The Tale of the Foggy Fairy

Written in 2013

Once upon a time there was a beautiful fairy. He loved to dance and sing and be merry. He was friends with a toad. The toad, however, was very angry with the fairy and she cursed him. The story of how the Toad became angry with the fairy has been lost to time but suffice to say she was angry enough to use her magic against him. Some of you might not know it but toads are indeed magical. They have enough magic in them to create only one good spell in their lifetime. So imagine how angry this toad must have been to use her one bit of magic against the fairy. She puffed up and expelled her curse and the fairy was instantly turned to smoke and fog.

The fairy was very distraught. In his foggy form how could he revel and dance. His fellow fairies could no longer see him in the bright sunlight of the day nor indeed in the darkness of the night. He was forced to watch from above as they ate and drank and toasted. No fairy is ever meant to wander alone without friends and soon the foggy fairy became very grey indeed. He whisped along through the forests and over streams. He was sad and very, very lonely.

One day the fairy was sitting on a dandelion in the sunlight and sighing sadly when a cat walked up and threw his shadow over the dandelion. It was a big black cat. And it said "Oy, you, why so blue?" The dandelion looked up at the cat and wondered why it was talking to him. The fairy didn't even glance up. He had become so used to creatures looking right through him that he never thought to pay attention anymore. The cat said again "Hey, foggy, I'm talking to you?" The dandelion was getting very nervous because surely this cat was crazy. The fairy finally looked up at the cat. "There that's better, now at least you're looking at me." The fairy jumped up, he couldn't help it, someone was actually speaking to him. He said "but how can you see me, I'm just made of smoke and fog." The cat told him it wasn't so hard. Cats have very good eyesight you see.

All day the cat and the foggy fairy walked together in the sun. The fairy told the cat his whole story, he quite babbled but wouldn't you babble in his place. He spoke for what seemed like hours and the cat listened intently to the whole thing, never once seeming to be bored or uninterested. Finally the dusk began to settle in and the foggy fairy began to get sad again. "Soon it will be dark and then even with your cat eyes you will not be able to see me anymore. I will blend into the blackness." The cat thought for a moment and then said, "Stay right there, don't move one inch and I will be back."

The fairy waited for what seemed like hours. The moon rose and rose into the sky until it was quite to the other side of the horizon. The foggy fairy grew tired and wanted to leave. He was sure the cat was never coming back and even if he did, he would never be able to find the fairy in this dark. After what seemed like an age the foggy fairy heard the pad of soft feet in the grass and saw the glint of the cats eyes walking up to him in the dark.

The cat was holding something in its teeth. It was a large white wax candle. The cat pushed the bottom of the candle into the mud. 'Oh dear, well, I forgot to bring matches." The fairy was a wiz at fires though and soon with a bit of tinder and a quick fan with his smoky wings the flame of the candle was flickering merrily. The fairy began to sing a fireside song and the cat began to purr. Now, if you think toads are the only creature in the wide world to have a bit of magic to themselves then you are sadly ignorant of the workings of magic and the world. Cats have more then enough magic and this cat had grown quite fond of the fairy. As he purred and purred sparks began to gather in his whiskers. The fairy sang and sang as the sparks lept from the cats whiskers and into the smoke of the candle. Slowly the smoke began to sing with the foggy fairy and take forms. Within minutes their were half a dozen smoky fairies singing in harmony with the foggy fairy. If the toad could turn a fairy into smoke and fog then a cat most certainly could turn smoke and fog into a fairy.

Our foggy fairy jumped up and danced with his new companions. They made merry all through the night to the tune of their songs and the rhythm of the happy cats' purring. For many days and nights they played and frolicked and after many years the foggy fairies grew in number and were plentiful and quite happy. So when you wake up and there is mist covering all the land, rising playfully from the grass and the trees, you can be sure it is an especially happy bunch of the foggy fairies and if you listen closely enough you might just be able to hear them singing.