Hi! As an introduction, this will be where I will post stories, articles, scribblings, and so on, for the amusement whomsoever choose to read this. 

At present I am creating s story with Mieke Bootsma, which you can read below. The story is illustrated by our resident artists, Mieke, Sbastian and Nanima.

Enjoy! 

Mary, the Moon Maiden. 

A story of discovery.

There once was a little girl called Mary. She lived on the moon, in a big yellow sunflower. She made a fairy garden, with roses, tulips and peonies that glitter with magic, and some fruit and vegetables too. 

Mary went looking for her magic horse, Moonlight, who had run off with his friend Mystic the hippogriff to play in the cloud meadows. Mystic was looking for food. He dug for moon mice and other little things but Moonlight had eaten enough magic carrots from Mary’s fairy garden and his tummy was full. He had fun chasing moonbeams among the clouds, racing with star spangles and dancing in the cloud valleys.

Mary called all her friends to help her. Together they flew up the great Wonderstone mountain, and around the crystal waterfall, before they came to the enchanted fern forest. But here the friends got distracted, chasing emerald butterflies and fluttering beeblosoms. Mary called and called, but they would not come to help, so she went on followed by her dokitten Felix. 

As they came to the end of the enchanted fernforest Felix barked in alarm, and Mary looked up. Oh Horrror!

A great gronglegnome had caught Moonlight with a long slimesilk noose! Moonlight fought and struggled, but could not get away. Mary rushed forward and shouted: “Let go of Moonlight! Don’t hurt him!” 

But the Gronglegnome shook his head. “Good to eat. Grong hungry.”

He bared his dirty yellow teeth at Mary, and she had to step back, because his breath was disgusting. Gronglegnomes never brush their teeth, she could tell. 

He swiped at Mary with his big claws. She ducked away and called: “Moonlight, you must be calm. I’m going for help!”

She unfurled her wings and flew swiftly to where her friends were playing. “Come quickly, we must help Moonlight!”

They fluttered around. “What happened?”

“A gronglegnome! He caught Moonlight! He wants to eat him!”

They held their hands to their mouths in horror. “Oh dear! But it is almost lunchtime. We have to go home now. Shall we call the fairypolice?”

Mary says "No, we have to go now!! We have to go now Moonlight is in danger! Come on!”

But her friends all found a reason why they should not go. Mary was frantic. But then Felix barked at her and tugged at her skirt. She flew back to the forest, wondering what to do. Felix flew ahead to where they had last seen Mystic. Soon they found the hippogriff rooting under bumblebushes, looking for moonmice. 

“Mystic, come and help us! A gronglegnome has caught Moonlight!” The hippogriff looked up and chewed a slobberroot. “No time, hungry hippogriff. Take some moonmushrooms.” And he went back under the bushes. 

Mary looked at him in astonishment for a moment. Then she grabbed his tail and pulled him out of the bush. “Oh, Mystic, you are a star. Where can I get moonmushrooms?” The hippogriff mumbled, his mouth full: “Mmmn the Schream Bmmnd you.”

She cocked her head. “What?” But Felix had heard, and went darting to the stream behind them. In the shade of the throbbleplants a thick patch of moonmushrooms grew!

Quickly Mary picked a handful of moonmushrooms and chewed them. She also tore one in shreds and fed it to Felix. With some more in her hands and pockets she crept out from under the bushes and called Mystic. 

“Come, you must help me!”

The hippogriff shook his head, looking around for Mary, because she had become invisible. “Where are you? I am too hungry to go.”

Mary scratched his neck. “Come, Moonlight needs us! And you can steal some of the gronglegnome’s food, I saw he had some in his basket.”

Mystic quickly chomped some mushrooms, but they were not strong enough for him, so he did not become completely invisible. 

They crept into the cave. Mary whispered: “Shhhh.” Mystic said: “The gronglegnome is sleeping.”

