The magic of Dewdrop Dell

“LET’S HAVE a picnic in Dewdrop Dell,” little Chloe’s mammy suggested. “It’s such a nice sunny day.”

“That’s a lovely idea,” Chloe said, eagerly. “Can Teddy come too?”

Teddy was Chloe’s favourite toy. Although he was a bit tatty now and had lost an eye, Chloe always wanted to take him with her wherever she went.

“Of course, Teddy can come.” Mammy smiled, as she began making sandwiches.

Soon all the food and drink was inside the picnic hamper, and before long, Mammy, Chloe and Teddy were on their way to Dewdrop Dell. Luckily, they didn’t have very far to go.

It was known as ‘Dewdrop Dell’ because early each morning, hundreds of dewdrops settled upon the wild flowers and grass which grew there. As these delicate dewdrops glistened, a silvery hue could be seen covering the whole of the dell, making it look quite magical.

As soon as they arrived, Chloe began skipping happily around the dell. She stopped every so often to look at the pretty wild flowers, but it was already too late in the day to see any of the pretty glistening dewdrops.

“I’m hungry, and so is Teddy,” Chloe announced after a short while.

“Let’s eat now then,” Mammy suggested. “I’m hungry too.”

Then she opened up the picnic hamper and took out their sandwiches. She had also made some strawberry and cream tarts especially for Chloe. These were Chloe’s favourite, and it wasn’t long before she had eaten them all!

When they had both finished eating and drinking, Mammy settled down to do some sewing.

Chloe had bought one of her favourite story-books with her, so while Mammy was sewing, Chloe hugged Teddy closely to her and began to read him a story. While she was reading, she fell asleep, and very soon she had a lovely dream…

SHE

DREAMED it was a lovely sunny day and she was having a picnic in Dewdrop Dell with her mammy and Teddy, but when she opened up her picnic hamper, something most unexpected happened. Instead of sandwiches and strawberry and cream tarts, out popped…a fairy!

“Hello!” the pretty little fairy introduced herself. “I’m

Fairy Dewdrop.”

“I’m Chloe, and this is Teddy,” a surprised and puzzled Chloe told Fairy Dewdrop. “How did you manage to get inside our picnic hamper without us seeing you?”

“By magic of course!” Fairy Dewdrop smiled at Chloe and Teddy. “Before I magically put myself into the hamper, I watched you admiring all the wild flowers. I could see that you are a very nice little girl, so I decided to surprise you by coming here to Dewdrop Dell and granting you one wish. Tell me, Chloe, is there anything special you would like?”

Chloe thought hard, but try as she might, she couldn’t think of anything special that she really wanted.

“Whatever shall I wish for?” She sighed. “I’ve no idea at all.”

“Is there something special you would like instead?” Chloe asked Teddy, giving him a hug.

Teddy didn’t answer. He just looked up at Chloe with his one good eye.

“THAT’S

IT! I know now what to wish for,” an excited Chloe told Fairy Dewdrop. “I wish Teddy could have another eye, so he will have two eyes, just like me. I’m sure that would make him very happy.”

Fairy Dewdrop smiled when she heard Chloe’s kind wish. “Your wish shall be granted,” Fairy Dewdrop promised. Then, hey presto, suddenly, magically, Teddy had two eyes!

A delighted Chloe was just about to thank Fairy Dewdrop for granting her wish, when Fairy Dewdrop disappeared in a flash, as if by magic…

“Wake up, sleepyhead!” Chloe suddenly heard her mammy calling out. She awoke with a start, still remembering her lovely dream.

“It’s time for home!” Mammy told Chloe. “Don’t forget Teddy,” she added with a big twinkle in her eye.

Then, as a now wide awake Chloe picked up Teddy to give him a hug and a kiss, he looked at her fondly. She had such a surprise, because he looked at her with two eyes!

I can’t help wondering if perhaps Chloe’s mammy sewed Teddy’s other eye on while Chloe was fast asleep.

Chloe likes to believe that her lovely dream really did come true, and it was Fairy Dewdrop who gave Teddy his other eye, by magic This makes her very happy indeed…almost as happy as Teddy himself! ÷