Once upon a woodland morning
Fifi of Fernwake
In a little woodland home lived Fifi, with lavender hair, a camera, and ever so many things to notice. A curl of fern, a sunlit leaf, a tiny pair of whiskers—there was always something worth stopping for!
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Three snails and a new way home
Three snails were going round and round a fallen log, leaving silvery loops behind them. Fifi helped point their slow little parade toward a new way home, because even a very small adventure deserves a good direction!
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Mice in the bread basket
At Brindle’s bread oven, Fifi found a whole family of little white mice tucked into an oven mitt. Into her basket they went, all whiskers and wiggling noses, while the enormous baker watched over the tiny move.
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Mending the torn sky
Then the air tore open, and an extraordinary Egg arrived with smoky shades close behind. Fifi reached for her mending magic and stitched the dark tear shut, as though the sky itself had snagged on a thorn!
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The last shade
The tear was closed, but one last shade still troubled the woodland path. Fifi’s Starry Wisp sent it curling away into soot, while Egg stayed safe beside her feet.
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The yellow string
With the shades gone, Fifi discovered that Egg could float and talk—what a companion to bring home! Pip supplied a yellow string, and off they went together, with Egg bobbing beside her along the path.
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A place beside the bed
At home, Fifi found just the place for a floating friend beside her bed. She tied Egg’s yellow string to the candleholder, making room for one more very unusual goodnight.
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Merrit's kindness
After all that smoky trouble, Merrit helped clean Fifi up with a cloth and some gentle care. Egg rested nearby while the busy little home made room for something quieter than an adventure.
In a dream
Stained-glass cages
That night, Fifi dreamed she was a dragon, flying through the clouds beside a little dragon she knew was Egg! Beautiful stained-glass spheres closed around them, joined by their yellow string. Then the shining walls began to turn into bars, and the dream grew stranger still.
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Goliath chooses to stay
Morning brought a tiny white mouse who needed a rinse, a towel, and a name. He chose Goliath—a splendidly enormous name for such a little fellow—and decided to stay with Fifi!
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The crystal in the corner
Something glinted in the corner where the mouse basket had been. Fifi lifted a little vial to the light and found a curious crystal inside, with no explanation tucked beside it.
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A figure beyond the mushrooms
Out in the forest, Fifi crouched low to photograph red and pink mushrooms glowing in a sunbeam. But there was something else in her viewfinder: a golden figure peeping from the trees! Egg floated close while Fifi discovered that the forest had more surprises than mushrooms.
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Achilles makes a cocoon
Achilles the caterpillar kept growing, so Fifi helped him reach a cool, quiet cave. There he spun himself a shimmering cocoon of pink and green silk, while Fifi and Egg watched the wonderful wrapping-up.
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Mending at Alder's bench
At Alder’s workbench, Fifi found another sort of puzzle: a broken tool that needed to be whole again. A little mending magic brought the wood together, with Egg floating nearby to keep her company.
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Mead and butterbread
Later, Fifi joined Brindle at the bread counter for butterbread and mead. His enormous hands and her much smaller ones shared the same warm table, while Egg came along for the company.
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A little bed for Goliath
Back home, Fifi tucked soft scraps into a little box for Goliath. With cheese beside him and Egg nearby, the smallest member of the household had a snug place all his own.
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Fireflies from the root bath
With her companions settled indoors, Fifi slipped into the warm bath held between the tree roots. Fireflies rose around the ferns, and she lifted her camera to catch their little lantern dance!
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The rider at dawn
At dawn, a broom rider swept across the sky above Fifi’s home. Fifi raised her camera, for here was the flying stranger from her dream, racing through a perfectly waking morning!
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Eight hours for Tansy's garden
Fifi spent eight long hours blessing the soil in Tansy’s garden. It was patient, quiet work, helping the growing things along while the afternoon slipped by around them.
