Whilst Humans, daft for the majority of the time, but occasionally sensible, all have special help, should they listen (they don’t) it’s just the same for animals. It might have seemed that this was just another puppy being born into an overpopulated puppy world where all humans are too worn out to notice this one; but! Like us, there is help and it is all down to those fairies.
Apart from posing on sprigs of green and parading about with bunches of flowers fairies have jobs to do, and when Good fairy, heard about Diva, she set to. In looks, angelic, in behaviour patient and kind and those shimmering wings so often mistaken for a butterfly; that is the magic at work and those glimpses and those feelings of butterfly brushes have to do us. Her name too, is a secret, for to know a name is to take away the power, and she needed all her magic for the mission.
Thus Diva, newly born and playing and squabbling with her two brothers, was sent a wonderful gift to help her through the days ahead. Good fairy decided it was time to cast, and with a number of careful wing vibrations she sent messages throughout her Kingdom, inviting assistance in the weaving of the Spell.
‘Tra lala, da di dum,’ sang the one we shall call Good fairy, who sang as she wove because it helped her concentrate, and heaven knows the life-spell she was working on for a new arrival called Diva, was a new and complicated pattern. ‘I can sing a rainbow!’ she continued, catching a few sunbeams and weaving them into the spell. She had set aside a day for this, and don’t go asking me how long a day is in the fairy world; suffice to say it could shrink or stretch depending on what’s doing. Time, the one thing humans cannot have more of, is the most precious gift of all, and the fairies have this gift.
This spell began with a series of wing vibrations and fairy-chanting on a level humans cannot hear, and then the knitting or weaving would commence; you cannot have a fairy at work without magic at work too, and for this good fairy who could not knit for toffee, this was a boon. ‘Thank you magic!’ she murmured in her soft and melodious voice, and set to weave.
Spinning and weaving and chanting, all tended to send her off into a trance, and this is where her pet butterfly came in to tickle her nose ; it was extremely adept at counting too, as well as being a joy to look at. When there is a complicated row of weaving or a matter of so many sunbeams to add, this is where a butterfly is a boon. ‘Thank you!’ sang up Good fairy, as she reached another row in the delicate spell.
And this spell included all the usual stuff, plenty to eat, warm and loving home with a loving owner, and the important bit – back up. How many times have you looked for this yourself? For Diva, part of this back up would appear nearly at the end of this story! But, a very important personage she was to be; remind me to tell you more – but for now Good fairy is busy working out the fine details. The Spell was very intricate being mindful of the imperfect nature of humans and looked far into the future weaving its threads accordingly, adding a new pattern here, a delicate touch there, and then, then it was done. How do we know it is Diva’s life-spell? Because it had her name embroidered in colours so bright and joyful to bring a tear to your eye; and Good fairy did have a tiny weep when she had finished, so proud was she.
There are as many precious spells as there are dewdrops on the grass, but this one was lovingly dropped like a silky gossamer thin scarf into the waiting chest and locked with a golden key. Oh! As the Spell whispered its way into the depths of the heavy carved chest, it caught, just for the blink of an eye, on a tiny splinter which made a hole too small for us to see, but big enough for those immortals ever looking for a way in. This was just the opportunity that bad fairies linger around for, looking careless and nonchalant as they do it, but really they are on the look.
There was one such bad fairy that had fallen out of favour, and was a seeker of trouble and mischief – you might know of this fairy, as it is usually the case that fairies get noticed more for wrong-doing than right. This one could wriggle through the tiniest teensiest gap or hole – and the hole caused by the snick was a way in to Diva’s spell. For us humans, a little gap in our hopefulness, a little hole in our faith and in marches fear and doubt; it is much the same in the fairy world guarding and shoring up good spells from bad influence – or Bad fairy more like.
Having shot through the hole with hardly a grazed wing, Bad fairy settled down to read and understand the Spell.
Luckily for Diva, this would take some time, as bad fairies are poor readers along with their other shortcomings. As if to make up for this, they are very clever indeed at finding mischief, and do not share the looks of a good fairy. At all. Again, very very tiny but dark and her eyes proclaimed her business – not shining with love and kindness instead they reflected her utterly selfish nature and simply were not beautiful to look upon. Even her wings would not catch the colours although they did vibrate. If Bad fairy wanted to deceive us, she would do it by voice. I have yet to hear a better imitator than a bad fairy and we shall see that Diva often cannot tell the difference between good and bad.
We shall leave Bad fairy there for now, crouched in the hole deep in the locked chest, following the great spell with her tiny finger, until she understands it.