Suddenly the gronglegnome woke up and tried to stomp on them. 

“ What are we going to do now?” cried Mary, just avoiding his foot.

The gronglegnome saw half of Mystic because he hadn’t become completely invisible like Mary and Felix. But the invisibility power of the moonmushrooms started to wear off, and Mary did not have any more!!

The gronglegnome shook his head. He was confused now. Who are you? What are you doing?”

Mystic saw his chance and took a bite at the gronglegnome’s backside. Felix jumped in from the other side and bit his floppy ear. 

Mary edged around the fight and got to Moonlight. The poor horse was terrified, but she calmed him down. With her magic wand she dissolved the slimesilk rope and leapt on Moonlight’s back. 

“Come, let us get away!”

The gronglegnome saw, too late, what was happening. “I will get you, and if I don’t the imps who are coming will eat all of you!”

“Imps?” Mary was worried.

“Yes, an army of imps, coming to take over the moonbeam valley.”

He grabbed at Moonlight, but the horse, no longer paralysed by the slimesilk, whirled and kicked the gronglegnome in his belly. Then they all escaped, Felix clinging to Mystic’s tail. 

“We are free! Hurray! We are free!”

They went flying down the slope of the mountain, and through the trees of the fernforest, until they dropped, panting, on the grass in Moonbeam town Mystic moaned: “I am so hungry from all that flying, and I never got the wortleberries that gronglegnome had stashed in his basket. I could smell them!”

Mary laughed. “You silly thing! Always thinking of your belly. Go, look for moonmice in the bitterberrybushes. We have to go and tell people what the gronglegnme told us.”

She trotted down the road on Moonlight’s back, with Felix fluttering alongside. Soon they came to the fairypolice office. Mary left Moonlight to crop the grass outside, and went in. 

The police officer was a big dwarf with a red nose. “Yes, how can I help you?”

Mary smiled. “Please I have something to report. We went looking for my horse, Moonlight, he had gone playing on the other side of the fernforest, see? Well, a gronglegnome had caught him, but I managed to get him back.”

The police officer frowned, writing on the report form. “A gronglegnome, you say? A serious matter, that. And where, now?”

Mary shook her head. “I can show you where, but that is not what I came to report. He told us that an army of imps are on the way to invade moonbeam valley. We must do something!”

“Imps, you say? That is a crisis. I will have to call the Mayor. Is your horse eating my gringroses?”

Mary ran out and shooed Moonlight out of the flowers. She led him down the street to where some delicious gingergrass grew. “Eat this, Moonlight, it will make you jump for joy. Stay here now, I have important things to do. Felix, stay here and watch him. There might be lightlizards in the grass for you to chase.”

At the fairypolice office the Mayor, a fat fairy with her hair in curlers, was waiting for her. “Can you show us where the gronglegnome was? I am going to send a team over there to chase him away.”

Mary nodded. “I can, but what about the imps?”

“Imps? There are no imps. We will get rid of the gronglegnome.”

“But he said there was an army of imps on the way!”

The Mayor shook her head. “I am sure he was wrong. Or maybe you heard wrong. Now, here are the others. Please show them where the gronglegnome is.”

Mary went out and got on Moonlight. With the team from the Mayor’s office she flew over the Wonderstone Mountain and past the Crystal Waterfall. At the end of the fernforest she stopped. 

“Over there, he was just there in a small cave. Maybe he ran away. But now I have to do something about the imps.”

The police fairy nodded. “You go home now, Mary, this is not work for little fairies like you. Leave it to us.”

Mary went back, and put Moonlight in his stable with some lovely gingergrass hay to munch on. Mystic was already there, snoring on his pad of silverstraw. Mary stroked his head and whispered: “Nice hippogriff, you did well today. Sleep tight!”

She cooked jumping dumplings in some starberry stew, and Felix had some too before curling up in his basket.

