To The Fairy Kingdom

Jane on Sunday

The sun was bright and the sky was blue. It was a warm sunny day

When Jane ran outside into the backyard to play

She taught her small dog Buster to fetch, sit and stay

Then got bored, sat down, and made a little person from clay

Her hands were so dirty from the muck so she gave them a spray

With the hose, before she found the magical fairies, the fey.

A bug named Doug

Jane turned back to her mess to see a great big beetle got stuck in her mud.

“Oh no! Eek!” Jane said. “Buster, get it, squish it, it’s a bug!”

Buster the dog grabbed it with his sharp teeth to give it a tug

When a small voice said, “Please, don’t hurt him! He is not a bad bug”

“He is my best friend, and his name is Doug!”

A little fairy jumped into the mud, protecting it, and gave it a hug.

A fairy called Bloom

She was short, tiny! Smaller than Buster, smaller than a spoon!

Jane bent over and leaned in, her big voice like a loud boom,

“Those are pretty wings, but they can’t be real. Are you wearing a costume?”

“No, they are my wings. I am a fairy, my name is Bloom.”

“Since you have seen me, I do need your help!” she said. “It is well past noon

and I hurt my wings, but I need to get home soon!”

Buster the dog

“With all your mud, my Doug is stuck in a bog.”

Doug pushed off with all six legs to jump like a frog

But he was trapped and had to be rescued by the dog.

Jane helped Bloom lie flat on Doug’s back, like a log,

And they went on their way through the grass, with Doug at a jog,

But they were too small and too slow, so Jane decided to help them out of their slog.

To the Fairy Kingdom

Bloom the fairy and Doug the bug rode on Buster until some

Croaking sounds from the bushes left them stunned

“Oh no!” said Jane. “It’s a monster. Run away! Quick! Come!”

“Please don’t be scared,” said Bloom, sharing her wisdom

“It is just a toad in the bushes. He is only scary when he plays the drum!”

Jane knew toads couldn't play a drum, but didn’t tell Bloom she thought it was dumb.

Animals who speak

“Buster says he has been wanting to run around like this all week!”

Said Bloom as they raced up a hill to its peak.

“He can talk?” asked Jane, wind pushing tears down her cheek.

“Of course! Oh, I will make it so you can hear us, but you’ll be weak.”

Jane’s legs shrank and the world grew large, she was so small she could be swallowed by a bird’s beak!

Buster was huge! He flipped her up with his nose onto his back where she rode with the others toward the creek.

The water fey named Ellie

The walked by the water’s edge where Buster did carry

A tiny Jane, Bloom and Doug, not too heavy!

Something flipped out of the water toward them, bouncing off Buster’s belly,

“Oh no! Buster, it’s a horrible fish, slimy and smelly!”

Jane cried for Buster to run away but Bloom said calmly, “She is just another fairy.”

“Wait for me!” the fairy with a tail called. “My name is Ellie!”

Jane the scaredy-cat

Ellie shot out of the creek and on Buster’s head she sat.

“I’m not smelly, you know! You are a mean little brat!”

Jane didn’t know what to say. Scared, she just gave Buster a pat.

Bloom fluttered her wings. “Jane is afraid and does not know the facts!

We are not monsters to run from or bugs you can splat,

Jane, we are nice and kind like you, we promise you that!”

Thunder the archer

Bloom, Doug, Buster and Ellie all told Jane she was smarter

than letting her fears of things she didn’t understand harm her.

Jane nodded and smiled at her new friends. “I know. I’ll try harder.”

“Ouch!” said Buster and he stopped, turning to face an archer

Who hit Buster with an arrow, now standing smugly in his armour.

“Ahah! Foul beast! You are no match for me, Thunder the archer!”

Sorry and Mistakes

“No, Thunder,” shouted Ellie. “You have made a mistake!”

“Buster is our friend,” said Bloom. “He is helping me get home. My wings hurt and ache!”

The tiny man with wings rubbed his head nervously. “I was helping you escape.”

“Buster is a good dog,” said Jane proudly. “He's not a monster, he's not a snake!”

Thunder bowed. “I am sorry I thought wrong of you, the worst mistake I could make.”

He gave a cheeky smile as he joined them on Buster. “Could I say sorry with some cake?”

Sweets in the forest

Bloom, Buster, Ellie, Doug, Jane and Thunder each ate their cake for rest,

Before Buster marched on, into the dark green forest

They passed Blossom, a fairy asleep inside a flower (she was the smallest)

Then they said hello to Tinsel, a fire fairy (she was the warmest).

Jane was scared of the fiery wings but Tinsel showed her kindest

smile and wave as they went on their trip (which was the longest!)

Tinkan: The fairy city

Deep in the forest, surrounded by flowers, fairies, bugs and green, was a giant tree!

The plants and flowers glowed in bright colours Jane thought very pretty.

Up the tree Buster climbed to the highest branch, so high Jane felt dizzy.

But she held onto Buster’s collar until they got to Bloom’s cubby in the city.

The fairies were beautiful with their wings sparkling and faces happy

Until Ellie cried out in fear, pointing at a dark blue fairy, “Oh no, it’s Liddy!”

Liddy the Evil

Jane looks at the fairy standing on the branch holding a needle,

Like a sword in her hands, she scared away the little people.

“Buster, attack her!” cried Bloom. “She is mean, she is evil!”

“Wait,” said Jane, “You said we shouldn’t be scared of fairy, or toad, or beetle,”

She climbed down from Buster’s back and stood by Liddy, dark and magical.

“My name is Jane,” the girl smiled. “Are you… um, are you peaceful?”

Liddy the Lonely

Liddy pushed her hood back, looked at Jane and stretched out her wings slowly.

“Oh no!” Ellie whispered. “Jane, get back up here, we need to run, to flee!”

Liddy smiled sadly. “Of course, I won’t hurt you dear girl. If the other fairies were more friendly,

spoke to me more than feared me, then I might be less lonely.

But they run away at the first sight of me, they think I am scary.

I don’t know why they run. I might look a little different but I’m still a fairy!

A new friend

Thunder looked down sadly. “I thought you were evil? I’m always trying to defend...”

Bloom got down from Buster. “But your wings, the way they bend-”

“And your hood,” Ellie said, wiggling her tail. “It’s not a normal trend.”

Doug jumped onto the branch onto his six legs. “I am sorry, Liddy. I didn’t mean to offend.”

Buster leaned down. “You could hurt someone with that needle! Be careful of its sharp end.”

“I didn’t mean to scare any of you,” Liddy said. “That’s not what I meant!”

Goodbye

“The next time we go on an adventure," said Jane, "We will come and say hi!"

Liddy's wings fluttered with glee, and she gave a soft sigh

"Sweet girl, you showed me kindness and I am not sure why,

“But thank you all the same, because now my friends and I can fly

“To see you and your pet again, now we won’t be shy!”

Bloom promised Jane she would return to full size and said, “Safe travels, Jane, goodbye.”

Returning home

And so Buster and Jane travelled the long trip home,

Down the tree, through the forest, over the hill and by the creek they did roam,

Jane listened to Buster talk - If only she’d known!

That the animals could think and speak on their own

That they weren’t scary, evil or monsters like she had been shown

By scary bedtime stories. Now, in her backyard, she was never alone.

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Thank you for reading.

To me, children's bedtime stories are always full of magic, with just the right amount of non-sensical things happening to inspire sweet dreams. Of course, a bedtime story isn't complete without pictures, so I am both author and illustrator.

Since this is a challenge entry with a deadline, not every chapter has pictures. Excuse the quality!