Percy the Elf

With all the fuss about Kevin Rudd writing a children’s book, I just remembered I wrote “Percy the Elf” a couple of years ago in Kalgoorlie. Please note the story is copyright.

Percy the Elf

Suzie liked playing in the back yard of her home at Kalgoorlie during winter. It was too hot to play outside in the summer time because Kalgoorlie was near the desert.

One day Suzie saw a beautiful flower. While bending down to smell the flower she saw a little man in a green suit sitting underneath the flower on the grass.

Suzie was quite surprised, but she wasn’t scared.

“Hello,” she said. “My name is Suzie.”

The little green man said his name was Percy and he was an elf.

Then he started to cry.

“Oh dear,” he sobbed. “I don’t mean to be so sad, normally I’m a happy little fellow.”

Percy explained that he had come to Kalgoorlie on a magic carpet with his friends to look for gold.

Kalgoorlie was famous for its gold mining and elves like to make rings and necklaces from gold.

“I was busy digging for gold when I fell down a hole, and by the time I cast a magic spell and flew out of the hole my friends had all gone,” he said.

“I can only get back to Elf Land on the magic carpet.”

Percy started to cry again.

“Don’t be so sad,” said Suzie. “I will be your friend and look after you.”

Suzie picked up her new friend, who was only as tall as the length of her hand. She put him carefully in the pocket of her dress, because she was worried he might fall out.

Suzie took Percy inside her house. She made him a tiny sandwich and gave him some milk to drink in a teaspoon, which he sipped like it was in a giant bowl.

That night Percy slept on a hanky in Suzie’s cupboard. Suzie was worried if he slept on the bed that she might accidentally squash him.

Percy stayed with Suzie for many days afterwards and they played some happy games together.

But every night before he went to bed Percy used to cry and said he missed his family.

Suzie was sad too and asked Percy many times if there was anything she could do.

One day he told her there would be a full moon in the sky that night, and if Suzie wished her Fairy Godmother to appear she might if she wasn’t too busy.

It was a clear night, with no clouds in the sky. Suzie waited patiently for the first star to appear, then she said:

Star light star bright,
The first star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

Suzie wished she could see her Fairy Godmother. After she made the wish there was a little puff of fairy dust and her wish was granted.

The Fairy Godmother was friendly and smiled nicely. She said Suzie could make one more wish, but it had to be for someone else and not for herself.

Suzie wished that Percy could go home to his family.

“That’s a very nice wish dear,” the Fairy Godmother said and then she disappeared.

Before Suzie could tell Percy what had happened there was a noise of drums and trumpets. A red magic carpet came drifting down to Suzie’s house in Kalgoorlie carrying seven elves.

Percy was excited to see his friends and family again.

Before he climbed aboard the magic carpet he turned to Suzie and thanked her very much for all the kind things she had done for him.

He had a little cry again when he said that she was the most wonderful little girl in the world and she would always be his friend.

“I will come back to visit you,” he said.

“I will also tell you a secret. Only little girls can see elves, nobody else can. And little girls can only see elves until they are six years old.”

Percy said that when he visited next time, if Suzie was six years old or bigger, he would blow in her ear and she would know it was him.”

Many times over the years, until she was a very old lady, Suzie sometimes felt a little puff of air on her ear and she knew it was a visit from her special friend Percy.