by Kate Pickering
2005 Sense of Mischief winner
6 - 11 age group
There is a fairy I know called Tulip.
Well, she's not always called Tulip, everyone calls her "The star stealer" because every night when the stars come out, she flies up to them, catches them and puts them into her big blue sack. No one knows why she collects them, some say it's because they give her more magic, others say she does it for fun.
But one night a terrible thing happened. As she flew up to the sky to collect some more stars she noticed that there were none twinkling. Suddenly the lonely moon said to her "They're all gone; you stole them all!" Tulip felt awfully guilty and wondered if she should take the stars back. Then she said to herself, "Hopefully no one will notice," and flew home!
The next morning when she came out of her home, she didn't see the sun, just the moon. It was morning, but she could only see the moon, and people were staring up at the sky wondering where the stars had gone.
"The stars weren't there to guide the sun into the sky, that's why the moon is still out." said one.
"I wonder who stole them?" asked another.
"There's only one person in Fairyland who steals stars, and that's Tulip the star stealer!" said a fairy.
At this moment Tulip closed her front door. Breathing deeply she ran up her stairs, grabbed her bag of stars and flew as far away as possible. The thought of all Fairytown chasing her buzzed around in her head. But still she kept on flying, passing all the birds.
Suddenly... BUMP! She had bumped into the moon!
"So there you are you mischievous little fairy, give me those stars now!" said the moon.
"No!" replied Tulip, "They're mine!"" She was beginning to lose confidence.
She flew onwards and stopped to rest at Pixie Land. A shiver ran down Tulip's spine. Pixies were the fairies enemies.
The alleys were dark and gloomy and quiet. Suddenly there was a rustling in the trees. Tulip was alert. The rustling came again. Tulip looked around. Then "BOO!" A pixie jumped out at her!
Tulip gasped deeply. Wait, this pixie had no wings. Maybe he would steal Tulips wings and pretend they were his! He did! He ripped Tulip's wings off and ran away with them!
Tulip sat down and cried. What would she do without her wings? Then she thought, maybe she should go and see the wise old fairy who lived on top of the highest mountain in the world. But there was only one problem. How would she get up there? She couldn't fly, she had no wings!
Suddenly she saw a butterfly fly past. "Wait, could you give me a ride to the wise old fairy who lives at the top of the mountain? I can't go, I have no wings!" shouted Tulip.
"Sure!" replied the butterfly.
Before you could say "flutterby butterfly", Tulip was on the butterfly's back heading towards the huge mountain!
They passed all the other mountains and came to the highest. There sat the wise old fairy.
"Hello, do you have a problem I could help you with?" she said.
Tulip told her how she had stolen the stars, met a pixie who had stolen her wings and how she had flown on a butterfly to the mountain. "I have heard enough. Put back the stars and, having the courage to do that, you might get your wings back," said the wise old fairy. So Tulip flew off on the butterfly's back.
That night Tulip looked out of her window at the lonely moon. Maybe she should put the stars back. The world is miserable without them.
Right, she had made up her mind. She was going to put them back. But how? She still didn't have any wings!
She decided to ask her butterfly friend if she could help her. And in a few seconds Tulip was putting the stars back in the sky.
After she had finished, she went back to her home, and went to bed. She hoped she would have wings in the morning, as the wise old fairy had said and so she fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, to her surprise she awoke to find her wings had been replaced!
That night as she looked into the sky she saw the stars twinkling brightly, and the smiling moon. She knew that the wise old fairy was right. Now Tulip was happy and would now no longer be "The Star Stealer"!
The Star Stealer © Kate Pickering 2005