Early the next morning Mary called her friend the Wizard of Windy Willow on the fairyfone. As usual the Wizard, Alakazam, was a little confused, but Mary got him to listen by promising him some of her special glittercookies. 

“Alakazam, please, you have to help! There are imps coming this way. What can I do to stop them?”

The Wizard nodded. “Imps, now. I remember imps. There was one, you know, back when the moon was young, who tried to fly. He fell off the high hollow hill, the hole is still there. I must show that to you one day.”

She nodded. “You must, whiz, but do you know any spells to chase them away? We need to stop them coming here.”

“Spells? Oh, imps don’t react to spells at all, it just makes them more angry.”

Mary shook her head. “I am coming over with some cookies to help you remember. Just a moment. You can put the rose tea on so long.”

Within minutes Mary and Felix landed on a branch of the wizard’s big willow tree. In the highest fork of the tree there was a magic tree house, and Mary saw brightly coloured bubbles coming out of the chimney. “Oh, look, Felix, the tea is ready!

She knocked on the door, which, being a magic door, opened for her. But, oh dear, the wizard’s magic black cat, Thunderbolt, sat in the door. Now, you may remember that Felix was a dokitten, half dog and half kitten. And Thunderbolt did not like dogs at all. Luckily Felix knew some neat tricks, and he rolled on the floor and mewed like a kitten. Thunderbolt looked at him suspiciously, then walked away, shaking his tail. 

Alakazam was sitting at his desk, writing spells into a big magic book that hung in the air. “Just a moment, Mary, pour us some tea, I just remembered this incantation. Now, was it … mix the magic marigolds with molasses, or do I mix the molasses with magic marigolds? Or maybe mix magic molasses with more marigolds?”

Mary took two rainbow mugs from the cupboard and wagged a finger at the teapot. It rose in the air, then came over and poured the rose-tea into the mugs. From her pouch Mary took some glittercookies, a dokitten treat and a catnip fish. Thunderbolt pounced on the dokitten treat, sniffed it and shook a foot. Then Mary tossed the catnip fish into the air, where it began to swim. Thunderbolt leapt at it, trying to catch it, then fell, rolling into a basket of papers that closed on him and folded up. 

“Oops! Sorry, Thunderbolt!” Mary helped him out, and he leapt again after the fish, climbing up Alakazam’s back, knocking his wizard’s big black hat askew. The wizard grabbed his hat, shouting: “Wait, I have it! It’s magic mice! Mice stewed in molasses with marigolds!”

Mary laughed. “Dear Alakazam, write that quickly, then come and have a glittercookie with your tea.”

“Oh, glittercookies! Don’t eat them all! There, I wrote it down. Go away, book!”

The book closed itself and flew up on to a shelf. While they were drinking the tea, and Felix helped Thunderbolt chase the catnip fish, Mary told the wizard about the imps. 

“Ho ho! I know about imps! Did I tell you about the one that fell…”

Mary gave him another cookie and said: “Yes, Alakazam, you told me, and you also told me you cannot put a spell on them.”

He nodded. “True, it makes them angry. Too bad. If there is a hill…”

“But what can we do to stop them?”

“If you cannot give them flowers to eat, which they love more than anything else, you can explode them. Sella the Scientist may be able to concoct an explosionpotion for you.”

“Thanks, Alakazam, you are a wizard!”

Mary jumped up and called Felix, and rushed out the door. The wizard looked after her. “Why did she tell me I am a wizard? I knew that!”

At the edge of a deep canyon filled with brimblebramblebushes and evereating trees stood Sella’s Scientific Senter. It was a rambling shed with a roof of loose planks and sides made of strange slabs of melted rock. As she landed Mary heard strange cries coming from inside. Cautiously she opened the door, and saw Sella struggling with a plant in a pot. The plant had grown arms with which it was trying to strangle Sella. 

Mary dashed up and asked: “What do I do? How can I help?”

Sella tried to drag the twiggy hands from her throat. “Help! Brmmmg the gringle grungle!”

