This question was asked at a NaNo forum, and I gave the following answer;

I know exactly how you feel.
I agree with soem of the other voices here. Put it aside. Except I say put it aside until you've lost interest in in, and then come back. Fo rme that usually takes a month or two, just recently I left something I thought was looking great (but I'd had a few people say it wasn't good enough). I put it on the shelf for over 6 months and when i came back to look at it, it was like looking at someone elses works so it was really easy to see what was good and what could be improved. So I was able to edit without tears. Actually now that I think about it I've done that three times iin total so far and each time I recognise that the first draft has improved.

I think you are far too close to your work to see it properly, take a step back.
Because from an outsiders view point what you have written is well constructed and interesting.

Oh and that brings to mind another way to help yourself enjoy your work. Read some really bad writing. That's right. Go to fiction press or Deviant Art or where ever young writers put up their work and you will find work that can really use improvement. Improve your writing skills by making some really helpful (gentle - remember they are learning) suggestions. I did this recently and it really helped me see just how far I've come in the last two years. You'll probably find a few gems in there as well. Look up to them, sure , but don't compare yourslef too closely to them. Writers come with all kinds of talents, in all kinds of levels, and with all kinds of interests. The thing they have in common (any this is definitely you); they just have to write.

Nano could be really good for you (as I suspect it will be great for me too). Write fast and write loads, and don't look back on it until Dec.

But most importantly remember you do it because you enjoy it, the results should be secondary. (hmmm, I think I need to pin that up on my own wall).

I wanted to post it here to remind myself of my own advice!

That is to say, my school term is over and I'm on holidays!!!!! Two lovely weeks of not having to drive for at least 45 minutes to work and drag cords around, and control unruly children. LOL Now I have only my own two children to control. Ha Ha

I do have a few things I need to finish ... like my children's book Fairy god Mother Trouble. Except I'm thinking of naming it The Fairy Godmother Surprise, because they don't actually get into too much trouble. The poor illustrator has been waiting all month for me to send her the last four chapters.

Tonight I'm having Subway for dinner and I might even let me hair down enough to eat some chocolate ... gasp!!!

It's amazing what difference a few days can make - I was so depressed a few days ago.

Last night my husband and I had planned to go and see the Socceroos play but we never made it into the ground. Mike's parents called us before we got to the gates to tell us James had had another seizure. It's been almost 2 years since his last one.

The really worrying thing was that James didn't even have a high temperature.

It was a temperature spike that caused the last one and the doctor said that sometimes kids who have grown out of infantile epilepsy (like james) can have it resurge at puberty. Well James is just that age (and starting to grow a little moutache - can you believe it?).

We caught a taxi from the stadium to the hospital (cost us a fortune!) and then after about 3 hours of observations they let us go home. He is off school for a few more days and we will have to go to his pediatrition for more tests on Thursday. My husband had today off work and I have tomorrow off - we are hoping he will be well enough for school on Wednesday so we can both go to work. Mike is in the middle of a huge project, and the company I work for has huge troubles replacing educators for time off. I was very lucky to get Tomorrow.

So anyway, the short of it is - I'm exhausted, and so is Mike. There will be no energy for creative things for a little while.

Chapter Eleven: Of Fairies and Moths

Jenny looked at the miniature person in a miniature house. She wondered what to do. Believing in magic was one thing, but to have a fairy living in your nieces dollhouse was taking things a little far. What if Astrid were discovered by Travis or Clare and Carla? What would they make of her? She suddenly felt tired, and looking at Astrid and Elizabeth she realised that they were all in need of a good lie down. It was still only 11am and the house would be all theirs for a few hours yet, so Jenny suggested the three of them sleep on it.

She tucked her niece in her bed with strict instructions to rest, and left the fairy to settle herself under the handmade doll size quilt. Upstairs once more, she found it difficult to relax. But after a short while she dozed off on the couch.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

Someone was shaking her awake. Jenny didn’t remember going home. And then she realised she wasn’t home, she was in a shop. There was piles of dusty bric-a-brac about the room and whoever was shaking her had come up quietly behind her. She turned and saw the little old woman shopkeeper smiling kindly at her.

“I’m sorry to startle you dear, but I was just thinking of shutting up and came to see if you were ready for me to wrap up your purchases?” she said in her soft, kind voice. Jenny looked at her watch and was surprised to see it was just going on to five o’clock. Hadn’t she just walked into the shop a few minutes ago? She wondered.

The little old woman had picked up the wicker basket at her feet and was heading out to the front room. Jenny followed her, dizzily. Each item from Jenny’s basket was placed on the counter and wrapped in brown paper while she watched.

“That will be $133 total dear,” said the little old woman.

“Wasn’t there something else?” Jenny asked, confused.

“Oh you mean this,” whispered the shopkeeper as she placed a porcelain fairy onto the counter. “No sorry, I couldn’t possibly part with her. She has been in my family for years. But you know fairies, they are like moths to a flame when it comes to little girls, they just can’t keep away.” And to Jenny’s confusion she wrapped the fairy and put it in with the rest of her purchases.

“Thankyou Rebecca,” said Jenny as she pushed open the front door.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

Jenny woke with a start. There was a moth flying about her face. She swished at it before she was fully awake and her hand connected with something much larger than a moth.

Astrid picked herself up off the ground and glared at Jenny.

“Oh I’m so sorry” apologised Jenny as she went to the fairies aid. She wasn’t hurt, only her pride was bruised.

“I came to tell you I am leaving” said Astrid.

“No wait, I have something to tell you first. I think Rebecca knew you would try to find her. But she is an old woman now. You were under the curse of Shiraz for such a long time. She said that Fairies couldn’t stay away from little girls, and if there was no Rebecca and no Elizabeth, you would just find another little girl to attach yourself to.”

