One day towards the end of July a letter arrived.
"Look! Look!" shouted Dog. "A letter from Winnipeg!"
The friends gathered around to find out who wrote the letter and what it said.
"It is from Fox," Dog said, looking down to the signature at the bottom. "Fox likes to write letters."
Dog read the letter out loud.
Dear Dog, Frog, Hedgehog, T1 and T2,
I love you. I want to come on a trip to visit you. Edden Beara wants to come too. Tyne the Terrier and Owl will stay home to work in the garden and rest.
We will travel with our people in the FAB car!
See you soon!
Love, Fox
"What's a FAB car?" asked T2.
"There is a P.S." said Dog. "FAB is part of the license plate of the car they are travelling in. How fabulous!"
"It is all very exciting!" said Hedgehog, "It will be so wonderful to see Edden Beara and Fox again!"
"We can show them around the garden," said T1, "The tomatoes are starting to ripen."
"We can show them around the town," said Dog. "There are lots of things to do in Edmonton."
"I wonder what they will want to eat," said Frog, "I wonder if they like sandwiches."
Frog and T2 got busy making bread. It would take a few loaves to feed so many friends. Their first loaf turned out well.
"Would you like to try our fresh bread?" asked T2, "We will make more for when our guests arrive."
"YES!" said Hedgehog, T1 and Dog.
Meanwhile in Winnipeg, Edden Beara and Fox were packing up. They packed 2 books, 2 plates, 2 cups and one blanket. Fox liked going on trips with friends and was excited to play in Omi's yard with Dog.
"I know the food will be good," said Edden Beara, remembering the good meals that Frog and T2 made when they first arrived in Canada.
The day arrived for their trip to begin. They got up at 6:00.
"Yay!" said Fox, "I can't wait to see Dog!"
"I am so happy to be going on this trip too," said Edden Beara, looking back one last time at the faerie house that would be left behind and missed for a few weeks.
The travellers had a rest stop in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. There was a climbing structure.
"Oh boy!" said Edden Beara, "I can't look! How did I get up here?"
"You'll be alright, Edden," said Fox, "I will help you get down."
(You can just barely see Edden's head beside Fox)
After a night in Saskatoon, they continued on their way.
"We are getting really close to Edmonton," said Edden Beara.
"Wahoo!!" said Fox.
"They should be here soon," Hedgehog said.
All the friends were waiting in front of the faerie house.
"Halloooooo, we're HERE," called Fox and Edden Beara.
The friends ran to greet them.
What a happy reunion. Fox and Edden brought good wishes and hellos from Tyne and Owl. Then everyone started talking at once.
"How was your trip?"
"Welcome back!"
"Do you want to see the garden?"
And finally, "Are you hungry?"
It was Frog who said that.
"Would you like some sandwiches?"
"YES!!"
Frog was ready with BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) sandwiches.
"Wow! Those look really good!" said Fox. "Do I see an open-face sandwich?"
T2 said, "Of course. We know you like those best."
Everyone was quiet while they munched on their sandwiches.
"And guess what," said T2, "We made doughnuts too!"
"I love doughnuts," said Edden Beara. "Thank you for your generous and warm welcome."
"What would you like to do first?" asked Dog.
"You mentioned a zoo? How about we go there," suggested Edden Beara.
Fox, Edden, Hedgehog and Dog went down the hill to the zoo. They saw Lucy the elephant going for a walk. They saw a monkey swinging on a vine. They saw seals swimming in the arctic tank. And they saw a zebra family. The baby had the zoomies.
Another day all the friends went to the Science Centre. There was a Lego exhibit. Someone made all kinds of things out of Lego. It was stunning!
The dinosaur was awesome. Fox found it a bit scary.
There were lots of animals too: a giraffe, a gorilla, a tiger, a rhinoceros, an orca, a humpbacked whale, and an elephant. The friends had a good look at the polar bear and her cub.
