THE PUDDLE PIXIES - CHAPTER 14 - THE GREAT BEAR

It was a cold and frosty Winter’s evening, just before Christmas. Feathery snowflakes had been falling gently all day in New Puddlington, and the puddles were quite frozen. As the moon began to rise over the Chestnut Puddle, its reflection on the ice made the air glow with a strange silvery light, and the frost already on the fallen snow and clinging to the snowflakes made everything twinkle and sparkle in the clear air.

So, if there had been anyone out and about to see, they would have noticed the little shower of stars falling silently to earth amidst the snowy flakes. A big old fox, his dark amber fur standing out starkly against the white landscape, was the only one to witness this unusual event. He paused a moment in his weary search for food, before plodding on towards the forest where he had lived for many years, his paws leaving deep footprints in the smooth blanket of snow. If he had waited a while, he would have seen another strange sight.

A large heap of snow near the edge of the puddle began to move. Up and up it went, then shook itself, making a big white cloud which eventually settled down to reveal – A HUGE WHITE BEAR! Now, Polar Bears may be a fairly common sight in the Arctic, but never before had one been seen in New Puddlington! The bear stretched itself, and took a good look round. Seeing nobody about, he stretched his neck out over the puddle, raised a large furry paw, and broke a hole in the ice. A few moments later, out came the paw, this time holding a fish. Supper! His meal over, he yawned and settled down on the snow, for Polar Bears are used to sleeping out in the open, in places very much colder than this.

That night, it so happened that the Puddle Pixie Elder was having a little trouble getting off to sleep. It was too cold to go out for a midnight walk, as he often did – for it was during such quiet times that he often did his best thinking. Instead, he made himself a cup of sweet warm nectar, and took it back up to his room to drink in his cosy bed. He leaned back on his pillows, cradling the steaming mug in his hands, and gazed through the open curtains to look at the milli-trillions of stars twinkling and winking against the velvety background of the deep blue winter sky.

As he looked, he thought he saw some stars falling a little distance away, but it was hard to be sure because of the steadily falling snow. Sipping his nectar, it occurred to him that the sky looked a little different tonight. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he was sure something was not quite right. Still, drinking the soothing warm drink and watching the snow falling steadily and silently outside his window, it wasn’t long before his eyes closed and he was fast asleep.

Next morning, it had stopped snowing, and everything was covered in a thick cold white blanket. The sun high in the sky shed its pale golden light over the puddles. Apart from being freezing cold, it looked like a lovely day, and the Elder decided to take a walk to the woods, to begin collecting holly and mistletoe ready for Christmas. After lunch, he put on his warmest coat, his fur-lined rainbow hat and boots, and topped it off with a fur-lined mac, made specially for him as a Birthday gift from the Puddle Pixies. Pulling his old wooden sled behind him, off he went towards the Ancient Forest, whistling a merry tune as he went.

It didn’t take him very long to fill up his sled with greenery, for this year there was a great abundance of holly, its rich green leaves and bright red berries standing out clearly against the snowy white background. Mistletoe was a little harder to spot, but he soon found a very nice bunch on the old oak tree where he used to play with his friends as a boy. Adding the magical plant to the pile on his sled, he set off for home, thinking he may as well go the long way round past the Chestnut Puddle, for he hoped to find some interesting reeds and grasses to add to his collection.

As he drew nearer to the puddle, he could see that there must have been an extra heavy fall of snow there, for there was quite a pile of it near the edge of the puddle. He trudged over the mound, and as he pulled his sled across, he was astonished to find the snow shaking violently beneath him. Left right left right he went; it was all he could do to hold on and not end up flat on his face! He held on to a black boulder – which began to twitch! Then, one each side of the boulder – there appeared – a BIG BLACK EYE! One eye blinked, knocking the Elder off his feet with its long black lashes. ‘Look out’ said the Elder crossly. ‘Mind my old bones!’

‘I am so sorry’ said a deep gruff voice. ‘I didn’t see you there. I am guessing you must be a pixie’. ‘Yes, indeed I am’ replied the Elder. ‘But who on earth are you?’ ‘Well’, replied the bear, for that’s who it was, his thick white coat well hidden by the newly fallen snow. ‘I am no-one on earth. Or at least Earth is the last place I should be’. And he gazed sadly upwards, pointing to the snow-laden sky with his great paw. ‘I should be up there amongst the stars, for my name is Ursa Major. I am the Great Bear’.