Astrid smiled at Jenny. She was surprised that a human could show such insight. Deep inside herself she had known that Rebecca would be old by now, but she thought she would try to find her anyway. Now she was having second thoughts. Perhaps these two humans could be trusted after all.

“I’m not a pet to be kept like a bird in a cage. I am a wild thing who likes to play among the ferns” she warned.

“You obviously have not seen the Himpy Grotto then,” laughed Jenny Himpy as she picked up the light as a feather fairy and carried her outside.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

Elizabeth woke to the sound of her aunt’s voice outside her window. It was followed by a high pitched tinkling laughter, and she remembered the fairy Astrid. She ran to her window and looked out at the garden as she had done many times before. Jenny was seated on the stone bench that faced the waterfall watching as something bright and fast flickered in and out of the maidenhair ferns.

Suddenly a delighted face appeared at her window. “I’ll stay!” shrilled Astrid and instantly disappeared to play again amongst dripping plants.

Note from the author: I once had a comment that this ending was too sudden and have considered adding another paragraph or chapter that describes Elizabeth's joy of having a fairy in the doll's house, and her temptation to tell her friend. What is your opinion?

Chapter Ten: The Story of Astrid

The three females froze on the spot. Then the fairy looked left and right and realised that her only means of escape was past the two humans. She retreated to the back of the doll’s house, her wings pressed up against the wooden wall. Then the smaller of the two humans regained her senses and spoke softly.

“It’s alright Shiraz, we won’t hurt you. We freed you.”

The fairy shook her head. “I don’t trust little girls anymore” she said in a voice that shook with fear.

“Shiraz, You can trust us,” whispered the older lady “We just want to talk to you. We’ve never seen a real live fairy before”

The fairy narrowed her eyes and looked at them suspiciously. “Then why do you keep cursing me?” she spat. The humans looked at one another. They did not appear to understand. “Shiraz is a curse,” explained the fairy.

Suddenly both humans laughed out loud and the level of noise made the fairy press herself even harder against the back wall. Realising they were frightening her, the little girl stopped laughing and whispered into the doll’s house, “We thought it was your name, it was written on your shoe.”

Trying not to take her eyes off the huge faces, the tiny young lady checked both her slippers. When she found the word, she tore off the shoe and threw it as far from her as she could. Then she sighed again. “You really did break the curse,” she whispered so softly it was barely heard. She seemed to reach a decision and took a step forward. “My name is Astrid,” she said.

“I’m Elizabeth,” said the little girl. “And this is my aunty Jenny. Please come out and we will talk.”

Astrid looked about herself. Now that she was not so frightened she liked what she saw. Avoiding the cursed slipper, she walked around the room and eventually settled herself sitting on the edge of the bed. “I think I will stay here for now,” she said. “But if you have anything to eat..? It has been a long time between meals.”

Elizabeth jumped up and ran to the kitchen. When she got there she realised she didn’t know what fairies ate. So she collected a few sweet things as she had a vague recollection of reading that fairies liked sugar. Astrid ate the food she was eaten hungrily. She relaxed a little when she was full and asked Elizabeth to remove the offending slipper from her sight.

Happily obliging, Elizabeth asked quietly “Who did that to you?”

Astrid looked at her audience, and being full and happy her tongue became loose and she recounted her story.

“It was the Fairy Council who cursed me. Though not all of them agreed to it, it is fairy law. I’m not saying what I did was right, but I had no choice…really.

You see, fairies are very interested in humans. Each one of us has a family that we seem to follow, watching what they do. Fairies don’t grow old and watching a family grow is like playing with dolls. And it is because we can’t seem to stay away from humans, that the council made the law. A fairy is forbidden to help a human. It causes too much harm to all fairies alike.”

“And that is what you did wrong?” interrupted Elizabeth.

Astrid looked down and grew sad. Elizabeth feared she may have lost her chance at finding out what had happened. But then the fairy continued.

“I had a family that I liked to watch. They were so lovely together, a mother, a father and a little girl.” Astrid looked up at Elizabeth before going on.

“The older the little girl became, the more I liked her. She was very happy and loved playing in the garden. Her name was Rebecca, and she was looking for fairies too.

One day she caught me drinking in her pond. I got away from her that day, but I could not stop from going back. She began to talk to me even though she couldn’t see me. I was more careful at hiding myself after that first time.

When she talked to me, she would tell me things that she could tell no one else. And then one day she told me that she was very sick. After that day she stopped coming into the garden.

I peeked into her bedroom one evening and she was asleep in bed. Her window was open just a little bit and I crept in to get a better look at her. She was so pale and fragile looking compared to the last time I had seen her. Then all of a sudden she sat up, wide awake and ran to shut the window. She had trapped me again.

She was sick, very sick and she wanted me to be near her. I hid in a pot plant from that day. But as she got sicker, I became sick also. Rebecca was dying and her spirit was trying to pull me into the next world with her.

At last she was so frail she could not get out of bed to talk to me, and I was too ill to fly. I made a decision then and used some of my magic to heal us both. She recovered swiftly and was so grateful that she let me go. I almost wished that she hadn’t. For the council knew instantly what I had done and to protect the other fairies, they need to find me fast. I ran and hid. I lived in an overgrown garden for three days before they caught me and brought me in front of the council.

The law was made to protect all fairies, and the punishment was clear. Although I pleaded with the council and explained why I had had to help the human girl, they had no choice but to carry out the curse of Shiraz. Shiraz was the fairy who put the law in place long ago. But she was not cruel, and the curse could be broken by a human. So the council gave me the secret chest before the curse spell was complete.”

