The Fairy Caravan

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. In the satirical animal town of Marmalade, vanity and curiosity make easy prey of the guinea-pigs, and poor Tuppenny becomes the victim of a fraudulent hair tonic that transforms his misery into grotesque, uncontrollable growth. Abandoned by the "specialists" and driven from home in humiliation, he stumbles into a wider world where hardship gives way to the strange comfort of a traveling circus of small animals. There he is welcomed by the practical Xarifa Dormouse, the cheerful Paddy Pig, and a lively company whose music, dancing, fern-seed magic, and improvised road life create a warm, whimsical refuge. As Tuppenny learns the rhythms of the caravan, the story moves through comic adventures and real danger: Pony Billy is trapped in the pound after a stolen fern-seed prank, then rescued by Sandy and Mettle; winter snow strands the troupe in a barn; and shopping at the Misses Pussycat's millinery shop leads to delightfully eccentric preparations for Tuppenny's new role. Folk tales, friendly banter, and the recurring mystery of Pringle Wood deepen the charm as the caravan presses on toward Codlin Croft Farm, where caution is needed among the Big Folk's animals and the orchard offers a brief, beautiful shelter.