“I don’t have any choice now, do I?” he said, and the tears rolled down his cheeks.

After a while Chortle stopped crying and just sat very quietly on Michelle’s pillow. He was very miserable. Michelle didn’t know what to do or say for the best. “What does fairy dust look like?” she asked, “perhaps there is something like it that you could use instead”.

Chortle shook his head, “Fairy dust is only made in Fairyland by the wizards of the Northern Wood. It is beautiful”. When he spoke of it he had a faraway look in his eyes, “It’s like fine golden sand that glitters with a light all of it’s own”.

“Huh, if its like sand I should try your boots. Every time I go near sand mummy says that I bring half of the beach back with me in my shoes”.

“Like sand!… that’s it”, he said hopefully looking at his boots, “I have nothing to loses have I?” He eased off both boots and very carefully upturned them onto the pillow. Several small grains of golden glittery dust rolled out of each one. Chortle looked at them, his face full of Joy. “Fairy dust!… Yippee!” he shouted, jumping off the pillow and onto the bed. Michelle watched happily as he turned several somersaults and cartwheels with his por wings flapping behind him.

“Does this mean that you’ll be going home again?” Michelle asked when Chortle had stopped to catch his breath. He climbed back onto the pillow and looked again at the fine particles of dust. “Yes”, he nodded “there’s just enough for two good pinches, one for my wings and one to go home… Yippee!”, and he was off again.

After several minutes, when he had calmed down, he carefully divided the grains of fairy dust into two equal piles. One of the piles he sprinkled over his wings. At once they became alive with colour and then Chortle was flitting around the room at a tremendous speed. he hovered for a moment and landed as gently as a feather to collect the second pile. Michelle looked at him with big sad eyes “I am glad you are going home, but… will you come to see me again… please? I promise not to leave anything sticky under my pillow”.

“I’d like that” said Chortle, “I’m sorry I was so angry at first, I’m not always like that. I will come and visit you whenever I can”. Chortle flew up and kissed Michelle right on the tip of the nose. “Tank you Michelle, I will be back. Bye bye for now” he said and with those final words threw the last of the fairy dust over himself and was gone.

“Bye bye Chortle”. Michelle was suddenly very tired, due to a trace of fairy dust in the air no doubt. She couldn’t remember dropping off to sleep but when she awoke in the morning she checked under her pillow and there, where last night a tooth had been, was now a shiny new 50p coin. “He did come back” she said, “I hope I shall see him again”.

I think she will… don’t you?