Fay The Maple Fairy and The Tree Doctor by Silviya Rankova

Fay the maple fairy and the tree doctor

Illustrated by Alexander Petkov

For Alex and Danny

“Children see magic because they look for it.”

- Christopher Moor

was that time of the year when trees changed colors, and the wind grew stronger and chillier, while leaves danced their way to the ground, forming a The maple tree in the Browns’ front yard already had a spectacular display of fall leaves in many colors from several shades of green, yellow, and orange, to ruby red in late autumn.

The graceful tree provided ample shade in the summer and foliage in the fall. And it was home to several animals and insects all year long tiny ants and aphids to squirrels, robins, red cardinals, and the great horned owl.

Alex sleepily rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses on the nightstand. He slowly got off the bed and peered through the window. Then, suddenly, he saw her outside on the tree – the little maple fairy. She was smiling and waving at him, swinging back and forth on a branch swaying with the wind. Her long auburn hair beautifully matched the colors of her autumnal, leafy clothes covering her petite form. The fairy flew toward the boy joyfully, but as she was about to say something, a sudden gust of wind blew her away. She landed in the flowering pot that was hanging out of Alex’s window.

“Ouch! That was unexpected!” exclaimed Fay, the maple fairy, and giggled. “Phew! What a pixie wind.”

Alex stood surprised, with eyes wide open. Fay was nervously gesturing at him, encouraging him to open the window. The boy carefully approached the window, his eyes fixed on the fairy.

She perched on the window’s ledge and greeted Alex.

“Good morning, Alex! I am Fay, the maple fairy, and I must discuss something very important with you!”

The boy stepped back, tripped over his backpack, and sat on the floor.

“I did not know you could talk!” he said excitedly and eagerly started to put his belongings back in his backpack.

“Your maple tree in the front yard is very ill. You must do something immediately!” said Fay while tidying up some pollen and leaves that the wind scattered in her hair.

He straight to the school bus stop in front of his home. He the bus window his backpack.

Curiosity getting the best of him, Alex unzipped his backpack’s pocket. To his surprise, he saw a scraggly, little, orange head slowly emerging from the pocket. Out popped Fay, wearing a mischievous grin on her face.

Alex, started to scream and wiggle in his seat. “Ah, a mouse, a mouse! Alex has a mouse in his backpack!” He jumped up tall in then not allowed, sick maple back inside the backpack.

Willy continued to stare at Alex in disbelief. Then he turned to the other kids and mimicked some faces, suggesting that Alex had gone a bit crazy. Later, he entertained everyone at school with the tale of Alex talking to a hidden mouse in his backpack.

was eager to discuss the

“You want to ask me something, Alex?” Mrs. Greig smiled gently and looked at him . Do they ever get sick?” he finally

They were about to head to the library when they heard a strange, buzzing sound coming from the classroom’s back corner.

the backpack and curiously looked around the classroom. She she couldn’t resist accidentally knocked it . Soon a few more the teacher’s s them back Fay quickly hid inside the backpack and smiled

“It must be the wind blowing from the open window!” Both he and Mrs. Greig continued their way to the library, feeling awkward about the unexpected disruption.

disc growths that stick out of the arborist

“Now, take this book with you and talk to your parents. If your tree is sick, they need to call a tree doctor, called an arborist, to check on it,” said Mrs. Greig, happy to help her

n’t fully grasp all the information in the book, he gratefully placed it in his backpack. beamed with happiness and winked at Alex, expressing her delight at the progress they were making.

To his rom the . “You definitely can’t eat them, even if you like mushrooms, warning him not to eat them too hard to

“Dad, do you see these mushrooms on the tree trunk? It’s a sign that our tree might be sick, and we need to call a tree doctor. Mrs. Greig gave me this book today to read about

Mr. Brown raised an intrigued eyebrow, impressed by his son’s newfound knowledge. He promised to read all about it and call an arborist if needed.

to deliver the good , “Fay, I and my taking our aphids with

“Before you leave, would you please spread around the good news that our tree will be

He rallied his fellow ants and set Soon, his family and friends were crawling everywhere on the tree, diligently posting Fay’s notes throughout.

Cristy, the squirrel, was nervously trying to drag a few acorns at a time into her tree den when she spotted two yellowish eyes blinking at her. Startled, she jumped back, and the acorns fell to the ground, accidentally bumping the chipmunk’s head. His expression turned irritated, but he quickly grabbed the acorns and hid them inside his hollow underneath the tree roots. Cristy’s heart sank. Her den had been claimed by the great horned owl, who intended to nest in it, and she had lost her precious acorns. Storing food and gathering nuts before winter was essential for her survival during the freezing months.

