Puff the Pixie had a wonderful idea and was looking for his best friend Topaz, to tell him all about it. Skipping along the mossy path, the little Pixie was singing to himself

“Pots and pans and a lantern
A cup and a silver spoon
We are going camping
For tonight there is full moon”

And he was so busy singing and skipping that he tripped over Bose Beetle who was crossing the path. Puff tumbled down and said – “Hey Bose, look where you’re going” and jumped up rubbing his elbows and knees. “Well” said the Beetle crossly “you are a cheeky young Pixie, first you trample all over me then you dare to tell me to look where I am going, and now look at me”.

Puff did look – poor Bose Beetle was on his back and though he tried with all his might he just could not get on his feet. Puff thought that Beetle looked very funny laying there, shouting crossly and waving his legs about, but he tried not to laugh because he was a very kind Pixie at heart. Luckily, Topaz came along at that moment and he helped Puff to put Bose the right way up, and although Beetle was still cross, when Puff said “Bose I am truly sorry for being so careless”, he stopped grumbling and said “Alright, alright but be more careful next time” and scurried away.

“Come Topaz”, said Puff, “let us sit down, I have something to tell you”. The two Pixies scrambled up the bank and sat on the soft moss. “Why are you up so early?” asked Puff, “I thought I was the only one who liked to get up with the birds”. Most Fairies and Pixies sleep at daytime and only come out when the humans sleep, but Puff was a day Pixie and was often alone. Topaz was his best friend and although he mostly slept in the day-time, it made Puff very happy when his friend could spend a day with him.

“Well” answered Topaz, “maybe you didn’t notice but it rained very hard last night and almost everyone went back to sleep. Most of them are still a sleep”. “Oh, what a lot of lazy-bones” said Puff, “the sun is shining and there are hundred exciting things to do.

Now I’ve got a plan and I was coming back to look for you when I fell over Beetle” Puff chuckled, “Oh dear, he was cross and he did look so funny waving his feet in the air”.  “But what is your plan?” asked Topaz impatiently. “Oh yes, my plan, we are going camping. What do you think of that?” Topaz looked most surprised, “camping? what is that Puff?” Puff said excitedly, “it’s wonderful, we take blankets and pots and pans and sleep in a different place”.

“Good gracious” exclaimed his friend “I’ve never heard of anything like it, do you mean we are going to move house?” “Only for one or two nights” answered Puff. “Well I think that’s silly” said Topaz “fancy moving house for one or two nights then moving back again”.

“Now listen Topaz, camping is something humans do and I have seen them and it looks exciting. They make a cloth house which they call a tent and they put their blankets in there. Then they make a fire, outside the tent of course, and cook things with a pot and a pan and when they have eaten they put the fire out and crawl into their cloth house and go to sleep. The next day they pack everything up and go away. That’s camping” finished Puff breathlessly. “And we are going to do it”.

“Oh no, oh dear no, we are not”, said Topaz firmly, “I have a cosy little house and a soft warm bed. I am not going to leave the Fairy Dell to live somewhere else for one or two days and nights”. “When then” sighed Puff, “I’ll just have to go on my own”. Topaz frowned. If Puff went alone he might get into trouble, even danger.  Puff was his friend, always ready to help anyone and – well his adventures were fun. He would go with Puff and he would try to be more brave. Some of the Pixies called him Timid Topaz and he didn’t like the name.

He turned to Puff and laughed “I’ve changed my mind – we will go together – what do we do first?”. “Hooray” Puff shouted and turned a cartwheel! Then he flew round and round his friends head still shouting “Hooray for Topaz, Hooray!”.

“Stop Puff, stop, you are making me giddy, come and sit down and tell me what we have to do”. They settled down to make a list of things they would need and went to ask Spinder Spider if they could borrow a flat truck to put all their things on. Spinder was happy to help them. “But be careful, Pixies” he said “keep away from the places where the humans are”.

“We will take care” Puff told him “and thank you for lending us the truck”. At last everything was ready and they set off pulling the loaded flat truck behind them. Puff had chosen a path which would take them to his favourite place on the downs and it was a long walk, but they had plenty of time so now and then they rested. When they were out of the Home Woods and looked out on the Downs, Topaz said “The sun has gone in Puff, it does not look very nice for camping”.

“Don’t worry” answered Puff brightly “I expect he has just gone behind a cloud and will be out again presently”. They walked a little further and suddenly Puff turned to Topaz and cried ou “The house, the cloth house, we forgot the most important thing of all – oh Topaz, we have no tent!”

