Fluff fairies

Mary spotted all the fluff on her bedroom floor, but how did it get there and where did it come from, and why did it keep moving every time she got close enough to pick it up?

Mary thought maybe Joe had ripped and possibly eaten another of his toys so she went through to check. Nope, all of Joe's toys were accounted for and none of them were ripped, or moving.

Mary sat down to think where could the fluff come from and why did it keep escaping her grasp?

Could it be from her bed?

The blanket? The pillows?

Or could it be from her jumpers?

Or even Dad’s jumpers they were the same colour as the fluff, Mary would have to investigate.

“Mum.”

“Yes Mary,” replied mum.

“Do dad’s jumpers make dark fluff piles?”

“Erm, yes probably, but everything makes fluff.”

“What?” blurted Mary confused.

“Well as you wear fabric it gets well, worn. So the fabric gets a little bit weaker each time and creates the fluff, some fabrics are worse than others. Guess which is the worst.”

“Gosh I don’t know dad’s big fluffy jumper?”

“Well yes those are quite bad, but think what could it be Mary any ideas?

Its  everyone’s socks!

We all wear them every day. Just think about how much they go through no wonder I need to repair them so often.”

“I can wear sandals in the summer to help.” Mary suggested.

“Thats a great idea Mary, but far too cold to do right now,” advised mum.

Fluff gets everywhere because we wear clothing and fabric everywhere.

All of the clothes, towels, bed sheets are all fabric that is slowly getting used up and wearing out so then we go to the shops and get a replacement if there is nothing more we can do with them.”

“Oh like the curtains you made in the bathroom from my old bed sheet? Or the Halloween costume you made for me out of dad’s old suit jacket?”

“Yes exactly, not everything needs to be thrown away instantly it could have another use to ensure we’re getting the most use out of it.”

“Cool so is it like granny going from being a manager to being a florist?”

“Yes kind of, just another way to use.” Smiled mum.

“But why do the fluff fairies keep moving when I try to catch them?” asked an annoyed Mary.

“Well they are fluff fairies and they want to play,” joked mum with a smile.

“How do I catch them?”

“Well you’ll need to be very gentle as they are so small.  You could try and get a few by brushing the floor so at least lots of them are together to play.”

“I could try that, I don’t want to hurt the fairies, and I don’t want them to be alone or get squished on my carpet.”

Mary went and took the wee dust pan and brush and swept her bedroom floor. 

She had quite a few fairies.

“What should I do with the fairies now mum?

“Well you could pop them out into the garden, or even into the recycling bin or the compost bin they will find more of their friends there.”

“Oh I wonder if I’ll see them dancing and playing?”

“You might but you’ll have to be very quiet and very still, their ears are very sensitive because they are so small,” instructed mum.

Mary went out to the garden protecting the dustpan so the fairies would all be together.  She chose to put them in the compost bin as a butterfly might visit too.  Mary waited for a really long time but she got a bit bored and hungry so she decided to leave and let the fairies play in peace in their new home, for now.

 

©joannehepburn 11.04.2016