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uneasily, and Jan knew he didn’t just mean the cold.
    Putting his arm around Jan, he led her back to the car. On the way, they both looked back toward the oak tree. The thousands of wasps were lying on the white frozen ground, making a dark patch.
    “I wonder what the Queen’s going to think about
that
,” he said.
    “Somehow, I don’t think she’s going to like it,” Jan replied.

7
Sugar Tears
    When they were safely home and had taken off their outdoor clothes, they found that Tiki had changed too. Now she was wearing green tights with a pale pink tunic to her knees and round her neck a huge scarf, colored all shades of pink and red, which hung down in front and behind.
    “You do look nice,” said Jan, admiring her while Charlie made some coffee for them and some hot honey and water for Tiki.
    “It was those pictures,” said Tiki. “The ones you left out in the garden. I came and had a look at them and put all the pictures into my mind. Since then I have lots of fun changing my clothes. I can even invent new ones now I’ve got the idea. It’s such a shame I’ve been shut in that awful nest and couldn’t show off to anyone.”
    “But how did it happen that you were put in there? Was it because of me?” asked Jan.
    “Yes, of course,” said Tiki, but without sounding at all cross about it. “It was because I decided to help yougrow a baby.” Charlie turned round and stared at her, listening very hard.
    “Of course,” Tiki added, “I haven’t enough magic to do that sort of trick. That’s really very hard stuff, you need to save up for ages, not do any little bits of magic, just save and save. Some fairies can save for years to do something big, but somehow I never can.…
    “So what I did, you see, was I borrowed. I went around to everyone I knew, fairies and elves, and gnomes even (though gnomes haven’t got much magic: They can’t even fly).
    “The older fairies did warn me. They said I oughtn’t to mix in—that it was none of my business. They even told me the Queen wouldn’t like it. She doesn’t like us ordinary fairies getting big ideas.… So after that I pretended I wanted the magic to go south for a holiday.
    “I collected all the magic I could. I could feel myself getting stronger and stronger—it was really exciting—and soon I knew I could do it. So I went to the library and found the right words in one of the books, and one night when you were asleep I slipped into your room and said them. I used up all my saved-up magic on you. And that was it. The only trouble was …”
    “You’d made the hair the wrong color,” said Charlie.
    “Yes. I’m sorry. I got in a muddle. I remembered about the rose petals—”
    “What sort of rose?” asked Jan quickly.
    “Oh, pink. I’m really a pink-rose fairy,” said Tiki proudly. “They are the nicest. Besides, I can see you’re both pink. I’m not stupid.”
    “Hmm,” said Charlie, pouring the coffee. “So what about her hair?”
    “Well,” said Tiki. “I remembered you’d said ‘like a bird’s feathers’ and I could think of so many really pretty-colored birds, like blue tits and chaffinches and canaries—not to mention parrots—”
    “Parrots!”
    “Now, don’t worry. I see that was silly. Only I’d used up every bit of magic I could lay my hands on, just to get your baby started. To change something after that would have been really tricky. And expensive! I was so worried about it, for fear you wouldn’t be pleased, that I—that I—well, there was only one thing I could do.”
    “What?”
    “I … I asked the Queen to fix it for me.”
    Charlie and Jan stared at her. From what they’d heard of the Queen, they found this very surprising.
    “You dared to go and see her?”
    “Oh no! Not to
see
her. Mere fairies like me never see her. But I got a rather grand master-elf I once met at a party to take her a message.”
    “Was that wise?” asked Charlie.
    “No,” said Tiki sadly. “It