The Enchanted Garden

The Enchanted Garden

By Paul McCann

 

Once upon a time, the sun came up, as it always does and along the pathway in the back garden as they sometimes do, the fairies had left footprints in the talcum powder that I had left there on the night before . So now all I had to do was to follow their tracks to where they went and claim a  wishe that they have to grant to anyone who would find where they live . So I tip toed merrily along the garden path and I was very pleased to follow their  footprints that brought me to the well at the bottom of the garden .

The sun was shining and all the flowers were leaning toward it. The birds were singing and the flowers were dancing in the morning breeze with  colours as beautiful as ever it was in the enchanted garden . It was a perfect day to be wishing and I had a lot of wishes to be made and all the time in the world to wait for that to happen   I saw the dragonflies looking for signs and spiders casting their lines around the place where I had set my fairy trap in the well where they lived .

There is nothing more inviting for a fairy than chocolate from the happy choccie-choc tree that grows around the cool fizzy whizzy soft drink stream in the green valley of soft leafy Glen in the Fairy Hills of Evermore . It was there about a week before when I went to explore and discovered a few choccie-choc_trees and took the fruit back home to my home where I made a plan to leave the bait that would capture a fairy or two near the place where they dwell as fairy folk cannot resist the smell off the fruit of the  choccie-choc tree .

Beside the well I left the bait and didn’t have long to wait until the first fairy came to grab the sweet choc cookie .  I swiftly dropped the fishing net around the fairy and said

 ,"Hi there  my names Peggy and you’ve been captured .So if you want to be set free you have to give me three of your wishes ."

 The fairy said, in a faraway accent:

"Enough of that stuff already-- I'm not giving wishes out today .“

So says I , 

“Oh I see then in that case I will have to take you inside and leave you inside the cage where my parrot lives .“

The fairy looked very worried as there’s nothing a fairy fears more than parrot in a cage.”

Ok hang on in that case I’ll make an exception and give you a wish but first I’m starving and would love some of that fruit from the choccie-choc tree if you would  have anything to spare me t?

I replied .

‘Well no , I have none to spare for all I have is a burger from the fast food joint in town “

“Oh Peggy , don’t you have any sweet chocolate treat ?"

"Peggy is my name and I want the wish that you have to give me .So maybe if you give me the wish ,  I might have a chocolate treat for you somewhere .“

The fairy replied

“I’m always  hungry for chocolate and if you promise me a treat I’ll give you what you ask for ."

I said to the wise looking pixie .  “Ok I wish for the crock of gold . ”

Just then emerging form from the undergrowth near the well came another two magical friends of the fairy in my garden. One of them said

“Did you say you had fruit from the choccie-choc tree ?”

I replied . “And who might be asking ?”

"My name is Smurch, " the pixie said and I replied .

“Well hello Smurch my name is Peggy and as you can see I have one of your kind in my keep which means you must grant me the wish I ask ”

Another little fairy ran and jumped up on my shoulder and said .

“Oh give me a whiff of that sweet fruit from the Fairy Hills of evermore ?”

So I took out somechoccie-choc fruit my pocket and  let the little fairy have a smooch for free .The fairy swallowed the treat in one gulp and his tummy boom-boomed and he started to sing ,

“Oh the fairy folk just love to eat the sweet choccie-choc fruit that is so sweet “

Suddenly from everywhere around the garden ,  other fairies emerged singing and dancing in the light of the day /

“If you take a look by the bubbling brook in Pogulones wood , I’m told , . you’ll find a crock of gold , for those who know underneath where the buttercups grow :

I replied
"So tell me fairy folk how do  I find this place and by the way, the chocolate bars are not quite ripe yet because the foil covers are still green  but here try a leaf and taste the minty cream”

The fairy folk responded

“If you take this flying horse that we will give , then you would find the brook near Pogulones wood /”

 

Suddenly a white horse with wings landed before me and whispered ,

“Here jump up on my back little human-thingo and off we will go to Pogulones wood where the wild buttercups grow .”

