Christmas Fairy Read Online Free PDF Page B

family all about you!’
    Lindsay managed a small smile. ‘I won’t forget you either, Twink. Not ever.’

    That evening the two girls talked for ages, exchanging stories about their lives. Lindsay was open-mouthed when Twink described Glitterwings Academy: the spreading oak tree school on its hill, with tiny golden windows spiralling up its trunk and hundreds of fairy students swooping about inside.
    ‘It’s like something out of a story!’ she said, hugging her knees. ‘But why haven’t humans ever found it?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ admitted Twink. Now that she thought about it, she realised there must be some sort of magic involved. Though, then again, if most humans were like Lindsay’s parents, they’d just convince themselves that they’d seen a tree full of moths!
    ‘Tell me more about Christmas trees,’ she said. She was sitting perched on Lindsay’s knee again, which now had the pink cotton of Lindsay’s nightdress draped over it. ‘I still don’t understand, Lindsay. Why do humans have them?’
    Lindsay’s freckled face screwed up in thought. ‘Well – not all humans do,’ she said. ‘But I think most people in this country do. And America. It’s a – a tradition.’
    ‘But what are they for ? ’ Twink fluttered her wings despairingly.
    ‘They’re to celebrate Christmas,’ explained Lindsay. ‘It’s a holiday, that’s all. You sing special songs, and there’s a big dinner, and you get lots of presents, though it’s not really supposed to be about that, and –’
    ‘But how does the tree celebrate Christmas?’ broke in Twink. Special songs and presents sounded nice – but they didn’t have much to do with cutting down a baby spruce, so far as she could tell!
    Suddenly the door to Lindsay’s room flew open. ‘Time for – oh!’ Lindsay’s mother started as she caught sight of Twink. ‘It’s that moth again! Lindsay, what’s it doing on your knee ? ’
    ‘It’s – it’s pretty,’ said Lindsay weakly.
    Lindsay’s mother shook her head in amazement. ‘But you’re terrified of moths!’
    ‘Not this one,’ said Lindsay. ‘It’s my friend.’
    ‘Your friend? ’ laughed Lindsay’s mother. She came forward, holding her dressing gown around herself. Twink gulped, frozen in place. She felt as exposed as a frog on a log!
    ‘It is pretty, isn’t it?’ said Lindsay’s mother, staring down. Twink looked back at her uneasily, holding her wings very still. ‘I wonder what it’s doing out at this time of year?’
    ‘Maybe it’s lost its way,’ said Lindsay softly. ‘Maybe it wants to go home again.’ Very gently, she reached out and stroked Twink’s wing.
    For a moment Lindsay’s mother looked confused as she gazed at Twink. Then she shook her head firmly. ‘What an imagination! Promise me you’ll put it out of the window before you go to bed, Lindsay; you know how your father feels about insects. Besides, you’re right – it probably wants to go home again, poor thing.’
    Twink went limp as Lindsay’s mother left the room. ‘That was close!’ she whispered.
    Lindsay nodded worriedly. ‘We can’t let her see you again or she will put you outside – and it’s cold out there!’
    That night Twink slept in the tiny house, which Lindsay said her grandfather had made for her. ‘My friend Sarah says it’s babyish,’ she confessed, her cheeks reddening, ‘but I still like playing with it.’
    The little bed was just Twink’s size, though it felt hard and strange until Lindsay tucked her up in something called a ‘mitten’. ‘Are you all right in there?’ she asked, peering in at Twink.
    ‘Perfect,’ sighed Twink, nestling down into the soft red material. ‘Goodnight, Lindsay – see you in the morning!’

    Twink thought she’d fall asleep immediately, but instead she lay awake for a long time, staring up at the doll’s house ceiling. What a day it had been! She felt exhausted from all the emotions and new discoveries.
    Most of all, she longed