by

ELIZABETH

BRENNAN

nI

Malcolm Whyte Collection of

CHILDREN'S

LITERATURECORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARYISMftGU^SATt

tMWR

Cornell University Library

The

original of this

book

is in

the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright

restrictions intext.

the United States on the use of the

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924005526565

THE WIND

FAIRIES

.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE.The Wind"little

Fairies bringsits

something new into the world of the

people." In

many

stories

and

verses, the reader will learn of

the fairies

who

control the different winds

and read of the deeds of and oftheir efforts to

the kind North, South and

West Wind

Fairies

defeat the widked schemings of the bad East

Wind

ones,

who

love to

make

mischief.

Elizabeth Brennan shows a particular aptitude in writing forchildren and her stories and verse, full of fancy and gentle htmiour,will

be read with delight by children of

all ages.

Naomi Heather's

and 52 pen sketches) give the book a charm and wistfulness that make it one which children will treasure.illustrations (8 full colour plates

^^

^-^

aitu^BY

ELIZABETH BRENNANwind ;."

^ ^ ^

For

there are fairies in the. . .

i hear them eeerytehere

ILLUSTRATED BY

NAOMI HEATHER"^MPTROPOLITAN PUBLISHING COMPANY,DUBLINLIMITED,

LONDON

URIS LIBRARYNOV1 S 1985

xJeaicidi

TO THE CHILDRENOF ALL AGES

WHO

STILL BELIEVEIN FAIRIES

KyenlenlsTHE WIND FAIRIES THE EAST WIND FAIRIES' PLOT SANTA'S BEARD THE WEST WIND FAIRIES AND THE LEPRACAUN THE KIND FAIRIES THE LITTLE BROWN FOX ... THE NORTH WIND FAIRIES AND PAT GRANDPA'S RHEUMATICS ... THE WEST WIND FAIRIES AND THE PROFESSOR THE SKY PARLIAMENT AND THEPaga Paea

7

Page 13 Page 17Page 22

THE WEST WIND TOMMIE THE SOUTH WIND THE DUNCE

FAIRIES

ANDPage 57

FAIRIES

AND

THE SOUTH WINDJANE

FAIRIES

AND AND

Page 23 Page 26Page 30

THE EAST WIND SANTA THE LEPRACAUN THE EAST WINDPATTIE

FAIRIES

FAIRIES

AND

Page 35 Page 38

WINDS THE WEST WIND

FAIRIES

ANDPage 43

AT THE SEASIDE THE WEST WIND THE SMUGGLERS

FAIRIES

AND

THE KITE THE WEST WIND FAIRIES THE CLOTHES LINE THE FAIRY RING THE SOUTH WIND FAIRIES THE GHOSTS

ANDPage 45Page 50

ANDPage 62

PAT'S PRAYER THE NORTH WIND FAIRIES HELP THE LEPRACAUN THE WIND FAIRY SHOEMAKER THE WIND FAIRIES' LULLABY ...

wwwwwwwwwwwwwww

LOver thehills

9&ind 3^ait'iesandfar

away

Where

the

moon and

the stars are kept by daycrystal bright

In shining caverns of

Dwell the winds of heaven with*

their

wings of light.

NowTheWith

each of these winds has a fairy trainsunshine and sprinklefairies

To help it spreadsouth wind

rain.

are delicate things

flower-like faces

and rose petal wings.*

Their work

is

to bathe in the spring tune fair.

The sleeping blossoms with Stardust rare And which, when caressed by the soft south Awaken and burst into bloom again.

rain,

The West Wind Fairies are full of fun And cannot at all be relied upon. They frolic about over field and dellTormenting the crops and the farmer*as

weU.

They

tickle the ears

of the sleeping

com

And And

rustle the

wheat in the early dawn.

They shake

ripened fruit from the apple trees

colour with crimson the falling leaves.

The North WindSpreading

Fairies

have plenty to do

firost veils

of a silvery hue

And making

white snowflakes from frozen rainin the clouds again.

Then sewing them up

But the East Wind

Fairies are not so nicesleet

With

their

swords of

and

their spears

of ice

They

love to pinch old people's ears

and nose

And

nip Utde children's soft fingers and toes.

*

They carry a poison concealed in their wings Which they spitefully drop upon growing things. And when pierced by their daggers of sleety grey The poor Utde Mossoms just wither away.

TheThey

others are kindly as fairies should.Fairies are far

But the East Windlike to

from good.show.

make

trouble wherever they go.

And

often they do, as

my stories

will

^^p^^^P^^^P"

L East ^ind S^aifies^LEASEBrowncapsir,"

^IdtheUttle

said

Squirrel, raising his acorn

respectfully,

"might

I

speak

to

your Fairies for a moment please?""Certainly," replied the Southrather gnmipily, "if

Wind

you can

find them.

Here

I

am

with an appointment on

my my

hands with the Sunbeam Elves for fouro'clock,"I haou omcthiit0 to report, tbr," repUd the Brvum SqubrreL

and

I can't start because

Fairies aren't here.

Up

to

some

fresh

mischief,

I'll

be bound."Squirrelreproadifully,

"Oh"your

no, sir," repliedJuries

the

little

Brown

are

never

unkind.

Everyone knows that."alittle

The South Wind couldn't help feeling just "Oh well," he admitted grudgingly, "I dare saypoints.

bit flattered.

they have their goodin trouble

But what's wrong with you Mr. Squirrel? Are yousir," replied the

again?"

"I have something to report,ferring to his oak leaf note

Brown

Squirrel, re-

book in a business-like way.

"Ah," cried the South Wind, "those EastI'U be bound."

Wmd

Fairies again,

The

little

Brown

Squirrel nodded: "Yes, I'm afraid so,

sir,

they are

always making trouble, that crowd."

The South Winddignation.

almost blew himself away, so great was his in-

"I

shall

have to ask the Sky Parliament to pass a new law banishing

them from the seasons altogether," he said angrily. "If I had my way they'd be locked up in the wind cavern jail long ago." "I suppose you have heard of the Animal Red Cross, sir?" enquired

the Squirrel, waving his bushy

tail

in order to balance himself

on the

narrow branch.

The South Wind nodded. "Why yes.are givingforfirst

We often help them when theymeto

aid to the flowers.

Do

they want

do something

them?""Wellsir," said

the Squirrel, "it's like this. I belong to the Squirrelthis

branch of it, and earlyI

morning while on duty down in the hollowsnowdrops lying half dead underneath

came

across a whole line of

^e

big diesmut tree."'Terrible," muttered the South

Wind, fanning himself in order

to

relieve his feelings,

"such goings-on have never been heard of before,

to

my

knowledge."

"They had apparently been stabbed with a frost spear, sir," continued the Brown Squirrel, referring to his leaf note book again. "Itried giving

them

fresh air injections but they wereat

no

use. Woxildsir?"

youof

be so kind as to come and have a look"I'd go now," replied the South

them yourself,

Wind

crossly, "if those Fairies

mine were"Well

here. Is that all

you found Squirrel?"late, I

sir,"

whispered the Squirrel, "last night

received an

S.O.S. from the

man in

the moon.

when he thought no one was when he knows I'm on duty, sir." The South Wind nodded. "Not a badalittle

He sent it down by a shooting star, looking. He often does that kind of thingold fellow the

Moon Man,when hezoeit

too fond of drawing a cloud handkerchief over his face

ought to be doing his duty, butsoon take care of that by blowing

away

again.

Well Squirrel?"

"Hetree

told

me to

look in the hollowsir,"

by the pond,

replied theI

Squirrel,

"and sure enough when

did I discovered a whole pile of hailstoneof

bombs and

frost spears all lying

.iiMrtiiMM.......

ready waiting to be used. If you ask

10

me

sir,

those East

Wind

Fairies are planning

an attack

of some

kind to-night."

"If they do

that,** replied

the South

Wind "we must attack too.up

It*s

the only way to save all the flowers and plants coming

for the spring.

Ah, here come

my

Fairies

now, I see."Fairies floated gracefiilly

The

pretty South

Wind

up on

pufis of

silver thistledown, singing gaily as they

came.

Here we come, here we come. Full of gaiety and fun. Why here's the Squirrel, fresh and That uniform looks nice on him!

trim.

"Hello, Fairies," said the Squirrel, saluting smartly. "I hope I see

youfirst

all

well."

"Comeaidlet

on. Fairies," cried the Southto

work

do down in the

Wind fussily, "we have some hoUow. Jump upon my shoulders andlittle

us be Down

off."

in the hollow the poor

snowdrops were half lying onthey were indeed alFairies tenderly

the ground, deathly pale, and looking

alas, as if

ready dead. Alighting near them the South

Wind

breathed on their waxen petals, and carefully boundspear

up

their frost

warm air. Suddenly the little Brown Squirrel, who was patrolling up and downwounds withsoft,

came dashing excitedly across the grass. "Oh Fairies," he cried, "please come and look at the sky. There is a great big cloud aeroplane floating over from the east. Those Fairiesin the hollow,

are not waiting until to-night to attack the flowers after alL"

"Go

back to yoiu: post. Squirrel," said the Southus.

