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Bessy kneels in a sunlit meadow beside her cottage, tall grass swaying under a clear afternoon sky. She leans over a wicker basket where Willy the pixie in a leaf-green hat stands, arms akimbo and glinting in the light.
Bessy never wanted to sweep her cottage or wash dishes. Mice made nests behind her broom. One sunny day, she saw tiny pixies in the field and pretended to feel sick. "Oh, I am too sick to clean my house. Please help me," she groaned. A tiny voice replied, "What's the matter?" Bessy peered at her basket and saw Willy the pixie.
Bessy lies tucked beneath a quilt in her cottage bedroom, morning sunlight slanting through the window onto dusty wooden floorboards. Willy the pixie in a leaf-green hat directs other tiny pixies scrubbing pots and sweeping with thimble-sized brooms.
Willy said, "I'll help you." Bessy asked him and the pixies to come home with her. Once inside, Bessy tucked herself in bed. The pixies cleaned the whole house, scrubbing floors and washing dishes. The next day, Willy asked, "Can you get up today?" Bessy groaned louder, "I’m still too sick!"
Moonlight filters through the cottage window, the room dark after the candles went out. Bessy, eyes wide, rises from bed as Willy the pixie in a leaf-green hat pinches her nose and giggling pixies fling flour into the air.
The pixies cleaned again while Bessy sang happily in bed. Willy whispered, "She’s only pretending!" The pixies giggled, plotting a sneaky trick. When Bessy thought they left, Willy pinched her nose. The other pixies scattered flour and blew out all the candles. Bessy yelped and ran outside!
Sunlight pours into the tidy cottage kitchen, illuminating washed dishes and a freshly swept floor. Bessy, sweaty but smiling, pushes a broom while Willy the pixie in a leaf-green hat hovers near the hearth, raising a warning finger.
When the mist cleared, Bessy hurried home. Willy was waiting in her cottage and said, "Get to work, Bessy, or I’ll pinch you!" Bessy quickly swept and washed every dish. The pixies watched and smiled, then disappeared into thin air. After that, Bessy always kept her home neat and clean!