Primrose in Jewel Forest Page 2

  Fluff Tail nodded sadly, thanked her fairy friends and hopped away with the scampering squirrels.

  “Poor Fluff Tail,” said Nutmeg, gathering up some of Fluff Tail’s carved wooden spoons and forks and putting them in her sparkly basket.

  “I know,” said Primrose thoughtfully, “and she was so excited about her cousins coming to stay. There must be something more we can do. I’ll have a think on my way to the post office. Will you be OK here on your own, Nutmeg?”

  “Of course,” said Nutmeg, popping a pretty teapot into her basket, “and Sycamore and the squirrels said they’ll be back to help.”

  “Excellent,” said Primrose, “the more paws the better. We’re going to need as much help as we can get.”

  With that the thoughtful princess fluttered high up into the trees and along the forest fairy skyway to the post office. The skyway was a delicate network of glittering leafy bridges that connected all the houses and shops in Jewel Forest.

  As she flew, Primrose was thinking so much about Fluff Tail that she didn’t notice her good friend Catkin up ahead on the skyway.

  “Hello, Primrose!” called Catkin, pushing a strand of curly red hair out of her face and fluttering her red-tipped wings after her distracted friend. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

  “Oh, hi, Catkin,” said Primrose. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you. I’m just so worried about Fluff Tail.”

  “Fluff Tail?” said Catkin, puzzled. “Why, what’s happened?”

  “Her house was blown down in the storm,” said Primrose. “It’s so sad. I was just on my way to the post office to send an urgent fairy-mail to her cousins from Dream Mountain. They were supposed to be coming to visit her today. It seems such a shame to cancel their trip, but she has nowhere for them to stay.”

  “Poor Fluff Tail,” said Catkin. “That’s awful. I’m just on my way to meet Willa at the Dewdrop Diamond Inn. Why don’t you come with me and we can put our heads together and see what we can do to help?”

  “I’d love to come with you,” said Primrose, “but I really should get going. Wait – the Dewdrop Diamond, you say… Of course! Catkin, you are a genius! Perhaps the Dewdrop will have rooms for Fluff Tail’s cousins!”

  “It’s definitely worth a try,” said Catkin. “Let’s hurry there now and see!”

  Primrose and Catkin fluttered towards the inn as fast as their glittering wings would carry them.

  The Dewdrop Diamond Inn had been carved into the trunk of a purple-jewelled tree by a family of woodpeckers a very long time ago. It was still run by the same woodpeckers’ great-great-great-grandchildren. Fairies and magical creatures from all over fairyland stayed there when they came to visit their forest fairy friends.

  As Primrose and Catkin approached the carved wooden door of the inn, they spotted a pair of glittering pink wings up ahead of them on the skyway.

  “Willa!” Primrose cried, fluttering her wings as fast as she could to catch up with her fairy friend. “Hello there! Wait for us!”

  “Hello, Primrose,” said Willa. “My goodness, you are in a hurry! Whatever in fairyland is the matter?”

  “Oh, Willa,” said Primrose, giving her friend a breathless hug. “It’s Fluff Tail.

  Nutmeg and I walked her home through the forest this morning only, to find that her little house was destroyed in last night’s storm.”

  “That’s dreadful!” said Willa. “Come inside for a forest-nut chocolate and we’ll come up with a plan to help.”

  The three friends walked into the sunny inn and settled down next to a large window that looked out on to the magical forest. As they waited for one of the woodpeckers to come and take their order, Primrose told her friends how pleased she was to have bumped into them.

  “You’re so good at organizing things, Catkin, and Willa, you always know what to do in a crisis. I just know that if we three put our heads together, we’ll find a home for Fluff Tail in no time.”

  “Well, we will with you in charge, Primrose,” said Willa, taking off her ivy-leaf rain hat and shaking out her long dark hair. “You are so good and kind to all the magical creatures in Jewel Forest that I’m sure that everyone will want to return the sweet little favours you’ve done for them.”

  Just then, a smartly dressed woodpecker with spectacles perched on his beak hopped over to the table.