Wind

rising,

"leave the whole thing to

Come on

Fairies, let us hide

behind

this

group of beechnut

trees

quickly."the wicked East

Theof the

black cloud aeroplane sped quickly towards the hollow, andevil shriek,

then with antrees

Wind

Fairies alighted

on top

and

started to

drop their cold hailstone bombs about in

every direction.

Immediately the South

Wind

Fairies darted out

from

their hiding

II

place,

and breathing warmly upon the hailstones as theyinstantly into soft,

fell,

melted

themrage,

wann

rain.

The enemy

Fairies,frost,

with shouts of

made

to attack

them with

their spears

of

but the South

Wind

Fairies, flying out before

them, breathed a doud of deliciousImmediately the East

perfume right into

their feces.

Wind andall

his

followers began to feel terrible drowsy,ofif

and one by one they

dropped

asleep,

and noddingfield.

their heads, drifted slowly

back again over theat the sky as

meadow and

Uphe

in the apple orchard. Fanner

Plowem looked up

strolled to

and

fro beneath his fragrant apple trees.

"Dear me," he mumbled, "the Wind must be changing again. A good job too. I was afeard that cold East Wind might blight my pears this spring, and then I'd be in a proper mess, I would. The Wind is coming from the south now. Doggone it, but it smells good. Vi'lets and roses and musk all mixed up together, in a manner of speakin'. I likes the South Wind, I do." And down in the hollow, the poor little snowdrops at last began to open their eyes, and after a few more injections of fresh air, said they reaUy felt fine again. Immediately the South Wind Fairies b^an to dance delightedly on top of the beechnut trees, and the echo of their song reached the Utde Brown Squirrel as he tramped away on his beatHurrah, hurrah.

We've driven them away. Their hailstone bombs

And

spears of frost.use.

Won't be much

Because they've lost. Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah!

And if you stroll down by the hollow any summer evening,

don't be

surprised if you see a perky litde fellow patrolling the path with a large

chestnut medal swinging importantly from his beechnut belt. Itlitde

is

the

Brown

Squirrel, of course, butall, it isn't

we can

forgive

him

for looking so

proud. AfterCross,

eoery fellow in the squirrel branch of the

Red

who can

boast of a Chestnut medal!

THE END12

The Wind

Fairies

When Snowdrop Armies March up

with Spears of Cireen

'JMV^

}

(ZJanxaSanta sat at

s

OSeai*cinight

home one

Eating cake and frosted cherries

In his room which looked so bright

Hung

about with holly berries.

He wasFor

in a pleasant

moodlog glowing

As he watched the yulehis beardsilky,

had been shampooedsoft,

And was

and flowing.

But the bad

east fairies near

Were annoyed

to see

him happy

So they looked on with a sneer Feeling sour and very snappy.

13

"Silly fool," they hissed with spite,

"Thinks he's

really very

charming.to-night"

We'll do him some

harm*

Wicked words and most alanning.

Later they returned to find Santaslept

so

with

aeast

swagger

They

called in the

badas

wind

Harsh and sharp

any dagger.

*

Then with

razor edge quite bareit

Down the room To where SantaWas

soon was creeping

in his chair

contentedly asleeping.

*

Then

the naughty wind for spite.

Shaved off Santa's beard quite neatly.

And had

disappeared from sight

Ere he could awake completely.*

Oh

it

was an awful shame,

Santa wildly tried to find them

For he knew they were to blame.

Was

the air not chill behind them?

Santa Glaus without a beard!It

was quite against traditionthe poor old fellow feared

And

Folks would eye

him with

suspicion.

14

So he jumped upon

his sleigh

Nearly desperate with worry

For 'twould soon be Christmas day;

He must

get help in a hurry.

*

To the north wind fairies then He revealed his bad position And they felt quite angry whenThey sawSanta's sad condition.

*

So they thought and thought again

OnBut'till

the awful situationtheir thoughts

were

all

in vain

they got an inspiration.

*

Why

not have a beard of snow?set

They couldIt

the

rain

afreeziag

And no one would*

ever

knowpleasing.

would look so neat and

So the north wind came and tossedSnowflakes light as any feather

WhichGlued

the fairies with some frostartistic'ly

together.

*It

looked

soft

and snowy whitetight

Whiter than his own beard surely

While theHoldingit

frost glue gripped

it

in place securely.

15

When

the

sly

east

fairies'

spies

Saw him on his They just staredAt

reindeer goingin

blank surprise

his beard so soft

and flowing!

And

the stars with silver eyes

Viewed the beard with admirationLittleIt

did they realizeimitation!

was only

And

the

moon man

with a sneer.it?

Muttered:

"Blimey, can you beatI

That old Santa QausIs

fear

becoming quite

conceited}"

"Then the naughty wind for tpUe thaved oft Santa's beard. ..."

i6

aifies

am"lOIELLO,**-^*- fully,

la-

vlte

JSepi*(tcaunWindFairies play-

little

Chris Cow," cried the Westare

"why

you not eating the sweet clover from the

meadow?"

"Ohlives

Fairies," replied Chris

Cow

sadly, "thelaid a spell

wicked lepracaun who

imder the hawthorn tree has

cannot give

my

master any more milk.

He

is

a

upon me, and now I bad fellow, that same

lepracaun, and weaves his evil spells while dancing under the harvest

moon."

"Why, Chris Cow,""thereis

cried the

West Windthat.

Fairies

soothingly,

no need

to

worry any more about

To-night the harvest

moon

will

be shining again, and when that wicked lepracaun comes

out to dance under the hawthorn treethe hollow to cast a spell

we

will get the black witch

from

upon

him.

Now

go down to the pretty Bluebelleat the sweet clover as

meadow andlepracaunto

you always do. Leave that bad oldus."Fairies," said Chris

"Thanks

Cow

gratefully, "if

he

is

not stopped thatall

lepracaun will soon have

the ani-

mals in the Bluebell

meadow bewitched.is

Heso."

said

he would, and he always doessays.

what he

That

why we

fear

himin

Wavingflew

their

graceful

wings

farewell, the dainty

West Wind

FairiesThe siach wueh appeared.

away down

to

the tree shaded

17

hollow where the Black Witch lived, and alightmg on a grassynear her cave, ccmimenced to chant:

hill

Oh

Black Witch, with your magic charm.

We

come

to you in great alarm.

Please weave a spell to set cows free.

From

the Lepracaxm under the hawthorn tree!

Immediately they finished singing a loud gust of wind blew out

from the cave, and the Black Witch appeared with hering about her wrinkled face.

dirty hair hang-

"Oh-h-h-h!" she shrieked, waving her arms, "you WestFairies are a nuisance

Wind

always wanting something. Oh my cockroachesCow downin the Blue-

and black-beedes, what has Liam Lepracaun done on you now? Ohh-h-h!"

"Hebell

has cast a wicked spell on poor Chris

meadow,'* replied the West

give her master any

more milk.

Wind Fairies timidly, "and she cannot You must give us something to help her.supposeI'll

Black

Witchplease!" "Oh my bluebotdes andHereis

lizards I

have to," grumbledI'll

the Black Witch dipping into her big cauldron, "if I don'tpeace.

have nodancing

a spell

powder to

cast

upon him while hehis face.

is

under the harvest moon. Wait imtil the

village clock strikes twelve,

and then dart out and fling it right into

Now go away and leaveall

me

alone,

I'll

never get

my

Black Magic book finished with

these

interruptions,

and it has to be back in the witch's library by to-morrow."Fairies a parcel tied

She threw the Wind

up

in a green

bay leaf and

with another shriek, vanished back into her gloomy cave.

"Hurrah!" cried the West Wind Fairies delightedly, "now we canhelp poor Chris

Cow give her

master some more milk again. Let usrising

all

go down to the Bluebell meadow and wait there for the

of the

moon."Thatnight,

down

in the Bluebell

long black shadows over trees

meadow, the Shadow Elves strew and grass, and covered up the sleepingi8

.

.

bluebells withinlace. Just

a mantle of fikny

shadow

before twelve o'clock however, the

Moon Mana

appeared from behind his wisp

of cloud handkerchief, and immediately, with

whoop of

joy, the mischievous

Lepracaunto dance

popped out from between the branches ofthe hawthorn tree andwildly about.

commenced

He

was a

droll looking little

fellow, with a tasselled cap

perched on his

narrow head and pointed shoes on his tinyfeet,

which twinkled brightly

as

he danced.

Me

iea a droll fellow. .

looMng UUla

He was

singing too, and the words of his

song reached the West

Wind

Fairies as they

crouched behind a

curtain of

shadow which the Shadow Elves

had obligingly hung up

for them.

MyAndAnd

nameoh, I

is

Liam Lepracaun,an awful one!

am

I've cast a spell

she can't

upon Chris Cow, give any more

nice

milk now.