"Cool!" said Edden Beara, "It is hard to believe we are related."
"Do you think you are?" asked T2 skeptically.
It rained the next day so the water-inclined friends went to a recreation centre pool. Fox and Edden were very impressed.
"Look at the water slide!" said Fox, "Do you think I can go on that?"
"Oh, for sure," said T1. "Going down is easy, and going up the stairs to the platform will be easy for you. It takes me a very long time to get to the top."
Hedgehog and T2 stayed home on this day. T2 hadn't had enough swimming lessons and Hedgehog does not like the water at all.
On a day when the sun shone, all the friends went down to a sandbar on the North Saskatchewan River. This is the kind of water experience that T1 really likes.
Frog joined T1 down by the river's edge. They looked at the current and decided to stay close to the shore.
The other friends came down to look, but they too were nervous about the fast current.
"Race you to the top!" Edden yelled, and was off at a trot.
The others caught up. T1 worked very hard to get to the top. There wasn't room for more than one at the top.
The children who brought the Winnipeg faerie house friends were at the river's edge too. They were building sandcastles.
"Let's build a castle for each of the friends," said one of the children.
Both children got busy building.
"This is fabulous!" said all the friends, "We all have castles!"
There was one more adventure planned for the guests from Winnipeg. T2 and Hedgehog took Fox and Edden downtown on the LRT.
They went to City Hall.
"More water," sighed Hedgehog.
"The spray is pretty," said Fox. "If it was a hotter day, I would be tempted to get a wee bit wet."
They went to the downtown branch of the Edmonton Public Library. They found a giant screen, 2 stories high and 40 feet wide. It is the largest digital wall in North America. It looked like an aquarium. There were lots of things to touch.
Fox touched one spot and a shark came whipping right towards where Fox was standing. It looked like the glass cracked!
"Wowza!!!!" said Fox, jumping back startled. Then Fox did it again.
Back home, the friends gathered on the patio for one last feast of sandwiches.
They talked about all the things they had seen and done. Fox and Edden were packed up because they were leaving soon.
Edden Beara and Fox showed the white, round rocks they found by the river. These would be their gifts for Owl and Tyne. Edden and Fox had so much fun with the faerie house friends in Edmonton, but they missed their own house and the friends who stayed home.
"Maybe next time Tyne and Owl can come," said T1.
"Or maybe some of us can travel to Winnipeg," said Dog, who would be the most likely friend to enjoy travelling.
Just as they were thinking about how much fun they had and also missing home, the faeries added their joy and love by inviting some butterflies to the farewell party.
"I have tears in my eyes," said Edden Beara.
"I feel like I have 3 homes," said Fox quietly, "Scotland, where I was born, Edmonton with these friends, and Winnipeg where I am making a life with some wonderful creatures and people."
Soon it was time for Fox and Edden Beara to leave. Everyone waved until they were out of sight.
"I feel woebegone," said Dog.
"That is a good word to describe my feelings too," said T1.
"How about forlorn?" suggested Hedgehog.
"I am not sure what those words mean," said T2, "But I think they must mean lonely, sad and missing loved ones."
"That's exactly it," said Frog.
After a while, Frog decided to go inside and check out the leftover situation. The sandwiches were gone, but there were small portions of Georgian walnut chicken, beef shashlik and tuna casserole.
"I don't think we have to cook for a few days," said T2.
T1 and Dog went down to the garden. Nobody had done any work there for the week of company and activities.
"There are a few weeds I see," said T1 happily. "I'll take care of those right away."
"I will check the zucchini," said Dog, "There might be some big ones by now."
Hedgehog stayed still.
"I just need to think about things. It helps me to remember. We had such good times and I want to dwell on memories for a while," said Hedgehog. "I have a really nice feeling inside."
The faeries hope that you have a nice feeling inside too. They thank you for following the stories of the faerie house and the friends who live there.
Special thanks to M and T for help with this story.
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