MARILYN AND THE FAERIE FESTIVAL

Marilyn loved to garden more than anything else in the whole world. She planted beautiful flowerbeds, and so many different kinds of vegetables. Her favorite gardening was done in her herb garden. She spent most of the Spring and Summer in her garden.

One day she spotted something moving behind her basil leaves. To her surprise, she found two little faeries backed against a garden rock. They looked frightened. Marilyn spoke first. “Why don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you, what are your names?” The one on the left spoke first “My name is Rosemary and this is my syster Thyme. We are garden faeries and we are here to help your garden bloom. Our cousins are coming tomorrow to help tend to your flowerbeds.” Marilyn looked and said “Well, I am happy to meet you. I would love to learn more about gardening, will you teach me?” “Oh yes,” said Thyme “come back tomorrow and we will bring our friends.”

When she went home, she ran to the kitchen and said “Mom, Mom I saw faeries in the garden and they spoke to me and they are going to teach me how to be a better gardener!” She could hardly catch her breath. Her mother replied, “Of course Marilyn, now it’s time for dinner, go wash up and help set the table.” Marilyn knew that her mother did not BELIEVE, but it did not matter, she did and that was all that mattered. That night she went to sleep so excited.

The next day, she hardly ate her breakfast. She flew open the screen door, ran outside, down the garden path to her patch of garden. When she reached her herb garden, she got down on her knees and looked ever so carefully. She heard a curious sound, like a flute in the distance.

Marilyn turned around and there behind her, near her left shoe, stood three faeries. Rosemary, Thyme and a funny little fellow wearing a blue coat and playing the flute. “This is our brother Lemongrass, he plays the flute to help the herbs grow”, said Rosemary. Marilyn was thrilled and she gardened with them all day long. She had brought a picnic lunch and she shared it with them. What a sight it was to see Mariilyn and her three little friends sitting on a blanket having lunch.

When lunch was over she noticed many faeries that day near her flowerbeds. She was glad that they were tending to the flowers, because her favorite place to be was in the herb garden. She really loved being with Rosemary, Thyme and Lemongrass. When it was time to go home for supper she said goodbye and told them she would meet them again the next day.

Days turned into weeks and her garden was beginning to look amazing. Her mother said “Well Marilyn, it looks like all your hard work has paid off, you garden looks wonderful.” Marilyn smiled, she knew that the magic that her little friends had brought to her garden was the reason it looked so beautiful.

One morning she awoke with a sore throat and a fever. Her mother came up to see what was keeping Marilyn from the breakfast table. Her mother saw that Marilyn did not look well, and felt her head and then called the doctor straight away. When the doctor came He said to Marilyn, “You need bed rest young lady, you must drink plenty of fluids.” Marilyn was so worried, she said to her mother, “What if my faerie friends go away if they don’t see me in my garden?” “Oh, now Marilyn I am sure that if there are faeries in the garden they will be there when you are well”, said her mother.

Days turned into a week and still she needed to stay in bed. Her garden should surely be ruined, she thought. Maybe the faeries will go away and I will never see them again, if I don’t go and visit them. One day she awoke and felt almost as good as new. She was well enough to go downstairs for breakfast. “Now Marilyn, I have a surprise for you. The doctor said that now that you no longer have a fever he feels some fresh air might just do you some good. So, I will let you go in the garden just for the morning, if you promise to come home and rest this afternoon.” Marilyn screamed “Yippee, Oh yes Mommy I will, I will… The screen door shut with a thud and Marilyn ran down the garden path. As she came upon her patch of garden she could hardly believe her eyes. Her garden was lush with greenery. The flowers were in full bloom and there was not a weed in sight. Her herbs were luscious and she could hardly breathe as she looked all around her.

She knelt down and started to look through the beautiful leaves for her faerie friends. She almost began to cry, when she heard a familiar sound in the distance. She turned around to be greeted by her old friends, Rosemary, Thyme and little Lemongrass was playing the flute. “Come on, come on we have something to show you Marilyn”, said Thyme. They led her deep into the garden and Marilyn could not believe her eyes. There were faeries everywhere and they were dressed in lovely little outfits wearing flower wreaths in their hair. There were faeries wearing gumdrop hats and faeries in white dresses carrying the most sensational bouquets in horn shaped carriers called tussles. The little boy faeries wore tiny blue and purple coats and they carried baskets made of grass twine. Marilyn could see that this was a celebration of faeries. She noticed the wee dancers were holding onto the ends of pretty ribbons attached to a May pole made of a stick covered in ribbons. There were wonderful garden huts draped in scarves and bits of fabric held up by twigs.

Marilyn peeked into one of the little huts and the little faerie guests were being entertained by a story teller. Another little hut held all the ingredients to create beautiful garland wreaths for their hair. There was baby’s breath, buckets of faerie dust, green leaves, sprigs of lavender and ribbons to make the faerie garland. Some faeries were carrying plates full of pink and green sandwiches and others were pouring lavender lemonnade from pitchers made of leaves. What a delightful sight, thought Marilyn. Lemongrass stopped playing the flute and said “Marilyn, this is our Faerie Festival and we hold this every year in July when we celebrate the harvest of our hard work.” Marilyn looked all around and said to the three of them looking up at her, “I am so thankful for how beautiful my garden looks, especially my herb garden. I promise you that when I grow up I will remember and still BELIEVE. I will celebrate the faeries festival every year”.

Well, as you might have guessed, Marilyn grew up to be an incredible gardener. Even though Marilyn was a grown-up, she still BELIEVED. She opend up her garden every year for the July Faerie Festival. The town loved the festival and they looked forward to coming. She had tents made of scarves created for the storyteller and she hired a flutist to play alongside. Another tent was made to house piles of leaves, flowers lavender and ribbons. Several young girls helped the little children and grown-ups to design their faerie garland for their hair. In the garden were tables set with pink and green sandwiches and pitchers of lavender lemmonade on each table. Tussles filled with beautiful bouquets of flowers decorated spots in the yard. Cakes of faerie design were placed on tall cake pedestals decorated with fowers from Marilyn’s garden. Tables coverd in pink tablecloths held stacks of faerie wings and tutus for the children to wear. A May pole stood in the center of the herb garden with blue and pink ribbons cascading down. Children dressed up in faerie tutus and wearing faerie wings danced around the May pole.

Marilyn still BELIEVES and she never forgot her promise that she made to her wee friends Rosemary, Thyme and Lemongrass. Every July Marilyn hosts the faerie festival. She helps all her guests learn about faeries and hopes that they too will BELIEVE.