In a magical, fairytale land there lived a lot of imps. They lived nicely beneath the ground in their den. It was warm and cozy. They were good imps. They made sure that things above ground were in order and kept a nice fire going below the ground. If someone was being unjust or mean, they took them to their den for some time and put them to work. But if someone was kind, they helped them with their magical spells.
Early one morning, something woke an imp called Bert. A faint, lovely voice could be heard from above ground. He’d never heard anyone sing so beautifully. He had to find out who it was. So he went up to the surface. He listened carefully in order to find out where the voice was coming from.
He followed it until he reached a lake where a beautiful girl was sitting on a rock. Her hair was long and as white as snow. Her eyes glistened like magical wells. It was winter just then and the lake was frozen solid. Snow lay all around. The girl looked beautiful, but the imp could hear sorrow in her voice. He didn’t want to leave it like that.
He wiped soot off himself, smoothed down his shaggy hair, straightened his coat, gathered up his courage, and walked up to the girl: “Good day, pretty miss, you sing so beautifully, but sadly, it seems to me. Could I help you in any way?” The girl gazed at the imp with the deep wells of her eyes and smiled kindly. At that moment, the imp’s knees grew weak. The girl completely enchanted him.
“That’s kind of you, imp, and thank you for your concern, but it’s hard for me to find joy. I’m a winter fairy. I can’t do magic. I can’t seem to figure out how. And what kind of a fairy am I if I can’t do spells?” the fairy explained sadly. “And so I just sit her on this rock by the frozen lake and sing. It’s the only thing that brings me pleasure,” the winter fairy continued.
“My dear fairy, don’t be sad. Magic is no laughing matter. I know it because I’m a magical imp,” explained the imp called Bert. The fairy smiled a little. The imp was funny. When imp Bert saw a hint of a smile on her face, his heart completely melted.
He wanted to make her even happier. He started singing and hopping along to the rhythm. “Beautiful fairy, don’t let it get you down, instead take a good look around. There are many reasons for joy, so don’t worry about it anymore. It’s alright if magic doesn’t come easy to you, everyone can find their own thing to do. I hope you’ll show me your smile and sing with me for a while.”
That’s what imp Bert sang, dancing around the fairy at the same time. She couldn’t hold back anymore and started smiling. At the sight of this adorable imp, she couldn’t do otherwise. Then the imp bowed to the fairy and whispered into her ear: “I’ll tell you a secret if you want?” The fairy nodded eagerly.
The imp continued: “You say you can’t do magic, but I have to admit. I’m completely enchanted by you.” Although the fairy was completely white, her cheeks flushed red. The imp could see that the fairy was shy and started singing again: “For you, dear fairy sweet, I’d lay the sky at your feet.” The fairy started to smile even more. She was very glad that the imp had cheered her up. And he was right. Even though she couldn’t do magic, it didn’t matter – everyone was good at something else. She could sing very well, for example.
From then on, the two fairytale beings met at the rock by the frozen lake every morning. They are completely different. The fairy is clean and white as snow, while imp Bert is black and sooty all the time. But they don’t care that they are different. They like each other, they understand each other, and they cheer one another up. And that’s what matters the most.
