A bedtime story

Once upon a time a long time ago their lived a beautiful fairy by the name of Marigold, or Mari for short.

Mari, like most fairy's, lived in the garden. Specifically in a pear tree. It was a beautiful slender tree with fat juicy red pears at the end of summer that all of the girls and boys loved to pluck and eat and any that they left behind became feasts for the bunnies and squirrelies and wormies.

One day, just as the light began to fade and change to a dusty pink, Mari heard a strange noise.

"Aaaruumgph!"

It was unlike any noise that Mari had ever heard before and, if she was being perfectly honest with herself, it frightened her quite a bit. She wondered what it could be? Maybe she should ask someone, but all of the daytime fairies were already on their way to their bed. Perhaps it was just a frog, Mari consoled herself.

The twilight fairies were just starting to peep their heads out and flutter their wings about when the frightening noise happened again.

"Aaaaruuuummmmggggph!"

Mari yelped a tiny fairy yelp and covered herself in her wings, hiding amongst the pears and pear leaves of her safe hometree. The twilight fairy from the nightshade bush, her next door neighbor, shot Mari a frightened, quizzical look.

"What on earth was that?" Lu, or Lucianna for long, seemed to ask from her big frightened eyes. Mari shook her head, quivering from head to foot like the leaf that she was so desperately pretending to be.

"Aaaaaaruuuumgph!" the sound came again. "Aaany ooone hoooome?"

Puzzled, Mari looked down. Down at the ground, at the bottom of her pear tree, there sat an enormous toad. The largest toad that Mari had ever seen in her entire fairy life. She had the strangest thought that she should warn the toad about the creature making the scary sound when that very same scary sound suddenly emanated from aforementioned toad's throat.

"Aaaargh yoouuuu ooooooooopen?" the toad croaked.

"What?" Mari was feeling extremely confused. Open? Open for what?

"Myyygh frieeeend," the toad croaked again. "Myyyghh friieeeend neeeeeds a place tooooo staaaygh."

"Oh," Mari unfluttered her wings, remembering finally the number one rule of fairy life, always be kind and welcoming to strangers - until they double cross you of course. "Who is your friend?"

"Heeerghee," he ribbited this time, hopping aside to reveal a tiny baby bird. The baby's eyes were wide and full of tears, it's wing tucked tight to its side in funny angle.

"Oh goodness gracious me," Mari exclaimed descending from her pear tree in a flurry of wings and leaves. Lu the nightshade fairy from nextdoor descended too, carrying with her a large sturdy leaf.

"What happened little one?"

"I," the little bird started to cheep and then choked on a tear, sniffing against sadness.

"Fellellll," the toad ribbited again. Down on the ground the toad was easily twice the size of Mari and Lu and 5 times the size of the baby bird. But he's a gentle giant, Mari realized with a smile.

"Don't worry," Mari comforted the lost baby, "You can stay in my pear tree tonight."

"And I can go and look for your mama while you sleep," Lu offered generously before Mari could even ask.

"Really?" the baby's eyes brightened, hopping slightly in hope.

"Really," the fairies promised.

With a little help from Mr. Toad Mari and Lu were able to settle the baby bird safely on the big nightshade leaf and transport him up to Mari's home. If you ever get a chance to stay in a fairy's home, then take it. There is nothing quite as cozy and safe as a fairy's home.

Within minutes the baby bird was asleep and by the rising of the morning sun Lucianna had returned with the baby birds mother, who was absolutely frantic, hopping here and there and everywhere with worry. After many many thank you's and thank you's and goodbyes and thank you's again the baby bird was safely tucked on his mother's back and they were on their way home.

"Well," Lu yawned, "I'm off to bed. Have a nice day!"

As Mari watched Lu fly back to her home, the sleepless night that she'd spent guarding the precious baby in her pear tree caught up with her and she found herself saying out loud.

"I think I will too," she flitted back into her pear tree and snuggled into her her comfy bed just as the morning fairy's started to sing with the early birds. "G'night."

THE END.