THE FAIRY WHO WAS COLOUR BLIND

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 28 September 1940, Page 9

THE FAIRY WHO WAS COLOUR BLIND

After staying in Nelson for an unreasonably long time, Willie Winter suddenly packed up his materials and left for a colder climate.

Cineraria Spring having, therefore, been left with a qlear field for operations, decided to call all the fairies back to Friryland in order to give them their Spring tasks. After the various jobs had been allotted to them, the fairies went off joyfully because they loved their Spring work best of all.

The work proceeded apace until the 3rd of September. For a few days there had been disturbing rumours about the fairy Willowand, but things came to a crisis when Cineraria’s trusted messenger, Fleetwings, who had had been sent to investigate, came in looking very pale. Cineraria hastened over to hear what he had to report, but prepared as she thought she was for the worst, his news came as a shock to her.

“Huljo, Fleetwings,” she said, “Have you heard the truth about Willowwand?”

“Indeed I have!” exclaimed Fleetwings.

“Quick then, tell me all about it,” demanded Cinearia Spring. Fleetwings drew a long breath and began: “Well, I flew down to earth on my trusty dragonfly, and as I passed over what seemed to me a grove of trees. Speedy—that’s my dragonfly, you know—flew down and alighted upon one of the trees, and started sipping nectar out of one of the bell-like leaves. I jumped off Speedy and nearly fainted because—it wasn’t a tree at all.” Fleetingwings paused to allow Cineraria time to realise this fact, and then went on, “It’s quite true, and the bell that Speedy was sipping at was really a green flower.”

“Then Willowand is colour-blind! 1 Cineraria exclaimed.

“I suppose so,” said Fleetwings. “It was her task, wasn’t it?” “Yes,” said Cineraria unhappily. “Everything was so awful,” Fleetwings said. “The leaves on the trees are red. and blue, and yellow; and most cf the flowers are green!” “What shall we do?” moaned Cineraria. “I know! Fleetwings, hasten to the storeroom to see if there is any flower paint left. Daffodil, you go and call all the fairies t > me, we shall see if we can find a way to remedy this most regrettable accident.” A few minutes later Fleetwings returned to say that there was only one can of red paint, half a can of green, two cans of blue, three of purple, one of yellow and one of orange.

Cineraria Spring said that that was a pity, but she thought it could be remedied.

The next day the fairies held a consultation, and having arrived at a decision sent for Willowand and told her that as she was colour blind she would nave to be given a job that would not matter. When she was asked what she would like to do Willowand exclaimed, “Oh! Please let me wrap the baby seeds in their cradles for the winter?” Cineraria said that she could do that, and then they sent for Wind to blow over a few clouds so that they could (with the help of the sun) make a rainbow from which they could get the colours. Again the fairies scattered to their tasks, and this time there was no mistake. - Gladwen Brown, Richmond.