Rainbow Land

It was a hot, muggy day in September. Not a breath of wind stirred the air. Erinn was jumping through the lawn sprinkler with her cousin and her big brother. This was an excellent way to keep cool. The sun beat down on the parched grass and shone through the water gushing from the sprinkler making a rainbow curtain.

"Erinn! Erinn!" chanted Michael and Kristian from the grass on the other side of the sprinkler. "We're casting a spell. Jump through the rainbow and into Rainbow Land."

Erinn screwed up her eyes and leapt through the icy cold spray from the sprinkler. The droplets of water clung to her sticky arms and face; refreshingly cool. She felt her wet shorts and T-shirt stick to her body.

Whump! Her damp sneakers squelched into the grass. She rubbed the water from her eyelashes and opened her eyes, expecting to see her brother.

But Kristian and Michael had vanished! Her back yard had vanished! Instead she was standing in a very strange field. Erinn rubbed her eyes again. Surely they were playing tricks on her.

The colours were all wrong! The grass in the field was a beautiful shade of pale blue; the sky above her was the colour of orange sherbet and a hedge of pale yellow trees surrounded the field. Erinn stared in wonder and excitement. Had she really arrived in Rainbow Land?

A little pink bird flew down to the grass at her feet and hopped about with his head on one side. He was clearly making up his mind about Erinn. After a few seconds he came to a decision. He chirped at Erinn and bounced a few feet away from her. Then he stopped and waited for her to follow.

"Alright little guy," said Erinn softly. "I guess you want to show me around this place." She started to follow the tiny pink fellow as he half hopped and half flew over the grass toward the yellow hedge.

"What a pretty place," Erinn thought. She looked up at the sherbet sky and saw little green wispy clouds drifting along. The warm air was full of the pleasant scent of growing things and felt quite unlike the hot, clammy air at home. She smiled at the comical little bird hopping ahead of her and sang to it softly. Erinn loved to sing.

"Pretty bird....high up in a rainbow tree. Pretty bird....now hop on the grass like me."

Erinn broke off her song in amazement. The little bird had changed colour. It was now a brilliant crimson with a lovely orange chest. It whistled at Erinn and flew over the thicket. Erinn clambered over the hedge behind it and found herself standing at the edge of a dirt lane. She looked along the lane and spotted the bright red of the little bird flying into a tree. It stopped and waited for Erinn to follow.

The little green lane led downhill through yellow and blue fields. Tall bunches of pale purple wildflowers waved in the breeze on either side of the path. In the distance Erinn could see a large cluster of white objects. As she drew closer she realized she was approaching a village. The white objects were large spherical buildings which gleamed like giant pearls.

As Erinn neared the village people began to gather at the end of the path and wait for her arrival. They pointed at the little red bird and whispered excitedly to one another. Erinn thought the people looked very drab. Their hair was grey, their skin was grey and even their clothing was of various shades of grey.

"The people of Rainbow Land should wear bright colours," she thought to herself.

A tall woman detached herself from the group and strode along the lane to meet Erinn. She wore a dress of faded grey print and her curly grey hair fell past her shoulders.

" We have been waiting for you, Earth Child. I am Leslie. Welcome to Rainbow Land." She touched Erinn's sleeve gently and smiled warmly with her grey eyes.

Erinn was not sure what was expected of her. "Thank you," she said uncertainly, "I didn't know I was coming."

The woman looked confused. "But you must have arranged to arrive here before you passed through the rainbow?"

Erinn thought about her jump through the sprinkler. "Well," she admitted, "Michael and Kristian did tell me I was going to come here, so maybe that's why I did. They must be wondering where I went," she added.

"Don't worry," said Leslie. "Time in fairyland does not harmonize with time on Earth. You will arrive back home at the same second you left. Now, tell me your name and let's make you comfortable. Would you like something to eat?"

"I am a little hungry. It was almost suppertime back at home. And my name is Erinn."

Leslie clapped her hands. "Karl!" she called. "Take Erinn to the Gardens and let her eat her fill."

A small pudgy boy pushed his way to the front of the crowd. His dingy clothes were smudged with greenish dirt but his face wore an artless grin. "Come on," he said in a good humoured voice, "I'll show you where the best stuff grows."

Erinn followed the boy through the pink cobblestone streets which wound between the rows of pearl buildings. Eventually they reached the far side of the village. Here a verdigris metal gate led through an opening in a high lilac-coloured wall. "Public Sweet Gardens" read the sign over the gate.

Erinn followed Karl through the gate and stopped short in amazement. How marvellous! Candy was growing on the trees and bushes!

The pink ivy climbing up the inside of the garden wall was festooned with pastel lollipops. The low yellow hedges surrounding the path contained pods full of milk chocolate drops. A little white fountain of clear water gurgled in the centre of the garden. On the far side of the fountain, large trees had been planted in rows like an apple orchard. But instead of apples the trees produced caramels, boiled sweets and pale green liquorice strings. Smaller shrubs planted between the hedges sagged beneath the weight of the plentiful fruit gums and striped peppermints they contained.

Erinn and Karl wandered up and down the paths in the garden gorging themselves on candy. They drank the cold clear water from a little metal cup chained to the fountain. Erinn had never experienced anything so astounding in her life. An old song bubbled up in her throat.

