Aunt Acacia appeared in the doorway and pulled up a chair beside Daisy’s hammock. ‘Efa told me what happened. What were you thinking?’
‘Obviously nothing sensible,’ said Daisy, feeling tears start to well in her eyes.
‘There, there, don’t cry,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘You’re not the first to make a mistake, and you won’t be the last either. How long do you have to keep your foot up for?’
‘A few days,’ Daisy sighed.
‘Well, lucky your Aunt Acacia’s here, as I know just the thing to keep you occupied,’ said Acacia, holding up some fabric and a needle.
By the time Nen got home, Daisy had forgotten about her sprained ankle. She was too busy concentrating on trying not to prick her finger.
‘Oh, Daisy,’ said Nen, leaning over to grasp her in a tearful hug. ‘What would I do if anything happened to you . . . just promise me you won’t ever do anything so foolish again.’
‘I’ll try,’ said Daisy. ‘But sometimes it’s hard to know what’s right and wrong. I might not be able to help it.’
Nen chuckled and shook her head. ‘Well, at least you’re going to try.’
Three days later, still stuck in her hammock, Daisy started to wonder if it really was possible to die from boredom.
Three mornings of studying her forest map had made her want to get back outside even more. But Aunt Acacia’s random pop-ins to check her progress kept Daisy from being too bored – with Acacia’s surprise tests to check how much she’d learned, Daisy had now memorised every single detail.
And then there were the afternoons, of sitting sideways in her hammock, her ankle propped up on a chair, practising her exercises until her wings and shoulders were exhausted. Daisy couldn’t wait for this monotonous routine to end.
This morning, Efa stopped by as usual to examine her. Daisy crossed her fingers extra hard and wished with all her might that he’d let her get up today.
‘Hmm, yes, good,’ he muttered as he gently pressed against her ankle with his fingers. ‘How does that feel?’
Hardly daring to hope, Daisy realised, ‘It hardly hurts at all.’
‘Just as I thought,’ said Efa. ‘Do you think you might be ready to get up?’
‘Am I ever,’ said Daisy. With just the slightest trepidation, she climbed out of her hammock, determined not to wince.
Efa was watching her intently. Though her ankle twinged as her foot touched the floor, Daisy gave him her brightest smile.
‘Excellent,’ said Efa. ‘Acacia is waiting in the yard. Apparently she has one more thing to teach you.’
Aunt Acacia was waiting by the back door.
‘Where are we going this time?’ Daisy asked.
Aunt Acacia smiled. ‘Nowhere,’ she said, taking Daisy by the hand and leading her into the garden. ‘For this lesson, we’ll be staying right here. Now that your wings are strong, all that’s left to learn is the ways in which they can move. Let’s start with a gentle flutter.’
Daisy pulled back her shoulders and stretched out her wings, letting them flutter gently like fabric caught in a breeze.
‘Beautiful,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘Now, let’s see the power you can put into it. Push your wings forward with all your strength. Good! Now push them back.’
Daisy did as she was told, marvelling at how strong her shoulder muscles had become, and the way her wings moved with such ease.
‘Now,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘Do the same move as before, but with only your right wing.’
Daisy thrust her right wing forward.
‘Powerful,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘But your left wing moved too. Concentrate and try again.’
Holding her left wing steady, Daisy beat her right wing strongly forward and then back. ‘I did it that time!’ Daisy was triumphant.
‘Yes, you did,’ Aunt Acacia smiled. ‘Can you do it on the other side?’
Determined, Daisy held her right wing steady and strongly beat her left.
Aunt Acacia clapped her hands. ‘Oh, Daisy, you’re ready to fly!’
Now that the moment had finally come, Daisy wondered if her courage would fail her. The memory of her fall was still fresh in her mind, the mild throbbing in her ankle a constant reminder.
‘Are you sure I’m ready?’ Daisy asked. ‘I thought I was ready before. The magic of the pollen tingled through my wings, but still I couldn’t fly.’
