As if to answer Nutmeg’s question, the little deer reached forward and began to nuzzle its soft head into her neck, then licked her cheek.
Nutmeg giggled. “Aah, sweet!”
And with that the deer turned on its hooves and galloped off into the glittering forest.
“Oh, my!” said Nutmeg to herself, suddenly noticing the darkening sky. “I must get back to the palace straight away!”
She zoomed off as fast as her tiny orange wings would carry her.
When Nutmeg pushed open the carved wooden doors of the Tree Palace, all was quiet except for the sound of distant music coming from somewhere deep within.
Realizing that everyone would be waiting for her in the Great Wood Hall, Nutmeg zoomed up the enormous carved staircase that swept from the base of the tree to the top branches. As she fluttered higher, the music became louder and louder.
Please don’t let me be too late! Nutmeg thought as she fluttered towards the hall.
But as she caught sight of her reflection in the tall golden mirror at the top of the stairs, she gasped, and her heart broke. Her magnificent flame-coloured dress was badly torn and covered in mud. Her delicate hands were covered in scratches from the sharp thorns. And her hair, which had been so glossy and smooth that morning, was now all over the place.
“Oh, no!” cried Nutmeg, desperately trying to pull her fingers through her muddy, messy hair. Her beautiful hazel eyes began to fill with tears. She took a deep breath. I must be brave, she told herself, opening her eyes and blinking back the tears that threatened to splash down her freckled cheeks.
Nutmeg took another deep breath before pushing open the heavy doors of the Great Wood Hall and fluttering inside. The doors banged shut behind her, bringing the music to a sudden stop.
The little forest fairy looked around the Great Wood Hall, which was filled with hundreds of beautifully dressed fairies in glittering outfits in every colour imaginable. The candy-tufted tree squirrels were there, as well as the bunnies and many other friends and magical creatures from all over fairyland. All the guests were facing the carved wooden stage that stood below a magnificent jewelled window at the opposite end of the hall. They were sitting in silence on golden toadstool seats, and all had turned to stare at Nutmeg.
She froze. It was so quiet in the hall Nutmeg was sure everyone would be able to hear her little fairy heart beating. She was terrified. Could she really perform her dance and recite her pledge in front of all these staring faces?
I can’t let everyone down, she thought to herself quickly. I came here to become a princess and to serve Jewel Forest.
With that, she began to flutter slowly towards the stage, down the aisle that ran through the centre of the hall. As she made her way, she tried to remember everything Madame had taught her. She started nervously, but after a few steps she lifted her chin and held her wings up proudly.
“I came here to become a princess,” she whispered to herself over and over again.
Nutmeg looked ahead of her as she walked, keeping her eyes on the beautiful colours in the window at the end of the hall. The window was made from brightly coloured crystal and shone in the afternoon sun, filling the hall with a magical light.
Nutmeg’s gaze drifted downwards until it landed on her sister Primrose and her father, the forest fairy king, who were sitting on the stage directly below.
Now that’s what I call a princess, thought Nutmeg as she looked at her sister.
Primrose was wearing a glistening daffodil-yellow gown with bright gemstones around her neck and wrists. Her glossy nut-brown hair was neatly parted and arranged in braids, framing the dazzling diamond-nut crown that sat on top of her head.
Then Nutmeg looked at her father, who was tall for a forest fairy and looked very royal in his ivy-green robes and golden holly-leaf crown. He had the same nut-brown hair as his two daughters, and large, emerald wings. Nutmeg couldn’t bear to catch his eye, looking as she did, and so bowed her head as she walked slowly up the steps and on to the stage.
The king nodded his head to signal the musicians to start playing. It was time for Nutmeg to perform her dance.
The forest fairy took her position in the centre of the stage. She felt terrified, but was determined to do her very best for Jewel Forest. With this in her heart, she began to perform the first steps of her dance. As Nutmeg twirled, her mind drifted to Crystal Creek and the small deer. She began to dance with the same determination she felt when she was untangling its legs from the sharp thorns. While she danced, she began to believe she was a princess. She became so lost in the sweet music it came as a shock when her dance came to an end and the music stopped.
Nutmeg’s heart was pounding as she opened her eyes to look around the silent hall.
She turned to her father, who, like everyone else in the hall, was staring at her. She opened her mouth to explain why she had been late, but all the confidence she’d felt during her dance fell away.
“Nutmeg,” boomed the king. “Please would you recite the princess pledge?”
Nutmeg turned round to face the gleaming creatures and fairies of Jewel Forest and began to speak.
To forest fairies and creatures who live
Among deep roots or branches high,
I swear that I will protect our home
And sing its praises to the sky.
Each little nut and towering tree,
All big and tiny creatures,
I promise that I will love our home
And all its glistening features.
With all its jewels and glitz and sparkle,
The most important part
Is knowing our forest’s beauty lies
Within our loving hearts.
Nutmeg’s voice shook a little at first, but then everything Madame Garnet had said came back to her. She began to speak from her heart, and as she did so her voice became stronger and stronger, until when she had finished everyone’s eyes were filled with tears.
“Nutmeg. Come here,” her father boomed.
Nutmeg nervously stepped forward before bowing her head.