“And I opened the chest” whispered Elizabeth.

There was quiet in the room as each of the three was engaged in her own thoughts. Jenny broke the silence first.

“What will you do now?” she asked.

“I can’t go back to my community,” said Astrid sadly. “I shall have to become a drifter, or else find another community to join, not that they would have me.”

“You can stay here!” exclaimed Elizabeth “The house is just the right size for you.”

Astrid looked around herself once more. It was very cozy with everything fairy sized. But she was not used to being indoors all the time. Her cottage had been hidden on the verge between Rebecca’s garden and the nature reserve. Elizabeth’s bedroom was hardly a fairies glen. And could this little girl human and her aunty keep Astrid a secret? She looked at them both and shook her head.

“I don’t know,” she said. “A fairies place is not with humans. That is the law.”

“And just look what fairy law did for you,” piped up Jenny.

Astrid put her head in her hands. She was so glad to be free. But what was to happen to her now?

Chapter Nine: Never Too Old

From the moment Elizabeth read the verse in the scroll, she felt strange. She could not get to sleep and tossed and turned until she had thrown off all her blankets. When she did sleep it was not a restful sleep, but one of intense dreams. She saw Shiraz running and running, looking over her shoulder, afraid of what was chasing her. Her family appeared in another dream, their faces large and angry. They shouted at her that she was too old to believe.

Her alarm did not go off, as she had forgotten to set it. When her mother came in to wake her, she took one look at her sweaty hair and went to get the thermometer. Elizabeth barely woke as Heidi pressed the device into her ear and then looked at the reading. Minutes later she returned with Panadol, and Elizabeth didn’t even remember her leaving the room.

A few hours later, with the Panadol calming her fever, she awoke to a quiet house. She got unsteadily out of bed and headed up to the kitchen to see where everyone was. Her aunt Jenny was sitting on the couch reading a magazine and drinking coffee. She looked up as she heard her niece enter.

“Hello sleepy head, feeling better?” she said cheerily.

Elizabeth didn’t feel cheery. Her head felt as though something was slicing it in half. “Where is everyone?” was all she could manage to say.

“It’s 10 o’clock” smiled her aunt “Travis and the twins are at school and your mum and dad are at work. Your mum called me this morning to sit with you. It was just lucky I am between clients at the moment.” Aunt Jenny ran her own Interior Decorating Business and could take time off when she needed it.

Beth nodded and sat next to her aunt on the couch. She looked pale and tired. She felt as if there was something she needed to remember, but she couldn’t think straight. Her aunt looked at her, concerned.

“I’m OK” assured the young girl “I’m just really tired and I have a headache.” While Aunty Jenny went to make a hot drink for her, Elizabeth sat and stared into space, not really seeing what was in front of her. When her aunt returned she thought Beth was staring at the birthday card, which still lay on the coffee table.

“It wasn’t one of my best birthday poems, was it?” she laughed.

Elizabeth looked at her aunt groggily, not comprehending her line of conversation. Jenny placed the hot Milo in her hands and picked up the card. She began to read the poem aloud, hoping it would cheer up her niece.

“Once a year, it’s your special day,

Birthday girl in the month of May…”

She got no further as Elizabeth stood suddenly, spilling her drink.

“That’s it!” she shouted “A Poem” she recited the poem that buried itself so deep in her mind that it had made her ill.

“When a friend, you find to believe,

Then the power you receive,

Crack the hard, cold, shining shell,

End the curse, break the spell”

Her aunt’s expression betrayed the surprise she felt. Believing her niece was delirious; she sat her down and played along with her.

“That’s very clever Beth, did you make it up yourself?”

Elizabeth’s eyes were suddenly bright as the events of last night came flooding back.

“No! You don’t understand. It’s the secret in her chest. I opened it last night and that was the secret inside” aunty Jenny’s face was still blank. “Shiraz!” cried Elizabeth, “I opened her chest”. Her aunt’s eyebrows rose with interest, encouraging Beth to go on.

“Grandma Himpy gave me a book on Fairy secrets. I used it to work out how to open the chest.” Jenny sat very still on the couch, taking it all in. Then suddenly she was being lead downstairs to the bedroom of her niece.

On the floor was a very ordinary looking piece of paper. Elizabeth picked it up and waved it enthusiastically in her face babbling about moonlight and magic and disappearing words. It was all very fantastic, but somehow Jenny found herself taken in by the story.

Beth sighed sadly as she saw the look on the older woman’s face. “I should have known you would think I was too old to believe in magic.” At this remark, her aunt sprang to life.

“No Elizabeth, you are never too old to believe in magic.” She took her niece’s hands and led her to the doll’s house. “Do you think your mother didn’t believe in magic when she bought you this doll’s house? Do you think Grandma Himpy didn’t believe in magic when she bought you that book? Do you think I didn’t believe in magic when I gave Shiraz to you because an old woman in a shop told me I should?” She picked up Shiraz and examined her. She turned her this way and that and then took her to the bay window for better light.

Returning her to the doll’s house she shrugged her shoulders. “Well, she doesn’t look any different, but I still think it is possible. Didn’t I tell you that it looked real enough to open when I gave her to you? I wonder what the poem means? You have certainly found a friend who believes. But, power?….”

Elizabeth reached into the doll’s house to examine Shiraz for herself. But the minute her fingers touched the fairy, she knew something was happening. She withdrew her hand and gasped.

As the two friends stared, the varnish on the figurine began to crack. Beginning at her tiny pink slippers, the crack raced up her body to the tip of one wing. Tiny fissured appeared along the seam and with a sudden burst, the fragments exploded outwards.