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Rubble and empty silk
When Fifi returned to Achilles’s cave, she found broken rocks and abandoned silk. She lifted the pink-and-green sheet, but Achilles was nowhere to be seen. Where had her growing friend gone?
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Egg is not a trade
Jory had a clever compass to show Fifi, and a trade to suggest. But his offer involved Egg, and Fifi refused: her floating friend was not something to swap, however fine the compass might be!
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The first ride with Nettle
The broom rider was Nettle, and soon Fifi was flying home with her above the trees! Egg bobbed along on the yellow string while Ruby, Nettle’s ghostly cat, drifted beside the broom. What an extraordinary way to bring a visitor home.
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The courier's resting place
Nettle had come to lay a lost friend to rest, and Fifi offered a place beside her home. Together they gathered the crystal pieces, and Nettle’s song carried them gently into the earth beneath a pale stone. Later, Egg told Fifi that this was the friend who had brought Egg to her.
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A borrowed doorway
The next morning, Nettle swept a doorway into a remarkable shortcut. Fifi stepped out of her own home and straight into the warmth of Brindle’s oven room—breakfast was suddenly much closer!
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Two Warm Windows
Nettle had made Fifi a little painting, with two warm windows, a ghostly cat, and a pale memorial stone. Its colors held a piece of their new friendship, ready to take home and keep.
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The first cinnamon rolls
Brindle brought out the first cinnamon rolls for Fifi and Nettle to taste. The sugar and cinnamon Fifi had delivered had become something warm and swirly and very difficult to wait for!
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The rootwhale rises
Then the forest heaved, and an enormous rootwhale burst up through the trees! Fifi caught the astonishing sight with her camera, while Egg’s yellow tether helped support Nettle low above the ground.
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Healing among fallen trees
Nettle was hurt, and Fifi reached for her healing magic. Egg kept hold through the yellow string as Fifi tended her friend among the fallen trees, until Nettle began to wake.
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The rootwhale under glass
The great rootwhale became small enough to fit beneath Jory’s glass bell. Fifi watched beside Egg as he enclosed the little creature that had seemed big enough to fill the forest.
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Books and chai
Back at home, Fifi and Nettle searched the borrowed books for clues about fairy dragons. There were curious pages to study, things to learn about Nettle, and warm chai to share while Egg rested nearby. Even a table full of books could not answer every question!
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A bag of seasonal seeds
Tansy handed Fifi a bag of seasonal seeds for the garden she hoped to make. Inside were all sorts of small beginnings, waiting for a little earth and a little patience.
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A bee's kindness
Fifi became a bee, and suddenly the grasses stood as tall as a forest! Beside the water, she nudged a floating leaf to help a beetle recover its twig, proving that tiny wings could still do a useful job.
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A little nebula in the bath
Fifi’s bath bomb fizzed into swirls of color around Nettle, until the root bath looked like a little patch of stars. Fifi watched from the edge with Egg safely beside her, while the colors curled across the water.
In a dream
Goliath in the teacup
In her next dream, Fifi found Goliath floating happily on his back in a teacup! She leaned in with her camera while Egg kept company at the tea table. For one very small mouse, tea time had become a grand little holiday.
In a dream
Wishes at the starry oven
The dream carried Fifi to Brindle’s oven, where stars shone overhead and Pip perched by the bread. They talked about swapping wishes, which was quite a different sort of sharing from passing round the buns!
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A spell made of shapes
When Fifi was awake again, Nettle gave her a puzzle to help her learn Fire Bolt. Fifi studied the little shapes while Nettle pointed out a gap and Egg rested nearby. There was still some thinking to do before those pieces would become a spell!
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Mushrooms against the harvesters
Three golden gorillas were gathering mushrooms into a cart when the forest outing turned dangerous. Fifi called the mushrooms to grow enormous, drawing one gorilla back toward the cart while she and Nettle tried to get away.
