Fairies & Frost

Marigold flew over the rainbow of flowers blooming in the garden where she lived. Each day she enjoyed seeing new buds sprout and then reveal their kaleidoscope of colours and shapes. She breathed in the fragrances as she flitted from flower to flower. On Marigold’s travels she always stopped at the patch of marigold flowers where she emerged as one of the buds blossomed, her tiny body draped in gold and honey coloured petals. Marigold’s hair was like the sun, radiating a warm yellow glow and flowing freely down her back. Her eyes reflected the brightness of her spirit and her sparkling vibrancy.

One bright cloudless day Marigold chatted and giggled with some of the other fairies living in the garden. They sprinkled fairy dust on the seedlings planted by the human who tended the garden, giving them extra magic to grow strong. They blew fairy dust over the flowers that had bloomed to keep their colour and adorn the garden for much longer. All the other creatures that lived in the garden benefitted from the fairies care and joyful endeavours.

Every creature was having a joyous time when Nen, the water fairy, felt a chill through his body. As Marigold stopped to see if her friend was ok, she also felt a rush of cold pass over her. All the fairies paused to see large grey clouds rolling in and blanket the garden in an eerie darkness. Nen flew quickly to the pond at the southern end of the yard. His home was amongst the reeds and water lilies. With Marigold following close behind, they both arrived to see the pond freeze over, the water animals trapped beneath its icy cover. The plants and flowers throughout the garden were snap frozen.

Fortunately for the fairies, their magical DNA protected them from the effects of the sudden chill gripping everything else. But with the sun blocked out by storm clouds, they would have to work quickly to save the garden and all its inhabitants. The fairies huddled together under the umbrella plant to come up with a solution.

“Will our fairy dust melt the frost on the flowers?” asked Rosa.

“No, I tried that already. The dust can’t get through,” replied Basil.

“What if we flap our wings really fast? Whoosh that ice right off!” suggested Aria.

“I think we would be exhausted before we even made a dent in this blizzard,” said Florian.

While the discussion went back and forth and no solutions made sense, Marigold closed her eyes to help her think. She was leaning against the cold stem of the plant.

All of a sudden Nen cried out, “Marigold! Look!”

Everyone turned to look at Marigold. And there where she was touching the stem, the icy exterior began to melt and pool on the ground. “How did you do that?” asked Nen.

“I’m not sure,” said Marigold.

“I know,” alerted Basil. “She’s a sun fairy! She has the power of the sun within her!”

Marigold touched another part of the umbrella plant and, sure enough, she warmed through the ice, and it melted away. As she continued to touch a number of other plants, she noticed it wasn’t working as well. “I’m running out of sun power,” she said. “I need more!” And with that, Marigold flew high into the sky, through the thick layer of clouds to find the sun.

Marigold reached beyond the barrier and found the warmth of the radiant sun. She hovered, her arms outstretched, and absorbed more of the sun’s energy before returning to the garden and spreading her sunshine over every little leaf and bud. A golden cascade of streaming heat permeated the cells of every living thing reawakening them from their glacial slumber.

“I wish we could help,” Aria said to her fellow fairies.

“Maybe you can!” Marigold had an idea. She held Aria’s hands and, with a deep breath of concentration, passed a golden glow of power to her. Aria was now able to warm through some of the smaller flowers. With this revelation, all the fairies joined in the quest to save the garden.

Their final task was the pond. Marigold took a long last flight to the sun, soaking up as much energy as she could. All the fairies gathered around the pond and, holding hands in a magical circle, the fire of the sun was relayed through each of them and emanated across the ice. With the pond restored, the water animals leapt for joy.

By the next morning, a slight wind had picked up and the clouds started to dissipate but the garden would never have survived without the heroic efforts of Marigold, the fairy community, and the amazing powers of the sun. Marigold spent the next two days curled up in her flowery bed feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for her ability and glad for the chance to rest. When she finally reappeared to rejoin all her friends, they had a magnificent party to celebrate.