‘A pond may be full of water,’ said Acacia, ‘but you still need to know how to swim. The pollen only provides the magic. You provide the technique.’
From the branches of a nearby sapling, Vu chittered encouragement. His faith in her strengthened Daisy’s resolve. This time it was right and she really would fly.
‘You won’t need any more pollen now until the next moon cycle, thanks to Pea,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘And so first, think back to your map of the forest. Are there any points of danger above you?’
Daisy pictured her map in her head. ‘Not this close to home,’ she said.
‘Perfect! Then let’s begin,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘Like any form of balancing, flying takes concentration and focus. Find a point far in the distance, in the direction that you want to go. Flutter your wings gently and visualise that place moving towards you.’
Daisy stared up into the sky. A tiny white cloud floated against the blue. Focusing all her attention on it, Daisy fluttered her wings and imagined the cloud getting closer.
Ever so slowly, her feet lifted off the ground.
‘Wonderful,’ said Acacia. ‘Now, keeping your focus, and still fluttering your wings, imagine that the movement has stopped.’
Daisy did as she was told. She stopped rising but remained in the air. ‘I’m hovering,’ Daisy squealed, a smile spreading across her face.
‘And doing it beautifully,’ said Acacia. ‘Now, keeping your focus, push hard on your backstroke and see what happens.’
Daisy whooshed forwards.
Acacia clapped her hands. ‘Perfect!’ she cried. ‘Now put the power into your forward stroke.’
Daisy flew backwards.
It was amazing! And so easy, now that she knew how.
Daisy decided to try the other moves. Fluttering her right wing gently, she pushed back with her left, sending herself spinning to the right. The movement was so quick that the cloud flicked out of sight. Without her focus, Daisy tumbled to the ground, into the waiting arms of Acacia.
‘Not a bad turn for a beginner,’ she laughed. ‘You’ve got the right idea, but you need to slow down so you can gradually change your focus point. Try again.’
Daisy nodded. The cloud had gone so she focused on a high tree branch, feeling herself once more rise up off the ground. Fluttering her left wing gently, she pushed steadily back with her right, letting her gaze focus on other parts of the tree as she slowly spun to her left.
‘Acacia, I did it!’ Daisy cried.
‘You certainly did!’ said Aunt Acacia, beaming at Daisy fluttering above her. ‘I think you’re ready for your first solo flight.’
Vu zoomed up to join her, chittering that although Daisy might know how to fly now, there was no way her first solo flight was going to be alone.
Daisy laughed. ‘It won’t really be solo then, will it?’ she asked, but secretly she was glad of Vu’s company. ‘Where should we go?’
‘Not too far at first,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘How about to the waterfall and back?’
Excitement welled up inside Daisy at the thought of her first real flight. At the same time, a swarm of butterflies took flight in her belly.
‘You can do this,’ said Aunt Acacia, sensing Daisy’s nervousness.
14
Flying
Taking a deep breath, Daisy rose a little higher into the air. She focused on the path ahead and tentatively began to move forward. Her wings felt strong as they fluttered through the air, and with a little encouragement from Vu, Daisy found herself flying higher until she was almost in the canopy.
Below her, the familiar forest paths woun
d their way through the undergrowth. Daisy smiled as she realised that she may never have to scramble over rocks and leaf litter again.
A warning from Vu made Daisy look up. A giant silvery web lay across her path. Daisy swung right to avoid it, only to find herself face to face with a young pied currawong that was eyeing her from its nest and opening its beak wide.
The currawong’s beak snapped shut, narrowly missing Daisy’s right wing. Not wanting to be around when the baby bird’s mother came back, Daisy spun sideways and headed off again.
‘This is why you need the map,’ Daisy muttered to herself.
When she was far enough away from the currawong nest to feel safe, Daisy stopped, landing on a grevillea branch to catch her breath. Her heart was fluttering faster than her wings, and when Vu came to land on her shoulder he dug his claws in as though to reassure himself that Daisy was still there.
Determined not to make the same mistake again, Daisy closed her eyes and visualised her forest map, looking for a safe way to the waterfall from here.