The Elder sat down with a bump on the bear’s nose, slapping the side of his head with realization. He cried : ‘Of course, of course, I knew there was something wrong with the night sky yesterday. Now I know what it was – a space in the stars where the Great Bear should be! However did you get here?’

The Great Bear sniffed. ‘I really don’t know why nor how I got here. One minute I was up there shining away in the heavens with all the other constellations, the next minute there was a strange crackling and cackling sound, and a shower of stars, and I found myself sitting next to this frozen Puddle!’ The Elder scratched his beard thoughtfully. ‘Sounds like magic to me. It’s just the sort of trick the Wicked Witches like to get up to. This is a job for my old friend Merlin. The trouble is, he is a hard wizard to find’.

He took a large crystal out of his pocket, and whispered a magic rhyme:

‘MAGIC CRYSTAL SHINING BRIGHT
BRING LORD MERLIN TO YOUR LIGHT'

Nothing happened, so the Elder tried again. This time, a swirling mist appeared inside the crystal. As it cleared, Merlin’s face appeared. ‘Hello my dear old friend he said. ‘What can I do for you? It will have to be quick though, for I am busy dealing with the Wicked Witches, who are up to their old tricks again. The Angel Folk called me in yesterday to help’. So the Elder told Merlin the Great Bear’s story. The wizard nodded wisely, saying: ‘Yes my friends, It definitely sounds like the work of the Wicked Witches. Give me a moment and I will send you a magic spell that should do the job. Then I must be off before they do any more damage’.

The Elder and the Bear saw Merlin writing busily in his notebook. He tore a page off, then touched it with his magic wand. There was a flash and a bang, then a glowing sheet of paper floated down amidst a shower of snowflakes. ‘Bye for now’ said Merlin, and disappeared. The crystal became clear again.

The Elder reached down to pick up the sheet, which had landed right across the Great Bears’ eyes, rather to his annoyance! It read :

Take :
7 Red Holly Berries
7 White Mistletoe Berries
One pint of Elderflower Nectar
A large pinch of Magic Pixie Dust.
Boil all together in a cauldron for 10 minutes.
Drain, and allow to cool.
At midnight, take the Great Bear back to where you found him, and give him the potion, which only HE must drink, for it would be deadly poison to anyone else. When he has drunk it all, stand back and recite this spell:

BY GLOWING MOON & TWINKLING STARS
BY VENUS, JUPITER AND MARS
BY MERLIN'S MAGIC GREAT BEAR FLY
GO URSA MAJOR TO THE SKY!

The Elder nodded his head and said to the Great Bear : ‘Yes, I have all that at home. Now come with me’. Off they went together, back to the Elder’s cottage, where the Great Bear waited patiently in the snow outside, watched curiously by the other Puddle Pixies who lived nearby.

The Elder busied himself in his little kitchen. The berries were already on hand, and nice and fresh they were too, as they had only just been picked! And of course there was always a good supply of elderflower nectar, and the Elder kept a little magic pixie dust stored away for emergencies such as this. The kitchen filled with steam and the potion made strange bubbling and gurgling noises as it boiled merrily on the hob in the Elder’s best cauldron, until at last it was ready. The Elder put the cauldron on the windowsill to cool, and went outside to chat to the Bear while they waited for midnight to come.

At last it grew dark. The sky became inky blue and a million trillion stars winked and twinked in the frosty Winter air. Soon it was time to go. The Elder said: ‘It has been wonderful talking to you Ursa Major. You truly have some amazing tales to tell’. And off they went together, back to the place where the Great Bear had fallen to earth.

The Elder handed the Bear a pretty rainbow mug, and carefully poured in the magic potion, saying: ‘Please keep the mug to remind you of New Puddlington’. As the Great Bear drank the final drop, the Elder cleared his throat, and in his most important voice, recited the magic spell.

As the final words rang out loudly in the clear cold air, a shining silver light surrounded the Bear, and he began to rise slowly in the air, amidst a cloud of sparkling stardust. Up and up he rose, higher and higher, waving to the Elder all the while. Then he called out ‘Goodbye Elder, my friend. Look out for me. I shall be watching over you!’ With that, the twinkling cloud suddenly picked up speed and shot off like a rocket into the dark velvety sky, and the Elder could see the Great Bear no more.

He waved a last wave, then set off for home and a cup of hot nectar to warm him up. Holding a steaming mug, he looked out of his window at the starry sky, and nodded happily.

Yes, there he was. The Great Bear was home, back in his rightful place in the heavens.

The Elder went happily to bed, and had the best sleep ever!