Flower Fairy
Flower Fairy
Glass
Book.
J4
FLOWER FAIRIES
FAI
~ARA
INGR.AM
.JU
.,
SON
ILLUS
T~ATION
cBr
MAGINEL~~
WRIGHT
ENRIGHT ~~
RAND MCNALL:
f.I COMPANY
CHICAGO
NEW YORK
JUN 10 1915
~I A406254
To
my daughters
first written
THE CONTENTS
PAGE
JUST A BEGINNING
FAIRY NAMES
SUNSHINE FLOWERS
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24
FIRE
32
MORNING-GLORY TRUMPETS .
THE MAGIC PERFUME
SPRINGTIME
THE FAIRY PARTY
FORGET-ME-NOT
FLOWER FAIRIES
JUST A BEGINNING
NeE upon a time, in the long, long ago, this
world was just a baby world and everything on it
was very different from the way it is now - oh, very
different!
All the flowers, in all the forests, were snow-white
in that long-ago time when the world was a baby world,
for babies always have white things around them. So
all the flowers were white, and the clouds were white,
and the soft, white snow covered the ground all winter
through, so the dead, brown leaves could hi de.
In those days the world seemed very sInal1 and baby
ish instead of big and covered with oceans and mountains
and forests. Of course, it was n't really truly little, for
worlds don't grow bigger as people do - but the things
on them change, something like the lines on people's
faces.
Bu t you see, in that long-ago time there were no
airships in which people could fly up and see how big
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FLO~VER
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e~'ery
day, even
110W
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to rest for the night and the stars had lit their candles
so the fairies could see to go to bed, each fairy snuggled
down into his own little flower bed and dreamed of the
wonderful things he would do the next day.
And that was a day in the long ago.
FAIR Y N i\MES
HERE were so Dlany, many fairies in the f~rest,
and they were all so much alike, that it was hard
work even for them to tell one from the other. So the
Queen Fairy said, "I am going to give each of you a
nurrlber; then when I call, you can tell whorll I want."
The bigger fairies helped her, and they called all through
the forest, "When the sun is high in the sky, come to the
queen's green palace to be numbered! "
The queen, of course, had many palaces, as all
queens do. There was a pink one east of the forest,
where the sun rose, and a crystal palace where the brook
jumped down over the rocks, and a green palace in the
heart of the forest. To enter it, the queen went to the
greenest, quietest part of the forest, and there was a
mossy cave all arched over with branches of trees and
shrubs covered with white blossoms and green leaves.
Right in the center, in front of the door of the cave, was
a DIOSSy green throne where the queen could sit. And
just a little farther out was a tall, pale green flower - we
call it Jack-in-the-pulpit now - and in it the queen
Page
The birds would come to drink at the pool and stay and talk with tile queen
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12
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queen was beautiful to look at, and all the fairy maids
who helped dress her were very proud of her, for she was
kind and wise as well as beautiful. When all was ready,
the queen put on her head her golden crown with the star
on it, and then walked out and climbed up into her flower
throne.
Just then the sun was high in the heavens, and all
the fairies came trooping up to be numbered.
The queen was very happy to see so many of her sub
jects all at once, and she nodded and smiled at each one
as she gave the number - " One, two, three, four, five,
six," and so on. About the time she got to "seventy
seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine," she got pretty
hoarse, but she was a determined little queen, and very
anxious to number all her subjects in one day, so she
kept bravely on - " one twenty-nine, one thirty, one
thirty-one," and so forth.
When she reached" one sixty-seven, one sixty-eight,
one sixty-nine," she was so sleepy she could hardly keep
her eyes open, and she had forgotten all about her lace
dress and golden crown and pearl slippers. All she could
think about was keeping her eyes open and saying the
numbers straight.
"Three forty-seven," - her voice grew softer
" three - forty - eight, three - forty - ni - - " Her
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They called in the gray spiders, who were dressmakers to the quee1J
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awoke.
She sat right up on her throne, and looking around,
said, "Why are you all sitting around there looking
at me?"
Everybody was a little frightened, for they did n't
wish to displease her. Finally a little girl fairy right
under the throne plucked up courage to say, "If you
please, 0 Queen, you told us to come and be numbered,
and so we are waiting for you to begin."
Then the queen remembered all about it - that she
had sent for them to be numbered and that she had num
bered as far as three forty-nine and gone to sleep. She
looked around at the hosts of fairies yet to be numbered,
and she looked at the sun fast sinking in the sky, and
exclaimed, "I think numbering fairies is very stupid
,"
bUSlness.
All the fairies nodded their heads and waited, for
they had no idea what she would do next.
