Legend says that if you listen closely to the wind whispering through the swings at the park, you can hear the secrets of the fairies.
Emma, who loved unicorns and princesses almost as much as she loved her grandma’s cookies, always listened to the wind. Today, the wind whispered, "Lost... Important... Homework..."
"Homework?" Emma tilted her head. She loved the park, especially the way the sunlight made the slide sparkle, but homework? That sounded a little bit too much like school.
Later that day, while Grandma helped her with her math problems at the kitchen table, Emma asked, "Grandma, do you think fairies like homework?"
Grandma chuckled, a warm, crinkly sound like a freshly baked cookie. "Well, even fairies have to practice their magic, dear. It's just like how you practice your ABCs!"
Emma giggled. That night, she dreamed of sparkly fairies with tiny pencils, struggling to write on leaves.
The next day at the park, the wind whispered again, louder this time. "Lost wand... can't... homework magic..."
Emma gasped. A lost wand? That sounded serious! She knew fairies used their wands for all sorts of magical things. What if they couldn't do their fairy homework without it?
Emma looked around the park, her eyes scanning every corner. She saw the red and yellow slide, the green monkey bars that were her favorite, and the big, oak tree where she liked to pretend she was a princess. But no wand.
Suddenly, she heard a tiny sob. Following the sound, Emma came to the edge of the sandbox. There, sitting on a tiny, forgotten sandcastle, was a little fairy, no bigger than her thumb. She had delicate, blue wings and wore a dress made of flower petals. But her face was streaked with tears.
"Excuse me," Emma whispered, remembering what Grandma had taught her about being polite. "Are you alright?"
The fairy jumped. "Oh! I didn't see you there. I... I lost my wand," she wailed. "And I can't finish my homework without it!"
Emma knew just how she felt. "What kind of homework do fairies have?" she asked.
"We have to make the flowers bloom, " the fairy sniffled. "But without my wand, the magic won't work!"
Emma thought hard. Maybe she could use her secret superpower – the ability to talk to animals – to help!
"Don't worry," she said to the fairy. "I'll find your wand!"
She ran to the oak tree and called, "Squirrels! Squirrels! Have you seen a tiny, sparkly wand?"
The squirrels chittered and pointed with their noses. Emma followed their directions, talking to robins and butterflies, until finally, she found the wand. It was stuck to the bottom of a swing, sparkling in the sunlight.
Emma carefully pulled the wand free and brought it back to the fairy, who squealed with delight.
"You found it! You found it!" she cried, giving Emma a hug. "Thank you! Now I can finish my homework and make the flowers bloom!"
With a flick of her wand, the little fairy made the flowers in the park burst into a riot of color. Reds, yellows, blues, and purples danced before Emma's eyes.
As Emma walked home with Grandma, the setting sun painting the sky in shades of orange and pink, she smiled. The wind whispered through the trees, but this time, it wasn’t a secret, it was a thank you.
That night, snuggled in bed, Emma knew that even though she couldn't see them, fairies were real. And sometimes, even fairies needed a little help with their homework.
