Part Three - Border Forest Fairies and Garden Fairies'We come now to the Border Forest Fairies,' said Paul, 'And as their name implies, they live on the borders or outskirts of forests. Children, would you like to come to the front, so the Border Forest Fairies are encouraged to approach?'
'Border Forest Fairies are often mistaken for Common Forest Fairies on first glimpse of their appearance,' said Paul, 'And as they are usually sighted far away from the forest, this puzzles many amateur fairy-spotters.'
'You will notice, however,' continued Paul, 'that the Border Forest Fairies have much bigger wings than the true Forest Fairies. Even closer inspection shows that, unlike the true Forest Fairies, they enjoy body art upon their arms.
'As far as we know, they seem to act as messengers between the Forest Fairies and the other species of fairies. The true Forest Fairies will not leave their forests unless forced to by humans driving them out of their homes, but the Border Forest Fairies are confident in all environments.
'These ones, however, became entangled in some overhead cables during a storm, and sustained wing damage. As you can see, though, their wings are totally healed now, and we will be releasing them back to the wild within the next few days. We have a special Fairy Truck, designed for transporting fairies safely; maintaining such a vehicle is another one of our regular expenses, and we are also looking for support to buy a second necessary vehicle as soon as possible. You can read all about this and our other needs in the brochure which you will receive before you leave.'
'Next we will see the most well-known species - Garden Fairies,' said Paul.
'Hug goodbye, Border Forest Fairy,' said Timothy.
'Once more, children, come to the front - of all the fairies, the Garden Fairies are extremely fond of human children,' said Paul.
'By now,' continued Paul, 'You are familiar with looking at the wings in order to identify fairies. And perhaps the Garden Fairies are the easiest to identify, as they are usually the ones illustrated in fairy books. Sometimes they are called Flower Garden Fairies, or just Flower Fairies.
'And children, if you don't already have Garden Fairies in your garden, then you can attract them by making your garden even prettier. Garden Fairies like to live amongst pretty flowers, little stone paths, and they especially enjoy seashells. So if you go to the seaside, make sure you bring back some seashells to arrange beautifully in your garden, and maybe some Garden Fairies will come to live there.
'As I said before, Garden Fairies are always fluent in human languages, so if you can gain their trust, they will enjoy talking with you. Children only, though! It is very seldom that a fairy will talk to an adult.'
'Please sir, can I talk with them now?' requested Timothy.
'No, they have to stay secure in their pen,' said Paul.
'Little boy, you can't go in there - the door is securely locked,' said Paul.
Tomorrow: Part Four: The Water Fairy and the Orphans
