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Tuesday 24 December 2019

The Fairy Godmother Part 21



“She wasn’t exactly sleeping on the job,” Enid explained to the Head of the Fairy Council. “She had a bad cold, the hot chocolate she was given made her sleepy.”
“He didn’t give it to her did he?” the Head Fairy asked.
“Yes,” said Enid.
“He was trying to help,” I butted in.
“Did you sort it?” the Head Fairy asked Enid.
“Yes,” Enid smiled.
“Well, Christmas is almost upon us,” the Head Fairy replied. “There is plenty of work to be done, assuming she can stay awake.”
“I’ll see to it,” said Enid guiding me out of the room in such a way that I didn’t feel I had any option but to leave.
“How did you sort him?” I asked.
“I used your idea about the adaption of the Scrooge story,” said Enid. “By the time I finished with him, he was a changed person.”
“I was getting there,” I said.
“Of course you were, I just hurried things up a bit,” Enid said, hurrying me down a corridor that seemed to go on for miles.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“The Christmas elves need a hand with the wrapping. I don’t think you can go wrong with that,” Enid smiled.
“I try, I really do, but nothing goes right,” I started sobbing. Enid paused.
“You must stop that, you can’t cry whilst wrapping presents,” Enid said. “The paper gets soggy and the sellotape doesn’t stick.”
I howled and Enid looked confused. An elderly Fairy walked up to us.
“You never did get emotion did you Enid,” she smiled patting me on the shoulder. “You go and do what you need to do and I’ll look after this little one.”
“If you’re sure Mum,” said Enid.
“I’m sure,” Enid’s mum said.
“Enid’s got a Mum and I haven’t,” I howled.
“Mum,” said Enid, looking furtive. “The last person she was Fairy Godmother for gave her a drink of hot chocolate, it might have had alcohol in it.”
“Going by her behaviour,” Enid’s mum replied. “It most definitely did have, which is all the more reason that I should watch over her till it wares off.”
“OK,” said Enid. “Just so as you know.”
“I think we are needed in the kitchen,” Enid’s mum smiled. “There is plenty to do in there. It wont matter if you sob your heart out whilst peeling the potatoes.”
“Is it wise, letting her loose with a knife?” Enid asked.
“Potatoes, dear we use potato peelers,” her mum smiled. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Of course Mum,” she said and dashed off.
“Why don’t I know who my Mum is?” I asked.
“There are many reasons,” she smiled. “But now is not the time to go into them.”
“What is it the time for?” I asked.
“Peeling potatoes,” she said. “There are lots of elves here working every hour that they can. It is important to feed them.”
“That’s if you can drag them away from their work,” said someone dashing past.
“That is why we are peeling potatoes to make chips,” Enid’s mum replied.
“Chips! Did someone say Chips, I could murder a chip butty,” someone said pausing in his rushing.
“They will be along shortly,” Enid’s mum replied, ushering me towards the kitchen and a large pile of potatoes.
After a short while, it seemed like I had spent all my life peeling potatoes and yet the pile of potatoes to be peeled didn’t seem to be getting any smaller. Enid’s mum walked across to me with a plate of chips.
“You need to eat as well,” she said. “The elves thank you for your work.”
“How many more potatoes do I need to peel?” I asked.
“Just that lot,” she said.
“It’s taking forever,” I sighed.
“Eat your chips and I’ll give you a hand, we’ll soon have them finished,” she laughed siting down with a peeler whilst I ate.
“Who are all these chips for?” I asked.
“First the are the elves who have been filling the bottomless sacks on Santa’s sleigh, they turned up as soon as Santa headed off,” Enid’s mum said. “The rest are for Santa and his helpers when he comes back.”
“What happens after that?” I asked.
“We do the washing,” she laughed. “Don’t look so worried, we have dishwashers, it’s just, they need loading and unloading when they’ve finished.
“Then what happens?” I asked.
“That’s a good question,” said Enid suddenly appearing at her Mother’s side.
“I think someone needs to sleep,” said Enid’s mum with a rather determined look on her face.
“Probably a good idea,” said the Head of the Fairy Council who had also appeared out of nowhere, I was beginning to wonder who else was going to turn up when Enid’s mum suddenly said.
“That’s the last of the potatoes peeled. I’ll find you somewhere to sleep,” and guided me off out of the kitchen.
“Do you really think that she is Fairy Godmother material?” the Head of the Fairy Council asked Enid.
“She finds solutions to problems, not necessarily your standard solutions, but then if we only used those, we wouldn’t have to put any thought into would we,” Enid replied.
“OK,” said the Head of the Fairy Council. “I will look through the current list of work after we’ve all had a rest and let you know.”

by Janice Nye © 2019

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