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The little Fern Knight departs
A small armored stranger called the Fern Knight helped drive the gorillas away. Fifi caught his departure with her camera while Egg floated at her shoulder, leaving one more remarkable picture and one more mystery.
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Purple hats on the buns
Back at Brindle’s oven, the cinnamon rolls had little colored markers, and Fifi’s was purple! She examined her bun with Nettle, Brindle, and Egg close by, because a treat with its own tiny hat deserved a proper look.
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Making room for the garden
Fifi and Nettle set to work making room for four garden beds. There were roots to shift and soil to prepare, while Egg rested at home and the new garden slowly found its shape.
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Goliath and Ruby play
At home, Goliath and Ruby found a game to share, one with tiny paws and a wonderfully wispy tail. Fifi and Nettle watched over their bowls of yogurt and berries, while Egg rested beside the bed.
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Goliath's scouting mission
At the back of Jory’s cottage, Fifi lowered Goliath down the garbage chute in a little string sling. Egg stayed beside her as the pocket-sized scout went looking, then came back with news of an enormous mushroom below!
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The porthole and the fungi
With Egg’s help, Fifi went down to look for herself. Through a porthole in a closed door, she saw huge fungi linked by delicate wisps of magic. The door stayed shut, but goodness, there was something curious on the other side!
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The collector's admission
Fifi set the golden fur before Jory and asked about the gorillas and their mushrooms. With Nettle and Egg beside her, she learned that he had hired the gorillas to gather fungi for a network that helped care for his collection.
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Two sweaters for Pip
Fifi took two folded sweaters to Pip, one blue and one rust, while Egg and Goliath stayed with Nettle. For a tiny bird with nesting plans, that was a wonderfully generous heap of wool!
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Gold and silver braids
Back home, Fifi wove gold and silver into two of Nettle’s dark front braids. Egg rested nearby while the little threads became something lovely, one careful crossing at a time.
In a dream
The crystal tree
That night, Fifi dreamed she was a dragon again, with dragon-shaped Egg flying beside her. At a dream version of home, a crystal tree glittered where the pale memorial stone should have been. Egg settled on the roof while Fifi looked up into its shining branches.
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The missing portrait
The dream moved on to a feast hall, where little dragon Egg perched beside the long table. Fifi searched the portraits of her neighbors along the walls, but could not find a picture of herself. The dream had made room for supper and another question!
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Four beds and one mystery bean
Morning brought planting, with Tansy and Nettle helping Fifi fill her four garden beds. Among the seeds was one mysterious bean, tucked carefully into the earth before Egg woke for the day’s outing. What a little thing to hold such a big question!
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Achilles in the collection
In Jory’s collection, Fifi finally found Achilles, now a beautiful moth inside a glass bell. The white mice were there too, in another little enclosure, while Egg floated beside Fifi outside the glass. Finding them was only the beginning; there was still the matter of helping them.
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Three gold and a broken bargain
Three gold coins should have paid the gorillas’ toll, but their bargain broke apart. Fifi called up tangling vines and pulled away on the broom, with Egg close and Nettle holding her ground below.
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The private drawings
A small case outside Fifi’s home held the Knight’s journal, and inside were drawings of Fifi, Egg, and moments from her own life. She and Nettle looked through the unsettling pages before Fifi put everything back and returned the case. Someone had been watching, but the pictures did not explain everything.
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A blessing watched over
Fifi settled in for the long work of blessing her newly planted garden. Nettle stayed beside her, keeping watch and wiping her brow as the daylight faded and the little beds waited quietly around them.
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The crystal sprout
Beside Sara’s resting place, Fifi and Nettle noticed a tiny crystal sprout. This time they were wide awake, and neither had seen a plant quite like it before! Fifi took its photograph, leaving the little sprout’s next surprise for another day.
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Cinder-seed fireworks
At last, Fifi solved the puzzle and learned Fire Bolt, and Nettle brought out cinder seeds for practice. Five seeds burst into fireworks above the trees, and Fifi caught their sparkling display with her camera!