WithI

a hi-diddle, hi-diddle dow!to cast another spell.as well.

mean

On

aU the sheep and pigs

There'll be

no wool

for

Farmer

Joe,

iHi

And no

nice, fat pigs for the coimtrylAam Lepracaunu>/fcBi^

he was in danger of melting out the

Thv cheered fhcmceloe* up loUAfew glamt of cloud champagne.

North Wind's snowflakes once

THE END

42

Johnnie whispered: "I hope Cod wont mind."

airies

and' vhe cfxiieSaid the west wind:

"The

kite

compedtion

is

on.

And

these rich boys are certain to win.kite

For theIs

which

his father has

madethin.

little

John

both small and exceedingly

Now these rich boys have toys that poor John hasn't got.AndIfit really

won't matter to them.

we

lift

Johnnie's kite right

up over the

lot

And

thus win him that thirty pounds ten."

43

So the kind west wind

fairies

flew

down

to the dell.

Where

the people were watching the testit

And

catching John's kite asit

fluttered

and

fell.

Raised

right

up above

all

the

rest.

*

And

the people around simply gaped in surprisekite soared

As the

and soared through the

sky.

Why theyTo

hardly could credit the sight of their eyes

behold a kite flying so high.*

And

in

bed

that

same evening when

closing his eyes

Johnnie whispered: "I hopeIf,

God

won't mind.

when

giving

him thanks

for that beautiful prize,

I just save

one small piece for the wind!"

es

K^iotnes ^x^i^neDameup

mSamuelhimselfbefore

FA HA!"

tittered the

bad East Wind"thereis

Fairies delightedly,still

Fusspot's washing

hanging out on the

line wringing wet. Just look at that stuckShirt,

he doesn't look so proud ofall

now withit

his

starch drippingstiffen up.

can get time toall

How"Senwi trou an rigMf " mHtleredthe alv Soet

sad they

look,

and we

like to see

peopleWind Fairg..."thisis

looking sad.

"Ohenough

dearieto

me!" moaned the pyjamaBusy's

suit

dolefully,

make any

respectable suit of pyjamas blush with slKime.

LookandI

at

Dame

washing

up on

the

hiH

dryWind

already,

can just imagine that spiteful

Ned

Nightshirt hugging himselfis

with delight.fool. If

He

hates us pyjamas because he

an old fashionedFaeries;

we

could only send a message to the kind WestI

they would help us

am

sure."

"And my mistress is waiting to use me on the Simday dinner table,"sighed the starched white linen tablecloth, sadly. "I heard her teUing the

maid she

likes

me much

better than those vulgar, coloured ones."

"And what about me," chimedwas supposed to be

in the embroidered bolster case. "I

used for a very important visitor of the master's,

and now look

at

me

drip dripping myit's

life

away before

I

can even

manage

to get dry.all

Oh,

a shame."

"Serves you

right!" muttered the sly East Fairy Spies spitefully,

"you people with starchBesides

in

you are altogether too stuck up and proud.

^we

want

to get our

own back on

old

Dame

Fusspot, she

is

always saying

how much

she dislikes us, the

silly

old fool!"

45

'This

is

the worst of living in a valley," sighed the lace petticoat,

"the winds hardly ever come

down this way. They prefer tobutits

frolic

about

up on the

sunlit hilltc^s, I suppose,little

very hard on us."line:

Suddenly a timid"Please,

voice spoke

up from the end of the

Mr.

Shirt,

might I suggest something?"

Sam

Shirt looked aroimd in surprise.

Nobody

ever took

much

notice of the

humUe

tea-towel hanging so quietly amongst the dusters

and polish dc^hs."Well,in spite oflittle

tea-towel," he said kindly, for he

was

really very kind

all

his stardi,

"what do you want

to say?"

"Only

this,

Mr.

Shirt," piped the tea-towel respectfully, "I think

diat one of us should break loose

from our pegs andthe kind

try to fly as far as

the Buttercup Hill, in order to

tell

West Windwill!"

Fairies about

our sad

plight.

7%ey

will help

us

I know theyreplied the

"Don't be

silly," said

the stuck

up pyjama smt rather haughtily,little

"there isn't enough wind to fly any of us anywhere."

"Not you heavy ones perhaps,""but athelight piece

tea-towel nervously,far with

of doth

like

me

might manage to get thatsee."

hdp of the Breeze Elves;"Then you mean ^wmwill

I

happen to know them, youtea-towel."

go?" asked the Shirt kindly.

"Why that

is

really very noble

of you,

little

"I can't go anyway," said the conceited tennis flannels looking veryimportant,Saturday.

"my master needs megoes,

to play in a very big tennisstay."

match on

Whoever dse

/must

"Nor me dther," chimed in the fully fashioned silk stockings, "my mistress says I am more predous than jewels these days. / can't risk being torn to pieces on those brambles growing on ButtercupHill."

"If you please,

sir,"

piped the

little

tea-towd timidly, "/

am

only

a humble piece of doth used for dryingplenty of others to takeladies or

up the

dishes with.

There are

my

place if I

am

lost.

If none of the other

gentlemen

like to

go I

will gladly

do so

^for

your sake, Mr.

Shirt," she

added

shyly.

46

Thehis life

shirt could not help feeling just a

tiny bit flattered,

and for the

first

time intea-

he began to notice that thesort of a

towel was really quite a pretty little thing,in a

humble

way of course.of you going,'*"thosecruel

"I don't hebushes at

like to think

muttered

doubtfully,

the foot of Buttercup Hill

wouldI

just love to get their

hands on a

helpless piece of cloth like you. Perhaps

had better go instead."

"Ohthing,

no!"

cried the Utde

tea-towelTha Utile Brmeme Btiwj caught hsr up in their tiny amu and bora herawauline.

pittfidly, "please don't

think of such aare

Mr.

Shirt.

You

hx

too im-

portant a person to lose frominstead

Dame

Fusspot's dothes

Let

me

go

I beg of you!"for

Without waiting

him

to reply, she started to struggle with

the pegs that held her, and after a few wriggles, managed to work

her arms loose from their grip, and fluttered damply to the ground.

Then, being verytiny arms

light,

the litde Breeze Elves caught hervalley

up

in theirhills.

and bore her away over the

and up towards the

"Goodbye, Mr.

Shirt!" cried the httle tea-towel faintly, "if I don't

come back please think of me sometimes, won't you?" "Why!" shrieked the wicked East Wind Spies, peeping from behinda ragged cloud, "the tea-towel has broken loose fromits

pegs.

She must

be going to get help for the others from the West WindButtercup Hill.there."

Fairies

on

Come on

Fairies;

we must

stop her before she gets

With a sudden howl of rage theyraced after the poorlittle

rose from their hiding place, and

tea-towel. Seizing her in their cruel

arms theyhill.

dashed her into the

spilsy

thorn bushes growing at the foot of thefrail little

The

sharp thorns tore her

body almost

into shreds but

bravely she tried to rise and drag herself on.

47

Catching her up again the Eastother

Wind

Fairies

blew her into yet ancruelly scratching

dump

of brambles and while these were

still

her to pieces with their long spikes, lifted her up and dashed her againsta prickly hedge, that tore her

woimded doth body almostlittlelittleit,

asunder.

Ronnie Rabbit, playing hide and seek with hisdie side of Buttercup Hill, saw the poor

brothers on

tea-towd fluttering intried tolift it

agony on the ground, and running towardsthe crud thorns that entangled"Itisit.

up from

no

use, litde rabbit," whispered the poor tea-towd faintly,

"I

am dying; I know I

am, but

will

you please hold

paws so that those wicked East Wind

Fairies cannot

me down with yom lift me up again?^'the litde rabbit's

Ronnie Rabbit did as she asked, and with a shriek of rage the East

Wind

Fairies rose

and flew away

again.

They knew

grey paws would be too strong for them!"Please, litde rabbit," whispered the tea-towd with a sigh, "will

you run up to the top of Buttercupif they will

Hill

and ask the West Wind

Fairies

be so kind as to go down into the valley and

hdpit

old

DameShirt,

Fusspot's line of dothes to dry quickly. Especially the kindI hate to see all his

Mr.

proud starch dripping away before

can get timeto whisper

to

stiflfen

up.to

my nameAndlitde

Goodbye litde rabbit, ask the Wind Fairies him whenever they are passing that way."its

fluttering

torn and tattered body in farewell the poor

tea-towd died.Fairies

The West Windwhere

were very angry when they heard of the

tea-towd's fete and immediatdy hurried away

down

into the valley

Dame

Fusspot's clothes line was

still

hanging damply in the

garden.

Blowing and blowing as hard as they could the Westflew in and out through the wet clothes, lifting

Wind

Fairies

them up and throwing

them down, and

twisting

them

in and turning

them

out, until at lastair.

the whole line was fluttering, dry and crisp, in the evening

"You may thank the brave litde tea-towd for this," said the West Wind Fairies to the shirt. "She is now lying dead on the side of Butter48

cup HMl, torn to pieces by the cruel thorns where the East Wind Fairies threw her. She gave her life to help you, Mr. Shirt, and asked us tovrtiisper

her

name

so that

you should

hear.

