Lily's Pesky Plant (5 page)

R
ANI RETURNED WITH
several other fairies. Some carried blankets and a clay thermos full of hot tea. Others had come along simply to see what the fuss was about. Ree, the fairy queen, was with them.

“What has happened?” Queen Ree asked.

The two harvest-talent fairies repeated their story.

When they were done, Vidia pushed her way to the front of the crowd. “That vile plant has caused nothing but trouble in Pixie Hollow. It should be cut down!” she cried.

Some fairies in the crowd began to murmur, “She’s right. The plant is bad. We should get rid of it.”

Lily stood with her hand on the plant’s stem. Her heart pounded in her chest. Would they try to uproot the plant right then and there?

Suddenly, Tinker Bell moved over to stand beside the plant, too. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at Vidia and the grumbling fairies.

Lily gave her a grateful look. She knew Tink didn’t care much for the plant. But Tink was a good friend. And a brave one.

Just then, a familiar face moved through the crowd. It was Iris. She came to stand next to Lily, Tink, and the plant.

“This is Lily’s garden. The plant belongs to her. You can’t just chop it down,” Iris declared.

“That’s right,” said another voice. It was Rosetta. She joined Lily, Iris, and Tink. “This plant has my protection,” she declared.

“And mine!”

“And mine!”

More garden fairies came out of the crowd. They gathered around Lily and the plant. Now there were two big groups of fairies facing each other. And everyone looked angry.

“That plant is a menace to all fairies!” Vidia shouted. “Pell and Pluck could have been caught by an owl this morning.”

More fairies raised their voices in agreement.

“It’s not the plant’s fault they were flying in the dark without a lamp!” a garden sparrow man argued.

“That plant is ugly!” cried a light-talent fairy.

“It’s a monster!” added a cooking-talent sparrow man.

“
You’re
a monster. Plant hater!” a garden-talent fairy snapped back.

“Petalhead!” the sparrow man retorted.

Suddenly, another voice rang out like a bell.

“
Fairies!
”

Everyone turned to look. Queen Ree was standing with her hands on her hips. She glowered at the crowd of fairies before her.

“What a disgrace. This is
not
how we settle a disagreement in Pixie Hollow,” said the queen. Her voice sounded cool, but her gaze was stern. Behind her, the queen’s four attendants glared at the crowd. “Shouting. Name-calling. I’m disappointed in all of you,” the queen declared.

Several fairies in the crowd hung their heads. Vidia lifted her chin defiantly.

“At noon tomorrow we will have a meeting in the courtyard of the Home Tree,” said the queen. “All fairies are to attend—that includes you, Vidia.”

She fixed the fast-flying fairy with a steely look. Vidia was known for disobeying the queen’s commands. Vidia tossed her hair as if she didn’t care. But the look on her face said she understood.

“Everyone will have a chance to speak,” the queen continued. “Until then, I want all fairies to return to their fairy domains. Now.”

Grumbling, the groups of fairies broke up and left.

Lily flew over to Pell and Pluck. “Let me help you carry some raspberries back to the kitchen,” she said.

“I think you’ve done enough,” Pell snapped.

“First the wasps, now this,” Pluck added.

“From now on, we’ll get our raspberries somewhere else,” said Pell.

Lifting their chins, the two fairies turned their backs on Lily and flew away.

Lily’s heart sank. No one would enjoy her garden as long as the plant was standing. But after taking care of it so lovingly, how could she bear to cut it down?

For the rest of the day, no one was happy. Despite the queen’s commands, the fairies couldn’t seem to get along.

When a weaving-talent fairy tried to collect sweetgrass to weave her baskets, the garden fairies snubbed her. The cooking-talent fairies argued with the harvest-talent fairies, and as a result, no one got any lunch. Hungry and cross, a light fairy snapped at a water fairy. The water fairy splashed her, and soon the light fairies and the water fairies weren’t speaking to each other. Each talent group was annoyed with the other.

Lily stayed away from the Home Tree. She spent the whole day sitting in the skimpy shade of the mysterious plant. And after a lot of thinking, she came to a decision.

“If the fairies of Pixie Hollow decide that the plant should be cut down, I must not stand in their way,” Lily told herself. It pained her to say it. But she knew that the most important thing was keeping the peace in the fairy kingdom.

“I only hope they don’t make me do it,” she added. Lily had never swung an axe in her life. She didn’t think she would be able to.

