The discontented Gumamela fairy [short story]

Title

Creator

Reyes, Ligaya Victorio

Language

English

Source

Volume 1 (Issue no. 8) September 1935

Year

1935

Subject

Children’s stories

Fairies

Gumamela (flower)

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

206 THE YOUNG CITIZEN Sq)fember, 1935 T~E DISCONTENTED GUMAMELA FAIRY By Ligaya Victorio Reyes A TINY Gumamcla fairy sat upon her green scalk and surveyed the world around her. She was a very young fairy. and th:! world of the garden looked n.:w and grand and enchanting to her wondering eyes. She saw the haves oi the Ylang-ylang tree stretch far out into the blu~. merging into the outlines of the sky with a faintl·1 blurred harmony. She watched th€' green and yellow blossoms swaying gracefully in the breez·~. breathing forth a fragran<c that was de~p and strange, with every motion of the wind. Sh.: wished, with a great, great wish. that she were way up among those blossoms. She wanted to be gone from thi~ lowly ftowc1 of the Gumameb upon which she· reclined and be cradled· among the thick foliag<! of the Ylang-ylang. There perhaps she could look around. and see tht: tops of the tJll buildings which w~re outlined in the distance. She would then put out her hand and reach for a star, for th~rc the sky. would be very close indeed. The tiny Gumamela fairy heaved a small ~igh. With reluctance, she removed her gaze from the Ylang-ylang boughs and let it wander around. Jt rested for a brief moment upon the little cucharitas that bordered the garden path. She had refused their invitatiori to come down and play. Thm she looked at the Rosal tree, a beautiful combiriation 0f dark green and white-the white of scar-like blossoms that opened so trustingly to the light. "If I were within one of those flowers." the little Gumamela fairy thought. "how well the red of my dress would blend with the background of white. And I will he so sweet and so lovely that people will adore me." And the little fairy (vain little crzature!) stretched her neck haughtily and waved ::. tiny wand with condescension. That done, she deserted the Rosa! and let her gaze travel through the length and breadth of the garden, drinking in each lovely scene that the place revealed. She wove discoritent after discontent-wishing· now that she were a sampaguita, then wishing again that she were a rose. then forgetting all these wishes to wish again that she were a tall. regat scintillating, dahlia. Afler some moments; the little Gumameb. fairy succeeded in making herself completely miserable, so she sank into the red depths of the GumameL:i for a long cry. Little sobs rose and fell in her tiny bosom. and her tears fell like dew upon the thirsty heart of the flower. She was so engrossed in her sorrow that she was startled by a group of children who had entered th~ garden. When she. looked up. they. were running around in glee, watched indulgently by a pretty girl of twelve, the oldest of them all. One little ·boy ran to the rose, and tried to pluck it. But the rose, as every one should know, is a very haughty and quarrelsome beauty, and she replied with a stir.g ~o anyone who would break her off the stalk. So the little boy removed a bleeding finger and put ic tearfully into his mouth. The Gumamela fairy shook her head in condolence. She saw ·a little girl reaching up to get a Rosal. but the v·oice of the oldest girl rang out sharply in warning. "No, Nenita, that is for sister's corsage when she goes to the ball tonight." "Not even one little flower?" Nenita pleaded. "Not even one," the oldest girl said with importance. "Sister is going to a White Dance and she will need all those blossoms." Nenita r;:;n away disappointed and stood with another little girl who looked wistfully at the Ylangylang tree. "I want ~ome Ylang-ylang for my sampaguita string," she said hopelessly. "But they are so high above." With her arm around Nenita, she-went about the garden in a forlorn way. The Gumamela fairy followed them with sympathetic eyes. She heard them warned off the Sampagu.itas, "which were for the altar." ~hey dared not go near the lilies nor th~ dahlias, because they knew that those were "Sister·~ favorites, and she would spank them if they evt>r tampered with the regal flowers. Besides, "lilies and dahlias are not good to play with, anyway," as th~ boy expr~ssed it, and they certainly could not play with the roses and the orchids.

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