The faery lady looked at Hettie curiously from beneath her wig. “You know…” she said, very softly. “All I wanted was that you would be my friend. That isn’t very much to ask, is it?...

He wanted a faery. More than anything else in the world. He had already imagined exactly how it should happen. He would set up the invitation, and the next day there would be a petal-winged...