one

After all the Summer People leave Sheepskerry Island, and the goldenrod is thick on the boardwalk and the asters show their pretty purple faces, the fairies know that fall is hastening near. The days grow shorter and the shadows longer. A chill is in the island’s evening air. The sugar maples begin to hint at the blazing colors to come, the smell of wood smoke is strong, and the fairies put on gossamer shawls at night as they tell stories by the fire.

At the Fairy Bell house, Tinker Bell’s little sisters—for that’s who live there—were not enjoying the crisp fall day. They were arguing. That didn’t happen very often, as most of the time the sisters got along splendidly. This had started as a very happy discussion, about whose job it was to stack wood in the woodpile. But then it took a wrong turn into a small misunderstanding, and from there it veered off toward ardent bickering, and now it was just short of an all-out fight.

I’m not fond of starting a story with a disagreement, so I think I’ll stop for a moment to give the Fairy Bell sisters a few minutes to try to collect themselves and simmer down.

That will give us time, too, to make some introductions. If you haven’t already met Tinker Bell’s little sisters, their names are:

Clara Bell

Rosy Bell

Golden Bell

Sylva Bell

and baby Squeak

This story is about all the sisters, but it’s mostly about Golden.

Golden Crystal Bell is a particular kind of fairy. She is a lot like her big sister Tink. She is probably the most like Tinker Bell of all the Bell sisters. Goldie is headstrong and willful, and very, very stubborn. Like Tink, she always wants to get her own way. Some people may think Goldie is a bit of a bossy-boots. But I don’t think of her like that. Goldie sees the world differently than other fairies do. She notices small things that other fairies do not: the creamy shade of a hen’s egg; the pattern of a spider’s spots; a tiny glittering rock on the beach. She may have trouble doing certain things—I’ll tell you more about that very soon—but she knows what she’s good at. That’s what gives Goldie her great confidence. She believes she’s special. And she doesn’t mind if other people believe it, too.

You may be a bit worried to read a book about such a willful, headstrong fairy.

But before you judge Goldie too harshly, let me ask you this:

Have you ever wanted to shout aloud: “I am so much better than anyone else! It is so wonderful to be me!”

If you believe that is an improper thing to do, or even to think about doing, I’m fairly certain you will not much care for this book. Off you go.

If, however, you’re even a little bit like Goldie, you might find it quite refreshing to read a book about a fairy who knows her own mind; a fairy who leaves her sisters behind to have an adventure on her own (an adventure that very nearly turns into a disaster). If that sounds like a good story to you, then please take the plunge and read on.