They stood looking at each other in dismay, than at last, Puff, who always tried to make the best of things, said “Well, were not going back I’m sure we can find something to make a tent of. Come on Topaz, we are almost there”. Just then the sun came out again and the Pixies felt much jollier as they pulled their truck a little way down the first slope of the downs.

“There, by that big wild rose bush” said Puff “and when we get there we will have a drink of honeysuckle lemonade then look around to see if we can find something for a tent”. The downs looked beautiful in the sunlight and, when they reached the rosebush Topaz took the bottle from the truck and filled two acorn cups while Puff lay happily stretched out on the warm grass. Above him, butterflies fluttered over the roses and the air was full of summer sounds. He could hear the Bees and the rustle of long grass as a breeze danced by and looking up through the branches of the rose bush he could see – a nest!

“Look Topaz” he whispered as his friend put the two cups of lemonade on the ground near Puff, “look up there and he pointed to the little round nest perched high above their heads. “Well – a nest, What about it?” asked Topaz in surprise.  “I’ll tell you what about it” answered Puff “I happen to know that the robin family who used to live there, have moved. That nest is empty.”

Topaz still looked puzzled “you are not going to say we should sleep up there, I hope?” “No, no, no” answered Puff jumping and laughing “but we could take it out of the rose bush and turn it upside down here on the grass, we will have a perfectly lovely tent-house.” So they started climbing carefully up the prickly trunk of the bush but there was such a tangle of branches and so many spiteful thorns that they had to go down again. Once again they sat on the grass in the sunshine and Puff thought how miserable it would be if they had to go back home after all. “Puff” Topaz shook his friend, “Puff, look there” and he pointed to two Crows perched nearby “let us ask them if they will help us”. And that is what they did.

The two big birds soon had the nest on the ground and when they heard what the Pixies were going to do they though it was very strange. Fancy sleeping in an up-side down birds nest! But they were worried too because the Pixies were so small and one crow said to the two friends, “there is more rain coming and it would be much better for you to go home. Still, we will be coming this way again later on and we will see if everything is alright”. Puff and Topaz thanked the crows and waved goodbye to them, then they started fixing their tent-house. By breaking a small piece out of one side they made an opening so that when they turned the nest up-side down they could crawl inside. Then they put their blankets in and were very pleased with their cosy tent!

“Now we can have a rest and eat some sandwiches” said Puff and when everything was safely inside they enjoyed their picnic. “That was a great idea” Puff told his friend, “I mean, you thinking to ask the crows. Oh Topaz, I’m so glad you came with me, it would not have been much fun on my own”.  Meanwhile big black clouds were rolling toward the downs and the Pixies felt it was getting cold.

Topaz said “let’s go to sleep under the blankets until the sun comes out again”. And Puff, who was also tired, agreed and soon they were sleeping warmly. When Puff woke up, much later it was quite dark and very wet!  Water was pouring in through the roof and he could hear thunder rumbling not far away. “Oh dear” he said “what are we going to do now – we shall be quite washed away down the hill”.  He shook Topaz who was still fast asleep although rain was dripping on his blanket too.

Topaz woke up and was very frightened when he heard the thunder, the wind and the rain.  The two little friends huddled close together and for once Puff had no ideas at all. Then they heard a loud cawing close by. The crows had come back as they has promised and they were very kind. They didn’t laugh at the two bedraggled and shivering Pixies and they didn’t scold them.  They just told Puff and Topaz to roll themselves in their blankets and then, very gently each crow picked up a Pixie and flew swiftly through the dark, stormy night right to the Fairy Dell. Soon the two friends were safely home, sitting close to a warm fire in Puffs little house.

“I’m sorry Topaz, I really am. It’s all my fault”, and Puff looked so miserable that Topaz just could not feel cross. “Never mind Puff” he said “we did have an adventure, even if it was a very wet one, and tomorrow we must go back to fetch the truck for Spinder Spider. But now, to bed – lovely, lovely warm dry bed”.

The next day they returned the flat truck to Spinder who told them they could have it again whenever they wanted to go camping. The two Pixies laughed and Topaz shook his head and said, “oh no, we shall leave that for the humans, Puff does get a lot of good ideas, but camping was not such a good one”.  “You are right, Topaz” said Puff “we were very lucky that the crows came back. Next time I shall try to think of a dry adventure”. And laughing happily, they said “Good-bye” to Spinder Spider and went home to the Fairy Dell.

Puff the Pixie stories were written by D.L. Hardy-Jesshope and may not be copied or reproduced in any way as they are under copywrite.