I originally wrote this for my Patrons on Patreon, but since I had to shut that down, I thought I would share it here. Enjoy!
One day, the Queen said Something Amazing! I will tell you what she said.
This is what she said: *Bud Mushroom, Tomorrow will be Our Birth Day. All of the Fairies in Twinkle Dingle must Celebrate, and Exchange Wonderful Gifts with Each Other.*
I clapped my hands! I did not know what Birth Day was, but it sounded
Important! It sounded Special! I wanted to get a Wonderful Gift!
Then she said, *Be Useful, Bud Mushroom! Go tell Turtlesong to Spread the
Word, and invite Everyfairy to participate, and the Gnomes and Pixies as
well. Then tell Cloverflower to Attend Us. Everyfairy in Twinkle Dingle
must Choose the Recipient of their Wonderful Gift, and We need
Cloverflower to Write Down all of the Names. *
I like to be Useful! That is my Job. I am Bud Mushroom, Useful Fairy. I flew
to Turtlesong first. Turtlesong is not a fairy. She is a PIXIE! I do not know
why. She was jumping up and down and up and down on a tree branch.
Then the branch did this: break. Turtlesong started to fall! But Turtlesong
has these: wings. She did not get hurt. She flew down to the ground. She
flew in loops in the air! I laughed and laughed! When she landed, I told her
about Birth Day and Wonderful Gifts.
She said, *Bud, I really wish you would speak in words, it’s hard to understand what you want when all you do is wave your arms and make funny faces.*
She was right! It IS hard to understand what I want when all I do is wave
my arms and make funny faces. But I do not like to talk. It makes my mouth
feel funny.
So I left to find Cloverflower. She always understands me. It is part of her
Job to understand the way everyone talks. She can even understand bees
and dryads! I had to find her anyway to tell her about Wonderful Gifts. I
had to tell her about Writing Down Names.
I flew to Cloverflower’s house. She lives with Flutterglow. They are Best
Fairies Forever. That means they live together.
When I got to their house, I went in through the door. Once, I went in
through the window. Flutterglow was Not Expecting That. She screamed
when she saw me. Then she said, *Bud Mushroom, you must come in through the door. Do not come in through the window ever again!* So I did not go in through the window this time.
Cloverflower was in her Kitchen. She smiled when she saw me! I like her
smile. It makes my face feel warm.
She said, *What do you need, Bud?*
I told her about Birth Day and Exchanging Wonderful Gifts. I told her that
Turtlesong needed to Spread the Word, but that she did not understand me.
Cloverflower said, *Don’t worry, Bud, I will take care of it. Be Useful, and go collect Leaves, as many as you can carry. Then take the Leaves to the Queen’s Throne.*
When she stopped talking, she POPPED away. She has Special Magic and
can POP anyplace she wants to.
I flew ALL around Twinkle Dingle and picked up Leaves. When my arms
were full, I carried them to the Throne. Cloverflower was there already. The
Queen was sitting on the Throne. That is what Queens do. I do not know
why.
Cloverflower smiled when she saw me. I put the Leaves near her feet, and
she picked one up.
*These are a Very Good Leaves, Bud. Thank you!* she said.
Then the Queen said, *Now Cloverflower, put a Name on Each Leaf. Then Everyfairy, and even the Pixies and the Gnomes, will choose a Leaf. The One whose name is on the Leaf is the One to whom they will give a Gift.*
Cloverflower nodded, and then she did something AMAZING. She used her
Job Magic and all at once, each Leaf had a name on it!
Then the Queen said, *Bud, since you have been So Very Useful, you may choose the Very First Leaf. Cloverflower, write down Everyfairy’s pick, so we can Keep Track.*
I grinned. I like Going First! I fly very slowly and I am Usually Not First.
But before I picked a Leaf, I used my Useful Magic. I wanted to pick the
Best Leaf Possible. I do not know if that was Against the Rules, but I did not
tell the Queen. Maybe she will never find out. Please do not tell her.
I reached into the pile, and took a Leaf. Some fairies can’t read Letters and
Words. It is not part of Their Job and Is Not Necessary. But it is part of
MINE. Sometimes I need to Read Words to be Useful. Because of my
Magic, I could read the name on my Leaf:
CLOVERFLOWER.
I smiled! My Useful Magic helped me pick the Very Best Leaf!
The Queen said, *You must give your Leaf to Cloverflower, so she can write down the name.*
I gave it to Cloverflower. Her eyes got big. Her mouth dropped open. She
made the noise Flutterglow calls EXASPERATED. Then she twirled her
hair. She scrunched up her face. Finally she said, *Whatever, Bud, but please don’t give me any tree bark or smooshed berries or dried-up beetles, ok? Promise?*
I nodded. I would not give her any tree bark or smooshed berries or
dried-up beetles. I did not want to share the ones I had, anyway.
