Fairy Tea

Deep in the forest, a tiny teapot and cup sat on a polished stone table. Chiara gazed up at her grandmother in wonder.

“It’s here!” she whispered. “It’s really here!” She peered around her, eyes wide as saucers. “The stone table is all set for the fairy tea party! But where are the guests?” she asked.

“They’ll be along, by and by,” Grandma Lucy assured her. “We must be patient.”

Grandma spread her scarf on the forest floor, and the two settled down to wait.

“Will they really come?” Chiara asked after a bit.

“They may,” replied Grandma Lucy. “Or they may not. It depends.”

“It depends?” questioned Chiara. “On what?”

“Well, on any number of things,” Grandma Lucy explained. “It depends on the weather. Not too hot, not too cold, not too wet, not too dry.”

“It seems perfect to me,” Chiara offered.

“Aye, I’m sure it does,” Grandma Lucy agreed. “But are ye a fairy?”

“Well, no,” Chiara replied. “At least, I don’t think so?”

“Are ye sure?” Grandma asked with a twinkle in her sky-blue eyes.

Chiara closed her eyes and concentrated, thinking hard. Was she a fairy? Was she magical? Could she shape-shift? Or fly? Could she disappear at will? Or sing and call the trees to follow her through the wood? She thought very hard, searching through her life for any evidence of fairy-ness. No… she came up empty.

Opening her eyes again, she looked sadly at her grandmother. “No,” she said wistfully. “No, I don’t think so. I can’t find any magic in my life.”

“Maybe you’re just not old enough,” Grandma Lucy suggested.

“I’m not old enough for so many things!” Chiara sighed.

“True,” Grandma Lucy agreed, patting Chiara on the knee. “But, always remember: being not old enough is better than being too old. If you’re not old enough, you can always grow older. But if you’re too old - well, you can’t grow younger.” She kissed Chiara on the top of the head. “Be patient, my darling.”

“Okay,” Chiara agreed, yawning. “I’ll try.” Then she stretched, yawned again, and settled into Grandma Lucy’s lap. She was asleep in minutes.

* * *

Some time later, Chiara heard, as if from a great distance, tinkling giggles of laughter. Such a joyful sound! Just hearing it made Chiara feel as if she could fly, could float over the dark woods like a butterfly, or a dandelion puff. She forced herself to stay still, to keep her eyes closed, to pretend she was still sleeping. She was so afraid she would scare - them - away. She listened very hard, and she felt that she could almost make out words. Words like butterflies talking, like honey bees speaking. She listened harder, trying to pick out the speakers. There were … two? … three? … yes, three!

“Look at them! Humans lost in the forest! How did they get way out here?”

“Did you call them, Bella?”

“Bella! Did you?”

“Nnn - Nn - N”

“Tell the truth!”

“Um. Maybe?”

“Maybe!” It was the first voice again. She sounded a bit bossy, like she was in charge.

“Well, I didn’t mean to!” the third voice said softly. “I just - “

“Bella! You know it’s not allowed!”

“I know, I know - but look at them! So cute! The cute Granny, the cute little girl…” Bella argued. “Why not invite them to tea?”

“Because it’s NOT ALLOWED!” the first voice chastised. “Right, Cassandra?” the voice continued.

“But, Portia, what harm could it really do, to invite them to tea?”

“What HARM?” Portia repeated, her voice rising in annoyance. “It could ruin everything! Don’t you start going along with Bella, Cassandra! You know better!”

“But, Portia - “

“No, Bella! No! Now we’ll have to move the tea party! Help me, girls.”

Chiara couldn’t stand it any more. Moving stealthily, she opened one eye. The stone table was right next to her hand. With a lightning-fast move, her hand shot out to grab the tiny teapot. High-pitched shrieks greeted her sudden movement. She sat up, holding tight to her prize. She looked around her.

Grandma Lucy was fast asleep, sprawled out beside her. The stone table was there, but the tiny teacup had vanished. She gripped the teapot between her thumb and her index finger and looked around her.

At first, she saw nothing. Her heart fell as she considered that the guests must have fled (flown?) into the woods. But would they leave their teapot behind? She didn’t think so. She looked again.

There! Over by that beautiful red mushroom! She saw the twitch of a tiny wing. And there! Just visible behind that pinecone: the tiny cup flashed for a second, then disappeared. But there had been three voices…. There! Tucked away in that skunk cabbage flower; a tiny foot in a silver slipper, the tip of a flower hat.