Never forget

her, because

she didn't forget you. Goodbye!"

"Dear me!"

said

Dameits

Fusspot, as she collected her freshly dried

clothes into a big

wash

basket, "here is

my

nice

little

tea-towel gonelost

and broke loose fromusefulness, so

pegs. Dear, dear, I

would rather haveall

any of the dothes butit

that; it

was worth them

put together for

was!"while hangingstiff

in

And later on that same evening, Dame Fusspot's airing cupboard,and in

and

spotless

the freshly ironed shirt could

not help thinking of the poor Utde tea-towel, lying dead on theside of Buttercup Hill,tospite of the fact that

he was supposedtear.

be dry, he found himself sadly shedding a starchy

'0ar

nwl" taid Dame Pustpot.

THE END

49

(QlteDownThere

cTaififin the Bluebellis

(/Kingmeadow.

a

fairy

ring.

Where

in the silver moonlight.

The

Little

People

sing.

They dance aroimd the

toadstools.

And

chase the lepracauns.all

But they must

be gone again.

Before the daylight dawns.

They

sing

about the rainbow.

And ofThat

the pot of gold.

rests

upon the end oftold!

it.

Or

so

we have been

They dance amongstStrewn by the

the

shadows.Elves,

Shadow

And

play sweet fairy lullabys,

Invented by themselves.

50

AndThe

in the trees around them,fair

Wind

Fairies croon.hillaby.

Another kind of

About the

silvery

moon.toadstools,

So

if

you see some

Down

in the fields this spring,

Don't dare to interfere with them,It is a fairy ring!

51

^L

Seuik

^indandtimidly,

3^airiesike i^nesT mts

"IP^LEASE, South Wind Fairies," ^^^ piped the little brown mouse,"Charles Cricket told

me

to

come

to

you

for help.is

Hedo,"

says

you helpthe

everyone

who

deserving of

it."

"Of course we South Wind Fairiesis

replied

kindly, "but

what

your trouble,

little

brown mouse?"

"I come from the old housein

downbrownnosup-

Primrose Valley,"

said

the

mouse, "but for the past

five yearsit is

body has

lived in

it,

because

posed to be haunted, and indeed Fairies,it"Pteate, South Wind Fairies, tH UUte broion mouse.

really is haimted,

by four ghosts!"Fairies

pipmi

"Oh howthe

stupid people are!" cried

South

Wind

laughing,

"to be frightened away from a house"It's

by a few ghosts!"little

not

v&y

nice for us. Fairies," said the

brown mouse

sadly,if

"we

havoi't tasted a scrap of cheese for the past five years.

Now

yoa could bdp us

to get rid of those interfering old ghosts, every-

thing would be aU right again, I

know

it

wovild."Fairies doubtfrilly,

"But how can we get in?" asked the South Wind"if all the doors

and windows are kept

tightly shut."little

"I could nibble a hole in the wooden window frame," cried the

brown mouse eag&Ay, "and then your Wind couldwithout being seen. Ito

slip in quite easily

am almost certain that if a fresh,it

clean

wind were

blow right tlirough the whole house again,

would frighten those

old ghosts away."

52

.

"The Wind would not be enough to get rid of them," replied the South Wind Fairies, "but we know of a special way for dealing with ghosts, we have often used it before. Now Uttle brown mouse," theyaddedplayftilly,

"suppose you

nm

off

home

to Primrose Valley

and

start nibbling at that

window

frame.

When

the village clock strikes

twelve

we

will

sUp in and wait for those mischievous ghosts to appear.

Howsilly

foolish people are to

be frightened away from a house by a few

ghosts!"little

TheFairies

brown mouse obediently

scurried away,perftraies, the

and havingSouth Windtree in the

collected a

few parcels of delicious flower

blew down into Primrose Valley and hid behind alittle

garden waiting for the

brown mouse

to let

them

in.

But the

little

brown mouse had been working very hard indeedfive

and barely had they been waiting enoughIt

minutes when he had a hole big

for

them

to slip in through.

was a lovely old house, with dark, panelled walls and a beautifruit

ful

broad oaken staircase decorated with bunches of carved

and

flowers.

"Oh what a South Wind Fairies

shame!" cried theindignantly,

"that

such a lovely old house should remainunoccupied for so long!"Just as the village clock struck twelve

however, the leader of the ghost armyfloated into

the room, clad in a very

smart cloak of pale blue vapour.

"Heigh ho!" he yawned, throwinghimself back into one of the armchairs,"it's certainly great

to have this place

to

come backlike

to every night.

How

do

you

my newMade

vapour cloak, fellow

ghosts?that

specially for

me

out ofShe iflnched Mr. Shieary good andhard,.

new spook

vapour, if you please."53

"Speaking for myself, I don't thinkghost with asniff,

"it's

a

litde

much of it,"

^well

replied anotherfor

^too

loud

my

taste,

Mr. Shivery.""If Iill

may

say so,

Mr. Geepy," snapped Mr. Shivery,at all, I

"jealousy

becomes you. What about those awful socks you bought only asuppose? Ghosts inair

few weeks ago. They weren't loudhouses shouldn't throw stones!"

"Now," whispered one of the South Wind Fairies mischievously, "is the time to give them a litde fright. After me. Fairies!" And darting out she pinched Mr. Shivery good and hard on theback of his ghosdy neck.

"Yow-w-w-w!" shrieked Mi.pinched

Shivery, clutching at his neck,

"who

me

like that? If this is

another of your jokes, Mr. Creepy, I

can't say I think

much

of

it!"

"I didn't pinch you Mr. Shivery," cried Mr. Creepy angrily, "you

must be imagining things!""I never imagine things," replied Mr. Shivery, bad temperedly,again

"and someone did pinch^that's

me on the back of the neck.

Don't

let it

happen

all."

He sat down, but barely had he pulledhis

new vapour doak aroimd him, when the mischievous South Wind Fairies crept up and pulled it away again."Listen, Shivery,

Mr. Creepy," roared Mr.almostbesidehimself,jealous because

now "you may be

my newthat'sit

vapour doak becomes

me, buttear

no reason why you should

off

my

back!"

"Ohsnapped

for goodness

sake,

shut

up,""I

Mr.

Creepy

impatiently,

never went near your siUy old doak."ldidn'tpinehvou,"eriedMr.Creepy

DOU't be SUCh a54

fOOl,

MT. SlUVery."

"What-t-t!"is

shrieked

Mr.

Shivery,

"methe

a

fool?

Mewho

known

to be the ghostliest

ghost

in

whole world! Why,

you

"

Mr. Jumpy, coming forward, "if somebody pinched Mr. Shivery's neck and pulled his doak off him, and we didn't do it, then it stands to reason there is someone else in thefor goodness sake!" begged

"Oh

room.

at

The question is ^who is it?" The ghosts all stopped and looked nervously around them, and just that instant, the South Wind Fairies darting out from their hiding"Lookout!" yelled

place attacked the shivering ghosts.

Mr. Spooky,

"it's

those interfering South

Wind

Fairies again!

Make

yourselves invisible, fellow ghosts, and they won't

know where to blow. Don't let them force you out of this lovely house!"

And

draping their vapour cloaks about them the ghosts started toall directions, untilit

dodge about inout had to give

the poor South Wind, almost

worn

up

as a

bad

job.

"Never mind. South Wind,"anotherbelieve

said the fairies consolingly,

"we havethati

way ofme!"

dealing

with them

and they won't escape

And creeping up to where the ghosts had been sitting they sprinkledthe delicious flower perfume about in every direction.

"Heigh ho!" yawned Mr. Shivery appearingstay long after, the fools.I thinkI'll

again.

"So they

didn't

Dear me,

I feel very tired after all that exercise,it's

have forty winks before

time to go."

AndThe

stretching

himself out on the sofa he was soon fast asleep, while the remainder ofthe ghosts,all

yawning, immediately did the same.

delicious

flower perfiime had lulled

them

safely to sleep.

"Hurrah!" cried the South Wind Fairies to the

who had

crept

up

to

where they were hiding,

brown mouse, "now, little brown mouselittle

those naughty old ghosts wiU sleep until daybreak, and once theelves see a ghost at daybreak,

dawn

he can remain a ghost no longer, butforever,

must go back

to ghost land

and disappear

and

this lovely old

house will be once more

free.

Are you not happy,55

little

brown mouse?"

when the dawn dves looked in and saw them asleep in the room, they woke them up by tickling their eyes with splinters of light, and when the ghosts raised their heads and realizedAsfor the ghosts,just

what had happened they were so overcome with shame that they

covered up their heads with their vapour cloaks and fled forever fromthe beautiful old house in Primrose Valley.