“Nutmeg,” her father said, more gently. “In all my years as your father, and king of Jewel Forest, never have I been more proud of you.”
Nutmeg’s tousled little head shot up to look into her father’s face and check that she had heard him right.
“But Father,” she said, “I have let you down. Primrose, Madame Garnet, Esme… They worked so hard and I ruined everything.” Nutmeg held out the torn skirt of her once beautiful flame-coloured gown.
“Look at my dress,” she added. “I really did try, but I think I’ll always be scruffy little Nutmeg.”
“How can you think you let us down, Nutmeg?” said the king, “Madame Garnet told me how hard you’d worked on your dance and your pledge, and Bright Hoof ran all the way here and spoke to me before your ‘grand entrance’.”
“Bright Hoof ?” Nutmeg asked, confused.
The king’s face broke into a warm smile. “Bright Hoof told me how brave and determined you were to rescue him.”
Nutmeg turned from her smiling father and noticed a nervous face standing just behind him. It was the tiny deer she had rescued from the thorny rose bush!
“Nutmeg,” continued the king, “you will make a wonderful princess because of what you did. You acted with purpose. You followed your heart and put all selfish thoughts aside to protect a member of Jewel Forest. That is your duty. Jewel Forest is a glittering, shining place, but that’s not where its beauty comes from. The forest’s beauty lies in the kind hearts of all those that live here.”
As the king spoke, he lowered a glowing diamond-nut crown on to Nutmeg’s messy head.
“It is what’s inside the heart of a princess that makes her beautiful, Nutmeg,” said the king. “And that is why, at this moment, I can’t imagine there is a p
rincess in all of fairyland that is as beautiful as you are.”
All the fairies and creatures in the hall were clapping and cheering as they stood up to sing the forest fairy sacred song. The musicians began to play their polished instruments while shimmering golden leaves tumbled like confetti from the ceiling.
Nutmeg looked at the smiling guests. All her friends were there. There was Willa, grinning and waving, and Esme, shaking her head and smiling at the state of the dress. Nutmeg blushed and smiled back before she was distracted by another familiar face. Towards the back of the Great Wood Hall stood Madame Garnet, wearing an elegant red silk gown. She was beaming at Nutmeg, and even seemed to be wiping away a tear.
“Oh, Nutmeg!” cried Primrose, rushing to hug her sister and almost knocking off her brand new crown. “Didn’t I tell you you’d make a wonderful princess? I hope you believe me now!”
Nutmeg put up a hand to steady her crown and smiled at her excited sister.
“I know I’ll do my best,” said Nutmeg, “though I’m not sure how wonderful I will be!”
Primrose laughed as she linked arms with her funny little sister. “Well,” said Primrose as they walked out of the Great Wood Hall, “what’s the first thing you are going to do as Forest Fairy Princess Nutmeg?”
“I’m going to dance,” said Nutmeg, laughing and taking her sister’s hand to give her a twirl. “But I might change out of this dress first.”
“As long as that’s all you change. Nutmeg,” said Primrose. “Jewel Forest loves you just the way you are.”
And as Nutmeg looked at all the smiling faces in the Great Wood Hall, she knew her sister was right.
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Willa fluttered down to her tree house in the opal-oak tree. She’d been out collecting sapphire berries all morning. They’d just come into season so she was planning on making some jam. She heaved the sack off her shoulder and was about to push open her door when she saw something poking out of her walnut-shell mailbox.
“Ooh, I wasn’t expecting any post,” she said to herself. “I wonder what it is!”
As Willa pulled out the light blue envelope, she heard someone behind her.
“Hi, Willa!” called Pip in her tiny lilting voice. She stood waving in the arched door of her tree house. Pip lived in the neighbouring opal-oak tree to Willa. “Do you fancy a cup of beechnut tea? I’ve just made a pot.”
“That would be lovely – thank you, Pip. All that flying about in the forest has made me thirsty!” Willa grinned at her friend and fluttered on to the silvery branch that led to Pip’s doorway. She could open the letter while she drank her tea. Willa ducked down to get through Pip’s archway. Pip was the smallest forest fairy, and she had a tiny home to match! It was very pretty inside, with knotted beams studded with rubies, and a diamond daisy rug on the floor.
Inside, Pip poured the sparkling beechnut tea into sugar-cane cups while Willa read the elegant gold handwriting on the envelope:
She tucked her long dark hair behind her pointy ears before sliding a finger under the envelope’s flap.
“You’ve got a letter?” Pip asked as Willa began to read. “It looks important!”
Willa looked up, her big brown eyes shining below her fringe. “It is!” she cried. “It’s from my friend Topaz, who lives in Sparkle City. She’s getting married – and she’s coming back to Jewel Forest for the wedding!”
“Oh, wow,” murmured Pip. “A wedding. In Jewel Forest!”
“That’s not all,” Willa continued. “She’s asked me to be her flower girl!”
Pip fluttered towards Willa and squeezed her in a hug. “Congratulations!”
Willa frowned. “But I’ve never been a flower girl before – what do I have to do?”
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First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2014
This electronic edition published by Scholastic Ltd 2014
Text copyright © Scholastic Ltd, 2014
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eISBN 978 1407 14603 4
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