“It’s okay,” Chiara murmured gently. “I won’t hurt you. Please come out. Please?” Very faintly, she heard the rustle of tiny wings. Carefully looking away from the movement, she examined the forest floor beside her and spotted an acorn cap. She lifted it carefully and showed it to her invisible audience. Then, she carefully poured a few drops of tea from the teapot into the acorn cap. She raised the cap to her unseen watchers in a silent toast, then lifted it to her lips to take a sip.

It was the most marvelous tea she had ever tasted! It was a perfect temperature - not too hot, not too cold. It tasted of honey and nectar, lavender and a hint of mint. It was … magical. She took another sip. And another. Each sip was more wonderful than the one before. Another sip. Surely it must be empty now? But the acorn cap remained brim-full. It seemed to grow in her hand, until it was the size of her favorite tea-cup at Grandma Lucy’s house. It stayed full, no matter how much she sipped.

She smiled and closed her eyes, reveling in the magic of the moment. When she opened her eyes again, she stared directly into the strange face of…a girl? A tiny girl. With wings! Perched on her hand. A girl? No. A fairy! A beautiful, perfect fairy, no bigger than a honey bee, with iridescent wings of rainbow colors, like a dragonfly’s.

She blinked. The fairy blinked back. She smiled. The fairy smiled.

Then another, older fairy, caught the first by the sleeve and pulled her away, and Chiara was staring into a new face. An angry face! She drew back, startled.

“Look what you’ve done, Bella!” Portia shrieked, shaking her tiny fist in Chiara’s face.

Bella shot forward, her wings shaking in agitation. “Don’t hurt her, Portia!” she pleaded.

“Well, what would you like me to do with her?!”

“Now, now, let’s just calm down.”

“Don’t you tell me to calm down, Cassandra! This is - this is - Oh, I don’t even KNOW what this is!” Portia railed, stomping her tiny foot.

“You - you - “ stuttered Chiara. “You are the most amazing, beautiful creatures I have ever seen!” she gasped.

“CREATURES?!” shouted Portia. “Who are you calling CREATURES?”

“Sorry! Sorry!” Chiara gasped. “I just - I don’t have a word that’s wonderful enough to fit you. You’re - you’re - stunningly beautiful. More beautiful than anything I have ever seen in my whole life!”

“Oh,” Portia said, flattered, preening to show off her lovely wings. “Well, if you say so … then I guess it must be true!”

Bella and Cassandra bustled forward to be duly admired, elbowing their way up to Chiara.

“This is the most magical day of my life,” Chiara breathed, awed. “I never thought - I never imagined - oh - I - you -” she stumbled to silence, enchanted by the tiny visitors.

“Well, since you’re here - “ Portia began.

“Would you like to join us for tea?” Bella asked eagerly.

She snapped her fingers, and the stone table filled with all good things: more tiny cups, more tea to fill them; berries and mushrooms and honeysuckle flowers and all manner of delicacies. The child and the fairies chattered and giggled and had the time of their lives.

But all magical things must come to an end. Grandma Lucy began to stir, waking from her nap. The three fairies exchanged a look.

“Time to go,” said Portia.

Chiara nodded sadly. She blew a kiss to each of their tiny heads, and Portia, Cassandra, and Bella vanished into the woods.

“Maybe we’ll come back someday,” Bella whispered, “and do this again.”

“I’d like that,” Chiara whispered back. “I’d like that a lot.”

Grandma Lucy stretched and sat up, rubbing her eyes. “I must’ve fallen asleep,” she said. “Sorry, honey. Did I miss anything?”

“No,” Chiara replied, with a dramatic stretch of her own. “I fell asleep, too.”

Grandma Lucy glanced around. “What happened to the tea?” she asked, confused.

“Tea?” Chiara echoed. “What are you talking about?”

“Why, the fairy tea!” Grandma Lucy said, pointing to where the stone table had been. “It was right there! A stone table, a teapot, a tea cup…a fairy tea! Don’t you remember?”

“Oh, Grandma!” Chiara said with a smile. “What an imagination you have! A fairy tea! Let’s go home.”

As they turned to walk away, a rustle in the ferns caught Chiara’s attention. A tiny fairy fluttered, waved, and disappeared.

When she got home, Chiara pulled out a new notebook. “Once upon a time,” she wrote, “Deep in the forest, a tiny teapot and cup sat on a polished stone table….”