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Sample:
Leise owned a monkey that she took everywhere with her. It would reach out for her hand in the morning and offer a tatty browned shoulder to cry on when she was upset. It trailed face down on the pavement to the bakery that her grandpa took her to every Saturday. It had survived the tumultuous journey in the washing machine whenever Leise's mother got a hold of it. It had endured sick, mud, and a hair cut after Leise cast her eye on him wonderingly with a pair of scissors.
Had the monkey been alive then he would have begged for some sort of euthanasia to release him from the pain. But he didn't and maybe this is why Leise, who had grown fond of him, believed it must be the same for everything and everyone. No one really hurt, only she did, therefore she had an incapability to truly feel sorry for anyone.
For instance when she wrote her name on the white bathroom wall with red pen she wasn't really sorry but said it anyway. When she stamped on her mothers toe when she wouldn't give her a sweet she wasn't sorry about that and refused to say that she was. When she stole a doll off her neighbour's daughter she wasn't sorry and did not give it back. When she pinched the baby because it was getting more attention, she was absolutely and utterly not sorry and said that it was the dog that had made her cry.
One day Leise looked at her monkey and he looked lovingly up at her with a squiggly smile where the thread had come loose. One of his black button eyes was dangling but he still put all his emotions for her into the one good eye that he fixed on her. His brown lanky arms were by his side and his tail placed across his brown lanky legs. He was waiting patiently to be picked up.
Leise looked at him in disgust. The monkey was not what a princess should have and she was a princess! She wanted that life-size doll she had seen in the shop window in town. Mother had said she couldn't have it because she had too many toys. Leise had screamed and stamped her feet. She cried and refused to let her mother pick her up. Still mother did not buy it for her and it was the monkeys fault. If the monkey wasn't here then she wouldn't have too many toys and she would be able to have that doll.
She picked him up and started to pinch his ears hoping that he would feel the pain. He was used to this sort of affection so he let her do it and was happy. His smile seemed to betray some pain but he tried his best to hide it. This frustrated her so she tied the tail of the
monkey to the wooden bed post and pulled with all her might. It worked as its tail ripped from the rest of its body. Leise examined the
injury. Not good enough she thought. It would probably get stitched backed on. She needed to do some more damage.
She took a pair of scissors and cut off his ears. It was quite tough but she managed. By this point the monkey looked horrified. Next was that threaded smile. Leise hesitated and remembered her grandpa saying that she needed to treat her monkey better as it was her best friend. If she didn't then one day it would leave her and go back to live with the fairies. Leise believed in fairies she knew that if you wanted to see one then you had to and she really wanted one of her own. If the monkey went back to them and told them what she had done then they might make sure that she was never allowed to see one.
But then she remembered the doll. A rage took over her. She picked up the monkey and started to tear away at the thread. This was the last straw for the monkey, no one was going to take away his smile no matter how squiggly. He called out to the fairies using a sound that no human could hear.
Luckily it was at this point that a kind fairy called Bumble was passing on the way to the bees to ask for some pollen to make fairy honey. She heard the monkey and flew to look through the window. She was shocked.
"What a horrid little girl!" she cried out.
Leise thought she heard something at the same moment she felt a very slight pain in her chest. She lifted her dark head framed by soft curls and looked out her bedroom window. Bumble saw that she was a very ugly child. But she knew that ordinary people would see a beautiful girl with sparkling green eyes a rosebud mouth and a cute button nose.
But fairies don't see what is on the outside. Neither do any of the other creatures in fairy land. It is what is in your heart what fairies see on your face. Bumble saw a green face with hairy boils and red eyes. She had wriggly worms for hair and little pointy teeth. It frightened Bumble a little and she felt sorry for the monkey.
She touched her nose and tapped her fingers on the glass. The monkey squealed with delight, he recognized that it was a fairy tinkling sound that was coming through the glass. He was going to be rescued.
Leise looked up surprised she was convinced she had heard the monkey make a sound. Suddenly his body started to stiffen. She was so surprised that she let go. Quickly he jumped up grabbing his tail. Gingerly he gathered his ears that she had scattered on the floor. He found the thread that had been his mouth and with the part of his mouth that was left he blew Leise a raspberry, "thrrrp". Just as fast he opened the bedroom window and jumped out into the night. In a flash he was gone.
