No Matter How Small by Sharon Gibbs - Lovely Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, in a land not that far over the horizon, in a little hamlet called The Grove, there lived a little girl called Sarah.
Sarah was not like the other members of her family. Yes, she was a regular person but she was much smaller than anyone else her own age. At eight years old she was the size of a two-year-old child. The Fae in the glen did not know why she was this size. It seemed strange that a human would not grow at the same rate as all the others did and so Sarah had to learn to live life closer to the ground that most.

Sarah was a lively child, always wanting to join in the fun with her friends, but she was too small to do most things the other children like to do.
Luckily her friend Sam always helped her out. When the other children were hopping from rock to rock crossing the stream, Sam picked Sarah up and lifted her upon his shoulders. He would carry Sarah while they made their way across the stones, dodging the current as it flowed past them.

~~~

No Matter How Small

By Sharon Gibbs

Illustrated by Alexandra N. MacVean

Sarah...wished with all her heart that she were bigger so she could help her mother in the kitchen. "I hate being small. I'm no use at all."
"Sarah, I'm sure there is a reason why you are so small. One day that reason will become apparent and all your questions will be answered."
Sarah sighed and continued rolling out the pastry...
~~~

Anytime somebody is different from "average," there are bound to be special problems, aren't there... I was called names in school just like many have been... Interesting, though, an uncle started calling me "shorty" when I was very young...and continued to call me that even when I was grown and a little taller than he was... Sometimes, names can be mean and sometimes names can be endearing...

Sarah was a short person. She had one special friend that would carry her when she could not travel as fast, or go where other children were going... Still, she knew that her size was a disadvantage...she couldn't even help her mother in the kitchen except for certain tasks. Once her mother tripped and almost dropped a big, hot pan of soup...but there was no way that Sarah could help her--either to carry the soup, or help her if she fell and needed help getting up.

One day she was walking through the woods with Sam and they heard someone calling for help!

They rushed towards the voices. Children were gathered at the edge of a cliff. There was something on a ledge. It was a unicorn and it looked hurt!

People kept coming to try to help, but they could all see that the ledge was tiny and would not hold those who could climb down to help...

"What will happen to the unicorn if we don't help him?" a boy from the village asked.
The Fae then appeared.
"The outlook is bleak. This magical beast will die unless we heal him. He needs the healing powers from the Ju Ju berries, which grow within this forest. That is why he has come here to feed."
~~~



Tying a rope around Sarah, to keep her safe, the men from the village helped to lower her down towards the injured unicorn. Carrying the Ju Ju berries and some water, Sarah knelt by the divine beast and patted his neck. The unicorn's coat felt cold and no longer held the luminescence that it once did.
He did not move...
~~~ 

You know, I've always liked fairy tales where humans and fantasy creatures can talk and share with each other... In this case, the Fae came to help while everybody was talking about how to get to the unicorn...

And guess who they realized could go down to help him?

But even with Sarah's help, would she be able to take care of the unicorn and save him? Well, we do know that she was trying everything possible to do so!

This was a great story about self-esteem, values and friendship. You know what, though, I never would have guessed the story's ending! Loved it!

Do check out this short story...I read it on my Fire and it was okay, but then couldn't read it on my computer...so do check out that it will be okay for your particular device. 

If your children like old-fashion fairy tales...this is highly recommended!


GABixlerReviews

Sharon Gibbs was born in Yorkshire U.K. and immigrated with her parents to Australia in August 1971. It took until her children were grown and flown from the nest to discover her love for writing. After being given a book from a friend, Sharon fell in love with the world of fantasy. Working full time at the local hospital, she writes when she can. Sharon is producing a series of children’s books under the Good night Sleep tight collection. She lives in Adelaide South Australia on a small property with her husband and their four dogs.

Delightful Children's Story, Pixie Shoes, by Rachel Ellyn

"Yes, my lady. Welcome to Clovelly Forest. I'm Airold, the dormouse, the forest's faithful servant..."
Suddenly aware he was forgetting himself, Airold spoke again, his brogue heavy and musical. "My lady, you need to stay 'ere and read yer book. Around the time the sun casts shadows straight down upon this little patch of moss, yer Mo Anam Cara will be 'round to collect you. She will begin yer training." 
"My Mo Anam Cara?" she questioned, repeating the words with care, but Airold was already scampering away. 
"Read yer book," he called over his shoulder. Yet Neesa had so many questions. How did the forest know her name? Where was she? Who was she? What was she? And the only creature who seemed to know more than she had just ran off! Her head drooped to one side as she sighed deeply. This was puzzling. After a minute of thought she shrugged her shoulders. The morning sun was warm as she yawned and stretched her arms up to the sky.