Just then, Spring, a message-talent fairy, flew quickly into the garden. She landed next to Lily.

Spring seemed to be out of breath. She took a couple of deep gulps of air. “I have a message from the queen,” she managed at last.

Lily nodded and waited.

“The meeting has been changed. All fairies are to meet in the courtyard at sundown,” Spring explained.

Lily’s eyes widened. But it wasn’t only because of the message. Something strange was happening behind Spring’s head.

A yellow fruit the size of a gooseberry was growing from one of the plant’s branches. And it seemed to be getting bigger before Lily’s eyes!

“There has been too much fighting,” Spring went on. She hadn’t noticed Lily’s startled expression. “The queen doesn’t want to wait until tomorrow to settle this.”

But Lily wasn’t listening. She gaped at the fruit. It had already grown to the size of a small grape.

I can’t let Spring see this
,
Lily thought.
She’ll tell the queen, and then the plant will be cut down for sure!

Quickly, Lily jumped up. She whisked her daisy-petal sun hat off her head and hung it over the rapidly growing fruit.

Spring turned to face her.

Lily smiled innocently. “Courtyard at sundown,” she repeated. “I’ll be there.” She was eager to get Spring out of her garden as quickly as possible.

Spring nodded. “Good. Well, I’m off. I’ve got to get the message to the rest of the fairy kingdom. If you see anyone, you’ll be sure to let them know?”

“Yes—oh!” Lily gasped. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another odd fruit growing from a branch nearby.

“What is it?” Spring started to turn.

Lily sprang into the air, blocking Spring’s view. She hovered there, dramatically clutching her foot.
Think fast,
Lily told herself. “I mean—ow! I just stepped on a pine needle!” she exclaimed.

Spring looked at the ground. There was no pine needle in sight. In fact, there wasn’t a pine tree anywhere near Lily’s garden. She gave Lily a curious look.

“Well, then, see you tonight,” Spring said.

Lily nodded. “Fly safely,” she sang cheerily.

When Spring was gone, Lily breathed a sigh of relief. Then she stepped back to look at the plant. Yellow fruits with bumpy skin were growing from all its branches. They got bigger and bigger before Lily’s eyes. And, Lily noticed with dismay, uglier and uglier.

Lily clutched her head unhappily. If anyone saw the plant now…She couldn’t finish the thought.

She glanced at the sun. It was low in the sky—almost time for the sunset meeting.

If I can keep anyone from seeing the plant before then,
Lily thought,
there might still be a chance to save it
.

T
HE SUN WAS
sinking on the horizon as the fairies made their way to the roots of the Home Tree. Already the courtyard was in shadow. Light fairies posted themselves all around its edges, brightening the space with their glow.

When all the fairies were present, Queen Ree took her place before the crowd.

“Fairies of Never Land,” she declared in her clear and noble voice, “there has never been such a disgraceful day in the fairy kingdom.”

“It’s that plant!” someone called out.

“The plant! The plant is the cause of the trouble!” more fairies chimed in.

The queen held up a hand to quiet them. “Is the plant the trouble?” she asked evenly. “Or is it the fairies? I wonder. Can you blame a single plant for the unkindness fairies have shown each other this afternoon? If you can prove that to me, we will remove the plant.”

The fairies began to murmur. Again, the queen silenced them with her hand. “Every fairy will have a chance to speak. Who will go first?”

“The plant belongs to Lily!” Tinker Bell called out.

Other fairies echoed her. “Yes, it’s Lily’s. Let her speak first!”

Lily found herself being pushed to the front of the crowd. She had never felt so many fairy eyes on her before, and her heart raced. She took a deep breath.

“Yes, it’s true,” she said. “I planted the seed in my garden, and I took care of it.”

“What kind of plant is it?” Queen Ree asked.

Lily shook her head. “I don’t know. I found the seed in the forest. I’d never seen one before. But I think it’s a good plant—”

Again, some fairies began to grumble.

“She doesn’t even know what it is!”

“Good? It isn’t good for anything!”

The queen waited until the crowd quieted down. Then she asked, “Lily, do you think the plant is the cause of all the trouble in Pixie Hollow?”

Before Lily could answer, a voice suddenly shouted, “Wait!”

Everyone turned to look as a breathless Iris flew into the courtyard. She was carrying a yellow object the size and shape of a lemon.

