Beth crept silently along the path, keeping well below the bushes that outlined the perimeter of the fairgrounds. She could hear the thud, thud, thud of the heavy sledgehammers as they pounded the wooden stakes into the ground. The laughter and voices of the workers drifted around her ears, but could not drown the sound of her pounding heart. Peering through the bushes she saw it!

"Yes!" she breathed.

Mary Beth's eyes were wide with awe, as she gazed at the Carousel. Beautiful carved horses adorned the wooden deck. Mirrors and jewels reflected the sunlight below the brightly colored canopy top. There he was! Just as she had dreamed! The beautiful white horse, holding his head so majestically, feet poised as if he were prancing for a king. But what was most spectacular were his wings, carefully tucked and folded to his side!

***

Tommy lay in a huge feather bed watching the butterflies outside his window and listening to the sounds of the workers setting up the County Fair. It was the biggest event of the year. His Ma was busy in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on her strawberry jam, in hopes of winning another blue ribbon.

Tears slipped from Tommy's eyes and he turned his head into the pillow. Tommy would not be going to the fair this year. The accident that crippled him had happened two long months ago. All he remembered was being on the tractor helping his Pa, then somehow he was on the ground looking up with a fierce pain in his leg. Now he looked in disgust at the blanket shrouding his legs. His foot was itching, but Tommy did not reach to scratch it. He could not understand how a foot could itch, when there was no foot! His Ma and Pa had tried to get him to walk using the ugly wooden crutches leaning against the wall. Doc Barlow said if he didn't get up and move around he would lose the strength in his other leg. But Tommy had no intention of getting up out of this bed. What good was a boy who couldn't run, couldn't help round up the farm animals, or help in the fields? He was just going to lay here until he left this world, and it couldn't be too soon for him!

***

"Hurry up, Mary Beth," called Mama from the front porch. "We're going to be too late to get my quilt entered in the judging!"

Mary Beth ran breathlessly out the front door and grabbed her Granny's hand.

Granny bent forward and clutched the pickle jar which was slipping from the crook of her arm.

"Oh, Granny, I'm sorry!" Mary Beth apologized.

Granny laughed, "You almost broke my blue-ribbon pickles!"

"Come on, Mama! Granny hurry up! It's the first day of the fair, and I'm going to ride the Carousel!" Mary Beth skipped ahead down the path which led to the big tents and tables where the judging booths were set up. "Do you know there is a magical horse on the Carousel? He's so beautiful! Tonight he's going to fly away and take Tommy to the fairies so they can sprinkle their magic fairy dust on him and make him well again! Tommy will just love riding that horse through the sky!"

"Mary Beth!" chastised Ma. "You know your Pa doesn't like your weaving of fairy tales! Why, it's the next thing to telling a fib, and neither Pa nor I cotton to fibbing."

"Yes, Mama," Mary Beth said dropping her head in acknowledgement of the scolding. She scuffed the toe of her shoe in the dirt. To herself, she quietly affirmed, "But I know he is magic! I saw him flying in my dreams, and I know the fairy that was with him can help Tommy. Maybe Pa doesn't believe in magic, but I do!" Her face was very serious as the thoughts tumbled through her mind.

***

"Oh, my!" cried Mary Beth as she gazed in awe at the wondrous sight in front of her. Round and round went the Carousel, carrying laughing children on the backs of colorful horses rising up and down in time to the lilting music. The older children on the outside were reaching for brass rings, trying to win a prize as they passed by. Mary Beth's eyes were riveted on the white horse with the beautiful wings. She waited her turn in line, running fast to his side as soon as she reached the wooden deck. She touched his cheek and a tingle ran up her arm. "Oh, magical horse, how lovely you are!"

Mary Beth climbed up and grabbed the polished pole running through the center of his back. She leaned over and whispered, "Oh, Dreamglider, tonight you must go to help Tommy. He is so sick, and I'm afraid he'll die like Grampa, if you don't work your magic. Please, take him to the fairies so they can help!"

The music began, and the horse moved forward, and up and down. Mary Beth held on, her hair streaming behind, as she closed her eyes and sent out a prayer for Tommy.

When the Carousel slowed, Mary Beth leaned low over the neck of the horse, and murmured, "Please don't forget, Dreamglider. His name is Tommy."

The music stopped, and the Carousel stopped turning. Mary Beth hopped down and gave the horse one last pat on the nose. She could feel his warm breath on her hand.

***

Night came, stars twinkled, and a full moon shone on the darkened, empty fairgrounds, glinting off the mirrors of the Carousel. The little town was safely tucked in for the night, when a twinkling light made its way toward the Carousel. Little glimmers of light in hues of gold, green, silver, and blue shone in a clear path that moved toward the white horse Mary Beth had named Dreamglider. As the little fairy reached the back of the horse, her wings slowly stopped, and the glimmering trail of light dimmed. A fluttering sound began. Ever so slowly, beautiful white wings spread from the sides of the horse, and it rose from the Carousel and flew away in the moonlight!

"Dreamglider, we must hurry to accomplish our mission!" said the fairy on his back. "Fly quickly!"

They flew across the sky, a bright white glow in the deepening night. Dreamglider landed quietly in the yard of a little white house. "Shhh, Dreamglider, wait here for me."

Fairysparkle flew quickly through the bedroom window, her wings glittering in her wake. Softly she tiptoed toward the bed where Tommy lay sleeping. As she touched his cheek, he opened his eyes. "Come, Tommy, it's time to fly!"

Tommy gave her his hand, and they flew through the window straight to the back of a beautiful white Pegasus. "My name is Fairysparkle, and this is Dreamglider, Tommy. He's going to take us on a magical journey tonight. Hang on tight!"

Dreamglider soared through the night with the boy clinging tightly to his mane, laughing in delight! He looked at the houses below, like a tiny toy town, and hoped he would never wake up from this dream. "Have I died and gone to heaven?" asked Tommy.

"No, Tommy, you are not going to die for a very long time," said Fairysparkle. "You are going to grow into a strong, fine man, who will tend the farm, and help your Ma and Pa as they grow older."

"But, I only have one foot!" cried Tommy. "How can I be strong, when I am not whole?"

"Tommy, being strong means accepting what God gives you, and making the most of it. If you choose to be strong, then you will be strong. If you choose to be weak, then that is what you will be. The choice is yours, and yours alone to make. This is a hard thing for a young boy, but you can do it if you try. You have family and friends who love you, and need you even more than you need them."

Tommy listened raptly to Fairysparkle's words. His heart swelled and he felt happier than he had in a very long time.

On through the night they sped, the beautiful white horse with gleaming wings, the fairy with transparent wings of gold, and the boy clinging to the neck of the pegasus, smiling through his tears. Tommy knew that tomorrow he would pick up those wooden crutches and walk! He smiled knowing the joy he would see on his Ma's face!

***

The sun was rising over the sleepy fairground, as the old man polished the mirrors on the Carousel. He walked to the horses and began shining the poles that held them captive to the wooden deck. Humming, he made his way around, lovingly caring for all his charges. As he approached the big horse with the folded wings, he saw a white feather lying on the deck below its feet. Slowly he bent and picked it up and saw sparkles of blue, silver, green, and gold fall softly from its folds.

"Funny," he muttered.

Every time they set up in a new town, he would find one of these feathers. The caretaker lifted his face to the sun, raised his arm high, and allowed the morning breeze to capture and carry the feather away.