When Time Stood Still

Not long ago, in the Land of Fairy Tales, Hayward Pig lived in a brick house with his older brothers, Stickerton and Brickerton.

One day Hayward walked through the North Woods searching for firewood. Little did he know anyone else was around but Sly Fox hid behind a tree and watched Hayward's every move. Hayword studied the trees and tried to decide which one was the best. Some were too small, and some were too large, but right in the center of North Woods stood one perfect tree. With a smile, Hayward raised his axe to chop it down.

"Put the axe down, right now!" Stork bellowed as he swooped in and continued, “This tree is off-limits!"

"But this tree will make perfect firewood.”

"Don't you know chopping down a magical tree will cause terrible things to happen."

Surprised, Hayward had never heard of a magical tree, but he believed what Stork told him because Stork was a very well respected member of the land. Instead he chose another tree to chop down before he made his way home.

Hiding behind nearby brush, Sly Fox heard every word. Grinning, he tiptoed through the North Woods in search of an axe for himself.

Not long later, Peter Pan banged on Hayward Pig’s front door. No more had Hayward opened the door than Peter Pan began to rant.

"Why didn’t you listen when Stork told you not to chop down the magical tree?"

"I didn't chop down the magical tree. I chopped down another tree."

"Witnesses state that you were seen in the north woods this morning, and now the magical tree disappeared."

Hayward Pig followed Peter Pan down the path toward the town hall to explain the situation to the board of commissioners, the elders of the land, who made all the important decisions for the Land of Fairy Tales.

"Hayward, you have caused a big problem,” Santa said. "The tree you chopped down...."

"Santa, are you okay?" Hayward asked. Santa had frozen mid sentence with his mouth wide open.

Hayward glanced around the room, and no one moved an inch. Mother Goose froze with her hand straight up in the air. Cupid had one finger frozen in the pointed position, Peter Pan’s face had frozen in a frown and Gingerbread Man’s eyes froze wide open. Hayward wasn’t sure what to do, but he had better do something real soon. He scurried down the path through town and searched for clues on who chopped down the magical tree.

"Now, look what you've done." Stork landed beside him. "You should have listened to me."

"I listened, and I didn't chop down the magical tree." Hayward insisted.

"I warned you! Bad things are going to happen.”

"What should I do? The elders at the town hall are all completely frozen."

"You must find a living twig of the tree before it is too late and plant it in the woods before everyone in the Land of Fairy Tales freeze just like the elders."

"What makes this tree magical anyway?"

"Mother Nature sends wind to North Woods to pick up dust from the magical tree. The wind carries the magical dust to the earth's children, which causes them to believe in fairytales. If children stop believing fairytales, time will stand still in the Land of Fairy Tales forever."

"But how am I still moving around?" Hayward asked jiggling his arms and legs. However when he looked up for Stork's reply, he realized that now even Stork was frozen with his wings open in the air. Hayward knew he had to hurry now.

Hayward Pig sprinted through the land to find someone else not yet frozen. Hayward saw Sly Fox tiptoeing between trees when he reached the path near North Woods. Sly Fox carried logs in a sling over his shoulder.

"Sly Fox, did you chop down the magical tree?"

Sly Fox grinned and said, "I don’t know of a magical tree."

"There was a tree at the center of North Woods, and someone chopped it down this morning. Its magical dust makes all the children believe in fairytales."

Sly Fox ignored Hayward and kept walking.

"The elders at the town hall are frozen. Without the children’s belief, time in the Land of Fairy Tales will stand still forever," Hayward Pig said. "And if no one believes in fairytales then there will not be a Land of Fairy Tales." Sly Fox grinned. He didn't want there to be a Land of Fairy Tales. But when Hayward continued, "then soon no one will believe in your home, the Badlands, either," Sly Fox realized he made a huge mistake.

Sly Fox stopped walking and stood perfectly still. Hayward thought Sly Fox had frozen in place too, but then Sly Fox dropped the wood he had been carrying to the ground.

"You mean, the Badlands will cease to exist?"

"Yes, Stork told me so, moments before he froze solid in the air."

Sly Fox, not convinced, decided Hayward was fibbing and bent down to pick up the wood. When he tried to stand back up, he could no longer move. He had now frozen in place too.

Realizing Sly Fox’s predicament, Hayward hurried to the pile of wood. He found a green twig and then sprinted towards the center of North Woods to plant it.

Just as Hayward planted the twig, his legs began to stiffen. "I wish this twig would hurry and grow," he said.

"Did someone say wish?" Fairy Godmother appeared but realizing Hayward couldn’t answer much less move, she whirled her wand through the air and granted his wish.

Instantly the tree grew tall and healthy, producing more magical dust than ever. The wind came along and carried the magical dust to the children of the world.

Hayward, no longer frozen, looked over his shoulder for Sly Fox, but Sly Fox wasn’t there. When he realized how wrong he had been, he ran away leaving the pile of wood behind.

Hayward found every green twig he could and planted them all over town. Never again would the Land of Fairy Tales have to depend on just one magical tree.

Hayward returned to town hall expecting to have to explain himself to the elders, but to his surprise, everything in town was perfectly normal. No one, besides Hayward Pig, ever remembered anything about that day. The day, time stood still in the Land of Fairy Tales.