two

I trust you already know about the Fairy Bell sisters. If you have not met them yet, or even if you have, I’ll present them to you now. Here are:

They are Tinker Bell’s little sisters—yes, that Tinker Bell—and they live in a fairy house on Sheepskerry Island, which is, in fact, not far from where you are reading this right now. There’s a map of the island at the front of this book, but you won’t find it in any atlases used by grown-ups. Magic islands don’t show up on ordinary maps.

The Fairy Bell sisters loved one another very much and got along together without fighting—at least most of the time. And though Sylva loved all her sisters dearly (even Goldie), there was one fairy in all the world she considered her very best friend. And that was Poppy Flower.

Poppy and Sylva were almost exactly the same age. They had known each other since they first popped into the world. They liked all the same things and dressed the same way and sat next to each other at school and played with each other whenever they could. They were even heroes together on the night of the Fairy Ball last summer (even if Sylva was a little bit more of a hero than Poppy).

Two better friends you would never meet. You might even have a best friend, just as Sylva does, and I’m sure you love your friend very much indeed. Maybe you have always been kind and good to your best friend and you two have never exchanged a harsh word. Maybe everything has always been smooth sailing with your best friend and you’ve never had a stormy moment. Maybe you and your best friend are in complete harmony. And maybe you won’t want to read this book.

But if you love your best friend dearly, and want to do everything together, but sometimes—just sometimes—you get a tiny bit cross, and say something you don’t quite mean, and drive your friend away, only to find you can’t really live without each other . . . then you’re very much like Sylva. So turn the page quickly, dear reader. Turn the page and read on.