Once upon a soft, sunny morning, Fairy Doralynn woke in the Enchanted Forest.
Doralynn was a tiny fairy with blue wings and a brave little heart. She wore a green leaf hat. She loved to help. She loved to listen. And she loved to make small things sparkle.
“Good morning, flowers!” said Doralynn.
But the flowers did not sparkle.
The red roses were gray. The yellow buttercups were gray. Even the bright berries were gray-gray-gray.
“Oh!” said Doralynn. “Where did all the colors go?”
From under a mushroom came Living Shadow.
Living Shadow was round and wiggly. He was dark like nighttime, but he was not scary. He wore a little silver bow tie.
“Hello, Doralynn,” he whispered. “I saw a Witch by the Moon Pond. She had a big black bottle. She said, ‘Colors are too cheerful. I will keep them!’”
Doralynn took a tiny breath. The Witch sounded frightening. But the sad, gray flowers needed help.
“Will you come with me?” Doralynn asked.
Living Shadow hid behind Doralynn’s wing.
“I am a little scared,” he said.
“I am too,” said Doralynn. “We can be scared together.”
So they walked through the Enchanted Forest. Step, step, step.
They passed sleepy trees with purple trunks. They crossed a bridge made of smooth golden twigs. A squirrel gave them an acorn boat to float over a puddle.
Plop!
Living Shadow fell into the puddle.
“Oh dear,” he said.
Doralynn giggled kindly. “You are a shiny shadow now.”
At last, they reached Moon Pond. There stood the Queen and the Princess.
The Queen wore a crown with no jewels. It was gray.
The Princess held a gray balloon. It drooped by her shoes.
“Fairy Doralynn!” said the Queen. “Our forest has lost its colors. Can you help us?”
“I will try,” said Doralynn.
The Princess pointed at a crooked old tree. “The Witch went that way.”
Behind the tree was a small house with a pointy roof. Purple smoke went puff-puff from its chimney. Outside sat the Witch. Her hat was tall. Her boots were muddy. Beside her was the big black bottle.
Inside the bottle swirled red, yellow, blue, green, and pink.
“Stop!” called Doralynn, though her voice was tiny. “Those colors belong to the forest.”
The Witch frowned. “No. Colors make everyone sing and dance. I do not like singing and dancing.”
Then she sniffed.
“I do not like being alone, either,” she said in a very small voice.
Doralynn looked at the Witch’s house. There was one chair. One cup. One cold biscuit.
Living Shadow peeked out. “You took the colors because you felt sad?”
The Witch looked down at her muddy boots. “Maybe.”
The Princess walked close. “You can come to our picnic,” she said. “We have jam cakes.”
“Jam cakes?” asked the Witch.
“Three kinds,” said the Queen. “Strawberry, blueberry, and honey.”
The Witch’s frown became smaller.
Doralynn held out her little hand. “Please give the colors back. Then we can all have cake together.”
The Witch looked at the bottle. She looked at Doralynn. She looked at the kind Queen and the smiling Princess.
At last, she nodded.
“Okay,” said the Witch.
She opened the big black bottle.
Whoooosh!
Red flew to the roses. Yellow flew to the buttercups. Blue flew into the sky. Green danced over every leaf. Pink zoomed onto the Princess’s balloon.
The Enchanted Forest became bright again.
The flowers swayed. The birds sang. Living Shadow did a wiggly puddle dance.
“Look!” cried the Princess. Her balloon was round and pink. “It is happy again!”
The Queen opened a little royal box. Inside was a beautiful treasure: a star-shaped wand with seven tiny rainbow gems.
“For Fairy Doralynn,” said the Queen. “You were brave and kind.”
Doralynn held the wand. It glowed warm in her hand.
“What does it do?” asked Living Shadow.
Doralynn waved it carefully.
Twinkle, twinkle!
A rainbow appeared above the Moon Pond. It had little sparkly steps. Everyone climbed up and slid down.
Even the Witch slid down.
“Wheee!” she laughed.
Then they had a picnic in the colorful forest. The Witch ate two jam cakes. Living Shadow ate one crumb, then another crumb, then a very big crumb.
Doralynn smiled at her new rainbow wand.
She had learned something important: a kind hello can help a lonely heart. And when friends work together, even gray days can shine.
As the sun went down, Fairy Doralynn flew home over the bright trees.
“Good night, colors,” she whispered.
The forest whispered back, “Good night, brave Doralynn.”