BAD LITTLE SOOTIKIN

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1935, Page 17 (Supplement)

BAD LITTLE SOOTIKIN

(Sent by Muriel Manning). Sootikin the Pixie was feeling very cross. Nobody would play with him. He had asked the Tiptoe Fairies, the Toadstool Fairies and the Dewdrop Fairies, and they all said the same thing. “No, you’re too naughty, Sootikin.” He was naughty, too. He knew he was and he meant to be naughtier still! He waited until the Dewdrop Fairies had hung all the grasses with round, shining drops of dew. Then he ran Out and shook each grass, so that the dewdrops fell down to the ground and were lost. “Ha, Ha!” laughed Sootikin. “That will punish you for saying you won’t play with me, Dewdrop Fairies!” The Fairies came running to see what he had done, and when they saw that their beautiful dewdrops were shaken down, they were very angry. “Catch him and smack him!” they cried. But Sootikin was too quick for them, and away he went through the wood, laughing. After a time, he felt lonelier than ever- He looked about for a toadstool to sit under. “Perhaps a beetle will come along and play with me,” he thought. Then, to his surprise, he saw someone else under a nearby toadstool. It was a little Dewdrop Fairy, the tiniest one of all, fast asleep with her cheek on her hands!

Sootikin looked at her. She was so tiny that he could easily lift her, and a great idea came to him. He could carry her away and make her play with him. “Then I’d have someone to play with every day,” he said to himself. “It would be the greatest fun! I’ll take her to my home.” So Sootikin picked up Dewdrop as she lay sleeping, and flew off with her. She woke up in a great fright, and began crying. “Put me down! Put me down!” she gobbed. “Hush! Kush!” said Sootikin. “I’m taking you away to my home, and you shall be my playmate.” “I won’t be your playmate!” cried Dewdrop, struggling in his arms. “You’re a naughty Pixie, Sootikin, and no good Fairy will ever play with you. Put me down!”

Sootikin frowned. “Don’t be silly!” he said crossly. “You are going to play with me. We’ll play a game of hide and seek in the buttercups.”

When they came to the buttercups, Sootikin put Dewdrop into one of the golden flowers and told her to shut her eyes whilst he hid. Then, When he called “Cuckoo!” she was to come and find him.

But you can guess what Dewdrop did, directly Sootikin had gone away to hid?. She peeped out of her buttercup. She could not see Sootikin anywhere, so she spread her tiny wings, and flew out of the flower to go home! “I’ll soon get there safe and sound,” ghe thought, “whilst Sootikin is hiding!” But, oh dear! she happened to fly by the buttercup in which Sootikin was going to curl himself up, and he saw hen

“Dewdrop! Dewdrop!” he called, “Come back!”

Dewdrop flew faster. Sootikin spread his strong wings and caught her up in three seconds. Then he grabbed hold of her and flew off to his home.

“You shan’t fly away! You shan’t fly away!” he stormed. “You’re to be my playmate. I’ll keep you in prison till you promise you’ll play with me and not run away!’’. So poor Dewdrop was kept a prisoner by. Sootikin. He fetched a spider and made her weave a web across the doorway of his home. Then he told the spider she was to keep guard over Dewdrop whenever he was away. Poor Dewdrop! She sat at the doorway and looked out between the strands of the web, wondering if anyone would ever come to rescue her. The spider felt very sorry for her, She could not bear to see the tears rolling down Dewdrop’s cheeks. “Cheer up, Dewdrop!” she whispered. “Do you badly want to go home?” “Oh yes, yes!” cried Dewdrop, “but I can’t get past your horrid web. If I try to fly through it, I shall get caught in it, and then Sootikin will scold me when he comes home! Oh dear, whatever shall I do?” “Well, I daren’t cut the web for you,” said the spider, “for Sootikin would beat me. But I might do something else.” “What could you do?” asked Dewdrop drying her tears. “I could go and tell the Dewdrop Fairies that Sootikin is keeping you a prisoner,” said the spider.. “Then they will come and rescue you!” “Oh, spider, do go arid tell them!” begged Dewdrdp, feeling quite cheered up. “Go now, quickly, before Sootikin comes back.”

So the spider scuttled off as fast as her eight long legs would carry her. She soon arrived at the Dewdrop Fairies home in the shady wood, and ran up to them. “Please,” she said, “do you want to know where Dewdrop is?” “She’s staying wit!’ the Toadstool Fairies,' isn’t she?” asked the Dewdrop Fairies in surprise. “No, Sootikin has taken her prisoner! answered the spider. “He wants her to play with him, and she won’t. He made me weave a web to keep her a prisoner. “Oh, the bad? wicked Pixie!” cried all the Fairies. “Quick! Quick! Show us the way and we’U rescue her!” So the spider went off again and led the way to Sootikin’s house. The Fairies followed as quickly as they could, feeling very angry indeed with the bad little Pixie. At last they came to Sootikin’s home, but will you believe it?—the web had been cut and Dewdrop was gone! There was no sign of Sootikins either. “Oh dear! oh dear!” cried the fairies, “Now what’s happened?” “I think I know,” said the spider. “Sootikins must have come back whilst I was gone and guessed that I had run to tell you where Dewdrop was. So he’s taken her away somewhere else now.” The Fairiefe went back to the wood and decided to ring the Fairy bells to call all the Fairy folk together. Then jinglejangle, jingle-jangle went the bells, and from here, there and everywhere came Fairies and Pixies, Elves and Brownies. They were terribly upset when they heard about Dewdrop. The chief of the Pixies spoke up loudly. “Leave Sootikin to me!” he said. “I am ashamed that he is a Pixie. I know where his other home is. It is among the nettles bj Peaceful Pond. I- will go there and watch, for poor little Dewdrop will be dreadfully stung if she is taken there.” Off he went on his strong wings. When he reached Peaceful Pond he looked all around and about. There was no sign Of Sootikin and Dewdrop yet. Then, suddenly, he s>w something flying in the distance, and coming nearer and nearer every moment. “Ha!” said the chief Pixie, “That will be Sootikin. I’ll give him the fright of his life!” He flew straight up into the air and waited until Sootikin was directly beneath him. Then he uttered a dreadful howl and dropped straight on to the naughty little Pixie. Sootikin, in his fright, dropped Dewdrop, who at once flew to one side. The chief Pixie took a firm hold of Sootikin and carried him to a toadstool. There he sat on him to keep the struggling Pixie down, and Dewdrop came and

helped, too. “Here! here!. Fairies and Elves!” cried the chief Pixie in his loudest voice,

“Come and see what I’vd got!” How delighted everyone was when they arrived. . “Give Sootikin a good spanking ana put him in prison for a week!” cried everybody. So the chief Pixie spanked Sootikin hard, and then the spider wove a web to keep him in prison till he was sorry for his naughty pranks. And I really think he deserved it, don’t you? -Enid Blytom