And

the

little

more, was justpossibly be.

brown mouse, with plenty of cheese in the larder once about as happy as any little brown mouse could

>^)(ki(i^'T/l

VMIq hrmon mouto

welth

planty of

eheete...

THE END

56

and

(Qontmienice, red apples.tree.

Tommie saw someBut the

Hanging on an appletree stood in

an orchard.

And was

high as high coiild be.

And he

thought, "If there were

fairies.

Passing by this

way

just

now.

Would they

guess I'd like an apple.the bough?

And blow one down from

But of course, there are no

fairies.

Only in SoI

my

story book.

cannot have an apple.bright and red they look!"

Oh how

*

But the West WindThought:

Fairies list'ning.

"Oh what an

awful shame!fairies.

He

does not believe in

But of course

he's not to blame.

57

Maybe we can

help poor

Tommie,too.

And by

helping, teach

him

That, by blowingFairy wishes can

downcome*

the appl^true!"

So the kind WestIn

Fairies, slipping.

amongst the

trees'till

aroimd.loosened.

Teased the apple

it

And

fell

toppling to the ground.

*

"This

is

strange," thought litdeas

Tommie,

"Almost

I

spoke

my

wish,

Down

the apple came atumbling

And dropped

near

me*

with a swish."

"Yes," the West

Windyou'll

Fairies whispered,realize.

"And by

this

That there axe such things

as fairies.

In the wind and trees and skies." *"Just because you cannot see them.

Do

not think they are not there.as

Even

you stand there

staring.

They

are

round you everywhere!"

58

Tommie

gazed in great amazement,speechless

He was

with surprise.Fairies laughing.

While the West Wind

Blew

his hair into his eyes.

J^S*w)'

Tommie gaxtd to graat amatement.

AndRead

that night our litdehis

Tommie,anew.it

story

book"I

And he

thought:

like

better.

Now

I

know

it's all

quite true!"

59

aifiesid am

Ikegoes

^cJiuncethe dunce on his

THEREtheately, "see,

way to school again," whispered South Wind Fairies compassionheis

cryiog as usual be-

cause he has forgotten his lessons already.

Poor dunce!"

"I wishanother

we

could help him," said

fairy,

"he

worksif

so

hard,

and

it is

not his faultagain."his

he forgets his

^ ** ^^i^^ ^^in^^^^'

lessons

"Maybe"

mind

suggested

the

some way," South Wind, rufflingis ill

in

the petals of a rose. "I wonder would

'^^"He u

^J^p^'H'f^^^"usuaL"

our

Wiodis

doctor be able to

tell

us

cryine, as

whatLet us

wroug with him?"

"Whyat once

dear South Wind!" cried theidea!fly off

"what a marvellous

Wind Fairies delightedly, to the Wind Cavern Hospital

and find out."knockedI at his door,

"Well South Wind Fairies," said the Wind doctor rather snappilyas they

"what

is

wrong with you now? Not more

wing trouble,

hope?"

"Oh

no, doctor," piped the South

Wind

Fairies, "there is

nothing

at all the matter with us,

thank you!"

"Just as well," muttered the

Wind

doctor,

temper, "I have

my

hands

full

here at the

who was in a very bad moment with those silly

sunbeam

elves

and

their

sun measles. What did you want to see

me

about. Fairies?"

60

The West Wind

Fairies

and Tommie

J^*^t*ik^0l:The South WindFairies

and Jane

"It's

the

Danny Dunce," South Wind Fairies. "He isabout

repliedreally a

very

good boy,

youis

know.

Doctorhis

Blowem, but whatever

wrong withhis

head he caimot remember

lessons

even after he has learned them verycareftilly.

slipping

Would you oblige us by down to the school and havingcried the

a look at his brain?"

"What!"

Wind

doctor

m-

"Watt, DoctorP" clamoured the South

Wbid Poirfat*.

dignantly, "haven't those boys

enough

doctors of their

own

to examine

them without coimngare half as

to

annoy me?

The

idea.

Have

a look at his brain indeed?"cleveras

"But none of those earth doctorswant you to have a lookat

you

Doctor Blowem," replied the South Wind Fairieshim."

slyly, '*that is

why we

"OhX-ray

all

right,"

gnmibled the Wind doctor, trying to pretend he

was not a

bit flattered

by these compliments, "waitbeoflF."

until I get

my

outfit

and then

we'll

Down

in the schoolroom, the poor dimce

was standing in the

comer as usual, but, as the window stood open, the Wind doctor had no trouble in sUpping up to him and having a good look into his brain."Well, doctor?" clamoured the South

Wind

Fairies, as

he flew outit

through the window again, "whatthing you can cure?"

is

wrong with

his brain? Is

some-

"Ohjections

yes," repUed the

Wind

doctor importantly, "itis

is

a dear case

of cobwebs on the brain. All he wants

a few fresh air and wind in-

and he

will

be brighter than any of the boys.it

He

has a very

good brain indeed; butit

cannot work while the cobwebs are clogging

up.

Now South Wind Fairies, you are members of the Sky Red Cross,me time by giving him the injections yourselves. Watchas

so you can savefor

him coming out of school and follow himFairies, I

he goes down the

hill.

Good-bye now.

must be

off to

my

other cases."

6i

"Whythat!"

this is great!" cried the

South Wind Fairies delightedly,

"cobwebs on the htsml why, we have cured hundreds of cases of

And

hiding behind some beeches growing near the roadside,

they waited for the boys to

come out of school.

Nobody came out with the poor dunce because nobody wanted him, and he set off sadly down the hill on his own. The South Wind Fairies immediately followed on his heels, and flying aroimd his head gave him a whole lot of wind and fresh air injections

through his nose, eyes and ears. "Dear me," thought the poor dunce, "that Wind

certainly feelsI walk.

very good.if it

Why,

I

can actually

feel

my

head clearing as

Oh,

would only

stay that

way

until I learn

my

lessons

and prove to

teacher that I

am

not really such a dimce as he thinks!"

And

it

did, for the

Wind

doctor was right, and the wind injections

completely blew the stuffy old cobwebs out of his brain, and next dayat school, the

dunce not only knew

his lessons,

but actually rose to

the top of his class!

The land South Wind Fairies were delighted, and that evening, down amongst the roses in the valley they gaily began to sing:The dunceis

now a

scholar againy

Because all the cobwebs are gone fromhis brain.

We

gave him

injections

of wind, air

and breeze.

And now

he

is

head of

his class, if you

please!

THE END

62

ana"Hereis

/rane

a rose," the south wind said,little

"To

bring to

Jane,

Who lives all day mid smoke Way down in Muddy Lane.

and dust

She never

sees the trees in spring.all

Or hawthorns

in bud.

In feet she never sees a thing Save grime, and slush and mud.

Now

if

we drop

thisit

crimson rosefell.

Where she canJust think

see

how

thrilled

she'll

beall!"

To

think such flowers exist at

So catching up the

lovely rose.

They

flew to

Muddy

Lane,sill.

And

pausing on Jane's windowlightly

Tapped

on the pane.

63

And Jane looked out and saw And wondered mightily.That anything soexquisite in

the rose.

Muddy Lane

could be.

"Oh

look!" she cried, "its petals redsilver

Are streaked with

dew.this rose,

Oh God,

for sending

me

I really do thank you!

*

NoSo

flower so fair blooms in this world.I

must

just

suppose,pitied

That passing angels

me.

And threw me down

a rose!"

64

"SL Sad 9&'md 3^airiesid am QJanla|Hlessly,

please.

North Windawfiil has

Fairies,"

cried

little

Rupert Robin breath-

"something

happened

down in Muddy Lane. Poor Santa Qaus was going into one of the chimneys, when suddenly those wicked East Wind Fairies crept up and blew all the soot down on top of him. He is stuck in the chimney now and cannotmove. Charlie Cricket, from the hearth,told

t^ififij^'t

The wicked East Wind Fairiea crept up and blew alt the toot down ontop of

Mm.is

meif

to fly over here

and ask yourall

help.

This

Christmas eve,

andall

Santa Claus does not get

his toys out to-night, just thiok

of

the poor children

who

will

be disappointed to-morrow morning!"

"Dear, oh dear!" cried the Northever arelast

Wind

Fairies moumfiilly, Fairies at

"what-

we

to

do with those naughty East Wind

all.

Only

week they shaved oflf poor Santa's beard while he lay asleep, and now they have managed to jam him in a chimney, and on Christmaseve too! Terrible!"

Thanking

little

Rupert Robin for being so kind as to bring the

message, they flew back over the houses in Winter Lane, until theyfinally

came

to

where Santa's beautiful

sleigh

was drawn up on one of

the roof-tops in

Muddy

Lane.

Thethem

sparrow army, imder the

command

of Captain

Sam

Sparrow,

had nobly turned out in order to help Santa, but althoughflew

many of

down

the chimney and tried to peck away the soot that heldit,

him, they were not strong enough to movematters worse.

and only served to make

65

"Hello, North

Wind

Fairies," said the captain, saluting smartly,

"I'm very gjadsort of

to see

you

here.