Standing just 5 inches tall, a delicate person took a long deep breath in and let it out with a rush. She dropped the chest and stretched, sighed and fluttered her glittering wings. And then she spun around to face the two huge faces she realised were watching her.

Chapter Eight: Moonlight Keys

After tossing and turning a short while, Elizabeth slept soundly through the night. She woke just before her alarm went off. Shiraz was exactly where she had been put the night before.

“Just one key” she whispered and turned the ornament anticlockwise three times. Nothing happened. Hoping she had not locked the chest fast, she turned Shiraz and the chest three times clock wise. Still nothing, the porcelain figure remained hard and cold and the chest was shut. Frowning, the girl fetched the old book and scanned the page on keys with her brown eyes.

“The backwards key!” she said to herself and she used both hands behind her back, trying to feel where the chest was. She could barely make out the chest, let alone pry the lid open.

Her mother walked past her door at that moment and came to see what she was doing, twisting and turning in the middle of her room.

“Just…..exercising” she giggled, keeping the figurine behind her. She didn’t feel like explaining herself this morning.

“Well don’t take too long to get ready this morning. I have a patient at 9 o’clock this morning, so I don’t have time to drive anyone to school.” She left, shaking her head and Elizabeth rushed to get dressed.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

Heidi had not allowed Elizabeth to take the old book to school. So she explained to Katie as best as she could what she had read about the keys.

“You don’t suppose it’s a real fairy chest?” said Katie doubtfully.

Elizabeth quickly defended herself, “I think it is, it looks real enough. The man who wrote the book seemed to know what he was talking about. And who knows what secret is inside?” She was slightly glad that Katie had choir practice that afternoon and didn’t feel obliged to invite her over. She was sorry she had said anything at all to Katie now, and quickly dropped the subject.

The day went quickly enough. Beth caught the school bus and Travis let her in when she got home. The twins were also home, and it was not unusual for the youngest of the family to hide in her room when all the Himpy children were home by themselves. So no one commented when she finished her afternoon tea quickly and retreated to her bedroom.

She looked at the list of known keys and tried the ones that needed nothing other than what she had in her room. The hopping, jumping and upside down keys had merely left her breathless and the kissing, nose whistling keys had produced no results either. She doubted she could even try some of the keys, after all, where was she going to get a Zebra hair and a Quill? That left 9 keys she could try today if she found ingredients outside her room, and 5 she would have to wait for the right conditions for. She wasn’t sure how to use the moonlight, rain, starlight or xylophone music, but she thought she would worry about that when conditions were right.

By sneaking into her mother’s room she was able to find emeralds, opals and pearls, but waving them over the chest, rubbing them on the lock and tapping them on the lid had not budged the lock. When she had tried the grass, dripping water, ice, a vein of a grey leaf and the yellow flower, she was beginning to think the chest could not be opened at all.

Feeling extremely frustrated, the eleven-year-old girl was forced to wait to try the remaining 5 known keys. In the mean time, she tried just about everything else she could think of that might be magical enough to open a fairy chest. By bedtime her room was a mess and her mother and father had yelled at her to get out of the pantry three times.

At the first sign of darkness, Elizabeth had looked for stars. Standing in the backyard waving the fairy and the stubborn chest about did not work. She was forced to give up when her mother told her to get inside out of the cold.

There was no sign of rain clouds and her parents had no cds with xylophone music on the (That she could find anyway). She decided to take a break and placed Shiraz carefully in the second floor bedroom of number 47B and went to have a bath.

It was nearly 8:30 by the time she returned to her room. After bathing, she had wandered upstairs to watch some TV. The moon had already risen and Elizabeth could see the chaos of her room by it’s light. She decided to clean up in the morning and took off her dressing gown and slippers ready for bed.

A faint sound made her freeze. She could have sworn she heard a tiny click come from the direction of her doll’s house. She turned to see the miniature mansion bathed in moonlight. And she rushed over to open the front. The curtains she had made with Katie were closed, but those on the upstairs bedroom window were open and the silver light of the moon flooded in through the realistic window. Shiraz stood where she had been put not long ago, but the chest was open!

“The moonlight key” she cried with delight as she realised the chest was illuminated by the soft light. Her hands shook as she reached forward to pick up the fairy. The minute the chest was clear of the light, it snapped shut and Elizabeth heard a second click. She gasped and replaced the figurine into the beam. With an identical click the chest sprang open once more.

The young girl was entranced. Without moving Shiraz, or obstructing the light, she craned her neck to look into the chest. There was something inside! It was so tiny, she ran to get her mother’s tweezers to extract it. The instant it was clear of the chest there was a pop, a bright light, something fluttering to the ground and then silence. When her eyes adjusted again, Elizabeth looked down at what had appeared. It was a scroll. Her heart beating faster with every movement, she unrolled the parchment to read the inscription;

When a friend, you find to believe

Then the power you receive

Crack the cold, hard, shining shell

End the curse, break the spell

Before she could think to read it twice, the words began to disappear and in a moment the paper was blank. Dropping the scroll, she ran to her school bag to find a pen. She thought she would write down the verse before she forgot it. But each pen she tried had no ink, and each pencil broke at the tip. She started to get upset, but then realised there was no reason to be. In the true manner of magic, the poem had imprinted itself onto her mind, so that she could not forget.

Chapter Seven: The Secret of the Chest

Peter walked into the kitchen and saw Travis lounging on the couch, Heidi busy at the sink and his youngest daughter staring into space. No one noticed him come in. He tip toed up behind his wife and kissed her on the neck, making her jump. Travis looked around and threw a casual “Hi dad” over his shoulder before going back to being absorbed in whatever he was watching. But to his delight Beth’s face lit up when she realised her father was home and she rushed to hug him. After a long day he was tired, but seeing her always made it worthwhile.

