The Little Crooked Shed 3: The Storm at Fairy Fern 🧚‍♀️

A stormy day leads Harriot, James, and Hazel into the magical village of Fairy Fern, where they help tiny fairies find shelter from the wind—with a little help from an old watering can. 🪄

Designed to spark imagination and help kids wind down, perfect for bedtime, car rides, quiet time, or any moment when little listeners need a relaxing break.

Transcript

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the little crooked shed. The storm at Fairy Fern. It was a stormy morning and the garden was wild. The swings creaked and flew back and forth as though an invisible someone were swinging on them Over near the sandpit. Little spades and buckets tumbled across the grass. Rolling and dancing in the wind, Harriet James and Hazel stood by the back door in their coats, noses pressed to the glass. Mom had said they had to wait until the worst of the winds had passed. So they waited and they waited. They'd been too busy all week to visit Mr. Cobb twig in the crooked old shed at the bottom of the garden, and today was their first chance in days. They'd missed him and Molly and Mindy and all the goings on in Tangled Wim Hollow. Finally, mum gave the nod go on, she said, but not for too long. We have to go out in a few minutes. In a flurry of excitement, they flung up their hoods and ran Hazel leading the charge shoes, slipping slightly on the damp grass. They dashed down to the end of the garden where the shed stood crooked and quiet, tucked beside the hedge like it had been grown rather than built. Hazel had been asking all week if she could be the one to knock. She'd never done it before feeling too shy, but today she was ready. Her little hand tapped gently on the bottom of the door at once the pee slid open and a whiskery snout and a round eye appeared out. A U three came. The voice fond and bright just in time. Turn the doorknob to the left with a spin step through the portal. Let the magic begin. He continued. Hazel reached up and grabbed the golden doorknob and turned it to the left. Mr. Cobble Twig opened the shed door and the children stepped inside. But as always, it wasn't an ordinary shed. They found it was the Badger's house, and he was the portal doorkeeper. The waiting room, as he called it was warm and glowing. Squashy chairs huddled around a little fire that crackled and a large wooden table was covered in notes and books. And a teacup or two, the children tumbled into the chairs and began shattering at once about school and Hazel's tooth falling out, and James climbing a tree and getting stuck and Harriet's drawing that had won a prize. Mr. Cobble twig chuckled and nodded listening kindly, No time for tea today, I'm afraid. He said at last, glancing at the Curious Curtain rippling in the back of the room, the storm's been blowing the portal all over the place. Can't get it to settle in one place for long enough to step through. The children all looked at the long velvet curtain in the waiting room. I could see that it was blowing from side to side. They all gathered in front of it and Mr. Cobbled wake pulled it to one side. It certainly didn't look as it did before. It was usually a blurry vision that they couldn't quite make out, but today they could see the image was changing every few seconds kind of flickering we'd best get through quickly said, Mr. Cobble twig. Hold hands. Now. Harriet grabbed James' hand. James took Hazel's. And together with the old badger, they stepped through the portal and into the unknown. They all blinked, and suddenly they were standing in the middle of a lush green hillside with a sparkling silver river winding past them. The sky overhead was full of rushing clouds and the wind tugged fiercely at their sleeves and hair. A wooden sign. Creeks nearby swinging on a string fairy fern. This way it red. Mr. Cobble twig nodded ah, fairy fern. I know it well. My old friend Moon fly lives here and Molly and Mindy visit often they follow the sign down a grassy path that led to the trunk of a grand knobbly tree. There at the base was a small round hole. A sign hung above it. Hand painted in teeny tiny writing. Welcome to Fairy Fern. One by one, they crawled through the hole in the tree. Hazel being the smallest, popped through with ease. Harriet and James had to wriggle and huff a bit. Mr. Cobbled wake had to breathe in sharply and shuffle sideways to squeeze through, and then, oh, what a sight. The village of very fern spread out before them. Nestled beneath roots and toad stools with miniature cottages made of bark and leaves and acorns. Some had chimney smoke curling out in pale gray wisps. Others had twinkly lanterns strung between window boxes filled with moss and pets. Tiny fairies, zipped to and fro, all looking terribly busy. They were pulling in flower pots, rolling up rugs, lifting the smallest of chairs, and gathering cushions from their porches. There were hundreds of twinkling lanterns blowing in the breeze. The children stared in wonder. They felt like giants for the first time in their lives. They're getting ready for the storm that Mr. Cobble twig brushing leaves from his waistcoat. A sudden blur of a tiny fairy with frantic wings whizzed over when she finally stayed still long enough, they could see she was a little fairy. Her wings were much too large for her tiny body. The badger was delighted to see her children meet. Moon fly fairy fern, though we just call her moon fly. She beamed at them. Cheeks pink with the wind. Hi everyone. Thank you for coming. We need your help. The storm's coming fast and we're much too small to stay out in it. We'll be blown to the next village. We heard word from Tango Whim Hollow. This morning, Harriet James and Hazel looked at one another. They didn't know how they could help. How could they protect a whole village? But James suddenly had an idea, he whispered to the others. What if we find something big, something that could shelter every single fairy all at once. The children and the badger crept back out through the hole in the tree and searched the grass near the riverbank. And there it was a big old metal watering can rusted, sightly half covered in moss. It, looked, forgotten, abandoned by some gardener long ago. Together they carried it back to Very Fern and with Mr. Cobble twigs help. They found an opening and wedged it tightly between two old roots stuffing pebbles and twigs to keep it still moonlight, zipped inside the watering can. Perfect. She cried her tiny voice echoing. Soon all the fairies were bustling in and out, bringing their blankets and tiny chairs with them. They set up a whole village inside that one watering can, and then because they were fairies, after all, they held a celebration. Singing traditional fairy songs and telling old fairy stories. They handed out sandwiches, which were no bigger than raisins and poured tea into flower petal cups. The three children pretended to be full after just one sandwich each. As the storm clouds rolled overhead, the fairies snuggled together in their new shelter, singing songs, and telling stories their lanterns glowing softly. It was time to go. The children and Mr. Cobbled twig found the purple curtain, which had blown to the ground. They hung it gently on a low branch of a tree. One last look at the little village, safe and warm, and then they stepped back through the portal back in the waiting room. The fire still crackled and the papers rustled as the curtain blew in the badger. Gave them a proud smile. Quite the adventure that was. The children's tummies were now rumbling loudly, so they set off home, they waved goodbye to their friend and ran up the garden hair wild in the wind. Mum was waiting at the door with a plate of soft sandwiches and monks of milk. Hazel took a bite and whispered, I'm glad these are bigger than the fairy sandwiches. Harry is James and Hazel. All laughed. The end.