My men haven't been trained for thisFairies

work I'm

afraid,

but perhaps you can do something."

Flying over the North

Wind

peeped down into the chimney,

where Santa Qaus, in an exceedingly bad temper, was shouting for help.

"Hey, you good-for-nothing pack of fods, up there!" he roared angrily,

"why

don't you do something iostead of just flying around

twittering like a pack of Jackdaws.

Get the sky

police, get the sky

army,

get the sky parliament, get anything only get

me

out of here!"

"Whowetell

are

you

calling aangrily.

Jackdaw, Mr. Santa Glaus?" demanded

one of the sparrows

"You hadat all!"

better keep your

mouth shut or

will refuse to help

you

"If

my mouth

wasn't full of soot," roared Santa Glaus, "I'd soon

you what

I think

of you

^you conceited magpie. AU you're goodnowI

for is

making a noise

like

a crow! Oh-h-h-h!

am after swallowing

another ton of soot! Oh-h-h-h!"

"Now

then Gorporal Sparrow," cried the Gaptain sharply, **you

must not be rudeis

to Santa Glaus.

He

a very important

man andit."

the sky

parliament wouldn't like

"He

has

no

right

to

call

us

Magpies and Grows and Jackdaws,"replied Gorporal

Sparrow

sulkily, "it's

very insulting to the army."

Bidding him hold his tongue, the sparrow captain marshalled his

menand

away from the

chimney pot,

bending over, the leader of the North

Wind

Fairies called out,

"Hello there, Santa Glaus, can you hear me?"

"No," snapped Santa Glaus, "ITfc

am

North Wbid crept gUmtty up to tht pi-c-..

deaf because 1 *.u both

Jw.f U^.^..~

my

ears are full of

/-..,.

66

soot If that

is

the North

Wind

Fairies,

for goodness sake

do something

to help

me. I

am

in an awful state. O-h-h-h-h!"if

"I wonder

there are anysaid

windows

open in the house,"

the North

WindSanta

thoughtfully, "if so I could per"capii

haps manage to squeeze in and blow

spm.

.5 he ."

Qaus back up

the chimney again.

**"" '""" """'it is

What do youidea!" cried

think. Captain

Sparrow?" "I think

a marvellous

the captain admiringly.

"How you

winds manage to

think of the things I don't know."

The North Windtotheir

Fairies immediately flew

round to the frontuntil,

of the house and examined each of the windows carefully,greatdelight,

they

came

across

one of them standing

almost wide open.

Onceblew

inside, the

North Wind crept

silently

up

to the fireplaceuntil,

and

just as

hard as he possibly could up the chimney,

with a

great rattle of soot, and in a very bad temper indeed Santa shot back

up through the chimney

again.

"Ha

ha!" tittered some of the younger sparrows, "he looks exactly

like a nigger."

"Who's a nigger?" roared Santa Qaus, faring at them. "Keep your insulting remarks to yourselves, if you please, sir sparrows. Whowouldn't be a nigger I'd like to know, after spendiog nearly an hour ia

a filthy chinmey.

Oh

goodness gracious, whatlike this.

am

I to do. I

cannot go

on

my

rounds looking

Who

pushed aH that soot down on

top of

me anyhow?"Fairies,

"The East Windafter

of course," replied the Northflying

Windjust

Fairies angrily. "Captain

Sparrow says he saw them

away

you

started shrieking for help."

"Who

shrieked for help?" retorted Santa

Qaus

snappily, "I only

cried out in a gentle sort of voice."

"Hee hee!"

tittered

Corporal Sparrow to his companions, "in a

67

gentle sort of voice indeed!

Why, we heard him

over in the ehn tree

canteen

a good mile away!"have the law on the East

"I'll

Wind

Fairies for this!" roared Santa

QausI'll

furiously, "I'll

have them persecuted, prosecuted and executed!jail!

have them put in die wind cavernlife!

I'll

have them transported

for

I'U have

themto think of

!"

"Yes, yes," broke in the Northfirst

Wind

Fairies soothingly,

"but the

thing to dotiie

is

some way

to

make you

clean again.

We

can see to

punishment of the East Wind Fairies afterwards."flying

"What about some of usClaus from head to foot in

up

into the

douds and

releasing lots

of snow," suggested one of theit

"we could cover Santa and then no one would ever dream hefairies timidly,all this

was so dirty underneath.

It

would be the quickest way."soot

"What!" roared Santa Claus, "go about for hours withsticking to

me? Not

likely! I

may

look like a nigger," he added, glaringI'll

in the direction of the grinning sparrows, "but

be bothered

if

I'm

going to be one!"

"Come, come, now, Santa Claus,"severely,all

cried the

North Wind

Fairiesis

"you have your duty

to do,

you know. Your duty now

to get

your toys out before to-morrow morning. Fairies, will you please

fly

up

into the

douds and rdease

as

much snow

as

you possibly

can.

We

will wait here."

Thehim,

other North

Wind

Fairies obediently flew offsoft,

and Santa Clausall

stood sulkily waiting while theuntil at last

pure snowflakes poured

over

he looked spodessly clean once more."Like asilly

snowman,

I

am now,"

he grumbled.

"Old Sam Snowmansees

down

in farmer Joe's garden, won't

half laugh

when he

me

like this!"if

He wouldyouall

laugh more

he sawsoot,"

covered,

with black, ,

'^iT^' ^^ o Nmt.Uf'J^^

-

*-^

g'*^^" zj

cried the

North Windyoulook

Fairies sharply,,

...

nrhaioi.eoK,.f.udoo.eci.ime..-

why,68

lovcty,

Santa.

Thatone!"

white

coat

suits

you

even

better

than

your

red

"I hope so," muttered Santa Glaus, getting into hisI also

sleigh,

"and

hope

all

the soot will wash

off,

I

don't want to look like a

black nigger for the rest of

my

life!"

He

soared gracefully away over the snowy rooftops and raising his

twig bayonet, the sparrow captain cried:"Fall in, soldiers!

To

the right about turn!

Quick

fly!"

And

saluting smartly, the sparrow

army

flew

away

too.

"Dear me!" muttered Dame Fussy on Christmas morning, "whata lot of sootfell

down

the chimney last night! It must have been theI

wind blewto be sure!"

it

down. I thought

heard

it

blowing hard round aboutit

three o'clock.

Oh

dearie, dearie

me! What an awful mess

has

made

while the

And grumbling crossly, she went away to fetch her dustpan, wicked East Wind Fairies, listening outside, immediatelychant:

began

to

At least we've done Dame Fussy harm.

And caused old Santa great alarm He looked so droll from head to foot.With acoat of

snow and a beard ofHa!

soot!

Ha

But nobody cared about the East

Wind

Fairies just then, for

it

was Christbellst*W?l

mas morning and everywhere thethe snow.

were ringing a joyous message across

Bverywhere the

bells

were

rinfflng.

THE END

69

^L epi'acaunThe WindFairies caught at the Lepracaun's hat

And he cried: "Arrah now,'Tis tormented ye have

get

away out of that!bhron, oh

me,

ma

ma

bhron!

Can't ye go somewhere else an' just leave

me

alone.

*Last night shure ye stoleoflF

me

nice silver last.fast,

But ye'd better return'Twas

it

again very

me

grandfather's own, and ochone! if he knew.

Why

he'd

come back

an'

murder the whole pack of you!*

With

that last I

make shoes

for the

wee Pookas,

too.

For they help

me to make up my sweet Mountain Dew,neglect such important

Would ye have me

wee men,

Why

this

minute they're waitin' below in the Glen.*

So

fairies, I

ask ye, be off wid yourselves.elves.

An' take wid ye too those tormentin' windIf ye don't

why begorrah!me

I'll

give ye a scare.

An' then, be

song, ye had better beware!"

70

LfOW,

Sasi 9(9;darling,"is

J

3^ai'i'ies

ana J^atiiesaidPattie's

Mamma, "hereto post for

the letter I have

written to your daddie that I want you

me. Be sure to hold

it

tightly

so that

it

will not

blow away."andfeeling

Little Pattie took the letter,

very

important

indeed,

hurried

outThey danced round the letter.

through the gate, and down the road tothe post box at the comer.

But

alas!

Those wicked East Windlittle

Fairies

saw

her

coming,

and with a

shriek of delight, cried out: "Hurrah!this

Now weletter

can

work some more mischieflittle

morning. Let us grab theit,

from

Pattie before she can post

and blow

it

away

off over the tree

tops, so that her daddie will never get it!"

And swooping

across the road they grabbed the envelope

from poor

Uttle Pattie's haiid,

and bore

it

away up

into the air.tree, "this will

"Dear me," thought Rupert Robin from a nearbynever do. Litde Pattie givesI just hate to see her being Fairies

me crumbs

first

thing every morning, and

made imhappy.

I

wonder

if the

North Windwere busily

would help her."