"I don't want you numbered, anyway. Think how
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15
SUNSHINE FLOWERS
HITE VIOLET was a dainty little fairy n1aid
with golden hair and filmy wings. Her dresses
were always of the finest of white satin and she wore a
tiny gold chain around her hair, and a pure white violet
hung from the chain right above her brow. She played
and romped and had a beautiful time all day, and never
bothered about her clothes at all, for if they showed the
least sign of getting mussed and soiled she would stop
her work or play and say, "Muscus, cleanus!" Quick
as a flash they would all be clean again, and pressed as
nice as you please! That is surely an easy way to get
freshly dressed, is n't it'?
One morning White Violet finished all the work she
had to do and started off with Green Twig and Silver
Grass to play in the forest. Their favorite place was
where a tiny spring bubbled out of the side of the hill and
ran trickling down over the white pebbles to join the
brook in the valley. When the bright drops dripped from
pebble to pebble, they made gorgeous rainbows on which
the fairies played jump-the-rope. Then, when they tired
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Page 23
And ever since then there have been some golden flowers
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II
21
If you please," said White Violet, will you spin us a bag to put our
sunbeams in?"
II
22
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- at the edge - until the party was over, and they did.
The brook looked very queer and very pretty with its
border of white pansies along each bank.
After the flowers were fixed the fairies played many
kinds of games for an hour. By that time they were
tired enough to sit down on the smooth grass and eat
the dinner the queen had prepared for theln. There
was honey and dew in tiny cups, and every good thing
that fairies enjoy.
But they could n't understand what the quee~,
silvery pile of threads in the center of the circle was for.
When all had finished eating, the queen said, "This
cen ter pile is a pile of cobweb threads - the beginnings
are here and the ends are somewhere in the forest. Go
and search for the end, for there you will find a gift
from me."
With gay shouts each fairy picked up a cobweb and
started off to find his gift. They had to go very care
fully, for cobwebs are easily broken, and these crossed
and recrossed each other many times.
White Violet and Leaf Bud found theirs ran close
together, so they helped each other over hard places
and at the end found their gifts on either side of a
smooth, flat rock. And what do you suppose the gifts
were'? Magic paintboxes! Think of that!
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30
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Silve,. Moss tumbled into the brook and spilled all his paint
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the brook and spilled all his paint. So one little pansy
stayed pure white.
When the flowers were finished the queen was
delighted with them. "I think these are much prettier
than all white ones," she said gravely, " for when I look
at these pansies I can guess what you were thinking
about."
So she waved her wand and ordered that all pansies
ever after should be colored like those.
And the party was over.
So always the pansies are colored for the skies and
the trees and the shadows and the sunshine, and every
pansy stands for a loving thought.
FIRE
VER in a far corner of the forest was a rocky
hollow where once a brook had been. All around
the hollow stood tall sycamore trees with their white
branches spread out toward the sky.
At one time the fairy school was held in the sycamore
trees because the white trunks and branches were so good
for the fairies to learn to write on, but the brook below
tempted them to stay down and play instead of climbing
up to school, so the Queen Fairy dried up the brook and
changed the school to another part of the forest.
But this morning was vacation, and the sun shone,
and the leaves the early frost had brought to the ground
gleamed goldy brown in the sunlight.
Spotted Leaf, Green Twig, and Gray Moss came
frolicking along the path, chasing each other and play
ing leaf-tag, until they saw the hollow where the brook
had been and noticed the many smooth, round stones
over which the brook had once flowed.
"Oh, let's play duck-on-the-rock!" cried Gray
Moss gayly.
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Green Twig had never seen any fire before, and they
thought it was a new kind of flower the Queen Fairy
had sudden} y made, so they ran up to pick some, but it
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37
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And then they all drew a big sigh and slowly got
up and pinched themselves to see if it was n't all a
dream. No, they were awake!
What strange thing had happened'? \Tery cau
tiously they crept up to the gray ashes, and then when
nothing hurt them, they grew bolder, and kicked the
ashes and searched carefully for more of this wonderf~. d
fire, but it was all gone - every bit.
" Oh," cried Gray Moss, "let's hurry and tell the
Queen Fairy and our fathers all about it, and maybe
they can get us more of those queer warm flowers! "
So away they scampered toward home, half running,
half flying, so eager were they to get there and tell
their news.
The queen saw them coming and sat out on the very
edge of her throne flower, for she could see they had
something interesting to tell her.
But they were so eager that they all talked at once,
and she could hardly understand them at all; so she
raised her hand and said, "Gray Moss, you may speak
first. Tell me what you have seen."
cc Dear Queen," said Gray Moss, "we were playing
duck-on-the-rock when suddenly a beautiful flower,
very wonderful and different from any we have ever
seen, appeared in the midst of the dead, brown sycamore
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leaves. It grew and grew, and waved its petals, but
when we reached out to pick it, it stung our hands so
they still hurt. Then, while we watched, it grew smaller
and smaller until the red was all gone. Only some
pieces of gray stuff, which crumbled to powder when we
touched them, were left. So we hurried to ask you what
this is and where we can find more of the curious
flowers."