“I’ve got something for you Shorty,” he said as he waved the parcel just out of her reach. He made her jump for it a few times, tickled her and then giving in to her protests, handed over the item. It was a brown paper package tied up with string and Elizabeth instantly knew it was from her Grandmother. The Sound of Music was their favourite film to watch together when Beth visited.

Heidi and Travis took an interest then and came to watch her open her belated birthday present from Grandma Himpy. There was a card with a note inside which she read aloud;

“Dearest Elizabeth,

I’m sorry if this is a little late getting to you, I have been meaning to pop it in the post for a few days now, but have just recovered from being ill. I hope you like the present. Your aunt Jenny told me what she had bought you, and I thought this would go nicely with it. I’m looking forward to you coming down to visit in 3 weeks.

Love always, Grandma Himpy.”

Grandma Himpy had phoned on her birthday and told her that the present would be late, and she had still sounded very croaky on the phone. Elizabeth hoped her much loved grandparent would be feeling better in 3 weeks time when Beth would travel down to Sussex Inlet to stay a week.

Her family was growing impatient behind her, waiting to see what was inside the flat but weighty parcel. She tore open the wrapping to reveal a beautiful old book with a slightly tatty dust jacket.  Travis groaned when he saw the title, for on the dust jacket written in gold letters were the words ‘The Secrets of Fairies’. He walked away, back to his TV show while Elizabeth and her parents examined the book. Inside the front cover someone had written in faded blue ink;

“To my love on her birthday, for ever yours Albert 1902”

And Grandma Himpy had added in her own elaborate hand;

“I found this lovely book in an antique shop in town. I knew just the girl who would love it. Happy birthday dear Elizabeth, love always Grandma Himpy 2002”.

As Elizabeth turned the pages carefully she revealed many colour plates, each one more beautiful than the last. Some of the headings caught her eye and she read a little on Fairy councils and mortals who had seen a fairy. Her mother and father wandered off to let her enjoy her present and all too soon it was time to put the book away to eat dinner.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

The red numbers on her alarm clock read 8:15 as she sat in bed and read the book her grandmother sent her. She couldn’t put it down now. She had discovered a section on fairy boxes and there was even a black and white illustration of a fairy chest that looked a lot like the one Shiraz carried. Eagerly, she read on;

One of the most common hiding places for fairies to store their secrets is an ornate box or chest made from the wood of a young cedar and decorated with functional gold or silver hinges and locks. These vessels are specially made by fairies trained in the arts of magical lock smithing. Each casket has a unique means of securing the lock, requiring special circumstances for it’s reopening. These methods are called keys although there is no actual key to turn in the lock. (See section on magical crafts for more information on keys)’

Elizabeth flicked to the index, found the entry for keys, and turned to the correct page to read further.

‘Craft fairies vary in their abilities and the most skilled at these arts are highly sort after for their inventive approach to making keys for secret chests. Below is a list of keys known to the author at the time of the printing of this edition;

Anticlockwise key: turn the chest three times anticlockwise and it will open.

Behind the Back Key: certain chests with this key will only open if you pull the lid when the chest is behind your back.

Clockwise key: the reverse of the anticlockwise key. Turn the chest three times clockwise and the chest will open. The trick behind these types of keys is that if you turn the chest the wrong way too many times, the chest will lock fast and can then only be opened if a fairy locksmith removes the spell.’

The list continued down the page and there were twenty-six keys that the author of the book was aware of. Provided the chest that Shiraz held had a simple lock, Elizabeth was sure she could open it and discover the secret inside. But it would have to wait until tomorrow, as her alarm clock was now telling her it was 9pm. She did not want to repeat her mistake of a few days past and not be able to function tomorrow. So she reached over and turned out the light.

Chapter Six: Too Old to Believe in Magic

When Elizabeth returned to the kitchen with wet slippers, she hid her feet from her mother guiltily under the table. Travis chose that moment to come sauntering into the kitchen. “What were you doing outside shortie?” he sniggered, “ a spot of fairy hunting perhaps?” he teased.

Elizabeth looked at him, puzzled and he scoffed. “Don’t tell me you actually thought that fairy moved outside under the fern by itself?” Her hurt look surprised him. Travis didn’t think his sister would miss the joke, he hadn’t meant any harm by the prank. “Aw, come on Beth, you don’t believe in magic do you? Aren’t you a little old for that stuff?”

Heidi suddenly realised what was going on and moved forward to defend her youngest.

“It’s OK mum,” sighed Elizabeth “I guess he is right. I am too old to believe in fairies and magic and all that ‘stuff’”. The look her mother gave her brother would have withered even the healthiest of plants. Travis slinked off to the refuge of the shower leaving his sister to sit staring sadly at her plate.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *       

Later that day in the playground, Katie asked her friend what had been making her so down lately. Elizabeth explained what had been happening at home the past few days, starting with the arrival of Shiraz. Her fellow sixth grader looked at her sadly. “That was a bit mean” she responded to Travis’s cruel actions. “He must be pretty boring if he doesn’t think there is any magic in the world.”

Elizabeth brightened up a little at this and they spent the rest of lunchtime discussing the possibilities of the existence of fairies, angels and unicorns. They decided to work on Beth’s house that afternoon and she was now looking forward to showing her best friend the lovely ornament.

At home time, both parents agreed to the plan and Katie giggled happily with Beth in the back seat of Heidi’s car all the way back to 47 Reid Road. The twins were working once again and Travis was at soccer practice, so the girls had the house to themselves.

