THE PUDDLE PIXIES - CHAPTER 19 - THE NEW SCHOOLMISTRESS

Miss Martha-Sue had been the Puddle Pixie schoolmistress at the Fairpuddle School for over a hundred years, and she was beginning to get a bit tired, often longing for a lay-in on a cold Winter’s morning, and wishing she had more time to visit her children and grandchildren, who all lived quite far away. So, just before the long summer holiday began, she stood in front of her class and said : ‘Puddle Pixies, I have decided that the time has come for me to retire. I have been teaching you, and your parents before you, and even some of your grandparents for many many years now, and I think it would be better for you all to be taught by a much younger pixie with modern ideas and more energy to run about with you all.’

The pixie children all shouted : ‘Oh no, we don’t want you to leave; you are the best teacher in the whole world and we love you.’ And some of them even began to cry. ‘My mind is quite made up’. said Martha-Sue. ‘I shall of course be very sad to leave, for I love you all very much too, but I do need a rest and I really would like to see more of my family. So, when you return from holiday, there will be a new teacher standing here, and I hope you little Puddle Pixies will be as lovely to him or her as you have been to me. Now off you all go, and have a safe and happy holiday’.

And wiping a tear from her eye, she opened her arms wide as the children all rushed up and crowded round her. She gave each of the pixies a big hug and a kiss on the forehead, and waved goodbye to them as they left the schoolroom for the last time that term.

And so an advertisement was placed in the ‘Pixie Bugle’ as well as of course the ‘Pixie Times Educational Scroll’, which said :

TEACHER PIXIE WANTED FOR PUDDLE PIXIES STARTING NEXT
TERM. MUST BE KIND AS WELL AS CLEVER. QUALIFICATIONS
REQUIRED : PPPGCE.

During the Summer, there was a great deal of activity at the school house. First, a van arrived and a team of Painter Pixies jumped out, carrying large tins of paint and heavy looking toolbags. Before long, the schoolhouse was gleaming white both inside and out, ready for the new teacher to arrive. But who would it be? Miss Martha-Sue had gone off to stay with her family, and there had been no sign of anyone looking like they might be a teacher.

On the first day of the new school year, the Puddle Pixie children, faces all scrubbed and rainbow uniforms all neat and tidy, arrived early and stood outside the schoolhouse waiting for school to begin. At last the big silver bell on top of the roof clanged its merry clang, and the door opened. To the joy and amazement of the pupils, there stood, not one pixie teacher, but TWO – and one of them was Miss Martha-Sue. The other one was a young Puddle Pixie called Jessica Anne, who most of the children knew as Jez, Miss Martha-Sue’s eldest granddaughter.

When the children, still with big grins on their faces, were all seated at their shiny clean desks, and chatting away happily to their friends, Miss Martha-Sue stepped forward and put her fingers to her lips to call for ‘hush’. ‘Most of you already know my granddaughter Jez. She finished her Pixie Teacher’s Training Course at Pixieversity just a few months ago, and when she applied for this position, the Pixie Education Board decided she was the best pixie for the job. I know you will all get along fine.’

With that, she led Miss Jessica Anne to the front of the class, and went home to put her feet up for a well-deserved rest. The first week of term was spent in getting to know each other, and by the end of the second week, all was going smoothly. Of course, one or two of the pixies were a little naughty just to try her out, but they soon came to realise that the new teacher was more than capable of dealing with them.

One day, Miss Jez said to her class : ‘As you have all been so very good, I have arranged a treat for you tomorrow. We are going on a trip to the old Pixie Castle which we have been learning about, so please make sure you bring a packed lunch and a mac and wellies, just in case the weather is wet’.

So next day they all arrived early at school, each with their backpack, all chattering excitedly about the outing. There was a smart green charabanc parked by the gate, with a jolly pixie driver, splendid in his matching green and grey uniform. After making sure all the children were safely seated on the bus, off they went, and had so much fun singing jolly pixie songs as they bowled along merrily through the countryside, that they were quite surprised when the bus stopped, and they saw what remained of the old castle rising high in front of them.

There was a nice new Pixie Castle Education Centre near the coach park, and there were already one or two other pixie school groups looking around. The Puddle Pixies collected their worksheets and guidebooks and set off to explore. First there was a guided tour led by one of the Curator Pixies, resplendent in red and gold, with a large badge reading ‘GUIDE’ , so there could be no mistake. He led the Puddle Pixie group all round the old castle, and they listened, open-mouthed in wonder at his tales of pixie princesses, goblins and battles which had taken place in the days of long ago, when dragons still roamed the kingdom, and how the Good Wizard, the Lord Merlin, had driven all the wicked witches and the fearsome dragons away, making sure that they never again troubled the Pixie People.

