Clementine and the Fairy

            by Maya Tippett

            Once there lived a girl named Clementine. She lived with her father in a very thin, but very tall wooden house. It was so tall that when standing at the bottom of the house, you could not see the top of it. Her father was a locksmith and so was often not at home. He was always out fixing other peoples locks.

Clementine was a quite girl. Her most favorite thing to do above all other things was daydream. She did not like night dreaming half as much as daydreaming, because in

Day dreaming she could sit in the woods behind her very thin, but very tall wooden home, and think of all the creatures that lived in the forest.

On a day where the sun shone so brightly, Clementine had to squint when she wasn’t in a shadow, she packed her basket and headed into the forest. Her father was away on a very long journey, visiting a lock in a far away town. Clementine thought how lovely it would be to go into the forest and pick wild flowers as she daydreamed. Before Clementine’s father left he told her the same thing her told her everyday when she went into the forest “Clementine, remember although the forest is a beautiful place, it can be a dangerous place as well. Not all is as it seems. Always keep the tip of our home in view, for if you can still see our very thin, but very tall wooden home, you know you have not gone too deep into the forest.”

Clementine smiled as se picked a beautiful red flower and placed it in her basket. She was dreaming about the forest. Soon Clementine grew tired and looked for a place to eat her lunch. There was a beautiful patch of sun that glistened on the forests floor. Clementine made sure that she could still see the tip of her very thin, but very tall wooden home, and gladly sat in the warmth of the sun.

Clementine was happy, but as she ate her lunch she thought how wonderful it would be if she could have someone to share all this with. For although she loved to daydream, she sometimes grew lonely when her father was away for so long.

After eating, Clementine grew very tired. And so she lay down in the patch of warm sun and fell fast asleep. She must have slept for hours, for when she woke up it was beginning to grow darker and she was no longer in the warmth of the sun.

As Clementine began to pack up her basket she felt a pinch on the top of her ear. “Ouch!” She squeaked. Then she felt it again on her cheek. “Ouch!” And then once more on her shoulder. “Ouch!” Clementine was looking all around for what had been pinching her but could not see anything. It was getting even darker.

Clementine was a very smart girl, so she came up with a plan. She sat very still and waited patiently to be pinched again. She waited for five minutes, and just as she thought nothing would happen, she felt an even stronger pinch on her nose. Clementine hit the air in front of her nose and felt a very small something go flying in the opposite direction, she heard a very high pitch squeal and something very tiny say “Ouch!” Clementine looked all around on the ground where she had hit the tiny something.  There on the forest floor was a very faint tinny tiny light that flickered on and off.

“Oh dear!” Clementine gasped. “I’ve hurt a fairy!”  Clementine kneeled down and gently picked up the small flickering light. There in her cupped hands lay the littlest of fairies. “Wake up.” Clementine began to cry and between sniffles she whispered to the fairy “Please wake up. I’m sorry. Wake up please... I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

The Fairy lay there limply for a few seconds and then began to cough. She opened her tiny fairy eyes and looked at Clementine.

“You’re alive!” Clementine squealed as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were a fairy. Why were you pinching me so?”

“I am also sorry... I was pinching you because I’ve never seen anything that looked like you before.” The little fairy’s voice was so quite Clementine had to put her ear right next to the fairy’s mouth as she spoke. “What are you?”

“I’m a little girl. My name is Clementine. What’s your name?”