Mip and the Wing Spell

Once upon a time, there was a fairy named Mip. His hair was brown and curly and he wore a blue tunic and brown leggings. His eyes twinkled, probably because he was very curious and liked to try new things.

One day he was flying through the forest when he heard Dr. Penzo explaining to his nurse the proper way to do the wing spell. You see, Dr. Penzo is a pediatrician. He takes care of baby fairies after they're born. One of the things he does is to give them their wings. Baby fairies are not born with wings, because they're too little to fly. They get their wings when they are about two years old.

" 'Winging' is a very special procedure", explained Dr. Penzo that day, as Mip slowed down to listen. "First, you take two leaves and two berries from a butterfly bush. You crush them between your fingers until they make a lot of purple juice. Then, you rub the juice on the back of the baby, right where the wings should grow. While you're rubbing, you sing the flying song."

"Wow!" thought Mip, as he flew away. "I have to try this."

So, he flew to a very dark, quite part of the forest and he looked around. He found a small brown caterpillar. Then, he found a butterfly bush. He crushed two leaves and two berries between his fingers until they made lots of juice. Then, he quickly rubbed his fingers on the caterpillar's back and sang the flying song.

Before he finished the song, he could see wings growing out of the caterpillar's back. But......

"Oh, NO!" shouted Mip. Something was definitely wrong. The caterpillar's wings didn't grow right. They were supposed to have a large pointed wing piece on the top and a smaller, rounder piece on the bottom. They were supposed to be symmetrical - the same on the left and right - but they weren't. The left side was missing the lower part.

"Try to fly, caterpillar.", said Mip. The little caterpillar fluttered his wings and started to fly a bit, but the right side of his wing was so much bigger and stronger that he was wobbling and going in a circle.

"Well, that didn't go very well." thought Mip. I guess I didn't get my fingers down onto his skin the way I needed to. It's probably because his fur is so thick. I'll just have to try again.