In a bright castle on a soft green hill lived Fairy Chole Keeton. Chole was small, kind, and a little shy. Her wings were blue like morning. Her tiny wand had a round yellow star.
Every day, Chole flew through the castle rooms. She said, “Hello, door! Hello, bell! Hello, sunny window!”
Her best friends lived there too. Elf was quick and giggly. He wore a red hat that always slipped over his eyes. Flower grew in a little pot by the castle gate. Flower could talk, but only in a gentle voice. Fox had a fluffy orange tail and very careful ears.
One morning, the castle looked strange.
The red flags were gray.
The blue windows were gray.
The yellow star on Chole’s wand was gray too.
“Oh!” said Chole.
Flower drooped her petals. “My pink color is gone.”
Fox sniffed the air. “I smell a sad spell.”
Elf ran in a small circle. “Gray is fine for rocks. But not for our castle!”
Then, from the tall tower, came a voice.
“Hmmph!” said Witch. “I made the colors hide.”
Witch stood by the tower window. She had a purple hat, a crooked broom, and a very grumpy face.
“Why?” asked Chole, even though her knees felt wibbly.
“No one came to my little garden party,” said Witch. “So I felt lonely. I wanted the whole castle to feel gray like me.”
Chole looked at the gray flags. She looked at Flower. She looked at Witch’s sad eyes.
“We can fix this,” Chole whispered.
Fox nodded. “We can be brave and gentle.”
Elf said, “And fast! I am very fast!” He bumped into a wall. “Mostly fast.”
Chole remembered an old castle rhyme. To bring back color, they needed three happy things: a red laugh, a blue kindness, and a yellow welcome.
“I can find them!” said Chole.
First, the friends went to the kitchen. Elf put on a huge cooking pot like a hat. The pot went clang, clang, clang.
Flower laughed. Chole laughed. Fox laughed too.
A little red sparkle popped from their laughter.
“Red laugh!” cried Elf.
Chole caught it in a silver cup.
Next, they went to the quiet bridge behind the castle. A tiny beetle was stuck on its back.
Fox carefully turned the beetle over with his soft nose.
“Thank you,” said the beetle.
A blue sparkle floated above Fox’s nose.
“Blue kindness!” said Chole.
She caught it in the cup.
Last, they flew to Witch’s tower. Chole’s wings shook a little. The door was tall. The stairs were dark. But Fox walked beside her. Elf held a candle. Flower rode safely in Chole’s pocket.
At the top, Witch sat alone beside a table. There were four tiny cups. There was a cake with no candles.
Chole took a slow breath.
“Witch,” she said, “would you like to come to a party with us?”
Witch blinked. “With you?”
“Yes,” said Chole. “You, Elf, Flower, Fox, and me. Five friends. Five cups.”
Flower lifted her head. “You may sit by my sunny window.”
Elf said, “I can wear the pot hat again!”
Fox wagged his tail. “I will bring berry cookies.”
Witch’s grumpy face became small and soft. “I would like that,” she said.
A yellow sparkle shone from the open castle door.
“Yellow welcome!” cheered Chole.
She put the red, blue, and yellow sparkles on her gray wand. Then she waved it slowly.
“Colors, come home,” said Chole.
Whoosh!
Red danced on the flags. Blue poured over the windows. Yellow twinkled on the castle star. Flower’s petals turned pink again. Even Witch’s hat became a lovely purple.
The friends had a garden party. They ate berry cookies and warm cake. Witch made little rainbow bubbles. Elf wore his pot hat. Fox caught bubbles on his nose. Flower got a new golden pot with tiny jewels around the rim.
Witch gave Chole a special gift: a small treasure box. Inside were bright color stones: red, blue, yellow, green, and purple.
“For the brave fairy who asked me to join,” said Witch.
Chole smiled. She was still shy. But now she knew she could speak with a kind, brave voice.
From that day on, Fairy Chole Keeton kept the color stones in the castle. And whenever someone felt lonely, she opened the little treasure box and said, “Come in. There is room for you.”