Here is another story I used to tell my children. It was one of many based in the Lake District. They began when I was cook and Dee, my wife was minibus driver for St. Omers Trust, who organised camping holidays in Langdale for disadvantaged children. Our good friend Anne Diss, who provided the inspiration for my story, Lucky goes to Market, organised these trips. She and her husband Mike also led a sponsored walk along the Cumbrian Way to raise money for an orphanage in Africa. I forget where in Africa. But I remember the log fire in the mountain hut between Grasmere and Keswick where we all lodged on one of the stages. It and our children are the inspiration for this story.
Chapter 1
It was another rainy day in Lakeland. Tom and Louise sat in the living room gazing out of the great bay window that, on a good day, gave fantastic views over the lake to the hills beyond. Today the lake was a grey sheet, rippled by a grey curtain of rain. Through this curtain they could just about see the valley walls cloaked in darker greys that represented the forest. Above the trees, clouds and hills smudged together into another grey.
“What a grey day!” Tom turned away from the window and went over to the fire. Logs crackled, flames spluttered and spitted and drove the grey smoke up the chimney into the grey sky. Their light and warmth reached into the room, pushing against the greyness of the day. And every now and again a spark escaped from the flames and danced in the smoke before climbing the chimney … but where to?
Tom gazed at the fire now, following the sparks as they darted within the fireplace. Then a flame twisted and turned from yellow to blue before expelling a spark that leaped out of the fireplace onto the hearth. As Tom watched it fade Louise scooped it up. She blew gently to revive the spark and tossed it back into the fire.
And then it happened. The spark hovered. It did not fall back into the fire. It did not fly up the chimney. It grew. Or rather it unfolded and expanded like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. It grew longer and larger and, as its wings opened up, it took on a human form.
“Thank you.” The fairy spoke to them. “You have saved my life and now, in accordance with the fairy law, I grant you three wishes.
“I wish the clouds would go away!” Tom blurted out. The rain stopped. The clouds faded and the sun shone brightly in a blue sky.
“Tom, I wish you would think before you speak. That’s a whole wish used up!” Louise was very cross with her brother.
“Two wishes now,” said the fairy and Louise went very quiet when she realised what she had said.
Tom was also quiet because he was thinking. Louise’s wish had come true! After a long silence Tom spoke. “First, thank you for the three wishes, even though we only have one left now. I think we should save that wish for an emergency and only use it if we both wish it together. Second, we have not been properly introduced. I am Tom and this is my sister, Louise. Third, can we be friends?
The fairy clapped her hands, squealed with happiness and flew twice round the room before landing on the fireplace. “Of course we are friends,” she laughed. “My name is Ember.” Then she turned to Louise. “A boy who thinks! That was a brilliant wish, Louise.” Louise’s smile beamed like the sun that was now shining in the sky. She was going to like Ember.
“Ember,” said Tom, “I have been thinking again.” He looked at his sister, “Sorry Louise. I can’t help it!” Both the children and the fairy laughed and hugged each other.
Tom went on, “All the other sparks went up the chimney. Only you fell onto the hearth. Are they fairies as well?”
Ember replied, “I don’t know. Shall we find out?”
Of course the children said yes, and Ember told them to put another log on the fire. It needed to be hot for the magic to work. Tom moved the fireguard and Louise put the log on the fire. Then Ember wrapped her wings around them, and they all jumped together. The magic worked! Ember and the children became no bigger than sparks and the heat from the fire lifted them up the chimney, into the land of the fire fairies.
Just then Mum came into the room. “It’s stopped raining kids. Why don’t you go outside and play.” Mum looked around and when she couldn’t see them, she said to herself, “Oh well, that’s OK. They’ve gone already. But I wish they hadn’t left the fire unattended.” She put the fireguard back in place and it was just well that she did.
Chapter 2
When Ember opened her wings to fly up the chimney Tom and Louise did not fall. They had no wings, but they could fly!
“Ember, is it you making us fly?” asked Louise.
Ember turned and smiled. “Oh no! that’s not me. It must be the magic in your hearts.”