  “Hello there, Princess Primrose, how are you today? Can I get you and your friends your usual?” he asked, smiling.

  “Hello, Glitter Beak,” said Primrose. “Yes, three forest-nut chocolates with extra foam, please. Also, do you by any chance have a room available tonight for two rabbits?”

  “You know,” said Glitter Beak, with a wink, “I think we do. I just received a fairy-mail from a family of voles saying they couldn’t make their trip because of the storm. The room would be perfect for two bunny rabbits.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful news,” said Primrose, clapping her hands. “Please could you prepare our forest-nut chocolates so we can take them with us? We need to send a fairy-mail to let Eloise and Silver know.”

  “Eloise and Silver,” said Glitter Beak, “they’re Fluff Tail’s cousins, aren’t they? Why can’t they stay with Fluff Tail?”

  Primrose took a deep breath, and with a heavy heart she told Glitter Beak all about Fluff Tail’s home and the storm.

  “Say no more,” said Glitter Beak. “Please let Fluff Tail know that her cousins will be welcome to stay as long as they like. Free of charge. Also, if there is any building work you need doing, we woodpeckers would be honoured to help. We can make furniture, too!”

  “Oh, Glitter Beak,” said Primrose, hugging the black-and-white woodpecker, “that’s so kind of you! You woodpeckers are the best builders in Jewel Forest!”

  Glitter Beak flushed under his feathers at the compliment, and hopped off to fetch the fairies’ drinks.

  “Right,” said Catkin, “that’s Eloise and Silver taken care of, and any building and furniture we need doing. What next?”

  “Well,” said Primrose, thinking hard, “furniture isn’t going to be much use without a lovely little house to put it in. Let’s head into the forest to see if we can find Fluff Tail a home.”

  “Good idea,” said Willa. “The more of us looking the quicker we will find the perfect spot.”

  Glitter Beak returned with three cups made from cleverly folded leaves and handed one to each of the fairies.

  “Good luck!” he said. “And please let me know if there’s anything more us woodpeckers can do to help. Fluff Tail is a dear friend.”

  “We will,” said Primrose, “and thank you so much.”

  And with that the three fairy friends whooshed out of the door so fast they almost knocked the foam off their forest-nut chocolates.

  Princess Primrose, Catkin and Willa headed to the post office to send the fairy-mail to Eloise and Silver, sipping their drinks as they went.

  “Mmm,” said Willa, taking a sip from the leaf cup, “the Dewdrop makes the best forest-nut chocolate. I’m really enjoying mine.”

  Catkin giggled “We can tell,” she said, wiping a little blob of foam off Willa’s nose with the tip of her delicate finger.

  The three friends laughed and Primrose’s heart felt a little lighter, until she caught sight of the long queue stretching from the forest fairy post office ahead of them.

  In the queue stood forest fairies wearing sparkly outfits made from leaves and glittering cobwebs, candy-tufted tree squirrels with shimmering pink fur, and little birds and insects.

  Everyone in the queue was holding a letter or a leaf-wrapped parcel ready to send by fairy-mail to someone far away in fairyland.

  Primrose’s heart sank as she took her place in the queue. This is going to take for ever, she thought to herself, and we still have so much to do!

  “Whatever is the matter, Princess Pr
imrose?” asked a pretty robin standing just ahead of Primrose, who had noticed the princess’s sad face. All the robin’s feathers were brown except for a shining apron of bright ruby feathers on his round tummy. It was Primrose’s good friend, Little Hop.

  “Oh, Little Hop!” said Primrose, recognizing her ruby-red-breasted friend. “It’s Fluff Tail.” The friendly robin placed his package on the skyway in front of him and listened with his feathered head cocked to one side as Primrose told him all about Fluff Tail losing her home in the storm.

  “And now we need to send an urgent fairy-mail to Fluff Tail’s cousins,” Primrose continued, waving her delicate hand towards the long queue snaking along the skyway, “but I don’t see us reaching the front of this queue before nightfall.”