“Do not be upset, Cristy. You’re welcome to join us in our nest. We can keep each other warm and share our food,” said Mindy, another squirrel and Cristy’s- neighbor, who was finishing building her drey out of twigs and leaves among the tree branches. Cristy’s eyes lit up with gratitude and relief at Mindy’s kind offer.

Fay’s collection of herbal elixirs and magical potions was diligently prepared for any illnesses and injuries. She was busy making tea for Mr. Red Robin, who had been complaining this afternoon of a throat ache and cough making his singing so miserable en she heard a drumming noise. The woodpecker was drilling a hole in the tree trunk, swiftly flew to address the “Mr. Woodpecker,” said Fay politely, “your hard work is much appreciated and helpful to get rid of the insects, but our tree will soon be inspected and free of any diseases and to

“I’ll come to visit you next spring, it seems. My pecking style poses no harm to your maple tree, and you would still be in need of my unique skills for bugs and pest control,” he let out a disgruntled chirp but complied with Fay’s request.

all the symptoms Mr.

like mushrooms on the trunk are, indeed, a sign of root rot,” said the arborist, “but before we decide to cut down your tree, I recommend a few simple procedures to : a solution to treat the fungus in the roots and wood mulch to cover the area around the the solution, the chipmunk’s family in terror. Their tiny hearts raced with fear as they sought refuge under the up and down and all around the tree, looking

“Do not worry, little Fay. Our tree will be saved and live many more years. You can now Fay flew off happily to tell everybody that they would be safe in their home, thanks to the human family.

the leaves as much food as she could before in an they know that their owlets in early he the heavy rain. She finally landed on the

“This is for you, Alex, a tasty maple syrup I collected from our tree. You can drizzle it over your pancakes or waffles to sweeten your mornings. We, the tree inhabitants, all want to said Fay with a warm held the bottle in awe, grateful for the unexpected gift. But before he could ask Fay how to tap the tree for maple syrup, she had already disappeared.

Excited to taste the syrup, Alex hurried downstairs to enjoy the pancakes his mom had Alex’s mom in

“We are not here for the syrup but for shelter during the winter. Please, let us stay,” said and hid Alex watched the

“Alex, are you listening to me? I was asking, how did you learn to tap maple syrup from

“Now I know, Willy was right! He was telling everybody at school that you are a bit crazy!”

“We all are one happy and sometimes crazy little family!” said his mom softly, and curiously reached out to try the syrup that the little fairy had brought for her special friend.

Color the characters from the story.

Help Fay to get to the maple syrup!

Interes<ng Maple Tree Facts

1. Maple trees are ancient.

According to fossil records, maple trees are quite ancient. They date back to at least 100 million years ago, if not even older.

2. Maples vary radically in size.

With more than 128 species of maple in the world, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they vary so much in size! Some maple trees can be grown as Bonsai trees, only a few inches tall.

3. Maples produce the best syrup.

Only three of 13 species of maple trees native to Canada are used for syrup. A maple tree must be 30 years old before it can have its sap extracted and made into syrup. It takes somewhere between 40 and 50 gallons of maple sap to produce just 1 gallon of syrup.

4. Maples live a long time.

When grown in the right conditions, maple trees can be quite hardy and live a long time. If planted in the right place, a maple tree can live for 300 or more years!

5. Maple is a “tonewood”.

Maple trees are considered to be a tonewood, which is a type of wood that carries sound waves well. Because of this, some musical instruments are made from the wood of maple trees.

6. Maples are important for bees.

Maple trees are an important source of pollen early in the spring for honeybees waking up from their hibernation. If you want to support your local bees, plant some maple trees!

About the Author

Silviya Rankova, born in 1975 in the historic ancient capital of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, holds a Master’s degree in Biology from Plovdiv University. In 2005, she and her family emigrated to the United States, settling in Chicago, Illinois, where they currently reside. In 2019, she ventured into the realm of children’s literature with her debut book, "How Olly Met His New Family". This was followed by several other titles, including "Danny and Olly's Trick or Treat Night", "Cookies for Santa", "Fay the Maple Fairy and The Tree Doctor", "The Very Stubborn Camel", and "The Keeper of the Golden Key", “The Snail Who Wanted to Stop Time.” Through her writing, Silviya brings imaginative stories to life, captivating young readers with her creativity and storytelling skills.

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Fay the maple fairy and the tree doctor

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