Nou-nou woke up as the tiny beam of sunlight came through the hole in her wall which served as a source of fresh air, sunlight and velvety darkness, so that she could sleep. She snuggled down under her lamb’s wool comforter and enjoyed the softness of her mattress. It was made of fur that she had pulled from the twigs in the gaps where the animals passed through the hedgerows from field to field. The latest crop was especially soft as most of the fur was rabbit. She was tempted to snooze a little longer, such was the cosiness of her bed. However, she was not a lazy person by nature.
Her bed was her pride and joy. It had been made by her grandfather out of half a walnut shell now polished by the passing of time. She wriggled her feet over the side into her slippers and creaked her way upright. She was about half an inch high and could walk upright through a human wedding ring. Not that she ever had. She peeked in the tiny piece of mirror on the wall and giggled at her reflection. When she was young she would have seen the face of a beautiful young fairy with silver hair and soft green skin. The only features that remained the same were her sparkling aquamarine eyes. On top of her head were a few wisps of white hair all tousled from sleep. Her wings were rumpled from the night and she shook them out so the stardust on them twinkled. She washed her face in the dew she had collected in the bottle cap left by human picnickers. Nou-nou picked up the toothpick, also left by the humans, and indulged herself in a leisurely scratch between the places on her back where her wings left her body. Her eyes, like the eyes of the farm cat, half closed in rapture. She got the glow-worms up and put them under her silver foil kettle where they soon boiled the water for her tea. She took some of the tiny mint leaves that she had dried in the sunshine, popped them in her acorn cup and poured the water over them. Settled in her bent wood rocking chair she savoured the wonderful smell and taste of her tea and planned her day. Her toes curled with pleasure.
Oak Tree Village, where Nou-nou lived, was in the hollow trunk of a dead oak tree. Full of hollows, knots and cracks it provided little homes for many fairies, close enough for company but separate enough for seclusion. Hoot the owl provided security at night and the creatures of the forest watched over them by day. Outside, in the parking lot, dune bugs snoozed in the sun ,hoping their owners would not need transportation that day.