Leise was stunned. She stood a while in her bedroom unsure of what had happened. Then she thought about how her monkey had left her for good and she started to cry. She cried because there was no one left to cuddle, she cried because she had no monkey to cry on and she cried because monkey had always loved her even if she was cruel to him.
Leise knew that Grandpa had been right and this time she was very sorry for hurting monkey. Every day she pined for him and said how sorry she was. Leises mother tried to make her feel better. She bought her the doll that she had wanted in town. But Leise and the doll did not get on. The doll was only interested in herself and kept taking all of Leise's clothes and playing with all of her toys. She never wanted to share. She was always bossing Leise around. So one day Leise put her in the cupboard. Leises mum was very angry and gave her into trouble for wasting another good present. So the doll was brought out of the cupboard and Leise was to get along with her whether she liked it or not.
One day the fairy Bumble that had taken monkey to fairyland was passing by Leise bedroom window again. Curious she peered through to see if the little girl was as ugly as she remembered.
Leise was still the same but Bumble noticed that instead of wriggly worms for hair it was now a soft brown colour. She must have been really sorry about how she treated monkey thought Bumble. When Bumble thought more about this she wondered if she could rescue this little girl as well and make her heart beautiful.
She fluttered through the window using a spell that a ghost had taught her. At that moment Leise was trying to get doll to join in on a tea party she had set up. Doll was refusing unless she was the guest of honour. This included wearing a crown and wearing mothers diamond necklace.
Leise tried to explain to doll that she wasn't allowed to take mothers necklace and that it was locked inside her jewellery box in her room. Doll was for none of it and turned her back to Leise so that she could admire herself in the mirror. Tears welled up in Leises eyes and she wished with all her might for monkey. Monkey would have been happy to join in on the tea party. In fact he would have
pretended to be the butler and poured all the tea. He would have made polite conversation and served cucumber sandwiches. For the
umpteenth time Leise was really sorry that she had been cruel to him.
Bumble felt her sorry and felt even more determined to help her. She saw the way that doll was acting and thought it was about time she was taught a lesson too. They would not put up with her behaviour in fairyland. So Bumble appeared to Leise.
Leise was quite scared when a little person dressed in gold, green and black appeared on the stool beside doll. But she was too
astonished to say anything. Doll was still harping on about how beautiful she looked to notice anything was amiss. So Bumble put her
finger to her lips signalling to Leise to be quiet so that doll wouldn't hear. Then she waved her hand and turned the powder puff that doll was about to put onto her face into green slime. Doll still didn't notice and pressed the powder puff into the tub and started to dab it onto her face. Immediately her face became hairy. Long ears grew from her head and her face protruded into a long snout. Horrified she opened her mouth to speak but an 'eehaw' came out instead. Doll now had a donkey head.
Bumble floated up so that the mirror showed her and dolls reflection.
"If you promise to be good while I am here I will change you back do you understand?" She said to doll sternly.
Doll nodded furiously. She would agree to anything to get her own face back. So Bumble tapped her on the face three times and she went back to normal with blonde curls and piercing blue eyes. Doll breathed a sigh of relief. She was about to start talking about herself again when Bumble shot her a warning glance. Immediately she zipped up and decided to not speak until Bumble left. That way she was less likely to get changed into a donkey.
Bumble turned to face Leise. "You were mean to monkey, it serves you right getting a toy as vain as doll!" Said Bumble.
Leises lip started to tremble and the little creature became blurry as her eyes filled up with tears.
"I promise I'll take better care of monkey, but please can I see him and tell him how sorry I am?"
Bumble could see that Leise was sorry and watched as a tear bumped down the boils on her green face.
"I can't find monkey," Bumble said, "and as far as I know fairy land is a very big place. You would have to go to the Clock tower and ask what they know."
"How would I get to fairy land?" Asked Leise
"I would help you" replied Bumble, "but you must say you are sorry for what you did to monkey. But remember, you have to mean it and a fairy can tell because we can feel it in our hearts."
"I am so sorry about what I did to monkey," said Leise before bursting into tears.
Bumble could feel a sharp pain in her heart and knew that she was telling the truth.
"Okay," she said, "You can go to fairyland but you had better pack. It is going to take you a while to find monkey. And there is one other condition."