Heidi fed them biscuits and cordial before she would let them run off down to Elizabeth’s room.

“Oh wow!” exclaimed Katie when she saw the Federation mansion. She had heard Beth talk of the doll’s house, but this was the first time she had laid eyes on it. She was just as impressed by the interior and the little bit of decorating that Beth had already completed. Shiraz was not in her bedroom where she had been replaced that morning. She was quickly located by the bay window. The girls blamed Travis immediately and began planning the next stage of the renovations. They worked on it all afternoon and had completed another two sets of curtains by the time Katie was picked up.

As she waved goodbye, Elizabeth thought about Shiraz. Suddenly she realised that Travis could not have moved the fairy. He had left for school earlier than his sister with one of his friends. Beth remembered saying goodbye to the fairy in her dollhouse bedroom before she left for school, and the girls had also beat Travis home. Who had moved the fairy? Her sisters or her mother were the only possibilities.

She ran upstairs to question her mother.

Heidi had no idea what her daughter was talking about, but she could assure her that the twins had been no where near her room as they were late getting up, missed their bus and had been driven to school by Heidi as she left for the surgery.

When Travis arrived home, Elizabeth asked him too. He was tired and hungry and in no mood for jokes he said, and would she stop bugging him about immature things like magic and fairies.

She was deep in thought when her father arrived home and didn’t notice the package he had under his arm.

No idea if anyone is reading this here - but I'll post the fifth chapter anyway.

Chapter Five: Moonlight

Elizabeth was so excited that night after her aunt left that she could hardly sleep. Before finally giving in to her weariness, she had examined the fairy and her tiny box closely. The chest was indeed very convincing. The gold hinges and lock really did look as if they would function. Even though her eyes were drooping, the girl of eleven sat for a long while staring at the fairy, willing her to move. At ten o’clock Beth carefully placed the fairy in her new bedroom, drew the pretty curtains and closed the front of the house.

“Goodnight Shiraz,” she said wearily and climbed into bed.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

Tuesday morning her alarm went off at 7:30 as usual, but Elizabeth did not jump out of bed. She was too tired to open her eyes. Next thing she knew her mother was shaking her awake and it was 8:15.

“Come on sleepy, get dressed and I will drop you off at school on my way to work” said Heidi kindly. She knew it was very unlike her youngest child to sleep in.

Pulling on her school jumper, Elizabeth remembered why she was so tired and rushed to check the doll’s house. To her disappointment, all was as it had been the night before. And worse still, she knew she would have trouble keeping up in class that day. She opened the curtains for Shiraz to see out and closed the dollhouse front once more.

She ate a muesli bar in the car for breakfast and arrived for school just before the bell rang. As she opened the car door to get out, her mother reminded her that no one would be at home in the afternoon as she was working a late shift at the doctor’s surgery. Travis had soccer practice, the twins were working at the supermarket and Peter would not be home until dinnertime. So Heidi had arranged for Elizabeth to stay at her friend Katie’s house until Peter picked her up. Normally this news would have been met with enthusiasm. But feeling as tired as she did, and thinking of her doll’s house, Elizabeth was in no mood to stay at Katie’s.

The day seemed to drag on and Elizabeth could not concentrate on her books. She rode home to Katie’s on the bus in silence, while Katie chatted with her neighbour. All afternoon Katie’s efforts to involve Beth in a game only annoyed her and Katie eventually gave up and they sat and watched a video until it was time for Peter to collect his daughter.

She didn’t taste the lasagne her father heated up for her and went to bed without even watching her favourite show. It was 6:45 when she turned the light out in her room and fell straight asleep.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

Elizabeth’s eye’s fluttered open and she realised what had awoken her. In her sleepy state when she had gone to bed, she had forgotten to close her curtains and moonlight was now streaming into her room through the window. She sat up and looked at the clock, it was only 9pm. Still quite sleepy, Elizabeth got out of bed and staggered to her window. The moon was not as bright as it had been the night Jenny had mentioned, but the bleary eyed girl could see the garden lit up outside. There was a slight breeze and a fern’s fronds moved gently, catching her eye.

Seeing nothing else unusual, she drew her curtains and climbed into bed. It took only moments for her to fall back to sleep.

She dreamed of crystal foxes playing in the ferns.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

Seven thirty the next morning Elizabeth woke with her alarm. Feeling well rested, she got up straight away. The mornings were very cold now and Beth realised that it was the last day of autumn. She hurried into her dressing gown and slippers and was reminded of her birthday morning when she had run upstairs without them.

Thinking of number 47B, she noticed that she had forgotten to draw the curtains for Shiraz last night. Just as she had forgotten her own curtains. On her hands and knees, Elizabeth opened the dollhouse front. Her eyes scanned the interior. Shiraz was not in her bedroom. In fact, she was not in the house anywhere. Instead of being upset, the young girl smiled. She knew she hadn’t touched the doll’s house last night, and yet the porcelain fairy was gone.

Elizabeth searched her room for the mischievous fairy. Her efforts went unrewarded, and the fairy remained hidden. Slightly annoyed and worried now, Beth abandoned her search and climbed the stairs for breakfast.

Halfway through eating her toast (there was still no cereal), she remembered being woken by moonlight and closing her curtains. Perhaps the wayward fairy was behind her floor length drapes? She left the uneaten portion of her breakfast to go cold on the plate and ran downstairs to check her theory.

Whipping open the heavy blue curtains only produced disappointment. The space behind them was empty. A thorough search in and around the folds of fabric also turned up nothing. Standing up in the bay window, Elizabeth looked out into her garden as she had done the night before.

