Fairy Story&;#063;

Sara had been very good that day so Uncle Mike promised to tell her
a story once she had settled down in bed. She did, and he did, and here
it is :

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One night, many years ago, on the eve of Midsummer's Day, I felt like
going for a stroll through the countryside in the clear, bright,
moonlight. It was a beautiful, still, Summer night, warm and with sweet
scented air.

I walked steadily, toward a stream I liked that meandered, lazily,
through a small wood before gathering energy to flow more purposefully
through the adjoining fields. I entered the wood and walked slowly
beside the stream for a while, watching the reflection of the moon in
the water. I thought I heard a faint singing in the distance and
strained my senses to try and find out where the sound was coming
from.

Somewhere toward the centre of the wood, up, away from the stream, was
a clearing which had short, springy grass and the sound seemed to be
coming from there. I headed toward the clearing being as careful and
quiet as I could. In the centre of the clearing was a mushroom ring and
the sound seemed to be coming from there - but it was faint and there
was no sign of any creature. As I approached the ring the sound stopped
but there was still no sign of anyone, or anything, that might have
been the source of the sound.

I decided to sit down for a while in the centre of the mushroom ring
and rest before returning home. I sat there in the moonlight, drinking
in the warm, fragrant, night air and feeling the grass growing beneath
me. After a while I was so relaxed that my I was almost asleep with my
eyes open when suddenly I heard a strange sobbing sound. I was
immediately wide awake! A small cloud was passing over the face of the
moon and it took me a moment to adjust. I was shocked to find that a
tiny winged figure was sat, crying, on one of the spotted mushrooms. I
couldn't believe me eyes and, for a moment, I expected the figure to
turn into a dragonfly - but dragonfly's don't cry!

It was a fairy. A tiny, winged female less than six inches small. I sat
motionless, trying not to breathe in case she heard me, staring in
amazement at the tiny creature perched on the toadstool. Perhaps I had
moved inadvertently with the shock of seeing her, perhaps she became
aware of me because I was aware of her, maybe she had stopped feeling
so sad and suddenly realised she was not alone...

She shot several inches into the air in alarm and then just as suddenly
fell back onto the mushroom, fell off and rolled onto the grass. She
stood up and even though the grass was only about an inch long it
almost reached her knees. I thought at first that she was just too
plain sad to try and make her escape into the longer grass outside the
mushroom ring but then I realised why she has collapsed back onto the
mushroom after shooting into the air. She had a tail! It made her walk
awkwardly and caught on her wings when she tried to fly.

I think she must have realised that I was not a threat for she made her
way back to her seat on the same mushroom she has started from. We sat
staring at each other in silence for a few minutes and then she started
sobbing again. I felt a wave of sympathy wash over me and almost
started crying myself.
She was a beautiful creature with long dark hair down below her tail.
She must have sensed my sympathy, or, perhaps her sadness was to great
to bear for she bowed her head and somehow seemed to sob in silence. I
found that tears were also running down my cheeks and dripping onto my
T-shirt and so we sat lost in melancholy.

Eventually she stopped shaking, dried her eyes, despair giving way to
sadness. When she finally spoke it was with a soft, tinkling, voice
that did not betray her grief. I cannot tell you all she said but I
will tell you all you need to know.

She was a fairy princess who had been cursed by a powerful sorcerer
because she would not do his bidding. In an attempt to force her to
accept him as her master he had given her a tail that made her walk
clumsily, prevented her from flying properly, and made her feel
freakish and ugly.
She had learned to live with it as best she could - she was of royal
blood and had a strong spirit - but tonight was the night of the Grand
Mid-Summer's Eve Ball. Of course she could attend, must attend, but she
could not feel beautiful in her ball gown and worst of all - she could
not dance!

This was to be a very special night for at midnight the Ball would
begin and everyone would dance in the moonlight until Venus rose in the
East to herald the dawn. This year it was the princess's 21st year and
it was time for her mother to retire and for the princess to be crowned
Queen Of The Fairies.

It seemed that on this special night the Princess could grant a single
wish to any mortal. The sorcerer was evil and very old. He knew of the
wish and had cursed the Princess with the tail - which he would only
remove if she would promise to grant his wish to become immortal. The
evil magician had great power and used it to force many of the fairies
to do his bidding but the Princess had borne her curse with dignity
until that night - the night of her succession. She was very sad but
very determined - she would not grant the sorcerer his wish. He would
die soon and the fairies would be free of his evil influence.

I asked if she could not grant the wish to me so that I could wish away
the tail but it seemed that only the sorcerer could remove the tail and
he would only do so if he got his wish to live forever. He had arranged
to meet her, here in the mortal world, before the ball began to give
her one last chance to change her mind. If she refused she would be
stuck with the tail forever. I had an idea.

We were still talking when a weasel sneaked into the clearing and crept
up on us without our noticing. It was the evil sorcerer who had changed
his form into a weasel to try and frighten the Princess. He was not
pleased that I was present but he was very surprised and pleased when
the Princess agreed to grant his wish.

Since everybody knows that Fairy Princesses always keep their word the
magician muttered a strange incantation and the tail fell off.
Delighted, the Princess literally jumped for joy, but this time landed
gracefully atop the mushroom. She had promised the wizard that he would
live for ever and never grow old and she kept her promise. She made the
wish and he turned into a baby, a baby that would stay forever young. A
baby with the mind of a baby that would never grow up. She would take
back to the Fairy World where the fairies would take care of him.
We talked for a while before she left. She was very happy now and
really looking forward to the dance. She told me that she had heard
that mortals were selfish and self seeking but now she knew that wasn't
true - at least not for all mortals. She promised me that I would
always be lucky because I had helped her. Soon it was time for her to
leave to prepare for the ball. I stayed in the clearing for a few
minutes after she'd gone and then I wandered home.

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"Was that a Fairy Tale, Uncle Mike?" asked Sara sleepily.

"If you mean was it true? Of course it was." said Mike.

"Have you always been lucky?" she asked.

"I've got you for a niece haven't I!" he smiled.
Then talking something from his wallet he said -
"Now that's a Fairy Tail!"