Tom and Louise were surrounded by magic. Wherever they looked there were fire fairies flying. Each one was a different colour and they whizzed around so fast it was like a firework display and Tom and Louise were flying into it.
They reached out to hold hands and squeezed. This slowed them down and let them hover in mid-air. When they looked down they saw more sparks rising from the glow of the log fire. It seemed so far away but they weren’t afraid. As the sparks climbed higher some of the fairies swooped down to catch them and blow them kisses. Then, just as Ember had done, the sparks grew into fairies and the chimney filled with laughter as they soared away.
Ember flew down to find them. “Come on! Our Queen is expecting you.”
The children unclasped their hand and flew up the chimney so fast they almost reached the top. Luckily two guardians jumped out to grab them.
“Not so fast! If you fly out of the chimney you will turn to smoke and go where the wind blows.”
The guardians took the children to meet the Queen. She was sat on a cinder throne and was every colour you could think of and was always changing from one to another. Her crown was a circle of fire. But some of the flames had gone out and in their place were wisps of blue and grey smoke.
“Welcome to my realm, Louise and Tom. Ember has told me how you saved her and for that I thank you. From this day onwards let it be known that you are Friends of the Fire Fairies and wherever you go in Fairyland you will be made welcome.”
Tom and Louise remembered their manners and said thank you. Tom thought he ought to bow and nudged Louise to copy him.
The Queen laughed. “Fairy Friends don’t bow and scrape to anybody, not even a queen. Now come up here and sit beside me. And now I have a favour to ask. You may have noticed that my crown is fading. It is not long now before I shall turn to smoke and go where the wind blows. Then Ember will take my place as queen and choose her king, just as I chose mine so many fires ago. It is my dearest wish that when the time comes my king is here to follow me on the wind. But he is missing, and it is my greatest fear that he has turned to ash.”
The Queen began to sob. Hot tears boiled and turned to steam. As fairies rushed to help their queen Ember took the children aside. She explained that every fairy had to die one day, and every fairy wished to turn to smoke and float upon the breeze. But every fairy feared that they might fall into the grate and turn to ash.
“Our Queen hopes that you can go down to the grate and rescue her beloved King before he dies and turns to ash, so they can fly together one more time into the air and up beyond the sky.”
“But what if we are turned to ash?” Asked Tom.
“Oh no,” said Ember. “That only happens to fire fairies. Your people magic will protect you.”
Louise nodded. “Tell your queen that we will try and rescue her king. But we better get a move on before dad empties all the ash into the bin.”
Chapter 3
Ember could not go with them to the grate. Instead she gave a magic wand to Louise that would let them move between the fairy world and the people world. Tom and Louise joined hands and squeezed so hard that they floated down towards the faint glow of the fire. Louise held her wand in her other hand and every time it touched a rising spark her hand tingled, and the wand sparkled.
But in the dark corners of the chimney there was danger. Not every spark turned into a fairy. Some turned into soot that clung like velvet to the sides of the chimney. Mostly soot was soft and gentle. Sometimes the fairy sparks set fire to the soot, and it would whoosh up the chimney with an orange flame that flowered in the air. But sometimes it turned into Smuts.
Smuts could not spark or fly. Instead they liked to make mischief. They would sneak up the chimney on washing day and when the clothes were all hung out to dry they would jump down and make it all dirty again. Their meanest trick was to catch a fire fairy, throw it into the grate and watch while it turned to ash. And now the Smuts were watching Tom and Louise and smuttering to each other.
“Those are the strangest fairies I have ever seen. And why are they going down to the grate? Do they want to turn to ash?”
“It’s no fun if they want to. Let’s catch them and take them up the chimney and turn them into smoke.”
“Too risky. The Guardians might catch us. Anyway the little one has got a wand. She might zap us with it.”
“Yeah. Forget about those two. We still have to decide what to do with our Very Important Prisoner.
The Very Important Prisoner was of course the King. All the rain had made him worried. If too much rain came down the chimney it might put out the sparks before they could grow into fairies. Worst of all it might make the soot all wet and lumpy, so it fell back into the hearth and put out the fire. And that would bring the Chimney Sweep. The Smuts were a nuisance, but the Sweep was an absolute disaster. Soot and Smuts and Fairies all would be swept into a big sack and taken goodness knows where.