“What? Where?” Mary tried to understand. 

“Over there! Big green bomble!”

Mary looked at the cluttered desk. She grabbed a green bottle filled with an oily liquid. “This?”

Sella nodded as the plant shook her from side to side. “Carefwwwwwl! Eek! Awk! Put drops in the porrrrgrt!”

Mary ducked under the waving branches while she wrestled the cork out of the bottle. A greasy smoke rose out, and the plant stiffened, then started waving branches around. Carefully she poured a few drops into the pot, but not before the plant had grabbed hold of her hair. Felix barked and grabbed the twig, shaking and growling. 

Suddenly the plant jerked, then went limp, dropping Mary and Sella on the ground. Sella groaned, climbing to her feet. “Owww, that was not good! You arrived in the nick of time. It was looking for the forcefertiliser. Now it will be happy for a while.”

“What was that? Are you breeding new plants?”

Sella shook her head. “No, it is an evereating tree sapling. I am trying to develop a forcefertiliser, it makes plants grow ten times faster than normal. Maybe I should have tried it on something else.”

“Will that work on my magic garden too?” Mary was thinking of her roses, peonies and especially her sunflower house. 

“Oh, yes, that part is easy. I can make up a few bottles but you must use only a drop at a time. Was that why you came to see me?”

Mary shook her head. “No, Sella, Abrakazam said you can make me an explosionpotion to explode the imps.”

Sella rubbed her hands. “An explosionpotion! Goody! I love explosionpotions. Let’s make some just now. We are going to blow up evereatingtrees, right?”

“No, Sella, we want to blow up imps!”

“Imps? Ok, but it is much nicer to blow up trees or perhaps rocks. A few big rocks came rolling down the wonderstone mountain. Let’s blow them up to see if there are any wondergems inside.”

“Later, Sella, first the imps.”

Sella nodded, scratching her head. “Let’s us. Imps. Now where is my formulabook? Ah, there, on the shelf.”

She took down a great, tattered notebook and started leafing through it. “Let me see. Rocks, tunnels, trees, houses, dragons… Did I tell you about the time I tried to explode the dangerous dancing dragon? No? Well, this was…”

Mary tapped her foot. “Sella, please, imps!’

“Oh, imps. Yes, let me see. Did I see dragons? Ok, yes, I will look further. Hmmm. Clouds. That does not really work. Mountains. Dwarves. No, not here. Ah, there we are! Imps, exploding of. Here is the formula. Some sap of smoketree. I have that. One vat of crystalwater. There, in the corner. Two handfuls of purple powder. In that sack up there. Dangerous stuff. I think that is all. I will need to stoke a fire to begin. One day and we will have an explosionpotion that will blow them into tiny bits. You will hear them cry from far off!”

Mary nodded. “Sella, is there any way to make sure it explodes only imps? We would not want to hurt any moonmice orrubyrabbits, or even any elves or fairies!”

Sella pulled her lip. “Mmm, that complicates matters. Let me look in that green book. There is a way…”

She leafed through the thick book, muttering to herself. “Aha! Here we have it! We have to add some magic molasses, and then some whiskers from an imp. That should guarantee it.”

“Do you have any?” Mary wondered. 

“Oh, Alakazam has lots. But getting the whiskers of an imp is hard. It has to be fresh so someone would have to go and get some.”

Mary scratched her head. “Go steal whiskers from an imp? Really?”

Sella dragged a great black pot out of a cupboard and started collecting logs for a fire. “Well, I suppose you could just ask one nicely for some whiskers, but I am not sure that is going to work. There are lots in the Williwallyvalley on the other side of the Wonderstone mountain. Give me a hand here.”

Mary helped her balance the pot on three big rocks. Sella pushed the wood under the pot and shook some powder from a small box on the logs. A small flash and the wood started burning. “See? Better than magic. Some phosphorous powder, just the thing. But don’t carry it in your pocket, it might catch fire!”