Two beautiful opaque wings popped up from behind her shoulders, startling her until she realized they were hers. This new discovery made her smile. She decided to look a wee bit more closely at her own appearance. What other things would she discover? She moved her hands down her bodice and flounced the short ruffles of her blue tutu. She stood and twisted her body left and right, admiring how the short tutu stood almost horizontal to the ground. Jumping up and down, the tutu bounced along with her short, white hair. She jumped a few more times and concentrated on the feeling of the soft ground between her toes. Then she thought about her hair as it flew up and down. These sensations were delightful. Then Airold's voice rang in her head. "Read yer book." 
She plopped onto the rock with a hrumpf and opened the heavy leather cover of her book. Reading was not something she liked. She already knew that... 

~~~

Pixie Shoes

By Rachel Ellyn

'Twas the day for Pixies to be born! Neesa is the first newborn we meet. But Pixies are quite different from we humans... They are born with intelligence, and can even read right away...they just don't know who they are, or why they were here...

But each pixie is assigned a Mo Anam Cara to teach her. Of course, each pixie was immediately given a training manual to read so they would be ready to begin actual lessons...But Neesa quickly decided she didn't like to read and only a few pages had been skimmed before her Mo Anam Cara came! Oops!

Dearest Neesa, Long before the water beat the shore creating the Highland Ridge jutting skyward from the sea, Clan Angove, your clan, found their way to the beautiful fields and forests of Clovelly. The cool air and moist breeze drew your great, great, great, one-thousand-times great grandmothers to this wood. They found the Harebells magnificent for populating the clan and the Forest breezes perfect for moving to and fro. The local creatures were endearing, then, as the villages moved towards the sea, the humans who occupied them fulfilled our mission. You see, my little one, we are a clan of merriment and mischief-makers. A mission we take to heart. We are the whispered "wee folk" in every human's tale. We spread delight with our mischief. We cause wonderment, giggles, and jumps of surprise. The villagers wouldn't be half as happy without us. One day you will feel joy as you listen from a roof or tree as a human spins a tale to explain away our mischief. Those days will come soon enough, but for now my dear sweet Neesa, as you are new born, rejoice and say happy birthday.

~~~

A Mo Anam Cara will impact
 your life in ways you will not
 understand until you are
 much older.
You must learn to trust
her wisdom.
~~~

Although kind, Neesa didn't get off to a very good start with her teacher, who continued to note to her when Neesa asked a question that she should have read her book... But lessons began immediately anyway...

In order to begin to learn their balance to fly, the first exercise was to land on the top of a bubble!

Neesa had been dunked so many times that day that she just wanted to get home to sleep... But one thing she had learned when meeting some of the other pixies was that they earned gems for their shoes as they accomplished tasks...Neesa had none...

The next exercise to learn was dancing... Here too she failed...and worse, all the other pixie began to make fun of her and proclaim she would never have gems for her pixie shoes...

You know, I don't know about you, but I was a lot like Nessa. I didn't seem to fit into the crowd--never learned how to dance or do things like, hair braiding, which was the next lesson for Nessa... The only difference was that I've always loved to read, so I would have read my book, but that didn't mean I would be any more successful than Neesa was in actually performing her tasks...

But you know what? Mo Anam Cara began to consider how Neesa was acting... She knew she was not like the other pixies... Maybe, she wondered... Was she? Could she be? 

This wonderful story about each pixie finding her own place in the world, her own talents is sure to be easily understood and thankfully accepted by many children...girls, and even boys willing to read a book about pixies! The ending for Neesa was...very good. Perhaps not every child will either be one of the crowd or a true winner... Still, we all need dreams, don't we? Neesa didn't set out to do what she did. She merely started doing what her heart and mind was telling her to do... This fairy tale will charm readers while still having a meaningful lesson to be learned by all... This one is highly recommended.

GABixlerReviews

Rachel Ellyn

​

aka The Disfunctional Diva
​

Life and loves after the career.

With degrees in Finance and Economics, Rachel found wonderful success in the business world, which took her I.T. and financial process consulting international. However, with her mind focused on business, and with the lack of training and mentoring in her personal life, marriage success eluded her. 

After foraging on a path of self-awareness and exploration with a determination to avoid repeating patterns again, she found the key to relationship bliss. Now, combining her passion for writing and storytelling with her skills, knowledge, and drive that led to her business acclaim, Rachel shares her off beat take on the world, and her findings where life, love, divorce, and children are concerned. 

Rachel is determined to be a publicist's nightmare by writing in multiple genres including children’s fiction, flash fiction, romance, and suspense/thriller.

After multiple divorces, she is now happily married and lives in the Kansas City Metropolitan area enjoying the household noise of her soon-to-be empty nest.

Had to include another pixie...