Other fairies flew into the Clearing near the Throne. The Queen told
Everyfairy to Pick a Leaf. Cloverflower wrote down all of the names. But I
already Read my Leaf, so I Just Went Home. I had to think of the Most
Perfect Gift Ever.
It would be difficult to think of the Most Perfect Gift Ever! But I am Bud
Mushroom, Useful Fairy, and it would be Useful to know the Most Perfect
Gift Ever. So I used my Magic and then I Knew.
Cloverflower LOVES WORDS. I would give her a Word! But I did not know
how to find a Word. I drooped. But then I remembered I could use my
Magic again. It is Very Useful that way.
I tapped my head. That helps my Magic work. I do not know why. But it
does, and then I Knew what to do. This is what I needed to do: Know where
Words were, so I could get one. So I thought about where I had Read Words
before.
These are the places where I had Read Words before:
- On the wall of a building. The Words said NO UNICORNS ALLOWED. A
Unicorn was Reading Those Words. She was Not Happy. Maybe Those
Words would also make Cloverflower Not Happy. I did not want that!
Those were not the Right Words. - On a stone in the Gnomes’ Weed Garden. It said, KEEP OFF THE GRASS. I
do not know why. They do not grow Grass. They grow Magic Weeds. But the
stone said Grass. It did Not Make Any Sense. I did not want to give
Cloverflower Words that Did Not Make Any Sense. - On a Leaf that said, WE HAVE YOUR GRAN. But Cloverflower made those
Words on the Leaf. I watched her do it with her Magic! She would not want
those Same Exact Words as a Gift. - On a sign that said WELCOME TO HELL BENT. But Cloverflower would
not like those Words. The last time Cloverflower read those Words,
Flutterglow almost got smooshed by an Angry Red Monkey. I do not know
why. - On a paper in Shinyspeck’s Work Shop. The Words were on something
Shinyspeck called PLANS. The Words said, WHILE REFERRING TO THE
DIAGRAM PROVIDED, ORGANIZE THE ENCLOSED PARTS AND
ASSEMBLE THE DEVICE ACCORDINGLY. Those Words are Very
Complicated. I did not know if Cloverflower liked Complicated Words. - In Worldwide Spider’s Web. I saw SO MANY WORDS! But they were not
words I could give to Cloverflower. They have to stay in my Magic Rock.
But that gave me an Idea! I WOULD WRITE THE WORD MYSELF. But I
did not know What Word to Write, so I used my Useful Magic Again. Then I
KNEW what to write!
I would write a MAGIC WORD.
But I only Knew ONE Magic Word that was not Vile or Disgusting. I will tell
you what it is. This is what it is: it is the Word MAGIC.
I found a piece of tree bark. Cloverflower had said *Do not give me tree bark.* She did not say *Do not give me tree bark with a Magic Word written on it.* I would write the Word on the tree bark!
I looked around some more. I found a mushed berry and some dried-up
beetles.
Cloverflower had said, *Please don’t give me any smooshed berries or dried-up beetles.* She did not say, *Please don’t Write a Word with smooshed berries or dried-up beetles.* So I mixed them together! It made INK!
I dipped my finger into the Ink. I wrote Letters on the Bark. Letters
together make a Word. I do not know why. I wrote an M. Then I wrote an A.
Then I wrote a G. Then I wrote an I. Then I wrote a C!
I set the Word next to my door. I did not want to forget it in the morning.
Then I climbed into my Bed. It was Hard to Sleep, because I was Very
Excited.
When I woke up, the Queen called me. This is what she did: Clapped. Then
she did this: Whistled. That means Come here, Bud Mushroom. So I went
there.
She said, *Bud Mushroom, you must help Prepare for the Celebration. Be a Useful Fairy, and help Anyfairy who needs it.*
I helped Anyfairy who needed it. I helped Willowdrop Comb Hair. I helped
Pebblemist Organize Crickets to play Beautiful Music. I helped Wildwhisper
Polish the Thorn, Just In Case. I helped Flickerfoot Decorate a Cake!
Then it was time for the Birth Day Celebration! I flew home. I got the Bark
with the Magic Word. I flew back to the Clearing. A lot of my friends were
already there! The Queen was there! I did not see Cloverflower, but I saw
Flutterglow, and a GINORMOUS CAKE. It was the Cake I helped Decorate!
I licked my lips. I LOVE Cake.
The Queen clapped her hands. She waved her flower wand. That means
EVERYFAIRY MUST BE QUIET SO THE QUEEN CAN SPEAK.
Everyfairy was quiet. Then the Queen said, *As you all know, Humans do not Bloom from Flowers.*
Everyfairy nodded. Fairies Bloom from Flowers, but Humans do not. I do
not know why.
