by Lara Bergen
Copyright © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.
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ISBN 978-1-4231-5926-1
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Table of Contents
All About Fairies
1
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10
IF YOU HEAD toward the second star on your right and fly straight on till morning, you’ll come to Never Land, a magical island where mermaids play and children never grow up.
When you arrive, you might hear something like the tinkling of little bells. Follow that sound and you’ll find Pixie Hollow, the secret heart of Never Land.
A great old maple tree grows in Pixie Hollow, and in it live hundreds of fairies and sparrow men. Some of them can do water magic, others can fly like the wind, and still others can speak to animals. You see, Pixie Hollow is the Never fairies’ kingdom, and each fairy who lives there has a special, extraordinary talent.
Not far from the Home Tree, nestled in the branches of a hawthorn, is Mother Dove, the most magical creature of all. She sits on her egg, watching over the fairies, who in turn watch over her. For as long as Mother Dove’s egg stays well and whole, no one in Never Land will ever grow old.
Once, Mother Dove’s egg was broken. But we are not telling the story of the egg here. Now it is time for Bess’ tale.…
“JUST A SMIDGE more yellow—that’s it!”
Bess fluttered back from her latest painting to get a better look. Her studio was, as usual, a mess. Open tubes of paint lay on her table, and the cloths she used to wipe her hands were stained with dozens of yellow fingerprints. But Bess didn’t see any of that. While she was hard at work on a painting, she had eyes for nothing else.
This particular painting was very special to Bess, who was Pixie Hollow’s busiest art-talent fairy. Although she often painted portraits or still lifes, she liked to experiment. Other fairies didn’t always understand her more abstract paintings. But Bess loved the freedom of expressing herself this way.
Slowly Bess turned upside down in midair. Her brown hair dangled upon her palette. A few strands fell into the paint, but Bess didn’t notice.
She was deep in thought when she was startled by a voice.
“Bess!” Lily, a garden-talent fairy, appeared at the door of Bess’ tangerinecrate studio. “Did you hear?”
Bess, embarrassed to have been caught behaving oddly, quickly fluttered right-side-up again. Too late, she glimpsed at the yellow paint in her hair and quickly brushed it away from her face.
Lily didn’t seem to have noticed.
“Big news,” she said. “A laugh is coming. You know what that means!”
“An arrival!” Bess clapped her hands. “How exciting!”
Every time a baby laughed for the first time, the laugh floated straight to Never Land. There, the laugh turned into a brand-new fairy or a sparrow man. Each arrival was cause for celebration. New arrivals meant new friends. They also meant a friendly kind of contest between all the different talent groups of fairies. Each talent group always wanted another member. The light-talent fairies needed help catching sunbeams, and the mining talent fairies needed help digging. The cooking-talent fairies always hoped for someone else to bake muffins, and the water-talent fairies were eager to teach their best charms.
Naturally, Bess hoped the new fairy would be an art-talent fairy. She hurriedly wiped her hands and went to join Lily. She left her mess behind her. But who could worry about that? An arrival was coming!
At the lagoon, a crowd had gathered. Fairies and sparrow men laughed and hugged one another. It felt almost like a party.
Lily and Bess landed in the middle of the group. Leo, an art-talent sparrow man whose specialty was painting murals, waved to them. “Do you think we’ll get a new art-talent fairy this time?” he asked Bess. “We haven’t had anyone in ages. It’s our turn!”
“I wouldn’t mind having somebody else to enjoy the gardens with,” Lily said.
“The island’s magic knows best,” Bess said firmly.
“Look!” cried light-talent fairy Fira, blazing brightly as she darted above the others. “Here it comes!”
A tiny shimmer of light flickered overhead. Bess felt the air shiver with anticipation. The laugh fluttered downward, shifting from blue to pink to purple. It burst open to reveal a flash of sparkles—and a brand-new fairy!
She blinked several times, as if in surprise. The new fairy was very tiny, and she had thick, messy, curly hair in the brightest shade of red Bess had ever seen.
At this point, most new arrivals stepped forward and introduced themselves. But the new fairy did not. Instead she stood where she had landed, twirling a lock of red hair around her fingers.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Fira, who had taken care of new fairies before, asked kindly, “Can you tell us who you are?”
‘I—I think I can.” The new fairy scratched the side of her head. Then the answer came to her. “My name is Scarlett!”
Fira smiled in encouragement. “Welcome to Pixie Hollow, Scarlett.”
“It’s good to be home!” Scarlett paused. “This is my new home, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is,” said Fira as she took Scarlett’s hand.
Bess, along with all the others, murmured their encouragement. Apparently the trip to Never Land had confused Scarlett a bit! But that was all right. Lots of fairies weren’t sure how to behave at first.
Fira said, “Tell us, Scarlett—what is your talent?”
All the fairies and sparrow men leaned closer, eager to hear the answer.
“I’m an art-talent fairy,” Scarlett said.
All the art-talent fairies cheered, and Bess hurried forward with the others to greet her. “How wonderful!” said Quill, an art-talent fairy who worked as a sculptor. “We’re so glad you’re one of us.”
