When all the fairies were present, Queen Ree took her place before the crowd.
“Fairies of Never Land,” she declared in her clear and noble voice, “there has never been such a disgraceful day in the fairy kingdom.”
“It’s that plant!” someone called out.
“The plant! The plant is the cause of the trouble!” more fairies chimed in.
The queen held up a hand to quiet them. “Is the plant the trouble?” she asked evenly. “Or is it the fairies? I wonder. Can you blame a single plant for the unkindness fairies have shown each other this afternoon? If you can prove that to me, we will remove the plant.”
The fairies began to murmur. Again, the queen silenced them with her hand. “Every fairy will have a chance to speak. Who will go first?”
“The plant belongs to Lily!” Tinker Bell called out.
Other fairies echoed her. “Yes, it’s Lily’s. Let her speak first!”
Lily found herself being pushed to the front of the crowd. She had never felt so many fairy eyes on her before, and her heart raced. She took a deep breath.
“Yes, it’s true,” she said. “I planted the seed in my garden, and I took care of it.”
“What kind of plant is it?” Queen Ree asked.
Lily shook her head. “I don’t know. I found the seed in the forest. I’d never seen one before. But I think it’s a good plant—”
Again, some fairies began to grumble.
“She doesn’t even know what it is!”
“Good? It isn’t good for anything!”
The queen waited until the crowd quieted down. Then she asked, “Lily, do you think the plant is the cause of all the trouble in Pixie Hollow?”
Before Lily could answer, a voice suddenly shouted, “Wait!”
Everyone turned to look as a breathless Iris flew into the courtyard. She was carrying a yellow object the size and shape of a lemon.
“Wait! Wait!” Iris cried again. She landed on the ground in front of the crowd of fairies. “Everyone, look! The plant grew fruit.”
All the other fairies crowded around to see the strange fruit.
Only Lily stayed where she was. She buried her face in her hands. The secret was out. Now there was no chance of saving the plant.
“What is it?” the fairies murmured. Lily sneaked a look at the fruit. The bumpy, ugly skin was gone. Now it had a pearly sheen that almost seemed to glow. Curious, some fairies reached out to touch it.
“Careful!” someone cried. “It might be poisonous!” At once, the crowd drew back.
“It’s not poisonous,” Iris said. “And what’s more, I know what it is.”
Everyone, including Lily, looked at her in surprise.
“Well,” said the queen, “what is it?”
Iris smiled mysteriously. “Come with me,” she said.
With Iris leading the way, all the fairies of Pixie Hollow set out for Lily’s garden. Soon they saw the strange plant.
Several fairies gasped in surprise. The plant’s branches were heavy with clusters of round, golden fruit.
Iris turned to one of the light-talent fairies. “Fira,” she said, “will you and your fairies give us some light?”
Fira and the other light-talent fairies brightened their glows. They surrounded the plant, covering it with their light.
“Ah!” the crowd of fairies sighed. The golden fruit glowed in the light. The plant looked very beautiful.
“Now watch,” said Iris. She flew up and grasped one of the fruits. Using all her might, she gave it a tug. The fruit came away in her arms.
Immediately, another fruit grew in place of the one she had just plucked.
Lily’s hand flew to her mouth. The fairies around her gasped. Even the queen looked stunned.
“What is it?” she asked again.
“I’ll show you,” Iris replied. She set the fruit on the ground and opened her book. She held up a page. On it was a drawing of a tree. Its drooping branches were full of round, glowing fruit. The drawing was labeled “Ever Tree” in Iris’s handwriting.
“It flowers only once, then grows fruit forever and ever. That’s why it’s called an Ever tree,” Iris explained.
“Can you eat the fruit?” the queen asked.
Iris asked Tink for her dagger. She split open the skin of the fruit she’d picked.
Inside were golden pips, not unlike the red ones of a pomegranate. Iris plucked a pip out and popped it in her mouth. “Yes,” she said as honey-colored juice dribbled down her chin. “It’s delicious.”
Several fairies reached for the pips. Iris handed one to Lily. When she bit into it, it tasted like ice-cold lemonade on a hot day. Satisfying and perfect.
“But how did you know what it was?” Lily asked Iris.
“I heard about the Ever tree a long time ago,” Iris explained. “So long ago that I’d almost forgotten about it. Of course, I drew the picture as it was described to me and wrote down everything I heard.
“Many, many years ago, before there were any fairies here, Ever trees grew all over Never Land. Then the volcano on Torth Mountain erupted and all the trees burned. Every last one.
“There was only one Ever seed known to be left,” Iris went on. “But the dragon Kyto selfishly hoarded it in his collection of rare treasures.”
At the mention of Kyto, several fairies shuddered and looked toward Torth Mountain, home of the dragon’s prison lair. Kyto was wicked through and through.
“But how did the seed get here?” Tinker Bell asked.
Iris shrugged. “I guess it blew out of his lair. If Lily hadn’t found it and planted it so carefully, Never Land might never have seen another Ever tree. Ever trees are very fragile, you know. They need lots of care.”
Everyone turned to look at Lily.
She ducked her head shyly. “Iris helped,” she said simply.
Several more fairies had clustered around the fruit and were gobbling its pips.
“I could make a delicious tart out of this juice,” said Dulcie.
“This fruit would make excellent jam,” said Pell. Pluck nodded.
Even Vidia was eating the Ever fruit, though she quickly hid it behind her back when Lily looked her way. But a moment later, she shrugged and pulled it out again. “It’s good,” she said grudgingly, and went back to eating.
More fairies began to pull fruit from the plant’s branches. Suddenly, Queen Ree cried, “Stop!”
The fairies froze. They looked at the queen, startled.
“This plant belongs to Lily,” said the queen. “It’s up to her whether she wants to share it.”
All the fairies turned to Lily.
Lily looked around at them and grinned. “Of course I want to share,” she said. “Everyone is welcome.”
The fairies cheered. And they spent the rest of the night eating Ever fruit and dancing beneath the plant’s branches.
LILY LAY ON a soft patch of moss in the corner of her garden. All day long her garden had bustled with activity as fairies dropped by to pick fruit from the Ever tree. The cooking-talent fairies needed several of the fruits to make a special dessert. The healing-talent fairies wanted to see if the fruit could be used to treat illnesses. And hungry fairies from all the talents came by to get a snack.
Lily loved having all the visitors. But now she was tired. She wanted nothing more than to relax on the moss and watch the grass grow.
She had just spotted a blade of grass that needed her attention when a shrill voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Goodness, what a day!”
Lily closed her eyes and sighed. Then she sat up and said, “Hello, Iris.”
Iris plopped down beside Lily on the moss. “What a day I’ve had!” she declared. “I’ve been around to five different gardens today. All the garden fairies want me to write about their gardens. I’ve had to add more pages to my book.”
She held up her book, which was fatter than ever.
“And the other fairies! Every little seed they find, t
hey bring to me. They think it’s another Ever tree. Of course, they’re all just ordinary flower seeds.
“But don’t worry, Lily,” Iris went on, “I made sure to save time for you. Now, tell me about your marigolds.”
She opened to a blank leaf in her book and set her writing splinter on the page.
Lily frowned, confused. “What about them?” she asked.
“Why, they’re so golden! They should be called more-igolds, don’t you think?”
Iris laughed at her own joke.
And this time, Lily laughed along with her.
Lily's Pesky Plant Page 4
