Cottage Tea

In the late afternoon sun, a girl sat in the slanting light, sipping tea as her eyes devoured the words of a brand new book.
The tale, set in the woodland countryside, enchanted and entranced her. She sipped and read, sipped and read. And once or twice; she closed her eyes for just a moment.


Third time, they say, is a charm and the girl opened her eyes and before her; the tiny cottage adorning her reading table had come to life!


Nestled amidst mossy ground and towering toadstools, the quaint cottage lay. Warm glow coming from inside.
The girl's feet led her towards the partially opened door, her mind lost in wonder.


Closer, closer she crept and before she knew it, she was inside.
But as her foot touched cottage floor, the mysterious cottage went dark!


The girl tiptoed through the darkness towards a single window.
And as she grew closer, candles sputtered to life!



'Whooo Whoooo is that tiptoeing through our house,
Towards my nest,
Quiet as a mouse?'




The timid girl knew not how to reply, she'd never heard an owl speak!
She's only ever seen them fly!

A tiny voice peeped up from behind,
"Leave her be, Aveline! Its nearly time for tea!"



"Tea! Tea!" Many tiny voices chimed,
With a snort and a neigh the girl heard a voice say,
'I do hope you'll stay for tea time!'



The girl sipped her tea as she spoke with the revelers.
So many faces and names, she could barely remember them all!


There was Mousey Hood and his band of Merry Mice constantly squabbling with the Sheriff of Rattingham!


There was the White Rabbit who, the Horse with No Name whispered to the girl, is terrible at keeping time!


There was the Romantic Mister Rhythm who sang a song to his lady love, the dancing girl.


... as scorned love Lancelot rode his steed, Wounded Pride, away from the mushy affair.

Mister Dumpty, who couldn't keep his balance,
And a Winged Pig named simply 'Dream'.



And the girl, in that afternoon, grew to know and love them all.
Even grumpy old owl, Aveline, who guarded her glittering egg.



But alas, even the most fun parties cannot last forever.
Time marches on, whether we wish it to or not.


And once more, as the girl sat in the soft candle light, she felt herself blinking slowly.

Once...


Twice...


...Thrice.


And back in the afternoon light was the girl with her cup of tea, her book and her tiny cottage.
Time it seems, is a trickier thing than thought as well,
for the girl had not been a girl in a very long time.
A woman grown was she,
Yet creatures unbelievable had invited her to tea.
For while she was grown, a girl she was at heart.

She still believes in Magic and Wishes and Dreams...

Do you?



Thank you for visiting me and my troupe of tea craving critters! I hope you enjoyed our tale of magic, wonder and of course, tea!

And a very special thank you to Mad, Magical Hostess Vanessa for hosting us all on the wondrous weekend adventure! This is her 6th tea party, my 4th, and it is one of the things I look most forward to in the summer.

To visit her as well as other party guests, please click the image below and you'll be whisked to her blog A Fanciful Twist!



Crafty Credits for those Curious!
(Always give credit, where credit is due!)

The wee cottage that was the inspiration for this entire story (no lie, the beginning of the tale is fairly accurate as to how I got the idea and motivation to work on this year's party!) was made by crafty faery & mess maker Knickertwist! You can visit here here

The beautiful nest with its sparkly, glittery egg was crafted by the fabulously talented Tricia Fountaine! You can visit her here.

The knitted owl was gifted to me a few years back in a craft swap, but sadly, I cannot remember from whom as it was a large group affair. :(