Lily in Full Bloom by Laura Driscoll Page A

see Tink’s invention. “What’s the hat for?” Lily heard the fairy next to her ask.
    “Fawn,” Tink called out. When Tink spotted the animal-talent fairy, she waved her closer. “Can you ask a firefly to help me?”
    “I’ll get Glowyn,” Fawn said. She put two fingers in her mouth and let out an earsplitting whistle.
    Before Lily could blink, a firefly zipped through a window to Fawn’s side. A quick word from Fawn, and Glowyn perched on the hat’s brim. Tink made sure the hat was settled correctly on her head and then nodded to Fawn.
    Fawn whispered to Glowyn, and suddenly, his tail flared brightly. His glow reflected off the hat’s mirror. A strong beam of light shot out from Tink’s hat and lit up the room.

    The crowd gasped. The fairies at the front of the group shaded their eyes with their hands. The light was so bright!
    “It’s a firefly-headlamp hat!” Tink said proudly. “It’s for moonless nights. Or anytime when your glow is not quite strong enough to fly by. All you need is this hat and a friendly firefly.”
    Applause filled the room. The pots-and-pans fairies cheered the loudest. The other talents offered their congratulations to Tink as well.
    “Great idea, Tink!” exclaimed Rani, a water-talent fairy.
    “Amazing!” agreed Lympia, a laundry fairy.
    “That’s so practical!” cried Fira. As a light talent, she worked extra hard on moonless nights. A hat like this might make her job easier.
    Tink turned to smile at her friends. As she did, the light hit several fairies right in the eyes. Each blinked and looked away.
    “Oops,” said Tink. She took off the hat and set it on the table. Fawn said something to Glowyn in Firefly language, and he flew off through the window.
    The fairies and sparrow men crowded in even closer to get a good look at the hat. Tink was peppered with questions about her new invention.
    “How did you think of it?” Fawn wanted to know.
    “How soon can we get one?” Rani and Silvermist asked at the same time.
    “Is the beam brighter than a light talent’s glow?” Fira wondered aloud.
    “Will there be one for everyone?” Terence, a fairy-dust sparrow man, asked.
    Tink held up a hand. “Hold on,” she said. “This is just a sample. It’ll be a while before I have more hats. The tinkers are pretty busy these days.”
    Aster chuckled. “Yeah, I guess we’re all pretty busy. I spend so much time in my garden I sometimes forget to eat!”
    Many of the fairies and sparrow men, including Lily, nodded in agreement. Aster had said just what Lily was thinking. They started to talk about their work piling up on their tables.
    Lily leaned over to Rosetta and whispered, “I’ve got a problem patch in my garden. I could use your advice about it if you have time.”
    But before Rosetta could respond, Tink’s voice rang out. “I’m sure you’re all busy, too,” Tink said. “But it’s the pots-and-pans talents’ job to think up great ideas to help everyone!”
    All the other fairies grew quiet. They looked at each other uncertainly.
    Lily felt she had to speak up. “But Tink, every talent has great ideas.”
    “Of course,” Tink said slowly. She tugged at her bangs. “It’s just that…well, tinkers tinker. We invent. We make things from nothing. That’s what we do.…”
    Everyone stayed quiet. They stared at Tink and the other pots-and-pans fairies, who stood awkwardly behind her.
    “That’s true,” Fira said. She crossed her arms. “But I’m sure we could all use our talents to invent things, too. You know, if we put our minds to it.”
    “I want to try!” Beck said. Her face was full of determination.
    “Me too,” Lympia chimed in.
    “I bet we can all come up with something really great!” Fira said. “The light talents will have a dazzling idea, I’m sure!”
    The energy from moments before had returned to the tearoom. All the fairies and sparrow men buzzed about what they could invent with their talents.
    Lily’s glow flared with