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MILLIE AND THE MAGICAL MARIGOLDS

A children’s short story by Maria McKnight

By Maria McKnightPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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Welcome to '2 Birds No Stones' Horse Hospital & Homestead

On a usual warm sunny day at 2 Birds No Stones Horse Hospital & Homestead the stable workers are all busy feeding the horses and keeping the stable clean. The mares and ponies enjoy all of the attention and care that they receive from the team as the love is shown in abundance. Sometimes one of the workers will take out his violin to play for the horses while they are recovering from a surgery, as the music gives them a feeling of peace. It is a beautiful recovery homestead located near a small lake that has three little tiny ducks that love to waddle up to the house daily to say “Hello” and receive a bite to eat after breakfast has been served.

But what none of the horses and staff know is that there is a tiny community of fairies that live nearby, hidden behind the beautiful marigolds. They love to go and check on the animals. Yet they never show themselves for worry of scaring or spooking the horses. There was one particular fairy that loved the animals the most and her name was Millie. Sometimes the other fairies would tease her but she would just laugh. “Millie you’re so silly spending all your time with ducks, chicks and horses”. Oliver, Hamish and Sophie ducks are always at the pond waiting for their friends and a fun adventure. The little ducks are used to them and allow them to take fanciful rides on their backs across the pond. The younger fairies sometimes engage in a fun water race. Millie has a true affection for animals and often spends all of her free time in their presence. She always gets in trouble with her mom because she sometimes neglects her most important chore, which is tending to the magical marigolds by watering and sprinkling fairy-grow dust on them. “Millie, you have to keep the flowers in constant bloom because we also use them as a medicinal ingredient”. Yes, Mom I know. Don’t worry I will take care of all of my chores today. She got busy immediately so she would have time to see the animals.

Well, today the horse hospital received a new arrival so Millie was instantly intrigued. Excited she thought “I wonder what kind of horse this will be and if it will like me?” The doctors brought in the prettiest little brown and white pony she had ever seen. She had silky brown flowing hair and they called her Pinto Bean. As they examined her, they determined that she was malnourished and had a respiratory infection so they immediately started her on antibiotics. They also gave her a diet of light fruits and fresh vegetables, in hopes that the delicate flavors would be attractive and she would start to eat. Yet Pinto Bean laid around for days without eating not one morsel of food. Millie decided she would go in and introduce herself while the humans weren’t watching, and try to pick up her spirits. “Hello beautiful little girl, my name is Millie and I am here to help you get better. You have to eat so you can get your strength back and be well enough to play out in the field with the other ponies”. Pinto Bean just looked at her sadly and then closed her eyes to rest. While she slept Millie began to massage her ears and stroked her hair. She had a little bit of time to hang around before returning home for dinner.

Once she arrived home, she began to share her day with her mom. “That’s such a nice thing for you to do as I know you love her already”. Millie ate her dinner with her favorite plum pudding and went straight to bed. She wanted to be up bright and early to get a head start in the marigold fields, in order to have lots of time to visit with Pinto Bean. It was already day three and she has not eaten or drank any water. The doctors were so worried about her recovery and giving her antibiotics on an empty stomach was also a concern.

As soon as the sun came up Millie got right to work, planting, tilling and watering the gardens. But on this particular day, she decided to sprinkle even more fairy dust on the marigolds. Then she picked a couple and put them into her backpack. She wanted them to be a surprise for her new pony friend, so she would have something nice to look at all day. As soon as the humans left Pinto Beans stable, she ran into the room. “Good morning my friend, I have something special for you today” and she took out the marigolds. To her surprise Pinto Bean picked up her head and took a chomp out of the flowers. “Oh, my she thought” … I don’t know if you are supposed to eat these. Chomp chomp chomp. Well then, at least you are eating something. So, she stayed until almost sun down and left for dinner. The next day she got up even earlier and picked a couple more marigolds for the Pinto Bean. To her surprise when she arrived to the stables, the pony was already eating her fruits and vegetables. The doctors were happy and surprised as well and they were wondering where she got her new found strength from. Millie knew it was the marigolds that had her feeling better and smiled with glee. Once they left, she gave her more and she ate them happily. She stayed as long as she could “I have to go but I will see you tomorrow”.

When she arrived to the stables the next day, Pinto Bean was standing up and walking around. “Whoa this is wonderful” … she really is getting stronger. Now every day she brought her an extra marigold, and before you know it Pinto Bean was out in the field with the other ponies running, bucking and playing. Millie snuck into a nearby bush to watch and Pinto Bean walked over with her big brown eyes and gave her a kiss as a thank you. She kissed her back and said “Now we are friends and family forever”. When she arrived home for dinner, she told her mom about the remarkable recovery of the horse and how the marigolds helped made her better. So now they keep a separate section of marigolds that are sprinkled with magical dust where the horses can all just go and nibble on a daily basis.

The end. We hope you enjoyed reading!

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About the Creator

Maria McKnight

In 2018, Maria McKnight founded 2 Birds No Stones, LLC, which is a play space that will offer family healing; fun, active, and creative playtime. She strongly believes in commitment to community engagement and leaving a ‘legacy’.

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