“Pixie Hollow is a wonderful place to create art,” Leo explained. “I work on murals of the landscape. Bess here paints all kinds of beautiful pictures. Quill carves amazing statues. Whatever you want to do here, you’ll find all the help you need.”
Bess asked, “So what is it that you do, Scarlett? Are you a painter, like me? What kind of art will you create?”
Scarlett thought for a moment before she shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Bess and Quill looked at each other, confused. How could Scarlett not know what kind of art-talent she had? Most fairies knew precisely what their specialties were from the moment they first arrived.
“What’s the matter?” Scarlett asked innocently. She began picking up twigs from the ground and twirling them into her hair. The twigs stuck out in every direction. “Is something wrong?”
“Of course not,” Bess said, but she didn’t quite mean it. Scarlett didn’t know her specialty, and she seemed to behave oddly.
There was no other way to say it: The new fairy was weird.
“HOW CAN SCARLETT not know what sort of art she’s interested in?” Quill whispered. She and Bess were huddled with the other art-talent fairies at the edge of the lagoon. Scarlett, still wearing her arrival garment, kept picking up seashells and trying them on as hats.
Bess’ glow blushed pink with embarrassment for Scar
lett. Of course, Scarlett didn’t seem ashamed of her odd behavior.
Scarlett seemed even stranger because she didn’t know her own artistic specialty. Most fairies knew as soon as they arrived. Bess had emerged already eager to hold a paintbrush for the first time. She remembered when Jax, a glass-blowing-talent sparrow man, first arrived in Pixie Hollow. He had asked to be taken to the glassworks even before he had told anyone his name!
At last Scarlett noticed that everyone was watching her. “Am I doing something wrong?” she asked cheerfully. A pink shell slipped from her head into the sand.
“Of course not,” Leo said. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s simply that—that—” Bess knew he wanted to ask about Scarlett’s funny behavior, but instead he stuck to what was simpler. “You see, most of us arrive knowing what kind of art we like.”
“Not everybody!” said Jolie, a papiermache-talent fairy. “I didn’t figure it out for almost five whole minutes. So you just wait. The answer will come to you.”
“I bet you figure out your specialty once you get your magic,” Bess said. “Terence, come and help us!”
“On my way!” cried Terence, a dust-talent sparrow man. It was Terence’s job to scatter pixie dust, which gave fairies their magic and allowed them to fly.
Terence flew over Scarlett and scattered a teacup of shimmering pixie dust over her. Scarlett held out her hands and twirled in the sparkling powder.
“There you go,” Bess said as Scarlett flapped her wings for the first time. “Now you can fly!”
“Oh, this is wonderful!” Scarlett cried as she rose into the air. She rose up, up, up—
CRASH!
She smacked her head into a tree branch.
“Ow!” yelped all the fairies. Scarlett hovered unevenly. Terence quickly went to her side and steadied her as they lowered to the ground.
“Are you all right?” Terence asked.
He looked at Scarlett and frowned. “I think you got some twigs in your hair when you hit the tree.”
“Oh, no, I put them there! I thought they would keep my curls out of my face,” Scarlett said. She re-twisted the knot of hair at the back of her head. “It’s comfortable, too. How does it look?”
“It’s—um—” Bess struggled to find the right words. “Well, it’s very original!”
Quill whispered, “We’ve got to get her to the coiffure-talent fairies!”
Scarlett finished doing up her hair with a smile. “What do we do next?”
The other fairies and sparrow men all glanced at each other. Usually, new art-talent fairies wanted to start creating art right away.
But Scarlett still didn’t know what kind of art she would create. She was the only art-talent fairy who had ever gone so long without knowing.
That meant nobody really knew what to do with her.
“I know,” Bess said. “Let’s take a look at your new room in the Home Tree. The decoration-talent fairies should have it ready by now.”
“A room all for me?” Scarlett brightened. “I’d love to see it!”
Cheered, everyone zipped into the air and flew with Scarlett over Pixie Hollow. As they went, the fairies pointed out different places she needed to recognize: the lagoon, the mines, Lily’s garden.
The art-talent fairies all lived in the same area of the Home Tree, and there was a branch they usually landed upon. Everyone descended gracefully—except Scarlett. She wobbled a little, unsure of her balance.
“Don’t worry!” she called, pinwheeling her arms around. “I’ve got it!” Somehow Scarlett managed not to fall.
When they arrived, they discovered the decorating-talent fairies had outdone themselves. The walls were robin’s-egg blue, and her silver, oval-shaped bed was piled high with soft pillows.
“It’s so beautiful.” Scarlett said as she stroked the milky white drapes. “This is really all for me?”
Bess nodded. She, along with Jolie and Quill, were touring the room too. “Usually the decorating-talent fairies put something on the walls, but not for us. They know that we’ll create our own art soon enough. And we always like our own work best.”
“Even if nobody else does!” joked Quill. They all laughed.
“And these clothes?” Scarlett threw open the closet door. “They’re all for me?”