"If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops.....Oh what a rain that would be!
I'd stand outside with my mouth open wide. I wouldn't care if I never went inside.
If all the snowflakes were candy bars and milkshakes.......Oh what a storm that would be!" she sang.

Suddenly a transformation occurred in the garden. The pastel lollipops turned vivid colours and the pink vines were now crimson. The boiled sweets became vermilion and amethyst. The pale liquorice whips changed to cobalt blue. Even the little white fountain was now a glowing silver colour.

Karl shouted for joy and hugged Erinn. "You did it!" he said.

Did what, thought Erinn? But she smiled and nodded to Karl. "Maybe we should go back and see Leslie now?" she said.

The children made their way back through the streets to the centre of town. Leslie was sitting on a stone bench under a tall blue willow tree reading a book. As they approached she looked up at Karl with a question in her eyes.

"She did it," said Karl.

Leslie nodded and closed her book. She smiled kindly at Erinn who was looking completely mystified. "What did I do?" Erinn asked her.

Leslie patted the bench beside her. "Come and sit by me," she said. "I want to tell you a story."

Erinn did as she was asked and Karl sat on the ground beside them. Leslie began.

"All of the colours on Earth come from Rainbow Land. The ruby leaves of autumn. The turquoise blue of the tranquil sea. The emerald green of the Irish meadows. The fiery gold of summer sunsets. The purple of the twilight sky."

"But what does the Earth give to Rainbow Land in return?" broke in Erinn, who thought this arrangement seemed a little unfair.

Leslie chuckled. "You've hit the nail on the head," she said. "When the agreement between Rainbow Land and Earth was first made, the people of Earth were required to provide us with an equally valuable line of goods. But lately the arrangement has been slipping. You can see for yourself that we've been sending so much colour away from Rainbow Land that we haven't enough left for our own needs."

"So that's why you're all grey," exclaimed Erinn. Then she looked embarrassed. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I meant to say that's why all the colours here are so pale. I would have expected Rainbow Land to be brightly and gorgeously coloured."

Leslie nodded. "The colours get more washed-out every year," she said. "That's why we're so glad you've come to settle the bill!"

"Hold it!" said Erinn. "I didn't bring any money with me. I can't pay any bill!"

"The treasure we get from Earth is really precious," said Leslie. "A very small amount will bring the colours flooding back to Rainbow Land. And the more you can give us while you are here the longer it will take our colours to fade again."

Erinn's stomach began to knot. She hadn't eaten enough candy to make up for this news. How could she possibly pay for all the colours on Earth? Did they expect her to give up her allowance until she was thirty years old? And as if that wasn't bad enough it seemed they wanted her to give them extra money!

"Sing Erinn!" said Leslie gently. "The Earth sends us music. Happy tunes to sing while we're working. Silly songs to croon to our schoolchildren. Lullabies to hum to our babies while we rock them to sleep."

Erinn blinked in surprise. Music? Could it be that simple? Why of course it could! She thought about the little pink bird who had turned red and of the magical transformation of the Sweet Gardens.

Softly she began to hum a little tune she had learned at summer camp. As she hummed, she kept her eyes on the ground. She could see the drab hem of Leslie's skirt and her small grey shoes. While she watched, colour came creeping into the cloth until the shoes were a bright green and the skirt had a gorgeous flowery pattern. Erinn looked up and saw that Leslie's face had changed also. Her pink cheeks were framed with reddish-brown curls and her hazel eyes were smiling into Erinn's.

A feeling of relief came flooding over Erinn. She could do this! She sat up straight on the bench and began to belt out one song after another. Hymns from her church. Nursery rhymes her Grandma used to croon to her. Songs she had been taught in school music class. Songs her mother would sing along to from the radio. Skipping chants from the schoolyard. Television jingles. The songs kept popping into her head one after another and Erinn sang them effortlessly.

While she sang, the colour came flowing back into Rainbow Land. The pastel trees and grass grew bright and vibrant. The people's hair, clothing and skin turned vivid and brilliant colours. Their pale pearl buildings began to glow like opals giving off fiery glints of gold, green and red, and the orange sky became sparkling gold.

After some time the colours ceased to change but the light in Rainbow Land grew brighter and brighter. At last Erinn sang the final song she could remember. Then she stopped and looked about her. What a change! It was as if everything in Rainbow Land was pulsing with energy.

Leslie took her hand. "We are so grateful to you Erinn," she declared. "You have paid the debt several times over. Thanks to you it will be many centuries before this happens to us again."

She rose and led Erinn to the edge of the village. A small waterfall splashed down over the magenta rocks. The glowing sky above sent rainbow beams dancing through the water.

"Once you pass through the waterfall, you will be home," said Leslie. She took a small crystal pendant from her skirt pocket. "Take this crystal with our thanks. It contains your own rainbows. Hang it in your window wherever you live and your life will never be dull."

With a quick hug she pushed Erinn toward the waterfall. Erinn took a deep breath, screwed her eyes shut and plunged though the water. Whump! Her wet sneakers squelched into the grass. She rubbed the water from her eyelashes and opened her eyes. She was back in her yard at home.

Michael and Kristian smiled at her. "How was Rainbow Land?" they teased.

"It was brilliant," said Erinn. "A little dull at first, but I fixed it right up!"