Chapter Nine: Fairy Prince “Where do we find the Fairy Prince?" asked Ben. Elf said, "Fairies are always hard to find. In fact, they are impossible to find. They move from place to place. They might be sitting on the back of a dragonfly and you would never know it." "Then what should we do?" wailed Emily. "We have to help your family get out of that room?" (Emily tended to be rather dramatic at times.) Elf said, "We have to have the Fairy Prince find us." All three: Ben, Emily, and Elf ran back down the stairs. Down, down, down they went, ready to drop into the hole again, but Elf suddenly stopped. Ben and Emily bumped into him as they came sliding towards the hole. “We need to make a plan," said Elf. "What kind of a plan?" asked Ben. “I think we should go back to the Tree Circle. Maybe the fairies will find us there." “That's a very good plan," said Ben. “By the way, do fairies like to eat?" "Of course they like to eat. Why do you ask?" wondered Elf. Ben said, "Well, I was just thinking. I'm awfully hungry, and we haven't eaten our lunch yet, and that's where I dropped the lunch box when I got small. It looks like a great place for a picnic. Shall we?" Emily had been noticing her tummy rumbling for quite a while, but there was so much going on she pretended she hadn't heard it. "Oh, yes, Ben, let's do it. I'm awfully hungry," said Emily. Elf had to lead them back to the Tree Circle. Getting back through the flowers wasn't quite as hard as it had been at first. Ben and Emily held their breath so they couldn't smell the inviting flagrance. Emily was a little sad, but Ben said it was the best thing to do, and this time Emily listened to her brother. Sitting down on the beautiful, thick, green grass felt wonderful to the tired trio. Dragging the lunch box into the middle of the Tree Circle had taken all the strength of both Elf and Ben. Emily began to pass out the sandwiches. My goodness they were big! “I think we only need a little part of one right now," said Ben. Just as Emily started to take a bite, she yelled, "Ouch! What was that?" And then all three of them were jumping around, trying to get away from the . . . what? Whatever it was that was pinching them! Elf spotted them first, then Emily, then Ben. It was little fairies flying around and around them, diving at them, pinching with their sharp little nails. They looked very angry! Suddenly, a larger fairy flew into the circle. He had a tall, white wig on his head. His jacket and pants sparkled when he moved. Large, round jeweled buttons stood out on his vest, and he wore a white, lacy shirt. The heels on his little, white boots were high, making him seem taller than he was. He looked very important. The little fairies had stopped pinching the three friends and had lined up on either side of the large fairy. “I am Prince Pompous, and you are on fairy property. Who are you?" he said in a very important voice. Then Elf did a very strange thing. He marched out in front of Ben and Emily, looked straight at the Fairy Prince, and said, “I am Prince Ethbert of the Tree Elves, and I demand an audience with the King and Queen of the fairies." "What did you say?" spluttered the Fairy Prince. "What did you say?” stammered Ben and Emily. “I demand an audience with the King and Queen of the fairies,” repeated Elf. Chapter Ten: Fairy Law Lights began to shimmer on the flowers around the Tree Circle, and sweet, soft music was heard. The fragrance from the flowers became even more powerful. The fairies all bowed down, even Prince Pompous, as two beautiful, large fairies with gold crowns on their heads flew between Elf and the Prince. Many smaller fairies were flying behind the King and Queen. Some were holding up the shimmering train of the Queen elf's beautiful dress. The King and Queen were each carrying a little silver wand. They were dressed even more elegantly than Prince Pompous. Elf bowed as he saw them enter. Ben and Emily heard Elf whisper to them, "Bow down. Bow down." So, bow they did. The King of the fairies first turned to the Prince. "Prince Pompous, have you been causing problems again?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Elf and said, “Please tell me what the problem is, Prince Cuthbert." Ben and Emily turned and looked at each other as Elf's name was said. Elf Ethbert shuddered a bit when the King said his name. (He preferred going simply by the name of Elf.) Elf explained that Great, Great Uncle Grumble Lee had complained of the noise during the fairy dances. It seems Prince Pompous was angry because of the complaint, especially since Prince Pompous was the one singing when the complaint was made! But Great, Great Uncle was very sorry he had complained. Elf told the King about his uncle's earphones being turned up too high. At first, the Fairy King looked very stern, and then he looked at the Fairy Queen and they started to laugh. Their laughing was a pleasant, tinkling sound. Prince Pompous didn't think it was funny, and he marched, or rather, flew over to the King. “I have been insulted by the Elves!" said the Prince. The law says that they have to tell me they are sorry and do something special for all the fairies!" Both the King and the Queen shook their heads sadly. "Prince Pompous is right. You have to tell him you are sorry and do something special for all of us." Elf turned to his friends and said, “I can tell him we are sorry, but what special thing can I do for all of the fairies?"   “I know," said Emily. We can share our lunch with everyone . . . if Prince Pompous takes the door spell off your family tree, so your family can be part of our picnic, too." The door spell was taken off, freeing all of Prince Ethbert's family. What a feast they all had! Elves and fairies alike shared that wonderful lunch. Mrs. Buffington would have been proud to see how well her cookies were liked. The King was very curious as to why Prince Ethbert had not been put behind the door like the rest of his family. Prince Pompous said, "When I made the spell, Prince Ethbert was outside the house, and the spell just caught the edge of him and threw him flying off . . . somewhere else." "So that's how got onto that tree limb," said Elf. "Well, that's another mystery solved." The sun was shining low through the trees and the children knew it would be dark soon. How were they to get home before dark? How were they to get back to the size they were before? Emily gathered all her courage and knelt before the Fairy Queen. Her big blue eyes looked so sad as she told the Queen about her mother and how she and Ben had said they would be back before dark. She also said their mother would probably not know them if they went home looking so small. The Fairy Queen was kind of tricky, so she said, "Emily, if you will bring us more cookies in time for the next dance when the moon is full, I will grant you your wishes." Emily thought of the jar full of cookies at home and knew she could she could do it. The Fairy Queen waved her silvery wand and flew around Ben and Emily three times. Poof!! They were back to their original size. Now, how could they say goodbye to Elf? Elf said it for them. “I loved my little room at your house. When I get a little older and get married, may I bring my bride and may we live with you?” Both Ben and Emily yelled, "YES!" There was magic in that “yes”, because at that very moment, they were standing in front of their house just as the sun went down. The Fairy Queen had kept her promise. That wasn't the end of the adventures of Ben and Emily, but that was the end of this one! GOOD NIGHT!