‘Got it!’ Daisy shouted, making Vu twitch in surprise. Without hesitation, she fluttered her wings and took off into the air.
It didn’t take long to reach the waterfall. Daisy hovered over the lily pond, wondering if she should see if Ripple were there.
As if sensing her thoughts, Vu chittered that they should head back straight away so that Aunt Acacia didn’t worry.
‘You’re right, Vu,’ said Daisy. ‘Let’s go. I always wanted to see the world above the canopy. How about we fly back over the treetops?’
Vu chirped that at least they would avoid the spiderwebs that way.
‘Let’s go then,’ said Daisy.
But as they flew higher, the wind began to pick up and Daisy found it more and more difficult to keep fluttering her wings. ‘This is too hard,’ Daisy called to Vu. ‘We’ll just have one quick peek and then head back down again.’
With a great effort, she flew between the highest branches of a tall gum tree and into the blue beyond. The wind grabbed her wings, trailing them out behind her. It tossed Daisy high into the air, pushing her towards the river. Daisy panicked, unable to think what to do.
Then she heard Aunt Acacia’s voice, like a whisper in her ear. ‘Don’t let the wind control your movements.’
With all her strength, Daisy pulled her wings forward, then slowly released them back. Again she did it, slowly forward and slowly back.
The wind gusted around her but Daisy was no longer in its control. She kept her wings moving with every bit of stubbornness and energy inside her.
Staring down at the canopy below, she willed it closer. The nearer she got to the leaves, the more the wind began to drop until Daisy was flying with ease once more.
She didn’t think Aunt Acacia would have expected her first flight to be so full of excitement. But Daisy thought maybe it was just the way it should be – it had been wild and unpredictable, and Daisy had done it! She would have nothing to fear after this.
With a wild whoop of delight, Daisy swooped down through a gap in the canopy. Proud and exhilarated, she zipped around and through the leaves, racing back to Aunt Acacia.
As Daisy swooped down into her garden, she found Nen waiting for her. Daisy knew she would have been worrying. Nen called to Efa and Maggie, who came running out the back door.
Daisy’s feet had hardly touched the ground when she was smothered in a family hug.
When she finally managed to extricate herself, Daisy looked around the garden in confusion. ‘Where’s Aunt Acacia? I thought she’d be here when I got back.’
Efa and Nen shared a look, the kind they always had when there was something unpleasant to say.
‘Where is she?’ Daisy persisted.
‘Here I am,’ said Aunt Acacia, stepping through the back door, a carpet bag in each hand.
Daisy threw herself into her aunt’s arms. ‘You aren’t going yet, are you?’
‘You know me,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘I can never stay in one place for too long. I’ve loved every minute of teaching you how to fly, but you don’t need me now. It’s time to move on.’
‘I’ll miss you,’ said Daisy, hugging her aunt just a little bit tighter.
‘Of course you will,’ said Aunt Acacia. ‘I’ll miss you too.’
Pulling away, she held Daisy at arm’s length. ‘You have so much in store for you, Daisydoo. Now that you’re flying, the forest is your playground. Somewhere within it, you’ll find your Calling, and then the real adventures will begin.’
She brushed away a tear that had begun to trickle down Daisy’s cheek before stepping over to the others to say her goodbyes.
‘Do you really have to go?’ asked Maggie. ‘I feel like I’ve hardly seen you,’
‘Well, I have been very busy,’ said Acacia, pulling a green dress with an orange sash and petticoat from her carpetbag.
Maggie squealed, grabbing the dress and throwing her arms around Acacia.
‘Take care of yourself,’ said Nen, pinching her sister affectionately on the arm. ‘And send me the recipe for that damper.’
‘Not a chance,’ Acacia grinned.
With a quick hug for Efa she picked up her bags and fluttered into the air.
‘See you next Summer’s End,’ Daisy called as her aunt disappeared through the trees.
‘Are you coming, Daisy?’ asked Nen as Maggie and Efa made their way back inside.