Suddenly drawing in an excited breath, Elizabeth ran outside in her slippers. There under the fern, covered in dew, stood Shiraz.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Birthday Present

Jenny stood outside number 47 Reid Road waiting for one of the Himpy’s to open the door. She balanced a cake in one hand and the small box wrapped in pink tissue paper was clutched in the other hand. Travis reached the door first and relieved her of the cake. He could spot a Cheesecake Shop box from a mile away.

Elizabeth was right behind him and Jenny gave her favourite niece a big hug. It was funny how they seemed to be so much alike.

Once upstairs Jenny fished the card out of her purse and handed it over with the present. Beth put the box carefully on the table and started opening the card. “Card first!” she and her aunt said together, laughing. As usual it was the perfect choice, a sweet fairy in watercolours surrounded by roses, their favourite flower. She opened the card and read the verse aloud;

“Once a year, it’s your special day

Birthday girl in the month of May

May this year be absolute heaven

Dear Beth, now that you are eleven”

Jenny wrote her own verses in the cards she gave and Elizabeth loved getting a greeting just for her. She put the card carefully to one side and picked up the box. It was small and light and her aunt had written “Fragile” down one side in gold pen. Gingerly she ripped open the tissue paper. Inside was a plain cardboard box taped shut at both ends.

Using her fingernail she prized open the tape and opened the box at one end. All she could see inside was something wrapped in bubble wrap. She wiggled it free from the confines of the box. This was taped too, but it took only a moment to pull off the tape and unroll the bubble wrap.

Her whole family sighed. The tiny fairy in her hand shimmered in the soft lounge room light. Jenny smiled at Beth’s obvious delight in the delicate porcelain figure.

“Your mum told me you wanted a doll for your house, but I had already bought this”, she said. “I think she may be small enough to be a doll’s house fairy don’t you think?”

Without a word Elizabeth jumped up from her seat and ran to her room. The doll’s house seemed to be smiling in welcome as the young girl opened the front section and placed the fairy in her new bedroom. She was the perfect size.

“Look’s like Shiraz is home,” said Aunty Jenny.

Elizabeth looked at her Aunt with a puzzled expression.

Jenny laughed and picked up the fairy to explain; “See, her name is here. Shiraz! I’ll tell you all about it while we eat”. And with that they both remembered the chicken pie they could smell upstairs and went to see if it was ready.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *       

Travis was finishing his third piece of chocolate mud cake and heading back to the kitchen when Heidi caught him and sent him to the lounge room, where the rest of the family was sitting listening to Aunty Jenny tell her story of the antiques shop.

“The little old woman told me I had found Shiraz, and that she had been hiding at the back of the shop. I didn’t really understand what she meant until I got her home,” she said. The Himpy family was gathered around her drinking hot Milo or tea. She was a good storyteller and they all listened avidly as she spoke. “I had her sitting on a shelf in the kitchen for a few days, and it stated to get cold in the mornings with winter coming on. Do you remember that night we had a really bright moon?” they all nodded “well I remember saying goodnight to Shiraz because I moved a little crystal fox next to her on the shelf to catch the light of that brilliant moon. But when I got up the next morning she was on the mantelpiece above the fire. I am sure she moved because she was too cold in the kitchen.” The older Himpy’s laughed at her recount. But Elizabeth sat looking fixedly at her aunt, enthralled by her words.

“And the strangest thing is that little box she holds,” continued Jenny “I could swear it would actually open, it’s so life like. I wonder what would be inside?”

Chapter Three: Too Old For Dolls

When Elizabeth woke the next morning, it was not to the sound of rain, but to music. She switched off her alarm and got straight out of bed. Her dollhouse looked just as good this morning, but she had no time to play now. It was a school morning.

Her sister’s beat her upstairs by moments and Clare got the last of the cornflakes. “Never mind shorty….we’ll buy you a birthday present today.”

Their mother was shocked by this statement, “haven’t you got her one yet? I thought you went to the Plaza on Saturday?” Clare exchanged a guilty look with her twin sister.

“We wanted to ask her what she wanted first,” was her excuse.

Beth, though grumpy about the cereal was excited by this news. “I’d like some dolls for my house,” she blurted out.

Carla looked at her smugly, “aren’t you too old for all this doll stuff? We gave you all our dolls when we were eight.”

“You mean I made you pass them on to your little sister when you were eight” added Heidi, pouring herself a cup of tea. Carla made a face behind her mother’s back but continued harassing Elizabeth. “Wouldn’t you rather some lip stick or earrings?”

Heidi turned and glared at her eldest daughter. “Don’t give her ideas Carla. I told her she wasn’t having her ears pierced until she is twelve.”

“Anyway, I don’t want earrings,” protested Elizabeth. “I just want a nice little doll small enough to fit in my house. It looks a bit empty and lonely.”

As Heidi sat on the lounge with her tea, she glanced over at Clare, the more sensible of the twins, though younger by minutes. “I’ll run you two down to the Plaza to get Beth something nice this afternoon. But right now, will you shift your brother out of his bed. He will be late for school”.

“As usual” hissed Carla under her breath.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *       

That afternoon, Elizabeth turned down her best friend Katie’s offer to play at her house after school. She was anxious for her sister’s to get home with the new resident for number 47B. She kept herself busy by preparing the house for it’s new occupant. She made curtains for the bedroom and a new quilt to match.

Her mother arrived home just as Beth was finishing the quilt and explained that she had left the twins at the plaza with instructions not to come home without a present for their younger sister. Heidi smiled fondly at her youngest child as she watched her fussing over the miniature furniture. She couldn’t guarantee that Clare could convince Clara to bring home something suitable for an eleven-year-old girl. She loved all her children, for all their difficult ways. But she was in no hurry for her smallest to grow up.

