six

The next day was misty and gray, but Goldie’s mood was the complete opposite.

She dressed before dawn in a traveling outfit: a royal-blue suit with pink polka-dot piping. And matching polka-dot shoes.

Goldie had hardly slept a wink all night. Queen Mab had given her instructions about what to do on the mainland, and her head was swimming. Goldie would stay in a big house with the other fairies who were going to the fancy-dress party. We’ll be best friends! Goldie thought. She’d be allowed to choose seven items from Queen Titania’s Magical Costume Trunk, and from those she would put together her costume. And the costume was to be based on a theme chosen by the queen. Please let Queen Titania choose a good theme for the costumes! Goldie thought. I don’t want to dress as a piece of fruit! That idea alone kept her up for an hour. Then she spent a long time picturing herself on a mainland boulevard, lightly flying next to two or three mainland fairies who had become her fast friends. She imagined the cheers as she entered the fancy-dress party in her gorgeous attire.

Goldie regarded her sweet little suit in her full-length mirror. She tied a navy-blue ribbon in her hair. Nice! she thought. Unfortunately, the ferry ride would be cold and wet, so she’d also have to wear a hefty oilskin coat to keep warm and dry.

“My yellow coat?” Goldie asked her reflection in the mirror. “Or the green one?”

Clara called from downstairs. “Goldie! The tide is turning! You’ll miss the ferry!”

“Coming, Clara!” said Goldie. “Green, I think. To show off my hair. I just wish it wouldn’t frizz so in this weather!” She leaned down to pick up her luggage—three carpetbags full to bursting. (One was only for shoes.) She could barely carry them all.

“Sylva! Rosy! Can you help me with my bags?”

Rosy flew up the stairs. “Oh my goodness, Goldie!” she said. “Do you really need to take that much? It’s just for the weekend.”

“I’m sure most fairies could get along without very many clothing choices,” said Goldie. “But I cannot. Not to mention shoes. Oh, where are those little dancing slippers I like so much? Can I fit them in?”

“There won’t be dancing at the party, I don’t think,” said Rosy. “So you could leave your slippers at home. And isn’t that my green coat?”

“I thought you’d want me to have it for the weekend, Rosy. It looks so good on me on a rainy day like this.”

Goldie hoped Rosy would say yes, and she did, with her smile.

“Come on, Golden,” said Sylva. “The ferry won’t wait.”

And in a moment the bags were gathered, and all five Fairy Bell sisters were out the door. They flew down the boardwalk to the dock, Goldie collecting cobwebs and shells from the path and stuffing them in her pockets. “I may need these for my costume,” she said. Clara carried Squeak in her arms as she hurried Goldie along. Just before they got to the dock, Squeak looked at Goldie with her big brown eyes. “Doh-ca!” she said.

“There, there, little Squeak,” said Goldie. “I can’t possibly take you to the mainland. You’ll go when you’re a grown-up fairy, like I am.”

“Don’t you wish, just a little bit, that we were all going together?” asked Sylva. “I don’t much care about the mainland, but we’re always—”

“I know. We are always together,” said Goldie. “But I can’t just be on this tiny little island all my life. I need to get out and spread my wings.”

“Of course you do, Goldie,” said Clara. “We all want to grow up.” Goldie thought she noticed a catch in Clara’s voice. “This is your turn to shine.”

They heard a splashing in the water.

“There’s Merryweather!” cried Sylva.

Merryweather was an unusual ferry. She wasn’t a boat at all; she was a gray seal who stopped by Sheepskerry once a month to take fairies on the long trip to the mainland. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen seals swimming, but they look rather like dogs when they’re paddling. They can swim for a long time with their sleek heads above the water and their noses pointed exactly where they want to go.

Merryweather gave three hoarse barks.

“That’s the signal,” said Clara. “Time for you to get on, Golden.”

Goldie turned to say her good-byes. “Bye-bye, little Squeakie,” she said. She held Squeak close. “I wonder how much you’ll change while I’m gone.”

“Good-bye, Goldie!” cried Rosy. “I know you’ll do beautifully. Take good care of yourself! And say hello to Lulu if you see her on the mainland!”

“I will!” said Goldie. Lulu was Rosy’s friend—a human child. Human people made Goldie a little nervous, but how lovely it would be to see Lulu again!

“We’ll be here on the dock waiting when you come back,” said Clara.

Goldie flew over to Merryweather’s jet-black head and settled comfortably in the seal’s sleek fur. Her luggage just fit, even if it might get a little wet. Merryweather gave one more bark and paddled away.

And as if they had planned it, Clara, Rosy, and Sylva took a silent breath together and sang in harmony:

The water is wide;

You will soon pass o’er.

And then you’ll find

A land a-new.

Sheepskerry’s strength

Will give you hope,

Till you return,

Our sister true.

Goldie looked out to the distant horizon. Then she turned and waved once more to her sisters on the dock. “At last,” Goldie said to herself. “I’m Golden Crystal Bell. And I’m on my own.”