Wednesday, May 2, 2007

The Arrival of a Wild Pixie


When I last wrote, our family was expecting the arrival of a new member...a pixie. Ms. Merriweather had heard stories of pixies being a bit wild sometimes and was rather worried about the situation. Well, today our pixie arrived and it was time to see the whether the tales of wild pixies were indeed true.

Ms. Merriweather placed the pixie's travel box on the floor. There seemed to be muffled little noises coming from inside that sounded much like...giggling.

Ms. Merriweather carefully opened the box. The giggling became louder and a little face peeped out from the travel blankets within the box.

Suddenly, a little blond pixie sprang out of the blanket with a loud "Ta-da!" She seemed quite eager to present herself to us. She was indeed unclothed...just as we suspected...and I was sure Ms. Merriweather would be remedying that situation as soon as possible.

Our new arrival wasted no time in leaving her box. She began to dance about, still giggling.

I suppose the sight of a giggling, dancing, unclothed pixie was simply too much for Ms. Merriweather to bear for long. After quickly introducing all of us, Ms. Merriweather introduced our pixie to her new dress.

The pixie did not appear too eager to make that particular acquaintance. Before we could even bat an eye, she was in motion...fleeing from the dress and giggling all the way. I could tell Ms. Merriweather was definitely Not Amused.

Ms. Merriweather became even less amused when the pixie spotted the cake on the table. We were planning to have a welcoming party for our new friend. I suppose our pixie liked that idea since she lost no time helping herself to the cake. And even worse...especially in Ms. Merriweather's eyes...she didn't even bother with proper eating utensils at all.

Ms. Merriweather had apparently had enough of such uncivilized behavior and sprang into action, intent on apprehending the renegade. The pixie was faster than anyone could imagine. Off she flew and the chase was on.

The startled yell coming from downstairs told us she had reached Master Elrond's office. From there, out the door of our home she flew.

We soon heard shrieks and gasps of shock from Hitty Rowan and Hitty Patience and knew the pixie had just "introduced" herself to our neighbors.

Sudden squeals of delight told us the pixie was visiting Birdie and Vivie.

Now, don't think Ms. Merriweather had been sitting idle through all this havoc. She and Elrond had quickly followed in pursuit of the wayward pixie....but pixies really are quite fast. Our pixie seemed to be teasing Ms. Merriweather and Master Elrond a bit, sometimes crawling a few paces and letting them almost catch up with her before darting off again. The giggles never stopped.

Ms. Merriweather and Master Elrond went to great lengths.....

and lows, to catch the pixie.

After several long minutes of chase, with the pixie flittering all over the house giggling, they retreated from the battle field for a strategic planning session. They talked at length, the pixie flitting past the house every few minutes, before coming up with a plan.

They called us all together and explained their new strategy. Pixies are very fond of three things...music, sweets, and attention. Ms. Merriweather and Master Elrond reasoned that they could use music and sweets to lure the pixie close. Master Elrond asked Nim to sing, since fairies have a lot in common with pixies and that might attract our flittering friend. And, the most important thing, we were not to pay attention to the pixie until she sought us out and settled down.

We put the plan in motion....and waited.
The pixie flittered past a few more times, giggling at us. With each pass, she slowed a bit more and lingered, as if waiting for us to acknowledge her or to give chase again. Before long, we were aware of her entering the house and slowly creeping up on us.
Still, we paid no attention to her. Spying Nim singing and eyeing the sweets in Ms. Merriweather's hands, our pixie crept even closer.

She tugged at Ms. Merriweather's skirts. Ms. Merriweather turned to her. "Oh...there you are," she said quietly. "I was wondering if you were going to join us for some music and treats. " The pixie nodded with a giggle, pointed to the treats, and in a soft little voice piped, "Sweets for me?" She climbed into Ms. Merriweather's lap. Ms. Merriweather explained that we were so glad to welcome our little friend into our home and would be very happy to share our sweets...if only the pixie would agree to wear clothes. Ms. Merriweather also explained that the pixie might be cold running about unclothed, especially with the air conditioner running in the summer. The pixie nodded and reluctantly admitted, "I be cold already." Ms. Merriweather quickly took that moment of compromise to cloth our wild, naked pixie.
Our new little friend looked at her dress, smiled and exclaimed, "Very Pretty Pixie!!!" She lost no time in dancing about in joy with the music, twirling her new dress around her. Ms. Merriweather asked our pixie her name. She simply shrugged and giggled. Ms. Merriweather told our new arrival that we would all help think of a very special name for our very special pixie. The pixie fluttered with excitement. After further celebration of our new friend's arrival (and the end of the great chase), we were all quite exhausted.
Even the pixie was glad to snuggle into bed with no fuss. I have the feeling our lives will indeed be a bit more exciting with our wild pixie sharing them.