"My children," said the queen, "I understand it
no more than you do, for I have never, with all my magic,
seen or heard of such a flower. I cannot even see a
picture of it in my mind."
"Oh, I know what we can do," said Green Twig,
clapping his hands, "we can paint a white flower to
look like the new flower, then the queen will know what
it is like! "
So, shouting and laughing for joy, they hurried off
for their magic paint boxes.
Green Twig was the first to get his ready, and
strapping it on his back he climbed up on a big white
geranium and carefully painted it a gorgeous red. Then
he clambered down and looked up at it from the ground.
"No," he said, "that's the color all right, but it is n't
one bit like the new flower - 1'11 see what the others
are doing."
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MORNING-GLORY TRU1\IPETS
"I have many times heard from the birds and the
bees tales of your beautiful house, until I aln very
anxious to see your forest for myself. If it is convenient
for you to be at home, I will come and make you a call
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to-morrow morning at ten o'clock. Please glve my
messenger your answer.
" Your friend,
"CRYSTAL QUEEN."
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49
50
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represent the sunrise, and the noon, and the night, in our
parade. Would you like that'?"
" Just fine! " shouted the fairies together. "Only
you must tell us what to do."
" You who are on that side," said the queen, waving
her right hand, "are the morning. Y our costumes
must show the colors of sunrise. You in front of me are
the noontime, and you must show the brilliant gold and
white of the sun at noon. You over there," waving her
left hand, "are the sunset, and you must show how the
sunset glow fades to night. N Ow you must all get to
work on your costumes at once, for there is much to do
and only this day for working."
As she waved her hand for them to depart she added,
" Be here before ten in the morning, and bring with you
a trumpet painted to match your costunle."
As soon as she finished speaking, the fairies hurried
off to their homes to begin work. All the afternoon they
worked gathering silky flower petals, taking them to the
spiders to be woven together, and painting on them the
beautiful colors of the sky. Throughout the whole forest
was heard the hum of preparation.
At last night came, and the tired fairies were glad
to stop and rest. Everything was ready except the
trumpets, and those could be fixed in the morning. So
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had forgotten that the morning-glories were all white,
and the queen had said the trumpets should match their
costumes. So quickly they ran home, slipped on their
aprons, and painted the morning-glories gorgeous colors
of rose and yellow and blue to match their dresses.
By this time it was nearly ten o'clock, and they put
their paint boxes away and hurried off to the queen's
palace. There they saw dozens of other fairies in
beautiful costumes, all carrying gayly painted morning
glory trumpets. The queen had them hide behind some
tall bushes so they would n't be seen until the pageant
began.
Promptly at ten o'clock a beautiful red bird flew
down from the trees, and on his back rode the Cry~tal
Queen. When the bird reached the ground the queen
daintily stepped down and greeted the Flower Queen.
Flower Queen took her hand, and together they flew up
into the Jack-in-the-pulpit throne.
When they were comfortably seated Flower Queen
gave a signal, and the page an t began.
From behind the bushes groups of fairies dressed in
the sunrise colors marched out, all playing fairy music
on their morning-glory trumpets. After them came the
noontime fairies, in white and gold and waving dazzling
golden banners in the sunshine. Following them came
A beautiful red bird flew dow,. from the trees, and on his back rode the Crystal
Queen
S4
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55
fade, because the fairies left them too long in the hot sun.
And the colors of the morning-glories are the col
ors of the sky - at morning, at noon, and at sunset
just as the fairies painted them for the pageant long,
long ago.
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tt~..
The powder melted into the heart of the flower, and a deliciously sweet perfume
filled the air
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We know it is n't a dream, though," said the queen,
" for we have the perfume of the violet all around us! "
And ever since then the violet has had the sweetest
perfume of all the forest flowers.
CC
"OR,
SPRINGTIME
64
They built the sides of tiny snowballs rolled hard and laid together like bncks
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smooth and clean, and filled up all the chinks between
snowballs with fresh snow.
Then they laid the cedar boughs across for a roof
and threw all the snow they could up on top to hide the
brown and green.
"There, that's good enough/' said Sil ver ~Ioss.
" Now I 'm going to make a tower."
"So am I," shouted Leaf Bud. "Don't anybody
look! "
They all set to work, each hiding from the others
so his tower would be a surprise. So quietly did th~y
work that the forest was very still, the only sounds being
the cracking of the ice on the branches of trees and the soft
thud of snow as it blew from the trees to the ground.
"Mine's done," shouted Leaf Bud, "only you'll
all have to help me put it on." So they all scampered
over to where Leaf Bud was working, and there they
saw a beautiful round tower with windows in the sides
and a piece of cedar stuck in the top for a flagpole. They
all worked hard, and together dragged the tower over to
the snow castle and put it up on the front corner.
