Pixie Tricks Presents:

Sprite's Adventures #1: Tooth Fairy Trouble (Part 3)

Sprite zoomed through the air as fast as he could remember flying. Then he reached out and scooped up Hazel in midair.
Sprite gently landed on the ground, his arms shaking. The fence was just inches away.
"Thanks, Sprite," Hazel said. Then she smiled at Sprite for the first time that day.
"I think we should go get Mr. Gnome," Sprite said. "We know where Flossie’s teeth are. We need help to get them back. We can’t do it on our own."
Hazel’s smile turned into a frown. "We can’t do that!" she said. "If we don’t get those teeth back, we’ll be failures. And I don’t like to fail."
"Don’t be silly," Sprite said. "We found the teeth. That’s not failing."
"But Bob the Boggart still has them," Hazel said. "If we are ever going to become Royal Pixie Trickers, we have to figure out how to trick him."
Sprite didn’t like the sound of that. "It’s too dangerous. This is a job for real Pixie Trickers, not students like us."
"Fine!" Hazel snapped. "I will figure out how to trick Bob the Boggart by myself."
Then Hazel stomped off through the hole in the fence.
"Fine!" Sprite replied. He flapped his wings and began to fly in the other direction.
The sun was setting over the Otherworld. In the distance, Queen Mab’s purple palace became a deep shade of violet as it bathed in the sun’s red rays. Sprite stopped for a second to admire how beautiful it was.
He wondered what to do next. He thought about going to see Mr. Gnome, but Hazel might become even more angry with him.
Sprite’s stomach gave a hungry rumble.
I might as well get something to eat, Sprite reasoned. It’s much easier to think when your belly is full.
Sprite flew to the students’ quarters, located on a small hillside outside Queen Mab’s palace. Most of the plant and flower fairies chose to live in small rooms built into the side of the hill. Winged fairies, like Sprite, made their homes in the leafy trees on the hilltop.
Sprite’s room was in a small hole in a sturdy, sprawling maple tree. He flew through the entrance and touched his feet down on a carpet of sweet-smelling pine needles. The room didn’t have much furniture: a bed, a desk, a table, and some chairs, all made of sturdy twigs. Sprite’s neighbor Mackenzie, a brownie, had helped him build shelves so he could store his food.
The shelves didn’t hold much today, but Sprite had a good supper just the same. He ate his nut cakes and berries as the sun finished setting, then washed it all down with a jug of spring water.
Stars twinkled in the dark blue twilight as Sprite looked out of his room and pondered what to do. His Grandma Lily had always said that her thoughts became clear when she looked at the stars. Maybe the stars could help Sprite figure out what to do about Hazel and Bob the Boggart.
Sprite walked over to his bed and pulled out the trunk which held all of his special things. Inside was the hand-held telescope Grandma Lily had given him years ago.
"We can’t go to the stars, but we can bring them a little closer," she had said when she gave Sprite the present.
Sprite looked through the small scope. The sky was growing darker by the second, and the stars twinkled and sparkled in the sky. In a way, they reminded Sprite of Flossie’s precious collection of teeth.
And then, suddenly, Sprite knew just what to do.
"Teeth!" Sprite cried. "I have to find Hazel."
Sprite tucked the scope into his belt and flew down to the roots of the hazel tree where Hazel had her room. Chestnut, another tree fairy, was walking by.
"Have you seen Hazel?" Sprite asked.
"She left a little while ago," Chestnut replied. "She said something about having the answer. She ran off before I could ask her what she meant. Do you know?"
Sprite knew what that meant--and he was afraid. Hazel had probably gone back to Bob the Boggart’s all by herself. He was pretty sure that Bob wasn’t going to be too happy to see her, either.
"Sorry, Chestnut," Sprite said. "I’ve got to help Hazel!"
Sprite flew as fast as he could back to Bob the Boggart’s house. The Otherworld fireflies seemed to know he needed help. At every turn, his way was lit up with their soft yellow light.
Finally he reached Bob’s house. The door was open a crack, and Sprite could see light coming from inside. Bob was definitely home. But where was Hazel?
Sprite peered through the door. Bob had his back to Sprite. The boggart was muttering something.
"Tree fairy too nosy," Bob said. "Bob told the tree fairy to go away. But tree fairy came back. Maybe tree fairy need to go away for good, eh?"
Sprite’s stomach flip-flopped. Bob had to be talking about Hazel. What had he done to her?
Bob turned around. In one hand, he cradled a large, gray rat. In the other, he held Hazel!
"Maybe Mr. Fluffy needs a snack," Bob cackled.
"No!" Sprite cried.
