The Fairy with too small wings part 2

Copyright (c) 2020 by Randall R. Peterson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This is a work of fiction. All persons, locations and actions are from the author's imagination or have been used in a fictitious manner.

The Fairy

with too small wings … Part 2

By R. Peterson

            The frog sat on a rock catching flies. He was familiar with the night sounds around the pond but one cricket seemed to be making much more noise than usual. “Can’t you chirp a little quieter?” the frog grumbled. “I’m trying to enjoy my dinner.”

            “Chirp chirp chirp I know a secret,” the cricket said. “But go ahead and enjoy your food.”

            “And why shouldn’t I?” the frog asked. “Last night I was swallowed by a snake and nearly died.”

            “Because of a breakfast that’s going to be most unpleasant to someone you know,” the cricket said.

            “How can a breakfast be unpleasant, as long as there is plenty to eat?” the frog asked.

            “It’s most unpleasant when you’re the breakfast,” the cricket told him.

The cricket then told him that less than a mile away his new friend Starlight and most of the other fairies in the realm were being held captive by a hive of vicious wasps.

            “I must go and help Starlight!” the frog said.

-------2-------

            Starlight and the other fairies shivered as they huddled together inside the cage woven from thorns. “I’m shaking so bad there won’t be any meat left on my bones come morning,” one of the fairies stammered.

One large black wasp who was guarding the entrance to the nest buzzed over when he heard her. “I think you’re right,” he said leering into the cage with his simple and compound eyes. “I might as well enjoy a midnight snack before you shake it all off you.”

He pried away the thorn door with his sting and then reached into the cage grabbing the fairy who had spoken. “You leave her alone!” Starlight demanded.

The wasp was just pulling the fairy out of the cage when another wasp that had been guarding the same nest flew over. “Better put her back and stay quiet,” he said pointing.

Two human hunters had walked into the clearing directly below the wasp nest. There was a stream nearby and plenty of firewood. They dropped the deer carcass they were carrying and made a camp. Soon they began to build a fire.

            “I’ll warn the other wasps to stay in the nest,” the first wasp whispered.

-------2-------

            The frog had forgotten to ask the cricket exactly where the wasp nest was and he thought about going back to the pond … but then he decided to keep going. Several times he heard a rustling sound in the bushes and had to hide from hungry snakes that came out to feed. He slipped under a rock just as an especially large and frightening snake slithered past and found that he was hiding next to a mouse. “We were very lucky,’ the mouse shivered. “I came from a nest of nine and am the only one still able to dance in the moonlight.”

            “Inside the belly of that snake,” the mouse whispered. “I’ll never see them again!”

            “Snakes swallow their prey whole,” the frog told him. “I was inside the belly of a snake for several hours and after an eagle dropped the snake on some rocks I was able to escape from a slit in its belly.”

            “I don’t know any eagles,” the mouse said. “But I know an owl. Only a few nights ago I chewed away a human fishing line tangled around his legs. He owes me a favor!”

            “Tell him to lift the snake high in the air and drop it on something hard,” the frog instructed.

            “Thanks!’ The mouse smiled. “I wish there was some way to repay you.”

            “If you could tell me where the wasp nest is I would be most grateful,” the frog said.

            “It’s only a hundred yards straight through those trees,” the mouse pointed.

The frog hopped away immediately and didn’t hear as the mouse called after him. “But you’d better take the long way around. There is a pit filled with an oily tar. If you get stuck in it you’ll be in big trouble!”

-------3-------

            “I talked to the queen and she said these human hunters won’t be any trouble,” one of the wasp guards said to the other as they went inside the nest. “The hunters will rise early and when they do we’ll all dine on the fairies.

            The fairies were trying to attract the attention of the hunters and were yelling as loud as they could. Unfortunately to the hunters below it just sounded like a faint buzzing.

            “What was that?” One of the hunters asked as he took a roasted hotdog from a stick.

            “Mosquitoes?” the other hunter gasped. “Let’s eat fast and get in our tent. I don’t want to be scratching my bites all night.”

And the cries of the fairies turned to sobs of despair as they realized they would get no help from the humans.

-------4-------

            The frog was sure he was lost until he spotted the flicker of the human campfire and could see the wasp nest hanging in the tree above. He was so excited to have found his destination that he didn’t see the pit filled with the sticky, oily tar until it was too late. “Oh no,” the frog moaned as he became stuck. “Now I think I’m really in trouble.”

-------5-------

            With the help of the owl the mouse was able to rescue the other members of his nest from the snake’s belly. While the other mice were dancing in a grain field and eating their fill he set off to warn the frog about the tar pit.

            It was almost morning when the mouse found him. The frog was almost submerged by the sticky tar. The mouse quickly chewed a branch from an overhanging tree and when it dropped on top of the goo, the frog was able to crawl to safety.

-------6-------

            The wasps waited as the human hunters packed up their tent and kicked some dust over the hot fire coals. “Now for our breakfast,’ they said as they watched the hunters leave.

            The tar and oil-coated frog hopped into the clearing just as the hunters disappeared into the trees. He could see the cage with the captive fairies hanging next to the wasp nest and although it was more than six feet off the ground he thought he could jump up and open the door.

            He was so excited to be able to help his friends that he didn’t see the hot coals covered with dust until he burst into flames.

The flaming frog knew he could jump really high but he knew he only had one more hop left in him. He could leap into the stream and save himself … or he could somehow help his friends!

------- 7 -------

            An hour after sunrise, the burning wasp-nest eventually made the branch it was attached to fall to the ground. None of the wasps got out alive. When the cage fell, the door burst open and the coughing fairies were free.

Three days later, Starlight showed the other fairies how to make the magic dust she had used when she was flying. The green moss and red rose petals were easy to find. The tears were no problem at all.

Every fairy in Nodnol was somber as they scattered the glitter mixed with the frog’s ashes across the reflecting surface of the water. They held hands and formed a sacred circle around the pond. Each face showed a profound sense of grief and sadness. From somewhere in the darkness a cricket chirped. A family of mice watched from a twisted tree root as an owl flew overhead. “From this moment forward,” Starlight sobbed. “All frogs on earth will forever be linked to this special dust and to the use of magic in all kingdoms. My the stars ever twinkle upon these still, green, shimmering waters where we lay our dear friend to rest …”

Just then a night breeze gently drifted through the trees surrounding the pond and golden leaves floated like tears toward the shimmering water turned mirror.

“And as long as the wind blows … we will never forget.”

THE END?