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Dorothy

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Lisa

Annick Beyers • Lucy Ell iott

For Annick’s children Anouk, Ineke and Elke

For Lucy’s children Lana and Victor

My special thanks to Els and Gert

for all their advice and tips,

for their words of encouragement,

and telling me how to do things.

Text: Annick BeyersIllustrations: Lucy ElliottPrinter: New Goff, GhentTranslation: www.stilis.bePublisher: FBC bvba

© Annick Beyers, Schilde 2007

ISBN 97 89 08122 3 614NUR 273Legal deposit D/2007/11.375/1

All rights reserved. Nothing from this publication may be duplicated, stored in an automated data file and/or made public in any form or in any way, whether electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or in any other way, without the prior written consent of the publisher.

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Hannah

Hannah, Lisa and Dorothy are playing. Well actually, you can’t really call it playing. They are quarrelling. They are calling each other names, and pulling each other’s hair. ˝Ouch! Stop it. That hurts!˝, shouts Hannah.˝Then leave my drawing alone˝, Lisa yells.Dorothy is crying and going to find Mummy.

Mummy takes Dorothy on her arm and walks over to the yelling sisters. ˝Now then. Let’s stop arguing. That is a waste of time.˝ She sits down on the sofa with the three girls. Hannah on one side, Lisa on the other and Dorothy in Mummy’s lap. ˝I think ...˝ says Mummy, ˝it’s time to go to Miracle Land.˝

˝Sisters are nasty˝, she complains.

Lisa asks curiously.˝Miracle Land is a land very far away from here, where all your dreams come true˝, says Mummy.˝Wow!˝, says Hannah in amazement. At fi rst, she cannot believeit, but then she starts to think it may be true, because Mummy is quite good at magic. Mummy cuddles her little girls and says: ˝Tell me your dreams.˝

Hannah, Lisa and Dorothy think hard for a while.˝I know!˝, says Hannah very seriously, and sticks her hand up. ˝I want to be a real princess who can sing really well.˝ The youngest sister says: ˝Dorothy wants to play with teddy bear in the woods with the animals.˝

˝To Miracle Land? Where is that?˝,

˝Is Miracle Land in here?˝,

I want to be a real fairy with a magic wand, so that I can conjure up mountains of sweeties˝, says Lisa happily. She looks mischievously at Mummy, and says quietly: ˝But I want to do nice things with my magic wand too. I want to use it to turn Hannah into a princess, and give Dorothy a forest with lots of animals. Yes, I want to do nice things with my magic wand, and help everyone˝, she says proudly.

Mummy smiles at the girls and takes them into her bedroom.

Hannah asks, bewildered.˝Yes˝, Mummy answers very softly.˝But Mummy, that can’t be right. This is your bedroom˝, says Lisa, very sure of herself.

Mummy opens a cupboard. She takes out a dark-blue blanket. Small, yellow stars twinkle and dance on the blanket.˝To reach Miracle Land, all three of your will have to lie down under this blanket˝, says Mummy very calmly. ˝Hannah on one side, Lisa on the other side and Dorothy in the middle.˝

The girls do exactly what Mummytells them. ˝What does Miracle Land look like, Mummy? Where is it? Are we going by train or plane? Will we be staying there long?˝Hannah, Lisa and Dorothy want to know everything about their new adventure.

Very gently, Mummy pulls the sparkling sheet over the three girls. They close their eyes, because they can’t keep them open any more. It looks as if they are hovering. But suddenly, all three of them open their eyes again.

˝ ¡ W w w w o o o o o o o o w w w w w ! ˝

cries Hannah. She looks into a mirror, and cannot believe her eyes. Now she is wearing a beautiful white princess’s dress!And she has an elegant crown on her head.

You can’t do that yet !˝

˝Look how beautiful I am, Lisa!˝, says Hannah. She looks around here and cries out: ˝Lisa, Dorothy?˝Hannah is looking for her sisters. She is running fast through the corridors of the palace. And when she comes out, Lisa is flying through the air, just like a real fairy. The girls look at each other with joy and amazement. They look gorgeous.

˝Come on, Hannah, let’s go and look for Dorothy, says Lisa. But then a lady in a great hurry storms out of the great gateway of the palace.

˝First of all, you have to attend the ˝Well-behaved princess manners˝ course. You are very beautiful, but we aregoing to make an exemplary princess of you.

No Princess Hannah.

