6—Entering The Magical Story Room

“Well, now,” said Great Aunt Nature Walker to Lucy and Hannah, “let’s finish our popcorn and cider here at the kitchen counter. Then we will go into the Magical Story Room to read The Very Long and True Story of Adora Birch.

A Magical Story Room! Lucy and Hannah’s eyes grew wide with wonder.

“What’s a Magical Story Room?” Lucy asked.

Great Aunt Nature Walker smiled. “The Magical Story Room is a place where the stories rise up out on the pages of a book so that you can see them. And sometimes, a story will even let you walk around inside it. It’s like having dreaming. Except you are wide awake.” 

"Story!" exclaimed Hannah who had already finished her cider and popcorn and began climbing down from her chair. 

Lucy remained on her chair, thinking. Walking into a story did not sound magical. It sounded impossible. 

But so did the whole idea of a Wood Spirit named Adora Birch living in a tree that became a door. 

More curious than ever now to see what this Magical Story Room was all about, Lucy left her cider and popcorn half finished,

The Magical Story Room

climbed down from her chair, and along with Hannah followed Great Aunt Nature Walker down the hall to the first door on their right. "Welcome to the Magical Story Room," said Great Aunt Nature Walker.

 While Hannah hopped right in, Lucy proceeded cautiously. But once they were inside, both girls grew quiet with wonder. 

The Magical Story Room was small and empty of furniture except for some bookshelves and a small desk in one corner. The walls were the deep rosy color of the sky on one of those lovely summer evenings when you hate to go to bed because you're having so much fun—and even the clouds themselves seem to be holding onto the sun as if trying to keep the day from ending. The white blind on the window was drawn. And one lone lamp did not shine but rather blossomed into five globes of white light encircled by golden halos—like wishing stars that dropped down from the sky to grant you five of your truest wishes. 

As Great Aunt Nature slid a large green book from her book shelf, a faint sweetness floated into the room. All the sounds of the outer world vanished. And the air was so quiet that you could feel the stillness. It felt like something waiting to happen—something magical.

Then Great Aunt Nature Walker, Lucy, and Hannah sat down cross-legged in a little circle on the tan carpet right in the middle of The Magical Story Room. The carpet was soft as sand. And Lucy and Hannah felt themselves sinking into a place like sleep, except they were wide awake. Great Aunt Nature Walker opened the big green book, held it flat with the pages opened toward the ceiling, and began to read:

This is the very long and true story of Adora Birch. That story begins on a lovely crisp blue-sky day in a birch tree forest. It’s autumn, and the leaves on the silvery birch tree branches have turned golden brown. Where the leaves have begun to fall, you see only small brown cones hanging from the branches.  

All of a sudden, Lucy and Hannah felt the air around them ruffle the quiet—and their mouths fell open. For rising up from Great Aunt Nature Walker’s big green book was a silvery birch forest in autumn. The white ceiling disappeared into a crisp autumn sky.

They all stood up as the tan carpet turned to earth covered in golden brown leaves. 

Adora Birch and her Tree
as a teeny-tiny seed 

Small Brown Cones

Even though a fall breeze rustled through the birch forest, Lucy and Hannah weren’t cold, for somehow they knew that the rustling wasn’t really the wind but Great Aunt Nature Walker’s voice. And then the rustling drew their eyes up to a small brown cone among many cones on a low-hanging branch. From that cone, a teeny-tiny something drifted down through the air and landed in Great Aunt Nature Walker's open hand. 

Up close, Lucy and Hannah saw that the teeny-tiny something was brown with papery tan wings. 

“Hello, Lucy and Hannah," said the tiny creature as it landed in Great Aunt Nature Walker's hand.

"Fairy!" exclaimed Hannah. 

"Well, yes, I am" said the tiny winged creature, then added, "in a manner of speaking."

"Are you really talking?" Lucy asked, wishing to be very clear on what was happening.

Tiny Winged Creature

"Well, yes," said the tiny winged creature, "in a manner of speaking."

Lucy felt a little impatient. What did the creature mean—in a manner of speaking?
Either it was a talking fairy, or it was not.

"I can feel you are a little impatient," noted the tiny winged creature, and the air jittered around like a tiny laugh. "Believe it or not," said the creature, "it's me—Adora Birch—and my tree. For you are now at the very beginning of the very long and true story of how I became a door. Would you like to continue?"

"Dora!" exclaimed Hannah.
But Lucy just stood dumbfounded, caught in that strange place between believe it or not.

How in the world did
Adora Birch
end up in that door?

"You see," continued the tiny winged creature, "like all Trees and their Wood Spirits we start out in our life's adventure as seeds. Seeds are very important forest dwellers with many different and interesting jobs. My job was was to become a door." And with that, the tiny winged creature fluttered out of Great Aunt Nature Walker's hand an wafted about merrily in the air.

Now, Lucy had seen things like lettuce grow from seeds. That made sense. But growing a door out of a seed seemed impossible, if not downright ridiculous. On the other hand, there was that smiling face right there in Great Aunt Nature Walker's door. And it had to get there somehow . . . but how?

"Shall I continue?" the little seed asked again.
"Yes, please," Lucy replied.
"Dora . . . fairy seed!" exclaimed Hannah.
And Great Aunt Nature Walker turned the page.