The Golden Book of Fairy Tales is a wonderful compilation of old stories from around the world. Some of them are very familiar (‘Cinderella’, ‘Beauty and the Beast’), but there are some you’ve probably never heard of before (‘Grace and Derek’ is my personal favorite, and ‘Green Snake’). But most of all, you’ll love the illustrations. I think that’s why the fairies chose this one – they love to just flip through and look at the pictures. (The artist’s name is Adrienne Segur. That just sounds artistic, doesn’t it?) Take a look at a few of the pictures here, or come into the store and look at the book itself!

Once upon a time, a small family of fairies left their home in the fairy forest to seek their fortunes in the great wide world beyond. Days and nights they traveled, over mountains, deserts, and rivers, with nothing in their packs but pixie dust. Wings worn and tired from travel, they finally found themselves in the middle of the great big city. There were people everywhere, cars, and great big buildings, but nowhere small enough for the fairies to make their home. One day, while resting on a sign post, they met a lady coming out of a small bookstore on the street below them. ‘What are you doing up there?’ she asked the fairies sitting above her. ‘We’ve traveled from the fairy forest to make our home in the city,’ they said, ‘but we’ve been here many days and not found a place small enough to make our own.’ The lady stopped for a moment to think. ‘How small would it have to be?’ she asked. The fairies smiled down at her. ‘All we need is a door,’ they said, ‘just our size.’ ‘Only a door?  Just a door in a wall?’ She looked confused, but the fairies just nodded and smiled. ‘Come back tomorrow,’ she said. The next day, they flew back to the bookstore. Everything looked the same as when they had left the day before. They could see the lady in the window, turning on the lights and putting books on the shelves. Only one thing was different. There in the wall below the shop window was a small fairy door, just their size. The fairy family gathered around it, wings fluttering in excitement. They each took a handful of pixie dust from their packs, threw it on the door handle, and blinked three times. The father fairy leaned forward, turned the doorknob, and opened it wide. Inside was a perfect fairy house! The great big city was now small enough for the wee fairy family!