Elizabeth didn’t notice her mother sitting on her bed watching her play. And nor did she take any notice when her mother left the room to answer the phone. The young dreamer was thinking about curtains for the other rooms and colours for the walls. It wasn’t until she heard her sister’s come through the front door that she stirred from her thoughtful play.

Upstairs, the girls were showing their mother what they had purchased, and quickly hid it away when Elizabeth entered. “At least give us a chance to wrap it,” complained Clara. Beth was ushered into the lounge room to watch TV and ordered not to look while Heidi helped the girls wrap the present. But it wasn’t long before she was called back into the kitchen.

“Happy Birthday Shorty”, said Clare and Carla together and handed her the brightly wrapped box. Elizabeth was disappointed when she saw the size of the parcel. It was far too big to contain a doll small enough to fit in her house. Clare babbled as she unwrapped it. “I hope you like it. We had to put our money together to get a decent present and Carla wouldn’t agree on most of the stuff I wanted to get you.”

It was a doll. A make-up doll, the kind you play beauty Salon with and style it’s hair.

“I thought you could practice on her and put some on yourself.” Piped up Carla. Elizabeth thanked them and then made the excuse of putting it in her room to hide her disappointment.

Her mother followed her down stairs. “ I know it’s not what you wanted sweetheart,” she said. “But they meant well. And I have some news that will cheer you up. Your Aunt Jenny is coming for dinner to give you your present. She rang earlier and I invited her over.”

The news did cheer the young girl. Jenny was her favourite aunt. She liked all the things Beth did and had a doll’s house of her own. It would be fun to show off her new curtains and quilt to someone who would really appreciate them. “Thanks mum”, she said and gave Heidi a bright smile. Just a little brighter than she actually felt as she threw her birthday present onto her bed.

Chapter Two: Number 47B

Rain made drumming noises on the windows outside. Elizabeth loved lying in bed listening to the winter sounds. But this morning she stayed only long enough to wake fully and remember that today was special. Today she turned 11. She hurried upstairs without stopping long enough to put on a dressing gown and slippers. Her parents, hearing her, pulled themselves out of bed to follow her.

Travis was already awake as usual. Her big brother had been up early, watching music videos on TV. He sat in front of the box munching on Cornflakes. Elizabeth also had older twin sisters, but on a Sunday she knew they would not be up for hours yet.

“Turn that down!” Peter, her father yelled over the screaming guitars. Travis grumbled, but seeing the look on his mother’s face, he complied.

“Come on Birthday girl, let’s get those presents.”

Peter said, smiling down at his daughter. He was a tall man, even to lanky Elizabeth.

Her mother spoke then; “You get the presents Peter, I’ll get the tea, and you young lady, slippers and dressing gown” Heidi pretended to glower at Elizabeth as she ran back down the stairs to fetch the cold morning cuddlies.

When she opened the lounge room door she could not miss the pile of presents on the coffee table, but it was the huge lump wrapped in traditional Himpy Newspaper that she was interested in. All big birthday presents in the Himpy household were wrapped in Newspaper, because they took up too much wrapping paper. And this one looked as if it had used up a whole Sydney Morning Herald.

“OK” smiled Heidi, “you can look at it now, not that I suppose you didn’t take a peek at it last night when daddy brought it home anyway.”

Elizabeth giggled and knelt to rip away the newspaper covering. And there it was, better than she thought it was after the brief glimpse she had sneaked the night before. There in her lounge room sat the biggest, most beautiful Federation doll House that Elizabeth had ever seen. The other presents were forgotten as the girl opened and closed the real glass, sashed windows, and Burgundy painted front door.

Her father seemed as excited as her as he showed her how the front swung open to access the rooms inside. “See Beth we got it unpainted inside like you asked,” he said. Just as he said, each room was bare, ready to be decorated by Elizabeth, but all the fixtures and fitting were there. A beautiful dark wood stair case lead from the hall to the second story, and a smaller staircase in the same wood connected second floor to attic.

“That’s nicer than our house,” quipped Travis as he came into the lounge carrying a small, brightly wrapped parcel.

“Number 47 Reid Road,” breathed Elizabeth enchanted by her gift.

“47B! Thankyou.” Said Peter, ever house proud.

Elizabeth smiled fondly up at her tired looking father “OK, 47B” she said. And then she remembered the pile of presents on the coffee table.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

Elizabeth knew what most of the presents were, as she had chosen them herself to go in her dolls house. But there were a few surprises as well. A new dress with roses on the pockets was her favourite and she wore it to her party that day.

After a full day out celebrating with her friends Elizabeth was glad to be home again. She was disappointed that she didn’t see her sisters at all that day as they had left for their jobs while Beth was at her party. But she knew what they were like and wasn’t at all surprised or upset. Her mother told her that teenage girls were all like Clare and Carla.

In the evening, Peter carried the dolls house down stairs to Elizabeth’s room and she spent the rest of the day arranging the furniture she had and planning to save her pocket money for new pieces. She had wanted a doll’s house like this one since she was very small, and was looking forward to painting the rooms and making curtains for the windows. She was still fascinated by all the little details in this miniature house. There were wooden curtain rails and even working light fittings.

But for all it’s beauty and the promise of days spent decorating it, the house seemed to lack something. As Beth climbed into bed that night, she realised what it was. It was a house, but not a home. She needed little people to inhabit her house and make it complete. She thought about this as she fell asleep and dreamed that night of being small enough to walk around in the rooms of her new dolls house.