At lunchtime, Miss Jez led them to a brightly coloured marquee in the grounds of the castle on the other side of the moat, where there were tables set up for the school parties to enjoy their picnics. They exchanged shy smiles and chatted with pixies from another school, who were wearing a blue and white uniform. Miss Jez was also comparing notes with their teacher, a rather handsome young Pixie. When they had all finished eating, the rubbish cleared away and their bags all packed up again, Jez led them out for a walk in the grounds, which were bright with Autumn flowers and were full of interesting trees and wildlife.

Their final visit before going home was to be a trip to the Maze. Now, a Pixie Maze is not a tidy arrangement of hedges such as you may have seen, but is a tangle of dwarf trees and twisted branches, quite dark and mysterious. But the object is the same; the idea is to find your way to the centre, where you can take a rest on the fallen tree trunks shaped into benches.

After much laughter and many false starts, the Puddle Pixies had found the centre and were now ready to go home. But here was a problem. They couldn’t find their way out, and no matter how hard they tried to find the right path that would lead them to the exit, they just kept on arriving back at the centre.

Miss Jez tried hard not to panic, but as she saw that some of the younger pixies’ bottom lips were beginning to tremble, and a few looked as if they might cry, even she looked a little worried. At length, as they arrived back in the middle of the maze for the umpteenth time, she said : ‘Right, Puddle Pixies. When I say ‘NOW’ I want you to shout ‘HELP’ as loudly as you can’.

After the third shout, Jez was beginning to get alarmed, as it would soon start to get dark, but she tried not to show her fears in case she panicked the children. Then, from the other side of a fine old oak tree, appeared the smiling face of the teacher Pixie from the Blue and White school. He was carrying a map, and within 5 minutes they were all safe and sound back in the coach park. The grateful Puddle Pixies waved him off to his own class, and Miss Jez led them back to their own charabanc, where the Pixie Driver was sitting with his feet up on the steering wheel, looking rather grumpy.

‘I am so sorry we are late’ said Miss Jez, and explained what had happened. ‘Well’
said the driver ‘I am afraid there is more bad news. There is something wrong with the coach, and it won’t start. I have sent a messenger pigeon to the garage, but I have no idea how long it will take to get a new vehicle out to you’.

The teacher pixie from the other school realised something was wrong, and came over to investigate. When he heard the story, and saw that the little pixies were yawning and wanting their Mums, he said : ‘Why don’t you all get into our bus? There is plenty of room for both classes.’ The relieved pixies were very glad to get into the other coach, and the journey was spent happily getting to know their new friends.

When they arrived at Miss Jez’s schoolhouse, they were sorry to part company, but the Pixie Schoolmaster, who had been so helpful on two occasions today, had a suggestion to make. ‘Why don’t we all stay in touch?’ he asked Jez. ‘The children are getting on so well together, and we could exchange letters and news each week, and let each other know what’s been happening around our Puddles. Maybe we could arrange more outings, and even visit during the holidays.’ He handed Miss Jez a card which read :

BLUEJERKIN SCHOOL
BROWN REED PUDDLE
Schoolmaster : Puddle Pixie Marcus Grey PPPGCE.
Jez took it shyly. She reached into her large going-out-on-trips handbag and handed him her card in turn, which read :

FAIRPUDDLE SCHOOL
FAIRPUDDLE LANE
THE FAIRPUDDLE
Schoolmistress : Puddle Pixie Jessica Anne PPPGCE.

The young pixies giggled, as they couldn’t help noticing how Miss Jezs’ cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink as they exchanged cards.

And so began a friendship between the two schools which lasts to this day.
Many happy visits were made to distant puddles, zoos and magical places, and many of the pixies became such good friends that they took turns in staying at each other’s houses during the holidays, and remained in touch all their days.

As for the two schoolteachers, they became such good friends that eventually
they fell in love. One Summer’s day there was a big happy wedding party for
them in the big green field behind Jez’s little white schoolhouse. All the children from both schools came, and proud Grandma Miss Martha-Sue led the dancing.

The happy couple moved into a pretty cottage at an equal distance between the
two schools, so that the two teachers could continue to do what they loved to do best – teaching and caring for generations of Puddle Pixies, including, in time, their very own little ones!