Welcome back to another fairyland adventure. I’m Dash, and I’m curious as to why Pippin and Daisy had to find Maisy. Are you curious? I bet you are, so let’s get started.

Pippin and Daisy find Maisy

Pippin, the brownie, was foraging amongst the roots and leaves of the rainforest floor. He was hoping to find his favourite treat amongst the decaying leaves and moss, the Bunya nut. It often fell from the great pines and was very delicious. One nut contained many edible seeds, which was enough to feed a whole village of wee folk. Though Pippin had to be careful as the nut itself was very, very heavy. Something a brownie wouldn’t want to hit him on the head.

Here in the Bunya mountains, where Pippin lived, some of the beautiful Bunya pines had reached 600 years old. Pippin was sure they contained ancient wisdom. At times, he would sit quietly at the base of such a pine, hoping to hear the wisdom himself. He thought he did once, though he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just the wind tickling his ears.

The Bunya pines stood ever so straight, and ever so tall. On a dare, Pippin had flown to the top of one once. The great height had made him dizzy, and his tummy woozy. He realised then, that as a brownie, he needed to be close to the ground, at all times.

Lost in thought, Pippin paused for a moment as he was sure he heard a sob in the distance. Standing very still, he waited for another. The rainforest was silent. Well, except for the usual sounds like birds nibbling seed pods, beetles munching on fallen leaves, worms burrowing in the soft soil and the rustling of something unknown.

Just as he started searching again, Pippin heard another sob. Sadness made Pippin sad. When others cried, he would cry too. The feeling just reached deep down inside him. He just couldn’t stand others being sad. It was like his friend Marvin, who vomited whenever someone else vomited. Even the sound triggered Marvin. And Dew, the dung beetle, who pooped whenever he smelt dung. Dung is just another name for animal poop, something which dung beetles turn into healthy food for the ground.

Dew, couldn’t be a dung beetle like his brothers and sisters. The smell always triggered him, and that made him sad, as he couldn’t follow in the family tradition. Instead, still wanting to be helpful, Dew, living up to his name, collected the delicious morning dew to hand out to the elderly beetles who could no longer get out and about. They loved him for it as the morning dew was the tastiest treat a beetle could have. Now Dew is called a dew beetle, and he doesn’t poop himself as often.

Another sob in the distance caught Pippin’s attention. The impulse was just too strong, he just had to go and help whoever was sad. As he stepped in the direction, he thought the sobs came from, something caught his eye. It was a shattered Bunya nut. The delicious seeds were spread over the ground. 

Quickly, Pippin gathered several nut seeds and placed them in his satchel for later. With them stowed safely, he rushed off in the direction of the sobs. It took a few minutes to find the owner as the sound echoed off the rainforest trees.

Sitting on an exposed root, in a slither of light, Pippin saw a small fairy. She was only young, and he hadn’t seen her around here before. Approaching her slowly, Pippin coughed so she would know he was there. The small fairy took one look at him and burst into tears. With tears streaming down his own face Pippin wasn’t sure what to do.

‘Please don’t cry.’ He asked. ‘As sadness makes me very sad.’

The little fairy sniffed and wiped her arm across her tear-stained face. ‘I’m sorry, but I have lost my little sister, and I have no idea where I am. I feel lost and alone.’

Pippin nodded in understanding. ‘Well, you are not alone now, and I’d be happy to help you find your sister.’

Talking to the fairy, whose name was Daisy, Pippin realised she was from the open fields at the base of the mountain range which they were now sitting on. Being young she had never ventured into the mountains, nor was she allowed. Her parents had said she was not old enough yet, and by the looks of it they were right. Daisy was so young, he couldn’t imagine how old her younger sister was.

Pippin reassured Daisy that she was safe. ‘I could take you home now? I know the way.’

Daisy shook her head. ‘No. No. Not till I find Maisy. She is younger than me and probably twice as scared.’

That was a good point thought Pippin, plus he had no idea what Maisy looked like. So, he asked what happened. Daisy wasn’t sure. She and Maisy were having a lovely time amongst the local wildflowers. They’d made new skirts and were twirling in the sunshine. Suddenly out of nowhere came a dark shadow, a gust of wind and then Maisy was gone. It was like the wind had carried her away.

