The Enchanted Woods
Patience The Unicorn

Hope woke up early and grinned. She had gotten a letter by Cloud Express yesterday saying that her cousin, Patience, was going to visit the Enchanted Woods. Hope couldn't wait to tell Sugar, Mistie, and Flutter. She knew that they would be excited.

Hope ate some grass and hurried to the Fountain of Luck. Sugar and Flutter were already there. Hope trotted up and said," Guess what!" Sugar flew in a circle around Hope's head and said," What?" "Patience is coming to visit!" Hope said. Sugar squealed with excitement and said," Oh! Patience is so cute! You've read me some of her letters." "Who's Patience?" Flutter asked. "Oops!" Hope giggled. "I forgot that you didn't know who that was. Patience is my cousin. She's a little unicorn. She's only one year old!" "Hope's three years old," Sugar said. "Patience lives in Dismal Forest," Hope continued. "She's always wanted to come and visit me." Flutter laughed and said," Why don't they move to the Enchanted Woods? It's very nice here." Hope shrugged and replied," I don't know. Maybe they will. There are a few vacant caves. There's one near mine!"

A blue cloud floated down and said," Hello! What are you all excited about?" Hope turned to face the cloud. "Hello Mistie," she said breathlessly. "Patience is coming to visit me!" Mistie gasped. "Patience!" she cried. "Hooray! I know she'll love it here. How long is she staying?" "For two days," Hope answered. "She's coming tomorrow!" "Will tomorrow ever come?" asked Sugar. "Come to my cave early tomorrow morning," Hope said. "We're going to give her a surprise party!" Mistie smiled, remembering the surprise party Sugar and Hope had given her.

Early the next morning, Flutter, Sugar, and Mistie came early to Hope's cave. They went in to find Hope standing in the middle of grass and flowers. When she saw her friends, she said," Oh, good, you're here. Help me with the decorations." Flutter looked doubtfully at the mess of grass and said." These are decorations?" Hope nodded and said," Here, Sugar. You're good at plaiting. Braid some of this grass together to make streamers." Sugar sat down on the floor and began to braid the grass, tying the braids at top and bottom with more pieces of grass. Hope got out a large leaf and put it on the small, round table made out of rock. Then she got out a hollowed-out acorn for Sugar's cup. The leaf and cup were for Sugar, who didn't eat flowers or just off the ground, as Flutter and Hope did. Mistie just ate air and moisture, but she ate it her form of cloud food. Air buns and water biscuits. She had brought along a plate of these for herself.

Hope set two piles of grass on the table for Patience and herself. There were two seashell bowls beside them, too. These were filled with water from the Fountain of Luck. Then Hope set some flowers on the table for Flutter. Next Hope got out a vase made of mud, sticks, and leaves and set it in the center of the table. Now that was completed.

"How are you doing with those streamers?" asked Hope. Sugar looked up and replied," Fine. I'm almost finished. The table looks beautiful!" She concentrated on her streamer again. Hope shook her horn over the ones Sugar had done, and golden sparkles showed through the grass. Mistie looked at them and said in admiration," Those look wonderful. I wish I could do that." Sugar looked up and said," Oh, those are gorgeous. I'm done. Flutter, please help me hang them up." The faerie and the butterfly began to hang the streamers on the ceiling and walls.

Hope went outside and, with her horn, polished up the wood sign on the outside wall. It said," Hope's Cave" in grass letters. Mistie came with her and said," They're done. Your cave is really pretty now. Patience will love it." Hope smiled. "Will you fly up and see if you can spot her," she asked. "She's very little and has blue mane and tail." Mistie nodded and floated up over the Enchanted Woods. She came down quickly and said," She's coming! She's at the Fountain of Luck!" Hope laughed and said," Come on!"

They went inside the cave and hid. Sugar flew up on a little ridge above the entrance. Mistie just floated up into a corner. Hope hid behind the table and Flutter alighted upon a streamer. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the wall of the cave. "Who is it!" Hope called. "Your cousin, Patience," a voice said. "Come in," Hope said. A little unicorn entered and looked around. "Hope?" she asked in a wary voice. "Is anybody here?"

"SURPRISE!" Patience jumped as Hope, FLutter, Sugar, and Mistie jumped out at her. The unicorn looked around and said," I know you! You're Hope's friends. Sugar and Mistie, right? Hope wrote about you." She paused and looked at Flutter. "I don't know who you are," she said sadly. Sugar and Mistie giggled at Patience's sad voice. "Patience, this is my friend, Flutter," Hope said. "Flutter, this is my cousin, Patience." "Hi!" Patience said. "Now I know you. Ooh, the table is pretty. Is that grass? It looks yummy. I didn't eat this morning. I'm starving." Hope nodded happily. "Yes, that's for all of us," she answered. "After breakfast, we'll show you around the Enchanted Woods."

They all ate their different food, and Hope said," We'll show you everything!" Patience looked around, her eyes wide. "I don't need to be shown everything!," she said. "I know trees and flowers." Flutter laughed. "We'll show you lots of neat things," she said.

First they showed her the Fountain of Luck. "I saw this on the way to your cave," Patience said happily. "Does the water taste good?" "It's excellent," Sugar said. "You had water from this fountain at breakfast." Patience looked at the fountain in amazement and then said unhappily," We don't have anything like this at home."

Next they showed her the clearing next to the Ancient Tree. "Is the clearing as old as the tree?" Patience asked. Hope shrugged and said," Maybe. We don't know. This clearing is where shows are given. Flutter and some other butterflies gave a show here a couple of weeks ago. It was a great show!" "Who were the butterflies?" Patience inquired. "Hannah, Rose, and Rainbow," Flutter answered. "They're my best friends, next to Hope, Mistie, and Sugar." Patience looked up at the Ancient Tree and said," That tree sure is big! Where do the rest of you live?"

Sugar showed Patience her tree. Patience peered inside and said wistfully," I wish we could go in. But I guess I'm too big." "I've been in Sugar's house, but I'm small enough," Flutter said. Patience looked at the tiny hammock that Sugar had and said," I want one of these." "You're too big for that, too," Hope said, laughing. Then Sugar showed her the tree where she took dancing lessons. Patience stared at the tree and said," You dance in there? Isn't it small?" "There's a big room underground," Sugar explained. "That's where we dance."

Next they showed Patience the field of sleeping flowers. "You fall asleep in them?" Patience asked. "Yes," Sugar replied. "The smell makes you fall asleep. It happened to me." "Were you scared?" asked Patience. Sugar shrugged. "Not really," she said. "I just felt sleepy."

Then they all went back to Hope's cave. Patience looked at Mistie and Flutter and said," What about you? Where do you live?" "I live all over the forest," Flutter said. Patience looked at Mistie. "I live up in the rainbow," Mistie replied. "It's wonderful there! I'm afraid that you can't go up, though. I gave Hope some flying salve. When she wants to get up, she just rubs it on and flies up. It lasts for a day at a time." "Can't you get back down?" Patience asked Hope. Hope laughed and said," Of course. I can just fly down. Maybe one day, when you're older, you can visit Mistie." Patience nodded. "When I'm three," she said. Hope nodded.

The next day, they all played together and Patience met some of Hope's other friends: Grace, Faith, Charity, and Honor. She also met Mistie's mother, who floated down to see Patience. Everybody was sad when Patience had to go back home. Hope said she could come back anytime.





Copyright 1997 by Chantessy