LITTLE TWINK
LEAVES THE LAND OF SOMETIMES

After The River Slouch Sling had an adventure going to London, everything took a little while to settle back down in The Land Of Sometimes. Nerves were jittery, and a great deal of news and gossip was exchanged. There were furtive glances in the grocery shop, as if no one knew who might do something unexpected next.

Mrs Blip had begun a soap swop club just so folk had an excuse to get together and mull things over. The Chameleon Catcher was loaning out his chameleons just so that he could trundle over to people houses to collect them, and have a good look while he was there for any signs of packing and suitcases.

The Man with the Flying Feet was the obvious candidate for an adventure as he could fly such a long way. However, being a man who likes a routine, he told everyone who asked him quite clearly he was very happy where he was thank you very much, and besides, who would water his Spring lilacs, let alone his summer jasmine. Then there was his Autumn plum crop to be picked and collected in time to make jam for the Winter, so on no account would he risk missing a single day in The Land of Sometimes.

The Frosty Fish had been complaining of late that the ice had been melting too early in the day, and his cream was not keeping fresh for his evening meal, so a few rumours abounded that it might be him who would be the next person to pack a bag and try an adventure.

However, we have to report, it was a most unexpected turn of events that produced the next unusual episode in The Land of Sometimes and it concerns our naughty fairy, Little Twink.

We all know that Little Twink creeps through every keyhole and open window she can find during the night, and messes up the bedroom as much as she possible can whilst dancing to disco music.

Generally the folk in The Land of Sometimes are very forgiving and for a long time she had got away with it. However we have to inform you, very annoyingly for her, the girls and boys in our magic land were beginning to feel just a tiny bit fed up when EVERY morning they were getting into trouble with their parents for having such messy bedrooms, so they had started to take precautions.

Keyholes were beginning to be covered with sticky tape with small signs saying ‘KEEP OUT’! Windows were fastened with glue and tape and locks and bolts were used in abundance.

Instead of a feast of happy messing and dancing, Little Twink was starting to have to fly for a good couple of hours before she found a nice open window or an enticing little open keyhole to whizz through, ready to dance to her disco music and create a delicious mess.

The trouble with things not going quite as they should is that sometimes it makes people sad, and this is exactly what happened to Little Twink. Every time a window was barred or a keyhole was covered, her little heart sank and she felt just a small pinch of heart ache, or a wave of feeling unwelcome. All these feelings grew and grew in her until one day she just SNAPPED!

“Right, that’s it”, she said to herself. “If all the children in The Land Of Sometimes no longer appreciate the wonderful mess I make in their bedrooms at night, I will leave this land and go in search of a new land with different children in it.”

And that, dear friends, is exactly what she did.

In the middle of the night Twink packed her bags.

“Hmmm, three mulberry milkshakes should be enough, along with some goji berries and six lemon pancakes. I’ll take all my disco music and my disco music machine, along with three changes of disco outfits and plenty of naughtiness!”

She shut the door of her room in her tall white tower, and off she went. She flew for a night and a day without stopping, except for a small five minute stop on the top of a building to rest her wings.

As dawn was approaching, Little Twink, weary and excited, noticed a huge mass of buildings and what looked like an enormous and vibrant city.

“Where on earth am I?” She thought.

She considered asking someone, but thought against it, as she was not sure what people in this land thought of little fairies like her, and anyway, everybody seemed rather large and strange. She found a bed in an empty plastic cup in an alley way and slept until dark.

When it was night time, she changed into her favourite disco outfit, and off she went in search of open windows. Aaaah, the delight she felt as she entered keyhole after keyhole, messing up rooms in the most delirious way! Windows were open wide and welcoming, and drawers were full of marvellous socks, buttons and neatly stacked toys, just waiting to be thrown around the room in heavenly chaos!

Little Twink must have messed up twenty bedrooms before she realised how tired and hungry she was. She searched for a quiet place that she could call her own, and noticed a huge white dome. Peering closer she found that under the roof of the dome were large gold ornaments just the perfect size for her little house.

She settled down on one of them and started to feel right at home, laying out her pancakes and tucking in, tittering gently to herself as she thought of all those children waking up in a glorious mess.

Just as she was enjoying the second mouthful of a lemon pancake, something terrible happened. Her lovely golden home started to rock backwards and forwards, toppling her pancakes and clothes and milkshakes off into the air. But the worst thing of all was that it made the most terrible, monstrous DIN.

It clanged and clanged as Little Twink tried desperately to gather her food and clothes before they flew away! As she raced in circles round and round trying to block her ears from the deafening sound, she noticed a man standing on the ground way down below her pulling on a long rope that seemed to be attached to her lovely new home.

“Oh my goodness, my lovely new home is a bell!” Little Twink cried out, and in a mad panic, without looking behind her, she fled into the air.

She flew all through the day, and all through the night. She flew until her wings drooped and her arms and legs ached. She flew straight into night time and winter in The land of Sometimes.

As she glided over the village, she spotted hundreds of sparkling sweet wrappers stuck all over the children’s window panes with sticky tape. The wrappers were covered in tiny messages written by all the children in pencil.

This is what they said…


Lilttle Twink, grinning from ear to ear, flopped into her messy bedroom at the top of her tall white tower.

‘I had better get a good night’s sleep tonight, as from tomorrow; I have some serious disco dancing and messing up children’s bedrooms to attend to!”

And with that marvellous thought, Little Twink snuggled into her familiar messy old bed, and went to sleep.