*Humans Celebrate the Day they come into the World, nevertheless. Each year, on the Same Date, they have a Birth Day Celebration. As We have been your Queen only a Very Short While, this is the First Time it has been the Correct Date for Our Birth Day Celebration, adjusted for the time differential between Twinkle Dingle and the Human Realm, of course.*
This is why the Queen said that: she is Not Entirely a Fairy! Her Poppy was
a Fairy, and her Mummy was a Human! I am also Not Entirely a Fairy. My
Mummy is a fairy. But I did not Bloom in a flower! I grew from a
mushroom. The Queen did not grow from a mushroom. That is not how it
works for humans. I do not know why.
Then the Queen said, *It is Customary to Receive Gifts on One’s Birth Day, but as We already have Everything that We Require, We have asked you all to give Gifts to Each Other, instead. Everyfairy must now find the Recipient of their Wonderful Gift.*
I smiled. I looked around but I did not see Cloverflower. I flew to
Flutterglow. I asked her where Cloverflower was! Flutterglow does not
understand the Bees. She does not have the same Magic that Cloverflower
does. But she is my friend, and she knew what I was asking.
She did this: shrug. Then she said, *I don’t know where she is, Bud, she helped this morning, then POPPED away all of a sudden. She even left her gift and the list on the table in our house, I found them when I went back to get my gift for Nettle. Maybe the Queen knows where Cloverflower is.*
I flew to the Queen. I asked her if she knew where Cloverflower was. She
did this: frown. Then she said, *We haven’t . . . I mean, I haven’t seen her, Bud, but I am sure she will Return Shortly.*
I hoped she would Return Shortly! But she was not here NOW, so I could
not give her a Wonderful Gift. Instead, I got a piece of CAKE! I ate the
Whole Piece and Licked the Plate. But Cloverflower was still Not There.
But Something Else happened: Quickspirit sat down next to me. Quickspirit
is a Fluff Collector. That means he Collects Fluff. I do not know why.
Quickspirit said, *And how are you today, My Little Seedling?* He says that
to EVERYFAIRY! He calls us all His Little Seedlings. He took care of me
when I WAS a Little Seedling! But at the Celebration, he was not taking care
of me. I am Not A Seedling, now. I am a Growed-Up.
Then he did an AMAZING thing! I will tell you what he did. This is what he
did: HE GAVE ME A WONDERFUL GIFT. He had my name, Bud
Mushroom, on the Leaf he picked!
I will tell you what the Gift was. This is what it was: a GINORMOUS Bag of
Fluff! I LOVE Fluff! It was a Most Wonderful Gift! I smiled when I saw it!
Quickspirit smiled too. He patted my head. Then he went to get his own
Piece of Cake.
I wanted to give Cloverflower her Gift! I flew around and around looking for
her. But she was this: Still Not There. I do not know why.
Then I wondered something. This is what I wondered: maybe she would not
want my Gift. Maybe she would think it was Just Tree Bark. Maybe she
would think it was Just Smooshed Berries. Maybe she would think it was
Just Dried-Up Beetles.
Maybe she Knew I would give her those things. Maybe that is why she was
Still Not There.
Then I drooped. I did not want to be at the Celebration anymore. So I flew
home. I hid the Word under my Nest Bed. Then I crawled into the Nest and
Went To Sleep.
I woke up in the morning because I heard this: knocking. It was on my
house. But I was still sad. I did not want to get out of bed. So I did not. But
then something happened! I will tell you what happened. This is what
happened:
CLOVERFLOWER POPPED INTO MY HOUSE!
She said, *Bud, I am sorry about yesterday! When I was helping to set up the Celebration, I ripped my dress! I tried to find Peppertwirl to help me fix it, but she was helping the Queen, so I went to Peppertwirl’s tree to wait, but she never came back! By the time I realized what was happening, the Celebration was over! But Flutterglow said you were looking for me the Entire Time, so I came to see you.*
I sat up. I asked her if she was worried about my gift! She said, *Maybe a little. You like things that are moldy and slimy and smelly, and I don’t. But I do know you mean well, even when you give me the Wrong Thing.*
I nodded. I did mean well, but this time I thought I had the Right Thing! My
Magic told me it was Right! I crawled under my bed. I got the piece of bark.
I tugged until it came out. And then I gave it to Cloverflower.
Her eyes got huge! I drooped. The Gift was Not Perfect! It was the Wrong
Thing After All. She did not want tree bark and smooshed berries and
dried-up beetles, even if they all made a Magic Word. I drooped more.
But then she said, *Oh, Bud! I LOVE THIS! Come to my house with me and help me hang it on the wall! I want to look at it Every Day!*
I smiled and clapped my hands! We went to her house. I helped her Hang It
On The Wall. She said, *Thank you for the Most Perfect Gift Ever, Bud!*
Then she gave me a BIG HUG! It was the Most Perfect Hug Ever.
Goodbye from Bud Mushroom.
C. C. Naughton 