“I’ve never flown in the forest before,” said Arwen nervously as she took off. “I’m not sure if I’m good enough to do it.”
“Don’t worry,” said Evie, “we’ll take it slow. I think it’s a bit like riding a pony through the forest – keep your balance and don’t rush. Once you get the hang of it you’ll love it – we do, don’t we Willow?”
Willow tossed her mane and flicked her lovely tail.
“The secret is to look where you’re going but remember to keep your eyes open for any challenges up ahead. You don’t want a nasty surprise like a branch in the face!”
Willow walked in and out of the trees. Arwen flew above the New Forest Pony and began to feel more confident.
“You’re looking great!” said Evie. “Are you ready to go a bit faster?”
“Absolutely!” smiled the little fairy.
Willow began to trot along the forest path.
“When you’re coming to a corner, make sure you’re not going too fast. You don’t want to lose your balance!” said Evie. Arwen watched how Evie helped to steer Willow and slow her down if there was a tight corner coming up. Arwen copied this and soon she was weaving through the trees effortlessly.
“This is brilliant!” laughed Arwen, as they sailed over ditches. “You and Willow are such a great team!”
Arwen was right, Willow loved riding cross-country with Evie and Evie was a careful rider. She could feel the fresh air whizz past them as they raced through the forest. They were having so much fun racing up slopes and following streams, that for a while they forgot their task!
It was only when Willow came to a halt by a cluster of hazel trees draped with strings of little leaves and red berries that the friends remembered they had to make forest fairy crowns.
“Why don’t we use these?” said Evie. “We can twist the stems to make a crown.”
Arwen and Evie each took a string of leaves and twisted it into a circle.
“Let’s try them on,” said Arwen.
“They’ll look really beautiful when we decorate them,” said Evie, helping Arwen to tighten her crown a little.
“You’re right, but what can we use?”
At that moment a beautiful gold feather floated down from the tree. Shimmering on a branch above was the most striking golden bird.
“Please could we have a few more of your feathers?” asked Evie hopefully, carefully fixing the feather onto Arwen’s crown.
The bird looked down at them, her bright eyes flickering like flames.
“I think she’s a phoenix,” whispered Evie. “I’ve read about them in one of the old books in Starlight Castle’s library, I thought they were mythical creatures.”
The golden bird screeched at them, making poor Willow jump and Sparkles shake. It was a shock that such a beautiful bird could make such a terrible sound!
“She sounds real to me!” said Arwen. It squawked again.
“I think she’s trying to tell us something,” said Evie, putting her hands over her ears. “Perhaps you could try some forest magic to translate.”
“I’ve never tried any forest magic before,” said Arwen, carefully taking her wand out of her basket. “But I’ll have a go.”
“Take your time,” said Evie.
Arwen closed her eyes and after a few seconds she began whispering some magic forest words:
“Blow wind blow,
Golden bird do not shriek.
Flow words flow,
Golden words from your beak.
Leaves shiver, leaves fall,
Forest creature tell me all.”
Tiny green sparks fizzed and whizzed from the tip of the wand and floated above Arwen and Evie’s heads.
Phoenix stood tall and opened her mouth, but instead of letting out another shrill shriek, she said in a proud voice:
“Look around the forest trees,
Listen to the forest breeze.
A little pincushion trying to sleep,
Help him – he’s in trouble deep.
When you’ve finished this task in hand,
I will help you gild your band.”
And with that she flew a little further up into the tree.
“I hope you’re better at solving riddles than I am,” said Evie.
“Hmm,” said Arwen thoughtfully. “I think the second part of the riddle means the phoenix will help us with our crowns if we help someone in the forest. But I don’t know who they are or where we’ll find them.”
Arwen and Evie looked at the map of Bluebell Forest, searching for clues.
“A pincushion would be used by someone sewing,” said Evie. “Perhaps they’re making outfits like we did for the fashion show with spider web thread.”
“But where would they be?” asked Arwen. Willow neighed loudly.
“I think Willow knows,” said Evie.
