THE PUDDLE PIXIES - CHAPTER 4 - PIXIEMERGENCY SERVICES SAVE THE DAY

Things do not always go just right for the Puddle folk, so there are some Very Important Pixies to help things along. These are the PIXIEMERGENCY SERVICES.
The Puddle Pixies came to realise how very brave and clever these pixies are, when one Wintry day, there was a nasty accident at the Puddle.
It had been a very wet and windy week, and the Puddles were very full indeed. Today, the water was quite rough and sent up great columns of foamy spray as it hit the banks, which were becoming muddier by the minute.
The puddaloes were all moored near the bank, not bobbing up and down gently as they usually did, but rising up quite high and coming down with a BANG, hitting the water heavily as they were tossed hither and thither SPLASH! as the water ebbed and flowed. It was too dangerous to launch the boats; indeed it didn’t look like there would be any sun at all today, and therefore there would be no rainbows for the Puddle Pixies to collect.
So the older Pixies sat indoors and worked, making macs and umbrellas, checking their stock of rainbow fabrics; or, if they were really desperate for something to do, catching up with their paperwork, writing with feathery pens in large brown ledgers, and checking their accounts, a job which most Puddle Pixies hated, but which of course had to be done some time.
The Puddle Pixie children stood disconsolately at the edge of the Fairpuddle, skimming stones across the dark grey water, and watching the Puddle Spiders, who seemed to be the only creatures actually enjoying the weather. They rode on the waves, surfed on blades of grass, or skated on their long legs across the surface of the angry water, huge grins of delight on their jolly faces.
The Pixie children had been told very sternly by their parents
NOT TO GO INTO THE PUDDLE TODAY ON ANY ACCOUNT
for the water was too dangerous and the banks too muddy to be safe. But they were getting bored, and began to creep closer to the edge as they played their games.
Of course, it had to happen. There’s always one, and with the Puddle Pixies, it was usually Puddle Pixie Peter – or Skeeter, as he was called by his friends. It wasn’t that Skeeter was particularly naughty, but just rather mischievous and adventurous; which would be all very well if he hadn’t also been so accident prone!
Skeeter had found a very large stone, which he planned to throw into the Puddle, and he was looking forward to seeing how far he could throw it and how large a splash it would make. He went right to the edge of the puddle, until his green wellington boots were in the water up to his ankles, ignoring his friends cries to come back to the shore. Then he threw the big stone high into the air – up and up it went – but it was so heavy that the effort of the mighty throw made him step forward a little, and instead of landing in the water, it landed in the hood of his red mac!
The shock made him stagger a few paces, until he fell splish splash into the mud. The other Puddle Pixies watched with horror. Skeeter tried to stand up, but the mud was pulling him down. The pixies tried to reach him with sticks and string, but the mud was too soft and he slowly began to sink.
Luckily Puddle Pixie Police Constable Tommy happened to be passing by on his bike, and saw what was happening. He leapt off his bike and threw it to the ground. He rushed down to the bank, pausing only to take a pixie messenger pigeon from the basket on the front of the bike, telling him to fetch help. Away he flew.
Now PPPCs do not wear macs on duty, but they do have special PPPC capes made from the darkest and strongest part of the rainbow. Of course Tommy was wearing his cape today, it being such bad weather.
He tore it off and threw it towards the struggling Skeeter, who managed to grab one end, while Tommy held on to the other.
As this was going on, they heard the sound of sirens and a bright yellow ambulance with flashing blue lights came racing along and screeched to a halt as near as it could get to the drama which was taking place. By this time, PPPC Tommy was lying face down in the mud, clinging on for dear life to one end of the cape, with the terrified Puddle Pixie Skeeter holding tightly to the other end, just able to keep his head above the quickmud.
Tommy turned his head to see who had arrived. Out of the ambulance jumped the most beautiful Puddle Pixie Paramedic Tommy had ever seen. Her silky blonde hair the colour of the pale morning sun gleamed against the grey of the sky and the darkness of the muddy water. But this Pixie Paramedic was not just a pretty face. She was in fact as bright as she was beautiful, and had summed up the situation at first glance. Over her shoulder she carried a sturdy-looking rolled up tow-rope. She clipped one end to the tow-bar on her ambulance, and the other on to the muddy PPPC’s belt. She called out :-
‘My name is Puddle Pixie Paramedic Charlene. Now both of you hold on
tight, I’ll soon have you out of there’.
With that, she jumped into the driving seat of her ambulance and slowly and carefully drove her vehicle up the muddy bank.
Of course, by this time all the Puddle Pixies had gathered to watch the rescue, and a great cheer went up from the crowd as first Tommy, then Skeeter popped out of the mud and slowly slithered up the bank to safety.
As the bedraggled pair stood up, to great applause, PPP Charlene had to chuckle. They were a sorry sight, both covered head to foot in gloopy mud. She quickly took them into the back of her ambulance and gave them a thorough check-over, until she was satisfied that they were both quite unharmed by their ordeal.
The Puddle Pixie Fire Engine had also arrived by now, but the job had been done, and so the Pixie Firefighters busied themselves hosing the muddy pixies down until they were clean enough to go home.
Skeeters Mum and Dad were Soooo relieved that their little pixie was safely home. They quickly gave him a bowl of pumpkin soup, and after a warm bath and a hot drink, he was soon sound asleep, tucked up in his own little bed.
Skeeters’ parents were very grateful indeed to Charlene and Tommy. They invited the two heroes in for a cup of hot nectar and a meal, but they both said they must get back to work. So Skeeter’s Mum said :
‘We will never forget your kindness. If there is EVER ANYTHING AT ALL we can do to repay you for saving our son, please let us know’.
Charlene loaded Tommy’s bike into the back of her ambulance, and gave him a lift home.
But the story did not end there. A few months later, there was a knock on Puddle Pixie Skeeters door. It was Puddle Pixie Paramedic Charlene. She spent a couple of hours locked away in the parlour in deep discussion with Skeeter’s Mum Audrey. After lots of whispering and several cups of dandelion tea, Charlene waved goodbye to the pixies and left the house with a mysterious smile on her face.
Two weeks later she was back again to collect a large parcel, which contained a beautiful wedding dress made especially for her by Audrey, who was the best seamstress in the village. It was made from the finest rainbow silk, and the delicate folds of material shimmered and glimmered, sparkling and twinkling with pixie stardust.
All the Puddle Pixies were invited to the wedding of Charlene and Tommy. It was a lovely Spring day, and the little field near the puddle was hung with flowers of all colours, and silver bells on rainbow ribbons tinkled from the trees to congratulate the happy couple. When dusk was falling, the last sandwich had been eaten and the merry pixie band had played their final tune, Tommy and Charlene went home to their neat little house, quite near their new friends.
Before long, Charlene had another reason to knock on Audrey’s door, but this time she came away carrying a dainty Christening robe, made of the same wonderful material Audrey had used for her wedding dress, and soon there was another party in the little field to celebrate the arrival of a sweet new baby girl for Charlene and Tommy.
And so they lived happily ever after, loving and caring for each other and their family, and helping keep all the Puddle Pixies safe and well.