Leise's ears pricked up. She had stopped crying when Bumble had said that she could go to fairyland to find monkey and listened
intently for the condition.
"You must take doll with you. The journey will do her good." Leise felt like crying all over again, doll would spoil everything and make the journey even harder. But Bumble was insistent. She was to take doll and that was that. Leise shrugged her shoulders and looked over at doll who looked furious but daren't say a word in case she was turned into a donkey again.
"You had better go and tell mum where you are going so that she can pack you some sandwiches," said Bumble. "And I suggest you put on a jacket with the hood up in fairyland so that everyone can't see your face."
"Why is that?" replied Leise quite puzzled. As far as she knew everyone complimented her on the way that she looked.
Bumble said "there isn't enough time to explain but I'll show you why in fairyland."
So Leise started packing her rucksack. She put in her shoes and a blanket. Bumble advised her to put in a thick and boring story book that her gran had given her, some knitting wool, a watch, a ring and her toothbrush. Leise was even more confused about why she had told her to do this but did it anyway. She didn't think it was right to question a fairy and she desperately wanted monkey back.
Doll watched solemnly in the corner still not uttering a word. She didn't want to go to fairyland. She was happy here in Leises bedroom where she could play with all her toys and look in the mirror all day long. She had heard from other toys that mirrors there only reflected back what was in your heart and she didn't want to see what she was. She knew that it wasn't going to be as pretty as she was now.
Bumble knew that this was what Doll was thinking but neglected to say that the mirrors only did this to humans. She didn't want Doll to gloat and make Leise unhappy before they got there.
Once the packing was done Leise went to mother to ask for something to eat to take with her. Mother asked where she was going and she told her. Mother said "In that case I will have to give you special sandwiches that will turn into anything you want while you are in fairyland." So mother made some ham sandwiches and quartered them. She also gave Leise a yoghurt, a spoon and a banana.
Leise was delighted, maybe she could use the banana to tempt monkey back home.
Once all the packing was done Leise put on her pink princess wellies and her spotted pink raincoat. She put her hood up, kissed mother good bye and said she would come back soon. She picked up Doll as she was feeling too lazy to walk and went to meet Bumble outside the garden shed.
It was a cold blustery day. Rain was everywhere and the sky was grey. The only sound was the wind whistling through the trees. It made Leise feel miserable and Doll was complaining that her hair was getting messed up. The shed was painted a drab brown colour and was cracking up all over.
Bumble beckoned Leise in. Leise sighed. She hated the garden shed. It smelled foul and there were old chipped pots and spiders
climbing out from every nook. But Bumble didn't seem to care. She looked extremely odd compared to all the old things around her in her dazzling outfit and shiny hair. So Leise went into the shed with Bumble. Bumble lit herself up so that Leise and Doll could see. She
fluttered over to a spider on a web hanging over the door and started to have a conversation with him in a strange twittering language. They were quite engrossed until Doll coughed loudly and impatiently. She didn't like to be kept waiting. Bumble laughed a tinkly laugh and said, Excuse me for being so rude it is just that I haven't seen Mr Arachnid for ages. Right I am sure that is enough time for the shed to have moved. Leise take that garden pot and place it to the right of the door so that Mr Arachnid has somewhere to speak." Leise didn't quite believe that a spider could talk but did what she was asked anyway.
Mr Arachnid weaved down his web onto the flowerpot. A cockney accent boomed ," All passengers for fairyland off at this stop."
Leise was quite taken aback as it was the spider that had spoken.
"How is it that you are able to talk?" she exclaimed.
Mr Arachnid laughed, "We're in fairyland silly! This shed takes us there and I'm the driver. In fairyland everyone can talk when they want to. Except maybe for trees. They are really stubborn and only talk every hundred years and that usually only to say Ow I've just stubbed me root on a rock ."
Leise was quite disbelieving of what was happening but enjoying it at the same time. It wasn't everyday you got to speak to a spider. Doll was scornful she was preparing herself for entering fairyland and she didn't like it one bit.
Bumble buzzed up to Leise to get her attention. "Right are you ready to enter fairyland?" she said
Leise nodded and put her hand on the door handle of the shed. It felt surprisingly warm despite the weather being atrocious when she had left the house. Bumble let her take her time but was excited to see what she thought of fairyland. Leise creaked the door open, slowly sunshine crept in through the dark.
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