From the Author
The Fairy Chronicles is a series of modern fairy tales full of magical creatures, both good and evil, and heroic characters who participate in dangerous missions to protect nature and fix serious problems. Ideal for all ages, reading levels ages 7 to 12, the stories include a diverse set of fairy characters and a wide variety of other magical creatures such as trolls, brownies, witches, dwarves, gnomes, elves, unicorns, goblins, wizards, dragons, ogres, magic gargoyles, gremlins, demons, nymphs, giants, and many more.
Each story has some sort of problem to be solved such as recovering the stolen Shell of Laughter, helping to break an evil curse, solving the mystery of the Magic Snowglobe, rescuing kidnapped bat fairies, trying to locate missing human shadows, or helping a dragon complete a dangerous quest. Characters and readers learn interesting things such as why fairies fear jigsaw puzzles, what the trolls' favorite foods are, how dragons are born, why the flamingo stands on one foot, the reason human beings have a shadow, what the grasshopper uses buttons for, where courage comes from, how hope is spread around the world, and what causes nightmares. The Fairy Chronicles are stand-alone books and can be read in any order.
Visit fairychronicles.com for more information about the series.
About the Author
J.H. Sweet lives in South Texas. She has a degree in English from Texas State University. In addition to recording stories the fairies have told her, she enjoys hiking, photography, knitting, and basketry.
Excerpted from The Fairy Chronicles Book Four: Firefly and the Quest of the Black Squirrel by J. H. Sweet. Copyright © 2006. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from pp. 51-52
The Black Stag was very wary of them as they approached. Few visitors ever found their way into the Forgotten Meadow.
The fairies, fox, and squirrel thought that the Black Stag was a little intimidating, with his immense size and foreboding expression, so they approached him slowly. Firefly and the black squirrel explained the reason for their visit and appealed to the stag to help them find blue moon clover.
He stared at them with large, glittering black eyes for a minute before he spoke. Then he told them, "I knew it must be important; I seldom have visitors. Only the dwarf knows were to find me. And no creature ever strays into the Forgotten Meadow. The only way this meadow can be found is by seeking it. And it is only sought if the dwarf sends someone looking for me.
"Yes, I will find blue moon clover for you. It is very fortunate that you came this week. I can only find blue moon clover with my antlers, and I will be shedding them next week. I shed them each spring. Then they are regrown over the summer. I cannot find blue moon clover during the summertime."
Then the Black Stag added, "It will be best if you ride on my antlers. When the clover is revealed, you can jump off and pick it. And you should pick the entire clover, including the stem. The whole plant has healing properties."
The fox left the group and bounded away into the forest, as the black squirrel told them, "He's going to send a message to the brownies. They will be transporting the blue moon clover back to the black squirrel colonies."
The fairies very excitedly flew up and landed on the stag's enormous antlers. They were smooth and a bit slippery, so the fairies had to hold on tightly. Madam June Beetle gave each fairy three bags to hold the picked clover.
The fairies sat in the forks of the stag's antlers. The black squirrel stayed in the middle of the meadow, and curled into a little ball for a rest while the fairies did their work.
Then the stag lowered his head. Walking in slow circles, outward from the center of the meadow, he swept his antlers back and forth across the ground.
"Do you see it?" he asked.
Looking closely, the fairies did indeed see blue moon clover. As the antlers passed over the thick clumps of dark green clover, tiny patches of brilliant blue were revealed, glowing and shimmering softly.
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