Princess Hannah follows the lady-in-waiting and turns to her sister. ˝Very well, then. I will come straight back to the forest.˝The lady-in-waiting shakes her head sternly and says: ˝I fear, young lady, that that will not be possible either. Because you still have to go to your singing lesson, and after that, you are expected to accompany the King and Queen to an important party.˝

Lisa is rather sad. She would have preferred to go to the forest with Hannah.˝Well, if that lady-in-waiting keeps Hannah with her for too long, then I shall turn her back with my magic wand.˝ So Lisa flies off alone through the forest. But is a bit dark in there. She is slightly afraid, but not too much, because if there is any danger, she can always conjure herself away.

˝Dorothy, where are you?˝, calls Lisa. Very soon, she fi nds Dorothy and her teddy bear in the forest. Dorothy is playing at dropping handkerchiefs with rabbits, squirrels, a mole and a fox. She is laughing uncontrollably:

˝No, dear little sister, I am going to fl y around for a while. I want to see what I can conjure up with my magic wand˝, says Fairy Lisa happily, and she blows Dorothy a kiss.

The three girls are enjoying their dream lives in Miracle Land to the full. Up in the sky, the sun is shining and beside the sun, Mummy is fl oating around. She looks at her daughters with satisfaction.Hannah is dancing at the ball like a real princess. The band invites her to sing a song.

˝Lisa! Want to play?˝

While Princess Hannah is singing like a nightingale, all the guests are staring at her, full of admiration. A young prince is among the audience.

Mummy gazes over the forest, and sees her Lisa conjuringup wonderful things. Lisa is flying around like a real fairy, and helping everyone who is unhappy. She conjures their aches and pains away. She takes away their sadness. She helps a gnome who is stuck high up in a tree. Fairy Lisa conjures everything that is crooked straight again. And everything that is wrong, she makes right. Everything becomes the way she wants. Fairy Lisa is enjoying her magic powers.

and is looking at her.

He has fallen madly in love with the princess,

Mummy is also happy for Dorothy. Together with her teddy bear, she is sitting in a little circle surrounded by all the animals of the forest. She is listening to their stories, and laughing at their jokes. Dorothy is enjoying the company of her new playmates. Everything is perfect for the girls.

But in the evening, Hannah is lying in her princess’s bed. She can’t sleep. She gets out of bed, and walks to the window.

Mummy is floating beside the moon. ˝Mummy, I want you to give me a goodnight kiss, not the Queen. Is that allowed?˝But Mummy does not answer, she just smiles.

She looks up into the sky, and sees the moon.

Lisa is sitting on the branch of a tree, and staring ahead of her. ˝I am so tired of all this magic.˝ She looks at Mummy and says: ˝Mummy, can you come and lie beside me?˝ Lisa waves her magic wand, but it does not work. Mummy does not answer, just smiles.

Dorothy is lying under Lisa’s tree on a bed of leaves, twigs and moss that the animals have made for her. She is holding her teddy bear against her. She is also looking into the sky and at her Mummy. Dorothy is still so young, and she is crying:

But Mummy does not answer, she just smiles.

˝Mummy, I want to be with you.˝

whallop!

bang,

Crash, bang, whallop! Lisa is suddenly lying next to the bed in Mummy’s bedroom. She creeps up straight. Look! The noise of her fall has woken up Hannah and Dorothy. The sisters are all so happy. They jump off the bed, run downstairs, open the kitchen door and who do they see? M U M M Y ! ! !

All three of them give Mummy a big hug.˝Mummy, it is wonderful in Miracle Land,

Crash,

but next time you must come with us!˝

Annick BeyersLucy Elliott

Sisters Hannah and Lisa are quarrelling. Dorothy, the youngest sister, is watching them. ˝Why are sisters so nasty?˝ ˝Arguing is a waste of time˝, says Mummy. ˝Close your eyes and follow me ... I will take you to the land where all your

dreams come true.˝ In the secret Miracle Land, the sisters make the discovery of their lives. They have everything their hearts desire, and enjoy their dream lives.

Or is there something missing?

This story tells how important it is to strive for your dreams.That it is best to avoid wasting time on stupid things like arguing.

But it also tells that not everything can be perfect. And that is no bad thing, because it makes it easier to understand what is really important for you.

For miracle mums and dads, for miracle grans and grandpas to read aloud.Children from 7 years of age can read it for themselves.

Lucy

Elli

ott

Annic

k Be

yers