So I jumped up on the horses back and gave her a choccie –choc treat to eat and off we went flying into the sky .

“Mmm mm Yummidy-yum, the sweetest taste in the Universe."

Said the flying horse . I clung on to the neck of the horse who sniffed and neighed and said

"I only came for the choccie-choc treats ".\

“Let me introduce myself .

“My name is Peggy and I pick pixie pockets of their gold. “

We landed down on the ground beside a marshmalllow tree and the flying horse looked at me and said

“ Its such a beautiful day why don’t we fly away back to the well where the fairies dwell for its in there where you’ll find their crock of gold down at the very bottom “

I said ,

““What about the gold where the buttercups lie by the brook in Pogulones wood”

“Oh that’s not the real gold they want you to have for the real gold is iat the bottom of the well .. See they know that the fairies gold at the bottom of the well id the most powerful gold of all ..”

 

So we took to the sky and on we did fly to the well where the fairies dwell , Then down at the bottom of the well was found the most powerful gold of all .

I awoke on the soft grass, spellbound by a magical scene before me..

Up came a bucket from the well carrying little fairies who jumped out and sat down on the soft green grass and other fairies on horses arrived from every corner of the garden .

"I am the rainbow brownie" said a quarterling, tugging at the human sleeve
"If you would please join us, we really could use your help".
The fairy transformed a buttercup into a teacup and poured a drop of Marshmallow tea and I climbed up on the flying horse and said ,
" Sure , I'd love to help ."

"The thing is," Smurch started, while stirrring her tea, "We need somebody who isn't magic"
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All the fairies looked at me I leaned over and looked into Smurchs eyes and said  "Can you really do magic ?"
"That's the trouble," said Smurch blushing "The blue genie has trapped several of our friends already. He can spot us coming before we know what's happened".

Smurch remembered his manners and offered the tea pot.

‘Here drink a cup of this magic stuff and you’ll be like us but not one of us ,“

And sure enough I drank some of that stuff and I became like a fairysitting in their midst .

“So Peggy its you who can rescue our friends from the blue genies flame at the end of the rainbow”

I completely forgot all about the crock of gold and wanted to help rescue the fairies from the blue genie .

“So tell me Smurch , what can I do to rescue your friends?”

All you have to do is be you and bring the blue genie a cup of marshmallow tea and a cooccie-choc treat and remember to say these words , one two three a wee cup of tea , four five six , a choccie-choc stick , seven eight nine , its your sleepy time and let us do the rest “

So off I went on the flying horse to the end of the rainbow . Suddenly the blue genie came sliding down the edge of the rainbow and asked

‘So tell me , you with no magic , who are you and what do you want  “

‘My name is Peggy and I’ve brought you some marshmallow tea and choccie-choc treats . Would you like to share some time me.”

The blue genie sat down with me at the end of the rainbow where we had a tea party and I said the words that were given  to me .

“One two three a wee cup of tea , four five six , a choccie-choc stick , seven eight nine , its your sleepy time “

 

The blue genie fell into a deep sleep and suddenly the fairy folk appeared from nowhere and took the lamp from the genie’s pocket and rubbed it with a magic cloth and out of the spout popped several little fairies singing and dancing  :

“Hip Hip Hooray , at last we’re free from the lamp of the blue genie”

In an instant we were transported by a sunbeam to the bottom of the well in the enchanted garden .

“A great job “ said Smurch who lifted up his arms and a crock of gold came floating through the air and landed at my feet /

Smurch continued ,” Thank you ever so much and for you a rich reward Peggy . A crock of the finest gold with our blessing .“

I took the crock of gold and was lifted out of the well in a bucket by my Mother qho said .

“Peggy didn’t I tell before not to go down in the well .“

“Yes but look what I have found Mother”

When she saw the crock of gold, she was almost delirious with joy . From that day on we lived happily ever after in the enchanted garden .

 

The End

By Paul McCann

 

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