Bob The Dancing Fairy

“Bob, would you please sit still?” It was the kind of question asked by the teachers of Fairy School almost every day, and Bob, a little fairy with spiky
blond hair, always had the same answer. “Sorry! I’ll try!”

Bob really didn’t want to annoy his teachers. He worked hard and tried his best, but he just couldn’t help moving around. Whenever the other fairies looked
at Bob, he would be tapping his tiny fairy feet, or moving his head from side to side, or even twitching his magical fairy wings to a beat that nobody
else could hear.

Fairy Bob just loved to dance. No matter where he was or what he was doing, you could be sure that Bob would be finding some way to dance. He had been
this way ever since he first appeared on a leaf of the Family Tree, which is the way all fairies and magical creatures come into existence. As soon
as he unfurled his teeny tiny fairy wings, he started to dance, and barely stopped – until he started Fairy School, that is!

Most days, if you walked along the corridors of Fairy School, you would hear things like “Bob, can you please stop dancing?” or “Bob, this is a classroom,
not a disco!” and “Bob! Kindly stop doing the Cha-Cha Slide under your desk” And as always, Bob would reply “Sorry! I’ll try!”

One afternoon, Bob and his class were studying Precision Flying on Mushroom Mound. This was an important module where fairies learned how to fly in straight
lines quickly and accurately. This way, they would be able to fly straight through a keyhole in a human home if there was a risk of being seen. There
was a big exam coming up the next day and the whole class needed to practice.

Bob watched as fairy after fairy steadied themselves on the grass and zoomed into the sky, through three hoops, before landing with a soft thud. “My goodness”,
the class teacher Harold said to one fairy. “Well done! That’s your new personal best – all three hoops in five point four seconds!”

Next it was Bob’s turn.

Bob bent his knees, looked up to the sky and launched himself into the air. He was heading for the first hoop, when all of a sudden his head started nodding
and his hips started swaying and before he knew it, he was twirling rhythmically in the air as if he was in the middle of a concert by his favourite
band, Pixie & The Pepperpots!

Bob’s eyes were closed, listening to the music in his head, when he heard Harold’s voice getting louder and louder. “Bob! Come back down here at once!”

Bob immediately realised what had happened and tried to zoom down to the grass, but couldn’t help doing a little pirouette in mid-air before he landed.

“Bob, I am so disappointed in you”, said Harold. “Zero hoops successfully flown through, you took over a minute to come back, and if I hadn’t called you,
you would still be up there dancing!” Bob blushed as Harold continued to speak sternly. “There is a time and place for dancing, Bob! But I’m afraid
there is a risk of you failing tomorrow’s exam if you carry on like this!”

Bob was so unhappy as he flew around the Valley later that day, doing the saddest Macarena anyone had ever seen. He was passing the Heart-Shaped Lake when
he suddenly heard singing coming from below. Bob flew towards the sound and saw that it was coming from Fawna the Unicorn!

“Hi Bob!” said Fawna. “Hey, Fawna”, said Bob. “What’s up? You don’t seem like your usual happy self” asked the friendly unicorn. Bob told Fawna all about
what had been happening at Fairy School and how worried he was about the flying exam the next day.

Fawna smiled when he finished the story. “I can definitely relate! I can’t stop singing! I know it’s not the same because I’m not in Fairy School, even
though I would love to be one day, and I know I’m not a fairy but I was thinking maybe they could bend the rules just a little and… well, the point
is I know how you feel!”

Fawna looked deep in thought for a moment. Then suddenly her whole face lit up – including her unicorn horn! “I have an idea!” she said. “How about I meet
you right here by the Heart-Shaped Lake tomorrow, after your exam? I can sing and you can dance for as long as we like??” Bob smiled excitedly. “I
would love that, Fawna!”

“There’s just one condition”, said Fawna. “We both need lots of energy to sing and dance for so long, so how about I promise not to sing all day if you
try not to dance, and promise to concentrate in Fairy School?”

Bob thought for a moment. “You know what Fawna, I think I can do that! If I have something so fun to look forward to after school, I promise I will try!”

The very next day, Bob and Fawna met up at the same spot and Fawna could tell Bob was so excited. “I did it! I did it! I passed the exam!” he shouted as
he did the floss dance that he had heard was popular in the human world. “All three hoops in under ten seconds!” “Yay! I knew you would”, cheered Fawna,
before starting to sing a special song of congratulations she had written for her fairy friend.

And so a very special friendship began. To this day, Bob and Fawna meet up by the Heart-Shaped Lake whenever they can, to sing and dance together until
the sun goes down.