The next morning as the fairies prepared to leave for the day they were chattering about their trees as usual. Since Sanda’s tree had produced its flowers, or catkins, before its leaves they were all wondering about their own trees and whether they would get flowers, or catkins, or leaves first. Merida heard them and … More The Catalpa Tree Fairy – Part 5
The next morning was another lovely warm, sunny day. The fairies were all excited talking about how their trees would surely wake up soon with all this sunshine and warmth, and all the good energy they were giving them! They were eager to set off to see their trees even before Merida told them to … More The Catalpa Tree Fairy – Part 4
Just as Merida had promised, in the morning all the fairies flew together to visit Jayda’s tree. Her Pine tree had a tall, straight trunk that seemed to reach right up into the sky. There were lots of big branches, each coming from the main trunk. Smaller branches and twigs covered with the sharp green … More The Catalpa Tree Fairy – Part 3
When Naida reached home it was bustling with excited fairies who had already returned. Everyone was talking at once and it seemed like a madhouse. Naida looked for her friend Jayda, but couldn’t see her. She went over to Zaida and asked if she had seen Jayda yet. “Oh yes,” Zaida replied with a nod. … More The Catalpa Tree Fairy – Part 2
Naida woke up very excited. It was the day all the new fairies were to be assigned their trees! They had been preparing for this day all winter. Finally the snow had almost completely melted and the sun was rising higher in the sky and warming the earth, preparing it to support growth and new … More The Catalpa Tree Fairy – Part 1
The next day Paul set out with the birdcage, keeping the cover on so the bird wouldn’t be frightened. It was a bit of a walk from where the bus dropped him, but he didn’t mind. It was nice to be out of the city and breathing the fresh air of the forest again. All … More The Beautiful Golden Songbird – A Short Story, Part 8
A few days later Paul and his parents had moved into their new house in the city. Although there was still a lot of unpacking to do, Paul could tell that his mother already felt at home. He had installed the birdcage by the window that faced out onto the back yard so that the … More The Beautiful Golden Songbird – A Short Story, Part 7
The next day they set off early in their old car. Paul and his mother were both more excited than they had expected to be. His father seemed happy and talked about the city and how different it would be for them all to live there. As they drew closer to the city he started … More The Beautiful Golden Songbird – A Short Story, Part 6
One day Paul’s world came crashing down. His father announced that they were moving to the city! He explained that his job had changed, that he no longer needed to travel to all the different villages to see his clients, that he would only meet people in the city. So it made sense to move … More The Beautiful Golden Songbird – A Short Story, Part 5
Paul saw the bird again many times. In fact, meeting this bird at the tree became an almost daily occurrence. Paul would arrive at the tree as early as his schedule allowed, which was usually right after lunch when Mr. Black seemed to need to take a nap. Since Paul was able to complete all … More The Beautiful Golden Songbird – A Short Story, Part 4
Jennifer P. Tanabe 