Daisy shook her head. She reached up to where Vu sat on her shoulder and scratched him on the head. ‘Somewhere in the forest my Calling is hiding. Shall we go and find it?’
Vu buzzed his approval as Daisy took off, and they flew into the forest together.
Can you guess my favourite plant in the forest? It’s Mother Wattle, of course. She’s very beautiful, and she smells good, too!
Just like my aunt, Mother Wattle is an acacia. There are many different types of acacia. Some, like Mother Wattle, have flowers that are fluffy, yellow balls. Others have long, spiky flowers.
Most acacias flower in late winter and early spring. Mother Wattle waits for the warmer weather, to flower in late spring and summer. She’s bigger than most acacias, almost 15 metres tall. And she’s a little bit older, too – she’s lived for almost 30 years. Many other wattle trees don’t even live beyond 20!
Her leaves are bright green and are called pinnae because they are made up of pairs of tiny leaf-shaped ‘pinnules’ that grow along a central stalk. After Mother Wattle flowers she makes brittle, brown seed pods. Maggie and I collect them. We store the seeds for cooking and save the pods for later. Down at the pond we shake them in the water where they froth up into a bubble bath, to keep us fresh and clean.
Growing up in Australia, Mother Wattle knows all about bushfires. Unlike the animals and fairies, she isn’t scared of them though. Acacias are bred for bushfires, for heat makes acacia seeds grow.
She’s strong, beautiful and gives us food and soap. No wonder she’s my favourite plant in the forest.
Nelli is a ladybird. She comes from the family of beetles called coccinellidae. Her scientific name is Harmonia conformis. She’s a bit bigger than Vu, being 8mm long. And she’s much more common – ladybirds are found all over Australia.
Nelli is an orange ladybird with exactly 23 large black spots. Although she’s very pretty now, she wasn’t always like that. When she was first born, Nelli was a long, flat, black larva with two orange bands across her back. Like the way caterpillars turn into butterflies, Nelli had to become a pupae before she could change into a ladybird.
Unlike Vu, who’s a plant-eating vegetarian, Nelli is a carnivore. Her favourite foods are aphids, scale insects and mites. Aphids and scale insects are the enemy of the backyard garden. They feast on the sap of plants, sometimes killing the plants that they feed on.
So if you find a ladybird in your garden, be gentle and don’t scare it away. It’s keeping the garden beautiful in more ways than one.
My sister Maggie is a musical fairy.
Just like many birds of the forest, she was born with a sweet singing voice. After lots of practise and playing around she found that she was also very good at making music.
Fairies are very clever at creating their own instruments out of things they find in the forest. One of Maggie’s favourite bush instruments is the gum leaf.
It was a bit tricky to learn. On her first few tries she made no sound at all. Then she made a noise that sounded like a raspberry. After lots more practise she learned how to make a tune. Now she can play lots of songs on the gum leaf. Follow the steps below, keep practising and maybe one day you’ll be able to play the gum leaf as well as Maggie!
1. Find a big gum leaf that is strong, yet bendy and soft.
2. Hold the gum leaf in both your hands so that the long side is parallel to the ground.
3. Wet the middle of the top half of the gum leaf with your tongue.
4. Using the pointer and middle fingers of both hands, press the middle of the leaf against your bottom lip so that the wet part rests against your top lip.
5. Blow! If you do it right the leaf will vibrate and make a sound.
Remember, it might not work the first time you try. Keep blowing in different ways. When you create a noise that sounds like a musical note you’ll know you’ve got it right!
1
A Royal Invitation
A vast expanse of greens, browns and blues spread out below Daisy as she flew higher and higher, dodging the leaves and branches of the treetops and flying into the sapphire-blue sky beyond. She was only new to flying and she loved it!
Far off in the distance, the tall grey spires of a human city sliced the sky. Just the sight of them sent a shiver up Daisy’s spine. She turned to the small green beetle who flew by her side.
‘What do you think, Vu? Is it time for a break?’
Daisy's New Wings Page 4