So the King had gone down nearly as far as the grate to check that all was safe and sound. He was just about to fly back up when he saw Ember and the children rise out of the flames. The King was so busy watching them that he did not see the Smuts creeping up on him until it was too late.
Now he was their prisoner, tied up in a hole in the chimney wall with the letters VIP scraped into the soot. Two Smuts were on guard duty outside. One was wearing the King’s crown. Just like the Queen’s it had wisps of smoke among its flames as it glowed in the darkness.
Tom spotted the crown as he and Louise drifted past. He loosened his grip on her hand enough to slow them down and made a hushing noise to Louise.
What is it, Tom?” She whispered. He pointed to the crown that glowed faintly above them. It was too dark to see the Smuts. Another whisper, “The King?” Tom nodded and the children began to fly up towards the light.
Chapter 4
As they approached Louise called out, “Your Majesty!” The Smuts jumped up in alarm. They were so surprised that they shook the soot from off the chimney walls and it fell like a coal black avalanche to put out the fire below. In the pitch darkness Louise waved her wand, trying to find a spark to make some light. Instead she zapped a Smut who went, “Ow!” then turned into orange flame and said, “Wow! Fantastic!” as it flew up the chimney towards the sky.
In the orange light Tom grabbed the crown off the other Smut and Louise zapped it. “Owser! Wowser!” Up went another orange flame and before it disappeared the children heard it say, “Thank you.”
The rest of the Smuts knew something was wrong when they saw the orange flames. They scrambled down the chimney until they reached Louise who zapped them in all directions. Even so, she only had a single wand, and she was surrounded by Smuts.
Tom thought fast and acted faster. He freed the King and gave him back his crown, which roared into life with the power of a hundred wands. Louise and the King fought off the Smuts together until the Queen and all her fairies arrived to seal the victory. Every Smut became an orange flame that felt the happiness of flight and light and forgot their spite and meanness.
While everyone celebrated the King remembered the soot that had fallen into the fireplace. It was lucky that the children’s Mum had replaced the fireguard. So all the soot had stayed in the hearth and not escaped to cover the living room. But it still meant that the Chimney Sweep would come, and his brushes would sweep the chimney clean of fire fairies.
He spoke to his Queen who raised her hand for silence. My dear fairy folk you know that it is nearly time for me to turn to smoke. If you want to escape from the Chimney Sweep you must come with me and soar upon the wind high above the mountain tops. She took her King by the hand and up they went and away upon the breeze.
The fairies began to look for their friends and family so they could follow together. Then Tom called out to Ember, “You are the Queen now! Tell them to stop. We still have a wish to make.”
Tom and Louise flew up beside Queen Ember. Louise raised her wand, and everyone was quiet while the children chanted together.
“We wish the soot would spark and fly
Up the chimney to the sky.”
In that moment all the soot rose from the fireplace to touch Louise’s wand. The wand sparked, the soot sparkled and soared and swept the whole chimney as it rushed towards the sky. People still remember that day when the rain stopped, the grey went away, the sun shone, and the sky was filled with flowers.
Tom and Louise looked at each other and nodded. It was time to go home. As they were about to slip away Ember called to them, “Before you go I would like you to meet Flamingo. He has the pinkest flame and I have chosen him to be my King.”
A very handsome young fairy stepped forward. He kissed Louise on both cheeks, as is the fairy custom, and shook both hands with Tom. “Thank you both, first for saving my Queen and now for saving our realm from Smuts and Sweeps. Louise, you already have a wand. So I will give this fairy wand to Tom. Use it whenever you want to visit Fairyland again.
The children thanked their fairy friends and drifted down into the fireplace. Mum and Dad were both there, so they stayed tiny and hidden until their parents went into the kitchen before they magicked themselves back into the world of people.
They hid their wands in a safe place and suddenly remembered that they were very hungry. Tom and Louise went into the kitchen where mum winked and said, “I’ve baked some fairy cakes for tea.”