He

flew off to the valley, where the Northall

Wind

Fairies

employed blowing

the dead leaves into piles by the roadside.

They

listened to his story with great attention,

and immediately flew backbitterly, be-

with him to the road where poor litde Pattie stood cryingcause she had lost her daddie's Meanwhile the wicked Eastthe top of a tree, wheresinging naughtily:it

letter.

Wind

Fairies

had blown the

letter

ontoit,

stuck on a twig, while they danced aroimd

71

.

Lit-lit-letter

O,to go.

NowTo

you cannot hopetree top

Pat's daddie far away.

But on the

you must

stay.

Lit-Ut-letter

O!

"To the rescue, fairies!""don'tlet

cried the kind

North Wind, darting forward,

them carry

it

away

to the nearby river. One, two, three

^go!"

The wicked East Wind Fairies gave a shriek of fury as they saw the North Wind Fairies approaching, and seizing up the letter they tried to dart away with it behind the clouds. But the North Wind Fairies,scooping up a lot of dust from the roadside, threwit full

into their faces,

and almost blinded, they dropped the envelope and and chokingas they went.

fled

away, sneezing

Immediately the kind NorthFairies pickedletter,

Windofif it,

up poorall

httle Pattie's

and blowingit

the dust

blew

gendy downit

the road

and

dropped

at her feet.it

Withit

a Uttle cry

of joy she picked

up, and runningsafely into

downwere

the road, dropped

the letter box.

The North Wind Fairiesand Rupert Robin,leafless

delighted,

perching himself perkily on atwig, began to cheerily chirp:She piclced U up. .

Once more we've given those East Wind

Sprites,

A couple of really terrible frights.Now dear httle Pattie will give me some crumbs.Andshe does give

me

really

deUdous ones!

Chirp Chirpery, chirpery, chirp.

THE END

72

The daintu Wind

Fairies are

around you.

tHWhen youAndlie

iketravel

(ZJeasiaeto the seaside

down

on the warm, sunny beachthat the dainty

Do you know

Wind

Fairies,

Are around you, almost within

reach.

Because in the holiday season.

They make

all

the wee simshine elves.

Sprinkle oceans and oceans of sunshine.

Which they wouldn't

^if

left to

themselves!

And And WiU

then they collectscatter

lots

of foam flakessea.

them over thelittle

So that each

blue-tinted wavelet

look pretty as pretty can be.

*

OhYou

yes!

When you

go to the seaside.

Just listen, and then, sweet and low.will hear a south

wind

fairy whisper:

"Hello, Uttie children! HeUo!

73

.

CTaifles

and

tlte

fntuggi^efs^EAS. me," said Christy Crab,stopping on his

way over theChrttly Crab benran to icrawt a mcsaogc

rocks on Sandy Beach, "there are those

wicked

smugglers,

makingis

ready to load their boats while everyone else

asleep.

That means

poor Policeman Paddy will get into trouble again for not catchingthem. Oh, deary dear!slow fellow at best, and

Howit

I

wish I could help him! But I

would need

am a someone much cleverer than me

to catch those wicked smugglers.

At that moment the Moon Man appeared from behind a cloud curtain,and beamed down on Christy Crab in a very friendly way. For they

knew each other well by sight, you"Ah!" muttered Christy

see.

excitedly, "there isif

my

old pal, the

Man

Ina

The Moon. Nowway

I

wonder

he could help me. Maybe

if I write

message in the sand with

my

claws,

he

will read it

and think of some

to catch the smugglers so that poor Policeman Pat will not get into

trouble any more. I had better hurry though; thelazy to-night, I notice."

Moon Man

is

very

Andthe

crawling off the rocks in a great bustle, Christy Crab began to

scrawl a message in the soft sand with his very sharp daws. Very soon,

Moon Man, who was

watching him, saw this mysterious message

appear:

74

When

your

Moon

lamps shine on the

silver shore.

The smugglers are going to smuggle some more; And Policeman Pat will have worked in vain. If we let them escape to the sea again.Signed:

Christopher Augustus Charles Crab.

"H'm," murmered the Moon Man, as he read the message, "those smugglers again. I know PoUceman Pat, too. A very nice young fellow. I often keep him company at night when he is on duty along the lonely Coast road. And it seems Christy Crab wants me to help him. Now let

me see He frowned,

"then quite suddenly his frown disappeared and he

smiled so brightly that one of the smugglers cried out in alarm: "Hurry

up there, men. If the moon comes out we are ruined. Everyone what we are doing. Heave Ho! there. Heave Ho!"But the

will see

Moon Man

paid no attention to them.star to the

He was

too busyFairies,

writing an S.O.S.

on a shooting

kind West

Windlater.

who were resting in the clouds up

over the harbour wall.

"Goodness me," cried the West Wind ten minutesnow,I

"Here

comes an S.O.S. from Mortimus Moon. What can be wrong with himwonder."read the messagecareftilly,

They

and

pitied poor

PoUceman Pat

very much.

"We must help him, of course," criedall

the kind

West Windis

Fairies together.

"The

question

^how?"the

"I know!"suddenly.

cried

West Wind

"You fly up to the Moon Man and tell him to start shining for all he is worth, and then I will go down tothe harbour and blow and blow and

blow withstorm on

all

my

might until

I raise

a"Hjthe

the sea that will force those

moon comes out we are mined"

75

wicked smugglers to return to land again. Then, while they are sneaking back to their cave, some of you canfly

out to the storm bell tied to the

buoy and ring

it

so loudly that the whole

town

will hear

and comethe

nmning down just in time to see Policeman Pat capturing smugglers. Now, isn't that a grand idea, fairies?"

The West Windoff to see the

Fairies

were deUghted, and while some of them flew

Moon Man, the remainder hurried down to the cove where the huge storm bell lay at rest on the quiet water. Then the West Windhimself, pushing out his chest importantly, flew off

down

to the water

and commenced to blow upon the

sea, imtil at last it

was heaving and

churning about in a simply frightful way.

"Oh, dear!"those

cried the smugglers in dismay, "this

must be one of

summer storms people aroimd here talk so much about. Oh, dearie me, what are we to do! If we return to shore that interfering old Policeman Pat will surely catch us; and if we continue out to sea in this wind we will certainly be drowned. And now the moon is shining, too.Everything seems to be agaiost us to-night!"

They

all

tried to steady the boat, but the

West Wind gave them no

chance, and before long the wicked smuggler captain decided to put

back to the shore, even thoughImmediately therest

meant being caught by Policeman Pat. of the West Wind Fairies, who were watchingit

them, commenced to push the huge storm

bell,

ringing

it

loudly again

and again from

until at last

the whole town was awakened, and jvimping up

their beds, the people dressed themselves in a

hurry and crowded

downwhat

to the harbour wall in order to seeall

the excitement was about.

Meanwhile, up on the lonely Coast road. Policeman Pat heard all the commotion, and came running

down

to the

cove, where the wicked smugglers were

trying to sneak back

mto

their cave.

He

blew loudly on his whistle, and immedHa bleuloHdttf

on

his icM with the big searchlights fixed to the prow,

quickly up, just in time to see

came chug-chugging Policeman Pat fastening handcuff on

the leader of the smugglers.

"Hurrah!" cried

all

the town's people joyfully, "our brave Policemanlast.

Pat has caught those wicked smugglers at

Now we need

not fear

them any more at night. Hurrah! Hurrah!" And the Lord Mayor, very important in his fine robes, pinned a medal on Policeman Pat because he had been so brave, while the crowdcheered themselves almost hoarse.

And now anyPatis

moonlight night,

if

you watchwinking

closely while

Policeman

patrolling

up and down on the

lonely Coast road,slyly at

you wiU beif

certain to see the

Man

in the

Moon

him, almost as

he were saying:

"Ah!it

My fine fellow!really

I

wonder what would you say

if you

knew who

was that

caught the smugglers for you, after

all!"

THE END

77

J^atsSaid Pat:

J^ifaijerdad's a sailor.

"My

And And

sails

the deep, blue sea.

oh! I hope

Wind

Fairies

Will keep him safe for me.*I like to think they're

watching

WhenAs

stately ships pass by.sails floating

With whiteif

upward.

the ships could fly

*

And

in the winter evenings

WhenI

stormy winds bewail,they'llit

know

watch

my daddie'sgale.

ship

And

guide

through the*

Because,

although there's hundreds

Of fineThe

ships to be had.is:

thing that really matters

I've only got one

Dad!

78

.

Ue

%cAk

miJIke

Cyaifies

kelp

M,epi*acaun

THE mischievoustree

little

Lepracaun"He tetl flat entbe eroutid

was dancing under the Hawthorn

on the

side of Buttercup Hill.joyfully, as

"Hurrah!" he cried

he leaped about in his

tiny, pointed

shoes, "to-night meself an' Willie Will O'

have the best of sport, begob. Between us

The Wisp is goin' we are goin' to leadit

toall

the travellers astray on the bog. Oh-h-h! Won't

be great fan!