“The sewing-talent fairies are truly wonderful,” Jolie said. Happily, she smoothed the skirt of her lilac-colored dress. “Which reminds me—are those new leggings, Quill? They’re very nice!”
“Thank you,” Quill said with a smile.
Nobody said anything about Bess’ clothes, which were smudged with paint. Bess edged behind the footboard of Scarlett’s bed, hoping the others wouldn’t notice.
They didn’t—because they were looking at Scarlett.
Scarlett had discarded her arrival garment and slipped on a bright turquoise skirt—but she was wearing it as a shirt. The hem didn’t quite reach her knees. Now she had a long green stocking on one leg and was putting a blue-and-white striped stocking on the other.
“You know, Scarlett, those socks don’t quite match, Bess pointed out.”
“Who wants to wear only one color when you can wear them all at once?” Scarlett grinned, proud of her strange outfit.
None of the others knew quite what to say. Quickly, Jolie clasped her hands together. “So, Scarlett, have you realized your special talent yet?”
Scarlett shook her head. “You’ll help me think of it, right?”
Bess put one hand on Scarlett’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out together,” she said. “You’ll see!”
EVERY EVENING, THE residents of Pixie Hollow gathered together for dinner. The cooking-talent fairies prided themselves on creating delicious meals even for ordinary days. However, when they had heard about the new arrival, they’d made the night’s meal even more special. The long tables for each talent group were decorated with wreaths of soft clover. Acorn soup simmered in pots, and huckleberry tarts waited beside every plate. As Bess and Scarlett flew into the dining room, Bess’ mouth began to water.
“This feeling in my tummy—” Scarlett put her hands on her belly. One of the twigs behind her ear stuck out at an odd angle. “Does this mean—am I—hungry?”
Bess swiftly explained, “Yes, you’re hungry. It’s dinner time. This is where we all eat together, see?” She realized people must be staring at Scarlett’s odd outfit.
“This room is amazing.” Scarlett pointed upward. “See how the ceiling curves? That catches the light and makes everything seem taller.”
Bess raised an eyebrow, surprised and impressed. Only an art-talent fairy would notice that kind of detail about the dining room.
Bess wanted to sit down to her meal like everyone else. Her belly was rumbling with hunger already. But Scarlett didn’t budge. She kept turning around in a circle, admiring the dining hall.
“Scarlett? Don’t you want to eat?” Bess asked.
“Oh, that’s right—I’m hungry!” Scarlett smiled brightly at Bess, who couldn’t help smiling back.
They headed toward the art-talent group table. Already the serving-talent fairies had begun flying to each place, pouring elderberry juice from pitchers. In fact, Scoop, one of the serving-talent sparrow men, was headed their way. Scarlett, who wasn’t looking where she was going, fluttered into Scoop’s path.
“Watch out!” Bess cried. But she was too late to keep them from colliding.
Both Scarlett and Scoop tumbled to the floor. Elderberry juice splashed everywhere. Scoop scowled as he rubbed his sore head, and Scarlett lay sprawled on the floor. Juice dripped from her hair and wings. “I’d fly backward if I could!” she said to Scoop. That was what fairies said instead of, “I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right,” Scoop replied, though he looked a little grumpy. “We have plenty more juice in the kitchens.”
Bess picked up the pitcher. “See, this didn’t break. It’s fine.”
A few fairies giggled, but more helped dry Scoo
p and Scarlett. Soon everyone began eating and chatting again. “That’s a relief,” Bess said. “Nobody’s staring anymore!”
“Were they staring?” Scarlett didn’t even seem to mind the juice stain on her outfit. “I didn’t notice.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Bess said.
But, she couldn’t help thinking that maybe it was time to worry about Scarlett a little bit.
Scarlett was klutzy. She wore weird clothes and had an even weirder hairstyle. The others were sure to laugh at her. Wouldn’t they laugh even harder when the realized Scarlett still didn’t know her specialty?
The only fairy who had ever taken so long to realize her unique skill was Prilla, who could appear to Clumsy children so that they believed in fairies. Prilla’s talent was one-of-a-kind, which was why nobody had known. Art talent isn’t like that. Scarlett really should know her specialty by now.
Once they finally began eating with the others, Bess relaxed. Peculiar as Scarlett was, she was definitely friendly —and smart, too.
For instance, as Scarlett listened avidly, Leo described his latest work in progress, a mural of the seashore. Then she said, “How fascinating. You must have trouble with the water, though—it’s so much blue. Does it overwhelm the rest of the painting?”
“Sometimes,” Leo admitted. “I’ve varied the shades, from baby blue to indigo, and that helps. But I keep thinking it needs something more.”
Scarlett tilted her head to one side as she considered it. One of the twigs slipped loose from her hair and clattered to the floor, but Scarlett didn’t seem to notice. “Have you considered painting a windy day, instead of a calm one?”
Leo snapped his fingers. “Of course! If the sea is choppy, then the waves will be white with foam. That will make the whole mural more interesting. Great idea, Scarlett!”
The other art-talent fairies grinned. Nobody even made a face when Scarlett picked up the fallen twig and twisted it back into her hair. She definitely had the instincts of an artist, that was certain.
