by Anne E. Johnson -
Jessica Doubt didn't believe in magic. She couldn't believe what her eyes couldn't see. Even when she looked at something miraculous, Jessica would figure out a way to explain it.
One summer evening, her brother and sister ran around the yard catching fireflies in their cupped hands. Jessica just sat on the porch with her Observations journal on her lap.
"Look at the fairies!" little Joey cried. "Come catch one, Jessica!"
"Tiny drops from a moonbeam," sang Margaret. "See if you can hold one!"
But Jessica just said "Hmmm," and wrote in her journal: "These bugs must have a chemical in their bodies that makes them glow."
As it happened, there really were fairies living in the big tree in Jessica's back yard. They liked children in general, but Jessica drove them crazy.
"What's wrong with this kid?" ZenZen asked her brother Koopie as they sat on a top branch one night. When the moon was especially bright, the fairies gathered at the treetop to soak in important vitamins from the moon glow.
Koopie shrugged. "I thought all kids believed in fairies."
"And here we are, right in her tree," sighed Zen-Zen, exposing her tiny green belly to the moon's rays.
Koopie was always up for adventure. "I have an idea. Maybe she's one of those humans who will only believe her eyes. So I'll show myself to her."
"How can you show yourself?" asked Zen-Zen. "Everyone knows people can't see fairies clearly. To human eyes, we just look like a sparkly blur."
Koopie flashed his sister an impish grin. "I'll put on a rainbow light show in her mirror."
The next night Koopie was waiting in Jessica's room when she came in after supper. He'd opened the closet door so Jessica would see him in her full-length mirror when she sat at her desk.
Jessica sat down and opened her math book with a sigh. (Even a very bright girl sometimes gets tired of homework.) Koopie waited impatiently while she scribbled and erased and scribbled and erased. Finally Jessica set her pencil down and looked around her. Her gaze paused on the mirror.
Koopie was ready. He started to glow. He scrunched his eyes and held his breath, pushing out a rainbow of light. The mirror practically danced with shining color.
Jessica seemed fascinated by the tiny fireworks display in her mirror. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide.
Feeling smug, Koopie flew to Jessica's desk and waited for her to write in her Observations journal. Maybe she'd write, "That looks like magic," or "Fairies exist after all!"
But Jessica actually wrote...
