Fairy Rafiki’s Story

Fairy Rafiki (means ‘friend’ in Swahili): Lives on the island of Zanzibar, excellent swimmer. He has made many underwater friends such as Tigo the Turtle, who taught him how to swim!

This tale takes us to a far off place. The island of Zanzibar is where we begin. Zanzibar island is not unlike Ireland in shape. It is found in the western
corner of the Indian ocean, almost 100km away from the mainland of Tanzania. There are beautiful beaches all over the island with water as blue as
the tanzanite gemstone. The sun shines every day.

There is a small group of fairies living in the beautiful surroundings of Zanzibar, too. Orange, grapefruit, banana and ginger trees grow in the forests
and among them are many fairies living in peace and enjoying the glorious sunshine, sea and sand.

One such fairy named Rafiki was an excellent swimmer. This is a most unusual skill amongst the fairies. You see, it is common knowledge among the fairy
community that water makes fairy wings completely useless, and that is true in most cases, but not for fairy Rafiki.

Rafiki lived in an orange tree. He slept all day on a bed of orange leaves. Every evening when he woke he would flutter down to the water’s edge and let
out a whistle, as loud as he could. This was a signal to call his good friend Tigo the turtle.


Rafiki always brought an orange for Tigo, who adored the juicy fruit. In exchange, Tigo taught Rafiki everything he knew about the ocean; the currents
that moved in and out with the tide, the schools of fish surrounding the island, where to find the friendly dolphins and where to avoid the grumpy
sharks.

Rafiki had always been curious about the sea and the treasures beneath. Tigo spotted him dipping his wing into the water one day. Tigo noticed the look
on Rafiki’s face, which was one of fear and excitement. Feeling extra brave, Rafiki dipped both wings underwater.

“Wow!” said Tigo. “You have very special wings, my friend! Perhaps you could be the only fairy who can swim?”

“Oh Tigo, do you think? I’m a little scared”, said Rafiki. “There’s no need to be scared”, Tigo reassured his friend. “I am here to make sure you’re okay!”

Over the next few days, Tigo showed Rafiki the way to pull his wings backwards and to move them as one, almost like a big fin. This was the start of a
great friendship, and fairy Rafiki truly became the first fairy in history to learn how to swim!

Of course, we have passed this information on to Klaus, Head of Fairy Discovery in Fairy Valley. Who knows what hidden talents your fairy has?

Fairy Kumba’s Story

Fairy Kumba Tia (“big hug” in Swahili): Brings Kindness to the creatures of Lake Manyara and was asked by Queen Kate to spread his kindness to children in the city of Dar Es Salaam.

Baobab trees make wonderful fairy homes. These tall African trees give the fairies a spectacular view of their surroundings. Kumba was one such fairy.
He has lived most of his life in Lake Manyara. He knows every single creature that lives by the lake and in the forest surrounding it from hippo to
giraffe, wildebeest to warthog, elephant to zebra, and spider to horse fly.

Kumba had spent his life completing a task given to him a few years ago by a very special fairy. This fairy was none other than Queen Kate! During her
most recent world tour (an event that takes place every 20 years), Kumba had caught her eye.

Through the trees, Kate spotted Kumba and a young, wide-eyed hippopotamus by the name of Hellie. Poor little Hellie was crying because the other hippos
in her pod told her that she ran too slowly. Fairy Kumba was telling Hellie that the other hippos were just jealous of her beautiful eyes and that
she would learn to run faster and faster as she grew bigger and stronger. By the time Kumba left Hellie, she was skipping and laughing back to the
lake.


When Queen Kate heard the children of Muhimbili hospital might need some magic, she knew Kumba was the best fairy for the job. You see, even though human
children can’t see fairies there’s something very special that happens when fairies are around. The dust that fairies leave as they fly makes human
noses tickle and human children laugh and smile.

Kumba was so excited about this new adventure. Although he was a tiny bit afraid of boys and girls he decided to be brave. On his first night in Muhimbili,
he flew around the ward as the children were sound asleep.

As you might know, fairies love to watch humans’ dreams. This is why they sleep all day and stay wake all night. Kumba will now be in charge of blowing
away any bad dream breezes on this special ward where many Tanzanian children receiving special medicine.

If you pass your fairy’s door in the morning, don’t forget to whisper “Sleep well” into the door. This will send your fairy into the most peaceful, wonderful
slumber.

Fairy Simba’s Story

Fairy Simba craved adventure. He lived on the island of Madagascar, which is almost 10,000 km away from Ireland. Many of the plants and trees found here
cannot be found in any other corner of the earth! So, it’s a very special place indeed.

Simba had lots of friends on the island. Lemurs and chameleons loved to see him flying by and the dust he left on his trail always made them laugh and
sneeze.

Simba had the heart of a lion (which is how he got his name!) and vowed from an early age to help as many creatures as he could. He had a wonderful ability
to help animals find their courage.

Simba had become very close friends with the lemurs as many of them came out to play at night. Lemurs are excellent climbers, especially the sifikas. Sifikas
are well known for leaping through the trees. Simba had spent many nights flying through the trees with his friend Lyra. Lyra was a sifika lemur and
able to jump almost 8ft between trees even though she was just 7 years old. Simba and Lyra had been on many adventures together.

One morning as the sun rose in the east, Simba, although he knew it was time for bed, decided to stay up for another few hours. Lyra had said she wasn’t
tired yet and Simba didn’t want to miss out on the fun. As they flew above the trees he began to grow tired. After waving goodbye to Lyra, he landed
on the branch of a ravinala tree to rest for a short while.

He heard a faint whimpering on the wind and glanced around to check where it was coming from. “Hello?” he called. A few branches beneath him he spotted
Calliope the chameleon. She was gripping the branch with all her might and was so flustered she had changed colour to a strawberry red.


“Hello there! What are you doing all the way up here?” asked Simba.

Calliope explained that she wanted to be brave. She had told her brothers and sisters that she would return and tell them of the view from the top of the
tallest ravinala. She had climbed and climbed since the beginning of the sunrise but when she looked down she was terrified. “I have an idea”, exclaimed
Simba “whatever you do, don’t look down”.

Simba reassured Calliope that he would stay with her until she got to the top. He reminded her of how brave she already been to have climbed to far. Calliope
relaxed a little and began to shuffle, slow and steady, to the highest branch. The smile on her little face as she reached the top made Simba’s heart
soar.

“Look around” he reminded her. She gazed at the views all around her, the horizon sparkling in the distance beyond the rain forest.

“I did it, I did it!” cried Calliope as she set foot on the ground again.

She scuttled home to tell her brothers and sisters and Simba, up way past his bedtime, flew home, nodding off along the way.

 

Fairy Book of Names