  “We’ll see about that,” said the robin. Little Hop thought for a moment, and then his feathered face lit up. His glittering black eyes twinkled with excitement as he hopped up on to the handrail of the skyway and then addressed the chattering post office queue ahead of him.

  “Hello there, everyone,” cheeped the little robin. The crowd of fairies and forest creatures fell silent and turned to look at him. “I was wondering if you could do me – or rather my friend Princess Primrose – a small favour.” Little Hop waved one of his little brown wings towards Primrose and the queue all looked in the direction he was pointing.

  Now it was time for Primrose to speak, and although she was nervous, she knew she had to be very brave to help her friend Fluff Tail.

  Primrose cleared her throat with a delicate cough and then spoke in a clear tone that everyone could hear.

  “Hello, everyone,” she said with a smile, “I would like your attention because I really need your help. You see, our friend Fluff Tail the rabbit is in a terrible mess. I’m sure you all heard the storm last night?”

  Everyone in the queue nodded.

  “Well, the storm was so big that it took down some of the trees in our beloved forest. Among those was the sapphire tree that held Fluff Tail’s lovely little house among its roots.”

  The queue gasped in shock.

  “Is … is Fluff Tail OK?” asked a shimmering jewel moth who was holding a bright purple envelope.

  “Yes,” said Primrose. “Thankfully she was staying with Nutmeg and me for a sleepover. But she has lost everything, including her beautiful garden. My friends and I are looking for a new home for Fluff Tail and we would be so grateful if you could let us know if you can think of anywhere.”

  The queue erupted in chatter as the fairies and forest creatures all shared ideas of places they thought might be suitable.

  “Oh! Wait a minute,” shouted Catkin above the chattering queue. “We need one more favour. Please could you let us to the front of the queue so that we can send an urgent fairy-mail?”

  As she spoke, the queue moved to one side, everyone smiling kindly, and the fairy friends zoomed straight to the front and into the post office to send their urgent message to Eloise and Silver.

  With the urgent fairy-mail on its way, the three friends pushed open the door of the post office with a little tinkle and fluttered into a sea of smiling faces outside.

  Standing at the front was Little Hop. “We think we’ve found the perfect place for Fluff Tail…” the little robin said excitedly. “In a ruby tree. One of the tree squirrels says it’s not far from here and that its roots would be perfect for a rabbit’s burrow.”

  “Well, what are we waiting for?” said Primrose, clapping her hands. “Let’s go and take a look.”

  And with that Little Hop led the friends further into Jewel Forest to go in search of the ruby tree.

  Primrose now felt rather excited as she skipped and fluttered along the skyway with Willa and Catkin. They chatted together about how happy Fluff Tail would be in the new home they were going to find for her. They were so busy talking, in fact, that they didn’t notice that something very odd was going on. It wasn’t until they had passed Bluebell Clearing, crossed Crystal Creek and were just approaching the enormous tree with its glittering red trunk that Primrose heard some chattering just behind her. She turned round to see that everyone in the queue for the post office had followed them, all clutching the letters and parcels they’d wanted to send.

  Primrose smiled at the crowd, but was a little confused about why they had followed them. She was just about to ask when a smartly dressed forest fairy in a green suit and glossy holly-leaf hat stepped forward.

  “I do hope you don’t mind,” said the fairy, tucking a large parcel under her arm. “It’s just that we all wanted to help, so we thought we would come along and see what needed doing.”

  “Of course,” said Primrose, feeling so happy she could almost cry. She was so touched that everyone wanted to help her friend Fluff Tail. Jewel Forest really was a very special place to live. “Well, let’s all take a closer look, shall we?” she said to the eager crowd.

  As Primrose got closer to the tree, she could see that the squirrels were right. This really was the perfect place to build a new home for Fluff Tail.

  The tree had thick roots around its trunk, one of which rose up in a neat arch just big enough for a rabbit to hop through. The ground around it was covered in glittering pine needles, but Primrose could tell that underneath there would be lots of nice soil for Fluff Tail to plant a lovely new garden.

