Lara Bergen: Disney Fairies : Art Lessons by Bess

“That’s okay,” Bess said. “I’m just glad it will be all right.”

“There must be so many interesting uses for the plants in your garden, Lily.”

Scarlett looked thoughtful. “Tomatoes get rid of skunk-stink. Who would have guessed? What else can you tell me?”

Lily’s eyes lit up. Bess knew that Lily didn’t talk much — but when she began chatting about her garden, she could go on for a while.

Quickly Bess said, “I’m going to go clean up, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s fine,” Lily said, taking Scarlett’s hand. “The two of us have plenty to talk about.”

Bess flew to a nearby stream to wash up. She didn’t want everyone in Pixie Hollow to see her while she was stained tomato red from head to toe. It took her a long time and a lot of scrubbing before she felt presentable again.

By the time she returned to her studio, Lily and Scarlett had left.

Now, where might Scarlett have gone? Bess wondered. She could simply have gone back to her own room in the Home Tree. But that didn’t seem much like Scarlett. She would rather be out exploring.

Bess decided to visit the other art-talent fairies. Chances were that Scarlett would be with one of them.

Once her wings were dry, she flew to Quill’s sculpture studio, and realized she was right. Through the window she saw Quill and Scarlett sitting together.

“Hello!” Bess called. “Scarlett, I was looking for you! You wandered off!”

Scarlett held a hand to her forehead, as if in distress. “I’m surprised you want to see me after what I did. Ruining your studio!”

Bess could tell that Scarlett was joking, but Quill couldn’t. Like many art-talent fairies who specialized in sculpture, Quill could be stubborn as a rock sometimes.

“I told Scarlett that wasn’t her fault!” Quill said to Bess. Her eyes flashed as she looked at Bess.

Bess smiled, hoping to set Quill at ease. “Scarlett’s just joking. Lily knew how to clean the scent out. In a couple of days, my studio will be as good as new.”

Scarlett brightened. “Oh, good!”

Reassured, Quill settled back into the conversation. “Scarlett and I were just talking about my mermaid statue.”

Sitting in the corner was the mermaid. Quill had carved it last year, and every fairy in Pixie Hollow agreed it was her greatest statue yet. The limestone mermaid seemed to be leaping from the water. Quill had etched every curl of her hair and every scale of her tail.

“Tell her what you said, Scarlett,” Quill whispered.

Scarlett pointed at the mermaid’s arched tail. “See how her fins curve? The statue really seems to move.”

Once again, Bess was impressed. Scarlett certainly had artistic instincts, even if she couldn’t paint!

Quill said, “She sounds like a sculptor to me.”

“Could be.” Bess nodded.

“I know just the thing!” Quill ran to her supply cupboard. From inside she pulled out a large block of marble the color of a soft pink rose. “This marble is very special,” she said. “The mining-talent fairies brought it to me just last week. There’s not a single flaw in the stone.”

“Look how the surface shines,” Scarlett said. “You would hardly have to polish the statue when you were done.”

Proudly, Quill held out her chisel and mallet. “Scarlett, I want you to carve the stone.”

Scarlett gasped. “Are you sure? Don’t you want this for yourself?”

“I want to see what you can do,” Quill said firmly. Bess nodded.

Slowly, Scarlett took the chisel and mallet. Bess took Quill’s hand in anticipation.

“I’m trying to see a shape in the stone,” Scarlett said.

“Good!” Quill said.

“A rose, maybe. Or a tulip.” Scarlett closed her eyes, as if she were looking for the shape in her mind, instead of the stone.

“You’ll see it once you start,” Bess said. “Go on, Scarlett, try it!”

Scarlett put the chisel at the very top of the pink marble and took a deep breath. “Here goes,” she whispered. Then she brought the mallet down hard.

A jagged line split the entire block of marble in two! Bess and Quill stared, horrified, as each half of the block tumbled off its pedestal onto the floor.

Quill made a face that would’ve been funny if Bess hadn’t been so embarrassed for Scarlett.

“Oh, no!” Scarlett cried. “I’ve ruined your marble!”

“You haven’t ruined it,” Quill said quickly. She kneeled to scoop the fallen half into her arms. “Now I can make two smaller statues instead of only one.”

Scarlett sighed. “Still, I did everything wrong again. I must not be a sculptor, either.”

Bess patted Scarlett’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said. “We’ll find an answer soon.”

Deep down, however, Bess was starting to wonder if they would ever figure out what Scarlett could do right.

“MAYBE YOU SHOULD take a break for a while,” Bess said as she and Scarlett left Quill’s studio. “You’ve had quite a day.”

Scarlett said, “Really, I’d rather keep trying. I want to learn what my talent might be.”

They both zoomed into the sky. From above, both Bess and Scarlett could see Pixie Hollow as the busy, magical place that it was. In a small brook, Rani the water-talent fairy swam in the current. She was the only fairy who could swim, as she had no wings to weigh her down. Overhead, Fira the light-talent fairy taught a group of fireflies a new flight formation.

A group of cooking-talent fairies flew nearby carrying fruits and vegetables from Lily’s garden. Bess could hear one of them asking another, “Where did all the tomatoes go?”

She turned to share the joke with Scarlett. But Scarlett’s face was sad.

“Scarlett?” Bess nudged Scarlett toward a nearby maple tree. They perched on the edge of a branch amid the wide green leaves. “Are you all right?”

“It’s just hard to see everyone so busy,” Scarlett said. “Each fairy and sparrow man in Pixie Hollow has a talent. They work all day doing what they love. I want that, too.”

This was the first time Bess had seen Scarlett being anything less than cheerful. No, it wouldn’t do any good to ask Scarlett to rest. They had to keep searching until they found the kind of art Scarlett could create.

She realized that they weren’t far from Aidan’s workshop. That gave Bess an idea. “Tell me, Scarlett — do you like jewelry?”

“I think so,” Scarlett said. She was twisting a brand-new twig in her hair.

“We’re going to visit the sparrow man who makes the most important jewelry of all,” Scarlett said. “Queen Clarion’s crown!”

“Jewelry-making talent?” said Aidan. “Well, it’s worth a try.”

Bess, Scarlett and Aidan all stood in the middle of Aidan’s workshop. The workshop was a cozy little place, comfortably cluttered with metal and tools. One of the queen’s golden bracelets lay on his workbench, waiting to be fixed. In the big fireplace, a roaring blaze warmed the whole room..

“Aidan is Pixie Hollow’s only crown-repair talent sparrow man,” Bess explained to Scarlett. “He fixes all kinds of jewelry, not only the queen’s crown. That means he works with gold and silver more than most fairies do. He isn’t an art-talent sparrow man himself, but he helps the jewelry-making talent fairies by sharing precious metals.”