Chapter 1
Charlotte’s mummy finished reading her bedtime story about elves and sprites and said goodnight. She had no idea Lily, Charlotte’s night time fairy, had arrived and watched from the top of the wardrobe, as she did every night to keep Charlotte
safe.
Charlotte lived in a bungalow which had been built many years ago on the edge of Fairyland, although no-one knew about the fairies. It only looked like overgrown wasteland to the builders. The fairies living there had been concerned until Fairy Queen Blossom called a meeting and told them not to worry. They’d simply make it their job to take care of any children who came to live there.
For a long time, there hadn’t been any children until about a year ago when five-year-old Charlotte, moved in with her mummy and daddy and her collie dog, Morgan. At first Charlotte hadn’t been sure if she’d get to like this new house and felt sad about leaving the old one, until she’d made friends with the fairies, and discovered Fairyland. Now she was six years old and had been playing with the fairies for over a year.
Charlotte yawned and fell asleep thinking about fairies, flowers, nectar and fun. She’d spent a lovely day with the fairies in the sunshine helping them collect their nectar supply for the winter. Once they’d finished, they played chase in the sky chattering and laughing with each other, as they swooped in and out of the trees with sunlight dancing between the leaves, in the magical place called Fairyland
Only Charlotte and Morgan knew about the fairies. They’d discovered them when they’d found one in distress in their garden and helped her find her lost wand. Queen Blossom and the rest of Fairyland showed their gratitude by rewarding Charlotte with her own wings and free passage into Fairyland for her and Morgan as often as they liked. Each time they stepped through the shimmering gateway into Fairyland, they both shrunk to fairy size and Charlotte’s wings appeared.
The fairies lived on nectar, although they made sure to leave enough for the bees to make their honey, only collecting it from one flower in every six or seven and flying long distances to suck up the lovely liquid through their silver straws and blow it back into the golden buckets for the store. The fairies had to work hard through the summer to ensure they had enough nectar to live on when winter came.
Fennel the gnome, who guarded the fairy gate, helped them with their task by following them in his carriage pulled by dragonflies, so the fairies could fly alongside and empty their full buckets into the big nectar tank on board.
When Charlotte went with them, Morgan would sit beside Fennel in the carriage and make himself useful, taking the buckets in his teeth and emptying them into the tank while Fennel kept on driving. This made the job much quicker and, as Fennel didn’t need to keep stopping, they could all take a break now and then. Charlotte loved sitting inside the beautiful flowers, chatting to the fairies while they sipped the delicious nectar.
She wasn’t at all sure if she liked nectar. It tasted sweet, maybe a little too sweet, and truthfully, she’d prefer a strawberry milkshake. However, she didn’t like to be rude, and took a sip or two, especially after the fairies said nectar helped to keep their wings in good flying order. Charlotte didn’t want to risk her wings not working for any reason and decided to do all she could to look after them as she feared all the disappearing and regrowing may make them wear out quicker. Unlike the fairies, who were full up after only a couple of sips of nectar, Charlotte didn’t feel full at all. In fact, she still felt quite hungry and looked forward to getting home to eat.
Food and time in Fairyland wasn’t like food or time in the human world. After she’d spent what felt like hours there, she’d return home to find she’d only been gone a short while, and something similar happened with food. Whatever Charlotte ate or drank in Fairyland, whether nectar, berries or fruit juice, she never felt full. Even when she’d spent a whole afternoon stuffing herself with strawberries, she always arrived home hungry and ready for her meal.
This made life much easier, as Mummy and Daddy didn’t worry about where she’d been, or what she’d been eating. Long summer days were even longer for Charlotte, and she often went to bed exhausted. As Mummy switched off the light and left the room, she drifted off to sleep with the fairies still flying around inside her head, and Lily watching her, a tiny glow of light on top of the wardrobe.
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About the author
Wendy’s love of fairy stories was nurtured from an early age by the ones her mother read to her or invented. Every night there was a bed time story. Mum was clearly a frustrated author and her made-up tales were every bit as good as the ones from the library. These led to many conversations about where fairies lived, what they ate and what they did.
Not surprisingly Wendy’s first foray into fiction writing was a fairytale called Charlotte and the Fairies, and although she has also written for adults, she has once again returned to the fantasy world of fairies for this follow-up, which introduces Marty the monster to the world of the fairies.
As a mother, grandmother and recent great grandmother, as well as a one-time classroom assistant, Wendy has an understanding of children and believes that fantasy should have a place in every child’s life, while they are still young enough to believe in magic.
Although a truly old-fashioned fairy tale, Charlotte, the Fairies and the Monster, also tackles current subjects like bullying, loneliness, rejection and feelings of failure. So, plenty for children to identify with, all woven into a magical world where fairies really do exist, and monsters may not be all bad.
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