Roarabout and Wisselit

IN the morning Miss Wish Fairy and Dewy Dear went on a tour of inspection through the forest. They found that the rain the night before had helped a little, but the earth was so dry that most of it had soaked deep into the ground, and the pools had only a little water in them. Many baby animals and old-folk animals were dying, and the Wish Fairy shook her head sadly.

“Hadn’t you better go see King Wind?” Dewy Dear suggested. “This is awful. Look how those poor pussies and doggies pant. I can call down rain if you can get King Wind to bring the clouds here.”

So the Wish Fairy summoned the eagle again. But he was too worn and weary to travel that day, so the Wish Fairy sent for the hawk instead; and on his back she rose up and started for the sky.

Up in the air they circled slowly until the Wish Fairy saw far off in the distance the Highest Mountain; then like an arrow the hawk flew straight for it. All day they travelled, and, at sunset time, they reached the cave on the Highest Mountain where dwelt King Wind and all his subjects. As the hawk lit before the mouth of the cave, Miss Wish Fairy heard a great noise coming from it. She flew off the hawk’s back and was blown flat against a rock.

“Oh, mercy!” she cried to herself. “How can I ever get into the cave against that wind?”

Then she crept along on her hands and knees, and finally made her way into the dark cavern. At one end gleamed a light and toward this she made her way. Slowly, inch by inch, she crept through the darkness of the cavern until at last she found herself passing through an opening into a great stone-walled room where the light was.

At first she couldn’t think, because there was such a noise all the time; whispering winds; and rushing winds; whistling winds and summery soft breezes; and, flying about through the air and capering about on the floor, were all King Wind’s subjects.

Miss Wish Fairy was so small that no one saw her make her way across the great room to the dark throne where King Wind, big and red and blowy, sat lazily smoking a pipe. He was watching the smoke blow hither and yon in curls and rings and tails wherever his lively little wind-servants puffed them, and he was smiling.

“Greetings! Oh, King!” said the Wish Fairy as loud as she could.

King Wind sat up straight and dropped his pipe with a crash to the hard floor. All the wee wind fairies stopped their antics and the silence was very sudden and strange.

“Bless my soul!” he boomed out, and in the hush of all the winds his voice echoed and banged against the walls. “Bless my soul! Who are you?”

“I’m the guardian of all the birds and beasts in the Sunshine and Shadow Forest, oh, King! And I come beseeching your help.”

“All righty,” said King Wind as he slapped his big knees and puffed out a big breath that ’most blew the Wish Fairy over. “What can I do for you?”

“Do please come out into the world, oh, King! and see how badly we need rain. There has scarcely been a cloud in the sky for weeks and my birds and beasts are dying.”

“Bless my soul!” King Wind cried again. “Well, now, that’s too bad. To tell you the truth we have been having a jubilee here. It’s been my millionth birthday, and we’ve feasted and frolicked and danced for days.”

“Please, oh, King! Will you do as the King of the Cloud Kingdom did?” the Wish Fairy asked earnestly. “He sent home with me last night one of his subjects with power to call down the rain from the clouds whenever it is sorely needed. But there are no clouds. Could you not spare one of your subjects to stay with us and let him blow up some clouds for us now and then?”

King Wind stroked his red face a minute and thought deeply.

“No, Miss Wish Fairy. I’m right sorry. I couldn’t.”

“Oh!” Miss Wish Fairy nearly cried with disappointment and weariness, and her voice was very sad.

“But,” King Wind went on, and suddenly several jolly dimples appeared in his cheeks, “I could spare you two; then neither of them would be lonely.”

“Oh!” said little Miss Wish Fairy in such a happy voice.

“Roarabout and Wisselit!” King Wind boomed. And down from the air came somersaulting two fat, jolly, brown-clad fairies with big wings and rosy cheeks and popping brown eyes and little caps fitting close to their heads.

“Blow Miss Wish Fairy home in a twinkle and hustle up a few clouds on the way, and then behave yourselves, if you can, while you stay in the Sunshine and Shadow Forest.”

Roarabout and Wisselit touched their tight round brown caps with their hands; kicked up their heels and rushed at little Miss Wish Fairy.

In a twinkle she was caught up in their strong arms and woofed out of the big room, down through the cave, and out on to the waiting hawk’s back. In another twinkle the hawk spread his wings and with Roarabout and Wisselit behind him he just sailed down to earth and the Sunshine and Shadow Forest before it was dark.

No sooner had they landed than they looked up and saw big clouds scudding over the blue sky and, while Miss Wish Fairy stood with face uplifted, great patters of rain came down and she hurried for the toadstool cottage.

And there, if you please, right on her doorstep, sat the jolly little wind twins, Roarabout and Wisselit, and they were hugging their knees and watching Dewy Dear, who was out in the wet calling down the rain with her magic wand.