Mary wondered. “Do you suppose I could just sort of go to the Willywallyvalley and ask an imp for some whiskers?”

Sella measured out s ome purple powder. “Of course, but remember they are imps, and they would like to play pranks on you! Maybe they will give you some gigglegoat whiskers, and where would we be then? Now, look up for me, does the purple powder go before the crystal water, or after?”

Mary found Moonlight grazing on the green letterlawn outside, eating only the leaves that showed an M. She laughed. “Moonlight, you are so vain! Come, we need to go and ask the Wise Hermit up on the Clearwater Cliff for advice. Felix, come now, leave the tree alone!’

Felix was chewing at the evereating sapling in the pot, but came dashing out, and jumped on Moonlight’s back behind Mary. With a few sweeps of his wings Moonlight flew up into the air and swept over the evereating trees in the canyon. Mary looked down and said to herself: “I hope they never taste the forcefertiliser!”

They flew over the roaring river and up, up the great sides of the Wonderstone Mountains. Mary saw the deep mines where the dwarves dug for wondergems and mistymetal to make jewels with. From here they could see over the vast plains, past the Mooonlight Valley, and the Fernforest. “I wonder if they had caught the gronglegnome!”

Now Moonlight brought them close to the Clearwater Cliff, where a thin waterfall of beautiful clear water fell like a misty veil. At the top of the cliff a dark patch showed – the cave of the hermit. Moonlight landed on the top of the cliff, and started grazing on the letterlawn here, because there were many leaves with the letter M on. Mary went down the steep path to the cave, and called: “Hermit? Dear Wise Hermit? Are you here?”

A thin voice came from the cave. “Of course, child, where would I be? Hermits always stay home. Did you bring me some food?”

Mary shook her head. “I forgot. I will get you some later, but first, tell me, how do I get imp’s whiskers? I need some for a potion, see.”

The hermit nodded. “Ah, I see. Imp whiskers. You and that young Sella are up to something, I can tell. Well, the only thing to do is to go up to an imp and ask if you could cut a few whiskers, that’s all. But be careful they are impish! They will play tricks on you!”

“And where would I find imps?”

The hermit thought deeply. “Well, they can be anywhere. You need an imp calling whistle. Willy the woodcutter can carve you one. The best place for them is in the Willywallyvalley, of course, but I heard they are moving away from there.”

Mary nodded. “I heard they are coming here. A gronglegnome told me.”

“That must be old Grumblegrongle. He is always skulking about. Don’t believe him too much! The imps are running out of food in Willywalleyvalley, they are eating up all the flowers. And of course they are not planting any, imps are too lazy to do that.”

Mary patted the hermit’s hand. “Thank you so much! I will go and pick some brimblebrambles for you, would you like that?”

The hermit nodded. “Few things I like better. You don’t have some glittercookies, perhaps?”

Mary sighed. “I left them all at Alakazam’s. But I will bring you some as soon as I can.”

She filled the hermit’s basket with lovely red brimblebrambles, and ate a few herself, as she was getting a little hungry. Then she called Moonlight. Because it was all downhill to Moonbeam Valley she decided to fly, or rather glide, and maybe race Moonbeam, down the long slopes and over the fields of flowers. 

Back home at her sunflower house Mary was ready to fall into her flower petal bed, but first she had to look after her garden. The peonies looked rather sad, and the carrot stalks were quite wilted. Not even the tulips had glitter about them. Mary wondered: “What on the moon is wrong, little darlings? I did put a spell on you to make it rain every afternoon. Let me do it again!” And she spelt out the spell. Then she ate some honeydew bread with berry jam and rose tea. She put a lot of glittercookie dough in her magicwave oven and told it to bake them. Then she fell asleep and dreamt of blowing up imps all night.