Then they ran back for the other towers, and in a few
minutes a lovely tower stood on the top of each cor
ner of the castle, and the fairies stood off to admire
their work.
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72
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P age 77
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jun1ped up and put her hand over Sparkling Shel1's
nlouth just in time to keep the word "party" from
cOllling out. "You must be careful not to tell," she
whispered, and then called to the boys, in her most
grown-up manner, "We're entirely too busy to- play
to-day. You will have to excuse us! "
" All right," said the boys, "we don't care so much,"
and they started off by themselves.
But they had gone only a little way when Silver
Moss said, "Let's sit down here and watch what they
are doing, and see if it is really so much fun." So they
sat down on some nice soft moss and waited and watched
carefully.
Pretty soon they saw Leaf Bud go away - she
hunted up the sleepy old king of the spiders and had a
long talk with him. Whi te Violet went to the palace
of the king of lightning bugs, and had a long conference
with him. And Sparkling Shell went to the daisy field
and picked a great armful of daisies and brought them
back by the pool.
"Now can you make anything of that'?" asked
Green Twig disgustedly, as he saw White Violet and
Leaf Bud return to the bank of the brook.
"N 0, I can't," replied Silver Moss, and they watched
carefully a little longer, but the three fairies were only
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painting daisies, so they gave up trying to find the secret
and started other play.
About noon every fairy in the forest was surprised
to find at his home a daisy, delivered there by a fairy
messenger. On everyone of the white daisy petals was
a word, and if they began at the right place and read
straight around, they found this message, - "Come-
to - a - party - on - the - pool - at - sundown."
You may be sure there was much clapping of hands
and dancing for joy all through the forest as the mes
sages were read, for everybody loves to go to a party.
Everybody wondered who was giving the party, and
how it could be on a pool, but each fairy was so busy
fixing his best clothes and getting ready to go, tpat there
was really no time to find out.
All afternoon the three hostess fairies, with the help
of a hundred spiders and a thousand fireflies, worked
and worked, until at last everything was ready. They
barely had time t.O slip home and change their dresses
and shoes before sundown.
When the western sky grew pink and the big red
sun was just ready to cover his head for the night, the
queen and all her subjects arrived at the party.
And such a beautiful scene they saw before them!
From the shore to the big lily leaves were stretched
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lea! Bud and White Violet were swinging on some tall grasses
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FORGET-ME-NOT
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Page 90
The mud splashed with every step, and big drops of water dripped from the trees
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89
go
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The rain had fallen until all the fairies In the whole forest thought the
shine any more
SUit
could n't
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FAIRIES
91
step, and big drops of water dripped from the trees. The
fairy wings got limp and damp, and the pearly shoes all
splashed, till finally they took turns and sotnebody said
"Muscus, cleanus," all the time. In that way they got
to the palace fairly tidy.
The queen must have seen them coming, for she
leaned out of her flower and called, "How do you do,
everybody'? I am so very glad to see you. I was n't
expecting any visitors to-day! Come right into my
palace."
She jumped down and led the way to a lovely dry
spot under some big May-apple leaves, which were just
like umbrellas. And there they all played until a lot of
the water had soaked into the ground and everything
was much dryer.
But still the sun did n't shine, and the sky was as
gray as could be.
"Oh, dear," sighed Sparkling Shell, "I'm so tired
of romping here! I want the sun to shine, and the sky
to smile! "
" Of course we all want that," said the little queen
gravely. "I think I would rather see the blue sky than
anything I know of, but with all my magic I can't change
the sky. I '11 tell you what we can do, though," she added,
her face brightening into a smile. "Each of you get
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your paint box, and I '11 tell you a splendid thing to do."
Everybody was off with a skip and a jump, and it
was n't more than two minutes before every fairy was
back again, paintbox in hand.
"Now," said the queen, "what do you most want
to see'? Answer carefully! "
, Everybody looked around and up and down; they
saw the gray sky, the gray earth, and even a gray, muddy
brook tumbling over the rocks. Almost with one voice
they shouted, "We want to see the blue sky! "
" Just as I thought! " said the little queen. "Now
look at this flower." She held up a little white flower
made with four tiny white petals. "Do you see any of
these growing around'? " she asked.
" Yes, indeed!" cried White Violet. "There are
lots of them along the edge of the brook."
"That is true," replied the queen. " Now I want
you to paint these flowers the color of the sky."
The fairies set to work very happily. They were
selecting their flowers, getting out their brushes, and
mixing their paints, when Green Twig exclaimed, " Oh,
dear, I can't remember what shade of blue the sky is! "
That made all the other fairies stop to think - and
nobody could remember exactly ",hat shade of blue the
sunny sky had been.
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