Pippin agreed that dancing on the wind was fun, though if Maisy hadn’t meant to, she probably wasn’t taken by the wind. He thought harder and asked Daisy to describe the shadow. She did the best she could.

‘Hmmm.’ Pippin thought for a moment. ‘What colour were the petals on Maisy’s skirt? Yellow like yours?’

‘No.’ Responded Daisy. ‘They were her favourite colour, blue.’

‘Blue!’ Squealed Pippin.

The loudness of his voice took Daisy by surprise, and she nearly fell from the tree root she was sitting on. He apologised.

‘I think I might know where your sister may be.’

‘She hasn’t been eaten by a monster, has she?’ Panic filled Daisy’s face.

Pippin reassured her that it was not a monster who had taken her. And that he was pretty sure she wasn’t eaten. Daisy wasn’t fully convinced yet she trusted him. So together they headed off into the rainforest. Daisy had no clue where they were going. Pippin did. He led her straight to a small structure constructed of sticks and bright blue objects.

‘This is a bower.’ He stated to her confused look. ‘Male Bower birds build them, like castles, to find a girlfriend.’

‘What’s that got to do with Maisy?’

‘Well,’ continued Pippin. ‘Bower birds love blue objects. Maisy twirling in a blue skirt may have been irresistible to a Bower bird. He would have wanted to collect it and bring it here.’

‘Maisy isn’t an it.’ Stated Daisy. 

Pippin apologised, took her hand and started searching the stick pile. There was some giggling in the distance.

‘That’s Maisy!’ Declared Daisy. ‘I’d know her laugh anywhere.’

The two ran around some twigs and blue bottle tops to find a dark coloured bird and an incredibly small fairy playing with a blue twist tie. The tiny fairy, Maisy, was bending the tie into a funny shape. The bird laughed.

Daisy ran to her little sister and checked her all over, to ensure she was unharmed. The Bower bird apologised for the confusion. He had seen blue and though it would be a wonderful addition to his collection. Without realising it was a fairy, he had swooped down, picked her up and brought her here. 

‘Oh Daisy, don’t be mad. I’ve had the most amazing time. Look at all these gorgeous blue things. I never realised there were so many.’ 

Maisy wasn’t traumatised by her adventure. In fact, she had been having fun the whole time.

After being so sad, tense and scared, Daisy now felt a small sense of relief. Her little sister hadn’t been eaten yet they were still lost. Pippin reassured her that everything would be okay. So did the Bower bird. He even offered to fly them home, which they gratefully accepted.

Before they left, Pippin took out the Bunya nut seeds he had collected, and they all had a meal together. Being lost, and looking for the lost, was hungry work. He was glad he helped Daisy to no longer be sad. After the meal, they all said their goodbyes, the fairies climbed onto the bird and were soon off on their way home.

Pippin then remembered the rest of the Bunya nuts he had left behind. He scampered off into the undergrowth to see if he could find them again.

It was nice of Pippin to stop what he was doing and to help Daisy. Right when he found the Bunya nut he was looking for. Sometimes, when you are busy, it’s nice to stop and think of someone else, especially when you can go back to your own activity later. In the end Pippin had a great day, got to explore, made some friends, helped someone and still found a yummy Bunya nut. And I’m sure Daisy appreciated him making the time for her, as she is only young and was scared.

Helping others builds the glow inside of us. We all have a glow inside. It helps to make us happy and confident. Doing good deeds, and being nice to people, even when they are mean, helps it to grow. It’s like a plant you look after. Instead of watering it, you feed it nice actions. Even simple things like smiling at people, and saying hello, using our manners like thank-you, they all add to the glow. Mean and angry people don’t look after their glow, and it shrivels like a sad plant.

No one wants to be around someone who is mean and angry. They’re just no fun. So, let’s all build our glow! Smile at the next person you see. Smiles are contagious, so there is a good chance they will smile back, and just like that you have both grown your glow. Amazing, isn’t it?

Well, I’m off to smile at people, so I’ll see you soon.