Hurrah!"

And waving

his tasselled cap in the air

he commenced to

sing:

Willie Will O'

The Wisp and me,

Down in the lonely bog will be.We'll leadall

the travellers out of their way.

An' leave them aroaming until break of day.Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!

moment, from over the wall of the old ivied house nearby, a huge stone came sailing, and hit the Lepracaun right in the back just as he was finishing his song. He fell flat on the ground, and lay thereAtthatstaring at thesplit in two.

Moon Man who was

laughing so heartily his face almost

"Hee hee," tittered the litde breeze elves as they danced about, "Liam Lepracaun doesn't look so cheeky now, lying stretched on his back, and it's about time somebody put him in his pkce, too." Feeling very angry the Lepracaun jumped to his feet, and looked upat the wall

of the old house, but just as he did so another stone,hit

this

time

from behind him,

him smartiy on the79

shoulder.

Withfor as

a

little

shriek,

Liam tookfeel

to his heelsHill.

and

fled for all

he washim,

worth off over the top of Buttercuphe ran, he could

But even

this didn't save

someone catching

at his heels

from behind,

as if trying to trip

him up.he gasped dodging about, "if you are having a

"Oh, Wind

Fairies!"

game with me please come out where I can see you. Please!" But he knew in his heart it wasn't the Wind Fairies, they never threw stones at anyone. They were not strong enough to lift them from offthe ground.

"What

ails

you, Liam?" asked his friend, Willie Will O'

The Wisp,"you

in surprise, as the Lepracaim

came racing up

to

him

in the Bog,

look fair scared out of your wits."

"Sobelieve

I

am, Willie," replied Liam in a whisper, "so

I

am, begob. An'

me it's

not easy to frighten a Lepracaun, either."

"An' what frightened ye, Liam?" enquired WilUe Will O' The Wisp,almost fliddng himself out in his excitement."It's the old

house on the side of Buttercup Hill," replied theat

Lepracaim panting. "Someone threw stonesat once, Willie,

me from

all

directions

and then pinched

me

nate

little

cap, that I got

from

me great gr^uidfather. Ochone, ochone and ochone! 'Tis disgraced I am this minute, Willie. If the other Lepracauns get to hear about this, I am ruined, an' that's a fact." "Why don't you ask the North Wind Fairies to help you?" suggestedWillie.

"They

are

down

in the valley now, sprinkling snowflakes

about."

"What!" cried Liam Lepracaun.

"Am

I to

be reduced to asking

those interfering North

Windisis,

Fairies to

help me. Bedad, an' thisaffairs

a sad state ofWillie.

entirely,

so

it

But

maybe

you're right, at that. If they can't

help me, no one can."

And"soi'Tm'i^Jita... ,ffJ..."

with a wave of his hand, theraced

Lepracaun80

away

down

into

Primrose Valley, where the NorthIt

Wind

Fairies

were busily working.

was the North Wind himself however, who saw him approaching

first.

"Oh

it's

you,

is it?"

he said snappily. "And what may you be

wanting around here, Liam Lepracaun?""Yerrah, hold yer tongue, will you," retorted the Lepracaun saudly,"sure'tis

as long as this

week

an' next.

Who

said I

wanted anything,

Mr. Windy?"

me Mr. Windy," roared the North Wind, almost dancing with fury, "my name is William, Walter, Wilfred, Wenceslas, Worthing"Don'tcall

ton Wind, and I'd have you remember

it,

you cheeky

httle sprite."

"What!" repUed Liam, throwing upthose

his tioy hands,

"remember

all

names? Begob, Mr. Windy,

sir,

I'd

need a memoryif it

as long as theI'll

Black Witch's broom handle for that. Butgiveit

annoys you sure

up. Will that plaze you, your Windiness?"a grab at him, but the Lepracaun dodged

The North Wind madeaway

just in time, calling out as

he did

so:

"Oh all right, all right, Mr. High and Mighty William Walter WilfredWenceslas Worthington Wind. But I'd rather you had that name than

me, begob. Can

I spake to

your

fairies for

a moment, plaze?"

"What do you want with mysuspiciously.

fairies?"

enquired the North

Wind

"Nothing good,

I'll

be boimd."

"Ah, now, Mr. Windiness, sir, ye misjudge me sadly," replied Liam, shaking his head, "but if ye want to know, the old house on the side ofButtercup Hillis

haunted. Someone threw stones atI

me

from

all sides

to-night, begob.

An'

know our own

fairies

never throw ston."

"It

must be those wickednow;

Pixie Sprites," said the

North Wind

frowning, "they are the wickedest of all wicked fairies. But here come myfairiestell

them

all

about

it."

The North Wind Fairies were very sorry to bear the Lepracaxm's story. They liked the old house on the side of Buttercup Hill and did not want people down in the valley to start believing it was haunted."Youseeit

will

be hard for us

to catch

them," explained the North

8i

Wind

Fairies to the Lepracaun, "those Pixie Sprites can

make them-

selves invisible

even to us."

"Surely," relied

Liam

flicking his feet

about so that his jewelledstill/ee/,

shoes twinkled, "but even if they can't be seen, they can

begob.

Whyall

shouldn't ye freeze

them out by dropping

lots

of snow and frost

over Buttercup Hill?"

"Why

that's a

grand idea, Liam!" exclaimed the Northlet

Wind Fairies

delightedly.

"Come,

us be

oflF

without delay."

They all hurried up to where the old house stood on the side of ButtercupHill, and, whistling for the Frost Elves to bring their silver paint-

pots, the

North Windall

Fairies started to release lots

and

lots

of snow

from the clouds

over the garden, house andit

hill.it

Meanwhile thewovild not melt

Frost Elves paintedtoo soon."Br-r-r-r. .

over with silver frost so that

."

whispered the wicked Pixie Sprites, crouching with

chattering teeth in a

comer of the garden,

"this is terrible, soI

it is.

If

we

stay here

all

night

we

will surely

be frozen.

think. Pixies,it,

weis

had better lookgoing tolast for

for another

home. By the look of

this

snow

weeks and weeks.

Come

along.

Let us be on ourSprites fled

way!"

And

thus, one

by one, the naughty Pixie

awaytheir

over the hillside, leaving the North

Wind

Fairies

clapping

hands joyfully in the old garden. For now, the ivy covered house

on Buttercup

Hill

would be haimted no more."Well,saucily,fairies,"

said

the Lepracaun

"I

be

off

widfor

meself

now,

begob.out offor you,

An' thank ye

helpingtrouble.

meAs

me

little

bit

of

Mr. Wonderful Windy Windigo to the WindBarber,Bs

ness, the next time ye

Cavern"Thuu terrible,loit

askWell

himBs

to

clip

yer

It..."

loug

tougue82

yer

scraggy

beard.

Slan

libhy

fairies!

Until

we meet

again!"

hand, the mischievous litde Lepracaun dartedside, singing perkily as

And waving his away ov^ the hill-

he went:

Mr. Windy Windiness WindIs

one of them windy boys.shriek

Who love toAnd make

and roar and bawl.

a ferocious noise.

He

loves to kick

up

a terrible shindy.

Does our Mr. WiUiam Windiness Windy!

"The

ungrateful litde brat!" roared the North

Windat that

angrily,

"Mr.

Windiness Windy, indeed!"

And even the North Wind

Fairies

had to laugh

ood

THE END

8?

Tic-A-Tac-Tic, Tic-A-Tac-Tic,

Hear him so busily tapping.

On

his

wee

last

Under

a tree.fitting

Cutting and

and rapping.

Tic-A-Tac-Tic, Tic-A-Tac-Tic.Shoes gay and light as a feather.Silver the nails.

Golden the thread.Cloud vapour instead of *leather.

Tic-A-Tac-Tic, Tic-A-Tac-Tic,Laces of sunshine totie

them.

White, pink and blue,Violettoo.

Now who

on earth means84

to

buy them?

Tic-A-Tac-Tic, Tic-A-Tac-Tic

Watch when the moonlight

is falling,

And youFairies

will see,elves.calling.

and

On

this

wee cobbler*

Tic-A-Tac-Tic, Tic-A-Tac-Tic,

Tidy and neat

as aall

Quaker,

WorkingSits

day,

Happy and gay. the Wind Fairy shoemaker.

85

aifies

So-o-oxigh,

so-o-ough,

so-o-oug^.

Over the meadows Over the rooftops*

a-sighing.

Creeping through tree top and bough.acrying.

Cr-o-oon,Softly

cr-o-oon,

cr-o-oon.

and sweetly acreeping.

On by the light of the moon. To where the children are sleeping.*

Dream,Deeply

dream,

dream.'till

and

sweetly

morning,

When, with

the early sunbeam,

Joy will awake with the dawning.

86

No, children, not quite the endl The Wind Fairie* wlU be backagain next year. . .

FRINHEO BYHELY'S LIMITED

DUBLIN

\-mm