all of their many possessions up the paths to the cottages. It took a long time as Sheepskerry Island had no roads and no horrible metal monsters (“They’re called ‘automobiles’,” said Clara). The Summer People filled up wheelbarrows to bring their boxes and bags, trunks and trinkets to the cottages on the island.
Silver flew up to a lookout post. “Looks like there are five families this year so one cottage will be empty,” she called down to her sisters. “That’s a relief.”
“Wuh!” said Squeak.
“Yes, I’d love to do something about it, Squeakie,” said Rosie. “But there’s nothing we can do. We must just put up with them as best we can. Five families is an awful lot.” She sighed. “But I suppose it’s better than six. Be careful up there, Silver!”
“I wonder why they need to bring so much stuff.”
“And why must they make such a racket?” asked Lily. “Don’t they know how sensitive we are?”
“Come down at once, Silver,” called Clara. “You mustn’t be seen.”
“Just one more minute—”
“Now, Silver,” said Rosie.
Silver flew down from the birch as her sister told her. “I wouldn’t mind flying into a cottage while they’re in there, just to see what the cottages are like when the Summer People are inside them,” she said. “I could sneak up on—”
“Oh dear me, no,” said Rosie, as crossly as she knew how (which wasn’t very crossly at all). “You mustn’t do anything like that. The Summer People are to be kept away from at all costs.”
“Rosie’s quite right,” said Lily. “If these human people were to see our magic and discover that fairies live here, they’d tell all their friends who’d come and hunt for us with those telescope things—”
“Cameras.”
“Yes, with cameras and torches and rakes and goodness knows what else. And that will be the end of us.”
“But if we—”
“Hush, Silver, that’s enough,” said Clara in a clipped tone. “You remember what happened on Coombe Meadow Island, don’t you?” Clara didn’t like to have to bring up faraway Coombe Meadow, but she had to stop Silver’s wild ideas.
The other sisters, even Squeak, fell silent. “Did all the fairies lose their homes?” asked Silver at last.
“Every one of them. Their houses were trampled, their school was dug up, their queen’s palace was destroyed—” Rosie had to stop for breath.
“—and many of them were chased until they dropped from tiredness. So it is lucky that they all escaped.” Clara didn’t add ‘with their lives’. She didn’t need to.
“I thought Summer People were nice to fairies,” said Silver.
“Oh, they used to be nice to fairies,” said Clara. “When children still believed in fairies.” She sighed. “But those children don’t exist any more.”
(How I wish Clara knew about you!)
“So if we value our homes and our lives and Sheepskerry Island, we must stay far away.”
“Still, if I was very careful—”
“Silver, I won’t tell you again. You are not to go near a Summer Cottage or a Summer Dog or a Summer Cat or any of the Summer People. It is simply too dangerous. Do you understand?”
“Silver understands now,” said Rosie gently to Clara. She hated to see Silver so upset. “Don’t you, Silver?”
“I guess so.”
“Good,” said Rosie. “Then we’ll all be safe.”
It did not occur to Rosie then or for a long time afterwards, that it might be she who would trespass into the world of the Summer People.
By the end of the day, the five families had moved into their summer cottages. Peace came over the island at last.
The sisters missed the fireflies that evening and the sunset, but when they peeked their heads out of their fairy house and saw a roof of bright stars in the heavens, the waste of the day did not feel so bad.
“We only have a little time before we need to go to bed,” said Clara. “Let’s see what damage the Summer People have done so far. That way, we’ll know the worst of it before we start setting things to rights in the morning.”
Rosie fetched a fairy lantern and put in a tiny glowing jellyfish, which lit up the bright night even more. Silver took Squeak in her arms and off they all went to explore.
“Dhaah,” said Squeak.
“Yes, it is dark, Squeak, but you’re safe,” said Lily.
They traced the Summer People’s path from cottage to cottage and found, as they’d expected, that the Summer People had been as careless as ever.
The shell-lined path up to the Flower sisters’ house was at sixes and sevens and the dogs had been up to mischief in the gardens near the Seashell sisters’ place. “I’ll have to replant those mulberry bushes,” said Clara with a sigh. “More work, just when I thought I’d get a rest.”
In front of Deepwater Spring, where they washed and dried their laundry, Rosie’s face fell. “Oh dear,” she said. “Here’s a week’s worth of washing, trampled underfoot.” Every one of Squeakie’s nappies for the week had been squashed into the mud.
“Odeo!” cried Squeak
“Never mind, Squeak,” said Rosie. “I’ll make sure you have fresh ones to keep you dry. But what a lot of work it will be.”
A sudden shriek came from Lily, who was down on Sea Glass Beach.
“My blues! They’re gone!”
Lily had been collecting bits of blue sea glass ever since fairy school was over. Blue sea glass is the rarest of all, as you probably know, and it’s very hard to spot. Lily happened to have quite a talent for finding blue sea glass (“Probably because it’s the same colour as my eyes,” she once said), and she had collected quite a pile of it.
“Poor Lily!” said Rosie.
“I