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Blue tea for tomorrow
Back in her kitchen, Fifi added fragrant herbs to a jar of soft blue tea. She closed it up to steep overnight for tomorrow’s planned visit, while Egg rested nearby and the honeyberries waited for supper.
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Goliath's soft pouch
Goliath tried a soft suede pouch worn high by Nettle’s shoulder. Out popped his little white head, with Fifi nearby and Egg resting in the background—a very snug place to travel!
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A first night in the hut
After a picnic on the hut floor, Fifi borrowed Nettle’s roomy pajamas and settled in for their first sleepover. She looped Egg’s yellow string over the bedpost while Goliath slept in Nettle’s shoulder pouch, making sure every small companion had a place for the night.
In a dream
Neighbors beneath glass
In the dream that followed, Fifi found Pip, Brindle, and her other neighbors trapped beneath glass bells. The bells would not open, so she gathered them into her bag and set off to find help.
In a dream
Bells and shells
The dream carried Fifi to the house on clouds, where dragon-shaped Egg breathed fire onto a bell and softened its glass. Out flew a little dragon, growing huge before it soared away! Then morning came, and Fifi woke in Nettle’s hut, with Egg still safely in its shell and a whole new day ahead.
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Three pictures in the morning
All three waiting photographs had arrived, with a little purple dust left behind! There were beetles in Nettle’s hair, the crystal sprout, and their very own fireworks; beside the bed, Egg was still snug inside its shell.
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Three secret fingers
At Jory’s cottage, Nettle drooped into a chair—but three fingers beside her head gave the secret away. She was only pretending to sleep! If Fifi said she had left the jam on, it would be time for them to leave together.
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A bell in the bag
While Nettle’s bookshelf distraction brought Jory running upstairs, Fifi tried the little bell’s clicks. The crystalline monkey stayed silent, so she tucked the whole bell into her bag and shuffled its neighbors closer together.
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Nettle becomes a flame
Outside, golden gorillas crowded the path, and Jory demanded the monkey back. Whoosh—Nettle burst into her fiery battle clothes and went to hold them off! Fifi caught the blaze with her camera before turning to face Jory.
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The face of the Fern Knight
The ground trembled, and Jory’s cottage began to rise with its lawn still attached! Then his fern-covered armor closed around him, and Fifi saw who the little Knight had been all along. It was Jory.
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Egg opens the bell
For one dreadful moment, Fifi was shut inside a bell, still in her wolf shape. Then Egg’s shell opened like a flower, and out came a little dragon! A bright breath softened the glass, and Fifi was free.
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A second bell opens
Fifi set down the monkey’s bell and asked Egg for one more rescue. Another warm breath opened it, and the blue crystalline monkey stepped free, humming softly! Egg carried their new companion toward Nettle while Fifi stayed to face Jory.
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Seven seeds like stars
Back in her usual shape, Fifi sent seven cinder seeds tumbling toward Jory. Her Starry Wisp linked them like a tiny constellation, and Druidcraft set them alight! The wooden armor burned away; then curling roots held Jory on the ship.
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Three things from the shelf
Fifi went back into the cottage and gathered the compass, the hourglass, and the shark tooth. Three curious things for her bag—but no time to puzzle them out, because Jory was moving again.
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A giant above the trees
Jory came out in another suit—and grew, and grew, until he towered over the cottage! Under that enormous weight, the flying ship began to sink. Fifi scrambled onto Nettle’s broom as the ground dropped away.
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Faster than the ash
Fifi threw her last seven cinder seeds, and Nettle added her own fiery handfuls. Away they flew, just ahead of the tumbling ship and its great billow of ash! Egg and the monkey were with them, but what had happened to Jory and the other captives was still unknown.
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A little doorway home
The little monkey began to hum, and a doorway opened straight to Fifi’s home. What a very small door to find after such a very enormous day! Fifi stepped through; the next part of their story was waiting.