The Magic Button

Once upon a time, in the small village of Fastening, there lived a very nice young man. Everyone called him Copper because his hair shone like a new penny in the sun. Copper was a cheerful, hardworking fellow who loved two things. He loved to read storybooks and he loved his friend Jennifer. The problem was he was too shy to ask Jennifer to marry him.

Jennifer was a clever, beautiful girl with long blond hair and clear brown eyes. She and her mother ran the Village Bakery. Every Monday and Thursday evening, she would meet Copper on the steps of the library where they would discuss the books they had been reading, and even make up new stories together. Jennifer also loved Copper, but she was not quite sure of his feelings, so she was too bashful to tell him.

Copper worked at the Village Button Shop. You may not know this, but all of the buttons in fairyland used to be made in the Village of Fastening. Mr. Cosmo, the magician, had created an enchanted button machine. This terrific machine produced one shiny, round button every two minutes. It worked day and night, and never needed any power or raw materials. The buttons came in four sizes and many bright colours. It was Copper's job to sort each day's buttons into groups of the same size and colour. The people of Fastening loved colourful buttons and wore them on every article of clothing -even their socks!

One Monday while Copper was busy sorting the latest batch he found a very strange button. It was a reddish-brown colour and it was shaped like a small heart. Copper showed the unusual button to Mr. Cosmo. "My, that's an ugly colour, "said Mr. Cosmo, "We'll never sell that button. But why don't you take it. I see you have lost a button from your shirt."

After work, Copper used the strange button to repair his shirt. Then he set off toward the library to meet Jennifer. As usual he was reading a book as he walked along or he would have noticed the strange procession behind him. Every woman Copper passed dropped what she was doing and followed him down the street. By the time he reached the library there must have been two dozen of them on his trail.

Jennifer was waiting on the steps with a basket of hot muffins from the Bakery. When she saw the crowd following Copper a puzzled expression crossed her face. At this point Copper also realized he was not alone.

"Copper, will you come for a walk with me?" cried one young woman.
"Will you come and hunt for magic toadstools with us?" shouted a group of four farm girls.
"Copper, can you come and have dinner with my family tonight?"
"We are going to visit the new dragon babies, won't you join us?"

Several more women also called out to Copper. He turned a deep shade of red. "I already have plans for this evening, thank you," he said. He looked at Jennifer. "Perhaps we should sit inside the library tonight?" he suggested. Copper and Jennifer hurried up the steps and into the building.

But Copper's troubles were not over yet. The women outside the library rushed in and they were joined by several others. They crowded around Copper and Jennifer who were trying to hide behind the bookshelves. "How handsome he is." "What beautiful hair he has." "What white teeth." Copper was flabbergasted but naturally he was a little flattered. He didn't know what to say to all these women and he wondered what Jennifer was thinking.

Jennifer was getting pretty disgusted with this behaviour. "Copper," she said in an angry voice, "It looks as if you have enough company. I think I'll go home now. Maybe I'll see you in the Bakery sometime." She turned and started to push her way out of the group.

"Wait!" cried Copper. All of his shyness evaporated and he realized that the time had come to speak out. "I don't want to be with anyone else. I love you Jennifer."

As Copper spoke these words, the strange button on his shirt turned from an ugly brown to a glowing ruby red. At the same time, the women surrounding him shook themselves as if waking from a strange dream and began to drift away.

But Jennifer and Copper didn't notice. They were too busy gazing into each other's eyes.

Copper had the magic button made into a wedding ring and used it when he and Jennifer were married that spring. It was a beautiful wedding. Jennifer wore a pink dress covered with pearl and diamond buttons. Copper wore a silk suit with gold and silver buttons. At the reception they read stories out loud to the guests, who ate hundreds of brownies and cupcakes from the Bakery.

They went to live in Copper's cottage at the edge of the village. "I hope you won't be lonely", said Jennifer to her mother. "Don't worry," her mother laughed, "I am going to marry Mr. Cosmo. We were just waiting for you and Copper to stop being so bashful!"