Early the next morning Felix woke her up by pulling at her hair, and Mary jumped out of bed. She had a dewdrop shower and took fresh clothes from her magic-clean wardrobe. Outside Moonlight and Mystic were frolicking on the meadow, kicking up their heels and chasing flutterby’s. Mary packed her bag, jumped on his back and they were off.

They flew over the village and up the side of the crystal waterfall, and there the Friendly Forest began. Enormous trees covered with fireflyflowers left little pathways between them where wild moongazelles ran to green meadows. In the middle of one such a meadow stood a little cabin of wood, and Mary pointed Moonlight to the meadow. The horse neighed with pleasure, he could just imagine grazing in the lush gingergrass. 

Willie the woodcutter was sharpening his axes in the shed, but he was pleased to see Mary. He gratefully accepted a glittercookie for himself and gave one to his wife, Wolly. When Mary explained what she needed he nodded. “I can do that, but to have a really good whistle it should be carved from a slumbersong tree. That would make the imps dozy. Wolly, you know one, would you show Mary? Get me a branch about as thick as my thumb, a dry one.”

Wolly jumped on her broom (of course, she was a witch) and they flew into the forest. Mary marveled at the miraclemonkeys playing in the trees, the purple flutterby’s and the golden globeflowers in the meadows. Near a little spring Wolly landed. “See that tree there? That’s a slumbersong tree. Careful! First put something in your ears, otherwise it will put you to sleep. Look, there’s a miraclemonkey fast asleep under it. Let me pull him away, otherwise he will wake up late in the night, cold and hungry.” 

Mary tied her hanky over her ears, and dashed in to break off a nice dry branch. Still, she felt quite sleepy and remembered that she had gone to bed quite late. But as soon as she was out of the tree’s shade she felt wide awake again. 

Willy used his big silver knife to carve a nice whistle, and Mary tried it out. It made a nice sound, and Moonlight pricked his ears from where he was grazing. Felix, who had remained with him, barked and jumped about. 

“Thank you, Willy and Wolly, I really appreciate it. Now, do you know where I can find an imp? I need to get some of his whiskers?”

“Oho! Are we making potions then? Well, the best place would be in the Willywallyvalley, there’s lots of them.”

Mary nodded. “That’s what they tell me. How do I get there?”

Wolly pulled her chin and said: “I think you should ask the Wise Hermit on the Clearwater Cliff, who knows everything.”

“Good idea! I have to go drop off some glittercookies in any case, but I really also need to spend some time in my garden, the plants are all wilted. Thank you so much! And Wolly, thank you too. But can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Mary. What did you want to know?”

“My watering spell seems not to work. My plants looked so wilted.”

Wolly nodded. “That sometimes happens if you do not spell the spell quite right, you know. Spelling a spell is important! Try to spell it again and see. I don’t think anyone in Moonlight Valley would put a hex on your garden, but if the spell does not work I will come and help you. 

Mary went home and looked at her plants. They looked worse, so she took a watering can and watered them, then said the spell again: Dewdrops, raindrops, now and later, please come soon, my palnts need water.” 

“There!” She dusted her hands and called Moonlight. “Come, dear, we have to take cookies to the wise hermit, and then we must go chasing imps.”

It was early morning when Mary and Moonlight landed on the Clearwater Cliff. Moonlight began to graze on the letterlawn. Mary looked at the brimblebramblebushes. They looked ragged, as if something, or someone, had been chewing them. She called: “Wise Hermit! Are you there?”

A voice answered from the cave: “Of course I am here, child. What can I do for you?

Mary ran down the path and put the bag of glittercookies down before the hermit. “I brought you some cookies as I promised. And I want to ask you how I can get to the Williwallyvalley to see some imps. I have a slumbersong whistle now!”

The hermit chewed on a cookie and nodded. “These are very nice. It is a good idea to have a whistle. Imps can be full of mischief. The ones yesterday tried to put itchyants down my neck. That is after I caught them eating my brimblebramblebushes.”