  “This is it!” said Primrose, grinning from ear to ear. “This will be Fluff Tail’s new home, and with all Jewel Forest’s help, I just know she’ll be able to move in no time.”

  “Hooray!” everybody cheered, and Primrose immediately set to work giving the crowd of forest fairies and creatures a job to do. Little Hop was sent to go and fetch Nutmeg and some of the tree squirrels.

  “But make sure you tell them to keep it a secret from Fluff Tail,” said Primrose with a little wink. “It’ll be so much more fun if it’s a surprise.”

  “Of course, princess,” said Little Hop, giving a funny salute with his wing.

  Willa fluttered back to the Dewdrop Diamond Inn to fetch the woodpeckers, while Catkin got to work clearing the ground around the trunk of the enormous ruby tree.

  Primrose was just moving a large ruby cone from what would be the front door when she felt the soft flutter of silky wings as a jewel moth landed at her side.

  “Hello, Princess Primrose, my name is Moonbeam,” said the jewel moth in a voice as soft as her velvety purple wings. “I was just wondering if there was anything we jewel moths could do. We aren’t very good at building or clearing, but we would so like to be able to help make this a home for Fluff Tail.”

  Primrose thought for a moment. Moonbeam was right. Moths weren’t very good at building or clearing, and they couldn’t even collect twigs to make furniture like the Jewel Forest birds. Primrose thought of Fluff Tail and what her home might need that only a jewel moth could give. It was then that an idea came to her, and the fairy princess leant forward and whispered to the waiting jewel moth.

  When Moonbeam heard what Primrose wanted, she smiled and immediately flew off into the forest.

  With so many of Fluff Tail and Primrose’s friends helping, work on the new house went very quickly and was even good fun! Catkin and the forest fairies cleared all the glittering pine needles from around the ruby tree’s roots and had just started turning the soil for the brand-new garden when Willa returned with the woodpeckers. They put their strong beaks to work, hollowing out the doorway with a very loud tap, tap, tap. Glitter Beak arrived soon after with a basket filled with scrummy sandwiches and flasks of hot forest-nut chocolate for all the workers to enjoy.

  Not long after, Little Hop and the other Jewel Forest birds came back to the ruby tree with their beaks filled with twigs and helped Glitter Beak build a little table and bed for Fluff Tail.

  Primrose stood for a moment to admire all the hard work that was going on around her. At that moment she spotted Nutmeg
zooming along the skyway, followed by the candy-tufted tree squirrels. They were carrying armfuls of items they had managed to rescue from Sapphire Lodge.

  “Nutmeg!” called Primrose loudly over the tap, tap, tap of the woodpeckers. “Down here!”

  Nutmeg smiled and flew down from the skyway, dropping her basket and wrapping her freckled arms around her sister in a huge hug.

  “Oh, Primrose,” said Nutmeg, flapping her glittering orange wings excitedly. “I can’t believe how much you’ve done already! I just know Fluff Tail is going to love it. And look, did you see how many of her things we managed to save! Conker even managed to rescue some of Fluff Tail’s precious plants from her garden!”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful,” said Primrose. “Catkin can plant them right away.”

  Primrose was about to continue when she realized she was shouting and that the loud tap, tap, tap of the woodpeckers’ beaks had stopped.

  “Oh, my fairyness,” said Primrose, running over to what was now a beautiful doorway at the foot of the tall ruby tree. “Have you finished?”

  “Far from it,” said Glitter Beak, looking worried. “We’re going to need some diggers.”

  “Diggers?” said Primrose, looking a bit confused. “What for? Can’t you just burrow into the trunk with your beaks?”

  “Well, we could,” said Glitter Beak. “We could do that very easily. The only thing is that rabbits like Fluff Tail live underground, not inside trees, and our beaks won’t burrow into the soil.”

  “Oh no!” said Primrose, cross with herself. “Why didn’t I think of that? We don’t have anyone to dig. Fairies are hopeless diggers, with our tiny hands and our wings getting in the way, and even though the squirrels can dig a little, they can’t tunnel like rabbits. Whatever will we do now? I hate to think that everyone’s hard work has been for nothing.”