“Wait! Wait!” Iris cried again. She landed on the ground in front of the crowd of fairies. “Everyone, look! The plant grew fruit.”

All the other fairies crowded around to see the strange fruit.

Only Lily stayed where she was. She buried her face in her hands. The secret was out. Now there was no chance of saving the plant.

“What is it?” the fairies murmured. Lily sneaked a look at the fruit. The bumpy, ugly skin was gone. Now it had a pearly sheen that almost seemed to glow. Curious, some fairies reached out to touch it.

“Careful!” someone cried. “It might be poisonous!” At once, the crowd drew back.

“It’s not poisonous,” Iris said. “And what’s more, I know what it is.”

Everyone, including Lily, looked at her in surprise.

“Well,” said the queen, “what is it?”

Iris smiled mysteriously. “Come with me,” she said.

With Iris leading the way, all the fairies of Pixie Hollow set out for Lily’s garden. Soon they saw the strange plant.

Several fairies gasped in surprise. The plant’s branches were heavy with clusters of round, golden fruit.

Iris turned to one of the light-talent fairies. “Fira,” she said, “will you and your fairies give us some light?”

Fira and the other light-talent fairies brightened their glows. They surrounded the plant, covering it with their light.

“Ah!” the crowd of fairies sighed. The golden fruit glowed in the light. The plant looked very beautiful.

“Now watch,” said Iris. She flew up and grasped one of the fruits. Using all her might, she gave it a tug. The fruit came away in her arms.

Immediately, another fruit grew in place of the one she had just plucked.

Lily’s hand flew to her mouth. The fairies around her gasped. Even the queen looked stunned.

“What is it?” she asked again.

“I’ll show you,” Iris replied. She set the fruit on the ground and opened her book. She held up a page. On it was a drawing of a tree. Its drooping branches were full of round, glowing fruit. The drawing was labeled “Ever Tree” in Iris’s handwriting.

“It flowers only once, then grows fruit forever and ever. That’s why it’s called an Ever tree,” Iris explained.

“Can you eat the fruit?” the queen asked.

Iris asked Tink for her dagger. She split open the skin of the fruit she’d picked.

Inside were golden pips, not unlike the red ones of a pomegranate. Iris plucked a pip out and popped it in her mouth. “Yes,” she said as honey-colored juice dribbled down her chin. “It’s delicious.”

Several fairies reached for the pips. Iris handed one to Lily. When she bit into it, it tasted like ice-cold lemonade on a hot day. Satisfying and perfect.

“But how did you know what it was?” Lily asked Iris.

“I heard about the Ever tree a long time ago,” Iris explained. “So long ago that I’d almost forgotten about it. Of course, I drew the picture as it was described to me and wrote down everything I heard.

“Many, many years ago, before there were any fairies here, Ever trees grew all over Never Land. Then the volcano on Torth Mountain erupted and all the trees burned. Every last one.

“There was only one Ever seed known to be left,” Iris went on. “But the dragon Kyto selfishly hoarded it in his collection of rare treasures.”

At the mention of Kyto, several fairies shuddered and looked toward Torth Mountain, home of the dragon’s prison lair. Kyto was wicked through and through.

“But how did the seed get here?” Tinker Bell asked.

Iris shrugged. “I guess it blew out of his lair. If Lily hadn’t found it and planted it so carefully, Never Land might never have seen another Ever tree. Ever trees are very fragile, you know. They need lots of care.”

Everyone turned to look at Lily.

She ducked her head shyly. “Iris helped,” she said simply.

Several more fairies had clustered around the fruit and were gobbling its pips.

“I could make a delicious tart out of this juice,” said Dulcie.

“This fruit would make excellent jam,” said Pell. Pluck nodded.

Even Vidia was eating the Ever fruit, though she quickly hid it behind her back when Lily looked her way. But a moment later, she shrugged and pulled it out again. “It’s good,” she said grudgingly, and went back to eating.

More fairies began to pull fruit from the plant’s branches. Suddenly, Queen Ree cried, “Stop!”

The fairies froze. They looked at the queen, startled.

“This plant belongs to Lily,” said the queen. “It’s up to her whether she wants to share it.”

All the fairies turned to Lily.

Lily looked around at them and grinned. “Of course I want to share,” she said. “Everyone is welcome.”

The fairies cheered. And they spent the rest of the night eating Ever fruit and dancing beneath the plant’s branches.