Tales from Gryphon Beach: Nausicaa the Glitter Faerie
Once upon a time, on the shores of Gryphon Beach, there was the tiniest faerie you ever did see. Her name was Nausicaa, and she was four inches tall.
And her hair was *blue*.
Nausicaa was the sort of faerie that everybody sort of automatically adored, without really thinking about it, because she had a wonderful smile and a great interest in the things around her, and often she would sit on your shoulder and watch what you did with wide blue eyes.
Unfortunately, being .only. four inches tall was a bit of a problem.
It's /difficult/ to go places, when you're only four inches tall, even if you have a pair of rapid-beating faerie wings, as Nausicaa did.
She would zip here and zap there, and sometimes if she got put out -- it didn't happen very often, but not even blue-haired faeries can be perfectly tempered /all/ the time -- sometimes she would take out a majik wand and give people a ZOT on the nose.
ZOTs were very startling, and they ended up making glitter all over your face. Nausicaa was a Glitter Faerie.
However, for all her flitting and flotting, Nausicaa hadn't seen very much of the beach, because she was very tiny and would get tired. One day, she was sitting down by the water, letting the waves curl around her toes, and she siiiiiiighed, because she never got to see all the wonderful carvings along the beach walls -- they were just too high up for a little faerie to fly to.
So she wished and wished and *wished* that maybe she could get up to see the lovely carvings, and then the bright sunlight dimmed a little bit!
Nausicaa looked up to see what could be blocking the sun, and down from the sky came something quite unexpected.
Nausicaa wasn't really quite sure what it was, because, well, she was only four inches tall, and it's hard to see all of a big thing when you're only four inches tall. So she stood up, and then flitted into the air, to take a better look. Around and around this new thing she zipped, until she was quite sure of what she was seeing.
It was a *Soccer* *Angel*.
Soccer Angels are easy to tell, if you know what you're looking for, for they're oh so tall, and wear soccer knickers, and have great golden wings of strength, and very often, they're carrying a soccer ball. That's a big hint.
So Nausicaa, who was very bold for such a little faerie, said, "Are you *really* a soccer angel?" to the soccer angel, and the angel laughed. "I am!" she said. "My name is Liralen!""
Nausicaa's wings beat *very* fast in excitement. "Did you come to answer my wish, so I could see all the wonderful carvings along the beach?"
Liralen spun 'round and 'round in the sand, kicking up a wonderful spray with her golden wings. "I did!" she said. "I'm ever so much bigger than you, and I can fly for oh so long, and I can carry you around to see all the carvings everywhere!"
Nausicaa clapped her hands together in delight. "May I sit on your shoulder, so I can see well?" she asked hopefully.
Liralen the Soccer Angel nodded. "Absolutely!" she said. "Here, hang on to my jersey; it should make a good seat."
Nausicaa sat right down, and hung onto the jersey, but after a minute she decided that the Soccer Angel's hair -- which was *green* -- would be easier to hold onto, and so she clung to that instead, and little bits of glitter got into Liralen's hair.
Liralen flew up oh so high! to the carvings, and hovered there in front of the greatest gryphon, who looked out furthest from the bluff. All carved in still sand, he looked very fierce, with a sharp beak and bright eyes, and it seemed to little Nausicaa that he was looking /right/ at her.
Nausicaa sat back, all startled, and then leaned waaaaaay forward to see if the gryphon was /really/ looking at her. He didn't appear to be, and so Liralen started to beat her wings and fly away. Nausicaa looked back --
-- and the gryphon *winked* at her!
He did, he did!
Nausicaa was so startled that she did a backwards summersault right off Liralen's shoulder, just staring big-eyed at the gryphon. She was still very close, and not worried about getting tired from flying, and so she zipped right over to the gryphon --
-- and she /loooooked/ at him --
-- and then, with a bright Glitter Faerie giggle, she took out her magic wand and went ZOT! right on the King Gryphon's forehead.
And the King Gryphon's eyes got big a moment, and then his beak pulled back into a proud smile, for now was he not only leading the pack of carvings, but sprayed back in an elegant design on his forehead was a crown of glitter.
Nausicaa laughed and tumbleflew back to Liralen's shoulder, and together they flew along, looking at all the magical creatures carved into the beach's walls, but Nausicaa didn't give any others the glitter crown, and none of the others winked at her.
Finally, even the great Soccer Angel's wings were tired, and so they came to land on the beach, and Nausicaa introduced Liralen to all the many other beach-goers, and the Soccer Angel decided to live at Gryphon Beach with her new friends.
And Nausicaa no longer had to worry about not being able to keep up with the others, for she had a friend who could carry her easy as a wink! all over the beach.