The Fairies’ Cake

There was once a young lady called Lucy who baked the best cakes in the whole world. One

day she was stolen away by the fairies, who locked her up in the kitchen in Fairyland. “Make us a cake!” they all demanded. “A big, gooey, crumbly, creamy cake with icing!”

“And what will become of me when I’ve done the baking?” asked Lucy.

“Oh, we’ll turn you into a tree.”

“I don’t want to turn into a tree,” thought Lucy. So she said to the fairies, “How can I make a

cake without fl our? You’d better fl y to my kitchen and fetch me a bag of fl our.”

So the fairies fl itted over to the croft where Lucy lived, and fl itted back with a bag of fl our.

Lucy shook her head. “How can I make a cake without eggs? You’d better fl y to my hen-house and fetch me half a dozen eggs.”

So the fairies fl ew over to the hen-house, and fl ew back with half a dozen eggs. “But how can I make a cake without sugar?” said Lucy to the fairies.

“You’d better hurry to my cupboard and fetch a bag of sugar.” So the fairies fl uttered over the

croft and found in the cupboard a bag of sugar, and between them carried it back to Fairyland. “Ouch, but you forgot the baking powder!” cried Lucy. “Do you want a cake as fl at as a dinner plate?” And she sent the fairies back for the baking powder. She sent them for the icing sugar, the cherries, the cream and a bowl. And with every trip the fairies grew more and more tired, until their wings drooped. “There! I’m ready!” said Lucy, putting all the ingredients into the bowl. “But oh dear, I’m too worried about my poor wee baby to think about cake-making. You must go and fetch him for me to watch over while I cook.”

“Oh, all right,” said the fairies grudgingly. They did not want to go – they were worn out. But how else could they get their cake?

They were no sooner back, carrying the baby in his crib, than Lucy looked at her watch. “Oh goodness gracious! It’s time for my husband’s tea. I must go home and cook him something.”

“Oh no you don’t!” said the fairies. “Let him make his own tea!” But Lucy fell into such fi ts of giggles that she could neither whisk nor stir. “Make his own tea? Why, he couldn’t butter a slice of bread! Oh, no, you must fetch him so I can explain why his tea’s late.”

So the fairies fl apped over to the croft – and fl apped back with Lucy’s husband. Then they sat back to back on the fl oor to catch their breath.

“Did you lock up the cat and dog before you left?” Lucy asked her husband sharply – though she winked an eye as she spoke.

“Er…er, no, I-I didn’t have time.”

“What? The dog and cat not locked up? Why, they’ll scratch the house to pieces! You fairies will have to fetch them here – no two ways about it!” The fairies could hardly bring themselves to get up off the fl oor. But they were so hungry that they wanted a cake more than ever. So they folded their wings across their backs and walked all the way over to Lucy’ croft, and carried back the cat and the dog.

“Now. At last I’m ready to bake the cake,” said Lucy. “But where’s the oven?”

“Oven?” The fairies began to grizzle. “Do you need an oven?”

Lucy laughed and her husband laughed, too. “Of course I need an oven!”

So the fairies crawled over to the croft and staggered back under the gigantic weight of the cast-iron kitchen range.

While they were gone, Lucy said to her husband, “Sing!” And she said to the cat, “Yowl!” And she said to the dog, “Bark!” And she said to the baby, “Cry!”

The door fl ew open, and in came the oven. The fairies set it down, then sprawled on their little fairy beds, exhausted.

But the man was singing.

And the cat was yowling.

And the dog was barking.

And the baby was crying.

“Sssh! Oh shush! Stop!” shrieked the fairies, covering their ears. “Go away, please!” they cried, pulling their pillows over their heads.

“Very well,” said Lucy. “but only if you promise to fetch my oven home tomorrow morning at the latest.”

Then her husband picked up the baby in his crib, and Lucy picked up the cat, and the dog followed on behind. They walked home to a meal of cold pork pie and toasted crumpets.

But Lucy, though she had narrowly escaped being turned into a tree, felt sorry for the fairies with no-one to bake them cakes. So when they brought back her oven, the fi rst thing she did was to bake a big, gooey, crumbly, creamy cake with icing on top, and she left it outside the door. And do you know what? The next morning it was gone.

Taken from: Golden Press, Australia 1987