“Imps? Yesterday?” Mary raised her eyebrows. 

“Yes, there were three of them. Came looking for flowers, they said.”

Mary gasped. “Oh heavens! They are coming already! I must get to Willywallyvalley real quick to get whiskers! How do I get there?”

“Oh, it is easy. You must cross the Misty Pass in the Wonderstone Mountains. There you will find dwarves who will try to stop you. Once you get past them you go down the Long Meadow valley, turn right at the Old Lonely tree, and there you are! That is where the imps live.”

Mary jumped up. “I am going immediately! Thank you, Wise Hermit! How long will it take me to get there and back?”

“Oh, a week, I would say.”

“A week? My garden will be dead before then unless I get the spell right!”

The hermit smiled. “Words are magic! If you spell your spells right they will come out right!”

That afternoon Mary sat in her garden. The peonies were nodding in the breeze, and the tulips were ringing like soft bells, because they were magic tulips. She wondered what she could do to make sure they would not wilt in the week she would be away. Her other spells did not work. 

Her fairyfone rang. It was Wolly the witch. “Hi Mary, are you all right?”

Mary told her of the visit to the hermit. “And now I am trying to get the spell right to water my garden. Can you help?”

Wolly laughed. “I wish I could, but that would not work on your garden. But, my dear, just sit still, think of your garden and the water falling on it, and the spell will come.”

Mary sat among the flowers, and thought of water. And the next moment the spell came into her head. 

And suddenly a little cloud appeared over the garden and a small thunderclap sounded. A soft little rain came and wet the plants. Mary clapped her hands and jumped up and down. “It worked! It worked.”

Moonlight neighed and cantered around the garden, and Mystic the hippogriff snorted from where he was digging for moonmice under the bushes. Felix the dokitten barked and meowed in delight. 

“Now we can begin to pack. I am going to need a lot of glittercookies, and also lots of sandwiches. And magic mead to drink. And we will need fodder for Moonlight, and a bag of dokitten treats. Oh bother, such a lot of things to remember!”

The Wonderstone mountains gleamed against the starry sky. Along its dark, forested slopes a small fairy flew, bravely battling up to the high ridges. Far below a Hippogriff and a magic horse gamboled with a dokitten. Mary looked at them and frowned. “Enough playing now! We have work to do!!”

The magic horse, Moonlight, kicked up his heels and neighed, then flew up to her and lifted her on his back. She checked the bags of food and drink, then called: “Felix, come now! Mystic, you too! Let’s go, it is far before we can rest.”

They flew up and up, into a long, narrow valley. Up and up they went, until they came nearr a pass through the peaks. “There, Moonlight, do you see? A nice flat space. Let’s stop there and make a little picnic.”

Soon a cloth was spread, some sandwiches unpacked, and a glass of magic mead poured. Moonlight found some moss to graze on, Felix gnawed a treat, and Mystic searched the bushes for mice or bats. 

Suddenly four dwarves sprang out and brandished axes. “What are you doing in our mountain, stranger?”

Mary smiled. “I am not a stranger, my name is Mary. And I am passing through to the Willywallyvalley. Come and have some mead, I brought quite a lot.”

The biggest dwarf frowned and rubbed his big red nose. |Mary, you said? Moon Maiden Mary? I have heard of you. But what are you planning to do in the Willywallyvalley? There are only imps, you know.” 

He sat down and Mary poured each of them some magic mead. “Would you like a glittercookie each? I have to do some secret business there.”

The dwarf brushed crumbs off his shirt. “Nice cookies. And what sort of secret business? The imps are getting troublesome, you know. And they won’t allow us to mine the wondergems in their valley.”

Mary smiled. “If I tell you it won’t be a secret any more, would it? Now, maybe I can help you with the mining rights, I will have to see.”

The dwarf got up. “Thanks for the refreshments. You may go on, but do not turn off to the mountains where our mines are. We have enough trouble with bands of thieving imps as it is.”