Bob’s head jerked toward the door.
"So little sprite has come back, too," Bob said. "That’s good. Mr. Fluffy is very hungry."
Mr. Fluffy grinned and licked his lips with his pink tongue.
"Please don’t eat us!" Sprite begged, taking one brave step into the doorway. "I came here to make a deal with you."
Bob’s eyes narrowed. "A deal? A deal? Bob likes deals."
"Put down my friend first and we’ll talk," Sprite said.
Bob set Hazel down on the floor. She quickly ran to Sprite’s side.
"Wait until Queen Mab hears about this," Hazel said angrily.
Mr. Fluffy jumped from Bob’s arms.
"Goodness, don’t be all upset," said the rat. "Bob and I were just trying to scare you."
Sprite was surprised to hear the rat speak--but not too surprised. He had seen stranger things that that in the Otherworld. Besides, now it was time to see if his idea would work.
"What does the sprite want to deal?" Bob asked him.
Sprite took a deep breath. "What would you do if I said I could give you all the pretty, shiny things you wanted. Millions of them, in fact."
The boggart’s pointy ears perked up. "Millions? Millions of shiny pretties?"
"Sprite, what are you doing?" Hazel whispered.
"I have a plan," Sprite whispered back. He just hoped he could pull it off.
Bob’s excited look turned into a frown. "Bob thinks this can’t be true. Can Bob see them?"
"Not yet," Sprite said. "First, we have to make a deal. If I show you the shiny things, you have to agree to give Flossie’s teeth back to her."
Bob thought about this. "Are your shiny pretties as shiny as teeth."
"They are even shinier and prettier," Sprite said.
Mr. Fluffy twitched his nose. "And what if you are lying?" he asked.
"Then you can have me for your snack," Sprite said bravely.
Bob seemed to like that. "We have a deal," Bob said. "Now show Bob the shiny pretties."
"They’re outside," Sprite said.
Bob followed Sprite and Hazel out the door. Mr. Fluffy trotted along behind them.
"Here they are," Sprite said.
Bob stomped his foot. "Little sprite lies to Bob. There are no shiny pretties out here!"
Hazel looked panicked. "Sprite, I knew you couldn’t handle this. Now we’re both going to become snacks for a talking rat," she hissed.
Sprite just smiled. "They’re up there!" he said, pointing to the night sky.
Bob looked up. Countless white stars sparkled and winked in the dark night.
"Ooooh," Bob creaked. "So shiny. So pretty."
Sprite took the scope from his belt. "You can see them even better with this," he said.
Sprite showed Bob how to use the scope. The boggart babbled happily as he examined the stars one by one.
Mr. Fluffy pushed his way between Sprite and Hazel. "Stars? Did you think Bob would really give up his teeth for this?" he asked.
"Well, uh, I know boggarts are very busy at night scaring people," Sprite said. "I figured Bob might not have had time to really look at the stars before."
"Besides, Sprite wasn’t lying," Hazel said. "He said he would show Bob millions of shiny sparkly things, and he did. He kept his end of the deal."
Mr. Fluffy nodded. "I suppose you’re right," said the rat.
Hazel grinned. "It looked like you have been tricked!"
"Hey, that’s right," Sprite said. "We did it!"
Hazel stared at her brown shoes. "You figured out how to do it in the end, Sprite. You’re going to be a great pixie tricker."
Sprite smiled. "We both are. But I think we’ve got a lot more to learn!"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Violet put down the tiny book.
"That was a great story, Sprite," she said. "That was smart, the way you tricked Bob."
"My favorite character was the rat," Leon said.
Sprite blushed. "I guess it was a pretty good adventure," he said.
"Hey, did that tooth lady get her teeth back?" Leon asked.
Sprite nodded. "Bob gave the teeth back the same night. It’s a funny thing, too. After that, he spent most nights looking at the stars instead of trying to cause trouble."
"What about your telescope?" Violet asked. "It must have hurt to give that up."
Sprite smiled. He reached into the pouch hanging from his waist. Then he pulled out a small, hand-held telescope.
"Did Bob give that back to you?" Violet asked.
Sprite shook his head. "It was a present. See, there’s an inscription."
Violet carefully took the scope from Sprite. She used a magnifying glass to read the words engraved on its side.
To Sprite. A great pixie tricker and a true friend. Love, Hazel.
"Oh, Sprite, that’s so sweet," Violet said. "You must miss Hazel a lot. Did you two have any more adventures?"
"We sure did," Sprite said. "They’re all written up in the book."
"I can’t wait for the next one!" Violet said.


Check the web site in a few months for an all-new Sprite’s Adventure!


Tooth Fairy Trouble Part 3 is copyright c 2002 by Tracey West. This story may be printed for personal use but not sold or transmitted in any other form.