, until all the gowns were finished and had been sent off or collected by their proud owners.
It was said that the Fairy Ball that year was the most splendid that had ever been, for all the rainbow dresses were so delightful that they lit the ballroom with their sheer beauty, and Queen Melanie made them all gasp with delight as she entered the room, seeming to float on a cloud of shimmering sparkling rainbows.
In fact she was so delighted with her gown that she sent the Puddle Pixies a huge sackful of magic dust as well as her usual payment for their handiwork.
By Autumn, the food store-rooms were as full as the puddles, and there was still some rainbows left to make stock to sell for the next season. All their troubles were over!
As for Quill and the other seaside birdies, they often came to visit the Puddle Pixies, who never forgot how their feathery friends had saved the day!